Chapter 10

Welcome to Water 7

"Take this. *Hiccup*" Kokoro handed them a few pieces of folded paper, "It's a simple map of the island and a Letter of Recommendation. Let these guys restore your ship to tip-top shape. Also Water 7 is big, so be careful not to get lost."

Maxwell accepted the papers from the conductor, "Thanks again. This really means a lot to us." Knowing that their next destination supposedly had the best shipwrights in the world? That means they could get the Going Merry fixed, and that was worth it's weight in gold.

"Nagagagaga! *Hiccup* It's no problem. Say, if you really want to thank me, how about you and I go grab a couple drinks the next time we see each other, big boy?" Kokoro winked at the mage, and Maxwell had to try very hard not to blanch at the woman.

"Sure... Sure..." Maxwell didn't mind women. He just preferred someone around his age, or maybe a little younger.

Chimney and Gonbe ran up beside them, "We plan on going back to Water 7 soon." That phrase really should have been innocent. But between Kokoro and his own sensibilities, Maxwell put on his best face and walked back to the Merry.

"Really?" Luffy had heard Chimney, already sitting on the rails, "I hope we see you again!"

Kokoro nods to the captain, "It takes about a week for the log pose to record Water 7, so you'll have plenty of time to play around." Maxwell visibly blanches this time, making sure not to turn around and see them. He then quickly hands Nami the letter and map.

The navigator nods and then waves at the family, "Thanks for the info, Kokoro, Chimney!"

Luffy pumps a fist, "GET READY TO SET SAIL, CREW!"

"Aye-aye!" "OH!" "Let's go!" The crew all yelled in agreement. Maxwell energized the Merry to start sailing again.

"Take care!" *Nya.* "Watch out for Marines out there!"

And so the Strawhat Pirates left the strange little train station out in the middle of the sea. Their destination was clear. The winds even picked up the sail, as if the weather wanted to further them on their journey, "YAHOO! Let's go to the City of Meat!"

Usopp deadpans at their captain, "Weren't you listening at all...?" Water 7 was where they were going to find a new shipmate.

All the guys decided to hang around near the rear staircase. Luffy, Zoro, and Maxwell stood on the main deck. Usopp was on the stairs. And Sanji and Chopper were on the upper deck.

Sanji actually sat on the rails, and gave Luffy a thumbs-up, "Luffy, leave the carpenter search to me. I'll definitely find us the hottest babe around."

"Stupid! We need a super big man to be our shipwright. He has to be at least 5 meters tall!" Luffy waved his arms to emphasize the size.

Usopp made a comment at that, "That's too much Luffy. He won't fit on our little ship."

"None of that matters," Zoro shook his head, "As long as he or she is a good carpenter. The main concern should be whether or not anyone will want to join a pirate crew."

"Hm..." Maxwell frowned and stroked his beard at that. It was a legitimate concern. Most of the crew joined by chance and circumstance. Only Zoro and Sanji had actually been been scouted, and even then those were tremulous times. They had a chance with Foxy, but... Yeah, there was no way they were going to take someone from his crew.

"It's so exciting!" Chopper decidedly to run over to Nami, "We're going to meet new friends!?"

Nami chuckled, "Yup. We were lucky too. We got a map to start us off." Nami unfolded the paper, "She said to go to the marked location to find someone called Iceberg... Oh, I see," she crumples the map and throws it to the ground, "IT'S A COMPLETELY USELESS SKETCH!"

Maxwell raised an eyebrow as he briefly looked over at Nami. He was to busy waiting for Luffy to finish his drawing. Luffy decided he should draw his ideal shipwright, and Usopp and Sanji were also curious what he had in mind.

Then Luffy showed them the drawing, "Look here. Let's find someone that looks like this!"

...Well, he still had the drawing skills of a toddler, but Maxwell could make something out of it. A blue turd for hair, thick lips, teardrop nose, and arms like a gorilla. He wasn't even going to mention the bug eyes. Luffy even wrote "5 meters" at the bottom.

"...If I see someone who looks like that, I'll just turn around and run."

Usopp wasn't sure if it was the drawing or Luffy's mind that horrified him.

Sanji nodded along sharing a similar sentiment, "I would too. I would jump into the sea if I have to. Although this guy looks like he's part octopus, so he would probably still come after me."

"Hey. You better not be talking about me!" Zoro called out from the prow staircase.

"Still thinking back to Jaya, Zoro?" Maxwell smirked as he teased the swordsman, "Or are you suddenly turning self-conscious?"

"Piss off, Max," He huffed dismissively and continued up to the prow.

Nami had other ideas though, "Okay. Everyone gather up! I'm giving out the spending money for the week." She walked into the cabin.

"Yay!" "Hurray!" "Coming Nami~!" "Sigh... Damn witch."

"Oh boy, here we..." Maxwell stopped mutter under his breath when he saw Robin sitting on the step. She was smiling but... her eyes seemed out of focus. "Robin?"

She blinked, as if not realizing her surroundings, "Oh... Sorry." The archaeologist stood up from the staircase, "Did you need something?"

"...No. No..." Maxwell shook his head, "Nami just wanted us for for this week's island budget."

"Oh?" Robin raised an eyebrow, "Are we finally divvying up the treasure?"

Maxwell snorts at that question, "More like she's trying to maximize her profits."

Robin giggleed as the two walk up the step, "That does sound like Ms. Navigator."

...

...

...

Maxwell suddenly stops walking, "Robin... Are we alright?"

Robin blinks and turns around to look at him, "Whatever do you mean?"

"Aokiji..." Maxwell said the admiral's name and Robin tensed, "He said some pretty harsh things back there..." The mage closed his eyes and nodded to himself, "I want you to know: We trust you. I trust you..." He opened his eyes and looked directly at Robin, "Despite our beginnings—I threw fireballs at you, for Andraste's sake..." Maxwell had to chuckle, he was being ridiculous. "Whatever Aokiji said, I do consider you a friend... Can you accept that?"

Robin blinked, actually taken aback by what Maxwell said. He was saying he trusted her... Maxwell, who attacked her the first time they met. The mage, who caught her, then got his spine cracked as she tried to escape. The Strawhat, who let her stowaway when he didn't have too... He was the first one who confronted Aokiji when she was shaken...

What do you say to a man like that?

"...Maybe you don't believe in curses...?"

Aokiji's words rung in her ear, "...Thank you, Maxwell."

O O O

"Hmm..."

"The heck?" "What's up Usopp?"

After their meeting about who spends what at Water 7, Luffy, Sanji, Maxwell, and Chopper notice Usopp hugging the mast.

Usopp sighs fondly, "These iron plates on the mast... Are filled with the memories of our adventures. To think that they will soon be removed for repair... I get a weird nostalgic feeling..."

"I can relate. Especially after we entered the Grand Line," Sanji also nods, looking around the ship, "Merry sure has suffered a lot of damage. There are leaks everywhere down below... It's dangerous if we don't have the ship repaired."

"She cares about us," Maxwell fondly touches the mast as well. He feels a slight breeze outside of the blowing wind. Merry was the reason he was even still with the crew, "She's a mischievous little fairy, but she has taken us far and beyond any kind of adventure we could have hoped for."

Usopp smiles in agreement and gets off the mast, "Then let's make sure the ship is completely fixed!"

"Yeah!" Luffy smiles in agreement, "We have lots of money now, so we can probably upgrade too!"

Usopp seemed on board with that, "Cool! I want cannons!"

"I want a bronze statue!" Luffy made a pose showing off his muscles.

"Boys. Boys. We still got to find out how much our treasure is worth," Maxwell chuckles. Skypiea felt like it was so long ago. Most of, if not all, the treasure they found was inside a giant snake's gullet from the island in the sky. How many bags did the take again? 5? 6? Point was, they had a lot of treasure. The only stickler they had was finding out how much it was worth, and then trading it in for currency.

"Hey. Is that Water 7?" Zoro spoke from the prow.

"Huh?" Maxwell turned his head at Zoro's voice. Luffy and Usopp already ran up to see it.

"Land ho~ Land hooo~!" "Max! Get the oars rowing!"

Maxwell walks up the steps, "Luffy, I don't think we're going to need that right now."

"Yeah, we don't need to waste any energy with how the wind'd blowing," Sanji agreed. Everyone was joining on the prow now. They all wanted to see the new island, and the sight was well worth it.

"Ack...!" "Whoa." "Fascinating..." "Huh..." "WOW!" "Amazing." "Hoho..." "By the Maker..."

"WOW! THAT'S SO COOL! A GIANT FOUNTAIN!"

There was indeed a giant fountain. Hell, the entire island looked like one, it was the size of a small mountain. Water gushed up from the spout at the very top, cascading into several streams from basin to basin. Each bowl was decorated with floral designs, fitting into squares around the rim.

Then there was the city. Houses had been built in between the canals, carrying the water from the fountain out into the ocean. Those canals had extended past the city walls, making it look like they had made water falls. The walls made it look like the final basin of the water fountain island. They even had industrial gates built in. For what purpose? Maxwell didn't know. But the city didn't stop there though. There were houses and buildings built on top of the ocean, extending past the island! Water 7 certainly lived up to being the "City of Water."

Usopp was left slack-jawed at the sight, "Man! That looks like a metropolis!"

"No wonder the sea train goes here..." Sanji commented.

Nami of course noticed where the train actually stops, "Look. It says 'Blue Station' over there."

The train station was fairly reminiscent of the actual city. It had the same arches that underlined most of the city, probably built into the walls. The sign was on a stone house-like structure, which made Maxwell think of a court house. There was a dome and antenna above, honouring the city. From there, a sleek stone walkway had been built, marked with two statues and guard rails. This connected to another slab where the train would actually dock.

"So where is the dock?" Nami wondered.

Usopp looked around, "Maybe it's on the other side?"

"Hey! You there!"

Luffy looks down from Merry's figurehead to see a fisherman out on a boat, "Yeah?"

"Pirates can't go in from the front like that. Go around to the backstreets over there!"

"...Okay! Thank you!" Nami calls back to the fisherman, and Maxwell steers the Merry into the lanes. Thus the Strawhat's started sailing through the city.

"Wow! Water seven is so cool!" The city was literally built with the water in mind. Every building was built close together and seems to share the same aesthetic of a domeed cylinder roof, antenna, and arched bottom. Some even had staircase leading right into the water, "This city is the best!"

Chopper looked around, "Everything's floating on water...! Even the houses..."

"That's not it," Robin corrected the little reindeer, "This city is just built on a sunken island. Look closely at the base of the buildings."

Chopper then understood what she was talking about, "Wow! Pillars!"

"I see... So that's why it's the City of Water..." Sanji looked on impressed with the city.

"YEAH! LETS GO FIND THE SHIPWRIGHTS!" Luffy cheered.

"Hey!" Another local called out to them. This time from an open house cafe, "You can't anchor your ship there! What are you here for? Robbery?"

"No. We just want to fix our ship," Luffy called back to the man.

Usopp sweat-dropped, "Did he just ask if we wanted to rob him...?"

The man just gave them directions, "Head that way until you see a small peninsula. You can anchor there."

"Okay. Thank you," Nami thanked the local and Maxwell steered them in the direction he was pointing.

"...I think this is it..." Soon enough, the Strawhats exit the street and come out into an open stretch of water with some undeveloped shore. It was mostly rock and mold but they could anchor here.

"Okay. Max, pull the sail!"

"Aye-aye," Maxwell energizes the Merry again to have her anchor at the shore. But just as he fuels the sail, he feels a lance of pain jab into his mind, "ACK!" He clutches his head in agony, and he hears a snap from the mast.

A plate had given way, and the mast was going to fall over. Everyone yells in a panic.

"Crap!" Maxwell fights through the pain to re-energize the mast, holding it from falling over.

"Max! What are you doing!?" Usopp yells at him.

"I don't know! I felt a sudden—AHH!" Pain runs through his mind again and the magic begins to flicker, "—Urk! Someone help me out here!"

Zoro immediately moves to brace against the mast, "This is surprising... I didn't think the Merry was in such bad shape..." He starts working in tandem with Maxwell to push the wooden pillar back in place.

"Why aren't the people here afraid of pirates?" Nami wondered. It was so strange having people talk to them so openly.

"That's probably because pirates only come here for repairs," Zoro grunted as they finally get the mast standing properly.

Robin made a suggestion, "Maybe they have some very strong bodyguards to fight any pirates if necessary..."

"No doubt about that," Sanji nodded, "There must be some strong guys everywhere in a big city like this."

"For real!? Then isn't it dangerous here!?" Usopp freaked out, immediately thinking the worst.

Maxwell finally reinforced the mast, "As long as we don't cause trouble, we should be fine... Besides, it's not like we're holding them at gun-point."

"T... True..." Usopp rubbed his chin as he considered the mage's words, "...Okay!"

"LET'S GO!" Both Usopp and Luffy jumped ship, wanting to explore the island.

"Hold on! Luffy! Usopp!" The two teenagers freeze in their tracks as they look back at Nami, "You're going to follow me!"

"Where to?" asked Usopp, though they both seemed annoyed at Nami for ruining their fun.

Nami stepped onto shore and approached the boys, letter in hand, "First we'll take Kokomo's letter and find the man named Iceberg. We'll ask him to fix our ship. Also, we need to find a place to exchange our gold for money."

"Okay! Okay," Luffy amended, "Alright! Enough talking! Let's go to Water 7!"

Maxwell called out to them, "You're forgetting something, Luffy."

"Oh what now!?" Luffy looked back at his first-mate. Now he was being the party pooper.

Maxwell threw them the sack, which contained all their treasure, "Can't trade gold without having it on you. Right?" Usopp caught the bag, making him fall on his butt. The mage then levitated a trolly over to them. They had it on hand for heavy loads, such as the crates below deck. "Be careful out there!"

"We will!" Nami called back as the three crewmates walked into town.

"See ya!" Luffy waved as he dragged the gold on the wagon. He looked like a child tugging along his little red wagon.

"Make sure that mast is fixed!" Usopp yelled at the mage.

"It's getting repaired anyways, right?" Maxwell called back. He chuckled to himself, they were finally going to have the Merry repaired.

They'd been through a lot on this ship. The Merry's been bruised, battered, and shot at, but she has always pulled through for them. She's even survived a natural disaster. Now they can finally pay her back for all she's done for them.

Things were looking up.

"Ugh..." Maxwell rubbed his head, "Maybe I should find one of those 'aspirin' tablets Chopper was talking about..." Maxwell didn't have any interest in exploring the island, despite how amazing it looked. But then frowned as he had a thought, "...Shit. We never did say whether or not they were going to bring back the inspector here or not... Might want to make a list!" The mage ran of to find a pen and paper. He knew this shop better than anyone! ...Well, maybe except Usopp, "Wait, didn't Usopp make a list?"

O O O

"Hey, Max!" Sanji entered the mess haul where Maxwell was looking around Usopp's tinkering area. He should have made something after their little break on Long Ring Long Land.

"Yeah, Sanji?" The mage looked up at the cook, taking a small break.

"Where's Robin? Is she on the ship!?"

"...That... I do not know. Hold on," Maxwell walked and stood in the doorway as he called out, "Hey, Zoro! Any idea where Robin went?"

"She left with Chopper!" Zoro called back from the prow, "They went to go buy some stuff, or something..."

Maxwell turned back to Sanji, "Well, there's your answer."

"Seriously!? Agh, this sucks," Sanji furiously tangled his hair, "You two are the only ones left on the ship! Then it's going to be so boring!"

"I could try and kick your ass again...!" Maxwell's eye twitched at being called boring.

"Pfft. As if," Sanji scoffed, "I'm going to go shopping too then. Watch the ship, and all that jazz..."

Maxwell moved to the side to let him out, "Yeah, yeah. Go do your skirt chasing... See ya later."

"Whatever, old man," Sanji jumped down and walked towards town. At least there, there were women.

"...Not that old—Ah! Whatever," Maxwell turned sound and tried search for that paper again. Unfortunately it didn't seem Usopp had written anything on the Merry's state of repair. That means Maxwell was going to have to write it up himself.

"Alright... Let's get that pen and paper then," he walked over to where you could get deeper in the haul, and found the hold. It housed most of their supplies and inventory. The hold also doubled as Maxwell's sleeping quarters, where he had a makeshift desk.

"Now where did we have that clipboard...? Aha!" Maxwell moved over to where the cabinet was. The clipboard was hanging on a hook beside it. He made sure to put the previous papers away for safe keeping and fastened the blank sheet to the board.

"Now, Let's see..." Maxwell looked around the room first. Might as well start somewhere.

"...Two giant holes at the bottom of the haul," Maxwell wrote it down, "Caused by giant sky lobster monster." It was back when they were kidnapped on Skypiea for the whole God's Judgement thing.

Maxwell looked around at the various patches in the haul. He wandered around, finding every one of them, "...Thirteen holes, caused by enemy enclosure..." It was from the Black Cage formation back in Alabasta. They had encountered the marines waiting for Vivi and the marines had had them surrounded.

Then he noticed the giant seam near the base of the prow, going from side to side, "Clear break in the haul. Caused by unknown assailant while away on business..." Maxwell tapped his chin with the blunt end of the pen, "Crap then there's going to be all the little stuff up on deck as well."

Maxwell then heard to sound of many feet wandering above deck, "1, 2... 5... Shit, we're being boarded!" The mage quickly raced back to the hold where he had a bunch of bamboo staves propped up. Maxwell made sure to make a bunch of them from that bamboo forest. If he couldn't keep a staff, he should at least have backups!

The mage quickly grabbed one and went to the cabin entrance, where he hadn't heard any footsteps. He spied Zoro standing in front of seven armed assailants, each dressed in outrageous outfits. The only consistency between them were the goggles and each of them had a katana.

The leader of the group spoke to Zoro, "You asked who we are? Huhuhuh... Pirate Hunter Zoro...! We are bounty hunters. Kids cry when they see us... We are the Franky Family! AND THAT 60 MILLION BOUNTY ON YOUR HEAD IS OURS!"

...Well, Maxwell understood the kid's crying part. What sort of self-respecting man openly wore stockings in public? ...Were they some sort of okama bandit band? ...No, no. Maxwell didn't see any make-up on them... That and there was nothing else distinctly girly on them.

Maxwell decided to walk out the door, "Zoro. These bozo's causing you trouble?"

The swordsman smirked, "Nah... They're just a bunch of thugs, wanting a quick buck."

"Magister Trevelyan... 29 million..." The so called bounty hunter then smiled, "Haha! That's nearly 90 million! We're going to be so rich! GET 'EM BOYS!"

Before them could even move, Maxwell made a fist and pulled it down. The mage had cast Veilstrike, and brought the preverbal ceiling down on their heads. The miscreants stumbled as they were all struck by the unknown force. Max was just the distraction though.

"Nitoryu..." Zoro was the main force, "Sai Kuru!"

Zoro slashed them all with two of his three katanas. There wasn't any blood, but the intruders were all sent flying. It was impressive display of strength.

Maxwell watched as the flying Franky Family all splashed down into the water. They'll live, but they'll probably think twice before trying that again.

Zoro just sat back down for his nap, "So boring..."