Chapter 103 Luffy sends a frog and angrily slaps CP9Seeing this, Sanji, carrying the money box nearby, was so jealous his eyes turned red, and he almost bit the box to pieces.
Soon, the group boarded the Going Merry and entered the massive water elevator.
As the elevator doors slowly opened, a grand open-air shipyard came into view.
A group of enthusiastic fans were gathered outside the railing, cheering wildly like at a fan meeting.
"It's Mr. Lucci! So cool! His eyes are killing me!"
"Barry isn't here? I want to see his rope skills!"
"Lulu's here too! Look at that chest hair, so skilled! Truly a man among men!"
"Speaking of manliness, that has to be Thaleston, that voice is incredible!"
The crowd's praises rose and fell; these shipwrights were even more popular than idol stars.
Luffy watched this scene and shook his head helplessly.
"A shipyard, mostly filled with spies and undercover agents, Iceberg, you're really unlucky."
He grabbed the giant Yokozuna frog with one hand, lifted it like a chick, and leaped onto the riverbank.
"Hey! Iceberg, are you there? Your pet got lost, I brought it back!"
"Hey! Where did this brat come from! The shipyard's formidable workers aren't someone you can mess with with your skinny arms and legs!"
An old man watching the commotion kindly advised Luffy.
"Hey~ It's alright, sir."
Luffy waved his hand, casually patting the Yokozuna's belly.
"This is a half-dead giant toad I found on the beach. I heard it's Iceberg's pet, so I kindly brought it back."
Lucci and the others stared at Luffy expressionlessly, their eyes flickering; they felt this straw-hatted kid looked vaguely familiar.
Suddenly, Lucci spotted Robin on the deck of the Going Merry, his pupils contracting sharply.
This woman... isn't she the one the officer has been searching for?
Lucci approached calmly, the pigeon on his shoulder striking a comical pose, and opened its beak to speak.
"What? What are you doing here? This isn't a place for random people."
Luffy narrowed his eyes, and without a word, swung his hand and slapped Lucci across the face.
Lucci's face darkened, his body instinctively trying to back away.
But an invisible surge of Conqueror's Haki instantly assaulted his brain, causing a moment of disorientation.
"Slap! Slap! Slap!"
Luffy chuckled, delivering several crisp, melodious slaps to Lucci's face.
"Just speak to me normally. This ventriloquism sounds really awkward; anyone who didn't know better would think you're constipated."
Lucci's face instantly darkened, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.
This guy's a master! That was... Conqueror's Haki?!
"Lucci!"
CP9's long-nosed Kaku instantly appeared in front of Luffy, trying to smooth things over.
"Sorry, sir. Our colleague here is a bit socially awkward and shy, and doesn't like to talk to people, so he uses ventriloquism to communicate."
"Hmph, a bunch of cockroaches hiding in the gutter, just looking at them makes me uncomfortable."
Luffy chuckled, mercilessly launching into taunts at Lucci.
Lucci and Kaku's expressions changed drastically, their bodies tensing: "Who are you?!"
"Looks like your intelligence-gathering skills need improvement. Your professionalism is lacking."
Luffy chuckled twice, then his eyes sharpened as he lowered his voice.
"That woman behind me, I advise you to give up."
"Otherwise, I'll wipe out that piece of trash named Spandam behind you."
Lucci's expression changed drastically, and he was about to attack the insolent young man.
Just then, Mayor Iceberg, toying with the white mouse in his pocket, stepped out from the crowd.
"How rare! The Navy's Supernova, Monkey D. Luffy, has graced our humble abode."
"It truly honors our Water Seven."
Lucci and Kaku's hearts skipped a beat upon hearing this.
No wonder this guy was so arrogant; it was Straw Hat Luffy, the rising star of the Navy.
No wonder he looked so familiar.
Lucci, who had been working undercover as a shipwright at the Galleyra Company for a long time, had never paid attention to any intelligence other than the Pluton blueprints, which led to his inability to recognize Luffy.
He had only glanced at him in the newspaper before.
"Yo, Mayor Iceberg, I've come to deliver your pet."
"I heard from Aokiji that this giant frog is yours, so I specially brought it over for you. You're welcome."
Luffy patted the huge Yokozuna beside him and said with a smile.
Iceberg's expression changed when he saw the Yokozuna covered in bandages: "Yokozuna? How did it get injured?"
Luffy coughed twice, without batting an eye: "Ahem, well… it was already like this when we met it at sea."
"It was struggling desperately in the sea back then. Luckily, it met us kind people."
Iceberg believed him and immediately expressed his gratitude.
"Thank you so much, Vice Admiral Luffy, for making this special trip."
"Not really," Luffy rubbed his nose, "I mainly wanted to ask you to help me replace some parts on my ship."
"No problem," Iceberg readily agreed, "What's wrong with your ship? I'll find the best mechanics to fix it for you."
"It's not badly damaged, but I want the Going Merry completely refurbished."
Luffy pointed to the Going Merry on the shore.
"Refurbished?" Iceberg was a little confused by the word.
He'd never heard of a ship being refurbished like that before.
"Simply put, I want you to replace all the planks, parts, and even the most crucial keel on the Going Merry."
"Use the absolute best brand new materials..."
Luffy explained to Iceberg while gesturing.
Iceberg's mouth twitched violently at this, looking at Luffy as if he were an idiot.
"What the hell is the difference between this and building a completely new ship from scratch?!"
"Um... Vice Admiral Luffy, actually our shipyard has quite a few new ships ready-made, far superior in performance to your single-masted sailing ship."
"If you're interested, I'll take the liberty of gifting you one; consider it support for our Navy's fight against pirates."
Iceberg, stroking the little mouse in his shirt pocket, offered this suggestion tactfully.
Upon hearing this, Usopp behind him immediately bristled: "What do you mean by 'gifting a different ship'?!"
"Do you know what the Going Merry means to us? It's our comrade! We absolutely cannot trade it!"
Iceberg, upon hearing this, inwardly cursed: "Damn it! If we're supposed to be crewmates, what's the difference between your captain's demands and grinding a crewmate to dust and reassembling them?"
Luffy, meanwhile, looked at Iceberg with displeasure, raising an eyebrow.
"Are you looking down on me? Do you think I can't pay?"
Luffy casually waved his hand, and two heavy suitcases from the Going Merry seemed to sprout wings and floated to him.