Water 7 is a vast city built upon water.
The entire metropolis is formed by seven small islands linked together, pieced into a single whole.
On each island stands a shipbuilding company renowned throughout the Grand Line.
Yet everyone in Water 7 knows that the finest shipyard isn't among those seven companies, nor located on any of those seven islands.
It lies beyond the city, at its very edge, in a place known as Scrap Island.
Scrap Island isn't an island at all, but a massive dumping ground.
As one of the Grand Line's most famous shipbuilding cities, Water 7 has seen countless ships abandoned, discarded, and cast aside, and all of them eventually end up here.
Some endured storms and battles across the Grand Line, some were failed constructions, and others were simply thrown away out of dissatisfaction. No matter the reason, once abandoned, they all gathered here in the end.
As time passed, the number of derelict ships continued to grow, gradually forming something like a graveyard of vessels.
Under the moonlight, a dim glow reflected off the green moss covering the ground, filling the entire Scrap Island with a sense of desolation and silence.
Faintly, one could even hear something resembling sobbing.
At the point where Water 7 connects to Scrap Island, where all the waterways that carry abandoned ships empty out—
A tall wooden building stood there, faint lamplight seeping from within. Hanging above it was a simple sign bearing the name "Tom's Workers."
Inside the wooden building, laughter and cheerful voices rang out. It sounded like singing. Not especially pleasant to the ear, but bold and unrestrained all the same…
"A real man's gotta live loud and proud…"
"For the dream of freedom…"
"Chest out, riding the wind and the waves…"
"Gulp, gulp… Tahahahaha…"
Tom, the horned fishman known as Water 7's greatest shipwright, sat atop a tall wooden stool, his giant-like frame tilting back as he drank heartily.
The room was brightly lit, filled with a warm, homely atmosphere.
Near the kitchen, Granny Kokoro—no, Auntie Kokoro—was busy preparing curry rice.
Watching Tom in such high spirits, she asked with some curiosity.
"You seem unusually happy today…"
As the secretary of Tom's Workers and the one who handled Tom's daily needs, Kokoro knew that in the month since Roger's execution, Tom had never once looked this cheerful.
"Ah…"
Tom burst into laughter, then pulled several bounty posters from his coat and spread them out across the large table in front of him.
Ms. Kokoro stepped closer. At first glance, she recognized a familiar face and froze in surprise, picking up the Marine bounty notice and counting the zeros printed on it.
"Oh, it's that kid Tiger. Looks like they made it out alive, huh? And the bounty's gone up this much already. Still, it's hard to believe. He hated humans so much when he was young, and now he's actually the navigator on a human pirate ship…"
"Haha… people change. Fishmen do too… gulp, gulp…"
Tom truly seemed overjoyed, taking another deep swig of his drink.
At that moment, Kokoro glanced around, then asked with a hint of curiosity.
"Where did those two brats, Iceburg and Franky, run off to? It's almost time to eat…"
Just as Kokoro finished speaking, the door to the room was suddenly flung open.
Two children, one tall and one small, rushed in anxiously, followed by a yellow-skinned frog with a black mane draped over its back.
The older one looked to be in his early teens. He had long, dark-blue hair wrapped in a white bandana and wore a black short-sleeved shirt with white trousers.
The younger one seemed only about ten years old. His sky-blue hair stuck straight up like a rocket launch, and he wore a blue short-sleeved shirt with goggles resting on his forehead.
Both looked flustered. The older boy was just about to speak when the younger one beat him to it.
"This is bad, Tom-san! There's a pirate ship… coming straight toward Scrap Island…"
But neither Tom nor Kokoro seemed particularly surprised.
"What's so strange about that? Haven't pirate ships been coming here all the time lately?"
Ever since Roger ushered in the Great Pirate Era a month ago, Water 7, famous for its shipbuilding industry, had been seeing all kinds of pirates arrive one after another. Their goal was obvious: ships.
Those with money naturally went to the major shipyards. Those without could only sneak around, looking for smaller ones.
However, with the shipbuilding industry of Water 7 completely monopolized by the Seven Major Shipyards, the smaller yards could only survive in the cracks. Any work they took had to be done discreetly, entering through Scrap Island.
Of course, there were also some who came purely to steal.
At this point, the older boy hurriedly added to the younger one's report.
"Tom-san… these aren't ordinary pirates. I've seen that pirate flag before. It's the Sky Pirates' flag. I saw their bounty today… they're a major pirate crew worth 2.5 billion Belly."
As soon as he finished speaking, the younger boy's eyes landed on the bounty posters spread across the table. He gasped.
"Tom-san, it's these guys…"
Tom froze for a moment when he heard that, then burst out laughing under the stunned gazes of the two boys.
"Tahahahaha… what a coincidence. We were just talking about them, and now they show up."
Kokoro smiled as well.
"Yeah. It really has been a long time since I last saw that kid Tiger. More than ten years, I'd say…"
At that point, even the two boys finally realized what was going on.
"Eh?! Tom-san actually knows them?!"
"Mm."
Tom nodded, his massive frame rising to its feet.
"Come on, Iceburg-chan, Franky-chan. Let's go welcome them together…"
...
Within the waterways of Scrap Island.
On the deck, Tiger guided the Twin Goddesses forward at a steady pace.
The others stared around them in amazement at the countless abandoned ships, piled up like entire islands.
"This is incredible… I can't believe so many ships were just thrown away like this…"
Behind Flare, Kuromu and Kuroli, wrapped up to the point that their original appearances were barely recognizable, walked up beside Yemu and spoke in awe.
"Yeah. And there'll only be more of them in the future."
After all, the Great Pirate Era had begun.
After saying that, Yemu turned to Kuromi, who was walking alongside Baby-5.
"Once I get Tom-san's permission, you can move around freely. We'll be staying here for a month, so you'll have plenty of time. Eat whatever you want if you see something you like. I just need you to try and produce the metal I'm asking for."
"No problem, boss. Leave it to me. I won't let you down."
Kuromi immediately snapped into a salute.
"Then I'll be counting on you. As for energy, I'll have Enel replenish it once a day. That should be enough."
"Understood!!!"
At that moment, as Tiger continued steering the Twin Goddesses forward, he spotted a familiar figure standing on the shore in the distance. His eyes grew moist without him even realizing it.
After all these years, they were finally meeting again.