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  Coby frowned. It shouldn't be possible. Ever sihey got the Merry, he had beeremely careful, ensuring that not the slightest damage was done. "What kind of problems?" he asked, his voice calm but with a hint of .

  Kaku nodded, aowledging Coby’s attention to detail. "The keel is mildly damaged," he expined. "But it’s not due to ylect. In fact, that ship is one of the best-cared-for vessels I’ve ever seen. It’s clear you love your ship."

  Luffy, always quick to defend his beloved Merry, looked at Kaku with fusion and . "So what’s the problem, then?"

  Kaku sighed, uanding the attat they had to their ship. "The Going Merry wasn’t designed or built for the challenges of the Grand Line, let alohe New World."

  Luffy tilted his head, unfamiliar with the term. "New World?"

  Coby quickly stepped in, expining to Luffy. "The New World is the sed half of the Grand Line, where things get a lot more dangerous."

  Kaku tinued, addressing the crew directly. "The keel is the spine of the ship. O’s damaged, it’s only a matter of time before the entire ship bees unusable. No matter how well you take care of it, the keel ’t be repaired or repced without essentially rebuilding the entire ship."

  Luffy’s expression turned serious, the gravity of the situation beginning to sink in. "So… what are you saying?" he asked, looking at Kaku ily.

  Kaku met Luffy’s gaze, his voice steady. "I’m saying that it might be time to sider getting a new ship. The Going Merry has served you well, but she wasn’t meant to st through the challenges you’ll face ahead."

  The crew fell silent, the weight of Kaku’s words hanging in the air. They all had a deep attat to the Merry; the ship had been with them through tless advehe thought of repg her was hard to accept.

  Luffy ched his fists, clearly struggling with the idea. "But… we ’t just get rid of her! The Merry is part of our crew!"

  Coby was equally upset, but most of it was directed at himself. He had po suggest getting a new ship in a few days, even though the Merry was in top shape. He knew, just like Kaku, that the ship couldn’t hahe challenges of the Grand Line, let alohe New World. But hearing Kaku say it out loud made him feel relieved, and for that, he hated himself.

  The one who took it the hardest, though, was Usopp. He stepped forward, his voice trembling with anger and disbelief. "No. Merry is not weak. She carried us all the way here without a problem. You’re lying just to get more of our money! You want to increase your sales!"

  Coby, notig Usopp's distress, put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. "Usopp, that’s not what this is about. Kaku’s telling us the truth."

  But Usopp wasn’t having it. He shrugged off Coby’s hand, his eyes filled with desperation and frustration. "How you say that, Coby? Merry’s been with us sihe beginning! She’s part of our crew! We ’t just abandon her like this!"

  Luffy, who had been silent as the news sank in, ched his fists. He wao defend Merry, to say she could keep going, but deep down, he khey wouldn’t have made it this far without her. The thought of leaving her behind was unbearable.

  Kaku sighed, sensing the crew’s reluce. "I uand how you feel," he said, his tone mentle. "But I’ve seen this happen before. A ship that’s pushed beyond its limits will eventually break down, no matter how much you love it. Yoing to need a vessel that handle what’s ing."

  Usopp’s anger fred again. "No! You’re wrong! Merry isn’t weak! She still sail just fine!"

  Coby stepped forward, trying to calm Usopp down. "Usopp, listen. It’s not about whether Merry’s weak or not. It’s about what’s ahead of us. We ’t ighe fact that the Grand Line is only going to get tougher. We o be prepared."

  Usopp locked eyes with Coby, his voice thick with emotion. "What are y to say? Merry is weak for the New World, so we leave her behind? I’m weak too. Will you leave me behind as well?"

  Coby squinted, his patience wearing thin. "This isn’t the time for your low self-esteem. This is a moal moment for the future of the crew. ’t you see Luffy hates the idea too? But he knows to protect the crew, he has to make a tough decision that’ll hurt him just as much as it’ll hurt you."

  Usopp’s face twisted in anger, and before anyone could react, he swung at Coby, nding a solid punch that sent him flying. "Merry is the crew," Usopp decred, his voice trembling with rage and sorrow. He turned and walked away, still clutg the two briefcases full of money.

  The crew stood in stunned silence as Usopp disappeared dowreet. Coby, rubbing his jaw where Usopp’s punch had ected, slowly got to his feet. Luffy’s expression was hurt aermination, torween his loyalty to his friends and the harsh reality they were fag.

  Kaku sighed and turned back to Iceburg, who had been watg the se unfold with a calm, unreadable expression. "It’s not an easy thing to hear," Kaku said quietly. "But they o know."

  Iceburg nodded. "The sea’s unfiving. They’ll figure out what they o do."

  Luffy took a deep breath, his fists still ched. "We’ll talk to him ter," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "Let’s finish up here first."

  Nami nodded in agreement. "We have a lot of money here, and we o use it wisely. We’ll make sure to get what we need for now."

  Coby walked over to Luffy, rubbing his jaw. "Let’s hear their offers, then we talk with the rest of the crew. This isn’t a decision we o make today."

  Luffy nodded, still visibly shaken, but he knew Coby was right. Together with Nami, they followed Iceburg, Kalifa, and Kaku into the Galley-La's Dock #1. As they walked through the rge courtyard, they passed shipwrights hard at work, hammering away at ships in various stages of stru.

  Iceburg gestured to the workers as they passed by. "As you see, Galley-La pany isn’t just about building ships. We maintain, repair, and upgrade vessels of all kinds. Our shipwrights are among the best in the world, aake pride in our work."

  Kaku added, "We deal with all sorts of ships here. From small fishing boats to massive galleons. Whatever you need, we ha."

  Nami listened ily, taking iails of their operation. "Sounds like you’ve got everything covered."

  Iceburg smirked, clearly amused by her direess. "We’re in the business of helping people get where they o go. And if we make some money along the way, all the better."

  As they tinued deeper into the building, they reached a rge workshop where more shipwrights were w on intricate ship designs. The smell of wood shavings and varnish filled the air.

  Just then, two meered the workshop. One was a tall, muscur man with a e-tented gsses on his head and a cigar in his mouth. The other was a man in a white tank top with a fedora, carrying a pigeon on his shoulder. The pigeon had a small tie around its ned was surprisingly vocal.

  "Oi, Paulie! Lucci! Where are you ing from?" Kaku called out as the troached.

  Paulie, the man with the gsses, gnced over at Kaku, then back at Iceburg. "We were just finishing up some work. Who are these guys?" He eyed the Straw Hats with mild curiosity.

  "This is the Straw Hat crew," Iceburg expined. "They’ve e to us with a few requests."

  The pigeon on Lucci’s shoulder suddenly spoke up, causing Nami and Luffy to blink in surprise. "Well, well, pirates, huh? That’s iing," the pigeon cooed, its voice eerily calm.

  Luffy was so amazed, as he turo Nami and Coby holding their shoulders, "Guys! Pigeon, spoke!" Coby chuckled, while Nami was equally surprised, but stopped Luffy who was repeatedly tapping her shoulder, "I know! I was here too!"

  Paulie crossed his arms, looking Kaku up and down. "Hold on a sed. Kaku, weren’t you with Franky’s gang a little while ago? I could’ve sworn I saw your nose in the middle of a fight he gate."

  Kaku blinked in surprise. "What? I’ve been here all day, Paulie. You must be mistaken."

  But Paulie frowned, scratg his head. "I could’ve sworn it was you… That’s weird."

  Nami and Luffy exged quices, both starting to piece things together. "Wait a minute…" Nami muttered, her brow furrowing in thought.

  Only then did Luffy and Nami realize Usopp was in trouble. Coby already knew, of course. He had let Usopp walk away with 200 million berries for that reason. Without a word, Nami and Luffy dashed off, leaving the others behind.

  Coby turo Iceburg and the iving them a quiod. "Thank you. We’ll get in touch after we make a decision."

  Iceburg and the shipwrights waved him off as he followed after Nami and Luffy, keeping his pace slower to avoid hinting his ability to Lucci, Kaku and Kalifa.

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