"They must be really famous, huh," murmured Law as the three of them looked at the large group of people moving around. Whether they were shipwrights or customers like them, the place was packed and busy, each with their own problems.
Lucien looked at the huge building in front of them, with a broad board at the top showing a simple "Tom's Workers." They slowly walked towards it and as they did the crowd became thicker.
Reaching the reception, Lucien looked at the two young boys behind the desk arguing with each other, each with weird coloured hair and antics.
"Baka-berg, you will look up to me when I build a ship that kills a sea king, a sea king I tell you. I'll build the strongest ship ever made, even better than the ones Tom makes, and obviously better than you. I tell you the BF-8 is just the beginning," declared the one with blue hair with a loud voice and clear ambition.
"Franky, don't be stupid. The scrap of metal you called the BF-8 was the only one that sailed until you met a sea king, and even after you met one you ran with your tail between your legs all the way back here and crashed into Scrap Island. I thought the sea king would even destroy the ship we were building at that time," replied the one with purple hair, with an exhausted expression.
"That was just a trial run. My next BF-9 will be way better. It'll deal with a sea king single-handedly. The strongest ship ever."
"That's great, the strongest ship huh. I'm sure you'll build one," commented Lucien with a smile when he heard the two.
The two of them finally turned their heads towards their small group of three as the one with purple hair was the first to ask, "Who are you?"
"Wait, you think I can do it? I see you can recognise my greatness," announced the blue one with his hands on his hips and a loud laugh.
"We are here for Tom. Hendricks from Lake 4 in North Blue sent us," replied Lucien, completely ignoring the strange blue-haired kid who seemed to be more in his own thoughts.
"Then come follow us to meet Master Tom. He is in his office right now. I am sure he will be happy to meet with you if it is on the request of Hendricks," said the purple-haired boy and turned to lead them into the building.
"Hendricks was great. He left here a long time ago, even though we have only seen him a few times. He worked with Master Tom to build the Oro Jackson and then just left, saying he wanted to go back to the peace of North Blue rather than stay here," said the blue-haired one. Lucien just kept a small smile as the three followed them.
"Right, I didn't introduce myself. I am Cutty Flam and I will build the strongest ship ever built, even stronger than the Oro Jackson. This is Iceburg, and both of us are apprentices under Master Tom," said the blue-haired boy, introducing the both of them.
The inside of Tom's Workers was louder than the entrance, with various people shouting and the loud sounds of machinery along with the banging of hammers against wood. Multiple ships were being built, each with their own harmony and pace.
Tom's office was at the back, up a short flight of wooden stairs. Cutty Flam knocked once, loudly, and opened the door before anyone answered.
The first thing Lucien noticed was a blueprint. It covered most of the left wall, pinned flat and held at the corners with iron bolts. Mechanical in design.
It was completely unlike anything he had ever seen. It did not look like a ship in any form. It was far more advanced and seemingly had far more structure than a normal ship.
But he did not keep his entire attention on it, not wanting to appear rude, and turned to see Tom. Tom was certainly not human. Lucien had never seen someone who resembled a human in such a way but was also so clearly not human. He looked like the best possible cross between fish and human.
But that was not the only thing he noticed. He noticed how large the man was, both in height and weight. He looked tall and round even as he sat behind the large desk with various blueprints spread across it.
"Master Tom. Hendricks from Lake 4 sent them," said Iceburg.
Tom set down his pen. "Hendricks. I never thought I would ever hear from that bastard again after he ran away from here. He even set up a small island in North Blue. After all these years of no communication he sends someone along with a letter. Sit down," he murmured while picking up the letter and glancing at the three of them.
Lucien sat, but his eyes went back to the blueprint once more before he did.
Tom noticed. "You know what that is?"
"No," said Lucien. "That's why I'm looking at it. It looks fascinating."
Tom held his gaze for a moment, let out a small chuckle, then picked up Hendricks' letter and read it without hurrying. Law sat in the chair beside Lucien and looked around the office. Idris stood near the door.
Tom folded the letter and set it down. He looked at the three of them and said, "It seems the first letter from that bastard Hendricks after all this time was not to ask about the well-being of his old mentor but rather to ask for a favour. It seems he did not finish the job and wants me to build a better ship for you."
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Guys, I am sorry for the complete lack of chapters over the last week. Life had me completely swamped and had no time to even write a single chapter. Will aim to release all the 7 chapters before the end of the week. Thank you for understanding.