While he liked to think of himself as a well prepared man, Rock had certainly underestimated how difficult it would be to keep his spiky hair tucked away under his hood. It was not until he actively needed to hide his appearance that he had realized how identifiable his features were, and he made a point to keep his eyes looking toward the ground as he made his way through Water 7.
The random pirates and shipwrights that were drunkenly loitering around the streets posed no threat, though he still made a point to not engage with any of them despite the obnoxious taunts they threw his way. In places like Drum or Spider Miles, there was such a lack of World Government presence that he had no real fear of being discovered. However, even with the poor state of its economy, Water 7 was a large enough hub of trade that the occasional navy sailor could be spotted on any random street corner.
After cutting through back alleys and sticking to the shadows, Rocks finally made his way to the small workshop that had been built under a bridge. With a smile, he walked toward the door, the wooden sign above it that read "Tom's Worker's" barely hanging on as he opened it.
The smell of sawdust and the clamor of workers shouting instructions at each other painted a much busier and more pleasant environment than the rest of the depressing town. The massive forge that Tom kept to cast reinforcements and specialized cannons burned brightly in the middle of the workshop, and Rocks could feel sweat start to drip down his face almost immediately.
As he continued to look around, he almost failed to notice a skinny fish man with a tool belt staring at him a few feet away. The overalls he wore were about as stereotypical as a fish man shipwright's outfit could be, and Xebec barely held in a laugh once they made eye contact.
"Can I help you man?" He asked with a deep, booming voice that certainly didn't match his frail appearance.
"I'm looking for Tom, tell him an old friend is here to see him," Rocks said in a low voice.
The fish man hesitated for a moment, so Rock's eeked out the tiniest bit of Conqueror's Haki that he could. While he still couldn't use it in combat without draining too much of his stamina, the previous months had allowed Rocks to gain enough control of his Supreme King Haki to make situations such as this much easier.
Impressed that the young shipwright had managed to avoid peeling himself, Rocks wanted patiently as he scurried behind a set of swinging wooden doors. Briefly after, the doors swung open with much more force, and a towering figure entered the main workspace. His massive mane of wild orange hair was thick and vibrant, and his Longhorn Cowfish genetics made every part of his body as thick as tree trunks. The overalls seemed to be a popular work at the shop, as the boss himself was wearing a pair while he approached Rocks with a massive smile.
"Xebec! I thought you were dead!" He shouted with joy as he reached down to shake Rock's hand.
"Not yet, old friend, not entirely at least," Rocks said sarcastically as he firmly grasped the massive fish man's hand.
"Well, the papers seem to think otherwise. Although it's hard to believe anything that they're saying these days," he said with a quick shake of his head. "So what brings you by, old friend!? I'm assuming whatever you had to do to get out of God Valley busted up the Saber."
"To be honest, I don't even know who has her anymore, but that's actually not why I'm here. Are you still working on that absurd sea train?" Rocks asked sarcastically as he crossed his arms.
"Well of course, and you'll take that back when it saves this city!" He shouted with a hearty chuckle.
"Well, if anyone can make that nonsense work, then I suppose it would be you. Let me ask you though, how's the funding going for it?" Rocks asked, and the lack of enthusiasm from his jolly friend told him all that he needed to know.
"Well, folks these days are a little hard up for money. We treat our customers right, so we still get a decent amount of business, but I think it's fair to say the Sea Train is a ways off," Tom said with a slightly sad chuckle.
"Would… 800 million berries help?" Rocks asked, causing Tom's jaw to nearly drop to the floor.
"I mean…of course. But as much as I respect the man you are Xebec, a pirate is still a pirate. I assume this wouldn't be out of the goodness of your heart," he said with a laugh though with a cautiously raised eyebrow as well.
"Oh, you know me so well, Tom," Rocks said with a nod. "I would need you to come with us for a while. You don't need to officially join the crew, but if you can help us for the next year, I'll bring you back here with all the money you could ever need for that magic train of yours," Rocks said, extending his hand towards Tom. The massive fishman looked down at Rocks' hand, the pros and cons of the tempting offer swirling around in his mind.
"I mean, I can't just shut the doors and abandon my workers," Tom said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I do have to admit that I think that would be more than enough funding for the entire project though."
"Well we still have plenty of loot from the raids we've done over the last couple of months. I can easily pay your workers for the year, I'll even throw in a holiday bonus," Rocks said as the ears of the skinny fishman perked up.
"Wow, that's quite-"Tom began to say before the sound of shattering glass caused the entire room to look toward the front entrance.
Laying in a pile of broken glass was an injured fishman, and it only took Rocks a moment to realize who it was.
"Mayando?" Rocks asked as he rushed over toward his downed navigator.
"Oh, hey captain," the woozy fishman said as he attempted to stand up. "Sorry, but I think we have a bit of a situation," he said as Rocks looked toward the window that Mayando had just been tossed through and noticed the figure walking toward them for the first time.
"Well, I certainly didn't think that I would be seeing you here," Rocks said with a smirk as he made eye contact with the man who had just walked into the workshop.