In the backstreets of Water 7, sunlight filtered through broken stone pillars and spilled across the junk-strewn grounds of Franky House.
"Listen up, you idiots!"
Zambai spun around and roared at the members of the Franky Family behind him, all of them dressed in their usual skimpy outfits and looking thoroughly dejected.
"Today is the day our boss sets out on a great journey!"
He pointed dramatically at the group.
"Not one of you is allowed to bawl your eyes out!"
"Smile!"
"Smile like real men!"
"That's easy for you to say… but…"
"WAAAAAH!"
"I can't stop! The tears just keep coming!"
The underlings huddled together, sobbing like children who'd just had their candy stolen.
Just as their collective wailing threatened to collapse the already shaky building, a towering figure pushed open the creaking front door.
Franky strode in, a can of ice-cold cola in one hand, letting out a thunderous belch.
His trademark pompadour was a little disheveled, clearly lacking its usual careful styling.
"Boss?!"
Zambai stared in shock.
"Why are you back?!"
Franky casually kicked an empty can aside and looked around at the patched-up wreck they called home.
"Why do I need a reason to come back?"
He snorted.
"This is my home."
He jabbed a finger at them.
"Look at you idiots. Without me, your carpentry skills are so bad you probably couldn't even rebuild this lousy doghouse."
He crossed his arms.
"If I leave, you'll all end up sleeping on the streets."
"Boss…"
Zambai fell silent for a moment.
Then he lifted his head, his eyes burning with determination.
"Let's stop pretending."
He stepped forward.
"You really want to sail with Straw Hat and the others, don't you?"
"Don't be ridiculous!"
Franky barked.
"I'm the boss here!"
"Why the hell would I go become some pirate's lackey?"
"We already asked Straw Hat to drag you away by force if necessary!"
Zambai refused to back down.
"You idiots! Don't do pointless things!"
Zambai pulled Franky's wanted poster from his coat and slammed it onto the table.
"Look at this!"
"44 million berries!"
He clenched his fists.
"You can't stay with us anymore."
His voice trembled.
"We… we don't want to become your burden."
Franky stared at the poster and gritted his teeth.
"Don't flatter yourselves."
He jabbed a thumb at his chest.
"What's the Navy to me?"
"When I found you, every last one of you was starving in the streets!"
At the very moment their emotional confrontation reached a stalemate—
Everything changed.
One of the underlings who had been lurking behind Franky suddenly transformed into a blur.
He tackled Franky to the ground.
"Got it!"
His fingers hooked with perfect precision onto the last line of Franky's defense—
A dark blue speedo.
Riiip!
The sound of fabric sliding through the air echoed through the alley.
When Franky felt a cool breeze strike his lower half, Zambai was already holding the speedo aloft like a battle standard.
"Brothers!"
He roared.
"Operation Underwear Relay has begun!"
"We must deliver these briefs to the scrap yard!"
"For our boss's freedom!"
"Charge!"
"Y-YOU BASTARDS!!!"
Franky released a scream so powerful it seemed capable of splitting the heavens.
His face flushed scarlet as both hands desperately covered his lower body.
Every muscle on his massive frame trembled with fury.
"GIVE ME BACK MY DIGNITY!!!"
And thus began the unprecedented Great Underwear Retrieval Battle of Water 7.
Zambai and the others dashed through the city's maze of staircases and bridges.
Behind them thundered a fully exposed cyborg, running faster than a cheetah while howling in primal rage.
"Stop right there, you idiots!"
"My God! What is that?!"
A young mother shrieked and clamped both hands over her child's eyes.
"Don't look!"
"Your eyes will rot!"
"That's disgusting…"
"That giant guy is sprinting naked through the city!"
"Wait, isn't that the boss of the Franky Family?"
One passerby gawked in disbelief.
"I knew he was a pervert, but I didn't know he was this far gone!"
High above, on the edge of a clock tower, Ronan stood with his spear in hand.
His Observation Haki had already picked up the chaotic spectacle unfolding below.
"They're here."
The corner of his mouth twitched as he watched the blue speedo fluttering through the air like a flag.
He turned to Luffy.
"Luffy."
"It's our turn."
"Hehehehe!"
Luffy's eyes sparkled.
"He runs so fast!"
"This is way too fun to miss!"
As Zambai rounded the final corner, his strength gave out.
Seeing Franky charging behind him like an enraged beast, he used the last of his power to hurl the speedo skyward.
"Big Bro Straw Hat!"
"Catch!"
"Oi! Throw it here!"
Luffy's legs stretched like rubber.
He twisted through the air and snatched the briefs at the exact instant before Franky's fingertips could reach them.
"Nice catch, Luffy."
Ronan flashed down from the rooftop.
His spear swept through the air, releasing a perfectly controlled burst of force.
It cut off every possible escape route and redirected Franky straight into the open ground of the scrap yard.
Franky skidded to a halt at the shore.
In front of him stood Ronan, immovable as a mountain.
Above him, Luffy grinned while holding the stolen speedo.
"Give me back my briefs…"
Franky panted.
"Join our crew!"
Luffy shouted.
"What kind of nonsense is that?!"
Franky snarled.
"Don't think stealing my underwear will make me surrender!"
The gathered citizens, shipwrights, and countless onlookers all expected Franky to finally break down and beg.
Instead—
Franky took a deep breath.
His eyes swept over his kneeling subordinates, sobbing their hearts out.
Then he looked at the lion-headed dream ship behind Luffy.
And before the stunned crowd—
Under the gaze of countless bulging eyes—
Franky slowly removed his hands from his lower body.
He planted his feet wide apart.
His massive mechanical arms spread outward.
And he struck an unbelievably dramatic, catastrophically overwhelming pervert pose.
"A MAN MAY STAND NAKED, BUT HIS SPIRIT SHALL NEVER BEND!"
"AS PROUD AS A LION!"
"SUUUUUPER!!!"
Silence.
Utter silence.
"He… he's completely exposed…"
An elderly shipwright's pipe slipped from his mouth and shattered on the ground.
"And he still struck a pose?"
"That's revolting."
"Is his skin made of Treasure Tree Adam?"
Even Luffy stood frozen, the speedo nearly slipping from his hand.
After a long pause, he gasped in awe.
"I… underestimated him."
"I never knew his heart was this strong."
BAM!
A furious Nami, veins bulging on her forehead, drove her fist straight into Luffy's skull.
"Strong my foot!"
She roared.
"He's just a hopeless, incurable pervert!"
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