"If you need someone to get a little rough…"
Robin smiled faintly.
"I believe I can help."
She slowly crossed her arms over her chest.
"Dos Fleur: Clutch."
Petals scattered through the air.
In less than a thousandth of a second, two long, elegant, and surprisingly powerful arms bloomed directly from the roots of Franky's massive thighs.
In that single instant, those hands struck with terrifying precision.
They firmly seized the last shred of Franky's dignity as a man.
"WOOOOOOOAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
A shriek of agony, pitched high enough to shatter every window within a hundred meters, ripped through the quiet of Water 7.
"Hiss—!"
At that moment, every male present—Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Chopper, and even the shipwrights watching from afar—felt a stabbing chill race through their own lower bodies.
Their expressions were identical.
Eyes wide.
Pupils shrinking.
Cold sweat pouring down their faces.
"She… she grabbed it!"
Luffy's jaw nearly hit the deck as he instinctively clamped his legs together.
"It's gonna break!"
Chopper covered his eyes in horror, though he couldn't resist peeking through his fingers.
"Robin! It's really going to break!"
Ronan leaned on his spear.
Even though he had known this scene was coming, witnessing this brutally effective "demolition operation" in person still made his scalp tingle.
Franky's face turned scarlet.
His legs trembled violently, and his voice had become hoarse and distorted from pain.
"I already told you…"
He wheezed.
"I want to stay on this island!"
"Sure, I want to go with you guys too…"
"But… but there are things I have to do here!"
"What you truly want isn't that, Franky."
Iceburg had somehow appeared beside him.
"Everything you've done on this island…"
His calm voice struck like a hammer.
"…has only been an act of atonement."
The words slammed directly into the deepest wound in Franky's heart.
"Even now, you still blame yourself for the day Tom was taken away."
Franky's body went rigid.
In his mind, that towering figure appeared once more.
Tom.
A man as broad and immovable as a mountain.
"A man must stand proudly behind the ship he built!"
"No matter what your ship does…"
"Even if it destroys the world…"
"The one who created it must love it!"
"The builder is the only one who must never deny his creation…"
"Whether you gathered all these street punks…"
"Or protected Water 7 under the name of a bounty hunter…"
Iceburg stepped forward and looked him directly in the eyes.
"You've done it all to protect the city Tom loved."
His voice softened.
"You've been living for our teacher."
He pointed to Franky's chest.
"But you killed yourself in the process."
"That's not what I was trying to do!"
Franky clenched his teeth.
Before he realized it, tears had already filled his eyes.
"We've forgiven you."
"Tom forgave you long ago."
Iceburg's voice became gentler, carrying the warmth of an older brother.
"So…"
He smiled.
"Isn't it about time you forgave yourself too?"
"Franky."
"Live for your own dream."
At that moment, a torrent of footsteps thundered across the shore.
Zambai led hundreds of Franky Family members.
Every single one of them dropped to their knees among the wreckage.
These men, who normally swaggered through the backstreets like kings, were now crying openly.
Some were sobbing so hard they couldn't even speak.
"Boss!"
Zambai slammed his forehead into the stone.
"Please forgive us!"
"We're all idiots!"
He lifted his tear-streaked face.
"We knew you couldn't leave because you were worried about us."
"That's why we came up with this stupid plan to steal your underwear!"
His voice cracked.
"Because we knew…"
"If we didn't corner you…"
"You'd never chase your own happiness."
"Don't act so smart!"
Franky roared through his tears.
"You idiots couldn't think your way out of a paper bag!"
"And stealing my underwear was the best plan you could come up with?!"
"But…"
Zambai smiled brilliantly despite his filthy, tear-streaked face.
"Can't you let us think about your happiness for once?"
"You saved us."
"You took in a bunch of worthless trash."
He bowed his head.
"For your happiness…"
"Even if you kill us…"
"We won't regret it."
Franky curled up like a boiled shrimp.
Tears and snot streamed freely down his face.
He clutched his lower body and shouted in a trembling voice.
"Y-You bastards!"
"Every single one of you…"
His expression twisted.
"D-Damn it…"
"IT HURTS SO MUCH!"
"Hey, Robin."
Luffy crouched at the edge of the deck, his mouth twitching.
"I think that's enough."
"If you keep squeezing him, he's going to go from a cyborg to a cyborg woman."
Robin elegantly brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
"He's quite slippery."
She smiled knowingly.
"I was only serious at the beginning."
"The rest of this pain…"
Her eyes sparkled with understanding.
"…is just an excuse to hide his tears."
"Damn you, Nico Robin…"
Franky writhed on the ground, his voice raw.
"I'll never forgive you for this!"
Before this bizarrely heartfelt scene could fully conclude, a low, ominous rumble echoed from the previously calm coastline.
"Luffy! This is bad!"
Sanji jumped onto the deck, his expression grim.
"Your grandpa is back!"
"What?!"
Luffy blinked in shock.
"Didn't Grandpa say he was letting us go?"
Ronan tightened his grip on his long spear and spoke in a deep voice.
"Luffy, we need to set sail immediately."
"The Hero of the Marines, Iron Fist Garp…"
He narrowed his eyes.
"…is especially dangerous for us."
"You know how hard his punches hit."
"Even with our mid-level Vajra Bodies, taking his fists head-on is no joke."
Luffy took a deep breath.
Then he hurled the blue speedo toward Franky.
"Come aboard, Franky!"
"Join my crew!"
Franky caught the briefs.
A proud, perverted grin spread across his face.
"Don't get carried away, you amateurs who can barely patch paper boats!"
He jabbed a thumb at the roaring lion figurehead.
"A ship this amazing would be wasted without a SUPER first-class shipwright like me!"
He threw his arm into the air and made his declaration.
"I've got no choice!"
"I'll lend you my strength!"
"From now on, I, Franky, am your shipwright!"
"Awesome! A new crewmate!"
"WOOOH! SUUUUPER!!"
The cheers nearly blew the deck apart.
Chopper ran ecstatic circles around the mast.
The moment Franky planted both feet firmly on the deck, he suddenly stopped.
He turned around.
His eyes swept across the orderly shipyards.
The endlessly flowing canals.
And the brothers he had once ruled over in the backstreets—
Now crying their hearts out as they watched him leave.
To Read60+ AHEAD advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon.com/DarkVerse146