The Silver Haired Pirate

Chapter 38

ReEEeeEE i'm rlly sorry for not updating last week, shits really hit the fan for me so-yeah-uh anyways I'm planning on updating two chapters today as compensation, but i also have a shit to do today so we shall see. and if i can't update twice today i'll just update tomorrow too. yeah sorry again-

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"You can't fix the Going Merry?!" Luffy asked as he got off of Aki and instead chose to stand beside him. Aki's ear(s) twitched at the volume of his voice. Yelling wasn't necessary, but it always seemed to be the go to when someone was displeased. "Why?! Aren't you the best ship repairmen in the world?!"

There was no response. 

"If it's money that you want, I have lots!" Luffy shouted again, placing a hand on the middle briefcase.

"That's..." Kaku began calmly, "not the problem. The ship cannot be repaired no matter how much money you have. It's already a miracle that you sailed here safely with that ship... I'm really impressed about that..."

"What do you mean?!" It was now Nami's turn to shout, "What's wrong with Going Merry?"

"You know what a keel is?" Kazan asked causing the pirates to turn to him. His tail wagged at the attention despite the tense situation.

"It's on the bottom of the ship." Nami supplied.

"Yeah. It's the support that goes from the top-uh-head of the ship to the tail of the ship. It's really the most important part of the whole ship." He explained.

"Right. When you build a ship, you have to start with the keel. Then the head and the tail, the spine, the rib, the pillar." Paulie continued for Kazan. "Every piece of wood in the ship is put together with the keel at the center. That is the basic of ship construction. The keel at the center of the ship is the 'life-line' of the ship. If the keel is broken, you can't just take it off and put in a new one. Replacing the keel is the same as building a whole new ship!"

"Thus, no one can 'repair' your ship. Your ship is nothing more than a pile of wood waiting to be scrapped." Kazan concluded.

Their words hung in the air for a moment. Aki could imagine how the other two crew members felt. The despair of being completely helpless, the odd feeling of being weak despite all attempts to savor what was not relying on strength but of care. It's odd, hard to explain, but constant for him.

Back when lived on the streets, he wouldn't cry for all the red covered corpses he would see laying around. But that didn't mean he didn't feel that odd despair. 

It made him feel as though he needed to be stronger, despite the fact that strength would in turn do nothing to help them. They were already dead.

There was no helping the dead.

And besides, it's not like they needed strength, what they needed was care.

"Hey! How could you say that?!" Nami exclaimed, pulling Aki from his thoughts.

"I'm only telling the truth."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry, but all good things have to come to an end eventually." Kazan said quietly, his folded dog ears drooping. Seemingly truly sorry.

"Then just remake the ship from the start! Remake the Going Merry!" Luffy suggested, though it sounded more like a command.

"That's not possible either, koo koo." The bird atop Lucci's shoulder "spoke".

"Why not?" Luffy asked.

"While it is possible for us to build a ship that looks like yours, it's still technically not 'remaking' the same ship. In this world, there are no two identical ships." They explained.

"What are you talking about?"

"Are there two completely identical tress in the world? Ships are built form pieces of wood. The size and shape of the ship depends on the wood. So even if we have the blueprint we can't build an identical ship." The bird continued, moving their wings as though hands. 

"Even if we do make a nearly identical ship, the one who will most strongly feel; this is not the same ship, will be yourselves! Koo koo." The bird finished by pointing a wing at Nami and Luffy.

"So then.... you're saying that... Going Merry will never set sail again?!" Nami asked, though she new the answer.

"That is correct. You can either take it apart now, or let it die and sink naturally." Kaku stated.

There was another beat of silence. Aki looked at the ground. He didn't feel particularly sad about loosing the ship. As was said before, he hadn't known the ship for as long as the others, but from the stories he'd heard he could only assume they really did adore the ship. It would no doubt be the hardest on Usopp when they relay the news, considering the ship came from his homeland.

"Nma the ship has lived out its life. But if you think of it another way, with your old one gone, you can buy a brand new ship. You have the money for it, no? I heard about your ship's caliber, it's a very old model. The sea beyond this point is too rough for it even if it's not broken." Iceberg said, his arms crossed over his chest.

Aki couldn't help but agree. The seas would get stronger, the beasts within them too, not to mention the unpredictable weather and the normality of nothing being normal. The grand line was nothing like the sea Going Merry was born on.

"No! I don't want a new ship!" Luffy stated firmly.

"Luffy..." Aki sighed out, knowing the boy was stubborn.

"Our ship is Going Merry! If you just fix it, it'll definitely keep going! Plus, we sailed perfectly today! Who says it can't go on?! I don't believe you!" Luffy shouted as he closed his eyes. "You have no idea how strong our ship is!"

Iceberg stared at Luffy, unblinking. 

"Then you can just sit in that ship and sink with it." He said in that same monotonous tone. He stroked the rat in his pocket. "Lil' punk. You call yourself a captain?"

Luffy stared at him, his eyebrows furrowed and a frown on his face, though he said nothing.

"That's enough talking for today." Iceberg continued. "Think about it. Come back when you want to buy a new ship. With those 300 millions, you can easily afford the best ship we can make." He raised his arms, gesturing to the workspace they were in "Kalifa."

"Yes, sir." Kalifa lifted a pamphlet. "Please reconsider. This catalog lists everything from second-hand ships to newest production." She handed it to Nami, who took it with trembling hands.

Aki sighed through his nose, he could really use some tea.