Cover
Chopper throws a polar bear to the ground while doing martial arts in his double-brainpower form, whereupon a pig and a lion are shocked in the background.
Storyline
All the citizens of Water 7 are in an uproar because Tom is to be executed on Enie’s lobby. The judge on the Justice Ship says that normally no one asks who you sell ships to, but “pirate kings” are something else. Anyone who has been even the slightest accessory is considered dangerous, hence the death penalty. He gives the order to take the shipbuilder away. The latter, however, stops and says that he is planning a locomotive paddle ship which will run on rails across the water, as the island is falling apart and import and export no longer work. The sea train, he says, is the salvation of Water 7. When a marine apologizes and wants to take Tom away, he is stopped by the judge, who inquires with interest about the train and asks if Enie’s lobby can also be connected, to which Tom replies that it can, but he needs ten years to build it. He is then given a probationary period of the required ten years.
Back at the shipyard, Tom laughs about being alive after all, to which everyone reacts differently: Kokoro didn’t find the trial funny at all, Iceburg is thrilled with Tom’s idea, and Franky is pretty angry because Tom is going to be executed. He thanks him for the food and wants to teach Yokuzuna how to crawl.
Iceburg then asks Tom why they don’t just fire Franky since he hates him, but the shipbuilder replies that he’s their buddy and his shipbuilding skills are actually very good, it’s just that his ships are dangerous. Plus, he says, he was surprised to see him making cannons out of scrap metal two years ago and asked him if he could get in since he was kicked out. Tom thinks Franky is unreasonable but not cranky, and he and Iceburg will eventually become the best shipbuilding engineers.
When the plan is ready, Iceburg is excited about it. They haul in wood and work on it while Franky pursues his own ideas and builds “Battle Franky 9”. Eventually, however, he helps out too, and the Three and Yokuzuna work even in the worst weather, braving sea kings, until after ten years, when many citizens have already given up hope, the sea train is finished and finally makes its maiden voyage to great cheers.
| Manga volumes | Water 7 Arc (Manga) |
