Chapter 437: Water 7 Welcomes the Crew: Masks, Mayhem, and Mysterious Meetings

Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper crossed the bridge and entered the bustling streets of Water 7. The first shop they spotted was a rental house for ‘Bull’ boats.

Speaking of ‘Bull,’ it’s worth explaining—around Water 7, ‘Bull’ refers to a unique small vehicle that sails atop the waves, carried on the backs of large fish.

The trio rented two Bulls—one for Luffy and another for Usopp and Chopper to share.

Meanwhile, Nami and Robin wandered the streets, map in hand, stopping to chat with locals as they gradually narrowed down the location of the biggest shipyard in town.

Of course, they also made a quick detour to an exchange where they turned all their gold into Berries.

As soon as the transaction was done, some shady types thought about making a move—but the sight of Johnny and Yosaku looming behind them put any such ideas to rest.

After a while, even Johnny and Yosaku had changed quite a bit—they now stood a massive two and a half meters tall, muscles bulging, radiating intimidation. With those two at Nami and Robin’s side, it was hard not to feel safe.

Not long after the crew left, some of Franky’s men spotted the unusually sturdy ship. They all boarded it, planning to haul it away for their boss.

“No way!”

As the dozen or so men landed on the deck, a small figure—Merry—appeared on the second floor, arms crossed, blocking their path.

Seeing that their obstacle was just a kid, the gangsters burst into laughter.

“What are you, kid? Still wet behind the ears? Step aside.”

“Who would’ve thought the guard left on this pirate ship would be just a little kid—what a stroke of luck for us!”

“Ignore him, just get the ship moving!”

Watching as the men completely ignored him and were about to take control of the Going Merry and sail it out of the harbor, Merry raised his voice. “This is your final warning!”

But his words only drew another round of laughter from the mob below, falling totally flat.

“Clap! Clap!”

Merry’s hands tapped lightly, and black holes appeared all over the place.

“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!”

A barrage of invisible bullets tore through the air, ripping toward the dozen gangsters still on deck.

“What the—?!”

“Retreat! Fall back!”

The laws of physics in the One Piece World really are wild—even though these guys weren’t that strong, this metallic storm only left them with light injuries.

Still, as they fled in a hurry, the thugs made sure to burn the sight of this ship into their memories—we need to report this to Boss Franky.

……

Elsewhere, Ye Fan wandered Water 7’s main shopping district alone.

“It’s been decades since I last came here. This place has really changed.”

The moment took Ye Fan back to his first arrival in Water 7, when he’d had a ride custom-built right here.

Along the way, he noticed a floating stall plastered with all kinds of masks—which reminded him there must be a Mask Carnival going on.

Last time he was here, the Mask Carnival had just ended, so he’d missed it completely.

He stepped up, didn’t even bother to haggle, and picked out masks for his companions, grabbing a blue-and-white skull mask for himself.

Leading the way with his Observation Haki, he set off toward the spot where Bruno would be in the original story.

Meanwhile, after plenty of directions asked, Nami and her group finally arrived at the front entrance of Galley-La Company.

“May I help you, honored guests?” A long, square-nosed man named Kaku appeared before them.

“His nose looks just like Usopp’s!”

“For a second I thought it was actually Usopp!”

Johnny and Yosaku joked around from behind—it really did look like if Kaku added Usopp’s head to his own, even his friends might mistake him.

“Hello, is this Iceburg’s shipyard?”

“The reason we’re here is…”

With just a few words, Nami explained their purpose, only for Kaku to inform them that Iceburg wasn’t just Galley-La Company’s boss, but the city’s mayor too.

So seeing him wasn’t that simple. First, they’d have to inspect the Going Merry with Kaku, then meet Iceburg afterwards.

Right in front of their eyes, Kaku suddenly took to the air. Not that anyone was surprised—plenty of people around here could do that.

Pointing them in the general direction, Kaku nodded and soared off, heading toward the Going Merry.

At that time, Iceburg was tied up with a rush order, so he couldn’t greet Nami’s group straight away.

As more time passed, Chopper found a medical clinic, slipped into his bearded “disguise,” and browsed medical texts inside.

Usopp split off from Luffy and hit the weapons shops looking for parts while Luffy, with cash to spare, dashed to a local restaurant to try his hand (and stomach) at the eating contest.

Sanji, pairing up with Gin as usual, wandered the streets picking up fresh ingredients for their next voyage.

Zoro didn’t stay on the ship either. He set out across the city with a pocketful of Berries, determined to find another famous sword.

Ever since his skills had improved, Shusui and Sandai Kitetsu just weren’t enough anymore.

While waiting, Nami and Robin, still accompanied by Johnny and Yosaku, ducked into a café.

But as soon as she stepped inside, Robin froze mid-step—as if startled by something—though since she was behind Nami, no one noticed.

“Nami, I need to run out for a bit.” After ordering coffee, Robin glanced toward the door.

Nami figured Robin just had something personal to deal with and absentmindedly stirred her coffee. “Go ahead, I’ll just be here waiting anyway.”

Robin took her cup and gave Nami a little nod before taking a sip and heading out.

Three quick steps—and Robin ducked into a nearby alley.

A man stood with his back to her.

“We are CP9.”

He wore a mask and a black-and-white checkered coat that made him look almost like a chessboard.

Robin heard the familiar name and went rigid. “So what?”

But Robin wasn’t the same as before—traveling with Luffy’s crew had left her genuinely awed by their power.

She still hadn’t completely shaken off the trauma of the Buster Call, but a CP9 agent couldn’t intimidate her anymore.

The masked man just silently opened a door nearby and slipped through without a word.

Robin hesitated, but followed him—and found herself in a drink shop on the other side.

Turns out that door was just a secret passage into the shop.

As soon as she stepped inside, Bruno closed the door behind Robin, walked to the counter, and turned to her. “What would you like to drink?”

Robin kept silent, laser-focused on finding out why CP9 had called her here.