Chapter 16 The administrative department is in the water city!

In the first half of the Grand Line, even if there are tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of various islands in this sea area, the presence of one island is enough to rank in the top five.

This is a wild and natural place with almost no trace of nature. It shows the greatness and magnificence of man-made things everywhere, but it does not have much advanced technology. The stone houses on the streets always reveal an ancient atmosphere.

Rivers, bridges, and docks are the main painting styles of this maritime city. The gray of marble, the blue of waterways, and the yellow of towns together form an extremely beautiful oil painting.

Dense waterways flowed between cities, and creatures named 'Bru', which looked like horses with fish fins, leisurely shuttled through the streets and alleys carrying people and goods on their backs.

Since there are seven large shipyards on the island, it is also known as the "City of Seven Waters".

It is an island recognized as having the largest number of the best shipbuilders in the world!

Originally, the atmosphere on the island was harmonious, lively, full of laughter and laughter. Although the shipwrights were sweating profusely every day, everyone was smiling.

But since the Pirate King Roger was publicly executed on January 1st, along with the strange rumor of a huge treasure, the number of pirates coming to the island has gradually increased.

These pirates, who had no regard for laws and rules, relied on their own weapons and force and often refused to pay after receiving new ships, triggering conflicts with shipwrights again and again. .

The shipyard, which cannot receive money, is gradually unable to pay the shipwrights' wages, nor can it afford shipbuilding materials from outside the island. Coupled with the increasing number of pirates, maritime trade is already dangerous due to the complex and changeable climate. , which is even worse.

For a moment, gloomy clouds began to fill the sky over the Water City at a speed visible to the naked eye...

【Crash, lala, lala】

I saw a large group of seagulls playing on the beach. Suddenly they were disturbed by something and flew into the blue sky like a bunch of white clouds.

A resident who was fishing nearby heard the noise and looked up, his eyes suddenly widened.

They saw a ship, a large ship that was estimated to be forty tall and about one hundred and fifty meters wide. Its bow was covered with a layer of armor with blue background and gold patterns.

Some older people immediately thought of the warships of the Navy Headquarters, because those beings that could be called 'war beasts' came from their water capital.

"Look! That's the symbol of the World Government!"

"It's the government's judicial ship!"

The appearance of this huge ship made the entire Water City become noisy for a while, especially when a group of sailors armed with muskets escorted the fishman Tom, whose arms were bound, in public, which caused many people to exclaim. .

This tall fishman, nearly three meters tall, is a very famous shipbuilder on this island.

However, when the onlookers heard that Tom was arrested for building a ship for Roger, the pirate king, quite a few people felt that this was not surprising.

After all, Roger and his gang had caused a lot of trouble to the entire world in the past dozen years, especially the fact that they destroyed a kingdom for their partners, which was well known to everyone.

It seems that there is nothing wrong with saying that he is guilty of building a ship for such a vicious person...

However, the development of things went beyond everyone's expectations. Tom, who was originally going to be taken to Judiciary Island for execution, got the favor of the judge because he proposed to build a 'sea train' to connect various islands including Judiciary Island and the Water Capital. of a ten-year suspended sentence.

At the same time, it also received support and cheers from the residents. Everyone looked forward to Tom being able to save the Seven Waters City.

"Uh-huh, hahaha, you survived well!"

As soon as he got home, Mr. Tom laughed so much that he burst into tears, which showed how happy he was.

But maybe only he knows that he is happy because he can continue to study the 'Sea Train', not just for his life.

"What's so funny about this? Now whenever I think about that day coming, I break out in a cold sweat." Mermaid Cocoro, who is now the secretary of Tom's studio, looked at him helplessly with her slender waist crossed.

"But then again, if all this goes well, then they can forget about Roger..."

[Boom, boom, boom]

At this moment, there was a gentle knock on the door of the studio. Bingshan, Franky, the two teenagers and the sumo frog named "Yokozuna" were sitting at the dining table and looked at each other in confusion.

Cocoro walked over and opened the door, and found five men wearing black suits and leather boots standing outside. One of them stood in front of him, and the others stood guard on both sides.

The former could tell where these people were coming from at a glance.

"People from the World Government?!" Cocoro frowned and asked worriedly: "Isn't the verdict about Mr. Tom already determined? What else do you want?"

In the room, Franky, Iceberg, and 'Yokozuna' had already stood up. Franky in particular had an angry look on his face, but he was immediately blocked by Tom who stepped forward.

"Excuse me, we are not members of the Judicial Island, but representatives of the Administration Department. My name is Colson, and I am a senior director." The leading man in black smiled politely.

"Administration Department?"

Tom and others looked puzzled. To be honest, they had never heard of it.

"The adults in the World Government are very concerned about and attach great importance to the research related to the 'Sea Train', so our administrative department will try our best to assist you in your work."

"How can you help me?" Tom asked with a cheerful smile, and he didn't seem to mind at all.

However, Bingshan behind him suspected that this was actually surveillance, but he was rational and did not speak out, and at the same time stopped the irritable Franky from messing around.

“We won’t interfere with your research, but we will improve your research environment.”

"For example, all kinds of materials required by the major shipyards in the Water City will be provided by our administrative department at normal market prices, and then the navy will be responsible for escorting them to ensure that the shipbuilding business on the island will not be overly affected."

"There will be a thousand naval troops stationed here temporarily to ensure that the Water City will no longer be harassed by pirates and to provide security services for your research work."

Hearing this, several people were shocked. Is the world government so kind?

Tom was stunned for a moment, but when he came to his senses, he laughed heartily.

"Uh-huh, hahaha, this is really a big help. This way, the residents of the island don't have to worry about their lives. I'm here to thank you for everyone. Thank you World Government!"

At this moment, his favorable opinion of the World Government greatly improved, even though he had been sentenced to ten years of suspended death by the judge on Judicial Island.

"At the same time, our administrative department will fully provide all the materials you need in the process of researching the 'Sea Train', including labor and scientific research personnel."

"In spite of the poor environment of this hulk island, we will also build an exclusive manufacturing plant for the 'Sea Train' and provide a studio with the world's most cutting-edge equipment, as well as three meals a day, and we will also hire professional chefs Responsible."

Mr. Tom and others fell silent because they didn't know what to say. The other party was so thoughtful that they were treated like nobles!

"I think there should be a price for these, or are there any restrictions?" Young Bingshan asked softly.

Coulson nodded.

"In the first year, the supply of materials to major shipyards will be full, but starting from the second year, the supply will be reduced by 10% every year. In other words, if the 'Sea Train' project is not completed within ten years, then by then We will only provide 10% of the island’s shipbuilding materials.”

"So, please Mr. Tom, please complete the sea train as soon as possible. Then the World Government will have a surprise for you!"