Lara's POV;

The next morning Noa asked me to accompany him to the old friend of his teacher. We took the Yagara Bull down to an older part of the town and stepped off in front of an old shipyard. The building looked well aged and taken care off. A sign with the name of Marvin and Yarn's hung over the entrance.

Noa knocked on the entrance door. There came no answer, so he opened it and we and walked through the opened door. The inside was equally old looking as the facade. There was no ship inside the dry dock.

Further inside we found a sleeping, rather small, old man. He sat on a chair that was tilted on its back legs. A bottle of hard liquor, an empty glass and juice stood in front of him on a crate. He had grey hair, worn like a mini Elvis-haircut.

Noa coughed to wake the man. Marvin, that was his name said Noa, woke with a start, almost fell from his chair but managed to jump up in the last moment. The chair clattered to the ground and the old man noticed us.

He squinted at both me and Noa, before taking a pair of glasses out of his shirt pocket. “Ah better, who are ya?”

“Hello, my name is Noa Franklin, I learned under old man Yarn. He said I should give his friend a visit if I am in Water 7”, introduced Noa himself. He then gestures to me, “ and this is Lara, my captain. We came to Water 7 to build a new ship.”

Marvin scratched his slightly bearded chin and scrutinised Noa for a long moment. “So Yarn still hasn't bitten the bullet and even taught a kid?” He put some of his alcohol inside the glass, mixed it with the juice, took a sip and nodded. “Well, you look at least to have the basics down. So what kind of ship do ya want to build and where? I might help ya, can't let Yarn's pupil die because he butches his first real ship up.”

Noa was practically beaming now. Yesterday he told us that Iceburg knew Marvin and Yarn from his times under Tom and that they were equally skilled as Tom. “Our technician and I have made some plans. The basic design is a catamaran, but there are a lot of extras and details that will make it a little different. Here, let me show you.”

Noa pulled a stack of papers out of his vest and walked over to Marvin. There he placed the designs on the crate and made room for Marvin. Who took a big sip from his glass and then inspected the first sheet.

“Looks good,” he said after a moment.

Noa rubbed the back of his head embarrassingly. “Really?”

Marvin looked at Noa. “No, half of these things aren't possible. You'd need heating that can create steam within seconds and the ship is too heavy to do half of the things.” He deadpanned.

Noa visibly deflated but was looking up at Marvin after only a moment of depression. He looked at me, silently asking me to be allowed to disclose mine and Lia's abilities. I gave him a shrug, it won't be long until everyone knows about those. He nodded in thanks and explained the reason behind the impossible design.“That's no problem, we have crewmates who can create steam in the needed time and even decrease the weight of the ship.

We even only need a new ship because the old one wasn't built to hold out the strain that comes with their Devil Fruit powers.”

“Hmm, this won't be cheap, all this needs some fine craftsmanship, a lot of pricey materials and skill. I'm not even sure if there are smiths in Water 7 that can build some of these things.” The last thing made me interested, so I walked over as well and looked at the design of a steam engine.

The durability of the pipes must be high enough to hold the steam pressure. It can't be decreased by Lia, as we need the pressure for the effect. But from what I can see it should be possible to make them with a special alloy. Nothing too difficult, their weapons will be harder to make.

“I can do that. These pipes and parts aren't that hard to make,” I told them. Marvin looked sceptical, but Noa simply nodded. They fell into a deep discussion about ship crafting, something that went well over my head.

“Noa, I'll be out then. I still need to find a forge,” I told them, interrupting some heated talk about the correct way to use the wood for maximum durability.

Marvin quickly wrote down a list and handed it over to me. “A forge eh? Go to the Gate 3 district, there's one of the best and biggest forges in Water 7, it's name is Valern's Forge. Tell them Marv send you. They should allow you to use one of their forges. Ask them to rent one as well, we will need quite a few things.”

I nodded and left the shipyard while reading his list. Hmm, I won't need more than two days for all of this. That leaves enough time for the weapons. I climbed into the Yagara Bull and ordered it to bring me to the forge that Marvin told me about.

It certainly was on the larger size. A large crafting hall had everything inside that was needed for a forge with demand for large orders. Yet there were also small workplaces for things with more detail. A good hundred men and even a dozen or so women were running around doing their work on anvils and furnaces.

Some of the workers spotted me and a woman came over. She wore sturdy clothes that showed the time spent in front of hot flames. “Hello, how may I help you?”

“Morning, I've come in search for a forge that I may rent. Marvin, the owner of an old shipyard directed me towards your firm, it's called Marvin and Yarn's. Is it possible to rent one?” I answered. She looked surprised when I said the name of Marvin's shipyard and gave me a once over, she saw that I do not have the built for a smith, where she has large muscles I have lean ones. I was also not dressed like one, currently wearing a red summer dress with a large straw sun hat and a briefcase with money.

“I can lead you to the foreman, he has the authority to rent them.” She said after a pause. She was still polite, maybe thinking that I want to rent the forge to have someone do the work for me.

Whatever it was, she led me to a small house inside the large building, where a very large and very muscular man sat behind an office desk, doing paperwork. He was easily three metres tall and looked hilarious behind the rather normal office desk.

The woman knocked on the opened door and stepped inside without waiting, I followed silently. “Andreas? This young woman wishes to rent a forge.”

He looked up from his work, the tiny pencil in his large hands looked ridicules and I am sure that I would have laughed without [Calm Mind]. He saw me, noted that my clothes were of the expensive type and stood up to greet me.

He greeted me while giving me his hand. Again, it looked funny to see my rather tiny hand in his large ones. My hand got fully enclosed in our handshake.“Good morning miss, my name is Andreas Lain, the foreman of Valern's Forge. Please sit down and tell me what you have had in mind.”

I sat down and placed my hands on the table. “I'd like to rent a small forge, for now until the Aqua Laguna. It needs to have the sturdiest anvil you have. The furnace itself isn't of such high importance. I'll have to stress the importance of the anvil. Here is a list of the things I need.” The anvil was what stopped me from making the weapons sooner. Some of the metal I have to work with needs high temperatures and extreme hard hits. The temperature is possible with my vibration, there lays no trouble. But the anvil I need would have been too heavy for our old ship and Lia can't constantly make it lighter.

For their weapons, I've decided to create some alloys that are not known to this world. The raw materials are mostly easy to find in this world, but the production of the metal isn't known. There are also a few chemical additions that make them more predisposed to Haki enhancement.

He had looked over the list, while I had my small mind explanation, and nodded. “Yeah, we have everything you need. Not all of this at the same workplace but that can be relocated. The price for renting the forge would be 10 Million Berry, with an additional 300 000 Berry insurance.”

I put the briefcase on top of the table and opened it. Inside were 100 000 Million Berry. “That's okay. I'd like to pay now and start as soon as possible.”

He was watching me with wide eyes while I took the money out. “I also need some metals and materials, can I buy them here or is there some market for this?”, I then asked while giving him a list of the materials I still need. I do have enough for Yosaku's and Jonny's swords, but not for Noa's and mine as well.

“Hmm, we have half of this in our storeroom. The other half can be bought easily, but you'll have to go to an apothecary for some of these more special things.” He answered after going through the list.

“I'm not sure how much it will cost, however. The things we already have can be bought for 5 Million Berry, the rest will be more expansive. I think close to 15 Million. Should I send one of my buyers?”

“Yes, that would be nice. Please buy everything and give me the receipt. Do you also need insurance for this?”, I replied. The 15,3 Million Berry were neatly stacked on the table.

He waved me off with a loud laugh. “Nah, that won't be necessary, we only take insurance because we rarely know if our client really has the money. You've already shown that the funds are there. Please wait a moment, I'll call my boys. They will prepare the forge. Do you want a coffee or something else?”

“A glass of cola would be nice if possible,” I answered with a smile. He pulled a bottle of cola out of a mini fridge and gave me the bottle with a glass. He then left the office and I sipped on my cold cola.

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12 hours later;

I knocked on the door to our apartment, Noa had my key, he would be back earlier than I. I think it's close to 8 pm.

Fiara opened the door for me and stared. I stared back, waiting for her to step to the side. “Yes?”, she asked in a confused tone after a moment .

“Something wrong Fiara?”, I asked back.

She looked surprised and her robotic arms became slightly guarded. “How do you know my name?”

Now it was my turn to look surprised. Why does she not recognise me? “It's me Lara, is something wrong with my looks?” I asked and inspected my arms and legs. I now wore working clothes, a dress wasn't the perfect attire for working inside a forge.

Sure, they were dirty from the work, but she should still be able to recognise me. “Lara? Why are you black?” She asked in confusion, but still made room for me.

I walked into the living room and was first spotted by Lia, who facepalmed. “I see you've found a forge. Go wash yourself.” She ordered right after and I shrugged before walking to the bath. I heard her saying something about it being a wonder that I even came back.

I got washed and noted that the wash water was now black, not a dirty grey, but really black. I must have been dirtier than first thought.

Clad in shorts and a t-shirt I walked back into the living room, where now Jo, Noa, Fiara and Lia were. Lia sat inside a large armchair, reading our book of Haki for Dummies. She was training to get the future sight ability. The same one that Katakuri has. So far she managed to look two seconds into the future.

Fiara and Jo were sitting on a table, speaking about something. It made Fiara wide-eyed and giddy with anticipation. Noa was going over some plans, probably for the new ship.

I walked over to Jo and Fiara, their conversation looked interesting. “So you really think it's possible?” Asked Fiara the moment I was next to them.

“In principle yes, I need a lot of money and someone who can make the metal, it needs to be durable and flexible at the same time. But I do have the ability to create a pair of arms for you,” answered Jo with a confident nod.

“How much money would you need?” I asked from behind Jo.

He waited for me to sit down before answering, a frown was marring his face. “Depends, I am able to create a set with roughly 500 000 thousand. But it won't be usable for battle. I'd like to have at least 50 million, that would give me the needed money to create even the tiniest parts and also artificial skin with sensory parts. Her arms would feel like real ones, only that she could add gimmicks as well.”

“Gimmicks?” I asked. I had a picture of the changed Franky in my head. That's something I don't want to have on my ship.

“Yeah, like drills, tiny tools for her crafting. A Pacifista Laser, mini rockets or a flamethrower. I'm not really good with weapons, Fiara will have to make those.” He elaborated. Fiara was now almost drooling and looked at me with pleading eyes.

I patted her head softly and smiled. “You don't have to look like that. I would have given Jo way more money. If he needs 50 Million to give you a perfect set of arms then so be it. Tell me when you need the metal coating, I might have a good alloy for you.”

Jo nodded and Fiara threw herself at me in thanks. She was hugging my chest while repeatedly thanking me and Jo. Jo looked slightly relieved to not be on the receiving end of her hug and I was even feeling the strength behind her hug with my increased durability.

“I'll buy the things we need tomorrow and give you a blueprint for her arms. I have already finished the design, knowing that I will make her a new set.” He said and stood up to fetch the papers.

“If his hands work as he said they will then I will finally be able to build the things I have in my head. I never had the needed fine motion control with my robotic arms.” Said Fiara with a wistful sigh.

I also stood up to leave. I am hungry and have some heavy craving for strawberries. Maybe there are some in the kitchen.