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Chapter 328: The Pirate Abduction Incident

Arc: Water Seven · Saga: Water Seven · Released:

Summary

At Galley-La’s Dock 1, the square-nosed carpenter Kaku delivers his verdict on the Going Merry: the ship’s keel — the central beam running from stem to stern, “the foundation of all shipbuilding,” “the very essence of the ship” — has been seriously damaged, and a damaged keel “cannot be replaced.” The Merry is therefore beyond repair, “just waiting to die… nothing more than a stack of wood,” and no amount of money can fix it. Luffy erupts (“You can’t fix the Merry Go?!”), demanding either a repair or that they “build me the Merry Go again, from scratch” — but Kaku explains that no two ships can ever be identical, because a vessel’s size, curves and character all depend on the character of the wood, and the loss “would be felt most by the crew who knew the old ship — you.” The crew can only “wait for it to sink, or dismantle it.” Luffy flatly refuses to change ships (“Our ship is the Merry Go!”), drawing the foreman’s scorn (“And you call yourself the ship’s captain?”). Meanwhile the secretary Kalifa hands Luffy a ship catalog and brushes the conversation off. The scene cuts to the Galley-La gate, where Mr. Iceberg (the firm’s president) is dodging a World Government official, Corgy, who has chased him all the way by Sea Train; foreman Peeply Lulu offers to chase the “government officers” off. The mood breaks when Nami opens the suitcases meant to hold the crew’s money and finds them empty — the ~200 million berries are gone, the cases swapped. A bystander recalls seeing someone “with the Franky Family” who looked just like a long-nose — and the truth lands: Usopp was beaten and abducted by the Franky Family, who stole the money. The Franky House hideout is located “directly northeast from Rocky Cape.” Luffy dashes off to find Usopp, and Nami — furious, declaring she’ll “teach them a lesson” — rents a Yagara bull and races toward the Franky House. She arrives to find Usopp lying beaten in a downtown plaza, sobbing that the money is all gone, that it’s his fault for being “so weak,” that “we were finally gonna be able to fix Merry,” and that he “can’t face the others.” Nami vows: “We’ll get it back without a doubt!”

New reveals

• The Going Merry cannot be repaired. Kaku explains the keel is “the most crucial part of a ship… the support that extends from stem to stern… on the bottom of the ship,” and “the foundation of all shipbuilding.” Once a keel is “seriously damaged, there’s no way to replace it,” so “no one can repair it any further… your ship is just waiting to die. It’s nothing more than a stack of wood” (pp. 5–6).
• Two identical ships can never be built. “No two identical ships exist… the size of a ship, its curves, everything about it depends on the character of the wood.” Even rebuilding “the Merry Go from scratch” is impossible — it “would be a totally different vessel,” and the loss “would be felt most by the crew who knew the old ship — you” (pp. 7–8). The crew’s only options: “wait for it to sink, or… dismantle it” (p. 8).
• Luffy refuses to change ships: “No. I don’t intend to change ships! … Our ship is the Merry Go!” — he will not accept buying a new ship (pp. 9–10). The foreman: “And you call yourself the ship’s captain?” (p. 10).
• Kalifa is introduced — Galley-La Company’s secretary; she hands Luffy a “catalog of new and secondhand ships” and ends the conversation on the firm’s behalf (pp. 10–11). (Named on-page: “Kalifa.” — p. 10.)
• Mr. Iceberg appears on-page for the first time — the Galley-La president (referred to throughout the chapter; he is the striped-suit man dodging the World Government official at the gate) (pp. 11–13). (Spelled “Iceberg” in the VIZ dialogue; vault canonical filename is Iceburg.)
• Peeply Lulu is introduced — caption: “PEEPLEY LULU — GALLEY-LA COMPANY PITCH, BLACKSMITHING, AND BLOCK-AND-TACKLE FOREMAN” (p. 11). He offers to “chase them away” / “make them leave” (the World Government officers at the gate).
• Corgy is introduced — caption: “CORGY — WORLD GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL” (p. 12). He “came all this way on the Sea Train” to corner Iceberg, who avoids him (“I’m not here today”); Corgy “smell[s] pirates” and “need[s] to speak to” Iceberg (pp. 12–13).
• The crew’s ~200 million berries are stolen. After earmarking 100 million for a new ship, the remaining suitcases are found empty/light — “These aren’t our suitcases!” / “Gone! 200 million berries…” The cases were swapped (pp. 13–14).
• Usopp was beaten and abducted by the Franky Family. A bystander “could’ve sworn” they saw someone with the Franky Family “with a long-nose like you”; “he was with them… it was more like he was being carried away by them.” Usopp was kidnapped (pp. 14–15).
• The Franky House — the Franky Family hideout — is “on the coast directly northeast from Rocky Cape… the place where they dismantle the ships,” “called the Franky House” (p. 15).
• Nami rents a Yagara bull and races to the Franky House to recover the money and “teach them a lesson,” planning to bring back the 200 million as “the cherry on the sundae” (pp. 16–17).
• Usopp is found beaten in the “first floor, downtown shopping area” plaza, having been dumped after the robbery; he sobs the money is “all… stolen” and that it’s his fault “because I’m so weak” (pp. 18–19).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Straw Hats: Luffy, Nami, Sanji, Zoro (aboard the Merry, p. 3), Chopper (p. 2), Usopp (kidnapped/found beaten, pp. 14–20), Nico Robin (referenced re: CP9, pp. 2–3) (Straw Hat Pirates)
• Galley-La Company: Kaku (delivers the keel verdict, pp. 5–10), Kalifa (secretary, named p. 10), Iceberg (president, pp. 11–13), Peeply Lulu (foreman, named p. 11) (Galley-La Company)
• World Government: Corgy (official pursuing Iceberg, named p. 12), CP9 (referenced, the masked figure, p. 2), Marines/World Government
• Antagonists: Franky Family (rob the money + abduct Usopp; “Franky House” hideout, pp. 14–15)
• Off-panel / referenced: Aokiji (Chopper quotes “What Aokiji said… I can’t get it out of my head,” p. 2)
• Locations / concepts: Water Seven (Dock 1, the canals, downtown shopping area), Rocky Cape (Franky House is NE of it), the Franky House hideout (p. 15), Sea Train (Corgy arrives on it, p. 12), Going Merry (verdict delivered), the keel as the essence of shipbuilding (pp. 5–8), Yagara bull canal-mounts (pp. 16–17)
• Cover serial: Gedatsu — “Gedatsu’s Unexpected Life on the Blue Sea, Vol. 13: ‘The Sky Boss vs. the Earth Boss‘“

Notable panels

• p. 1 — Title page: “Chapter 328: THE PIRATE ABDUCTION INCIDENT.” Cover serial caption: “GEDATSU’S UNEXPECTED LIFE ON THE BLUE SEA, VOL. 13: ‘THE SKY BOSS VS. THE EARTH BOSS’.” Inset art: Gedatsu lands a “JET PUNCH!!” with a huge “DOKAHN!!” impact — a two-boss brawl gag.
• p. 2 — Sanji “This is bad. …”; the crew discusses “who was that masked guy?” Sanji apologizes for being “so absorbed in the books” (he’d assumed the figure was Chopper “in human form”). Chopper: “What Aokiji said… I can’t get it out of my head”; Sanji: “I have a bad feeling about this… I hope it’s nothing.”
• p. 3 — The crew agrees to “get back to the Merry Go.” Wide panel of the Going Merry moored among Water Seven’s canals/buildings — “SHLP SHLP…” — sheep figurehead intact.
• p. 4 — Luffy: “WHY NOT?! YOU CAN’T FIX THE MERRY GO?! Aren’t you supposed to be great carpenters?!” Kaku (close-up, square nose): ”…That ship cannot be returned to its original state. Money’s not the problem, no matter how much you’re willing to pay…”
• pp. 5–6 — The keel explained over a ship-diagram: “That wooden beam is the most crucial part of a ship… it’s the support that extends from stem to stern… on the bottom of the ship.” “The keel is the foundation of a ship — it’s the very essence of the ship.” “Once it has been seriously damaged, there’s no way to replace it.” “So no one can repair it any further… your ship… is just waiting to die. It’s nothing more than a stack of wood.”
• p. 7 — Luffy: “Then build me the Merry Go!” / “Then build me the ship again, from scratch!” Kaku: “Koo-Koo!! That’s impossible as well… no two identical ships exist.” “The size of a ship, its curves, everything about it depends on the character of the wood. Even using the same blueprint, no two ships can ever be built identically.”
• p. 8 — “And even if we did build such a ship… the overwhelming sensation that it is a totally different vessel… would be felt most by the crew who knew the old ship — you!” “You can either wait for it to sink, or you can dismantle it. That’s about the gist of it.” Sanji/Nami: “We’ll never be able to sail the seas in the Merry Go again?!”
• pp. 9–10 — Kaku: “You have the money. Just accept it, and buy a new ship… this is a good opportunity. Well, the ship has reached the end of its life span.” Luffy: “Our ship is the Merry Go! …No. I don’t intend to change ships!” “Like I would believe you!” Kaku: “And you call yourself the ship’s captain? …I’m amazed.”
• pp. 10–11 — Kalifa (secretary, glasses): “Please take a look at this… It’s a catalog of new and secondhand ships.” She tells Luffy to come back when he decides to buy. Gate report: “Mr. Iceberg!! We have visitors at the gate… They seem to be World Government officers again.” Caption: “PEEPLEY LULU — GALLEY-LA COMPANY PITCH, BLACKSMITHING, AND BLOCK-AND-TACKLE FOREMAN” — “DOOM!!” (Lulu’s muscular reveal).
• pp. 11–12 — Foremen scramble: “Oh my, let’s see… tell them we’re not here.” / “Shall I chase them away?” Lulu: “I’ll make them leave.” A government official corners Iceberg: “Hold it, Iceberg.” Iceberg: “I’m not here today.” Caption: “CORGY — WORLD GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL” — cowboy-hatted, “I smell pirates… heh heh… I need to speak to you.”
• p. 13 — Corgy: “Let’s go somewhere private… I have something special to tell you.” Iceberg: “I don’t like you. Leave.” Galley-La banter wonders “what they want with Mr. Iceberg.” Cut to Nami: “Quit joking! There’s no way it could be light with all that money inside!” — “It’s light…”
• p. 14 — “NOOOOOOO!! / GYAAAAH!!” — “GONE! 200 million berries…” / “Wait! These aren’t our suitcases!” The cases were swapped. A bystander: “Weren’t you with the Franky Family earlier? But hey… Kaku…” (mistaken-identity gag with the long-nose).
• p. 15 — “He was with the Franky Family?!” / “It was Usopp!” Kaku jolts (“I could’ve sworn I saw them with a long-nose like you”). “Luffy, hurry! We have to find him!! He was kidnapped!” The Franky House location: “on the coast directly northeast from Rocky Cape… the place where they dismantle the ships… it’s called the Franky House.”
• p. 16 — Luffy dashes off (“LUFFFFY!!”). Nami: “I have to drop this money off on the ship… If I take 100 million and ask them to return 200… it’ll be like the cherry on the sundae to them.” She rents a Yagara (“So, please, Yagara!”) — “How dare they steal from pirates! That darn Franky Family!! I’ll take Zolo and teach them a lesson!” — “VSHHHHH!!! MOO!!!”
• p. 17 — Nami rides the Yagara through the canals/elevator (“Now arriving at the first floor, downtown shopping area”) at high speed (“VSHHH…!! MOO!!!”).
• pp. 18–19 — Nami arrives to find a crowd around Usopp, beaten and lying in the plaza (“USOPP!!”). “Usopp, did the Franky Family do this to you?! Those jerks!” Usopp (battered, weeping): “The money… all of it was stolen, Nami… yeah… and it’s my fault because I’m so weak!!”
• pp. 19–20 — Usopp sobbing: “I can’t… face the others… I can’t face the guys… SOB… we were finally gonna… be able to fix Merry…” Nami, gritting (GRRR): “We’ll get it back without a doubt! Don’t worry about the money, Usopp!” Usopp: “Darnit… I’m so ashamed…”
• p. 20 — SBS “Question Corner” (vol. 33). Not story content, but contains canon: Nola’s name derives from Noland (“Seto chose the name”); the strange “middle-aged woman” dancing with Sanji/Chopper in vol. 32 was “Miss Skypiea (past tense).” Cross-link Nola, SBS Volume 33.

Open questions raised

• What will the crew do about the dying Merry — wait for it to sink, dismantle it, or fight to keep it? And how does Luffy’s refusal to give up the ship play against the rest of the crew? (pp. 8–10.)
• What does the World Government / Corgy want from Iceberg, and why does Iceberg avoid them? (pp. 11–13.)
• Can Nami (and Zoro) recover the 200 million and rescue/avenge Usopp at the Franky House? (pp. 15–20.)
• How will Usopp’s shame over losing the money affect his standing with the crew, given the Merry verdict? (pp. 18–20.)
• Who is Kalifa, beyond Galley-La’s secretary? (pp. 10–11.)