With Kaya's assurance, the main purpose of coming to this island village was thus resolved.
Coincidentally, Mr. Merry, another kind-hearted butler in Kaya's mansion, wearing a sheepskin hat, was building a sailing ship he had always wanted to build, the going merry (golden merry).
This ship was Mr. Merry's brainchild, and he intended to use it to repay the kindness of Luffy, Link, and the others.
The construction of the ship was already nearing completion, so Link, Zoro, and the others, who had arrived a bit early, would need to wait a few days.
To this, Luffy, who was about to acquire his first Pirate Ship, thumped his chest, declaring that there was absolutely no need to rush.
And Link also found Merry.
"Do you need me to use some better materials for the construction?"
Gentle Merry's sheepskin hat trembled slightly when he heard Link's request.
"Yes, after all, it concerns our first Pirate Ship, so of course, we hope every aspect of it can be built better."
Link said sincerely.
He certainly didn't want the going merry to fall apart at Water 7, even if the existing materials weren't enough to support subsequent voyages.
Link could accept the going merry being repaired and modified, but the scene of Luffy burning it down as a farewell was truly unbearable.
Therefore, he hoped as much as possible that Merry would use better materials to make the future going merry withstand strong winds and waves, and barely make it safely to Water 7.
Then, a complete overhaul. This, in Link's opinion, was the best outcome.
"Hmm, actually, it could be built better, but the current materials..."
Merry gave a wry smile. "I won't hide it from Mr. Link, the going merry (golden merry) is my life's work. The materials I've used for it are absolutely the highest level we can currently afford."
"If we want to upgrade the going merry by another notch, it would require a huge amount of Beli."
"How much money?!"
Link immediately asked.
"At least ten million Beli, because the materials needed are very expensive, some of which we don't even have..."
Merry shook his head and said, "And if the price is already over ten million Beli, then you could completely build or buy a better ship, there's no need to spend it on the going merry (golden merry)."
His meaning was clear: with tens of millions of Beli, there was no need to consider the going merry at all.
Moreover, using that money to buy materials for the going merry would seem like overkill.
"Is twenty million Beli enough?"
Before Merry could finish speaking, Link immediately said.
"...Twenty million Beli?!"
Mr. Merry's eyes widened instantly; he was also somewhat shocked by this figure.
"Yes, to be precise, it's twenty-three million Beli."
Link nodded affirmatively.
"You don't need to worry, this money will be paid by us. We hope, Mr. Merry, that you use all of this money for building the going merry. If there's any left over, you can equip us with some suitable ship tools."
"Mr. Link..."
Merry stared at him blankly, then suddenly grabbed Link's hand.
"I never expected, Mr. Link, that you would have such a passion for ships!"
Merry's eyes were brimming with tears, "I never thought that at my age, I would still be able to build such a ship. Thank you for making my dream come true, Mr. Link! Thank you so, so much!"
Uh...
Merry's sudden enthusiasm, excitement, and gratitude only made Link pause for a moment before he quickly regained his composure, stating firmly:
"A ship is a sailor's second companion. We will never be lax in this regard!"
"Mr. Link!"
Mr. Merry felt like he had found a kindred spirit and assured Link that for the upcoming construction of the going merry, he would use the best materials to help complete the final building work.
The two conversed very happily. Zoro also quietly approached at this time.
"Do we have that much money?"
You know, in the East Blue, there were only three or four Great Pirates with bounties over ten million Berries. Zoro remembered the highest was just twenty million Berries for the fish-man named Arlong.
The East Blue Overlord, Krieg, only had a bounty of seventeen million Berries.
And they, even after confiscating the Buggy Pirates' inventory, only had about ten million Berries.
Adding Alvida's previous gains, it still wouldn't reach the enormous sum of twenty million Berries.
"Not at the moment, so I asked Mr. Merry to cover some of it first."
Link replied with a smile.
Zoro caught the other meaning: "At the moment... you mean we'll have it in a couple of days?"
"It'll be about two or three days... Do you remember how we helped the residents rebuild the town back in Orange Town?"
"Helped rebuild? Did we... Wait, you mean?"
Zoro was first stunned, then immediately understood.
"That's right."
Link nodded, "In two days, the Kuro Neko Pirates, as agreed with Kuro, will arrive. There are three high-bounty officers on board!"
"Using their bounties as funds for building the Pirate Crew's ship will be enough."
Currently, the main combat members of the Kuro Neko Pirates are the Kuro Neko brothers, Butch and Sham, both with bounties of seven million Berries.
And Jango the Hypnotist, who was previously the first mate and is now the captain, has a bounty of nine million Berries.
Combined, the three of them total exactly twenty-three million Berries.