02 / A — The character’s story
The shipwright who sailed with his dream
What does a builder owe the things he creates?
The story here runs through Water 7 and Enies Lobby.
Water 7
Learning from Tom.
Before he calls himself Franky, Cutty Flam learns shipbuilding from Tom at Water 7. His mentor gives the abandoned boy a craft and a place to belong, making the workshop more than somewhere to build ships.
Loss
Rebuilding the builder.
Franky’s desperate attempt to stop the sea train taking Tom away leaves him gravely injured. Using scrap metal to rebuild his body, he survives through the same ingenuity that can no longer bring his mentor back.
The Thousand Sunny
Going where the ship goes.
Building the Thousand Sunny for the Straw Hats gives Franky a way to put that craft in the service of another crew’s future. He joins the voyage himself, so that seeing his dream ship cross the world becomes a promise he must help keep.
