Kong Tai looked at the brawny man, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
He saw a familiar figure's shadow on this guy.
That guy was just like this with big clients.
Indeed, as long as there was money, one was treated like royalty everywhere.
"Let's go!"
Kong Tai took the lead and walked into the iron gate.
The moment he entered, the cacophony rushed in.
Shouts, the sound of machines, the sound of cutting wood, the sound of chains sliding…
It was endless.
From outside the gate, they could only hear faint sounds. He hadn't expected it to be like two completely different worlds, separated by just a door.
Countless brawny men, bare-chested and dripping with sweat, were busy working on ships behind several open-air shipyards.
There were shipyards for repairing ships and shipyards for building them.
Clearly, these open-air shipyards were for repairing ships.
Rumble!!
Just then, a giant steel machine drove past Kong Tai and his companions.
Kong Tai looked at the lifting fork at the front of the machine, and at the giant wooden board on the fork, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"Forklift."
He hadn't expected to see such a large mechanical forklift here.
But then, thinking of the peculiar technological development in the world of One Piece, it wasn't so strange anymore.
Let alone forklifts, this world even had robots that could shoot lasers!
Clang——!
Seeing that Kong Tai and the others had all entered, the brawny man followed them in, pulled shut the iron gate, and latched it with a chain.
He walked up to Kong Tai, pointed in a direction, and said, "Guests, please follow me this way!"
"Oh! Alright."
Kong Tai retracted his gaze, glanced at the brawny man, and walked in the direction he pointed.
The brawny man withdrew his hand, kept pace with Kong Tai, and as they walked, he introduced, "Guests, you've truly come to the right place. You should know that our Carter Shipbuilding Company is the largest shipyard on the island. We have two large shipbuilding docks here, capable of simultaneously constructing at least two large vessels. As for the medium-sized sailing ships you wish to order, that's even less of a problem."
As he spoke, the brawny man pointed to two very large, high-roofed buildings in the distance, his face filled with pride. "These two shipyards are even older than the name of this island!"
"Do you know how Carter Island got its name?"
Before Kong Tai could answer, the brawny man answered himself, "Of course, it was named after our company!"
"Hmm! It certainly has a long history."
Seeing the brawny man's proud demeanor, Kong Tai's lips curved upwards, and he nodded.
The buildings here were indeed quite old. He wondered if their shipbuilding technology, like their history, would become even more formidable with the passage of time.
He would only know that after meeting their company's boss.
After crossing the square, the brawny man led them to a two-story building that was clearly designed as a reception hall for outsiders.
After the brawny man served them tea, he withdrew from the room to find their boss.
Reception Hall.
Kong Tai sat on the sofa, picked up his tea, and took a gentle sip.
Then he raised his head and scanned the room.
This room was just an ordinary reception hall, but the numerous photographs on one wall to the right made the place no longer ordinary.
Thump——!
Kong Tai put down his teacup, stood up, and walked to the wall on the right. He looked up at the photographs on the wall, lost in thought.
This wall displayed photographs of all the medium-sized and larger vessels Carter Shipbuilding Company had built over the decades. He reckoned there were hundreds of them.
He even saw glimpses of large and extra-large ships among them.
As expected of a shipbuilding yard with a long history, they could build any kind of ship. Small, ordinary vessels were not even featured in this room.
Creak——!
At this moment, the wooden door of the room was pushed open from the outside.
A burly middle-aged man in a white shirt walked in.
Judging by the sweat stains on his white shirt and the wood shavings on his head, it was clear that the man had been working earlier.
"Boss, the guests are inside. I'll be going now!"
The brawny man who had brought Kong Tai and the others here earlier did not enter the room. Instead, he stood outside the door, said something to the middle-aged man, and then turned to leave.
He had his own duties. He was only responsible for bringing Kong Tai's group here. As for the business negotiations…
That was the boss's job, and it had nothing to do with him, a duty-bound gatekeeper.
"Alright!"
The middle-aged man turned and nodded at the brawny man. Then, he turned, swept his gaze around the room, and finally landed on Kong Tai.
He casually and gently closed the room's door, then walked up to Kong Tai and looked up, joining him in admiring the photographs on the wall.
This was Carter Company's history, his family's pride, and the pride of all of Carter Island.
Kong Tai withdrew his gaze, turned to face the middle-aged man, extended his hand, and said, "Hello! My name is Kong Tai."
"Yes! Hello!"
The middle-aged man turned around and stood face to face with Kong Tai.
"Uh…"
Only then did he get a clear look at Kong Tai.
Seeing the middle-aged man's reaction, Kong Tai knew he had recognized him. A smile spread across his lips, and he continued with a kind expression.
"Hello! My name is Kong Tai."
"Oh oh oh!!"
The middle-aged man quickly extended his hand and clasped Kong Tai's. "Hello! Hello! My name is Carter Dotto. I'm the fourth owner of this shipbuilding company. You can call me Carter, or you can call me Duren."
"Haha!! You're quite humorous."
Kong Tai released his hand and chuckled at Duren. "Fourth generation, so this shipyard is a family heirloom?"
"Yes!"
Duren nodded, casting a slightly nervous glance at Kong Tai, then quickly regaining his composure.
He pulled a smile to his lips and said to Kong Tai, "This shipyard was founded by my grandfather, and it's almost 100 years old now. I happen to be the fourth generation successor."
He turned his head to look at the photographs on the wall, his eyes filled with pride, then turned back to Kong Tai and said, "I never expected someone of your stature, such an important figure, to visit here, to our company."
"Haha!!"
Kong Tai laughed heartily, shook his head, and then said, "I'm not any sort of important figure! I'm just a little well-known. Your company has been around for almost 100 years, you must have received many important figures! Please don't mock me."
"Hehe!!"
Seeing Kong Tai's relaxed demeanor and the absence of the usual tyrannical aura of a pirate, Duren gradually let go of his nervousness.
Being in the Grand Line, and a place for shipbuilding and repairing ships.
Their company received all sorts of pirates every day.
And the pirates, upon arriving here, were generally quite well-behaved.
After all, not every pirate crew had reliable shipwrights. Most pirates, when needing ship repairs, had to find islands at sea and then seek shipyards on those islands.
Therefore, most pirates did not engage in any excessive behavior towards shipyards.
And they would pay for repair services.
Of course, there were some unruly, minor pirates.
However, the sea was fair, and these unruly, minor pirates were often swallowed by the ocean.
Whether it was the repair yards' doing or the sea gods' doing,
This was unknown.
In any case, there was an unspoken understanding between pirates and shipyards, and conflicts were rare.