After departing from the waters near Jaya Island, Sakura and her crew resumed their journey through the Grand Line.
Traveling with stops and starts, they visited islands along the route not recorded on the Log Pose.
Time passed leisurely for several months, the year unknowingly turning to 1512.
In a certain sea area on the route from Jaya Island to Water 7, there stood a massive Marine fortress.
G-8 Fortress, as a G-series fortress exclusive to the Grand Line, had, under the government and Marines' cost-no-object investment, been fortified to be as strong as an iron bastion.
Currently, in the office of the G-8 base commander, Akainu, one of the Marines' highest combat powers, sat in the main seat.
"Sakazuki-san, if you can't find them, just let it go. You staying here day after day isn't solving anything!"
Forced to relinquish his beloved swivel chair, Branch Base Commander Jonathan sighed helplessly.
"What foolish talk, Jonathan!"
Akainu, with a cigar in his mouth, snorted coldly. "Since when does justice retreat because of waiting?"
"Heh, so if the Higanbana crew detours around here, are you planning to stay and be my deputy? What about the New World?" Knowing his old comrade's stubborn nature, Jonathan joked with a smile.
"I'd be the one making you my deputy!" Akainu shot back, frowning. "The New World and Headquarters have Kuzan and Borsalino watching over them. No need to worry about trouble arising from me staying here."
Jonathan shrugged helplessly. "Alright, you're the superior officer. You call the shots."
The office door opened. Jonathan's fiancée, Jessica, pushed in a food cart, delivering meals to the two men.
"Alright, you've been arguing for so long. You must be hungry. Have something to eat."
Jessica placed a plate before Akainu. "The branch conditions aren't as good as Mary Geoise's, Admiral. Please bear with us."
"Not at all. You're too kind." Akainu accepted the knife and fork, about to eat.
Only to find the head chef and his old comrade began showing affection.
Most infuriatingly, Jonathan turned his head to boast. "Speaking of which, we're planning to marry in the second half of the year. Sakazuki-san, when are you planning to find someone? Life's major events shouldn't be delayed."
"Jonathan, shut up!"
"Hahahaha!"
…
Meanwhile, completely unaware of the Marines' movements, Sakura and her crew bypassed Long Ring Long Land.
They approached Water 7 from the southwestern sea area opposite G-8 Branch.
"Are we heading straight to Water 7 now?"
In the Leviathan's control room, Tiger reached out to operate the helm.
"Why? We've already visited St. Poplar, Foodvalten, and San Faldo. Still not satisfied?"
Sakura walked onto the deck with a newspaper, sinking into a comfortable processed-cloud lounge chair.
With Enel, the sky island shipwright's addition, many facilities on the Leviathan had been upgraded.
What pleased Sakura most was the White Sea residents' dial system.
During their time on the sky island, she had purchased five giant cloud dials from the locals, housing them in the Leviathan's bottom hold.
Using the clouds they produced and Enel's processing techniques, Sakura replaced all fabric-based items on the ship with processed cloud.
Beds, chairs, tables, carpets, curtains, sunshades... Now, living on the Leviathan felt like residing in a dreamy castle among the clouds.
"Diluting perfectly good processed cloud like this... that guy is really... extravagant~"
Enel raised his hands high, lazily rolling around in the cloud layer.
"Hey, do you have the right to criticize others?"
Kuina, practicing her swordsmanship, looked disdainfully at Enel, whose expression seemed to say, 'Why didn't I think of such a good method?'
"I can see the island's outline~"
Leviathan jumped directly from the mast, landing on the cloud layer and bouncing a few times as she shouted to the group.
"Don't approach from the front. Let's visit an old acquaintance first!"
Sakura tapped around the control console, indicating a direction for Tiger.
The speedboat detoured around Water 7's front, entering from Backyard Dock 7, finally stopping at the shipyard of the Scrap Island.
As soon as the Leviathan was secured, a boy with narrow eyes, purple lips, and a headband led a large group of shipwrights down to the shore.
"Little Iceburg! You've grown so big!" Sakura laughed heartily as she disembarked, waving to the leading boy.
"It's you! Pink-haired monster gorilla!"
Iceburg skidded to an abrupt halt mid-run, his feet plowing two trails in the debris-strewn ground.
Sakura, who had been anticipating a pleasant reunion, turned from joy to anger. She reached out, grabbing Iceburg's headband. "You little brat! What. Did. You. Call. Me?!"
Iceburg's limbs dangled as he was swung through the air. The shipwrights behind him were horrified. "Iceburg-san!"
The entire scrap yard erupted into commotion. Dust and ship fragments flew everywhere.
Finally, after enough fun, Sakura released Iceburg, casually tossing him aside.
"So, where is Tom-san?"
Sakura stepped onto a ship fragment, brushing off her hands.
Crack!
From the debris, Iceburg's mouth dropped. He scrambled up and prostrated himself before Sakura.
"Sakura-nee! You're a great pirate, right? Please! Save Tom-san!"
Sakura's brows furrowed. "What exactly happened?"
"It's not convenient to talk here. Please follow me!"
Iceburg pushed himself up from the debris, leading Sakura and the others towards Tom's workshop.
Soon, they stood before a small hut seemingly 'stitched' together from water-logged planks and torn cloth.
It was hard to imagine that the Tom's Workers workshop, which created the Sea Train and brought revival and prosperity to Water 7, looked like this.
However, the workshop was currently empty. The meticulously cared-for furniture and decorations lay scattered and damaged.
"Sorry, we can't offer anything to entertain you right now."
Iceburg cleared a small area, barely making space for Sakura and the others to sit.
"What on earth happened?"
Tiger spoke for Sakura. He, too, had been looking forward to meeting this world-renowned Fish-Man master shipwright.
He never expected the first news upon arrival to be so grim.
"Originally, Tom-san's crime of building Roger's ship had already been pardoned thanks to the Sea Train's accomplishments."
Iceburg punched the wall, clenching his fist tightly. "But the CP bastards used Franky's ship to frame Tom-san for attempting to revive an Ancient Weapon and arrested him again!"
Listening to Iceburg's account, Sakura finally recalled the matter of the Pluton blueprints held by Tom.
"I see. So, what about the blueprints?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, the workshop fell into instant silence.
Iceburg stared at Sakura with full wariness, his arm subtly reaching behind his back to grasp a short knife.
"Sakura-nee... also wants Pluton?" He swallowed hard.
Iceburg's actions were quite stealthy, but everyone present was a master of Observation Haki. His little scheme was seen through clearly by Sakura and her crew.
"You..."
Kuina stepped in front of Sakura, her Muramasa slightly drawn, deathly aura spreading.
Tiger had water droplets gathering between his webbed fingers. Leviathan and Enel had darkness and lightning flickering at their fingertips.
"That's enough."
Sakura raised a hand to stop them. "I asked about the blueprints because I wanted to know if their creator, Galleila, left any messages on them."
"Galleila..." Iceburg mouthed the name. "How do you know the blueprint creator's name?"
Sakura's lips curved. Her emerald eyes met Iceburg's gaze.
"For certain reasons, I've been searching for their traces since I set sail. The creators of Pluton and the Noah, the Ship of Promise… the Ancient Giant Group, Galleila!"