Next Bonus, 100!!
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A single gondola drifted through the canals of Water 7.
"I despise this city."
Spandam made no effort to hide his disgust.
He didn't have the nerve to go after Kuma for revenge, so he'd redirected all that festering hatred toward the City of Water itself.
Spandam had come with two objectives.
"The Pluton blueprints and the destruction of those four warships."
Jin's rise to power had become a significant threat to the Five Elders and Imu. They suspected he now controlled the ancient weapon Pluton.
To gather the strength needed to counter him, they had not only increased their support for Egghead's research, but had also intensified their search for the Pluton blueprints that had once belonged to the Fish-Man Tom.
Know your enemy...
If they could get their hands on the blueprints, they might find a weakness.
The theory that Jin had used the blueprints to build his own Pluton was something the Five Elders and Imu had initially considered, but they quickly dismissed it.
They hadn't even fully deciphered the technology of Uranus. How could Pluton be so easily constructed?
And who would build it?
Jin himself? Impossible.
Therefore, he must have found the actual ship—not just the blueprints.
To that end, CP9 had deployed several more agents to investigate, and at last, Rob Lucci and his team had found a lead.
Spandam was here to close the net.
As for destroying the four steamships, the logic was simple: it would cripple the Winter Blossom Kingdom's military strength.
The Five Elders were patient, but they had no intention of letting Jin grow any stronger. They would use every means at their disposal to stifle his development. The shadow war between them had never stopped, from drastically increasing his Heavenly Tribute to squeezing his trade routes. They even propped up nobles and merchant guilds in other kingdoms specifically to oppose him.
The struggle was constant.
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Luffy, Usopp, and Royta (The Straw Hats new shipwright) arrived at the Galley-La Company headquarters, their pockets full of cash.
They wanted to have the Going Merry refitted. As their crew had grown, the ship's layout had become impractical.
The shipwright, Kaku, had inspected the Merry and offered some suggestions.
Thanks to Viola's meticulous care and a few changes to the Straw Hats' itinerary, the ship had been spared the worst of the Grand Line's horrors. Her hull was in much better shape than it would have been otherwise. The railings were battered and patched, but her keel and mast—her very soul—were still sound.
A refit wouldn't be difficult.
The only problem was, they didn't have the time right now.
Luffy said they could wait.
Kaku gave them a long, appraising look.
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"What? The Straw Hats are on the island, too?"
A delighted grin spread across Spandam's face.
"My lucky day."
A CP0 agent had recently been killed at the hands of the Straw Hats. If he could capture them, it would be a huge feather in his cap.
He might be the commander of CP9, but in the presence of even a low-ranking CP0 agent, he was nothing more than a glorified goon.
This was his chance to finally get a promotion.
Spandam immediately began issuing orders.
"Kaku, Rob Lucci—you find Kalifa and get those blueprints... Fukurou, Nero—you go plant the explosives on the steamships. Wait for them to depart, then blow them all to hell. Jabra, Shuraiya—you're with me. We're going to capture the Straw Hats."
Shuraiya gave a curt nod.
After joining Cipher Pol, he had endured grueling training and countless trials. His exceptional skill had earned him a place in CP9. His ruthlessness—his utter lack of mercy toward the enemy—had made him a favorite of Spandam's.
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That evening, after the launch ceremony.
Galley-La Company Headquarters.
As Lucci and Kaku walked through the building, the workers all nodded respectfully. As foremen, their presence wasn't unusual.
They entered the main hall and started up the grand staircase.
At the top, a blonde woman in a sharp suit was waiting, a stack of documents cradled in her arm. She was tall, slender, and impossibly elegant.
"Ms. Kalifa," Kaku said with a smile. "Is Mr. Iceburg in?"
"Mr. Iceburg is waiting for you in his office," Kalifa replied. "Please, follow me."
Once they were alone, she lowered her voice. "Just the two of you?"
"Change of plans," Kaku said. "The Commander has gone to capture the Straw Hats."
Kalifa's brow furrowed. She hated last-minute changes.
They reached Iceburg's office without any trouble. Kalifa, the last one in, closed and locked the door behind them.
"Lucci, Kaku," Iceburg said without looking up from the document he was reading. "What can I do for you?"
Lucci stepped forward, the pigeon on his shoulder giving a polite bow. "Mr. Iceburg, allow me to reintroduce us. We are agents of the World Government's Cipher Pol Number 9."
Iceburg's head snapped up, his expression one of pure shock. He looked from Lucci to Kaku, then to Kalifa.
Kalifa untied her hair, and a cascade of blonde silk fell to her shoulders. She took off her glasses. "That's right," she said coolly. "Me too."
Iceburg's expression shifted from shock to disgust, then to fury, and finally, to a cold, resigned calm.
"I never thought the World Government would plant spies in Galley-La," he said. "CP9... So, you're here to kill me?"
"You know why we're here, Mr. Iceburg," Lucci said. "We've been undercover for five years. You know why your master died. You know what this is all about."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Iceburg said.
"Don't play dumb," Kalifa snapped. "Let me be blunt. The blueprints for the ancient weapon Pluton are hidden somewhere in this city. Hand them over."
"Pluton?" Iceburg said, his brow furrowed. "Something like that is in Water 7?"
CRACK!
Kaku kicked the desk apart and grabbed Iceburg by the collar. "Stop playing games! We know about your connection to Franky! The blueprints are with him, aren't they? If you don't want to die, have him bring them here."
Iceburg was silent for a moment.
"Alright," he said suddenly. "But you've made a mistake. The blueprints... have always been with me."
Lucci and Kaku were stunned. "With you?"
"That's right."
"How is that possible?" Kalifa blurted out. "We've been searching for so long..."
"The most dangerous place is the safest, isn't it?" Iceburg said. "I knew you wouldn't give up. Franky? That idiot? Why would I ever trust him with something so important? You want the blueprints? Fine. But I have conditions."
"What conditions?"
"First, you will not harm this city or its people."
"Done," Lucci said without hesitation. "Our objective is the blueprints. We're not pirates. We don't engage in pointless destruction."
"Second, I will be involved in the construction of the Pluton warship."
That was understandable. For a shipwright, building a great ship was like a swordsmith forging a legendary blade.
"Alright," Lucci said. "But first, we need to confirm that the blueprints are real."
"Of course they're real," Iceburg said. "Lucci, Kaku—you're both excellent shipwrights. I'm sure you can tell if they're authentic."
"Any other conditions?" Lucci asked.
"No."
"Then give us the blueprints."
"Alright."
Iceburg stood up and led them into a back room. From a safe hidden beneath the floorboards, he removed a thick file.
Lucci and Kaku quickly began to flip through it. It contained the schematics for a massive warship, the design far ahead of its time. And it mentioned using the "sun" as a power source...
As two of Galley-La's five foremen, Lucci and Kaku were both master shipwrights. From the data alone, they could tell that this ship was powerful enough to wipe an island off the map with a single blast. The legends were true.
"Well?" Iceburg said. "I wasn't lying, was I?"
"It seems to be authentic..." Lucci said, closing the file and shooting a look at Kaku.
BANG!
A single gunshot.
Iceburg collapsed to the floor.
"A shame," Lucci said. "We only need Pluton. As for you... you know too much."
The gunshot alerted the Galley-La security. The three agents made a quick exit.
"If those are the real blueprints," Kalifa said, "then what about the ones Franky has?"
"Leave no loose ends," Lucci said.
The moment they left, a shimmering distortion appeared in the air. A doorway opened.
Jin stepped out, teleported Iceburg back to the Empress, and left a clone of his body in its place. When the security guards burst in, all they found was Iceburg's "corpse."
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