The next day at the shipyard, Dock One.
"Who is the murderer?"
"Who was the first to discover the scene?"
"How is Iceburg's condition..."
The flashing lights of the cameras were accompanied by reporters' rapid-fire questions, leaving the dock foreman momentarily stunned. Then:"Move aside, move aside—!!"
...
"Extra, extra!"
"Mr. Iceburg was shot five times and is unconscious!"
"The assassin's hand reaches out to the hero of Water 7!"
"Is it for money, power, or hatred..."
Overnight, the entire Water 7 fell into panic and chaos. As the mayor of Water 7 and the owner of the Galley-La Company, Mr. Iceburg was undoubtedly the pillar of this city. If he were assassinated, the city's prosperity would immediately collapse.
The adults here still remember twenty years ago when the city was on the brink of bankruptcy and despair. First, Mr. Tom built the sea train, then Mr. Iceburg stepped up to integrate the city's chaotic shipyards, leading everyone through the tough times to where they are today.
Now, someone dares to assassinate the city's hero?
Unforgivable!
"Uncle Iceburg..."
At the top of a building, Nami looked at the angry crowd below, then at the newspaper in her hand.
"Isn't this the person Granny Kokoro at the 'Sea Train Station' recommended we find?"
"Yes,"
Luffy took the newspaper, "It's this uncle, who kindly sent someone to check the Merry yesterday, and then..."
It caused an argument among the Straw Hat crew.
"That's bad news."
Facing Luffy's words, Roman reached out and made the newspaper fly into his hand.
"This isn't the worst news. The worst is that we're about to become 'wanted criminals.'"
?
"Why do you think I moved everyone here in advance?"
From the outside, this room looked like a normal pointed-roof attic, but in reality, it was a flat-roofed house! At least it was yesterday.
Of course, even if someone noticed the anomaly of this building, its similar style to other buildings would make them doubt their memory.
Paper Dance - Mysterious House."Roman, what do you mean by that?"
Facing the others' confusion, Roman threw the newspaper to the ground, which immediately transformed into a chair.
"It's simple, one of the two people who 'assassinated' Mr. Iceburg last night was Robin."
??
"That's impossible, why would Robin do that?"
Facing Nami's question, Roman spread his hands. "You'd have to ask Robin herself."
Actually, Roman knew the answer, but the answer itself...A person who had struggled in the dark underworld for twenty years, willing to put herself on the guillotine for a group of companions she hadn't known for long.
So, once people have bonds, they also have weaknesses. — But it's precisely because of these bonds that they strive to become stronger!
"In short, last night Robin and a CP9 member suddenly appeared in Mr. Iceburg's room, ransacked it, shot him five times, and left."
"And once Mr. Iceburg wakes up, what do you think our position will be?"
"Fugitives?"
Sanji pondered, "But what if Mr. Iceburg doesn't wake up?"
"He will,"
Roman was very sure of this, not only because his scouting bird witnessed last night's events but also because:"I trust CP9's professionalism."
???
"So, Roman. You're confusing us even more."
Nami took over the conversation, "What exactly is going on? Robin suddenly joined that government assassination agency CP9, then went to assassinate Mr. Iceberg, and you confidently said that Mr. Iceberg would wake up and put a bounty on us..."
It feels so complicated, I can't understand it.
"Let's put it this way, do you remember when we were in Vivi's country, what was Crocodile's goal?"
"Pluton?" x4Luffy: ???
"Yes, that extremely evil warship from 800 years ago."
Roman continued to explain, ignoring Luffy's confused face, "It's said that the warship 'Pluton' can destroy an island with a single shot, and even someone like Crocodile coveted its power."
"So, of course, the World Government wants to have such a thing in their hands. So:"
"They approached the descendant of the warship's creator, —Mr. Iceburg. They tried to get the design of 'Pluton' from him."
"As for last night's 'assassination', it was because the undercover agents of the government, CP9, were at their wit's end. So they decided to use the tactic of 'beating the grass to scare the snake'."
"Simply put, when you know someone has a big secret but can't get it from them, you pretend to 'assassinate' them."
"After surviving a great disaster, any normal person would consider entrusting this 'big secret' to the person they trust the most, because only then will the secret not be taken to the grave."
In this way, they can seize the 'secret'!
"But,"
After listening to Roman's long 'analysis' which was actually 'spoiling', Nami raised her hand to ask again.
"What does this have to do with Robin?"
"We know that when Robin was under Crocodile, she was used to find that 'Pluton'. But in the end, she didn't succeed..."
"Actually, she did."
???
"In fact, the historical text in Vivi's family's tomb recorded the whereabouts of Pluton."
"In other words, Robin now really knows where 'Pluton' is. —Of course, she won't say it, and we should pretend we don't know."
The so-called one-shot-one-island isn't much to the top experts in this world. And considering the mobility of the warship, it might not even match a top expert.
Just like the 'Sea Kings' of the same level as Pluton, which is the ability of Princess Shirahoshi of Fish-Man Island to summon kilometer-long Sea Kings as assistance. This ability is indeed very powerful in the water, but—Not to mention whether it works on land, who among the top experts would be afraid of giant Sea Kings? And in a real fight, the mermaid princess who is the 'Sea King' herself could easily be taken out with one move, right?
By analogy, how strong this 'Pluton' warship is is very questionable...
"But Robin is already a wanted criminal by the government, she has no reason to cooperate with them." Roman said while turning his attention to the Golden Merry docked on the shore.
"So the only possibility left is that she was 'threatened'."
"And this threat is likely—"
"Us."
????
"Who could use us to threaten Robin?"
Sanji took off his cigarette and asked in confusion.
"Of course, someone who can easily take our lives, like the World Government, CP9, or:" Roman looked around,
"Marine Admiral Aokiji!"
As soon as this name was mentioned, the temperature in the room seemed to drop by dozens of degrees! That lazy tall man, with one move, disabled Zoro's arm and Sanji's leg, then easily turned Robin, Luffy, and Roman into ice sculptures!
Although it's unclear why he didn't kill them, everyone present understood that if the Admiral wanted, he could wipe out the Straw Hat crew with a flick of his wrist.
"I see, it's because we're too 'weak', isn't it?"
Luffy, standing by the window, clenched his fists.
"...Yes."
Many times, the root cause of difficulties is indeed 'weakness'.
"But that's not a reason to give up on Robin!"
Luffy turned around and looked at Roman sitting in the chair.
"Roman, find Robin, I have a question to ask her personally!"
"Alright."
——————By the shore, beside the Going Merry.
"Woo woo woo~~~"
The one crying loudly was a tall man in a floral shirt, with a big gold chain, sunglasses, and a pompadour hairstyle. Besides a pair of swim trunks, his lower body was just two bare hairy legs.
"From East Blue, we've been together day and night, and now we're breaking up because of a ship... Woo woo woo!!"
"Shut up, why are you crying like a ghost?"
Usopp, who had bought a bunch of planks, iron sheets, and hemp ropes, was repairing the Going Merry while glaring angrily at the perverted uncle beside him.
"What are you here for!"
"Ah, I'm here to complete a transaction with a deadpan guy named Roman. Let me introduce myself, I'm Franky, the boss of the ship dismantling yard here."
Roman, huh..."In short, I'm no longer their partner. You go find them yourself—"
Ding dong, Franky pulled out a guitar and started playing and singing.
"Ah, I want to sing this touching story with a song, ~~The cold north wind, brothers turning against each other~~"
"So what exactly are you doing!!"
...
"Alright, back to the point, little brother, what are your plans next?"
Faced with the perverted uncle Franky's question, Usopp looked hopeful.
"Of course, I will continue traveling with the Going Merry,"
"And one day, return to East Blue with it. Even if we don't find the 'One Piece', it will still be—"
"No!"
A cold voice interrupted Usopp's words.
"You won't be able to return to East Blue."
The man named Franky strode towards the Going Merry.
"I'll dismantle it for you!"
!!
"What are you doing, this is my ship! I won't allow you to—"
"This is no longer a ship."
Despite his perverted appearance, Franky was serious and solemn at this moment.
"I just asked you, what will you do after repairing the ship."
"If you answered that you would sink to the bottom of the sea with it, I wouldn't stop you. But you said you wanted to return to East Blue, so I must stop you, little brother."
"A ship's duty is to take people from one shore to another, and this ship,——"
"It can't reach the next island anymore!"
"No—"
Swish,A large hand grabbed Usopp's face and threw him into the sea!
Splash!
"See for yourself!"
Usopp, who was thrown into the sea, looked up at the bottom of the Going Merry. It was full of holes and in terrible condition.——If the surface was kept intact by Roman's paper, then the bottom of the ship was the cruelest truth...Don't forget, before Roman got the 'Life Paper', the Going Merry had already crossed Reverse Mountain, passed through Little Garden, and the snowy Drum Kingdom...Splash,
Usopp climbed out of the water and knelt on the ground in despair.
"I know,"
"I always knew the Merry couldn't make it."
"It's just an ordinary sailboat," just like he was just an ordinary person;"The great sea route's wind, snow, huge waves, soaring currents..." Crocodile, Enel, and many other powerful and terrifying enemies.
"Whenever I felt I couldn't go on, there was always a child whispering in my ear 'I can, I can still travel with everyone'. It was the Merry that encouraged me to get this far..."
"Maybe it was just my illusion, maybe it was just my—"
"But I really want to keep going with my friends!!"
Facing the long-nosed boy crying on his knees, Franky stood quietly beside him.
"Ship's spirit?"
——————
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