Ever since Rob Lucci began his undercover assignment at Dock One, he barely said a word, usually relying on the pigeon perched on his shoulder to convey his thoughts. As a result, most of the people at the dock thought he was a strange guy who simply disliked talking.
But Takumi knew better—Lucci didn't speak to them because he simply found them beneath him.
Rob Lucci was a man driven by a dark sense of justice. He was considered the most cold-blooded killing machine in CP9's history, the strongest individual the organization had seen in 800 years. In his eyes, weakness itself was a "crime." No matter how long he stayed undercover at Water 7, his belief that the weak had no right to live would never change.
On the other hand, Kaku, the square-nosed fellow who was also undercover at Dock One, was a lot more humane compared to Lucci's dark and twisted nature.
Despite being the youngest member of CP9, Kaku—who was probably only 17 or 18 at this point—was the second strongest in the group, right after Lucci. His natural talent was impressive, especially considering he hadn't even consumed a Devil Fruit yet. Relying solely on his mastery of the Six Powers and his exceptional physical prowess, Kaku had risen to become the number two figure in CP9. His learning ability and innate gifts were nothing short of extraordinary.
"Haha, interesting," Iceburg laughed. "Alright, go ahead and follow the foremen. You'll all start learning the basics."
With a wave of his hand, Iceburg dismissed the ten selected candidates. An older foreman led them off, assigning them to various craftsmen around the dock to begin their training.
Takumi cast a lingering glance at both Lucci and Kaku. If he didn't already know their backgrounds, their performances would've been worthy of an acting award.
Enel, still watching the bustling activity of the factory, couldn't resist asking one last time, even though he knew the answer. "So we're really not hiring a shipwright?"
Takumi snapped back to reality and replied flatly, "No."
Enel sighed, clearly disappointed.
Iceburg chuckled, "Well, with all the extra hands, your ship should be ready ahead of schedule."
Takumi gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.
Just then, Iceburg's pocket Den Den Mushi started ringing. After answering it, his expression changed rapidly. "What? Someone that important came, and you didn't tell me sooner? Wait... you did? I don't remember... Alright, I'll be there right away."
Hanging up, Iceburg turned to Takumi and Enel, offering an apologetic smile. "Sorry, something urgent came up. Feel free to wander around the factory for a bit."
With that, Iceburg hurried off, leaving the two of them behind.
Enel, now even less interested in staying, muttered, "If we're not hiring a shipwright, then what's the point of hanging around?"
Takumi shrugged. "You can leave if you want."
Enel glanced at Takumi. "Seriously, you don't mind if I go?"
"Go ahead."
Enel stared at Takumi, realizing that he genuinely didn't care. Watching his captain stroll deeper into the factory as if actually interested in a tour, Enel felt a surge of irritation.
Seriously? He's just going to ignore me like that? Fine, then! I'm leaving!
With an indignant huff, Enel turned and walked in the opposite direction, muttering to himself.
He hadn't gotten far before Takumi's voice called out from behind.
"Be back before the ship's ready."
Enel paused, glancing back at Takumi, who hadn't even turned to look at him. After a moment, he grumbled, "Got it, Captain."
Once Enel left, Takumi continued his aimless wandering through the massive factory, eventually ending up near where Enel's unusual-looking ship was docked.
No one had started working on it yet, so the area was completely empty.
"Is that your ship?" a middle-aged shipwright asked as he passed by with two apprentices in tow.
"Yeah," Takumi replied nonchalantly.
The shipwright chuckled. "I heard it can fly. Is that true?"
Takumi glanced over at the man and noticed Kaku among the two apprentices.
Kaku, trying to keep a low profile, perked up at the mention of a flying ship. "A flying ship? Really? Can it actually fly?"
Takumi gave a small nod.
The shipwright laughed again. "Ha! People these days will believe anything. There's no such thing as a flying ship! I've lived my whole life and never seen one."
Takumi couldn't be bothered to argue with someone so narrow-minded.
Kaku, on the other hand, was genuinely intrigued. "Could I take a look? I just want to see it up close."
"Hey, you're only 17, right? Talking like an old man makes you sound ancient," his fellow apprentice teased.
Kaku just laughed. "Haha, you'll get used to it. So, can I check out the ship? Just a quick look..."
"Well..." The middle-aged shipwright scratched his head. "It's scheduled for repairs, but no one's assigned to it yet. If the owner doesn't mind, I suppose it's fine."
Takumi: "..."
"Go ahead," Takumi said, not really caring. There was nothing of value on the ship anyway.
"Great! Thanks!" Kaku exclaimed with excitement, leaping onto the deck in a single bound.
The ship was over 200 meters away from where they were standing.
Watching Kaku clear the distance in one jump left the shipwright and the other apprentice wide-eyed and slack-jawed.
"Wh-what the hell? Is that guy even human? How did he jump that far?!"
"I mean, come on! No one's legs are that long! That's way beyond human limits!"
The two of them were utterly stunned.
Takumi, on the other hand, remained calm and expressionless.
He knew full well just how capable Kaku was. The man's jumping ability and reflexes were insane. Leaping a few hundred meters? That was nothing for him.
Once aboard the ship, Kaku wandered around, inspecting every inch. When he ventured into the cabin and saw the hole in the deck, he peered down and was taken aback by what he found—an intricate network of gears of all sizes.
"What is this...?" Kaku examined everything carefully, inspecting every gear, every mechanism, before moving on to the ship's sides and the propellers at the stern. After thoroughly investigating, he made a single leap back to where Takumi and the others were standing, scratching the back of his head and grinning beneath his hat. "Haha, you know... this ship might actually be able to fly."
The shipwright was still skeptical. "Oh, come on! You're not serious. There's no such thing as a flying ship."
Kaku, however, was dead serious. "I'm not kidding. When I was younger, I used to tinker with small gadgets and machines. If everything is assembled correctly and the right conditions for propulsion are met, it's possible to make something that normally couldn't fly... well, fly. With the gears inside this ship, combined with those three propellers, I'd say it's not impossible."
Hearing Kaku's words, Takumi couldn't help but give him another look.
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