"Celestial Dragons?"
Shakky looked at Sanders in surprise.
"Why are you asking about them?"
"To kill them, of course. What else? Worship them?" Sanders responded matter-of-factly.
"Kill?!!" Shakky was initially shocked, but then it seemed like she understood something.
Setting out to kill Celestial Dragons right after escaping, it was obvious this wasn't just about revenge against the World Government.
"No wonder you were imprisoned in Impel Down."
Many had been curious about why the Marines' prodigy had betrayed them, but the World Government had completely covered up the incident. Even within the Marines, most people were unaware of the details, and outsiders knew even less.
"Mind if I sell this information for a good price?" Shakky asked.
"Go ahead. Just remember to share some of the profit with me." Sanders shrugged.
"Aside from the Celestial Dragons, I also need you to track down two individuals for me."
"I need to know where they are."
"Who?"
"One is a pirate from the North Blue named Trafalgar Law. He's around my age and should have just set out to sea."
"The other is an older man named Issho. He's in his forties, blind, has scars on his face, and likes to gamble."
Sanders described the two in detail.
One was a future supernova, a user of the Ope Ope no Mi, and the captain of the Heart Pirates—someone Sanders considered a good candidate for a ship doctor. Another potential candidate was Princess Mansherry of the Tontatta Kingdom, a user of the Heal-Heal Fruit(Chiyu Chiyu no Mi).
Getting both of them would require going up against Doflamingo, but Sanders didn't mind.
In Sanders' view, Doflamingo wasn't particularly strong among the Warlords of the Sea.
The other person was Issho, the future Admiral Fujitora(Issho), a user of the Gravity-Gravity Fruit. He was strong and held a sense of justice, making him a suitable companion.
Sanders had a few other people in mind to recruit, but he already knew where they were.
"I'll do my best to find them, but I can't promise anything," Shakky said.
"Just do what you can. I've got plenty of time," Sanders replied, taking a sip of beer.
"I'll come back in a couple of days to check in."
After sitting for a bit longer and finishing his drink, Sanders left the bar, leaving behind a stack of berries.
Next, he was going to start building his own ship.
Previously, his grasp of the Fusion-Fusion Fruit had been lacking, resulting in the creation of a small, crude vessel. Now, he planned to use this time to build something more substantial.
Sanders was very interested in the technology behind the Ark Maxim, the flying ship from Skypiea. With that technology, he could sail his ship to find Shiki, the Golden Lion.
After a few fights, he figured he might just be able to replicate the Float-Float Fruit.
If that happened, who would even need a ship? He could just use an entire island as his base.
So, Sanders' next goal was clear: build a decent ship and recruit a crew. On the way, he would visit Skypiea to obtain the Ark Maxim's technology and see if he could recruit Enel.
If Enel cooperated, Sanders would take him on as a subordinate. If not, he'd kill him and take the Rumble-Rumble Fruit for himself.
Over the next few days, Sanders found a secluded beach on the Sabaody Archipelago and practiced using his Fusion-Fusion Fruit.
He gathered pirate ships he had raided and materials he had bought, such as steel and wood, to build his own ship while earning some Berries on the side.
Soon, Sanders could be seen frequently attacking pirates near Sabaody Archipelago.
To those unaware, it seemed like Sanders was still part of the Marines.
Neither the Marines nor the World Government had come after Sanders, almost as if they had forgotten he was on the island.
After visiting Shakky's bar a few more times and finding no sign of Celestial Dragons, Sanders learned that Law was indeed in the North Blue, but there was no news on Issho.
Another ten days passed, and Sanders finally completed his ship.
The ship was 26 meters long, with two floors above deck, each with four rooms.
The ship's power source was the same electric-driven system he had used on the small boat he made while in Impel Down. The only difference was that this ship had a battery to store electricity, allowing it to sail for about three days even without any direct input from him.
The power system had originally been designed by Vegapunk. Sanders had helped Vegapunk with numerous experiments back in the day, and this power system was something Vegapunk had designed in just two hours as payment for Sanders' assistance.
Thinking about Vegapunk, Sanders couldn't help but drool over the man's brain. Once Sanders secured his own island base, he was determined to find a way to bring Vegapunk over.
As for how he would convince him, Sanders already had a plan.
If necessary, he'd offer himself up as a research subject. After all, who wouldn't be intrigued by the ability to evolve everything?
As for funding the research, that could be handled by capturing Gild Tesoro, the richest man in the world.
With his ship completed, Sanders began stocking it with supplies and decorating it. Most of his expenses were still covered by the bounties on pirates.
He didn't bother using intermediaries anymore. Instead, he went directly to the Marines' base on Sabaody Archipelago with pirate heads in tow.
At first, the base commander had tried to arrest him, but after being beaten a few times, he now eagerly handed over the berries each time Sanders showed up. It was likely Fleet Admiral Sengoku had given the order to avoid confronting him.
One day, while Sanders was loading an orange tree onto his ship, Rayleigh arrived at the beach where Sanders was working.
"So, this is your ship, Sanders?" Rayleigh asked.
"Not bad, right?" Sanders said, feeling proud.
He had poured his heart and soul into the ship for nearly a month.
"I have to admit, I didn't expect you to be able to build a ship. And without even using any proper shipbuilding tools."
"I don't remember the Rumble-Rumble Fruit allowing you to build ships," Rayleigh remarked, amused.
"It can reshape gold, so why not use it to build a ship?" Sanders casually transformed a piece of gold into various shapes as he spoke.
Rayleigh was speechless.
From what he saw, Sanders' shipbuilding ability resembled that of the Fusion-Fusion Fruit. After all, Douglas Bullet, who once sailed with the Roger Pirates, had possessed that fruit. Rayleigh was quite familiar with its abilities.
However, Sanders could indeed manipulate metal, which left Rayleigh unsure of his theory.
Could it be that Sanders had developed an ability with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit that no one had ever heard of before?
After thinking it over for a while, Rayleigh decided to stop wondering. After all, it wasn't really any of his business anymore. Now, he was just a retired old man.
"Why are you here, Rayleigh? Want to have a drink?" Sanders asked.
"No. Shakky asked me to come by and tell you that there's news about the Celestial Dragons you're looking for."
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T/N:
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