Let's rewind a little.
About a month ago.
In Water 7.
On an island just off the city, there was a group of at least fifty ship dismantlers and bounty hunters, all gathered under the leadership of Cutty Flam—better known as Franky.
When the Straw Hat Pirates landed on the island, some of his subordinates rushed to report it to him.
"Aniki! Two pirate ships just docked on the southern shore! Both are flying Straw Hat Luffy's flag, and one of them can fly! I've never seen a ship like that before!"
Franky was lounging on a sofa, holding a bottle of cola in his hand.
"A ship flying through the sky?"
"Yeah! And not only that—it's made entirely of gold! I was nearly blinded just looking at it!"
The subordinates struggled to put into words what they had seen.
Franky was stunned.
"That's impossible! How could it be made entirely of gold?! Where would they even get that much gold to build a ship?"
"It's true, Aniki! If you don't believe us, come see for yourself—the ship's still floating by the shore!"
Led by his crew, Franky finally caught a glimpse of the "ship made entirely of gold" that belonged to the Straw Hats.
Even from a distance, under the sunlight, the light reflected off the gold was dazzling and beautiful.
"Holy crap!!"
Franky's eyes went wide in disbelief, and he instinctively began calculating—how much was that ship worth?
The current market price for a ton of gold is about one billion Berries.
That ship must weigh at least 10,000 tons… a total of 10 trillion Berries!?
An unimaginable fortune lay right before his eyes!
"Aniki… you're not thinking of stealing it, are you?" one of the men gulped. "That's a Warlord's ship!"
"Bah! Who do you think I am?"
"Let's go meet those pirates and ask if they need any help!"
"..."
Franky smacked him on the head. "What are you standing around for? We're businessmen, not thieves!"
"Yes! We're businessmen!"
The subordinates nodded helplessly and then guided Franky to meet Zoro and the others.
---
Back to the present.
Nightfall in Water 7.
Inside a small bar.
A "Closed" sign hung on the door.
But inside the bar, several people were seated.
They looked like they were attending a masquerade ball—wearing beautiful yet strange costumes, all with different hoods over their heads.
The owner of the bar was named Blueno.
He wore a black suit and had horn-like hair.
At that moment, as he cleaned a glass, he asked calmly:
"So, what's the plan for tonight?"
One of the voices, clearly a woman's, replied:
"Based on our investigation, while we can't confirm it with 100% certainty, the chances that the object is in our target's possession are extremely high."
"But during this past month, he's stayed aboard that golden ship, helping the Straw Hat crew modify it... It looks like he's aiming to earn gold in exchange."
The other two glanced at each other and spoke in turn—both were men.
"To be honest, that is an insane amount of money. It's natural that he'd be tempted."
"Let's put that aside for now. Here's today's news!"
He spread a newspaper across the table. On top of it was a wanted poster.
"Straw Hat Luffy's title as a Warlord has been revoked. We make our move tonight!"
"3.5 billion!?" the woman exclaimed in shock.
"Whether it's 3.5 billion or 35 billion—it doesn't matter. We have only one objective!"
"And what about Nico Robin?"
"Leave her be."
Blueno set the glass down on the counter.
Then, he asked, "How exactly are we doing this?"
"We'll split up. Kaku and I will capture him. You head to the Galley-La headquarters with Kalifa and stir up a distraction."
Hearing that, Blueno ducked behind the bar, pulled out a sharp-looking suit, and threw on a hood as well.
The four of them then immediately dispersed.
Using the cover of darkness, they walked through the air without disturbing a single soul.
---
The next day.
As the morning sun rose over the City of Water, Luffy finally arrived at his destination.
From a distance, he spotted Ark Maxim still floating in the sky exactly where he had left it—and for a moment, he almost didn't recognize it.
The ship had changed a lot since the last time he saw it.
It looked much more beautiful now.
"Phew... finally found it. And I almost got lost in Alabasta again."
Luffy immediately activated the power of the Sun Fruit, quickly restoring his stamina.
His journey back had been full of twists and turns.
He had nearly ended up in Alabasta multiple times, but at long last, he made it to Water 7.
In a place like the Grand Line, traveling without a Log Pose is practically suicide. Even if you can fly, it's still easy to lose your way.
At that moment, when he activated his Observation Haki, something caught him off guard.
In his perception, almost every member of his crew was already gathered on the deck of the Ark Maxim.
"Something's off…"
He rushed forward at once.
As soon as he reached the deck, he spotted Nami, Vivi, and the others.
"Luffy!" Nami's eyes lit up. She ran toward him and threw herself into his arms like a swallow returning to its nest, immediately sniffing him.
Sniffing him like a loyal dog waiting for its owner's return, Nami muttered suspiciously:
"That scent…"
Luffy: "..."
Luffy had completely forgotten to take a bath—and Hancock's scent was still lingering on his body.
"Luffy." Vivi greeted him with a gentle smile.
"Luffy!"
"Luffy-sama!!!"
"Aniki!"
A crowd quickly gathered around.
Luffy, wanting to change the subject, said, "Who are these people…?"
Only then did he notice four people tied up tightly on the deck—three men and one woman.
Members of CP9 from the World Government.
Rob Lucci, Kaku, Kalifa, and Blueno.
"About that, I was hoping to ask you how we should deal with them," Nami said, trying to explain.
Franky walked over holding a hammer.
"You're Straw Hat Luffy, right? These guys came after me last night…"
The night before, Kaku and Rob Lucci had tried to sneak aboard the Ark Maxim under the cover of darkness, but were immediately detected by the ever-aware Zoro as soon as they stepped inside.
Naturally, they were defeated by the Straw Hat Crew.
You see, there were over a dozen strong fighters on board. Five of them had completely mastered Rokushiki, and over eight others had mastered at least three of the six techniques.
They didn't stand a chance.
Meanwhile, Blueno and Kalifa had invaded the Galley-La Headquarters, trying to strong-arm the mayor and cause a commotion.
They were taken down by Nami and Vivi.
"I see."
After hearing the full story, Luffy found it quite amusing.
CP9 had given up on capturing Robin—but not on Franky.
And Franky, conveniently enough, wanted gold. Since Luffy was a Warlord at the time, Franky didn't dare use force and instead had to work to earn it.
Which led to the current situation.
As Luffy approached, Rob Lucci spoke:
"We have no intention of making you our enemy, Monkey D. Luffy. We only came for the man called Franky."
Luffy smiled and replied, "I know who you are. And I probably know what you're looking for."
The Pluton Blueprint.
At those words, several people's pupils suddenly contracted.
"I'll give you a choice—join me now and work for me… or die."
---
(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."