Water 7, Central Street, No. 136.
The four stood outside a three-story garden villa.
Sephiroth, carrying large and small bags, looked at the tightly shut iron gate and sighed softly.
The keys, they had long since been sunk into the sea…
With that thought, Sephiroth placed the groceries he was carrying on the ground, then rolled up his sleeves and climbed over the iron gate, which had three-finger-wide gaps.
"Sephiroth, is this really your home?" Bo Ya Sanda Sonia, the green-haired girl, asked with a suspicious look.
"Uh!? I lost the keys when I was shipwrecked.
Don't worry, I have a spare…"
As he spoke, Sephiroth had already climbed over the five-meter-high iron gate and landed in the villa's front yard.
He quickly walked a few steps to the villa's mahogany front door, stopped beside a potted Areca palm on the right side of the entrance, squatted down, lifted one corner of the pot with his right hand, and felt around the bottom of the pot with his left hand, pulling out a string of keys.
The original owner actually secretly left a spare set of keys here; wasn't he afraid of burglars?… Sephiroth muttered to himself as he turned and walked to the iron gate, opening it for the three girls.
In the villa's front yard, besides the vegetation and flowers planted along the wall, there was also a swimming pool that drew seawater from outside, twenty-five meters long, eleven meters wide, and one and a half meters deep.
The original owner was quite fond of swimming and was good in the water; as for him now…?
Looking at the shimmering swimming pool, Sephiroth felt that as a Devil Fruit user, if he were to soak in that one-and-a-half-meter-deep seawater, he would probably drown…
He opened the villa's front door with the key, and a spacious living room came into view for the four of them.
The interior decoration of the villa was somewhat European in style, with very elaborate designs; whether it was the carved patterns on the walls, the placement of the fireplace, or the layout of the furniture, everything pursued a visual sense of elegance.
Sephiroth casually touched the long sofa and table, finding that after nearly half a month of his absence, not much dust had accumulated on the furniture, still within an acceptable range, and there was no need to call a cleaning company's maid to clean.
Boa Hancock looked around the living room, then tentatively asked:
"Sephiroth, do you have a den den mushi at home?"
"Yes, it's in the study on the second floor."
He nodded and led Boa Hancock to the study on the second floor.
Inside the spacious room, besides an office desk and two bookshelves, there was also a glass cabinet filled with various ship models.
Sephiroth's father, though a purchasing manager for a shipbuilding company, was also a skilled shipwright who had an inexplicable love for ships.
However, the original Sephiroth was not keen on ships; he believed that the island's shipbuilding industry was nearing its end…
At that time, it was only natural for him to have such a thought.
After all, with the advent of the Great Pirate Era and rampant pirates, the shipbuilding business in Water 7 became increasingly difficult.
But…
The current Sephiroth knew that once the sea train was successfully built, this island would regain hope, and the shipbuilding industry would be revitalized!
Thinking of this, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck him…
In the original work, the Puffing Tom used a steam engine, so its energy conversion efficiency was not high.
What if it were replaced with an internal combustion engine?
In terms of energy utilization, an internal combustion engine completely surpasses a steam engine…
One must know that this world has oil, and even diesel has been refined!
However, for now, no one has thought of using them as mechanical power fuel.
So, would changing the power system speed up the completion of the sea train?
This was his hometown, after all; if he could help, he certainly wouldn't refuse, and this move could also foster good relations with Tom and his apprentices…
Given the three of them's craftsmanship, he might one day need their help…
The den den mushi was placed in a glass case on the office desk; Boa Hancock reached out her small hand and gently tapped the den den mushi's shell, which was the size of a soccer ball, waking it from its slumber.
After the den den mushi fully opened its eyes, the black-haired girl used her slender fingers to press the number keys one by one on the right side of its shell, dialing a number.
Buru Buru ~!
A moment later, the den den mushi's call was connected, and a young woman's voice came from its mouth.
"Hello! Who is this?"
"Is that Belladonna? This is Hancock!"
"Eh eh eh…! Hancock, where have you three sisters been all this time?
We've been looking for you three for so long and couldn't find you; do you know how worried we've been about you?"
"Sorry! It's like this…"
Hancock quickly explained how the three of them were captured by slave traders and escaped to Water 7.
Since the Kuja Pirates' location was now quite far from Water 7, the den den mushi on the other end decided to have the three girls wait on the island for a few days before they could come and take them back to Nine Snake Island.
There were many empty rooms in the villa, so Sephiroth arranged a separate room for each of the three girls.
Noon.
After the three girls enjoyed the hearty lunch Sephiroth prepared, they changed into the cool swimsuits they had bought at the clothing store; Bo Ya Sanda Sonia bought a green bikini, and Boa Marigold bought a pink bikini.
Due to the enthusiastic invitation of the three beautiful girls in swimsuits, Sephiroth had to postpone drawing the internal combustion engine blueprints until the evening.
He put on a swimming ring, his lower body submerged in the seawater, and played water volleyball with the three beautiful girls in the swimming pool.
It must be said that the suppressive effect of seawater on Devil Fruit users was very significant; Sephiroth, with only his lower body submerged in the swimming pool, felt a sense of powerlessness throughout his body, his strength and speed decreased by more than half, and his physical exertion was also very severe.
However, Sephiroth was surprised to find that even though he was now submerged in seawater, if he wished, he could still quickly recover his stamina by consuming lifespan, though the efficiency was much lower than in his normal state.
Seawater only renders Devil Fruit users powerless and causes them to sink into the sea, but it does not suppress the ability itself, just like Aokiji freezing the sea; he fears seawater, but he can still freeze it…
Does that mean that if he adapts to the powerlessness of seawater in the future, could he, by converting lifespan into stamina, manage to swim with difficulty in the sea without drowning…?