After the surrendered pirates were dealt with, the Golden Lion Pirates continued their voyage.
The matter itself was not worth much attention.
The pirate crew had lost all will to fight the moment they recognized Shiki's flag. Their captain knelt on the deck and begged for mercy until his forehead nearly struck the planks, while the rest of his crew trembled behind him like men waiting for execution.
In the end, Shiki did not bother killing them.
Their treasure, supplies, charts, and anything else of value were taken as compensation. After that, the terrified pirates were thrown back onto their own ship and allowed to leave.
Nami looked deeply dissatisfied.
She had finally gained the power of the Goro Goro no Mi. After months of training in Skypiea, she had barely begun to feel confident with it, only for her first real opponent after returning to the Blue Sea to surrender before she could even raise a finger.
Vivi was in the same position.
The power Shiki had brought back for her had changed her more than anyone else.
It was not only strength.
It was the feeling that, at last, she could stand beside the others on this sea without being nothing more than a princess who needed protection.
And yet, before she could test that strength, the enemy had thrown away their weapons and begged for their lives.
Nami stared at the bounty poster in Shiki's hand, her expression stiff.
"Nine hundred million…"
Vivi also looked at the number, unable to hide her shock.
Only Robin seemed amused and actually looked happy.
GOLDEN LION SHIKI.
Bounty: 900,000,000 Berries.
It was not a number ordinary pirates could even imagine.
Nami, who loved money more than almost anything, could not immediately turn that number into a joke.
After a while, she slowly raised her head.
"So… what exactly happened in this Taya Kingdom?"
Shiki leaned against the railing and glanced toward the sea. Their next destination had already been decided.
Water 7.
As the ship cut through the waves, Shiki briefly explained what had happened.
The Taya Kingdom was a country in the South Blue.
Shiki had gone there after leaving Skypiea for one reason.
The Devil Fruit he had promised Vivi was there.
It was the Mori Mori no Mi, a Logia-type Devil Fruit that allowed its user to become, create, and control forests.
For Vivi, there could hardly be a more suitable power.
She was the princess of Alabasta, a desert kingdom that had once nearly collapsed because of drought. A power capable of creating forests and restoring life to barren land was more than simple strength to her.
It was something that could change her country's future.
Of course, the fruit already had an owner.
Aramaki.
At that time, he was not an admiral.
He was not even a famous figure on the sea.
On the surface, he was only a security guard working for the Taya Kingdom. But his strength was real.
The moment Shiki met him, he knew the man was different from ordinary Logia users.
Crocodile had experience and cunning.
Enel had overwhelming destructive power.
But Aramaki's ability was far more difficult to deal with in a prolonged battle.
His forest could cover the terrain, drain moisture from living beings, regenerate his body, and attack from every direction at once. Once his power spread, the battlefield itself became his weapon.
For most people, fighting him would be like fighting an entire forest that refused to die.
Even Shiki had to admit that Aramaki was strong.
Among all the enemies he had met before coming to this sea, there were very few who could match that kind of pressure.
But strong was only strong.
It did not mean equal.
The battle caused a far greater disturbance than Shiki had first expected.
At the beginning, he only wanted to enjoy the fight a little and test the Mori Mori no Mi's power.
Aramaki's ability was rare, and Shiki wanted to see how far it could go before taking it.
However Aramaki was not the kind of man who could accept being toyed with.
As the fight dragged on, his temper broke.
Then his awakened power spread through the capital.
In an instant, the Taya Kingdom's royal city was swallowed by a violent forest.
Even in the Naruto world Shiki had crossed through before coming to this sea, he had rarely faced an opponent with that level of raw strength and troublesome ability. Back then, even among the enemies he had fought, there had been almost no one as dangerous as Aramaki.
The scene became far messier than Shiki had intended.
Once Aramaki stopped caring about what happened to the kingdom around him, Shiki also lost interest in dragging things out.
So he ended the fight.
Aramaki died, and the Mori Mori no Mi was extracted afterward.
That fruit eventually became Vivi's power.
The destruction left behind in the Taya Kingdom, however, did not vanish so easily.
Two monsters had fought in their kingdom.
One had turned the capital into a forest of disaster.
The other had cut that disaster apart and walked away with the prize.
There was no way such an incident could be hidden completely.
Shiki had not been surprised when the World Government learned of it.
In fact, it would have been stranger if they had not.
The Taya Kingdom might have been in the South Blue, far from the Grand Line, but no kingdom was truly free of the World Government's eyes.
Merchants, officials, informants, agents in disguise—there were always people watching.
It was likely that some of them had witnessed the battle directly.
Even if they had not, the aftermath alone was enough.
The reports must have described a kingdom half-destroyed by an awakened Logia user, a terrifying forest that swallowed the kingdom, and the Golden Lion who defeated its master before vanishing with the Devil Fruit.
That was why Shiki's bounty had risen but it had not risen as high as it could have.
Aramaki was powerful, but at that time, his name still meant nothing to the wider world. He had no famous title, no established reputation among the Marines, and no position that the World Government needed to protect for the sake of its own face.
To the public, he was only a security guard from the Taya Kingdom.
A dangerous man, yes.
A monster, certainly... but not a Marine admiral.
If Aramaki had already worn the admiral's coat when Shiki killed him, things would have been different.
Killing an admiral was not merely defeating a strong opponent.
It was slapping the World Government across the face in front of the entire sea.
Had that been the case, Shiki's bounty would not have stopped at nine hundred million.
It would have crossed into the billions without question.
Even so, the incident had been enough to terrify the sea.
That was why the pirate captain from earlier had surrendered the moment he recognized their flag.
To ordinary pirates, the details did not matter.
When Shiki's explanation finished, the three of them were silent for a while.
Vivi lowered her head and looked at her own hands.
The Mori Mori no Mi.
A power that could create forests, restore greenery, and give life back to barren land.
For Alabasta, a desert kingdom that had once nearly collapsed because of drought, that power was more precious than any treasure.
But what touched Vivi even more was not only the fruit itself.
It was the fact that Shiki had gone that far to get it for her.
Vivi's eyes softened.
Then she raised her head and looked at Shiki with a bright, sincere smile.
"I'll treasure this power."
Her voice was gentle, but there was no hesitation in it.
"One day, I want to use it for Alabasta. I want to make my country greener, richer, and happier than before."
Then, after a small pause, her smile grew even warmer.
"And more than that… I'll use it to become useful to you, Shiki-san."
For a moment, the sea breeze swept past, stirring her blue hair, and the scene looked as though a romantic drama was about to unfold.
Robin watched Vivi quietly, then smiled faintly.
"A very suitable fruit for you, Vivi-chan."
Vivi looked over, still smiling.
Robin's tone was gentle, but her eyes carried a teasing glimmer.
"Though the way you said that just now…"
"It sounded a little like a lifelong commitment."
Vivi froze.
The next instant, her face turned red all at once.
"L-Lifelong—?! Robin-san! That's not what I meant!"
"Ara, really?"
"I only meant that I want to help Shiki-san properly! As a crew member! As a companion!"
Robin's smile deepened.
"Yes, yes. As a companion."
"Robin-san!"
Vivi's face grew even redder, and she hurriedly waved both hands, but the more she tried to explain, the more suspicious it sounded.
Nami stood nearby, quietly glancing from Vivi to Shiki.
Her fingers tightened slightly, and a faint crackle of lightning flickered near her hair.
She turned her face away and muttered in a voice so low that almost no one could hear it.
"…Acting all cold and arrogant, but you really know how to please women, don't you?"
Vivi was still too flustered by Robin's teasing to notice.
Shiki did not seem to hear it either.
Only Robin's eyes shifted quietly toward Nami.
For a moment, Robin narrowed her eyes in playful amusement.
Ara…
Their captain really did know how to charm women without even trying.
And the troublesome part was, she herself did not seem to be completely safe either.
And so, beneath that teasing, playful, and strangely delicate atmosphere, the Golden Lion Pirates continued their journey.
Far ahead, beyond the horizon, Water 7 waited.
The city of water.
The island of shipwrights… and the next stage of their voyage.
A few days later, the sea ahead began to change.
The distant roar of water reached the ship before the city itself came into view, rising and falling like the breathing of some enormous creature.
Then the horizon opened, and Water 7 appeared before the Golden Lion Pirates.
It was a city built upon water.
White stone buildings rose in layers like a palace carved into the sea itself. Canals flowed between the streets, bridges crossed over shining waterways, and above it all, streams of water poured down from the upper levels in brilliant curtains beneath the sun.
Even from a distance, it did not look like an ordinary island.
It looked like a city that had grown out of the ocean.
Nami leaned over the railing, her eyes widening despite herself.
"Whoa…"
Vivi stood beside her, both hands resting on the railing as the sea breeze stirred her blue hair.
"So this is Water 7…"
There was clear wonder in her voice.
Robin stood behind them with one hand lightly against her cheek, her smile calm and elegant.
"It really does look like something from a story."
Nami recovered first.
Her eyes immediately sharpened.
"Wait. A city this big means there must be markets, clothing shops, map stores, jewelry shops, restaurants, bookshops…"
The more she listed, the brighter her expression became.
Then she suddenly turned toward Shiki.
"Captain!"
Shiki, who had been leaning lazily against the railing with his arms folded, glanced at her.
"What?"
"We need spending money."
Shiki stared at Nami for a moment, then let out a low laugh.
"You little thief. You've gotten bold asking me for money so openly."
"I'm the navigator. I handle the ship's finances. That makes it an official request."
At the harbor, the lively noise of Water 7 gradually changed.
"Golden Lion…"
"Is that really his ship?"
"Nine hundred million…"
"Don't stare! Are you trying to die?"
The whispers passed from mouth to mouth.
Water 7 was no stranger to pirates. This was one of the greatest shipbuilding cities in the world.
Pirates, merchants, nobles, Marines, and bounty hunters all came here for ships and repairs.
But even in a city used to trouble, the arrival of Golden Lion Shiki was not something anyone could treat lightly.
Shiki ignored the stares completely.
To him, fear from strangers was no different from wind.
Nami noticed it, though. Her mouth twitched.
"Your bounty is already causing problems."
"Isn't that convenient?" Shiki said lazily. "No one will waste time picking a fight."
"That also means everyone is staring at us."
"Then let them stare."
Vivi looked around the harbor with a slightly troubled expression.
"I hope we don't cause panic…"
Robin smiled.
"I think the panic has already begun."
As the ship docked, several yagara bulls swam past the canal nearby, pulling small boats along the waterway. Their round eyes and strange faces immediately caught Vivi's attention.
"Those are adorable!"
Nami looked over.
"Oh! We can rent those to move around the city, right?"
Robin nodded as she watched the waterways.
"It seems to be the city's main transportation."
Nami's eyes shone again.
"Perfect. Shopping by canal!"
Shiki stepped down from the ship first.
The dock workers nearby immediately straightened. Some looked as if they wanted to run, while others forced themselves to remain calm because they still had work to do.
One brave shipwright swallowed and approached.
"W-Welcome to Water 7. If you're here for repairs, Galley-La Company handles the best work in the city."
Shiki glanced at him.
"Galley-La, huh?"
The shipwright nodded quickly.
"Y-Yes! President Iceburg is the mayor of this city too. Dock One is the best place for large jobs."
"Iceburg…"
Shiki's eyes narrowed slightly in interest.
The name was worth meeting.
At the same time, in a quiet corner of Water 7, the news had already reached ears that could not ignore it.
Inside Blueno's bar, the atmosphere remained calm on the surface but behind the counter, Blueno's expression had become grave.
After confirming the report twice, he stepped into the back room and closed the door.
A small Den Den Mushi sat on the table.
The moment the connection opened, Blueno spoke in a low voice.
"The Golden Lion Pirates have arrived in Water 7."
For a brief moment, there was no reply.
Then Kaku's voice came through, carrying its usual old-fashioned tone, though the weight beneath it was obvious.
"So he really came…"
Kalifa's voice followed, cool and sharp.
"The timing is too troublesome. We are still in the middle of our mission."
Blueno's heavy brows lowered.
"If he moves carelessly, our operation may be affected."
"Lucci. What should we do?"
Somewhere else in the city, in a room touched by dim light, Rob Lucci stood silently.
Hattori rested on his shoulder without making a sound.
Kaku and Kalifa were nearby, both looking toward him.
Kalifa pushed up her glasses.
"Engaging him directly would be reckless."
Kaku's expression remained serious.
"Aye. Even if all of us moved together, that is not an opponent we can handle casually. Besides, if our identities are exposed before we obtain what we came for, the mission fails."
Lucci's face was lowered.
The shadow of his hat covered his eyes, leaving his expression unreadable.
Meanwhile...
The moment they entered the city properly, Nami's earlier restraint vanished.
"This place is amazing!"
Her eyes moved from store signs to clothing displays to restaurants to jewelry shops with terrifying speed.
Vivi looked at the canals with bright curiosity.
"The streets are waterways… and the houses are built around them. It's so different from the places we visited before."
Shiki looked at the three women, then at the city ahead.
"So, you're all going?"
Nami turned back with a cheerful expression that looked innocent only on the surface.
"Of course. We came all the way to Water 7."
Vivi nodded.
"I want to see the city."
Robin smiled.
"And I would like to look around as well."
Shiki stared at them.
"What about the ship?"
Nami pointed at him without hesitation.
"You're the captain."
Shiki's brow twitched.
"So I handle the boring part?"
"You said it, not me."
Vivi quickly added, "We'll come back later, Shiki-san."
Robin's eyes curved with amusement.
"As a gentlemanly captain, isn't it only natural to handle the troublesome work while the ladies enjoy the city?"
Shiki clicked his tongue.
"You women are getting less cute by the day."
Their voices slowly mixed with the lively noise of the city.
Shiki watched them leave, standing there for a moment before he finally shrugged.
"Women…"
With that, he headed deeper into Water 7, making his way toward Galley-La Company and the man who stood at its center—Iceburg.
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