Water 7.
Today was a special day; after many years of research and development, the sea train was finally a success.
'Puffing Tom!' would officially begin its journey at sea today. For many years, many people had scoffed at the idea.
They believed it was merely a pretext for the Fishman Tom to delay his punishment for his crimes.
But Tom had truly accomplished this epoch-making feat. As the train hummed across the sea, people on the shore cheered in admiration.
"It's a success, Mr. Tom!" Even the usually calm Iceberg couldn't hide his excitement.
This was not just an invention; it also concerned Tom's sin of building a ship for the Pirate King. With the merit of this sea train to offset it, there should be no problem.
"Hahaha! Then puff out your chest! The Puffing Tom is a creation that Franky, the two of us, and I completed together!"
Tom laughed heartily, very satisfied with Iceberg and Franky, his two apprentices who had inherited all his skills.
At this moment, a shadow suddenly fell from the clear sky. A crimson beast descended from above, rapidly shrinking in size as it gently landed on the shore.
The person who arrived was Nero. Looking at the distant, smoke-billowing train, Nero couldn't help but exclaim, "Hmm, an amazing invention, Tom!"
"Hahaha! Nero, I didn't expect you to come so quickly?"
"Naturally, I've been keeping an eye on you all the time!"
Tom smiled happily. Nero's regard for him had never changed. Ten years had passed, and even though he hadn't agreed to sail with Nero, this feeling of being valued was truly nice.
"Ah, the agreement from back then? Both Franky and Iceberg have already become respectable men. If you're going to Nicuss, I still suggest you take both of them with you!"
Tom nudged the two of them towards Nero. It wasn't a bad thing for young people to go out and see the world, and with two of them together, they could look out for each other.
"Mr. Tom..."
"No way!"
Compared to Franky's direct refusal, Iceberg's attitude, though less obvious, was also very reluctant.
"You two, do you treat my country like some kind of flood or savage beast?"
Nero rolled her eyes in exasperation, then looked at Tom again.
"Tom, are you really unwilling to come to Nicuss? I can give you the best treatment, and I trust you more!"
"Hahahaha, my answer remains the same, Nero! Trust Iceberg and Franky! They are the disciples I am proud of!"
Tom shook his head, giving the same answer as ten years ago.
"Besides, the sea train has just been completed, and there are still many things to be busy with!"
"Hmm, then I won't force you. This is my exclusive den den mushi. If you have any problems, just contact me."
Nero wasn't surprised. Her question just now was merely a formality, and she hadn't held out much hope.
"Ah, then thank you very much!"
Tom didn't refuse this time, taking the den den mushi. He knew that his future troubles were far from over.
Iceberg and Franky following him was not a good thing. Only under Nero's protection would they have a better future.
"Although I'd like to chat with you longer, my time is tight this time. I have to go back in an hour."
"I'll make it clear to these two idiots during this time!"
A light but firm punch landed on Iceberg and Franky's heads. Tom nodded to Nero... Meanwhile, in the distant Nicuss Empire.
Holio picked up the latest intelligence and began to categorize it.
"Hawkeye Mihawk, a Great Swordsman who once suffered a crushing defeat at Her Majesty's hands. Coming to the New World this time, he's probably still preparing to seek revenge on Her Majesty, isn't he?"
"I heard that he was severely humiliated by Her Majesty back then!"
The secretarial team below, hearing Holio's words, immediately recalled the past of this Great Swordsman.
"Eh? Still a lone wolf? That's rare on this sea!"
Holio was a little surprised. He was clearly a pirate, yet he had made a great name for himself without his own crew.
"A Great Swordsman who challenged Her Majesty and is still alive! It seems Her Majesty still thinks highly of him. We'll leave him for Her Majesty to deal with later."
Holio marked a large 'S' on this document, indicating it was a special file to be submitted to Nero.
"Crocodile? Oh, right! Is that the kid who lost to Whitebeard? Now he's... huh? He ran to Alabasta in the First Half of the Grand Line!"
Holio stroked his walrus mustache: "A desert country? How embarrassing, but for him, a Sand-Sand Fruit user, it's indeed a decent place to go."
He casually tossed it aside. Intelligence about such a waste discarded by the sea wasn't worthy of his personal annotation.
"This is Shanks? An apprentice of the Roger Pirates? I see, he's also set sail. Her Majesty should be very interested."
An 'S' was stamped on the document. Holio picked up Shanks' photo.
"This guy is aging quite fast. If I remember correctly, he's only in his early twenties, isn't he? Is he in the First Half recently?"
"Ah, this guy hasn't reached the New World yet. He's always wandering around the First Half and the Four Seas. He should still be in the stage of recruiting crew members."
One of the secretarial team members, who also had Shanks' intelligence, said after a careful look.
"This Shanks, if we're not mistaken, Her Majesty mentioned he also has all three types of Haki? That's too much bullying in the First Half, isn't it?"
Shaking his head, Holio put Shanks' intelligence together with Mihawk's and picked up a new document.
"Bartholomew Kuma, is this the pirate who overthrew the king of Sorbet two years ago? The Tyrant? That's quite an arrogant title."
"A Paw-Paw Fruit user, suspected of having ties to the Revolutionary Army? Monkey D. Dragon? What an restless family."
Shaking his head, Holio didn't pay much attention. Some potential still needed observation!
"Hmm? What's this?"
Holio picked up a new document, his brows slightly furrowed.
"Ope-Ope no Mi? The one rumored to grant eternal youth through surgery if awakened? Interesting."
"Quite a few people are after it: CP, Marine, pirates. This is Donquixote Doflamingo, an outcast of the Celestial Dragons?"
"A mafia-type pirate crew? How ridiculous!"
"However, I heard this guy has been doing quite well in the Underworld recently, and he might become a new source of income for Nicuss in the future. Let's observe for now."
Holio took out the supplementary page of the document and looked at the personnel information of the Donquixote Family.
"Quite a few good things, aren't there? Stone-Stone Fruit, Weapon-Weapon Fruit... He himself only has a String-String Fruit?"
"Ho! He also has a biological brother who also came down from Mary Geoise? Lost for many years and only recently found."
"Let me see... Corazon Donquixote, Fruit ability... Silence-Silence Fruit???"
Holio swallowed, carefully tearing off this page of intelligence and slipping it into his pocket while no one was looking.
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