At the dock, Tom and Iceburg knelt on the ground, their hands cuffed tightly behind their backs.
The harpoon, designed by Cutty Flam to hunt Sea Kings, had its chain cut off but remained embedded in Tom's body. Blood poured from the wound, quickly staining the ground beneath him a deep red.
The white-haired judge, supported by his subordinates, approached Tom with a look of regret. "The invention of the Sea Train is nothing short of a miracle. Its impact on the future development of Water 7 is immeasurable. With such an achievement, your crime of building a ship for the Pirate King could have been erased. Why, then, did you commit this crime? Do you not believe that the World Government would give you a fair trial?"
Tom, pale from blood loss, glanced at the smug Spandam standing nearby and chuckled, though his laughter carried a note of bitter sarcasm. "The World Government... fair?"
Standing among the crowd, Cutty Flam, who had been spared from being cuffed thanks to Gin's testimony providing him an alibi, couldn't hold back his anger. He shouted, "We didn't do this! It must have been that guy Spandam who orchestrated everything!"
Spandam froze momentarily before bursting into laughter, as if Flam's words were utterly ridiculous. "Nonsense! Everyone knows those warships were built by Tom's Workshop. And Tom was caught red-handed at the scene. Tell me, as an official of the World Government, why would I attack a judicial ship? And those ships—weren't they built by you? Did Tom order you to do it? Was it all a ploy to attack the judicial ship today?"
Cutty Flam, growing increasingly agitated, shouted back, "You did it because you wanted to—"
Before he could finish, Tom interrupted him with a stern voice. "Enough, Flam!"
"Your Honor, I confess," Tom said, panting heavily, his voice weak. "The attack on the judicial ship today was my plan. Those warships... I built them myself."
"Mr. Tom!"
Both Iceburg and Flam stared at Tom in shock.
Gin sighed. Spandam's earlier words had clearly been a ploy to implicate Tom's students in the incident. By taking the blame, Tom was protecting them. In this situation, it seemed almost impossible for anyone from Tom's Workshop to escape punishment.
"This entire matter was planned by me alone. At the scene, wasn't I the only one you found?"
With that, Tom suddenly let out a low growl. With a sharp snap, he broke the chain of his handcuffs.
The white-haired judge and a startled Spandam instinctively took a step back.
"I have never believed I was guilty. The trial fourteen years ago, and today's trial—they're both jokes to me! Because Roger, the Pirate King, was a man of unparalleled greatness. To have built a ship for him..." Tom spoke each word with force, and as he did, he began to pull the harpoon out of his shoulder. The grotesque wound became more visible with every second. By now, his voice had grown loud and booming. "...was the greatest honor of my life!"
When Tom finally pulled the harpoon free, the blood that splattered from the wound landed on Iceburg's face. Iceburg stood frozen, his mind in turmoil. "Mr. Tom, why would you say that? This has nothing to do with you!"
Nearby, the Marines accompanying the judicial ship raised their guns, aiming at Tom, who had broken free of his restraints. Spandam, panicking, ordered his subordinates to use special tranquilizer rifles. He tried to command the Marines as well, but his words carried no weight with them.
"Iceburg," Tom said, turning to him with a rare smile. "Things have already reached this point. The worst that can happen is the same as it was fourteen years ago. Death is not something to fear. My only regret is the dream I couldn't fulfill. So, remember what I've told you."
Iceburg was stunned. If he wasn't mistaken, the expression on Tom's face... was one of pleading.
At the same time, Tom, now wielding the harpoon, charged at Spandam with a ferocious roar.
Spandam, a coward with no combat ability, was so terrified by Tom's tiger-like ferocity that he froze, forgetting to stop the Marines from opening fire. A command rang out, and the synchronized gunfire echoed across the dock.
Tom, propelled by inertia, staggered forward a few more steps before collapsing. His massive body hit the ground like a small mountain, causing the earth beneath him to tremble.
Spandam snapped out of his daze and stared at Tom, who was now lying in a growing pool of blood. He shouted, "Doctor! Get a doctor! He can't die!"
The crowd at the dock murmured amongst themselves. Many had just been terrified by the warship attack, and some had relatives or friends injured in the chaos. Hearing Tom confess to the crime, they looked at him with disdain, their words harsh and unforgiving.
Cutty Flam's face turned ashen. He opened his mouth to shout something, but a sudden pain in his temple made his vision go black. He fainted on the spot.
Gin, retracting his fist, calmly caught Flam before he fell. Gin had no deep emotional attachment to Tom and wouldn't risk his life to save him. However, since Tom had taken all the blame upon himself, Gin didn't mind lending a hand to protect Iceburg and Flam, who had also contributed to the construction of the Sea Train.
After sending his subordinates to fetch a doctor, Spandam's expression darkened as he glanced between Tom's lifeless body and the still-handcuffed Iceburg. If Tom didn't survive, the only remaining clues to the Pluton blueprints would lie with his students.
"Tom's students must be involved in this attack. How could they not know what Tom was planning?" Spandam said, turning to the judge.
The judge, silent, pushed past the Marines guarding him and looked down at Tom's motionless body. After a long pause, he asked Spandam, "Have you ever ridden the Sea Train?"
"Huh?" Spandam was taken aback, not expecting such a question.
"If you've ridden it, then you should know how extraordinary it is. And the person who invented it—how much credit does he deserve, and how remarkable must he be?" The judge made no effort to hide his regret.
Spandam's face twisted in frustration. "But he's a heinous criminal! A criminal who built a ship for the Pirate King and has no remorse for it!"
"Yes, and that's why the current situation is his just desserts," the judge sighed. But then, his tone shifted. "However, you just heard him confess. At the crime scene, he was the only one present. There's no evidence that his students were involved. And those young people who helped build the Sea Train—they've contributed greatly. I won't arrest them without evidence."
Leaving Spandam standing there, dumbfounded, the judge walked over to Iceburg, who had collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
Bending down, the judge spoke to Iceburg in a gentle tone. "Young man, the law is the rule that maintains order in this world. It binds everyone's actions. Without it, chaos and lawlessness would reign, and that's what led to the Great Pirate Era. Tom broke the law, and he must face the consequences. Don't blame the government or the law. I hope you can carry on your teacher's legacy, but don't follow his path. Only then can your talents make a greater contribution to the world."
Iceburg didn't look at him, nor did he respond. His tear-filled eyes remained fixed on Tom's lifeless body.
Blame? How could he not blame them? Iceburg knew Tom had been wronged—all for the sake of a set of blueprints.
Fourteen years. For fourteen years, the World Government had done nothing to help this city out of its plight or to promote the Sea Train. Instead, they had tirelessly pursued and executed anyone connected to the Pirate King and a potentially fake set of blueprints. And now, they had killed the one man who had truly worked to help this city.
The judge ordered the removal of Iceburg's handcuffs. Iceburg made no aggressive moves. He simply walked to Tom's lifeless body, collapsed over it, and wept bitterly.
Unlike the impulsive Cutty Flam, the steady Iceburg would bury his resentment deep within his heart.
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