Grand Line – The City of Water, Water 7.
From high above, Souta Kiryuu and his crew gazed down at the magnificent city, its architecture shaped like a pyramid of cascading fountains.
Seven sea routes encircled the island, each leading into different districts of the city. Ships could rise through tiered waterways by way of complex hydraulic elevators, climbing from one level of the city to the next.
"Targets," Souta announced coldly, scanning the map in his hand. "The bar owner in Central Street—CP9 agent Bruno, wielder of the Door-Door Fruit. The dismantler boss—'Iron Man' Franky. CP9's prodigy—Rob Lucci, master of the Cat-Cat Fruit, hailed as a genius not seen in eight centuries. CP9 operative Kaku…
"And the money: Water 7's Exchange House, and its great banking hall."
Souta divided the tasks with precision. He himself would deal with Bruno and Franky. Kuma and Enel would be sent after Rob Lucci—the Zoan user whose bloodline factor was strong enough to serve as a prototype for a new Seraph clone.
As for Law, Bege, and Lafitte—they were to hit the Exchange and the banks, plundering every vault and treasury.
Water 7 was the shipbuilding capital of the Grand Line, a place where countless pirate crews came to commission their dream vessels. But where did those pirates' fortunes come from?
From their plunder—gold and treasures robbed from across the seas. And where did those treasures end up? In Water 7's underground exchange houses and banks, washed clean, traded for cash. Even the "legitimate" government-backed exchanges happily devoured the blood-soaked fortunes of pirates.
It was here that the Straw Hats themselves had once exchanged the gold they brought back from Skypiea—buying Adam Wood to build their Thousand Sunny.
But these exchanges were notorious for cheating. They preyed on desperate newcomers who didn't know the market, buying gold at insultingly low prices. If not for Nami's sharp eye, the Straw Hats would have been swindled badly.
Outside the banks lurked bounty hunters, mobsters, and pirates—all waiting to rob those foolish enough to walk away with newly converted cash. Even Franky's own gang often moonlighted in such ambushes.
"Robbery, huh? Now that's a job suited to me."
Capone Bege bit down on his cigar, straightening the striped black suit that clung to his stocky frame. Finally—a task that made sense.
"I want my name out there!" Bonney shouted eagerly, her eyes burning with ambition. "I want a wanted poster—I want my bounty raised high!"
Her frustration was real. Their victory over Foxy at Long Ring Long Land still hadn't made the papers. Not a whisper of her involvement had spread. It was infuriating.
"Come with me," Bege grinned. "We'll rob a bank. We'll smash the Marines. You'll have your poster before the ink's dry."
He wasn't just tempting her—it was strategy. With this "little princess" at his side, it meant having Kuma as her bodyguard. And if things went south against the Marines or another pirate crew, Souta or Enel wouldn't necessarily rush to save him.
"Fine! We'll take the Marines head-on!" Bonney cheered, throwing up her fists.
But Souta had already vanished—slipping into invisibility and darting straight for Central Street's tavern. First on his list: Bruno, the Door-Door user. A slippery rat. Best to deal with him before he could slip away.
"One," Enel muttered, scanning the shipyards with his mantra as his electromagnetic waves spread out. "Dock One. Foreman—Rob Lucci."
A grin crept across his lips.
"This is the one they say is CP9's greatest genius. Perfect."
With a crack of thunder, Enel burst into lightning, vanishing from the Ark Maxim as the others prepared to move.
Trafalgar Law sliced open a vast ROOM, warping himself away in an instant. Lafitte spread his ghostly white wings and drifted down, smiling faintly.
"Oi, Kuma, give me a lift too!" Bege barked, seeing Bonney perched on Kuma's shoulder, ready to leap.
It wasn't fair. The Ark Maxim was hovering far too high, and unlike the others, Capone "Gang" Bege had no way to fly. It was humiliating.
"One day," he muttered to himself, "once Vegapunk finishes my memory-metal battle suit, I'll fly like the Germa freaks. Mark my words."
The thought stirred something inside him—excitement, even. He could almost picture it: a transformation sequence, a gleaming armored form. He chuckled to himself, thinking about what color his suit should be, what pose he'd strike.
With an amused smile, Kuma swatted Bege from the ship with a casual paw-palm, sending him hurtling toward the city below. He and Bonney descended after him in silence.
Central Street Tavern, Water 7.
Behind the bar, a large man with bull-like black horns polished a glass with methodical care. Bruno.
On the surface, he was nothing more than a bar owner—loyal, hardworking, quiet. In truth, he was CP9, assigned to Water 7 years ago under government orders. Their mission: find the blueprints of Pluton.
Lucci and Kaku had infiltrated Galley-La as foremen. Kalifa had taken a post as Iceburg's secretary. They had worked for years, searching. But after all this time, they had found nothing. Nothing but wasted years of labor.
How many five-year spans does a man get in a lifetime? Bruno thought bitterly.
Would this quiet, lazy life ever end? Or would they die undercover, their mission forever unfinished?
Suddenly, the air shifted. A strange disturbance.
Bruno looked up, his eyes narrowing.
No one was there.
"—!!"
Agony ripped through his gut. His eyes bulged as blood surged into his mouth. The glass fell from his hands and shattered on the floor.
He had been attacked—yet he hadn't even seen it coming.
Desperately, he reached with one hand, summoning the power of his Door-Door Fruit. If he could just slip into another dimension—
But before he could, a massive hand clamped around his skull. Souta Kiryuu materialized from thin air, his other fist wrapped in Armament Haki.
"Pathetic."
With a brutal crack, Souta's punch smashed Bruno's face, blood spraying as the CP9 agent's eyes rolled white. His hand went limp, the doorway he'd begun to open collapsing into nothing.
"One down."
Souta lifted the unconscious Bruno by the collar and strode boldly out of the bar.
Gasps erupted all around. Patrons froze in terror.
"That's him—Souta Kiryuu!"
"The Crimson Dragon! The butcher of the Celestial Dragons!"
"Run for your lives!!"
In a panic, people scattered as Souta's form rippled, his body unfurling into the shape of a colossal scarlet dragon.
Across the entire city, eyes turned skyward in horror as the dragon's form coiled into the heavens.
The Kiryuu Pirates roared into action.
A thunderbolt as wide as a tower crashed down onto Dock One, striking with explosive force.
"Yahahaha!" Enel's manic laughter echoed across the shipyard. "So you're the great killing machine of CP9? Let's see what you're worth!"
His body dissolved into lightning, racing straight for Rob Lucci.
The shipwrights of Galley-La froze, stunned.
"…Lucci? A CP agent?!"
Nearby, Kaku's long nose twitched as his face turned pale. They'd been exposed. Their cover—blown.