Silence lingered in the ruined room long after CP9 had vanished.
Broken walls. Cracked floors. Heavy breathing.
The Straw Hats slowly gathered themselves, pain still echoing through their bodies—but it was nothing compared to the weight pressing down on their chests.
Iceburg sat slumped against a wall, clutching his wounded side, eyes shadowed with exhaustion and guilt.
"…They won't waste time," he said at last.
Everyone turned to him.
"CP9 doesn't improvise," Iceburg continued. "If they've taken Nico Robin… then their destination is already decided."
Nami swallowed.
"…Where?"
Iceburg looked up. "Enies Lobby."
The name landed like a thunderclap.
Sanji frowned. "That government island?"
Iceburg nodded grimly. "One of the three great strongholds of the World Government. A judicial island. Once you're taken there…"
He exhaled sharply. "…People don't come back."
Chopper's ears drooped. "…R-Robin…"
Luffy clenched his fists. "Then we go there."
Iceburg stared at him. "…What?"
"We go to Enies Lobby," Luffy repeated, voice steady, unshaking. "They took our crewmate."
Iceburg pushed himself upright despite the pain. "Straw Hat, listen to me. Enies Lobby is surrounded by Marines. Battleships. Cipher Pol agents. If you step foot there, you'll be declaring war on the World Government itself."
Luffy didn't hesitate. "So what?"
The room fell quiet.
Nami stared at him. "Luffy…"
"Robin is part of our crew," Luffy said, jaw tight. "She left for reasons we don't understand yet."
His eyes burned. "But that doesn't matter."
He looked at each of them. "She didn't betray us."
Zoro nodded immediately. "…Yeah."
Sanji lit a cigarette, smoke curling around his face. "She wouldn't run without a reason."
Chopper sniffed. "We have to bring her back."
Iceburg studied them in disbelief. "You'd really challenge the entire world… for one person?"
Luffy grinned. "She's not just one person."
And then—
BANG!
The doors burst open.
Several figures rushed in, boots skidding against broken stone.
"Mayor Iceburg!" a familiar voice shouted.
Paulie stepped forward, ropes coiled at his hips, chest heaving as his sharp eyes swept across the damaged room. His gaze lingered on the shattered walls, the scorched floor—then on the Straw Hats, bruised but standing.
"…So it's true," he muttered. "CP9 really was here."
Behind him, the rest of the Galley-La shipwrights poured in—faces hard, jaws clenched, anger barely restrained.
"We heard everything!" Paulie said, fists tightening. "Every word."
Iceburg's eyes widened in alarm. "Paulie… you shouldn't be here."
Paulie spun toward him sharply.
"How could we not be?!" he shot back. "Our mayor is attacked, our city's being used as a battleground, and you expect us to stay quiet?!"
He turned away, teeth clenched, shaking his head.
"…I still can't believe it," Paulie said, voice lower now, heavy with disbelief.
"Lucci. Kaku. Kalifa."
He laughed bitterly. "All that time… working beside us. Drinking with us. Building ships with us."
His hands curled into fists.
"They were traitors," he growled. "Government dogs hiding in plain sight."
The shipwrights behind him murmured angrily.
"They fooled all of us…"
"Bastards…"
"They used Galley-La…"
Iceburg looked away, guilt etched deep into his face.
Paulie stepped forward again, eyes now locked on the Straw Hats.
"And you," he said, voice steady. "You were right to fight them."
Nami stiffened. "Paulie—"
He raised a hand.
"I don't care that you're pirates," he continued. "If the World Government thinks it can trample Water 7, kidnap people, and leave us bleeding—"
He slammed his fist into his palm.
"—then they've picked the wrong city."
Paulie met Luffy's eyes directly.
"Straw Hats," he said firmly, "if you're going after CP9… if you're going to Enies Lobby…"
He tied one of his ropes tighter around his arm.
"…then I'm coming with you."
The shipwrights behind him stepped forward in unison.
"So are we."
"We won't sit this out."
"This is our fight too."
Iceburg's voice trembled. "Paulie… that place is dangerous. You could die."
Paulie smirked faintly.
"Yeah," he said. "But I'd rather die standing than live knowing I did nothing."
He glanced toward the shattered doorway where Robin had disappeared earlier.
"They took one of your crew," he added quietly. "And they betrayed our city."
His eyes hardened. "That's reason enough."
The room fell silent for a moment—then Luffy grinned.
"Alright," he said simply.
And just like that, the path forward gained new allies.
Before Iceburg could respond again, another voice cut in—rough, desperate.
"ICEBURG!!"
Everyone turned.
A massive man with a square jaw and star-shaped hair stumbled inside, bruised and panting.
"Zambai?" Iceburg said.
Zambai dropped to one knee.
"It's bad!" he shouted. "Franky—Franky was taken! Government agents grabbed him at the docks!"
The Straw Hats stiffened.
"…Franky Family?" Nami muttered.
Usopp scowled. "The same idiots who jumped me?"
Zambai bowed deeply, forehead slamming against the floor.
"I know!" he yelled. "We messed up! We were trash! But Franky's our boss—our family!"
He turned toward the Straw Hats.
"Please!"
"I know we don't deserve it—but help us save him!"
Luffy crossed his arms. "…Oi You're apologizing to the wrong guy."
Zambai blinked.
Luffy nodded toward Usopp."Him."
Usopp stiffened. "M-Me?"
Zambai crawled forward immediately.
"I'M SORRY!!" he cried. "We beat you up! We stole from you! We were scum!"
The rest of the Franky Family members who had followed him dropped to their knees too.
"Please forgive us!"
Usopp stared at them, shaking.
His hands clenched.
Then he exhaled. "…You guys really are idiots."
They looked up hopefully.
"But," Usopp continued, wiping his nose,
"…if you're willing to bow like that for your friend…"
He looked away.
"…Then yeah. I forgive you."
They burst into tears instantly.
"THANK YOU!!"
Sanji groaned. "Unbelievable."
Iceburg watched the scene, then turned serious again.
"…If you're really going after them," he said,
"then there's only one way you can catch up."
He stood and gestured toward the floor.
"Beneath Water 7… there's an underground tunnel."
Nami's eyes widened. "Underground?"
"There's an old sea train down there," Iceburg explained. "A prototype."
Chopper perked up. "A sea train?!"
"It was built by my master," Iceburg said quietly.
The room stilled.
"Tom."
At the name, the Franky Family members froze. Some of them stiffened; others lowered their heads, teeth clenched. The air itself seemed to grow heavier.
Iceburg's jaw tightened, old pain surfacing in his eyes. "He was persecuted by the World Government."
A sharp silence followed.
"…Why?" Usopp asked, his voice unusually subdued.
Iceburg closed his eyes, as if bracing himself against a memory that never stopped hurting.
"Because he built the ship used by the Pirate King."
For a split second, no one reacted.
Then—
"WHAT?!"
"THE PIRATE KING?!"
"No way!!"
"You're kidding!!"
The room exploded into disbelief.
Usopp flailed wildly.
"T–THE Pirate King?! Gold Roger?! That Pirate King?!"
Chopper's eyes sparkled with awe. "Amazing…!"
Zoro raised a brow. "So that's why the Government wanted him gone."
Sanji exhaled smoke slowly, eyes narrowed.
"…They don't forgive anyone connected to Roger."
Through it all—
Luffy's grin stretched ear to ear.
"So he built Gold Roger's ship?" he said, eyes shining.
Iceburg opened his eyes and nodded. "Yes."
The word carried weight.
"Tom was a legendary shipwright," Iceburg continued. "He wasn't just my master…"
He glanced toward the Franky Family.
"…He was Franky's too."
The Franky Family stirred uneasily.
Iceburg's voice softened, reverent. "And he was the man who built the Sea Train."
Nami blinked. "Wait… that Sea Train? The one running on the ocean?"
Iceburg nodded again.
"All of it," he said. "The Sea Train. The principles behind ships that could defy storms. And yes—"
He paused.
"—the Oro Jackson. The ship that carried Gol D. Roger across the Grand Line."
Usopp gulped. "Th-that's insane…"
Luffy laughed, pure and delighted. "He sounds awesome!"
Iceburg allowed himself a faint, sad smile.
"He was," he agreed. "And that's exactly why the World Government feared him."
Paulie clenched his fists. "So they erased him."
"They tried," Iceburg said quietly. "They executed him under the pretense of justice. All because he built a ship."
Zambai snarled. "Those bastards…"
Iceburg's gaze hardened.
"Before he died," he continued, "Tom taught us one thing above all else."
The room leaned in.
"No matter what ship you build… never deny it," Iceburg said. "Never shame your work. Ships aren't weapons. It's the hearts of men that turn them into monsters."
Silence followed.
Luffy stared at Iceburg, then laughed softly.
"I like him," he said simply.
Nami suddenly froze.
"…Wait," she said slowly, a chill running down her spine. "CP9 was searching for Pluton, right?"
The room went quiet.
Iceburg's shoulders tensed. "…Yes."
The way he answered—short, heavy—made everyone uneasy.
Nami's fingers curled into her palm. "…Then that means—"
She looked straight at him. "…your master had it."
Iceburg let out a long, weary sigh. It sounded like something he had been holding in for years.
"…He did."
The words landed like a weight.
Everyone stared at him.
Chopper's mouth fell open. "T–That means… the Ancient Weapon was really here…?"
Usopp swallowed hard. "You're telling us… the blueprints for something that can destroy islands were just—what—lying around Water 7?!"
Iceburg nodded grimly.
"Yes," he said. "Tom had them."
He looked down at his hands, fingers tightening as memories surfaced.
"He showed them to us once. Me… and Franky."
The Franky Family stiffened immediately.
Iceburg's voice grew darker.
"What I saw that day," he continued, "was something that should never be built. Not by anyone. Not ever."
Sanji frowned. "So why keep the blueprints at all?"
Iceburg lifted his head.
"Because that was Tom's burden," he said.
"If Pluton ever resurfaced in the world… someone had to be able to counter it."
Zoro crossed his arms. "A deterrent."
Iceburg nodded once. "The blueprints existed so another Pluton could be built—only if absolutely necessary. That was the logic."
Nami shook her head slowly. "That's insane…"
"It is," Iceburg agreed. "And Tom knew it."
His voice softened. "That's why, before his execution, the World Government demanded the blueprints from him."
Usopp leaned forward. "And he gave them—?"
"No," Iceburg said sharply.
The room stilled again.
"He never did. He kept denying it's existence"
A beat.
"Before he died," Iceburg continued more quietly, "he never told me where the Pluton blueprints went."
Silence stretched.
"…But," he added, hesitating for the first time, "he may have told someone else."
Every head slowly turned.
"…Franky," Iceburg finished.
The Franky Family erupted.
"BOSS?!"
"Franky had them?!"
"No way!"
Zambai's face drained of color. "Wait—are you saying the Government took Franky because—"
"Because they suspect he knows where the blueprints are," Iceburg said.
Zoro smirked slightly, though his eyes were serious. "Then we've got two people to save."
Robin.
And Franky.
Usopp let out a shaky laugh. "…Great. That's just great."
Chopper clenched his hooves. "They're going to hurt him… just like they hurt Robin…"
Luffy, who had been silent this entire time, stepped forward.
The room seemed to shift around him.
"Good," he said simply.
Everyone looked at him.
He turned toward the exit, eyes burning with certainty. "Then we're going after them."
Paulie stepped forward immediately. "Then we're going too."
Zambai slammed his fists together. "Franky's our family. We're not letting the Government take him."
Usopp wiped his nose and straightened.
"…Yeah. No one gets left behind."
Nami exhaled slowly, resolve settling in her eyes. "If CP9 thinks they can just take one of us… they're wrong."
And somewhere beneath Water 7, rails long forgotten waited—
for pirates, shipwrights, and a decision that would shake the world.
————————-
Moments Later
A deep metallic groan echoed through the underground passage.
The old sea train stirred.
Rails that had not been used in years vibrated as power surged through them. Steam hissed violently, white clouds filling the tunnel as lights flickered on one by one.
The prototype sea train—Tom's creation—came alive.
Iceburg looked at it, eyes shining with grief and pride.
"…This train was built by my master," he said softly. "By Tom."
He turned to Luffy. "It will take you straight toward Enies Lobby."
Luffy grinned. "Great."
As the Straw Hats boarded the train, the doors slammed shut behind them.
Steam roared.
The engine screamed.
And as the sea train surged forward into the night, Water 7 slowly disappeared behind them—its lights fading into reflections on dark water.
Ahead lay the World Government.
Ahead lay Enies Lobby.
And ahead—
A war that none of them could turn back from anymore.