Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
Ezra D. Vale had already left Stussy's kingdom.
On the way, he made a short stop at Mary Geoise to spend some time with Imu. After Aokiji arrived with a Marine warship to pick him up, Ezra set his next destination.
Water Seven.
At this point in time, the blueprints for Pluton had not yet been destroyed.
Ezra wanted to see if he could still obtain them.
Not because he needed such power.
Honestly, his current strength had long surpassed the need for ancient weapons.
But using Pluton as the core to build a warship did not seem excessive, did it?
A Marine Admiral carrying an ancient weapon around sounded perfectly reasonable.
Ezra had briefly considered heading to Skypiea and simply stealing Enel's golden ark.
But after thinking it over, he decided that gold was far too flashy.
Pluton was much more subtle.
Yes. Definitely more subtle.
Totally believable.
At that moment in Water Seven, Luffy and the others had just defeated CP9 and were fast asleep.
Franky and Iceburg were chatting at the place where their master, Tom, once lived.
"Franky," Iceburg asked quietly, "the blueprints are still with you, right?"
Franky nodded and opened his half-mechanical torso, pulling out a rolled set of blueprints.
Iceburg smiled faintly.
"Looks like entrusting them to you back then was the right decision."
Franky chuckled.
"Something like this should never appear in the world again."
Just then, a lazy voice spoke from behind them.
"Good morning, gentlemen."
"Mind handing that over to me for a moment?"
Both of them froze and turned around sharply.
A black striped suit.
A Justice cloak fluttering in the wind.
And most striking of all, a pair of crimson eyes that were impossible to meet head-on.
"Who are you?!" Franky shouted.
Iceburg immediately grabbed his arm.
"Franky, do not say anything."
"What are you talking about, Iceburg? He saw the blueprints!"
Franky turned and realized Iceburg was drenched in sweat.
His expression changed instantly.
Franky did not read newspapers much.
But Iceburg did.
As the mayor of Water Seven, he knew exactly who stood before them.
"A Marine Headquarters Admiral."
"Ezra D. Vale."
"Code name: Blazing Ash."
Franky's heart skipped a beat.
Even if he did not know Ezra's face, the name Blazing Ash was known throughout the seas.
Ezra tilted his head slightly, relieved.
Good thing he made it in time.
He thought he had only delayed his journey a little, but somehow Luffy had not only gone to Enies Lobby, he had cleared it completely.
Protagonist luck was truly unreasonable.
Ezra decided he would pay Luffy a visit later.
A proper lesson was in order.
With that thought settled, Ezra looked back at them.
"Iceburg. How about making a deal?"
Iceburg paused and exchanged a glance with Franky.
At this point, they had no choice but to hear him out.
"Admiral Blazing Ash, please speak."
Ezra stroked his chin.
"Help me build a Pluton."
Silence.
Iceburg froze.
Franky nearly short-circuited.
Iceburg wiped the sweat from his face.
"Admiral, we cannot build that."
Ezra raised an eyebrow.
"You have not heard my conditions yet."
Both of them shut up immediately.
Ezra continued calmly.
"You want to destroy Pluton because you do not want it to fall into the hands of the World Government, correct?"
"I am a Marine."
"And the Marines do not exactly get along with the Five Elders."
"Build Pluton for me, and I guarantee that Water Seven will fall under my protection."
"No interference from the Five Elders. Ever."
The two of them fell silent.
Iceburg was tempted.
Very tempted.
He had spent eight years consolidating Water Seven and cooperating with the World Government, turning Galley-La into their official shipbuilders.
It was protection, but not a permanent solution.
CP9 had already proven that.
Water Seven had been infiltrated completely.
Iceburg had lived in constant tension, barely trusting anyone.
Franky understood all of this.
And he knew one thing clearly.
The moment Ezra appeared, the blueprints were already exposed.
Burning them now would not save anything.
If the Five Elders investigated, Water Seven would suffer.
The only fortunate thing was that the blueprints were still intact.
"So?" Ezra asked casually.
After a long moment, they looked at each other and nodded.
Ezra smiled.
"Good. From today on, Water Seven will never again be under the Five Elders' control."
"Build the ship as fast as you can."
"Yes, Admiral Blazing Ash."
After business concluded, Ezra asked casually.
"Where is Luffy?"
Franky's mouth twitched.
"Admiral, I do not know."
Iceburg rolled his eyes.
Right. Enies Lobby destroyed itself.
Definitely ghosts.
"Admiral," Iceburg asked carefully, "you are not going to hurt Luffy, are you?"
Ezra shrugged.
"I raised that kid."
That finally reassured them.
Though they could not help thinking that Luffy's background was absurdly overpowered.
Of course, they were wrong.
If Luffy ever stood in Ezra's way, Ezra would kill him without hesitation.