The distance between Water 7 and Alabasta is approximately 1,600 nautical miles.
At the speed Hina and her companions were traveling—even with brief stops to rest at two islands along the way—they reached their destination in just three hours.
Galley-La Company
Also the mayor's residence, it served as the headquarters of the Galley-La Company.
It was the most heavily guarded place on the entire island.
Inside the office—
Mayor Iceburg sat at his desk, looking miserably at a pile of documents.
It wasn't that something had gone wrong—he just really didn't want to deal with any of it.
Tedious. Boring. Exhausting.
But under the stern gaze of his secretary, he instinctively straightened his back and resumed working.
His secretary was... far too strict.
Neither of them noticed that three strangers had already appeared in the office.
Standing silently behind Kalifa.
A sharp chop to the back of her neck—Kalifa felt a sudden jolt of pain before everything went black.
She collapsed to the floor.
Fortunately, Hina caught her in time, preventing a hard fall.
"You people... are from Jun Lin?"
Iceburg noticed the movement and looked up.
And froze.
His secretary was unconscious on the floor, and three unknown people had somehow entered his office.
"Iceburg, someone wants to talk to you."
"Who?"
"Our leader—from Jun Lin."
Iceburg's reaction surprised Hina a little.
He was... unusually calm.
Aside from an initial flash of confusion, he showed no signs of panic or fear.
Hina then pulled out a Den Den Mushi and made a call.
A moment later, the line connected.
> "Mr. Iceburg, I apologize for contacting you this way, but we had to be cautious. After all... Water 7 is completely riddled with CP9 agents."
What?!
Iceburg frowned.
CP9? He knew very well who they were—even if others didn't.
But Water 7... infiltrated by CP9 like a sieve?
That couldn't be true, could it?
> "And why should I believe you?" Iceburg asked.
> "Rob Lucci," the voice replied. "CP9's strongest agent in the past 800 years. Known as the most ruthless and powerful weapon in CP9's history. He's also the current top agent."
"What? Lucci?!"
Iceburg couldn't stay calm anymore—his face twisted in shock.
> "Oh, not just Lucci. Kaku, your other foreman, and Kalifa, your own secretary—they're all CP9 agents," the voice continued.
> "Oh, and let's not forget Bruno, the bartender from that quiet little place in town. He's one of them too."
...
Iceburg was stunned.
So many CP9 agents... around me? Even my secretary?!
He glanced at Kalifa, unconscious on the floor.
His expression grew complicated.
> "So why are you telling me this? What do you want?"
"Cooperation," the voice said.
"Cooperation?"
"Yes. Cooperation. Mr. Iceburg, are you familiar with Jun Lin's shipbuilding capabilities?"
Iceburg raised an eyebrow in confusion.
Jun Lin? Weren't they a wanted organization?
They had shipbuilding capabilities?
He didn't get it.
At that moment, Hina took out a blueprint and handed it to him.
He unfolded it—and saw a warship design.
But... it was like nothing he had ever seen.
The lower decks had an odd layout, and the top structure—the "island"—was even stranger.
No sails?
And what were those three giant turbines at the bottom?
Iceburg was full of questions, curiosity bursting in his mind.
But Hina didn't give him time to ask.
She took the blueprint back.
> "That ship design you just saw," she said, "was for a warship made entirely of steel."
"That's impossible—unless…"
> "Unless it's like Pluton, right?" the voice cut in smoothly.
Iceburg flinched.
He had stopped himself from saying the name out loud—but they'd already said it.
Now he was rattled.
> "Relax. If I were after Pluton, I'd have made a move on Franky long ago."
"What do you mean? I don't understand!"
> "Oh, come on, Iceburg. Isn't Pluton hidden in the secret compartment inside Franky's body?"
"You...!"
Iceburg's face went pale.
How could they know such a massive secret?
> "Don't worry," the voice assured him. "If we wanted Pluton, Franky wouldn't have stood a chance."
"Fine. I believe you," Iceburg said. "So... you want me to build that ship?"
He nodded slowly.
Indeed, as the voice had said—if Jun Lin truly wanted Pluton, Franky wouldn't have escaped.
Judging by the skill the three agents had just demonstrated...
If they made a move, Franky would be doomed.
Iceburg might not be a fighter, but he had good judgment.
After all, Galley-La constantly worked with pirates from all over the seas.
Even some of the most infamous ones from the New World had commissioned ships from them.
So yes—Iceburg had a keen eye for danger.
> "No," the voice said. "That ship was actually a scrapped prototype. We sold the whole line to the Navy."
> "What I want is for Galley-La to help us build the next generation of warships. The first batch will be 32 ships."
"What?! That was just your first-generation prototype? The one the Navy's treating like a treasure?
And you're already starting production on the second generation?!"
> "Exactly. But we're short on skilled workers."
Actually, that wasn't quite true—Jun Lin wasn't lacking in manpower.
They had money, and ordinary shipbuilders weren't that expensive.
But the system-born cyborg workers were difficult to improve.
So—
If possible, Jun Lin wanted to recruit native talents.
Real people had far more potential for growth—and could even reach the legendary Ex-rank.
And the foremen from Galley-La?
By Jun Lin's assessment, they were at least A-rank, maybe even a few S-ranks.
Even the average workers were solid B-ranks.
If Jun Lin could bring back a team of those workers, it would massively accelerate shipbuilding progress.
And if—just if—they could take over the entire Galley-La Company...
Well, that would be even better.
Of course, that wasn't realistic.
Iceburg was the mayor of Water 7. There was no way he'd leave.
But that was fine.
Jun Lin could offer him a deal: build a branch office in Rhodes Island.
Jun Lin would cover the land, build the docks, provide endless skilled labor, and even waive taxes.
A deal that good—could he really resist?
"How many people do you want?" Iceburg finally asked after a long silence.
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