"Jewel Tree Adam? You want to use Jewel Tree Adam?"
Inside the reception hall of the Galley-La Company, Iceburg personally received the four of them. When he heard El's request, his expression turned visibly surprised.
"I didn't expect someone your age to know so much about shipbuilding timber," Iceburg said, looking at El with renewed interest.
"You guessed right," El replied calmly. "Can you obtain Jewel Tree Adam?"
"Yes, I can," Iceburg nodded. "But—"
He looked down at the design blueprint he had just drawn according to their requirements and continued seriously,
"The ship you're requesting is already at the maximum limit for a two-masted vessel in terms of length, width, and height. If we build the entire hull using Jewel Tree Adam, the cost will be extremely high."
"Give me an estimate," El said without hesitation.
Iceburg hesitated for a moment, then explained,
"Jewel Tree Adam is incredibly rare. It can only be obtained through the black market, and those prices…"
He shook his head. "They're not something ordinary people can afford."
After doing a careful calculation, Iceburg gave his answer.
"If the entire ship—from internal structure to outer hull—is constructed with Jewel Tree Adam, then including black-market procurement and labor costs, you'll need about 1.5 billion Belly."
"No problem."
El nodded without even blinking.
"I'll pay 1.6 billion Belly," he added.
"Use the extra 100 million Belly to purchase additional Jewel Tree Adam and store it in your warehouse as reserve material."
"…!"
Iceburg was genuinely shocked this time.
He had not expected these children—two Supernovas, one wielding the strongest Logia—to be this wealthy.
Recovering quickly, Iceburg stood up with a smile and extended his hand.
"Then—happy cooperation."
After signing the contract, the four returned to their ship and brought over sixteen boxes, each containing 100 million Belly.
Just like that, 1.6 billion Belly was spent in one go.
Yet none of them felt even the slightest bit of pain.
They had once lived without money.
Now they were rich—and still had limitless gold stored in the sky above.
Why would they feel distressed?
Originally, the four had planned to commission a large three-masted sailing ship.
But after piloting the medium-sized ship they had seized earlier, they quickly abandoned the idea.
It was cumbersome to operate, overly spacious, and uncomfortable to live in.
A large three-masted ship offered more space than a medium two-masted one—but paradoxically felt less livable.
In the end, they chose to customize a medium-sized ship pushed to its absolute limits in every aspect, making it their long-term home.
To avoid changing ships repeatedly—or worse, seeing their home destroyed—El insisted on using Jewel Tree Adam, a material that even cannon fire could not easily damage.
With a proper combination lock installed, they wouldn't need to carry valuables ashore in the future, nor worry about theft.
"When will the ship be completed?" El asked after paying in full.
"At least three months," Iceburg replied honestly.
"This isn't like when the Thousand Sunny was built. Back then, I had far more experience, manpower, and Franky helping out."
"Right now, we're short on top-tier shipwrights—and your ship is even larger than the Sunny."
"That's fine," El nodded. "We'll come back in three months."
He didn't rush the matter.
After leaving Galley-La, the four checked into the most luxurious hotel on Water 7's main street, renting a large suite.
They planned to stay in Water 7 for some time.
On the massive bed, the four sat in a circle. Each held a pen, while a notebook filled with shopping lists lay in the center.
"Oh—right," Carina said thoughtfully, biting the pen.
"I want to buy a full set of professional singing equipment."
Her eyes lit up as she added another line to the already crowded list.
The new ship hadn't even left the shipyard yet, but the three girls were already discussing how to decorate their future home.
El wrote down what he needed, handed the pen to Nami, then lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling in silence.
At this moment, El was deeply conflicted.
The issue troubling him was his next weapon.
The Sandai Kitetsu had been scrapped during failed Devil Fruit weapon experiments. His current sword was merely borrowed from Kuina.
Kuina herself now wielded lightning-based Elbaf techniques, yet she hadn't mastered Armament Haki. Any ordinary sword she used would melt into molten iron after a single full-power strike.
El urgently needed a new weapon—for himself.
And he needed to return Wado Ichimonji to Kuina.
Just as Kuina's lightning version of Spear of Elbaf destroyed ordinary swords, El's Hakoku Sovereignty also consumed blades at an alarming rate.
When he defeated Enel, he had been lucky to be using Wado Ichimonji.
Had he wielded an ordinary sword, it would have shattered instantly.
Even coating a blade with Armament Haki only extended its lifespan slightly.
For swordsmen like El and Kuina, only famous swords—at minimum Great Grade Swords (Ō Wazamono)—were viable.
Anything less could mean death if the blade broke mid-strike.
The problem wasn't that El didn't know where to find such swords.
On the contrary—he knew too many options.
One destination lay along their future route toward Sabaody Archipelago:
The Florian Triangle.
There rested Shusui, the former blade of Shimotsuki Ryuma, Kuina's ancestor and the Sword God of Wano.
Shusui, the national treasure of Wano, was a Great Grade Sword and one of the world's rare black blades.
Though ranked as Ō Wazamono, its reputation rivaled that of Supreme Grade Swords (Saijō Ō Wazamono).
Its ranking was based on the fame of its wielder—and Ryuma had been the strongest swordsman of his era.
Shusui was, without question, among the strongest black blades in history.
Yet near Water 7, there also existed another black sword, one that stood on the level of a Supreme Grade Sword—a blade that didn't even require Armament Haki tempering.
And yet…
El hesitated.
Because compared to black blades, he was more accustomed to the Sandai Kitetsu.
He loved its sharpness.
Its temperament.
Its curse.
As fate would have it, El also knew of a cursed sword whose quality rivaled that of the Supreme Grade Swords.
Unfortunately, obtaining it would be far more difficult than acquiring a black blade.
After a long silence, El suddenly spoke.
"Carina, Nami, Kuina… how about we take a trip and relax a bit?"
The three girls looked at him in surprise.
Then—
"Okay!"
"We've really been running nonstop lately," Nami said with a smile.
"It is time to relax."
PS :
Jewel Tree Adam – Legendary shipbuilding wood;
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789