"Six… Six Powers…"
Iceburg's gaze trembled slightly as realization dawned on him.
"Wait… that isn't—"
His voice cut off abruptly.
Because at this moment, regardless of whether what Kalifa had used was truly the "Six Powers" as he understood them…
From the instant she erupted with a power he had never known she possessed, the course of events had already veered far beyond his expectations.
Iceburg's heart thudded violently twice, an ominous feeling rising within him.
And when he looked back at Red, his expression had already grown incomparably complex.
After a moment, he slowly let out a breath.
Although he still could not figure out who Red and his group really were, nor what their true purpose was, from the moment this young man appeared and directly took control of Kalifa…
If they truly meant him harm, he wouldn't have the slightest chance to resist.
"Please, everyone, move with me to my office so we can discuss this in detail."
"No problem." Red smiled faintly, then gestured to his companions behind him.
The Going Merry advanced slowly, following the waterway of Dock No. 1 as it entered deep into the interior of the Galley-La Company.
…
…
A short while later.
Inside the mayor's office at Galley-La Company headquarters.
At Red's command, the hypnotized Kalifa skillfully served the Straw Hat crew various high-end beverages under Iceburg's strange gaze.
Meanwhile, Luffy and Red sat across from Iceburg, facing him over the desk.
Red glanced at Luffy, who had already started playing with the bubbles in his soda, then turned his attention back to Iceburg and spoke directly.
"Mayor Iceburg, I'll be straightforward."
"You've probably already guessed…"
"Your side has long been infiltrated by agents planted by the World Government."
"And their objective is naturally the blueprints hidden by your master, the legendary shipwright Tom—"
"The design plans of the Ancient Weapon Pluton!!!"
"Y-you… how do you know all this!?"
Iceburg's fingers trembled slightly. Shock flashed through his eyes before he quickly fell into deep contemplation.
As the mayor of Water 7, Iceburg considered himself well-informed and experienced.
Even when he realized Kalifa might be an agent planted beside him by the World Government, he had not panicked excessively.
But at this moment, he truly didn't know how to respond.
Fortunately, Red did not let his doubts linger, instead smiling simply and plainly.
"Mr. Iceburg, rather than worrying about why I know the secrets you've hidden for decades…"
"Our objective is far more important to you, isn't it?"
"You… what do you want?" Iceburg looked at Red, then at Luffy blowing bubbles in his soda, before finally raising his head and asking with a complicated expression.
"Very simple."
Red grinned and discreetly poked Luffy in the side.
"Huh? Oh! Oh!!"
Receiving Red's "signal," Luffy looked up blankly, then turned toward Iceburg and broke into a radiant grin in his role as captain.
Red continued.
"We want to make a deal with you!"
"We'll help you eliminate the threat from the World Government. We can even help you find the real culprit who killed your master Tom, and let you take revenge!"
"And the price you need to pay is…"
"Help us remodel a ship!!!"
"Let our Going Merry become the strongest ship in the world!!!"
"…Wait." Iceburg froze after hearing Red's words. "You just said… 'you'?"
"That's right~" Red smiled and pointed at Iceburg. "You."
"You… and your junior brother, who has now become a cyborg—Franky!"
"According to what I know, he should be in Water 7 right now, working as a dismantler and bounty hunter."
"And to avoid unnecessary trouble, I'll reveal a little more to you, Mr. Iceburg."
The corners of Red's mouth lifted as an interdimensional portal suddenly opened beside him.
He reached inside and pulled out an orange spiral mask.
Under Iceburg's suddenly dilated pupils, Red casually tossed the eye-catching spiral mask onto the desk in front of him.
Smack!
With lightning speed, Iceburg grabbed a nearby document and slammed it down over the mask.
"…Y-you… why do you have this!?"
His voice trembled as he looked up, a terrifying and shocking conjecture forming in his mind.
"It seems you know very well what this mask represents, Mr. Iceburg." Red chuckled lightly, then, under Iceburg's incredulous gaze, produced yet another object—
A frozen head.
Though the vicious expression and shattered cheekbones had rendered the face nearly unrecognizable, Iceburg identified it instantly.
A Celestial Dragon—Saint Serentinia!!!
Even though more than ten days had passed since that great incident, Iceburg would never forget that scene.
At this moment, the identity of the Straw Hat crew no longer needed explanation.
Iceburg slowly removed the document pressing down on the mask, lifting it up to cover Red's face, revealing a pair of pitch-black, mysterious eyes.
Behind the mask, Red broke into a wide grin.
He had said it—Celestial Dragon corpses would come in handy someday.
Their effort to dig it out of the ruins hadn't been wasted.
…
…
Bang!
As the ornate doors were pushed open by a pair of large, hairy hands, a puzzled Franky walked into Iceburg's office.
Alert, Franky scanned the room, and only after confirming there were no outsiders did he step inside.
"What's going on, Iceburg?"
"Why did you suddenly call me over?"
"You're here, Franky!"
In the dimly lit room, a faint yellow glow illuminated Iceburg's face.
While examining the blueprints, Iceburg raised his head but didn't explain right away. Instead, he pushed the papers forward.
"Take a look at this ship…"
"Is there a way to expand it into a large vessel without damaging its original core structure?"
"Huh? That's it?" Franky frowned.
Knowing Iceburg would never summon him over something so trivial, he dragged a chair over and sat down to examine the blueprints.
But the moment he started, his eyes shook violently.
"Th-this is…"
Franky slammed the blueprints onto the desk with a bang, staring at Iceburg in shock.
"Iceburg, are you serious!?"
As one of the keepers of the Ancient Weapon Pluton blueprints, he could tell at a glance that Iceburg's incomplete design—less than one-third finished—was filled with concepts strikingly similar to Pluton.
Even though neither of them could read the ancient script on Pluton's blueprints, as master shipwrights, they had still learned a great deal from its design.
The power system inside Franky's own body was inspired directly by Pluton's blueprints.
And Iceburg, who had also safeguarded those plans and whose shipbuilding skills were even superior to Franky's, naturally possessed even more of Pluton's technology.
"First, consider the feasibility of this design."
Iceburg didn't answer immediately, instead tapping seriously at key points on the blueprint.
Under Iceburg's focused gaze, Franky stopped questioning and calmed himself, carefully studying the plans.
Yet the more he looked, the deeper his confusion grew.
No matter how he examined it, the prototype ship on the blueprint was nothing more than an utterly ordinary light sailboat.
With his world-class shipbuilding expertise, he could tell instantly that the design had undoubtedly been drawn by a novice.
He could see the designer's sincerity—but that was all.
The entire ship was full of immaturity and imperfections.
Still, seeing Iceburg's seriousness, Franky studied it intently.
Half an hour later, Franky slapped the blueprints onto the desk again and rubbed his chin.
"The condition is not to damage the ship's main structure?"
"It's a bit strange, but if we invest heavily in materials, turning it into a large warship wouldn't be too difficult."
"Even adding some designs from… that wouldn't be much trouble."
"So, Iceburg…"
Franky's gaze sharpened as he stared at him. "Can you tell me now why you called me here?"
"Franky."
Under his junior brother's stare, Iceburg suddenly asked:
"Have you ever thought about avenging our teacher?"
Franky: !!!
His steel fingers dug violently into the solid wooden desk, revealing the intense tension and fury within him.
Franky looked up, his expression heavy and resolute.
"Of course!!!"
Hearing that answer, Iceburg spoke again.
"Then Franky, if I told you there's now an opportunity to avenge our teacher—"
"But the price is putting yourself in danger and doing things with unknown risks—would you consider it?"
"Stop beating around the bush!" Franky slammed his fist down, eyes blazing. "Just tell me what it is!"
Avenge their teacher—something he dreamed of day and night!
But their enemy was simply too powerful.
So powerful that, over the years, Franky could only bury that desire deep within his heart.
Seeing his junior so worked up, Iceburg directly dialed a Den Den Mushi.
The next moment, before the call even connected, a pitch-black, mysterious spatial wormhole suddenly appeared in the office.
Three figures stepped out of it.
They were the Straw Hat crew's vice-captain in charge of all diplomacy—Red; the seemingly sidelined captain—Luffy; and…
One of the very few people in the world capable of reading Pluton's blueprints—Nico Robin!
"Iceburg… who are they?" Franky's eyes filled with confusion once more.
Before Iceburg could answer, Luffy burst out laughing.
"So you're the super amazing shipwright Franky that Red told me about!?"
"You really made your body out of steel—so cool~!"
"This is way too fun!!!"
"Franky, come be our partner!"
More straightforward than anyone else, more free-spirited than anyone else, Luffy wasted no words and directly extended the invitation.
"Partner?" Franky blinked in surprise.
Iceburg immediately explained.
"Let me introduce them. They're the Straw Hat Pirates, who just arrived in Water 7."
"You may have heard of them."
"After all, pirates who gained nearly two hundred million Beli in bounties the moment they entered the Grand Line…"
"And the ship on those blueprints—the one that needs remodeling—is their current vessel."
"Hold on~"
At that moment, Red raised a hand to interrupt Iceburg.
"Correction. The Going Merry isn't just a vessel!"
"She's one of our crew—a precious partner!"
"As for the rest, let me explain."
Taking over the conversation, Red—who understood Franky's personality extremely well—once again pulled out the Celestial Dragon's head and tossed it directly in front of him.
"Just as Mayor Iceburg said, we are pirates—but not ordinary pirates."
"Th-this is…!!?"
A single trick can take you far.
Although Ace's public execution of the Celestial Dragons was broadcast to the world for only a short time, every frame of that scene had already been etched deeply into people's minds.
So upon seeing the Celestial Dragon's head, Franky instantly showed the same expression Iceburg had worn earlier that day.
Red stepped forward, smiling lightly.
"As you can see…"
"We share the same enemy. And the enemy of our enemy is our friend!"
"Franky, with your world-class shipbuilding talent, instead of going out to sea and making a name for yourself, you stay in Water 7 as a gang leader…"
"Is that really the future you want?"
Red advanced step by step, his words filled with momentum and temptation.
Meeting Franky's gaze, his lips curved with confident assurance.
"Franky, we're looking for an outstanding shipwright who can help the Going Merry evolve!"
"And your talent is exactly what we need!"
"You already heard our captain's invitation!"
"But as vice-captain, I'll repeat it for him…"
"Come join us!!!"
Red lifted his head, his pitch-black eyes shining like a sky full of stars.
With solemn conviction, he declared:
"Whether it's Cipher Pol or the World Government…"
"A partner's enemy is the enemy of the entire pirate crew!"
"Let us gather our strength and pierce straight through this rotten world!!!"
"..."
Faced with Red's renewed invitation, Franky finally realized that Luffy hadn't been joking at all.
At this moment, he also recognized who Luffy really was.
Coupled with the frozen Celestial Dragon head beneath his feet…
Everything was already clear without words.
Franky fell into silence.
Only after a long while did he raise his head again and plant one foot atop the Celestial Dragon's head.
"Partner stuff… let's forget it."
"But if you've got shipbuilding needs…"
"I might, for this thing's sake, put in some hard labor for you!!!"
As the boss of the Franky Family, Franky clearly wasn't someone who could be easily persuaded.
Even though he could see that Red and the others were anything but ordinary, he still declined the invitation.
Until Red spoke again:
"Don't you want to see a battleship you built with your own hands…"
"Bombarding and destroying Enies Lobby!?"
(End of Chapter)