"Came this early?"
Gion frowned slightly. "So you're saying… the people in the city didn't have any time to prepare this time?"
"Why else do you think I told those brats to go home?"
Kado rolled his eyes, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he turned back toward his room, muttering, "These days were supposed to be peak tourist season—business was finally picking up for once. Now it's all ruined…"
Behind him—
Nao and the three women exchanged heavy looks, realizing the same thing at once.
"If there was no advance warning, then in a disaster of this scale, the people living on the outskirts won't have time to evacuate at all…"
Glancing at the worsening skies, Nao made a firm decision:
"We split up. Leave the luggage here at the hotel—saving people comes first. Once it's over, we regroup here."
The women naturally had no objections to this.
The group moved into action immediately.
Nao headed north, Gion south.
Shia and Bellemere, being weaker in strength and both Devil Fruit users who feared seawater, went east together to cover each other.
As for Sadaharu and Little Lou, they weren't idle either—at Nao's command, they dashed west at full speed.
——
The outer districts of Water 7 were already being swallowed by the tsunami.
Many residents, still half-asleep, were startled awake by the loud noise outside. Rubbing their bleary eyes, they stepped out of their homes—only to be stunned by the sight.
Towering waves surged in from the sea, stretching beyond the horizon. Fishing boats at the docks were instantly engulfed, and the old, low wooden houses by the waterfront were swept away in an instant.
Rumble!
Thunder cracked across the heavens, tearing the sky apart, lightning flashing bright enough to illuminate the world.
"Run!!"
"The tsunami is coming!!"
The frantic shouts jolted the residents fully awake. Looking down the streets, waterways, even rooftops, they saw families clutching their children and possessions, desperately fleeing toward the higher ground in the central districts.
Their lips trembled pale as they rushed back to rouse their families. With no time to pack belongings, they stumbled into the human tide flowing toward the city's heart.
Scenes like this unfolded in every corner of Water 7's outskirts.
When Nao arrived in the northern district with Moonwalk and landed steadily at an intersection, he saw a similar sight.
A group of thin, frail-looking young girls came stumbling toward him, panic written all over their faces. They glanced behind them repeatedly as though something terrifying was chasing.
Nao's eyes followed their gaze.
Sure enough—hundreds of meters back, two amphibious sea beasts nearly eight meters tall were bounding forward. Their upper halves resembled sharks, while their lower halves had frog-like legs, leaping as they shrieked and gave chase.
"The Aqua Laguna… they bring not just tsunamis, but rampaging sea beasts too?"
Nao's expression darkened. This disaster was proving to be even more destructive than he had anticipated.
"Hey! What are you standing there for?!"
"Don't just stand there like an idiot! Do you want to be eaten by the sea beasts?! Hurry and run!"
At this moment, the girls also noticed Nao standing at the intersection. They were first stunned and couldn't help but stare at his face for a moment. The next second, they were shocked into action and yelled at him urgently.
Nao's eyes flashed. He didn't answer the two girls. Instead, he placed his right hand on the hilt of the Azakana on his waist.
Whoosh!
A sharp gust cut the air. In the next instant, the two pursuing sea beasts were cleaved clean in half at the waist.
The shark-like torsos slammed to the ground, lifeless. The frog legs twitched and hopped another few dozen meters before toppling into a nearby canal.
"Eh?"
The girls had been about to grab this handsome—but seemingly clueless—guy and drag him along. But suddenly the sound of pursuit behind them was gone.
When they turned back, all they saw was mangled carcasses strewn across the ground. They froze in place, stunned.
"Don't worry, it's fine now."
Nao sheathed his blade, walked back to the group of girls, and asked casually,
"Do you still have family or companions who haven't escaped and need rescuing?"
"No…"
The girls instinctively shook their heads. A blonde girl, who carried herself with a steadier air than the rest, stole a glance at Nao's side profile before answering softly:
"Our parents are just over by the canal ahead, preparing a boat. Once we get there, we'll meet up and safely enter the city."
"Good. Then hurry along, and take care on the way."
Leaving them with that brief warning, Nao's figure blurred and vanished from the street, racing toward the distance.
"Eh? Eh?"
His speed was simply too fast. Before the girls could even react, his back was already nothing but a tiny black speck. The words they'd been about to call out to stop him died in their throats.
They exchanged uncertain looks, doubt flickering in their eyes.
The tsunami was bearing down closer and closer; the docks already looked like something from the end of the world. Even brushing against its edge was enough to be fatal.
At a time like this, everyone was running away—who would willingly head back toward it?
Could it be he had family out there to save? But judging from the calm expression on his face, that didn't really seem likely either…
Rumble!
At that moment, thunder boomed across the heavens, louder and more terrifying than before, shaking the sky itself.
The girls shuddered in fright. Not daring to linger, they hurried on, sprinting along the eaves toward the inner city.
Meanwhile—
Within the raging winds, the torrential rain finally poured down in sheets, like the Milky Way spilling from the heavens.
Water vapor steamed up in waves, mist rolling thick through the streets and canals. Vision blurred to a haze as the entire city of Water 7 turned into a land of flood.
——
Southern District.
The terrain here was more uneven, with densely packed houses. Land routes were inconvenient, so the waterways crisscrossed everywhere—making it the most developed water-transport hub among the outer districts.
But no number of canals could withstand the crush of panicked crowds once the tsunami struck.
In no time at all—
Every waterway was jammed with boats of every kind. The ships in front blocked the way forward, pressed together in a suffocating mass, while more boats kept surging in from behind. Urgent shouts and angry curses filled the air.
Panic, rage, blame, despair… As the tsunami loomed closer and closer, the riverways boiled with negative emotions. Fights broke out over passage, arguments escalating into brawls.
And just then—
A figure sped in from the city gates, skimming over the waterways, hands lightly tapping down on the tops of every boat along the way.
The people on the decks saw only a blur. Before they could even glimpse the stranger's face, a sudden weightlessness struck them—they staggered, nearly toppling over.
When they steadied themselves on the railings and looked around, they were astonished to find that both they and their boats were floating in midair.
And the other ships nearby were the same. The rowdy toughs who'd been brawling moments ago now stared wide-eyed, wearing the same stunned expression.
"Go."
Landing on a rooftop, Gion flicked her finger, and all the boats she had touched shot forward like arrows, flying along the waterways straight toward the inner city.
She herself rose into the air once more, turning back the way she'd come.
That first batch she'd sent numbered sixty to seventy boats.
It didn't look like much, but moving that many ships at once was already the limit of her current power.
Though she had grown far more skilled at wielding the Float-Float Fruit over the past two months, she was still far from reaching the level of the Golden Lion.
After sending those boats into the safe zone, Gion returned to the rooftop where she had landed earlier. From the surrounding ships, people were staring up at her in wide-eyed astonishment.
But she paid them no mind. Her worried gaze was fixed on the towering waves looming ever closer. Not daring to waste another second, she immediately picked up the pace, manipulating a second batch of "flying ships" and sending them to safety…
——
Northern District.
Without the aid of the Float-Float Fruit, Nao was still rescuing stranded civilians with an efficiency no less than Gion's.
Compared to the south, where waterways were dense and overcrowded, the northern main roads were wider and had fewer boats. Congestion wasn't an issue.
So Nao plunged straight into the coastal areas, focusing his efforts on pulling out those trapped beneath collapsed houses, as well as the unlucky ones cornered by rampaging sea beasts.
He pushed both his agility and swimming ability to the limit. His Observation Haki, honed to an advanced level, was fully unleashed, letting him sense every life in need of saving. In just half an hour, he had rescued at least a thousand people.
Those who were pulled from danger were still trembling, struggling to recover from their brush with death. Many were overcome with gratitude, desperate to thank him.
But by then, Nao was already gone—vanishing into the chaos, leaving only his fading silhouette behind.
"Hm?"
While skimming across a line of collapsed rooftops, Nao suddenly felt something. He turned his head sharply toward the left.
There—in the raging waters—two figures were struggling forward against the current, clawing their way deeper into the streets.
Iceburg and Franky?
Nao recognized them, puzzled. The disaster's reach was spreading wider and wider, so why weren't these two heading for shelter in the city? Why were they heading back instead?
Could it be their teacher, Tom, was still trapped in the workshop?
No—that didn't make sense.
Tom was a fishman. No matter how massive the tsunami, it couldn't possibly drown the legendary shipwright.
His confusion lasted only a moment. The next instant, Nao's expression hardened—because he saw a massive wave suddenly surging straight toward them. Iceburg and Franky were right in its path.
The roar of the wave was deafening. Exhausted as they were, both men noticed it too. Their faces drained of color.
They tried desperately to flee, but their strength was spent. How could they outrun a tsunami? No matter how they pushed themselves, they could only watch in terror as the towering wall of water closed in—
Whummm!
Suddenly, the sound of wind howling split the air beside them.
They instinctively lifted their heads—just in time to see a dense wall of wind take shape in midair.
And the monstrous wave, the very moment it crashed against that wind barrier, was instantly swallowed up, vanishing without a trace…
Such a bizarre and unbelievable sight left Iceburg and Franky slack-jawed. Before they could even process what had just happened, they suddenly felt themselves yanked upward—
A pair of powerful hands grabbed them from the raging waters and tossed them onto the roof of a nearby tall building, safe and sound.
The two turned their heads. The moment they recognized that familiar figure, it all clicked. No wonder the giant wave had vanished in an instant—it was this powerhouse who had casually saved them…
Relieved, Franky and Iceburg hurried over, repeatedly expressing their gratitude.
"You two—what's going on?"
Nao landed on the rooftop as well, just about to ask for an explanation, when his brows suddenly lifted. He glanced toward the edge of the roof a few meters away.
Franky and Iceburg followed his gaze. When they saw what was lying there, it was as if they had been struck by a hammer. Their pupils contracted sharply, and their faces turned deathly pale…
It was a battered little iron box. Likely knocked loose during the chaos just now, it had tumbled from inside a coat, rolled across the roof tiles, and finally stopped when it hit the ridge.
The box had popped open, revealing parchment blueprints inside…
The designs for Pluton!
Franky whipped his head around, glaring furiously at Iceburg, his eyes full of accusation. Iceburg had no way to defend himself—he was already sick with regret.
He had originally hidden the blueprints inside a secret compartment of his speedboat. But with the city descending into chaos during the tsunami, he hadn't felt secure. So he'd sewn a pocket into the lining of his coat, carrying the iron box on his person for safekeeping.
And yet…
By some cruel twist of fate, the blueprints of Pluton had still been lost—and, just his luck, they had ended up right in the hands of this high-ranking Marine officer.
They watched as Nao bent down to pick up the box, his eyes instinctively flicking toward the parchment inside.
Iceburg clenched his teeth and shot Franky a look, the message clear.
—Even if it meant offending this formidable figure, the two of them had to act now, before the secret of Pluton was exposed, and snatch the blueprints back from him!