Franky's body trembled. He slowly took off his signature sunglasses, revealing his rarely moist eyes. "I understand... I understand everything..." His voice was deeper than his usual flamboyant self. "But..."
He turned to look at his crying subordinates behind him. Mozu and Kiwi were already hugging each other, and the Square Sisters' makeup was streaked with tears; even their modified faces couldn't hide their sadness.
"Big Brother!" A subordinate with a mohawk suddenly knelt down. "You can go with peace of mind! We'll make the Franky House Super great!"
"Yeah, Big Brother!" Another subordinate, wearing goggles, wiped his tears. "When you build the world's strongest ship, you must come back and see us!"
The entire scrapyard echoed with successive farewells.
Franky's fists clenched, making a cracking sound, and two streams of water uncontrollably shot out from his eyes.
Luffy suddenly stretched out his arm and wrapped it around Franky's shoulder: "Hey! Perverted shipwright! Be our nakama!"
Franky's gaze swept over each sincere face, finally settling on Iceburg's tearful smile. He suddenly raised both arms, tears gushing like a fountain:
"Super—!!! This great man is coming with you guys!"
"Hehehe!" Luffy suddenly patted his belly and burst into laughter, his rubber arms waving excitedly. "Big Brother Ron has already prepared a gift for you!"
Nami rolled her eyes but still took out an exquisite lead box from her backpack.
When she opened the lid, a strange Devil Fruit covered with spiral patterns came into view. A metallic luster flowed on its skin, and in the middle was a closed serrated tooth.
"Munch-Munch Fruit." Ron looked at the Devil Fruit. "Eat it, and you'll be able to devour any material and then synthesize new alloys within your body."
Franky's eyes instantly turned into stars: "Super—!!!" He took the Devil Fruit, put it in his mouth skin and all, "This is simply a Devil Fruit tailor-made for me... Ugh! It tastes awful!"
Although disgusted by the taste of the Devil Fruit, Franky couldn't wait to experiment. He grabbed a piece of scrap metal and swallowed it, and a "clank clank" mechanical sound immediately came from his abdomen.
"It's amazing!" He lifted his abdominal armor. The previous cola device had been upgraded into a smelting furnace. He saw the swallowed metal being melted and reorganized in his body. "I can feel the molecular structure changing!"
Ron took a few steps closer, his voice guiding: "Try to fuse aluminum, titanium, and shape-memory alloy."
He described the characteristics of Wapolmetal in detail: "The weight must be as light as a feather, the toughness stronger than steel, and it must have shape-memory function..."
Ron told Franky all the characteristics of Wapolmetal. After all, Wapolmetal is indeed an excellent alloy, so with Franky's research drive, he would definitely be able to produce Wapolmetal faster!
The more Franky listened, the brighter his eyes became: "Don't worry, Captain Ron, the Munch-Munch Fruit will definitely shine in my hands!"
"That Captain Ron... where's the blueprint?!" Franky suddenly seemed like a different person, extremely excited. "Show it to me quickly! Not seeing it for a moment makes me itch all over... It's Super uncomfortable!"
Iceburg was startled by his junior's unusual fanaticism, his brows tightly furrowed: "Are you possessed? What blueprint could make you like this?"
Before he finished speaking,
Ron had already thrown the yellowed ancient blueprint over. Franky pounced and caught it with agile movements. He carefully unfolded the blueprint, as if holding the most precious treasure in the world.
"This... this is..." Iceburg subconsciously leaned closer. The moment he saw the content of the blueprint, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his lips trembled uncontrollably. "Is it the Pluton blueprint?!"
But then, Iceburg looked closely again and shook his head sharply: "No... this power system..." His fingertip trembled as he pointed to the circular structure in the center of the blueprint. "The core is different; this one is much more complex. Compared to what we have..."
Hiss!
At this point, Iceburg immediately realized he had said the wrong thing and quickly shut his mouth!
However, Ron just smiled and didn't care. What he held was the original unedited version!
The dense ancient text on the blueprint was like an indecipherable script, both puzzling and fascinating to the two. The winding symbols seemed to flow on the parchment like living things, completely different from common engineering blueprints.
"I can't understand the text on it, otherwise I could distinguish the difference in the power system now."
Iceburg also said with a frown.
"Don't worry." Ron's voice had a reassuring calmness. "These are ancient texts." He gestured for Robin to come forward. "Our archaeologist will help you interpret them."
Robin elegantly walked between the two, her violet eyes scanning the blueprint: "I will help decipher these texts. If you don't understand anything, you can ask me."
Franky and Iceburg both gasped at the same time. The two master and apprentice exchanged glances, both seeing incredible shock in each other's eyes. This design was extraordinary!
"Super exciting!!!" Franky suddenly roared to the sky, his two arms together in a Super pose. "This is simply amazing!"
Iceburg's expression, however, grew more solemn. His gaze moved back and forth between Ron and Robin: "What exactly do you want to build?"
"Nothing much, just want to build a ship that can conquer the sea, that's all." Ron laughed.
Iceburg looked at Ron, who had a faint smile on his lips, his expression somewhat dazed. For a moment, he seemed to glimpse a corner of a future king!
...
Marine Headquarters,
Dawn was torn by the urgent sound of military bugles.
Sengoku stood by the floor-to-ceiling window of the Fleet Admiral's office, looking at the warships continuously docking at the port, each loaded with elites drawn from various branches.
"Third Fleet arrived!"
"The Science Unit's Pacifistas are in position!"
"The Warlords are on their way to support; it's uncertain if an Emperor-level battle will erupt..."
The voices of the messengers rose and fell. The entire Marine Headquarters was like a precisely operating war machine:
Artillery positions were lined up along the crescent-shaped harbor, fifty of the latest Pacifistas were on standby around the execution platform, and even the air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder and Seastone powder.
And in the most luxurious guest lounge, Ace leaned alone by the window.
Casually leaning back in the chair, sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling window onto his well-defined profile.
From this height, he could take in the entire Marine Headquarters's war preparations: the main gate slowly closing, warships forming an impenetrable wall within the bay, and a hundred thousand elite Marines arrayed in the plaza.
"What a grand display..."
....
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