The setting sun bled across the sky, painting it with crimson clouds.
Water 7, Central Street, Number 136.
Sephiroth, a dark figure in a black suit, stopped before a three-story garden villa. He gazed at the iron gate, then reached out, his gloved hand closing gently on the cold, black railing. A flicker of something, a memory, crossed his face.
The house before him was where the original owner of this body, "he," had lived since childhood.
Since learning he was stationed in the Sabaody Archipelago, Hancock and the others hadn't returned for regular cleaning or to live here. Instead, they had made the Archipelago their vacation spot.
Years of neglect had taken their toll. The villa was filled with a sense of decay and age, likely thick with dust and cobwebs inside.
Perhaps the scene triggered something, because memories from "his" childhood surfaced in his mind, unwanted. Sephiroth shook his head, wanting to dispel them.
For him, whenever he wished, no matter how long ago something happened, he could use the "Blood Recollection" technique to trace it back, making the impression as vivid as if it had just occurred.
However, the memories related to "him" were the ones Sephiroth least wanted to recall, so he almost never touched them.
To stop himself from dwelling on unnecessary thoughts, he turned away from the villa and began to wander aimlessly through Water 7.
"Mr. Sephiroth, is that really you?"
A surprised, joyful voice reached Sephiroth. He turned and saw a blonde woman with a scattering of freckles, holding a baby, standing at the entrance to a lamb meat shop. She beamed at him.
Beside her, a young man with black hair stood at the cutting board, absorbed in chopping lamb meat.
"You know me? May I ask who you are...?"
Sephiroth's eyebrow twitched slightly as he began to search for any related memories.
"It's me! My name is Lilith, Mr. Sephiroth… Nine years ago, you saved me from pirates and killed Andrew Bass, avenging my brother. Because I couldn't find you before, I never had the chance to properly thank you in person, which was very impolite. Now, please let me say sincerely: Thank you very much for your kindness back then. I will remember your great kindness for the rest of my life."
Lilith, holding the child, bowed deeply to express her gratitude.
"Oh! It's you!"
Sephiroth nodded, the image of the young girl from his memory slowly overlapping with the woman before him.
"However, how did you know my name? I don't recall ever telling you…" Sephiroth asked, slightly puzzled.
While coaxing the child in her arms, who had woken up and was crying loudly, Lilith smiled and said:
"Well! I learned your name during a news report when you were fighting Kaido of the Beasts…"
Hearing this, the black-haired young man, who had been focused on chopping lamb meat, immediately looked up, surprise and joy lighting his face. He quickly wiped his hands on the apron in front of him, ran up to Sephiroth, clasped his hand, and said gratefully,
"So you're the Marine who saved my wife, Lilith? Thank you so much for saving her, truly, truly thank you! By the way, would you like some cured lamb meat? I made it using my unique secret technique, and the taste will definitely have you raving about it. Our cured lamb meat is also very famous in Water 7…"
"Hmm!? Is that so? Then I'll have a cured lamb leg! How much is it per pound?"
A flicker of interest crossed Sephiroth's face. As a culinary enthusiast, he wouldn't miss out on delicious ingredients he hadn't tried before.
"No need! No need! Consider this our humble token of gratitude from my wife and me."
The black-haired young man repeatedly shook his head in refusal and began to pack a cured lamb leg from the counter.
"No! That won't do. I can't let you run a losing business."
Sephiroth smiled and took out his wallet, preparing to pay.
"Please don't! Mr. Sephiroth, please accept this as our humble thanks! It's all thanks to your help that I was able to survive…"
Lilith smiled and quickly stopped him with a hand.
After the couple's repeated insistence, Sephiroth finally gave up on paying, took the cured lamb leg they gifted him, and left the lamb meat shop.
On the bustling street, Sephiroth looked at the cured lamb leg wrapped in oil paper in his hand, his heart inexplicably filled with pleasure and joy.
After a long moment, he murmured softly,
"Being thanked for a good deed…? This feeling is really inexplicably good! It's just a pity… I'm not a good person…"
As he finished speaking, Sephiroth chuckled self-deprecatingly. He drew the butcher knife from his waist, opened his spatial pocket, placed the cured lamb leg inside, then opened a spatial door and walked straight in.
...
Tom's Workshop, in a room filled with tools and blueprints.
Tom, Franky, and Iceburg sat around a round table, discussing a very important matter.
"I want to give this to you…"
As he spoke, Tom placed a stack of ancient blueprints, marked by time, on the table.
"What is this?" Franky asked curiously.
"You'll understand if you look at it yourselves!"
Tom didn't explain, but gestured for his two apprentices to read the blueprints.
Iceburg patiently picked up the blueprints and began flipping through them page by page.
Gulp! ×2
As time passed, Franky and Iceburg, who had roughly understood what was recorded on the blueprints, couldn't help but swallow, their eyes wide, their faces filled with disbelief.
"Why build something like this?" Iceburg asked, his voice trembling slightly from the chill in his heart.
Franky's body shook with excitement. "Can humans really build something like this?" he exclaimed.
Tom crossed his arms over his chest. His voice was serious. "This is the most terrifying monster in shipbuilding history: the ancient weapon Pluton. The World Government has already noticed the existence of these blueprints and has begun to act. The reason that guy named Spandam came to see me today is because of these blueprints, so it's too dangerous for me to keep holding onto them..."
Iceburg took a deep breath, then nodded slowly and solemnly. "Although this thing is terrifying, I understand! Mr. Tom, I will take this thing!"
"Great! Iceburg, let's build it!"
Franky's face was alight with excitement as he clapped his senior brother on the shoulder.
"You idiot! Use your brain before you speak!"
Iceburg immediately struck him on the head with a furious punch, making a loud "Bang!"
"That hurts so much! You..." Franky grimaced, raising his hand to rub his throbbing head.
"I will keep this thing. If something like this exists in the world, then this world will definitely be destroyed!" Iceburg said seriously.
"That's right! This thing does have that ability..." Tom nodded in agreement, then laughed heartily. "However, from now on, how you handle this thing is up to you! If you think it's dangerous, you can throw it away..."
However...
The three people discussing the Pluton blueprints likely never imagined a fourth person was hiding within the room.
In a light green spatial dimension constructed by the Door-Door Fruit, Sephiroth, holding his butcher knife, stared intently at the blueprints in Iceburg's hand. A successful scheming smile appeared on his lips.
He had waited so many years, finally waiting for Tom, pressured by the World Government, to take out the long-hidden blueprints!
Although Sephiroth could have simply taken the Pluton blueprints by force, he had some connection with Tom and the others; they had helped him quite a bit, so he didn't really want to directly fall out with them...
He waited until late at night. After Iceburg put the blueprints away in a drawer and the three of them were completely asleep, Sephiroth stealthily used his butcher knife to open a small door and took the Pluton blueprints from the drawer into the spatial dimension.
Then, he reopened a spatial door and left Tom's Workshop.
Anyway, the Pluton blueprints would just gather dust if Iceburg and the others kept them. Such a dangerous thing was better off with him!
He would have the Umbrella Corporation build the ancient weapon Pluton based on the blueprints and put it to good use!
.....
The next day, morning.
Water 7, South Port.
Dark clouds obscured the sun, and muffled thunder rolled...
A three-masted ship, flying the flag of the World Government with a large white gate painted on its hull, slowly docked at the pier.
This was a judicial ship, and its purpose for coming to Water 7 was to judge Tom, the shipwright who built the Oro Jackson for Pirate King Roger.
The judge presiding over this trial, however, considering Tom's merits in building the sea train for Water 7, was prepared to pardon the shipwright.
After all, the sea train had lifted many islands out of poverty and the brink of collapse. It had restored their vitality, allowing people to live happier lives than before.
One after another, the residents of Water 7 began boarding the judicial ship, hoping to hear the judge announce Tom's pardon.
However...
Warships equipped with heavy firepower suddenly appeared on the sea in the distance, heading towards the judicial ship.
...
Water 7, Central Street.
On the street, a man with medium-length purple hair and a black nose held a den den mushi and spoke into the receiver.
"Did you get the ships out?"
"Reporting, Commander Spandam, all warships have been taken out of the warehouse."
"Very good, once you reach the vicinity of the judicial ship, immediately launch an attack…" Spandam said sinisterly. According to the information Spandam had gathered after arriving in Water 7, the shipwright Tom was likely to be pardoned for his crime of building the ship for Pirate King Roger. Spandam's purpose in coming this time was to fulfill the Gorosei's order to find the Pluton blueprints hidden in Water 7. According to the CP Organization's data and investigations, the Pluton blueprints were most likely in the hands of the shipwright Tom, so he had to apprehend the target for questioning. However, Tom had a high reputation among the local residents of Water 7, and being a Fishman, he possessed extremely formidable strength and considerable combat power, making him very difficult to handle. Therefore, Spandam needed a legitimate reason to send troops to capture him. Since one of Tom's apprentices, a person named Cutty Flam, had specifically built a bunch of warships equipped with heavy firepower... Thus, he came up with a plan to frame them! Under Spandam's direction, his subordinates stole those warships, intending to use them to attack the judicial ship. Next, as long as he used some underhanded tactics, he believed he could make the master and apprentices the scapegoats... Just as Spandam was happily thinking about becoming the CP9 Commander and taking over his father Spandine's position after completing the mission...
Suddenly!
Rumble! Bolts of red lightning, as thick as buckets, fell from the dark clouds, striking the warships equipped with weapons on the sea, shattering them into pieces. They turned into burning fragments and sank to the bottom of the sea. Not a single one of the drivers operating the warships on board was spared, being struck by repeated red lightning bolts, fried crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, turning into corpses.
From a high vantage point in Water 7, standing on the roof of a house, Sephiroth yawned listlessly: "Sigh! At least I took your blueprints, it feels a bit wrong not to do something... I'll help you out this time! However, the World Government won't give up so easily... The rest is up to you!"
After speaking, he drew the butcher knife from his waist, opened a spatial door, and stepped inside.
"Damn it! Damn it!... What in the world is going on!?" Looking at the warships in the distance inexplicably struck by lightning and sinking to the bottom of the sea, Spandam, standing on Central Street, couldn't help but curse furiously, his face extremely twisted, like a demon.
After a long while, Spandam finally calmed down a little.
"Could it be that they already know my intentions...!?
Damn it! If that's the case, I can only have my dad send CP9 to help me capture them in secret…"