"I'll go ahead and check it out first; you all can take your time, no need to rush. After all, you're slow, so you'll be late to the drama!"
"Bye bye~"
As he finished speaking, the crackling sound of lightning rang out again, and Sabo, having transformed into blue lightning, flashed towards Water 7.
The group: ???
"Dammit, so you two are the only ones who can fly, huh?"
Ace cursed loudly, then leaped high into the air, transforming into a flame and flying towards Water 7. Although his speed was much slower compared to Kyle and Sabo's lightning, at least it was better than the group down below, right?
But Law remained silent; no one knew when he had thrown a stone. The next second, his figure vanished from the ship, reappeared in mid-air not far away, threw another stone from his hand, and his figure disappeared again shortly after.
Oh?
The remaining Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Kuina on the ship, unwilling to be outdone, all kicked off using Moonwalk and flew towards Water 7.
Hey!! Who cares about a ship? They just wouldn't ride it!
Chopper: ??????
(⊙o⊙)…
Chopper's head kept swiveling left and right, but no matter how he turned, all he saw was empty air.
Everyone he had just been chatting with was now leaving him behind, one by one.
Wait?! Are you even human??
Just because he hasn't learned Moonwalk yet, you bully him?
Couldn't they just drop this damn competitive spirit for once and leave someone behind to keep him company?
At that moment, Chopper made up his mind: after returning from Water 7 this time, he would train Moonwalk relentlessly until he mastered it, no matter what!!!
---
Two minutes earlier.
In a certain area on Water 7.
A large crowd had gathered here, most of whom were residents of Water 7. Besides them, there were also intelligence agents from the World Government's CP5 and some judicial personnel responsible for legal matters.
Among them, an old man in purple clothes was sitting on a chair, with a small table in front of him.
He was the judge from the judicial branch, responsible for adjudicating crimes.
And in front of them, surrounded by countless Water 7 residents and intelligence agents, were three people sitting on the ground—Tom and his two apprentices. Tom had already woken up from his unconscious state, his gaze somewhat heavy.
The purple-robed old judge looked at the three and spoke:
"Do you admit to the crime of attacking the judicial ship?"
As soon as these words were spoken, before Tom could respond, Franky couldn't sit still any longer and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Don't be ridiculous! The one who attacked the judicial ship isn't us, it's Spandam, the one right beside you!!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere on the scene fell silent for a moment. The next second, waves of loud ridicule erupted from the crowd.
"Hahaha..."
"What nonsense is that disciple of Tom's spouting? Why would a government agency like CP5 attack a judicial ship?"
"Attacking themselves? Haha!! Utter nonsense, absolutely impossible!!"
...
The crowd was filled with nothing but ridicule; not a single person was willing to believe what Franky said.
Seeing this, Spandam couldn't help but reveal a faint smile, looking down at Franky and the others from his elevated position.
This was exactly the feeling he loved most. So what if Franky and the others knew he was the one who did it?
The problem was, who would believe what he said?
When no one is willing to believe, the actual truth isn't so important anymore. As long as there are people willing to believe a distorted 'truth', it can become the truth just as well!!
At least in the current situation, the 'truth' everyone believed was the real truth!
"Silence!"
The judge spoke calmly; his voice wasn't loud, but it immediately stopped the discussions and ridicule from the crowd.
After the noise on the scene disappeared, he looked calmly at Franky and spoke:
"But according to our investigation, those ships that attacked the judicial ship were your ships, weren't they?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Franky fell silent. After a long while, he suddenly spoke:
"Those things... they're not my ships anymore!!"
!!!
The moment these words were spoken, Tom, who had been bowing his head, suddenly stood up and struggled violently. Under his immense strength, the chains were directly snapped. Immediately after, he came before Franky and punched him fiercely, sending him flying over ten meters and crashing into the corner of a wall.
Seeing this, Iceburg's eyes widened.
"Mr. Tom actually hit Franky for the first time?"
"Mr. Tom actually hit Franky for the first time?"
Only to see Tom panting heavily several times, his eyes wide with anger, glaring fixedly at Franky who was getting up not far away, and roared:
"You say 'not my ships'? You must never say such a thing!!"
"So what if I say it?"
Franky shouted at the top of his lungs.
"I really regret it! If it weren't for those ships, no one would have gotten hurt!"
Franky squeezed his eyes shut tightly, a few tears seeping from the corners.
Tom grasped the iron fork on his chest, pulling it out as he spoke.
"No matter what kind of ship, the act of building it has no inherent good or evil. In the future, no matter what kind of ship you build, it doesn't matter. No matter who gets hurt by the ships you build, even if they destroy the world!!"
"The builder who created it must love it. As long as the one who built it must not deny it. A real man must stand tall and proud for the ships he builds!"
"Don't you dare blame the ship!!"
"Haah... haah~~"
After speaking, Tom panted on the spot for a while, then immediately spoke to Franky and Iceburg:
"Don't interfere in what happens next!"
Tom's gaze darkened slightly, thoughts churning in his mind.
The one setting him up to take the blame was the World Government, and the one trying to convict him was also the World Government. This charge would be very difficult for him to clear!
It seemed his time was up, but before that, there was one more thing he had to do!
Tom's gaze fell on Franky. Seeing the deep self-blame on Franky's face, he knew Franky's heart must be in tremendous pain right now.
Seeing the ships one built being used for evil deeds—that was a feeling only they, the shipwrights, could understand.
Tom slowly turned around, his gaze landing on Spandam, who was watching them with a sinister smile not far away.
Suddenly, he burst into action. His figure shot out in an instant, appearing before Spandam in the blink of an eye, and his massive fist slammed fiercely towards Spandam.
Spandam's entire face was distorted by the punch, and he crashed heavily to the ground.
In that instant, everyone present was shocked.
"To... Tom has lost it!!"
The residents of Water 7 shouted in terror, each backing away.
Tom, however, continued forward, coming before Spandam. With one hand, he grabbed hold of Spandam's head, his gaze fixed dead on Spandam.
"You bastard!!"
He raised his other hand, clenching it into a fist.
"Qu-quick, shoot!!"
Driven by extreme fear, Spandam immediately shouted in panic. Hearing this, the CP5 agents didn't hesitate for a moment; each aimed their flintlock pistols at Tom. As they pulled the triggers, bullets rained down upon Tom like a storm.
In that critical moment, a purple lightning screen suddenly appeared behind Tom. The moment all the incoming bullets touched the screen, they immediately exploded, then were crushed into dust by the violent thunder...