The door to the next carriage was slammed open with a sharp crack of metal against metal by Franky. The sound was swallowed almost by the steady, rolling thunder of the Puffing Tom on its tracks. But the sound of the sight shattering the mindscape of a certain blue haired was heard thunderously. It was only when the allied crew stepped through as one, that they realized what was waiting for them. It wasn't men clad with weapons, it wasn't the stretch of benches or perhaps a scuffle waiting for them.
No, they were instead greeted by a sight which drew the air from their lungs. Because it was the mayor of Water 7. It was Iceberg, laying slumped against the floorboards, his body broken in ways that even the dim lantern light could not soften. Bruises marbled across his face, black and purple welts already spreading beneath torn clothes, a trickle of blood darkening the boards beneath his hand.
"We need a doctor!" Chopper's cry cracked through the stunned silence as he bolted forward on trembling hooves, medical instincts eclipsing fear. His bag clattered against the floor as he dropped to his knees beside the man, paws already reaching, searching for a pulse, for breath, for anything that might anchor Iceberg to the world of the living.
Behind him, the others hovered, the weight of the revelation pressing in like the storm-heavy sea. And among them, Franky froze. His breath hitched.
For a single moment, the carriage around him blurred, the rush of the train's wheels fading into something else–an echo of hammer strikes, the smell of salt and iron, the wide shadow of a giant with a smile kinder than the sun.
Tom.
The old shipwright's laugh thundered through memory as vividly as if he stood here still. The day Tom had placed the blame on himself, taking the sins of Franky's creations onto his own shoulders, sparing his apprentice from the gallows. The day Franky had screamed, begged, fought against fate and found himself powerless against the weight of justice's hand.
And then.. Iceberg. Always Iceberg. The boy who grew into a man steadier than steel, the one who bore not just his own burdens but Franky's as well. The one who had pressed those rolled sheets of nightmares into Franky's hands–the blueprints for a weapon too monstrous to exist–and had said with those steady eyes, 'you must keep them safe no matter what.'
Franky's throat closed, the flash of parchment and ink burned into the backs of his eyes. The monstrous blueprints. The one he would never dare take another look at, or ever make it. The burden that chained him. Iceberg had trusted him with it, and had carried the risk of it in silence all these years.
But why… why was Iceberg here now, beaten to a pulp on the filthy boards of a train carriage? He was the mayor, the face of Water 7's future. The city's anchor. Why had they dragged him into this storm?
Was it the P.P.P.? Did those mask-wearing merchants sniff too close, convinced Iceberg had the weapon's designs? Or was it CP9–the government's shadow–once again ripping through the city's heart to find what they could not touch through law and politics?
Franky's fists clenched tight at his sides, metal creaking with the force of it. The truth churned like black water in his chest, and every beat of the train felt like a countdown against something unknown.
He dragged himself back to the present with a sharp inhale. The flash of memory ebbed, and reality surged back into focus. In all the zoning Franky did, he didn't notice Iceberg being treated but now he could see that he was laid gently on a seat rather than the dirty carriage floor. His body was propped carefully in a support position, with a folded jacket cushioning his head. The little reindeer of the Strawhat's crew–Chopper–was kneeling beside him with his little hooves stained faintly with blood as he wiped the last streak from Iceberg's temple.
The reindeer looked up at last, eyes steady despite the tremor of his small frame. "He's stable," Chopper said, his voice a quiet anchor amid the rattle of the train for Franky. "He is bruised, battered, but luckily, he has no internal bleeding. He just needs time."
Franky breathed a sigh of relief, but the anger within him still boiled, wanting to destroy the bastards who did the atrocious act for Icerberg. But before he could move, the cabin door behind them burst open with a bang.
…And a plump version of the scrawny teen of a captain filled the frame. He was comically swollen, almost as if he was a balloon having eaten anything and everything. His teeth were still chewing on meat, his cheeks ballooned, and eyes squeezed shut as if he had marched there in a dream.
Luffy's grin split his face, as he threw his arms wide, "See? I knew you guys could handle everything without me!"
But the cheer snagged against the stillness. The atmosphere felt too heavy, too sharp. Even through his closed lids, Luffy could feel it, prickling against his skin. The taut rope of dread strung through the carriage, the copper tang of blood clinging to the air.
Slowly, his grin faltered and he opened his eyes.
They landed first on Chopper, then on the still, battered body at his hooves. Iceberg's blood had been cleaned, but the bruises remained, as if it was a mute testimony to cruelty that had nothing to do with the sea's mercy.
Luffy's frown cut deep. He tipped his hat low, shadowing his gaze. The absurd bulk of his body deflated with a long, controlled exhale, shrinking back to his lean frame. His shoulders rolled once, loosening, and then went still.
He turned his head toward the door that led further down the train. His eyes fixed on it, sharp and unblinking, as though he could already see the enemies waiting beyond. His hand twitched toward his side, ready. Every part of him was already forward, already reaching for the fight.
He took one step–
PuruPuruPuruPuru!
–and stopped as the shrill trill of a Den-Den Mushi broke across the cabin. The sound cracked through the air, coming from the same snail they had used to speak to Galley-La.
Click!
At once, the receiver filled not with a voice, but with the roar of a storm. The Den-Den's features twisted, mimicking the howl of wind, its eyestalks whipping back as if the gale poured through it. Almost everyone stiffened, hearing the rattle of timbers, the thunder of waves against the hull. For a breath, it was like the sea itself had seized the line.
Then a voice broke through the chaos, loud and familiar even beneath the din.
"Oi! Franky Family and Strawhats! It's Paulie!"
Relief sparked and scattered through the carriage like kindling catching flame. Chopper's ears perked, Franky jolted upright, and even Robin's guarded expression lightened a little.
Paulie's voice strained against the wind, every word riding on grit. "We're on our way! Me and the loyal Galley-La boys! We're coming to back you up and get Iceburg safe!"
From the background, another voice shouted something inaudible, and Paulie barked a curse.
"Oi, oi, how the hell are you even coming here?" the Franky Family thug at the Den-Den demanded, leaning in with eyes wide.
Paulie's laugh cracked through the storm, wild and sharp. "You remember that crazy thing Iceburg used to mutter about? The Rocketman?" His tone shifted, almost fond even in the madness. "Turns out the bastard wasn't bluffing. This old sea train's off the rails, and she's fast as a demon! We'll be catching up to you soon enough–"
The words cut off in a hiss of static and the scrape of claws across deck boards. A sharp curse followed, Paulie's voice tight and urgent. "Damn it! Hold on! Something's gone–"
Click!
The line went dead. And almost immediately everyone started worrying about what the heck happened as the Den-Den's eyes drooped into sleep once more.
"They cut off…" Usopp muttered, throat dry and slight fear in his eyes. "Something happened to them."
Fear rippled through the group, unspoken but heavy, until Luffy's voice broke it apart. "They're fine." The captain's tone was quiet but sure, his hat shadowing his gaze. He raised his eyes toward them, calm as still water. "That was just the Rocketman. It's not built for calm sailing. The waves are violent, the tracks are rough, and that train's got a mind of its own," he shrugged.
He glanced toward the next carriage, where danger waited like a sealed box ready to be opened. His lips curved, not in a smile, but something sharper. "They'll make it. We just have to keep moving forward until they do."
The train rattled on, carrying them deeper into the storm.
But it was only after a moment, that the far door across them swung open with deliberate intention, its hinges groaning against the gale that funneled through the train. From the dim threshold, three figures emerged, their shadows sharpening into the tailored silhouettes of agents who wore the calm of predators.
Kalifa's heels struck the boards like clockwork, Blueno's bulk filled the doorway with immovable patience, Kaku's lanky frame tilted with a casualness that belied the sharpness in his eyes.
Behind them, the hooded figure that they had fought briefly laid slumped against the wall watching, and the scattered money still glinting faintly where it had spilled slightly. The three CP9 agents stepped over it without a glance, as though wealth itself meant nothing compared to the quarry in their sights.
The Franky Family bristled, chains and pipes raised. The Strawhats shifted, their muscles taut, and feet grounded against the boards. The air grew heavy, two storms colliding in silence before the first strike. It was as if each of them were waiting for something to happen.
And it did happen when Kalifa's gaze swept the cabin, cool and unyielding, before landing squarely on Franky. Her lips curved into the faintest of smiles, sharp as glass. "Cutty Flam."
The name dropped into the carriage without meaning to the ones who didn't know the context. But to those who knew, it was like a stone falling into still water.
Franky's eyes widened, shock crackling through him even as the Family barked their outrage at the loyal workers of the Galley-La turned as Government Dogs, even as Sanji's cigarette burned low between clenched teeth and Zoro's hand drifted toward his hilts.
Kalifa's voice cut through their growls, steady, precise. "We have received orders. Nico Robin, the Demon Child," she spat with disgust lacing each word. "And Strawhat Luffy and Cutty Flam. All three of you are to be taken into custody."
"No way in hell!" Usopp's shout rang out, high and furious, the denial echoed by Nami's snarl, by Sanji's kick against the boards, by Zoro's click of his katana, by Luffy's low growl beneath the brim of his hat.
Robin's face betrayed nothing, but her fingers curled tightly in her lap. Franky, though, could barely breathe. His name–that name–how did they know? How did they know when Cutty Flam was officially dead?
His mind spun, dragged unwillingly backward, finding reasons and anything that could give him an appropriate answer.
But Franky's answers were not even close because only minutes prior, Iceberg's face had been swollen, his face bloodied, and his body slumped against the floorboards. The CP9 agents had stood over him, their shadows long in the lamplight as they rummaged through his being, until Kalifa's hand held a photograph.
It was small, worn at the edges. It showed a boy with wild hair and a smile too big for his face, standing beside the giant shadow of Tom and the younger, sharper features of Iceburg. A boy named Cutty Flam.
Blueno's voice rumbled, detached as stone. "The resemblance was not difficult to place. A child going missing and coming back as a cyborg. But with the same eyes and the same face."
Kaku's chuckle slid like a knife. "And confirmation was only a call away."
The memory of Kalifa flicking open a snail, her voice crisp as she addressed the line. And on the other end, Spandam's wheezing breath turned to a laugh of triumph.
"Cutty Flam, alive after all. Bring him in. Him and the woman both. I'll see to the rest myself."
That was the order. Final and sure. It had fallen like a sentence, and Iceburg had been left bleeding in its wake.
Franky's hands shook as the words from the government's dogs fitted in his mind. His metal frame groaned with the weight of rage. He clenched his jaw, staring down at the agents now filling the carriage.
They knew. They knew everything. And they weren't leaving without him anymore. Not until he beat the crap out of them first.
The carriage grew taut with silence, every breath drawn like a blade unsheathed. The Strawhats and the Franky Family shifted into stances, weapons raised, and muscles coiled. Robin's slightly fear filled eyes sharpened, Sanji's foot ground embers from his cigarette into the boards, Nami's Climatact slid into her grip, Chopper took his stance, and Zoro's hand lingered on his hilts, steady and quiet. Even the weakest set their jaws, ready to fight for the city and their comrades.
Kalifa's smirk curved faintly, unshaken. Kaku tilted his head, a swordsman's curiosity flickering in his gaze. Blueno rolled his shoulders once, like a bull testing the weight of his horns. And then, without warning, they moved. They didn't wait for the others to realize they were moving. They didn't give them an opportunity to even realize, as the air cracked as all three of them vanished in unison.
Soru. That's what they used, without mercy.
By the time the sound reached the ear, they were already among them. The screaming of the boards was the only warning they got, before Blueno reappeared at the center of the defenders, his arms spread wide like a battering ram of flesh. His bulk barreled through the crowded space, sweeping bodies as though they were pins in the path of a juggernaut.
Sanji barely had time to shout before the wall gave way, but he still cursed, while Nami yelped and Robin twisted sharply. But it was too late. The force of the impact tore them from their footing, shattering through benches, cracking through the carriage wall. The shriek of rending metal joined the cry of the sea as splinters and debris exploded outward.
Chopper shouted as their bodies were flung into the night, the black water yawning below. For a heartbeat, the sea seemed ready to swallow them whole, until an arm shot out. It was Luffy's.
His hand clamped onto Sanji's collar, his other catching Nami by the wrist. He snatched Robin by the shoulder and seized a Franky Family thug by his chain. The force of it swung him clear of the wreckage. With a grunt, Luffy launched himself upward, the strength in his legs propelling all of them skyward in a single impossible leap. The group landed hard upon the curved roof of the next carriage, the metal groaning beneath their weight.
Wind tore at their clothes and hair, sea spray flecking their faces. Luffy straightened, hat braced with one hand, and grinned.
Luffy crouched low, unbothered, hat braced with one hand and grinned wide, sharp against the thunder. "Nice! More room to move around. Not bad thinking!"
The others, winded and bruised, scrambled to find footing. Sanji spat a curse, pulling Nami upright. Robin's hands sprouted from her own shoulders to steady her frame, eyes never leaving the torn gap below. The Franky Family groaned, bleeding from scrapes but alive. But none had time to do more, as the air shifted, and Blueno was already upon them.
He reappeared with a twist of air, his bulk descending like a hammer. His eyes were locked on Luffy–only Luffy. The government's orders were clear: the Strawhat captain was to be taken, broken if necessary, and dragged back to Enies Lobby as bait for the 3C's.
His fist came down like a boulder.
Luffy leaned. The blow crashed into steel, shattering a dent into the roof where he had stood. The recoil cracked the train's frame. For a moment, Blueno's composure faltered because the boy hadn't even flinched.
The counterstrike came fast. Luffy's fist blurred, pistoning into Blueno's midsection. Instinct roared through the agent and his body seized, iron hard, skin sheathed in Tekkai.
The blow landed anyway.
It wasn't clean penetration as Tekkai held its ground, but the shock reverberated through his chest. Blueno staggered back, breath hitching, confusion blazing through his normally impassive eyes. Pain spread sharp across his ribs. Because it wasn't supposed to hurt like this.
'It feels like seastone.' The thought rattled his skull, absurd yet undeniable. His body screamed as if shackled, his nerves lit with salt and drowning. But the sea's spray was light here, the scrawny captain's fists bare and his movements as free as any other man's without a devil fruit. But why wasn't he faltering? Why did it feel like drowning only for him?
The sight of the CP9 agent clearly baffled sent a ripple through the battle. Sanji's eyes sharpened, Nami's breath hitched, Robin's lips pressed tight. Luffy rolled his shoulder back, shaking out the recoil, his eyes narrow with a rare edge of focus.
Blueno snarled, the crack in his calm widening as the thunder struck the sea beside them. That moment broke the paralysis.
Sanji surged forward, fury snapping through every step. His foot caught fire in the lantern glow, the air crackling around it as he drove toward Blueno. At the same time, Robin's hands bloomed from the roof beneath the agent's boots, pale fingers seizing and locking. Blueno cursed as his legs were dragged taut, and his momentum broken.
Sanji's kick whipped through the air, aimed for the man's jaw, when a blade of compressed air shrieked across the night.
Rankyaku.
The cut tore through the rooftop, grazing just past Sanji's coat tails, splitting the steel where Robin's arms had sprouted. Sparks lit the air. Sanji, Robin and Nami flinched back, their heads snapping toward the source.
Through the jagged hole in the carriage wall below, they caught the glimpse of the fight still raging inside.
Kalifa, her eyes glinting with cold amusement, and Kaku, legs coiled from his strike, stood framed against the chaos. Around them, Usopp and Chopper huddled near the unconscious Iceburg, pipes raised by two Franky Family men desperate to shield him. Zoro's blades gleamed in the close dark, his body already shifting to guard the wounded.
Two battles under one storm were going on as the Sea Train thundered ever onward, its steel wheels screaming into the night.
.
Inside the cabin, the clash had already spiraled into a frenzy the moment Blueno had thrown some of the members out of the train. Sparks lit the narrow space as Kaku blurred into motion, his legs snapping out in vicious arcs that carved through air and steel alike. One strike came screaming for Usopp, faster than his eye could follow but the sharp whirr of a dial answered.
Usopp's arm thrust forward, the Impact Dial blooming with a rush of light as it swallowed the force whole. The blow that should have shattered him into the wall instead vanished into the shell with a shriek, the recoil rattling Usopp's bones but leaving him standing. His teeth clenched as he spun, the dial's face erupting with the returned strike, flinging the compressed energy back into Kaku's chest.
The impact staggered the agent a step, boots skidding across splintered boards. It was all the opening Zoro needed.
Three blades flashed free in an instant, steel singing as he moved in from the flank. His swords craved for flesh, his each swing a roar of intent. Kaku twisted aside, his body blurring with the speed of Soru, but even his precision faltered against the relentless assault. A blade's edge hissed past his cheek, drawing a shallow line of blood; another strike veered wide, slamming into a bench so close to Usopp that the sniper yelped and flung himself sideways, narrowly spared from being bisected by his own ally.
The third slash howled across the cabin, tearing toward the cluster of defenders at Iceburg's side. The Franky Family men threw themselves down, while Franky's broad arms swept Iceburg tighter to the floor as the air blade tore through the wall above them, sending a shower of splinters across their backs.
"Oi, Zoro!" Usopp barked, fumbling another dial into his hand as he scrambled upright. "Watch where you're swinging!"
Zoro didn't answer. His eyes were locked, sharp and unflinching, on the long-nosed assassin before him. Kaku straightened from his dodge, expression cool but edges fraying, and dropped into his four-sword stance. His arms and legs crossed like the frame of a saw, his silhouette bristling with blades.
The space seemed to shrank further.
Across the cabin, Kalifa's approach was subtler but no less deadly. Her heels tapped lightly across the ruined floor as she circled Chopper, lips curved in amusement. "So small," she murmured, her voice a lilting mockery. "A pet playing soldier."
Chopper's fur bristled, his hooves shaking as he stepped back, guarding Iceburg's head with his body. But then, she moved suddenly, her form blurring as her hand darted toward his throat and was met with a crashing wall of iron.
Franky barreled in from the side, his fist a piston of steel and fury. Kalifa hissed as she twisted, her hair fanning across the boards, the blow missing her by inches. But even as she evaded, Chopper's body changed. The little reindeer's frame expanded, muscles bulging, hooves thickening, his eyes fierce. In the breath Kalifa took to right herself, Chopper's Heavy Point surged upward.
His fist caught her full across the ribs.
The strike lifted her from the floor, driving her back across the cabin and into the wall with a bone-deep thud. Dust rained from the ceiling, her breath torn in a shocked gasp.
Franky planted himself between her and the others, chest plates heaving, blue hair shadowing his glare. "Don't play games with the doctor, lady."
Chopper panted, his larger form filling the small space, but his eyes burned steady. "I'm not a pet."
The two fronts locked again, the cabin a storm of movement and steel.
Kaku darted forward, blades slicing in arcs meant to overwhelm, only to find Zoro already there to meet him, every clash ringing sparks against sparks. For each opening Kaku tried to force, a bullet from Usopp's slingshot whistled past his guard, scattering his rhythm, pressing him further back.
He grimaced, the calm precision of CP9 cracking under the relentless weight of teamwork he hadn't accounted for from pirates of all people. Unknown to Kaku, Zoro's training with Luffy had honed him sharp, and Usopp, though trembling, never stopped firing, each shot dragging Kaku's attention in a dozen places at once.
Kalifa rose slowly, her breath unsteady from the blow. Her eyes narrowed, the amusement in them thinning to a sharper, more dangerous edge. Her gaze flicked to Franky, to Chopper, to the unconscious mayor between them.
The storm inside the Sea Train had only just begun with no ending at the sight.
.
Above, the storm outside raged just as fiercely.
Blueno vaulted into the air, his boots hammering invisible steps against the night sky. He was using Geppo, which made his hulking frame bounce higher, narrowly evading another of Luffy's strikes. His shadow carved across the roof before he came crashing down, but not at the captain this time, at the men scrambling to defend the line, or trying to just stand against the fierce wind blowing past them.
Two of the Franky Family never stood a chance. The sheer force of the landing struck like a cannonball, boards erupting under his fists. The shockwave lifted the men from their feet, their bodies flailing before the wind and spray stole them from the roof.
"Oi!" Sanji snarled, his cigarette sparking as it snapped from his lips.
Blueno moved again, fists swinging toward another thug. The poor man was ripped from his footing, his arms wheeling over the black abyss of the sea. He would have fallen too, if not for Sanji's leg to shoot out like a chain, hooking around his coat. With a roar of effort, he yanked the man back onto roof of the moving train.
Blueno twisted toward him at once, intent to finish the cook for his interference. But before his fist could fall, the night split with the stretch of rubber and crackling thunder.
"Don't touch my crew," Luffy's arms shot past Sanji's shoulders, twin cords of black silhouette against the lightning flash. They whipped forward, hands clamping around Blueno's head with crushing force. The agent's eyes widened a fraction before Luffy drove him down, slamming his skull into the sea below.
The surface exploded in spray, the sound of impact rolling beneath the train's thunder. Luffy did not let go. His arms stretched taut, holding Blueno's struggling form beneath the water, forcing him to thrash against the currents. The ocean, merciless as any gaoler for any devil fruit eater, dragged at him, spun him, crushed his lungs, not showing a bit of mercy.
Blueno's fists pounded the water's skin in panic through his limp limbs. The bubbles tore from his throat. The edges of his vision dimmed.
"Blueno!" The cry cut across the waves. Kalifa leapt from the torn carriage wall, her hair trailing like a whip, and her suit marred by dust and bruises. She struck the sea in a dive, arms locking under Blueno's, wrenching him upward with desperate strength. Water poured from his mouth as his body convulsed, his breath ragged.
Her face, usually composed, was taut with strain. "We're leaving," she snapped. "Now."
Blueno's gaze flicked upward, unfocused, but he raised one trembling hand. The air bent around it, folding into a shimmer. A doorway of black nothingness split open in the steel wall of the train.
"Go!" Kalifa ordered.
Kaku was already moving, springing toward the door with long-legged grace. Blueno stumbled after her, his body still trembling, his breath wheezing but his powers intact. The trio vanished into the gap, into the darkness, rushing toward the chamber that held the hooded figure, also known as Miss Arethusa, and their de facto leader, Rob Lucci.
"Oi!" Sanji shouted, lunging forward.
But Luffy was faster. His feet pounded the roof, rubber legs snapping like whips as he shot for the door. He crashed against its edge just as it began to close, his arms flinging out to seize Kalifa's trailing hair, Blueno's collar, anything to stop them.
A hand seized him first.
Lucci's grip locked like iron around Luffy's wrist, yanking hard, trying to drag the captain into the abyss beyond the door. The plan was clear: take him, break him, use him as bait to call the 3C's out of hiding and drag his crew–Robin and Franky especially–into the chaotic mess.
For a moment, the world swayed on that single connection. But Luffy's eyes burned beneath his hat brim, and his feet dug against the steel. His other hand clamped around Lucci's forearm, and with a sudden jerk, he yanked backward, pulling himself free with the raw weight of will.
The door slammed shut with a deafening crack. Leading to profanities, curses, raw-throated fury erupt in the wrecked carriages. Franky roared until his voice cracked, Sanji spat curses so sharp the air stung, Usopp's voice went shrill with rage. Even the other Franky Family swore like a sailor, hurling every insult they could dredge from the pits of their lungs, the storm of their anger battering the empty space where the agents had vanished.
But shouting at shadows offered no victory. One by one, their voices frayed into silence, the weight of helplessness sinking in.
That is until a groan broke the lull.
One of the Marine agents, battered and half-buried beneath debris, stirred. His eyes blinked open and froze at the sight around him. Every Strawhat, every carpenter, every outlaw still standing had turned toward him, their rage redrawn into a single, menacing focus.
He paled, trembling against the boards as they loomed. For a tense moment, the possibilities hung thick in the air, which was to knock him out again, throw him into the sea, kill him where he lay. He could feel their fury, taste it like iron on his tongue.
But then Franky's words broke the silence, "Don't waste it on him. We'll make better use of it."
He stooped, reaching into some hidden panel of his massive frame, and drew out a comically large coil of rope, the bundle spilling across the boards like a conjurer's trick. His grin was sharp, his teeth glinting.
Minutes later, the cabin was a tangle of bound figures. Marines, thugs, even the unconscious agents were lashed and stacked like cargo, their furious struggles muffled by rope.
The Strawhats stood over the heap, slightly bruised but steadier now, the smallest shred of order restored in the chaos.
The Sea Train thundered on, carrying them into the night, into whatever storm waited next.
Luffy turned slowly toward Franky. His hat brim shadowed his eyes, but the faint curve of his mouth and the steady weight in his gaze spoke louder than words. He gave a single nod, short and firm, a gesture that carried no hesitation.
Franky froze, taken aback by the silent exchange and the ruby red eyes glowing golden for a moment. For all his bluster and fire, the cyborg had lived long enough to understand when words weren't needed. Thus he could tell that that nod wasn't just thanks, it was trust, an invitation to join in together for this chaos.
He returned it, the corner of his metal jaw tightening as his eyes softened for the barest instant. Then, as if nothing had passed between them, Franky bent down to help haul another groaning Marine into the heap of captives.
Around them, the Strawhats and the Franky Family were hard at work. Rope snaked across the floor, binding wrists and ankles in tight knots, courtesy of Franky's endless "secret stash". The Franky Family, for all they were thugs, tied their enemies with a carpenter's precision, each knot so over-engineered it looked like the ships themselves might envy the craftsmanship. The agents and soldiers who stirred quickly discovered their efforts to struggle were useless, their wriggling only tightening the ropes further.
The air was relaxed now, but that didn't stop the slight tension to slip in at the frantic edge of battle giving way to the grim discipline of the aftermath.
Chooo-choooooo
A train whistle cut through the clatter of ropes and low curses, making everyone confused and still.
Usopp lifted his head, frowning. "That… wasn't ours."
Franky's metal eye twitched as he, with deliberate steps, made his way toward the back of the carriage. Luffy trailed close, curiosity gleaming under his shadowed hat brim. Together, they pressed against the door, its frame rattling faintly in the rush of storm wind.
Franky shoved it open.
The night peeled back, and there, rising against the backdrop of lightning and rain, another train bore down on them. Its prow split the waves like a sword, its mismatched frame rattling yet unyielding. Rocketman.
Franky's jaw dropped, then stretched into a grin so wide it hurt. "They actually brought that hunk o' junk back to life?!" He laughed, slamming a panel on his shoulder open, tugging free a speaker cone with wires dangling like veins. A switch clicked, and his voice boomed across the storm. "YO! GALLEY-LA! GET YOUR BUTTS OVER HERE!"
The answering roar was deafening. From Rocketman's deck, the carpenters bellowed war cries, their voices hoarse with fury and spirit. Hammers and saws waved in the air like weapons of destiny. Someone shook a rope. Someone else held a barrel lid like a shield. Their chant rose rough but strong, a cadence against the storm:
"Iceburg keeps us afloat! Now we shall revolt!"
The words tumbled, half-rhyme, half-chaos, but wholly alive.
Chains whirred through the night. Rocketman's crew hurled an anchor line forward, the iron links slamming against the Sea Train with a metallic scream. Franky caught it with both arms, muscles and metal groaning as he braced against the impact. Sparks flew as he clamped it into place, securing the two trains like siblings lashed together against the sea's fury.
The others crowded behind him at the doorway. Sanji leaned with one elbow on the frame, cigarette smoke trailing into the storm. Usopp's eyes were wide with awe, his lips already moving with the chant. The Franky Family shouted hoarse encouragement to their recent and other comrades aboard Rocketman.
The bound agents stirred weakly at the noise. One lifted his head, eyes wide with disbelief at the spectacle, but the ropes bit down harder with every twitch.
Moments later, the gap between trains narrowed. Figures leapt across the divide, boots pounding onto the Sea Train's deck. The carpenters landed heavy, their tools raised, war cries spilling from their throats. Their energy filled the carriage like a flood, ready to crush their enemies with their tools only. Only to falter.
Because no enemies rushed to meet them. There were only Strawhats, the thugs of the Franky Family, and a heap of bound government dogs lay waiting.
"…Wait." Lulu blinked. "Where are the—?"
"They ran." Robin's voice was quiet but sure. She stood near the wall, her arms folded, her shadow long against the lantern light. Her expression was calm, but there was regret at the corners of her mouth. "The CP9 have escaped, but not unscarred. Iceburg is safe for now. Chopper tended to him."
The Galley-La men stilled, their fury wavering at the words. Disappointment crashed through them like a wave. Their mayor had been harmed, their enemies fled, their vengeance left unclaimed.
The curses deepened until Luffy broke it.
"Iceburg keeps us afloat!" his quiet joyful voice carried through the heated curses, his grin flashing through the shadow. From nowhere, as if the storm itself had gifted it to him, a small drum appeared in his hands.
Bum-bum. Bum-bum-bum.
The beat rolled through the cabin, steady, mischievous, alive. His chant lifted again, the rhythm contagious.
"Iceburg keeps us afloat! Now we shall revolt!"
Usopp joined first, his voice cracking as he banged a fist against the wall in time. Then Lulu, roaring louder than before. Tilestone's booming bass carried over them all. Even Sanji, though rolling his eyes, tapped his heel in a faint rhythm, a smirk betraying his amusement.
Questions flickered in the minds of some. Where did the drum come from? Why did the beat stir the air like a second pulse, like the storm itself listened and danced to it? But the moment was too alive to linger on impossibilities.
Food and drink were dragged from the back cabin's stores, barrels cracked open, tins and plates rattled onto makeshift tables. The carpenters feasted hungrily, wounds and fatigue forgotten in the storm of camaraderie. Bread was torn, bottles clinked, laughter and song rose into the night.
At the center of it, Luffy drummed, his beat rolling beneath the chant, the pulse of something older, deeper, threaded into the storm's howl, pleasing them and making them sing and dance in joy.
The Sea Train and Rocketman raced as one, their crews bound in food, drink, and fury yet to be spent. The night was far from over, but for now, they carried the rhythm of revolt in their hearts.
.
Not long after, when the storm's revelry was at its loudest, a gust slipped into the cabin where no window was open, a playful current that tugged at the lantern flames and rattled the ropes around the captives, as if teasing them for a moment, before brushing across hair and skin of their kami Nika like invisible fingers. His dark locks whipped in all directions as if he stood in a gale no one else could feel. The revelers hardly noticed, their laughter and chant swallowed its presence. But three heads turned.
Robin, quiet at the back, her gaze sharp beneath her fringe as she observed Luffy's hair lifted against no current she could name. Zoro, whose instincts never let subtlety pass. And Franky, who had seen too much strangeness not to recognise strangeness again.
"Kami-sama!"
"Yokozuna, the frog–"
"–he is coming!"
"Nika-sama!"
Luffy blinked, lips parting, as the whisper threaded with storm, heavy yet fleeting. Luffy tilted his head, grin fading, and golden flecks glimmering faint in his eyes.
"…Huh?"
"–track is not empty–"
"–one who wrestles the vessel awaits–"
"–struggling again–"
"–again and again–"
The voice dissolved into the thunder and without a word, Luffy bolted. He shoved past the crowd, feet pounding against steel, rushing through the carriages until he burst onto the train's front.
"Oi! Where's he running now?!" Luffy barely caught the squawk of Usopp. .
The storm outside embraced him instantly, the cold spray lashing his face as he sprinted along the slick metal roof. Ahead, just beyond the curving rails, a shadow loomed. A frog, massive, ungainly, flailing limbs thrashing as it tried to fight the train's merciless speed.
"Yokozuna!" Luffy called out.
The frog's eyes widened, panic surging as he realized that the train would once again throw him away.
But Luffy's arm had already flung out. Rubber stretched, clamped, and yanked with explosive force. The frog's body jerked violently upward, soaring over the crash of surf until Luffy planted his feet and hauled him safe onto the roof beside him.
Yokozuna landed in a heap, croaking loudly, chest heaving. His huge eyes rolled to stare at the boy before him. And in that instant, something changed.
Luffy's eyes opened, not just wide but deeper. The storm caught them in its reflection, golden light flickering like a fire never meant to be subdued. His gaze sharpened, cutting through the storm, locking onto the creature's heart. For a moment, he saw not just the frog, but the fight burning within him, the pain that did not bow to the moving hulk of the train. As he looked into the frog not as a beast, but as a being, his smile curved with a gentleness that struck deeper than words.
"You fight the train and the government every day, huh?" he said softly, the winds carrying his voice. "You're strong. Stronger than most beings I've seen."
Yokozuna croaked again, shifting uneasily, half-uncertain.
"But you've been fighting alone. That's why you're tired and failing. You've got guts," Luffy tilted his head, his hat brim dripping with rain. "Why don't you fight with us instead? Against them. Against the enemy of the whole world. Against the ones who want to take everything away."
Yokozuna blinked, confusion flashing in his round eyes., before his vast body lowered a little, and his throat bubbled with a guttural sound. It wasn't a sign of surrender, but agreement. Hesitant but real.
"Shishishishi!" Luffy's grin split wide, as if sunlight broke through the storm.
Minutes later, the door slammed open again, and Luffy reappeared, dragging the enormous frog behind him as though this were the most natural thing in the world. "Oi! Look what I found!"
The back cabin erupted in chaos. Usopp screamed. Franky's eyes widened. Lulu nearly fainted. The bound agents blinked in stunned silence.
"This is Yokozuna!" Luffy declared, puffing his chest with pride. "He's the newest member of our crew!"
The response was immediate.
"Like hell he is!" Nami's fist cracked down on his head with a practiced snap, leaving a comical lump. She sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Honestly, Luffy… a frog?"
But when her eyes lifted, she caught the sincerity glowing in his grin. She glanced at the frog, who stood sheepishly behind him, massive shoulders hunched. Then she sighed again, softer this time.
"Fine. He can… rally with us. Just don't go naming him the musician or something."
"Yosh!" Luffy cheered, immediately throwing an arm around Yokozuna's slimy shoulder. "You're one of us now!"
The chant picked up again, laughter and song threading over the sound of wheels and waves. "Iceburg keeps us afloat! Now we shall revolt!" The carpenters roared it, the Strawhats bellowed it, even Yokozuna let out a booming croak that somehow matched the rhythm.
And then, as if on cue, Luffy produced the drum once more, its beat falling in step with the chant. Bum-bum. Bum-bum-bum. The strange pulse seemed to lace itself into the storm, every strike a heartbeat older than the train, older than the sea itself.
No one questioned it. Not tonight.
Food and drink circled again, hands raised high, fury and joy mingling in the fire of their spirits. Every face glowed with determination, every throat burned with the vow to see this through.
And then, through the windows and the spray, the horizon lit.
Enies Lobby.
Its vast gates rose like a giant's jaw from the sea, towers glowing with torchlight, the maw of the World Government awaiting them. The chant faltered, reshaped itself into silence. One by one, they straightened, eyes locked on the fortress ahead.
Their laughter dulled into something sharper. Their smiles bent into resolve. The storm carried them forward, fury and loyalty binding them tight.
Whatever waited on that island, they would face it together. The Sea Train roared toward Enies Lobby, its passengers ready to protect and to attack.