Chapter 17: Im's Conjecture on Pluton!
In Mary Geoise, within the desolate, silver-gray Room of Authority, Im was practicing a dazzling sword dance under the simulated moonlight.
This was a daily task to keep familiar with the feeling of combat.
Ten minutes ago, he had learned about the situation in Water Seven from the Transponder Snail brought by a Maid.
He hadn't actually wanted to intervene at first.
Because Im was too clear about the importance of the 'Sea Train'. This was a technology that couldn't be any darker; a steam train over a hundred meters long could accurately travel on a Floating Track that wasn't fixed, and the noise it emitted could even scare away Fish, including Sea Kings.
So, Sea Kings were also Fish.
No matter how bizarre their appearances were, some even having the heads of mammals, they were still Fish.
And its darkest technology lay in the fact that the 'Sea Train' could be minimally affected by extreme maritime weather!
What did that mean?
It meant that no matter how strong the wind blew or how big the waves crashed, as long as it wasn't weather like a Sea Tornado or Ice Storm that could destroy the Floating Track, the train could operate normally!
Anyone with normal intelligence could imagine how significant the existence of such a thing would be for the development of the entire World.
So what if an accident occurred due to his excessive interference?
Why was there such a huge disparity in development levels between Islands now? Some places looked like they were in the Middle Ages, while others were full of high technology.
It was because transportation between them was too difficult, making it hard for resources to circulate quickly between Islands.
Wasn't Water Seven's continuous decline over the next few years due to the obstructed import of Shipbuilding Materials?
If Tom's Sea Train hadn't been completed in time, it wouldn't have lasted until the future arrival of the Straw Hat crew and would have long been abandoned by people and turned into a Deserted Island!
It was precisely because Im deeply understood all of this that he didn't order anyone to stop Enies Lobby from sentencing Tom.
In his view, a ten-year Suspended Death Sentence was a beneficial stimulus for Tom's group, because it would make them understand that only by completing the Sea Train would they have a chance to save Tom's life.
Although they ultimately took fourteen years in total.
But this also proved that the World Government in the original Timeline also understood the importance of the Sea Train and didn't pursue the issue of exceeding the time limit at all.
As for whether this would make Tom feel wronged or anything similar, that wasn't within his consideration. Anyway, with him protecting Tom, he definitely wouldn't die.
However, fourteen years was still too long in Im's opinion.
So he ordered the Five Elders to have the Administrative Department provide funding to Tom's Workers, solely to shorten the completion time by a few years.
But at the same time, he strictly ordered that Tom's work must not be interfered with.
In short, whatever his requests were, just comply!
Im, surrounded by bursts of bright silver sword light, was rapidly thinking with his brain while wielding the unremarkable Long Sword in his hand.
Matters related to Tom, this Fish-Man Shipwright, weren't just the 'Sea Train Research Project'.
Take his two apprentices, Iceberg and Franky, for example, they were both rare talents.
The former, Iceberg, in Im's view, possessed extremely outstanding management abilities. Just being a Shipwright or the Mayor of Water Seven was a bit of a waste of his talent; this person was fully capable of stepping onto a larger stage.
However, he also knew that any talent needed a growth experience.
If Iceberg hadn't learned shipbuilding skills alongside Tom, hadn't founded the Galley-La Company, and hadn't served as the Mayor of Water Seven, no one knew what he would have ultimately become.
Rather than that, it was better to let nature take its course and transfer Iceberg to a position in the World Government after he had fully matured.
And the other apprentice, Franky, oh, his current name was Cutty Flam, was even more of a prodigy, a genius in Weapon Development!
Top-notch shipbuilding and Cannon Building Technology, self-taught Human Body Mechanical Modification Technology and Beverage Conversion Special Energy Technology, coupled with extremely high Learning Ability, this was simply a Treasure of their own civilization!
Therefore, Im had specifically mentioned Cutty Flam before, instructing the CP2 hidden in Water Seven to keep a close eye on him.
After the Sea Train Research was successful, Flam would have learned pretty much everything he could from Tom.
Next, he would send people to bring him to the Science Unit, where he would follow Vegapunk for a few years. After he came of age, he would be given an independent Research institute to focus on the Research and Development of various weapons, especially Warships.
Besides that, don't forget, Tom also had the Design Blueprint for 'Pluton'!
Regarding the true nature of this so-called 'Ancient Weapon', Im actually had it in his memory. He had personally witnessed 'Pluton' destroy an Island with a single shot, creating a bottomless giant pit on the sea surface that hasn't been filled by the endless seawater even now.
However, despite 'Pluton' being so terrifying, that Great Kingdom back then still couldn't defeat the Twenty Kingdoms Alliance he had assembled.
As for where the defeated and damaged 'Pluton' ultimately went, the previous Im didn't know.
But he had some thoughts on this.
The appearance of 'Pluton', in the eyes of the previous Im, was naturally nothing strange, but in his eyes as a Transmigrator, it looked a bit familiar!
It was very similar to a combination of the future 'Ark Maxim' and 'Thousand Sunny', but the Warship's Volume was much larger, and the Gold used on it far exceeded that of 'Ark Maxim'.
That made things a bit thought-provoking.
It was understandable that the future Franky had come into contact with the Design Blueprint for 'Pluton'.
What about Enel?
He clearly had seen the Main Body of 'Pluton' somewhere, or seen similar Design Blueprints. So where did he see it?
Also, according to the original work, Enel completely destroyed his hometown, Birka. But the problem was, he hadn't built 'Ark Maxim' back then and couldn't use Secret Technique: Raigo at all. So how did he destroy Birka?
Im had a bold conjecture.
Perhaps, back then, Enel discovered a damaged 'Pluton' in a corner of Birka Island, and then found the Natural-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit there, or even learned related Technology, and knew some information about his Ancestors and the 'Infinite Earth' on the Moon.
Afterward, when using his ability, he accidentally activated it, just like he accidentally activated the Underground City after landing on the Moon in the future.
But the long hundreds of years were too ruthless. The too-damaged 'Pluton', upon activation, stimulated the remaining Energy from back then and fired its final attack or self-destructed on the spot, leading to the destruction and disappearance of the entire Birka Island.
Enel himself, due to Element Transformation, didn't suffer any damage. But having already known that his Ancestors came from the Moon and having witnessed the terrifying power of 'Pluton', after arriving at Skypiea, he forcefully became the 'New God' and collected Gold and manpower to try and rebuild 'Pluton'. However, due to Resource and Technology limitations, he only ended up with an 'Ark Maxim'!
"So, the Main Body of Pluton is very likely now on Birka Sky Island, ten thousand meters above sea level..." Im stopped dancing his sword and muttered to himself.
"Indeed, it can fly. It makes perfect sense for those people to hide Pluton on a certain Sky Island to prevent me from getting it!"
(End of Chapter)