Half a day later, the group arrived back in Water 7, the familiar sight of the city's intricate canal system and towering shipyards welcoming them home.
"Come on, let's go check out our new ship," Jerry announced as they disembarked from the Sea Train. "According to our previous arrangements with Iceberg, it should be completed and ready for launch."
"Boss Jerry, I've received the latest intelligence update," Skull said, quickly stepping forward as they walked through the station. "I can confirm that Vice Admiral Gion is indeed heading toward Water 7."
"Have they dock yet?" Jerry asked while maintaining his steady pace at the front of the group.
"Not yet, but it should happen soon—probably within half a day," Skull replied with quick certainty.
"That's fine then. It won't significantly impact our plans," Jerry decided after brief consideration. "Let's proceed as scheduled."
After his response, Jerry continued walking forward along their planned route toward the shipyards.
Soon, they arrived at the entrance to Dock No. 1, where an impressive welcoming committee awaited their arrival.
Iceberg stood at the front, accompanied by the company's most skilled shipwrights, all waiting patiently for Jerry and his crew to appear.
After the two groups exchanged polite greetings, Jerry addressed Iceberg with a warm, genuine smile:
"Mr. Iceberg, is our ship ready for delivery?"
Iceberg responded with his own smile, while his intense gaze remained fixed directly on Jerry's eyes. He nodded with an almost imperceptible movement that conveyed hidden meaning.
"Yes, we moved it to the harbor shore for you this morning," Iceberg confirmed with professional satisfaction.
"The ship can enter the water immediately once you've completed your inspection and approval."
Seeing this positive response, Jerry's smile became even brighter as he replied:
"Haha, we have complete trust in your work quality! As the region's leading shipbuilding company, I don't think there's any need to question either your reputation or your technical expertise."
He paused before adding, "However, we do need to return to our old ship first to check if there's anything else suitable for transferring to the new ship."
Iceberg's expression suddenly became awkward as he scratched his head with obvious discomfort:
"Uh... about your old ship..."
Jerry looked puzzled by this reaction. "What's wrong with it?"
"It's been completely dismantled and sold for parts by the Franky Family," Paulie announced matter-of-factly, stepping forward while smoking his signature cigar and speaking through the smoke.
"That's right," Lucci's pigeon friend said in its usual coordinated manner. "Since you didn't leave anyone to guard the ship, they took advantage of the opportunity and broke it apart for salvage."
Kaku, easily recognizable by his distinctively long, rectangular nose, also contributed to the explanation:
"Yes, fortunately your new ship comes fully equipped and can be used immediately with just your personal belongings. However, all the old items are completely gone."
"The Franky Family? I've never heard of them before," Jerry said, his voice growing dangerous as he and his crew's expressions darkened with anger. "How dare they dismantle our ship without permission!"
Although the crew had possessed the foresight to pack up their most important belongings in advance, meaning no truly essential items had been left aboard the old ship, they absolutely could not tolerate others dismantling their ship without authorization. Such behavior represented nothing less than a naked provocation and deliberate insult.
Jerry clenched his fists tightly, his anger clearly visible as he demanded: "Where exactly can we find this family?"
"Oh? Are you planning to confront them directly?" Iceberg asked with a deliberately expressionless tone. "They frequently operate in Water 7's back streets and have established a ship-breaking yard there. They're considered the local bosses of that particular district."
"Understood. Thank you for the information," Jerry replied grimly.
Jerry nodded with obvious determination, then took a deep breath as if attempting to calm the inner turmoil and rage building within him.
He turned his head to address his angry friends standing behind him, making eye contact with Deuce and giving him a subtle, meaningful wink.
"Deuce, head to the port first and prepare our new ship for launch," Jerry instructed with careful authority. "After getting it seaworthy, sail directly to Shipwreck Island and wait for us there."
"Ace and I will handle settling accounts with this Franky Family first, and the rest of you should follow Deuce's lead."
"Brother Jerry..." Carrot began to protest, clearly wanting to join the confrontation.
Jerry interrupted firmly but kindly: "Go ahead as planned. Don't worry about us—we can handle this situation."
Following Jerry's instructions, the group split into two separate teams with different objectives.
Deuce led most of the crew toward the port, naturally accompanied by representatives from Galley-La Company. Iceberg personally joined them along with Paulie and secretary Kalifa to complete the final ship handover procedures and paperwork.
Jerry took point heading toward the back streets, but behind him, in addition to Ace, there was also an uninvited but curious outsider following along—Cavendish, still mounted on his elegant white horse.
"Hey there, pretty boy," Jerry said, noticing the persistent follower and turning to address Cavendish directly. "Why are you tagging along with us instead of returning to your own ship?"
"Don't try to deny it—you're obviously a devoted fan of this magnificent young master," Cavendish replied with a theatrical head shake, somehow managing to create the illusion of sparkling light surrounding his figure.
After restraining his dramatic expression somewhat, he continued more seriously: "Honestly, I was bored and wanted to see what kind of excitement you'd provide."
"Fine, whatever suits you," Jerry said with a dismissive wave.
Jerry considered the situation briefly, then decided not to actively exclude Cavendish from their mission. He leaned closer to Ace and spoke in a low whisper:
"Ace, here's what's really happening..."
After Jerry quickly summarized Tom's historical significance to Water 7, the current political situation, and the action plan he'd previously discussed with both Iceberg and Franky, Ace gave him an approving thumbs-up:
"So you've actually been executing this plan since the moment we got off the Sea Train, haven't you?"
Jerry nodded with subtle confirmation. "Exactly right. I suspect we'll have to directly confront World Government forces later in this operation. While I'll take primary responsibility for the consequences, I wanted to inform you first since you have... another identity to consider."
"What about me? I want to participate too!" Cavendish exclaimed with excitement, his eyes literally glowing with golden light at the prospect of adventure.
Jerry glanced at the enthusiastic swordsman, considered the implications for a moment, then decided: "You? Sure, you can join us. But you absolutely must follow my lead and do exactly as I say."
Not long afterward, they reached the back streets and located the ship-breaking yard situated near Shipwreck Island.
Upon arriving at their destination, their attention was immediately drawn to a large, somewhat ramshackle house standing in relative isolation from the surrounding buildings.
"Looks like we've found the right place," Jerry observed, reading the weathered sign hanging above the entrance. He walked directly toward the front door with purposeful determination.
With a tremendously loud crash that echoed through the entire district, Jerry kicked the door open without bothering to announce their arrival or request permission to enter.
In the spacious hall revealed behind the destroyed entrance, approximately a dozen men wearing bizarre, mismatched clothing stood in obvious surprise. They had clearly been startled by the sudden, violent intrusion into their territory.
After the door exploded inward, everyone in the hall immediately focused their complete attention on the unexpected visitors.
Among the assembled group, one blue-haired man was particularly eye-catching and obviously important. He wore an open beach shirt on his upper body paired with swimming trunks below, and sat in a central position that commanded respect from the others.
Upon seeing the door destroyed so dramatically, he quickly concealed a stack of important-looking documents behind his back and glared with obvious hostility at Jerry and his friends standing in the ruined doorway.
"Hey! Who the hell are you people?" the blue-haired man demanded aggressively.
Jerry flexed his fists and fingers menacingly, his anger clearly evident in every aspect of his expression, as though he was prepared to explode into violence at any moment.
"You must be Franky, correct?" Jerry asked with dangerous calm.
"That's right, punk!" Franky replied defiantly, quickly stuffing the documents he'd been holding into the cushion beneath him before standing up. "You boys looking to start some trouble around here?"
Franky rose to his feet and gestured for his assembled men to gather around him as they prepared to confront Jerry's group.
"Perfect. How dare you dismantle our ship without permission?" Jerry demanded, signaling to Ace and Cavendish behind him not to interfere with what was about to happen. "Who gave you the courage to think you could get away with such disrespect?"
Jerry stepped forward aggressively as he spoke, making his intentions absolutely clear.
Ace and Cavendish exchanged glances but remained silent, positioning themselves at the doorway like guardian statues to prevent any escape attempts.
"Ha! Since when do we need to pick special dates for dismantling abandoned ships?" Franky retorted with obvious contempt.
As soon as he finished speaking, Franky waved his hand and charged at Jerry along with his men, attacking like a pack of aggressive wolves.
Seeing this violent response, Jerry sneered with anticipation and declared: "Good point! Then I don't need to choose a special day to beat the hell out of all of you!"
Jerry stepped forward and rushed into combat with explosive speed, his fists and feet moving like devastating wind as he engaged multiple opponents simultaneously.
"Bang bang bang!"
"How is this possible? Ugh!" came pained exclamations from the defenders.
The continuous sounds of physical impacts filled the air as Franky and his entire crew were systematically knocked to the ground by Jerry's overwhelming combat skills, leaving them groaning in pain and completely defeated.
"Hmph! I thought you guys were supposed to be impressive," Jerry said with obvious disdain.
Jerry stepped contemptuously over the twitching, writhing bodies scattered across the floor and walked directly toward the seat where Franky had been positioned.
"I think whatever you were hiding just now must be worth considerable money," Jerry announced with calculated menace. "Consider it compensation for our destroyed ship!"
Franky wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, struggled desperately to stand upright, and screamed with hysterical desperation:
"You bastard! Don't go too far! That's not something you can touch!"
"Huh? Look at that expression on your face," Jerry observed with cruel amusement, his smile becoming increasingly contemptuous. "I was just fishing for information before, but now you've told me with your reaction that it must definitely be something extremely valuable."
Jerry continued walking toward the chair without stopping or bothering to look back at the defeated cyborg.
Franky gritted his teeth with determination, summoned every ounce of his remaining strength, rushed forward desperately, and swung his right fist with everything he had toward the infuriating intruder.
However, Jerry seemed to possess eyes in the back of his head. While maintaining his forward momentum, he unexpectedly delivered a devastating directly into Franky's midsection.
Franky flew backward like a launched cannonball, struck the house's far wall with tremendous force, then slid helplessly to the ground in obvious defeat.
"Don't... touch..." Franky gasped, spitting blood as he extended his left hand with trembling effort.
Even knowing his resistance was completely futile, Franky still desperately attempted to prevent Jerry from reaching his hidden treasure.
"Is it tucked away right here?" Jerry asked rhetorically.
Jerry approached the chair, bent down, and felt around the cushions briefly before suddenly extracting a stack of slightly aged but well-preserved documents.
Franky continued his pathetic resistance, stretching out his hand while speaking in a hoarse, desperate voice: "Stop... don't touch those! Put them back immediately!"
"Quit your whining!" Jerry snapped, flicking his fingers to send a concentrated water projectile flying with perfect accuracy.
The attack struck Franky precisely and knocked him completely unconscious.
"Let me see what we have here," Jerry murmured with curiosity.
As Jerry began examining the documents he'd retrieved, his eyes widened with shock and his voice exploded with astonishment that shook the entire building:
"PLUTON?! These are the blueprints for the ancient weapon PLUTON?!"
The revelation hung in the air like a thunderclap, changing everything about their simple confrontation with a local gang.
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