Although Kaido himself looked down on those Shichibukai, having fought Hanafuda several times, he also knew that the Shichibukai possessed some ability.
Since Yamato had managed to leave wounds on Crocodile, that proved her studies over the past few years had borne fruit. As long as her combat strength improved, nothing else mattered to Kaido.
Kaido placed considerable importance on training the next generation. Unfortunately, his people had been poached rather severely. Although Chameleone’s appearance had supplemented their combat strength somewhat, and the addition of several samurai had kept the lower ranks relatively stable, things were still lacking in many areas without Alber, that reliable Vice-Captain.
To the current Kaido, Yamato was his ideal Vice-Captain.
As for the fact that this Vice-Captain’s head was filled with thoughts of overthrowing him…
Kaido had never considered it a problem, because he did not believe he would lose to Yamato. The same would remain true even if Nereus continued teaching her.
At the same time the World Government convened an emergency meeting concerning the Shichibukai, some personnel changes also occurred within the Donquixote Pirates in North Blue.
The first Corazon, Vergo, left the Donquixote Pirates and entered the Marines as an undercover agent.
Meanwhile, the Marine spy Rosinante, Doflamingo’s younger brother, became the second Corazon and continued lurking beside Doflamingo while sending intelligence to the Marines.
This was also why Doflamingo could never shake Tsuru off. Even if he managed to escape smoothly, it would not take long before the Marines locked onto him again.
Meanwhile, at Water 7, Kuma, Ginny, and the others’ ship had already arrived.
“Mm, another bright and sunny day.”
“It sounds strange hearing that from you. Why does a vampire enjoy basking in the sun so much?”
Nearby, Luna was grooming her fur beneath the sunlight. To Minks, the fur covering their bodies was like human hair and needed regular care.
“You should ask Lord Nereus that. He isn’t afraid of sunlight, after all.”
“Captain Nereus isn’t here. As the only vampire in the world who has currently been converted, I think you have the most authority to speak on this matter.”
“It’s not that I particularly like the sun. Honestly, ever since I was converted, I sometimes feel more comfortable at night. But basking in the sun doesn’t feel unpleasant either.”
After applying a layer of sunscreen, Ginny considered how she usually felt and gave a roughly accurate answer.
Similar questions occasionally came up in everyday life. As a secondary ability user created through the effects of a Devil Fruit ability, Ginny indeed had many traits that made others curious.
For example, since she was a famously big eater aboard the ship, would becoming a vampire mean she needed to drink even more blood?
But she had never tried anything like that. Ginny was not Nereus, who could directly draw in the blood around him after activating his ability.
If Ginny wanted to drink blood, she could only use the most traditional method—biting with her teeth.
However, Ginny’s close-combat ability did not support her doing that, nor was she interested enough to casually visit a hospital blood bank, buy a few blood bags, and test her appetite. In the end, the matter remained an unsolved mystery.
“Speaking of which, this is Water 7, right? It doesn’t look as prosperous as the records said.”
“Navigation has been obstructed, after all. I heard Mr. Tom’s Sea Train is nearly complete and they’re currently trying to lay the tracks. Once the Sea Train fully begins operating, the situation here should improve…
“Inuarashi! Nekomamushi! The ship is entering port! Get ready!”
They had come here to commission a new ship from Tom.
Although copying Nereus and seizing a few warships for their own use would not have been a bad idea, their group was small, so operating a large warship always left them short-handed.
Small warships, meanwhile, performed somewhat poorly on the Grand Line. Thus, they had simply commissioned a new ship here, along with several specially made weapons.
Water 7’s shipwrights were skilled at building ships, but shipbuilding was not all they knew. Their work usually encompassed everything aboard a vessel. In addition to the hull, they would also construct the main cannons, so there was no shortage of shipwrights who were also highly capable weapon makers.
…
Inside Tom’s Workers, Tom and the others were busy at work.
The first Sea Train, Puffing Tom, had already been completed and had undergone test runs on a temporary nearby route. Their work had now progressed to the track-laying stage.
Although many more tests remained, things had become more relaxed overall, so they had begun taking on other jobs as well, such as Luna’s group’s new ship and the weapon Ginny needed.
Boom!
With a deafening blast, a large hole was blown through a target ship on the sea. Water poured in through the breach, and before long, the broken hull sank into the sea.
“Bull’s-eye! The customer is definitely going to be satisfied with my custom-made super~ weapon! Now every single requirement has been met!”
Behind the weapon, Franky removed his goggles, highly satisfied with what he had built. He began engraving the name Cutty Flam onto the cannon, marking himself as its designer.
Iceburg, however, did not understand the reason behind the weapon’s design.
“A direct-fire cannon with an 88mm caliber, with an elongated barrel for improved accuracy, but it doesn’t need a carriage mount. The ship’s main cannon has also been designed separately. What exactly is this thing supposed to be used for?”
The weapon order had been sent from Fishman Island together with the ship order, so logically they were meant to be used together. Although Iceburg disliked making weapons, he was not completely ignorant about them.
The requirements resembled neither a warship cannon nor a coastal gun. The request for additional handles made it sound more like something meant to be held and used by a person.
Franky, on the other hand, found the design entirely reasonable and was not surprised in the slightest.
“Baka-berg, with requirements like these, it’s obviously meant to be carried on someone’s shoulder. They even asked for an extra trigger. You’ve seen Mr. Tom’s arm strength, and there are plenty of huge guys among the Fish-Men. Isn’t it perfectly reasonable for them to use something like this as a weapon?
“Look, they’re already here.
“My guess is… that guy’s the one who’ll use it!”
Franky pointed toward Kuma among the crowd. At nearly seven meters tall, he stood even taller than Inuarashi and Nekomamushi. The direct-fire cannon was somewhat small for a warship cannon, but it seemed just the right size in Kuma’s hands.
Before long, Luna’s group arrived at Tom’s Workers. When Ginny hoisted the weapon, which was an entire size larger than she was, onto her shoulder, Franky’s expression visibly froze.
“Well then, my dear Cutty Flam, do you have anything to say?”
Iceburg poked Franky beside him, seemingly curious about his reaction. He then watched as Franky walked straight over.
“Franky! What are you doing?”
“What do you think I’m doing? How could that woman’s skinny little arms possibly control the super weapon I personally built?! I’m going to find it a suitable owner!!
“Could you bear to watch a ship you built with your own hands get recklessly abused by someone who doesn’t know how to sail?!”
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