Seven Water City's waterways bustled as usual, yet unease lingered in the air.
The canals reflected the morning light, gondola-like Bru boats gliding back and forth, but conversations were hushed, and many eyes kept drifting toward the towering buildings lining the water.
"Extra, extra! Iceberg Mayor was attacked last night and is still unconscious!"
A young newsboy steered a Bru boat through the canal, tossing newspapers as though they were scraps, shouting with urgency:
"The attacker appeared inside Iceberg Mayor's private room and vanished without a trace. Who did he anger?! And with Aqua Laguna approaching, could this be connected?!"
His voice echoed off the stone walls, cutting through the usual clatter of tools and shipwright chatter.
People scrambled to grab the falling papers, flipping through them in fear.
"Damn it! Iceberg is such a good man, why would anyone do this?"
"Could it be related to the explosion and flames we saw last night?"
"Those pirates! They used to order ships from us, but I swear I'll never build another for them!"
"Could it be the Franky Family? Their hideout was destroyed yesterday too! Those weirdos finally crossed the line, I knew they—"
"Iceberg Mayor is still unconscious?! Let's go to his headquarters and wait. Please let him be safe…"
Murmurs overlapped, voices rising and falling like restless waves.
Iceberg's attack shook the entire city. Panic spread like ripples on water.
---
Inside the Straw Hats' temporary home, chaos was brewing of a very different kind.
The scent of food filled the room, plates stacked high, crumbs already scattered across the table.
"Aw! Zoro, don't steal my meat! Chopper, you ate my pasta again!"
"Hey! Luffy, leave some for Chopper and me!"
"Slurp… hehe, what I grab is mine!"
Zoro, Chopper, and Luffy devoured breakfast as if preparing for a war of their own.
Their chopsticks and hands moved so fast they were almost blurs.
Sanji leaned against the window, cigarette smoldering between his fingers, his expression unusually solemn.
The smoke curled upward as he stared out at the city beyond the glass.
"I wonder if Robin-chan is alright…"
Shirogai Yamikuro—quiet amidst the noise—finished cleaning up after cooking for the bottomless stomachs around him.
His movements were unhurried, almost detached from the frantic energy filling the room.
"Nami-swaaaan, what happened?" Sanji asked as Nami burst inside, panic all over her face. His melancholy instantly melted into exaggerated affection. "Anything I can help with?"
Nami ignored him completely. She shoved a newspaper into Shirogai's hands and looked at Luffy, sweating nervously.
"Not only were we attacked last night, but Iceberg, The Mayor was attacked too! Someone beat him and shot him in his own home!"
"What?!"
Luffy's eyes bulged, the food dropping from his mouth.
"That kind uncle got shot?!"
"Yes."
Shirogai skimmed the article and gave a faint, almost amused smile.
The headline barely seemed to surprise him.
"It seems the World Government pulled a lot of strings last night."
"Good thing Shirogai was with us," Nami exhaled shakily. "Those two were terrifying. That big guy knocked Luffy down with only a few punches."
"Hehehe… I thought it was a dream," Luffy muttered, rubbing his head. "That guy was strong. I couldn't beat him."
"We're not at their level yet."
Zoro swallowed the last of his food, glancing at his three swords resting against the wall.
Their hilts seemed heavier than usual.
"If the enemies we face from now on are that strong, we still have a long way to go."
He clenched his fist.
I'm still too weak. I need to get stronger.
Zoro respected powerful opponents. CP0's agent last night—Ao Oni—had made him feel true pressure for the first time in a while. Yet in Shirogai's eyes, Ao Oni wasn't even close to the top.
CP0 agents could overwhelm most fighters, but they were far from the summit. They were only high-level combatants—not even close to true monsters at the peak of the world.
---
"Can CP0 defeat a Yonko?"
That was the first thing Zoro asked Shirogai's clone after Ao Oni fled last night.
The memory still burned vividly in his mind.
"Let me put it simply," the clone said, watching CP0 disappear into the darkness.
His tone was calm, almost dismissive.
"If a hundred CP0 members attacked a Yonko at once, the Yonko would only feel annoyed. Crushing large cockroaches doesn't bring satisfaction—if anything, it's just disgusting."
"…"
Zoro inhaled sharply.
A chill ran down his spine.
The man who nearly suffocated him with pressure… was just a cockroach to the true elites?
Excitement stirred in Zoro's chest.
There were heights above heights, monsters above monsters. And he intended to reach the top and cut them down.
---
Luffy suddenly gulped down the rest of his meal, leapt out the window, and dashed across rooftops like a wild animal.
Tiles cracked beneath his feet as he bounded away.
"I'm going to check on Iceberg!"
"Wait! Luffy, I'm coming!"
Nami hurried after him.
"Let's go," Shirogai said calmly, following them out.
His voice carried none of their urgency, yet his pace never lagged.
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere:
"Iceberg Mayor isn't dead. Calm down!"
A voice shouted through a Transponder Snail.
"But I think this relates to the strange events from last night. It might be tied to pirates!"
"Pirates?! Damn them!"
"Hurry over. We need to discuss what to do before Iceberg Mayor wakes up!"
"On my way!"
The call ended.
Barry set down the Transponder Snail, a mocking sneer twisting his lips.
The room was quiet, save for the faint creak of wood.
"Exactly as he predicted… they finally couldn't hold back."
He leaned back, arms crossed.
Kaku, your acting is top-tier.
If I didn't already know CP9 was behind this, I would've believed every word of your worried performance.
So this is the skill of World Government spies. A few subtle hints and you make people suspect pirates immediately.
"But acting isn't your exclusive art."
Barry reached out casually toward a coat hanging across the room.
The cowboy jacket with six cigars attached lifted itself and flew straight onto his body.
The String-String Fruit obeyed him as easily as moving his own arm.
Invisible threads quivered in the air.
Barry trembled slightly as memories of that oppressive training space returned. Then he smirked coldly.
"I'll use this power to judge all of you… CP9 traitors."
---
Elsewhere on the canal:
"Nami! Look!"
Luffy shoved a newspaper toward her with shaking hands.
"What—? What is this?! Is this World Newspaper real?!"
Nami's jaw dropped as she read.
Her fingers tightened around the page.
On the front page were two images:
One: Shirogai Yamikuro's wanted poster.
Bounty: 200 million Berries.
Nickname: The Plunderer.
The second: Shirogai smiling, wearing the bubble hood of a Celestial Dragon.
The headline read:
"Revealed: This esteemed man is actually a Celestial Dragon… Figarland Shirogai sama."
"Impossible! Shirogai is a Celestial Dragon?!"
Nami shouted.
"No way! That can't be true!"
---
At that moment, Shirogai—who had briefly split off from Luffy and Nami—walked through the streets alone.
The sound of water lapping against stone followed him.
People stared from a distance, whispering in fear.
Some bowed their heads, others instinctively stepped back.
"Hey… look… isn't that him?"
"It is! Stay away! Don't anger him or an Admiral might show up!"
Shirogai noticed the wary looks and the subtle disgust behind their polite fear.
He smiled slightly, using the Whisper-Whisper Fruit to hear their thoughts.
"Interesting."