After the Grand Blu had carried Will and the others up the sloping waterway, gradually swimming its way to a higher elevation, Will's gaze shifted.
He suddenly turned his head and said to Enel with a smile, "I suppose you must have already noticed those rather special presences in this city."
"Hm?"
Hearing this, Enel's closed eyes opened slightly wider as he replied thoughtfully, "Are you talking about those few guys whose presences are a bit stronger than my former four priests?"
The reason he sounded uncertain was because he didn't know exactly what the other party had sensed. After all, he now knew that the other party's Observation Haki could perceive things that neither he nor Issho could—for example, the Devil Fruit on Skypiea.
Will caught the hint of uncertainty in the other man's voice, so he nodded firmly and said, "That's right—it's exactly those few guys you mentioned. I always feel like the one named 'Iceburg' might be among those with the stronger presences."
Nami, who was steering the Grand Blu, hadn't sensed any of this herself, but that didn't stop her from asking, "Where should we head now?" As she spoke, she pulled out the city map she had bought from the rental shop owner, intending to have the others point out the general direction.
"No need to bother with that. Just let me take the lead."
Will, upon hearing this, was too lazy to describe the route using a map. He simply reached out, took the rope from her hand, and gave it a gentle tug to the side.
In the next instant, the Grand Blu—still carrying the three of them—suddenly lurched as its body turned uncontrollably, swimming toward a nearby waterway. The Grand Blu froze for a few seconds. Once it snapped out of it, a cold sweat broke out across its forehead, and its swimming speed instantly surged.
Nami couldn't help but find the Grand Blu's reaction rather amusing.
At that moment, Enel, who had been beside them, suddenly spoke in a lazy drawl, "By the way, Captain, shouldn't we deal with those guys who've been secretly tailing us?"
Will had clearly been aware of them for some time. He smiled indifferently. "Don't mind them. Let's take care of our business first." The presences following behind were far too weak; he saw no need to waste time on them. He would deal with them casually whenever they finally decided to make a move.
Enel wasn't surprised by the response. He himself had little interest in such weaklings. The only reason he had asked was because being secretly spied on annoyed him a little. "By the way, how far can your Observation Haki reach?"
After silently sensing the area within a dozen meters or so, Nami couldn't help asking curiously. Thanks to her natural talent, hard work, and the boost from her Devil Fruit, she had only recently begun cultivating Observation Haki. But at this moment, she hadn't detected anything unusual nearby.
"How far?" Will raised an eyebrow and replied casually with a smile. "It's hard to pin down exactly, but covering the entire Water 7 is no problem at all. As for Enel, he can easily cover the whole city too. He can even extend the range and intensity of his Observation Haki using his Devil Fruit ability."
"That's right." Enel nodded slowly, his eyes still closed as he added, "If you want to improve, just practice your Observation Haki whenever you have free time. That's the fastest way to strengthen it."
"Ah, I've thought about that, but using Observation Haki drains stamina, and I don't have the monstrous reserves you two do." Nami gave a helpless smile, but she still secretly continued trying to maintain her Observation Haki.
The three of them chatted as they traveled. They passed through a water gate elevator at the end of the waterway and ascended to a higher section of the inner city. Once they reached the top, they continued along another canal.
Will and his two companions finally came to a stop at a riverside dock. They disembarked, grabbed the briefcase stuffed with money, and headed together toward a shipyard marked with a large "1" out front.
Arriving at the wooden fence nearby, they had a clear view of the bustling activity inside the shipyard. A large number of workers moved about, many of them shirtless and displaying their powerful muscles. Some carried thick logs on their shoulders, while others sawed away at wood with massive saws. A few pushed handcarts loaded with various metal parts, and still more hammered away at iron blocks with heavy mallets.
The most prominent figures among them were a man with short blue-purple hair, a beard on his chin, wearing an orange-and-red striped suit, and sporting a somewhat serious expression. And beside him stood a woman with her blonde hair tied back, wearing tinted glasses and holding a notebook in her hand. She was dressed in a yellow top paired with a black miniskirt and black thigh-high boots. Her expression was cool and composed, giving off an intellectual vibe, while her figure was undeniably sexy.
The man in the striped suit was speaking, while the bespectacled woman beside him raised a hand to adjust her glasses before taking out her notebook and beginning to jot down notes with serious focus.
"These two must be Iceburg and Kalifa, right?" Will, recognizing the pair's appearances and characteristics at a glance, immediately guessed their identities.
In addition, there was a young man wearing a baseball cap, with a long, square nose. And on the other side, a man in a black top hat, white vest, and overalls, with a pigeon perched on his shoulder. "And Kaku and Lucci—that makes three CP9 members in total."
Will, who had already sensed their presences here, wasn't particularly surprised. He chose not to expose their identities right away. Instead, he stepped over the wooden fence and raised a hand to greet Iceburg directly: "Hey! You there, in the striped suit!"
"Hm?"
Iceburg turned his head in surprise at the voice. Seeing a tall, well-built, handsome man approaching, he looked utterly confused. "May I ask who you are?"
Will smiled and asked, "Are you called Iceburg?"
"That's me." Iceburg nodded, still puzzled, and asked again, "Is there something I can help you with?"
But at that moment, he failed to notice that his secretary Kalifa, along with the two foremen Lucci and Kaku, had all had their gazes drawn to the newcomer. Upon seeing the man's appearance and physique, a flash of shock crossed their eyes.
Kalifa's face turned slightly unnatural. She lowered her head a bit and subconsciously pushed up her glasses, trying to hide the nearly uncontrollable look in her eyes and on her face. Meanwhile, Lucci and Kaku couldn't help but pull their hats down lower, completely shrouding their expressions in shadow.
The three of them had just learned about Spandam's latest plan from Blueno, who was hiding out in a tavern. But they never expected that, before they could even act, they would run into this terrifying individual so unexpectedly. It was none other than the "Madman" Will—the man who had dared to attack a Celestial Dragon, killed a CP9 member and two Marine commodores from Marineford, and carried a bounty of 700 million berries!
However, while Kalifa and Kaku felt a surge of tension in their hearts, Lucci couldn't suppress a flicker of excitement and anticipation at facing such a formidable opponent.
Will paid no attention to the three's odd behavior at the time. After drawing closer, he continued, "Nothing special—I just came to commission a ship from you."
Looking at the smiling man before him, Iceburg felt a vague sense of familiarity. He nodded in response and said, "Oh, I see." Then he tilted his head slightly and glanced behind the newcomer. When he spotted the two people accompanying him, along with the briefcases placed at their feet, he smiled calmly and remarked, "It looks like you came well-prepared—you even brought the payment in advance."
"That's right." Will replied with a smile. "After all, time is money. I don't want to waste too much time just buying a ship."
"Well said." As the president of the Galley-La Company, Iceburg couldn't help but wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment. So he dropped the formalities and asked directly with a smile, "Tell me, what kind of ship are you looking to commission? Any special requirements?"
Will pondered for a few seconds, then concisely outlined the crew's needs and the general specifications for the hull. Finally, he added, "As for special requirements, I only have one: the ship must be extremely sturdy—strong enough to withstand any storms or weather the Grand Line can throw at it."
"Oh? Extremely sturdy, you say...?" Iceburg frowned at the words and couldn't help stroking his chin in deep thought. The other aspects were manageable, but the demanded level of sturdiness posed a significant challenge. To make a ship that could fearlessly brave all kinds of sea storms and weather conditions, it would require many rare shipbuilding materials, incredibly precise design blueprints, and masterful craftsmanship.
Seeing Iceburg's contemplative expression, Will assumed the other man hadn't fully grasped his request, so he added casually, "How sturdy? Roughly on the level of 'Pluton' should be enough."
"Hm, I understand." Iceburg nodded subconsciously in acknowledgment, but then his expression suddenly froze. He looked up with a face full of terror and wariness: "Who exactly are you?!"
Kalifa, Lucci, and Kaku, standing beside him, could no longer conceal their emotions. Surprise and suspicion flashed across all three faces. They couldn't fathom how their covers had been blown. The first thought that crossed their minds was whether that cowardly fool Spandam had betrayed them beforehand. After all, their original undercover plan had been abruptly altered by the other side, and now this "Madman" Will had shown up here so coincidentally. With so many anomalies piling up at once, how could they not be suspicious?
Will was too lazy to explain anything more to Iceburg at this point. Unwilling to waste another second, he simply raised his hand and flicked a finger toward Kalifa, who stood beside Iceburg.
Whoosh!
Accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, a small air bullet shot forward at blinding speed from Will's fingertip.
"Finger Pistol?!"
Kalifa started in alarm. No longer bothering to hide her identity, she flipped backward to evade the incoming air bullet. At the same time, she reached behind her waist, drew out a black, thorn-covered long whip, and lashed it fiercely at Will from midair with a sharp whoosh.
Facing the whip slicing through the air toward him, Will didn't even flinch. He simply raised his hand and caught it. The whip coiled tightly around Will's arm, but it failed to leave even the slightest mark. Immediately after, he gave the whip a hard yank, pulling the surprised Kalifa straight toward him.
Realizing midair that she couldn't resist the overwhelming pull, Kalifa seized the moment to deliver a sweeping kick the instant she drew close.
Bang!
Will easily blocked it with a raised hand, his body remaining completely steady. At the same time, he released the whip from his right hand and drove a punch straight into her stomach.
Bang!
Unable to dodge, Kalifa took the hit square in the abdomen. Her eyes bulged instantly as she gasped and spat out a mouthful of water. She was then sent flying several meters backward, landing curled up on the ground like a shrimp, her body shaking uncontrollably.
"Hm? You can't even handle that much force?" Will dodged the spray of water, retracted his fist, and looked on with a hint of disappointment. After all, he had deliberately used only a tiny fraction of his strength. If he had applied just a little more power, she probably would have passed out on the spot.
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