Sengoku let out a long sigh.
There was nothing left to do but accept this as a fait accompli.
Meanwhile, Crocodile was absolutely thrilled.
He had failed to achieve his goals in Alabasta years ago, but now, through El, he had finally succeeded.
It was truly a case of searching far and wide for something only to find it effortlessly in the end.
As he was rejoicing, he heard El speak to him in a low voice: "Don't even think about it. That thing you're looking for... it isn't in Alabasta."
Crocodile froze instantly. "What?"
What he had been searching for was Pluton — one of the three legendary Ancient Weapons.
But to his great disappointment, El was telling the truth. Pluton itself was not located in Alabasta. The kingdom only held records pointing to its location.
And that was exactly why El had taken control of Alabasta: to ensure no other power could get their hands on the Poneglyph and find out where Pluton was hidden.
As for where it actually lay... El knew perfectly well.
Most people did not realize that this legendary weapon, capable of destroying the world, was actually a ship — a massive battleship.
It was designed to be built at Water 7, a super-weapon powerful enough to wipe out an entire island with a single shot.
At this very moment, Pluton was buried deep beneath the land of Wano Country.
To be honest, after being buried for so long, there was no guarantee it would even be functional anymore.
And since Wano was currently under Kaido's control, El had no intention of fighting over a relic that might already be useless.
The original blueprints for the ship had been kept in Water 7.
Everyone believed they had been burned and destroyed long ago.
But in reality... that was only one version of the plans.
The complete, intact set of blueprints was currently in El's possession.
No one in the world could have imagined that the legendary design plans for Pluton were right in El's hands.
The copy that Franky had destroyed was indeed lost — but before that happened, El's subordinates had secured and preserved the full documents through various means.
For anyone else, obtaining those plans would have been impossible. They didn't even know where to look.
That was why the World Government's intelligence agencies had searched for years without finding a trace.
El, however, knew exactly where they were. His people had clear targets, and their operations had gone perfectly.
There were three Ancient Weapons in total: Uranus, Poseidon, and Pluton.
Uranus was missing and its whereabouts unknown. Poseidon lay within Fish-Man Island — which was already under El's protection and control.
Now, only Pluton remained. And El was fully capable of building it.
He only needed one more thing: Water 7.
Next came Whitebeard's turn to make his demands.
He claimed control over a strategic location along the Grand Line — a place that every ship had to pass through.
The Marines didn't hesitate and agreed immediately.
That territory held little value to them. They had never paid it much attention, so giving it away was no great loss.
Besides, there was a limit to how much land Whitebeard and his crew could manage. Every piece they took was one less thing they could ask for later.
"Is it my turn now?"
El looked around at everyone. "Very well. I want Water 7."
Most people vastly underestimated the true significance of this place.
As one of the largest shipyards in the world, it was the hub of maritime traffic, the greatest shipbuilding center, and the finest repair dock in existence.
If the Marines didn't appreciate the value of such a place, the consequences would be severe.
But the Marines had always been arrogant and had never cared much for Water 7. Aside from the Sea Train project, they had never invested much there.
It was a waste for such a valuable place to remain in their hands.
"Water 7?!"
Many were confused by El's choice. It was a shipyard, not a fortress or a resource-rich island.
If he had demanded something like the Land of Giants, everyone would have understood — in the world of pirates, strength and battle were everything.
Production, industry, and development were rarely priorities.
But El thought differently.
Countless ships were built there. Old vessels were decommissioned or repaired there.
Controlling Water 7 meant controlling the lifeline of global navigation.
Whether they were Marines or pirates, everyone would be affected and restricted by whoever held that city.
Both the locals and the World Government had always overlooked this fact.
The Government was too arrogant, believing the whole world already belonged to them, so they never bothered to strengthen security there.
But now that El had taken it over, everything would change.
The famous Galley-La Company, along with every ship repair and dismantling yard in the city — all were now under his rule.
As the Marines watched him, a realization began to dawn on them.
Has this man finally revealed his true ambitions? Fleet Admiral Sengoku thought to himself.
For years, El had remained low-key and mysterious. That was what had always worried them.
Now that he was finally showing his true intentions and goals, it almost felt normal — as if he was finally acting like a typical pirate emperor.
But what they didn't understand was this: The Marines were used to underestimating things.
And this time, they had underestimated El's ambition.
El was the type of person who stayed silent for ages, but when he moved, he shook the world.
He was completely different from the other Emperors.
Others only wanted to rule their own territories, or eventually become the Pirate King.
But El? He wasn't even interested in the title of Pirate King.
It was too small, too limited.
He wanted something far greater, far higher.
He wanted to rule the entire world.
The World Government and the Marines were his natural enemies.
That was the real reason why he had suddenly begun gathering powerful talents and allies.
But aside from himself, no one in the world knew this truth.
Everyone thought he simply wanted to be a powerful warlord of the sea.
Even Crocodile — who had served him for so long — believed that.
And that suited El perfectly.
It bought him more time to prepare... and to build the legendary Ancient Weapon: Pluton.
"Wait! We need to discuss this!"
The Marines spoke up gravely.
The meeting was paused as the high-ranking officers gathered together.
"What are your thoughts?" Sengoku asked the group.
Garp looked as laid-back and unfazed as ever.
The three Admirals all pondered the situation.
Akainu was the first to speak.
"It is obvious," he said grimly. "El wants to take control of the shipyards so he can hold every pirate and seafarer in the palm of his hand."
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