One Piece : Prince of Charlotte Family

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Boom.

Ten days later.

On the sea near Water 7.

Two pirate ships faced off from a distance.

One ship bore a pirate flag with lipstick and a waving skull painted on it—it was the Juice, the ship carrying Wilhelm and his crew.

The other ship was battered and covered in battle scars. Corpses lay scattered across its deck, lifeless and disorganized.

Stron and Simon stood on the bloodstained deck, holding their long swords. They were completely unharmed.

Meanwhile, Wilhelm and Smoothie sat on the back of Finley, who had transformed into a vulture, flying in circles at a low altitude.

From above, they could see the battle on the opposing ship clearly. Watching Stron and Simon easily finish off their opponents, Wilhelm and Smoothie nodded in satisfaction.

Observing her two younger sisters, Smoothie smiled. "Stron and Simon have both grown stronger!"

"After all these days of relentless training, they've improved a lot," Wilhelm agreed with a faint smile. "The Leopard-Cat Fruit—an unexpected gain!"

"This type of half-baked pirate crew is just too weak..."

On the wrecked deck below, Simon stood over the body of the pirate captain, who lay in a pool of blood, his face frozen in terror, his body shriveled like a mummy.

While wiping her blade clean, Simon sneered. "Honestly, they were no match for us."

"You can't say they were too weak," Stron replied casually, flicking the blood off her sword. She shrugged. "For their strength, if they hadn't met us, they could've easily dominated most of the pirates in the first half of the Grand Line."

"The Leopard-Cat Pirates, huh? What an unlucky bunch..."

In a flash, Wilhelm appeared on the deck.

He plunged the Shichiseiken into the mummy-like corpse at Simon's feet. A faint blue light flickered as an ordinary fruit in Wilhelm's hand began to transform.

In moments, it became a strange-looking fruit with twin bananas stuck together, its blue surface covered in swirling patterns.

"Too bad for them—they ran into us," Smoothie said with a confident smile, leaping off Finley's back in a streak of lightning.

Over the past days, they had stayed off the radar of the Marines.

To the world, it was as if Wilhelm's crew had vanished.

But in truth, every pirate ship and merchant vessel they encountered had become their source of supplies.

Thanks to Wilhelm's vast "network of hearts," they avoided Marine patrols and silently approached the waters near Water 7 without drawing any attention.

"Wilhelm, Water 7 is less than 15 nautical miles away," Smoothie said, receiving updates through the heart network, which transmitted information like radio waves.

"I've found the Tom's Workers studio you mentioned. It's on Hulk Island, further away from the main city..."

"It seems Tom the shipwright is working on some kind of 'sea train.'"

"Good," Wilhelm replied, nodding.

He pocketed the Leopard-Cat Fruit and smiled before turning to the crew on the Juice, which had approached the other ship. "Clean up the battlefield and gather all the loot!"

Half a day later.

At Water 7's old ship graveyard, a desolate shore filled with abandoned vessels and scrap, Wilhelm and his crew arrived.

The area was run-down, with Tom's workshop in the middle of the wreckage, appearing worn and dilapidated.

"Who are you?"

Tom, the fish-man shipwright, stood in front of the intruders with narrowed eyes. He had been guiding his apprentice in the development of the sea train but now stopped to confront Wilhelm.

It didn't take long for Tom to recognize him.

The young man before him was Charlotte Wilhelm, the "Battle Prince," whose bounty of 550 million berries had recently shocked the world, despite his being only 15 years old.

"It's incredible... Is this the sea train?" Wilhelm's eyes gleamed with interest as he looked at the test tracks laid out on the sea and the rough prototype of the locomotive.

When he turned to the chubby, intimidating fish-man shipwright, Wilhelm's voice was full of admiration. "Your design is genius, Mr. Tom!"

He had already made up his mind—if the opportunity arose, he would bring the sea train to Totto Land.

With it, all the islands in the territory could be connected, boosting the economy of Whole Cake Island.

But for now, he decided, there was no rush.

"You flatter me..."

Tom the Murlock wasn't surprised and cut straight to the point: "You're such a big name. Why are you here?"

"We want you to build a ship!"

Before Tom could respond, a boy with a turban and short purple hair stood up, raising his voice: "Wait, are you pirates? Mr. Tom doesn't build ships anymore!"

Wilhelm wasn't annoyed. He smiled at Tom and said, "Oro Jackson, the ship that helped Roger's Pirates complete their historic journey around the Grand Line... truly a remarkable pirate ship!"

"However, the ship I need you to build isn't just any ordinary pirate ship. Please, don't refuse..."

Wilhelm didn't give Tom a chance to decline. He handed over part of the outline design for the Ark Proverbs: "Here's the blueprint. Take a look."

Tom furrowed his brows.

Though he had heard of Wilhelm's dangerous reputation through Marine reports, he remained calm. He waved his hand to stop his two apprentices from speaking out.

After receiving the blueprint, Tom carefully examined it.

Soon, his expression changed. His pupils narrowed sharply, and he looked up at Wilhelm in shock. "This is a ship powered by electricity, capable of flying, right?"

"…Yes." Wilhelm nodded.

Smoothie, who had been following, couldn't wait and asked, "So, can you make it? Mr. Murloc?"

Tom hesitated, shaking his head before speaking plainly: "With all due respect, even if I could build this ship, it would require an enormous amount of power to operate smoothly. I'm afraid I don't have the resources for a long-distance voyage."

"Sigh, chirp..."

Suddenly, the sky lit up as electric lights intertwined around Smoothie's body, illuminating everything with dazzling brilliance.

The spectacle was so bright that it was blinding. Tom and his apprentices were left in shock.

"I'm a Logia-type Thunder Fruit user, and I can charge it anytime. So don't worry..." Smoothie said confidently, looking at Tom. "I just need to know, can you make it?"

"If we pay you, don't worry…"

Simon smiled and added, "We'll definitely satisfy you!"

Tom stood silently for a moment, meeting Wilhelm's gaze. His golden eyes, intimidating when locked onto, made it clear there was no way to refuse.

He sighed in resignation.

Tom sighed again and then spoke seriously: "This blueprint is only a part, right? Send me the full set."

"And I'll be clear now—the ship you want to build isn't a regular sailing ship. The complex power systems are going to be troublesome, and it might take a long time to finish."

Wilhelm smiled and said, "Then please do your best!"

With a snap of his fingers, a pile of blueprints and explosive shells appeared in front of Tom and his apprentices.

Also, a large stack of gold and silver jewelry appeared.

Tom and his two disciples' eyes widened in shock.

Franky, the delinquent boy with the blue airplane-shaped head and outrageous clothes, couldn't help but exclaim, "This is the first time I've seen so much treasure!"

He excitedly turned to Tom. "Mr. Tom, with this treasure, we can definitely finish the sea train project!"

Tom nodded, his expression thoughtful.

Funds had always been an issue for him—he was working on the sea train project without any government backing, and it had been tough.

This unexpected business opportunity could provide a much-needed solution.

"These are the funds for the shipbuilding," Wilhelm said generously, pointing to the treasure. "As for the materials, use the treasure tree Adam for the wood. For the metal parts, I can have Smoothie use her ability to smelt them, which will speed up the process."

"However, I'd like to redesign the hull style…"

"No problem!" Tom agreed immediately.