"This is the Pluton battleship blueprint?"
Deep in Dock One's timber storage room, in a small, dimly lit corner, three shadowy figures crouched together, staring at a set of ancient blueprints spread out on the ground.
A flickering electric glow pulsed from Rorschach's fingertips, casting shifting light and shadows across the dust-covered room.
The other two figures with him, of course, were Iceburg and Franky.
Rorschach never would have guessed that Iceburg, under the pretense of checking the Adam Wood stockpile, had actually lured him here to reveal something so monumental. Iceburg had directly asked Franky to take out the Pluton blueprint and show it to him.
The Pluton battleship blueprint was the greatest secret Iceburg and Franky shared.
If the World Government ever discovered it, their fate wouldn't be much better than that of their mentor, Tom.
For Iceburg to reveal it so decisively to Rorschach now—it showed that he had chosen to trust Rorschach completely, without reservation.
This deeply moved Rorschach.
Of course, Iceburg might have made this decision because Rorschach had already exposed Franky's secret earlier.
Even so, it was clear just how determined and sincere both Iceburg and Franky were.
As for Pluton, one of the three Ancient Weapons capable of destroying the world, Rorschach was naturally intrigued.
He also knew that the real Pluton battleship wasn't in Water 7 or Alabasta.
It was in Wano.
On Kaido's turf.
Even if he wanted to retrieve it, he didn't have the strength to do so.
And revealing this secret to Akainu or Sengoku right now was unrealistic—there were too many factors to consider.
However, if he could use the Pluton blueprint to modify his own warships and enhance their performance, that would still be a worthwhile endeavor.
Suppressing his excitement, Rorschach squinted at the blueprints for a long time before coming to a conclusion.
"What the hell is this? I can't understand any of it."
His mouth twitched as he looked up at Iceburg and Franky, who were both crouched in front of him.
The three of them huddled together like conspirators plotting something shady.
"It's normal that you can't understand it." Iceburg gave a wry smile and pointed at Franky. "Even I can barely make sense of it. Franky's the only one who's been obsessed with studying this kind of thing since childhood. He can at least decipher a bit of it. Franky, explain it to him."
Seeing the two of them turn to him, Franky slicked back his hair with an air of confidence, a proud grin on his face.
"Well, of course, you amateurs wouldn't get it. This is where a genius like me comes in!"
Under the faint electric glow from Rorschach's fingertips, Franky picked up the ancient sheets of paper and pointed at the faded diagrams and symbols.
"The text, I won't even bother with—it seems to be an ancient script from 800 years ago. No idea if anyone in the world can still read it.
I've spent years studying this thing and have only barely managed to figure out some of it.
Basically, it's a structural diagram of an ancient warship. But parts of the blueprint seem to be missing—I can only make out certain sections of the ship's design.
It's ridiculously complex—ten, maybe a hundred times more intricate than any ship I've ever seen.
Some sections, like the auxiliary combat system and water purification system, are somewhat understandable.
But the most critical parts—the propulsion and weapon systems—even I can't make heads or tails of. I could only piece together an improvised alternative design."
Rorschach felt both intrigued and disappointed.
He stayed silent as Franky continued his explanation.
"Strangely enough, the ship's power source doesn't seem to be wind or steam.
There are no sails or paddle wheels in the diagrams.
That means it must be powered by some mysterious, incredibly efficient system."
Franky's face lit up with excitement as he turned to Rorschach.
"I couldn't figure it out completely, but I did come up with a design that uses compressed cola gas to create an emergency propulsion and weapon system. Hey, wanna install it on your warship?"
Wind-Up Cannon? Lion Roar Cannon?
Rorschach narrowed his eyes at Franky, who looked utterly thrilled, and shook his head in disinterest.
"Nah, forget it. Just set me up with a decent water purification and auxiliary combat system instead."
"What?! You idiot, do you even know how valuable this is?! That's a perfect system I spent years developing!"
Franky was so enraged by Rorschach's lack of enthusiasm that he nearly jumped in frustration.
"A warship over a hundred meters long weighs how much? You really think cola can make it fly or do anything useful?"
"Forget it. Just help me dismantle the steam-powered engine from my warship and install it on this ship.
As for the ship's future power source, I'll figure out a better one later."
Rorschach waved his hand, dispelling the electricity at his fingertips, and stood up.
"A better power source? Where exactly do you plan to get one?"
Iceburg and Franky stood up as well, looking at Rorschach with curiosity.
"Don't forget—I'm a Marine.
The world's greatest scientist is in the Marine Science Division."
Rorschach shrugged and walked outside.
He had another idea in mind.
On the sky island above Mock Town, there was a certain kid who played with electricity and had airships powered by it.
He definitely needed to find time to check that out.
Not to mention, the gold on that island was worth untold trillions of Berries.
If he could secure it, it would completely solve the Marine's budget issues.
With control over just three key locations, the Marines would never have to worry about funding again—
The Golden Emperor's golden ship, the ice vault of the Flower Kingdom, and the City of Gold on the sky island.
"Are you talking about that Vegapunk? The one whose technology is supposedly 500 years ahead of the world?"
Franky's eyes sparkled instantly—he was eager to meet the legendary scientist.
The two of them caught up with Rorschach and followed him into the timber storage area outside.
Rorschach looked at the massive log on the ground—110 meters long and over 3 meters in diameter—and couldn't help but click his tongue in astonishment.
"This is the Adam Wood log you were talking about, Iceburg? This thing is huge—easily over a thousand cubic meters. Are you sure it's only worth 300 million Berries? You're not scamming me, are you?"
"Why would I need to scam you? Haha, relax, Commodore Rorschach. This log came from a lumber merchant who bought a ship from me a few years back. He didn't have enough money, so he used this as part of the payment. Honestly, I didn't even spend 300 million on it. If anything, you're the one getting the better deal."
Iceburg chuckled.
He was telling the truth, though the 200 million Berries he mentioned was from over a decade ago.
Rorschach remained skeptical, then, under the bewildered gazes of Iceburg and Franky, cracked his neck, stretched his wrists, and walked toward the massive log.
"You… what are you doing?" Iceburg asked in shock.
"Obviously, I'm taking it out. Isn't it going to be used for the keel?"
Rorschach replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Franky's eyes widened. "You're kidding, right? That thing weighs at least several thousand tons!"
Before he even finished speaking, the ground beneath them trembled violently, as if an earthquake had struck.
Rorschach had positioned himself at the center of the suspended 100-meter-long log. His body rapidly expanded, and two massive arms covered in shimmering blue scales emerged. With a slight exertion from below, he hoisted the entire log onto his shoulders.
With a series of cracking sounds as splinters burst into the air, the colossal log was lifted effortlessly. Then, step by step, Rorschach carried it out of the warehouse and toward Dock One.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Each of Rorschach's footsteps sent a deep, resonant shockwave across the vast shipyard plaza.
The shipwrights who had been hard at work stopped what they were doing, their jaws dropping in disbelief as they watched a giant, muscular figure covered in blue scales carrying an impossibly large log out into the open.
Barry's cigar slipped silently from his mouth.
He clearly remembered that when the log was first delivered, it took nearly every man in Water 7 working together for three full days just to transport it into the warehouse.
Yet now, a single person had effortlessly lifted it onto his shoulders and, within minutes, moved it to the plaza at Dock One.
"That guy… is a real monster."
(End of Chapter)
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