On the sea in front of Enies Lobby's main gate, a single-masted sailing ship—larger than Rorschach's warship—was approaching from a distance.
Atop the warship's lookout tower, Hibari held the Gun of Kindness, using the scope mounted on the long rifle to observe the approaching vessel.
"Stand down from alert! That's the emblem of Water 7's Galley-La Company. Looks like the railway repair crew has arrived."
Hibari signaled for the warriors on the deck, who had raised their rifles, to lower their weapons.
"Hibari… Captain Hibari, do we know how Rear Admiral Rorschach is doing? That huge commotion earlier—was there a battle? Could it be that Enies Lobby doesn't want to pay us the bounty for Aristos?"
Palmer scratched his head, looking up at Hibari atop the watchtower.
Seeing that everyone's faces carried a hint of concern, Hibari gracefully flipped off the mast, landing lightly on the deck.
She smiled at the crew and reassured them, "Relax, everyone. You all know how strong Big Bro Rorschach is, don't you? Do you really think anyone on this broken island could be a match for him? I took a look just now—he already knocked down all the challengers. He seems to be on his way back, so everything should be settled."
Hearing this, the crew let out a collective sigh of relief.
Bepo patted his chest with lingering fear. "I heard that Enies Lobby has CP9 agents stationed here. Those guys are ruthless."
"Hmph! Ruthless? Can they be more ruthless than Shiryu of the Rain? No matter how dangerous they are, they're no match for the Rear Admiral!"
Palmer's face was filled with admiration.
By now, he was completely in awe of Rorschach, practically his most devoted fan.
"New recruit, watch your tone. I'm your superior officer, you know."
Bepo tilted his head upward, his face showing slight displeasure as he deliberately shrugged his shoulders to emphasize the ensign insignia on them.
"I…" Palmer choked on his words.
"Hmph. You were easily beaten by the major, and you're a pirate to boot. If you don't shape up, I won't go easy on you."
Bepo clenched his fists, making a show of intimidation.
"Enough, Bepo. The major hasn't fully recovered from his injuries yet. If this big guy loses his temper, we won't be able to hold him back."
Peckham tugged at Bepo's sleeve.
"I—I'm strong too, you know!"
Bepo mumbled stiffly, subtly putting more distance between himself and Palmer.
A fierce gust of wind swept across the warship.
A tall figure descended gracefully and landed on the deck.
"Big Bro Rorschach!"
"Rear Admiral Rorschach!"
Seeing him, everyone aboard instantly perked up, their previous worries vanishing completely.
Hibari, especially, practically bounced over to Rorschach, looking up at him with a bright smile and dimples.
"Big Bro Rorschach, I saw you beat those guys so badly they were rolling on the ground!"
"Don't exaggerate. I was just having a friendly spar with my colleagues on the island."
Rorschach chuckled and reached out to ruffle Hibari's hair.
The young woman's expression immediately turned into one of pure enjoyment, like a kitten being petted.
Then, as if suddenly realizing something, she jumped away, her face flushed red.
The rest of the crew were unfazed by this interaction.
Everyone had witnessed firsthand how close Rear Admiral Rorschach and Captain Hibari were.
In fact, according to a certain white bear who had night watch duty, Hibari had been spotted sneaking into the Rear Admiral's cabin late at night.
A hero and a beauty—it was only natural.
Especially for someone as exceptional as Rear Admiral Rorschach.
However, young people could be shy, and public displays of affection were bound to be embarrassing.
So, to avoid any awkwardness, the crew collectively pretended not to notice.
"Ahem. Get ready. When the shipwrights arrive to repair the railway, cooperate as much as possible. After all, this accident was our fault."
Rorschach cleared his throat and gave his orders.
"Yes, sir! We'll fully cooperate!"
The warriors responded in unison.
A few minutes later, the large ship finally drew close.
About ten meters away from the warship, a burly man with a thick beard grabbed a massive anchor and hurled it into the sea, securing the ship.
Then, a loud and very irritated voice rang out from across the ship.
"Oi, oi, oi! Who the hell is responsible for this mess?! Who destroyed the Sea Train tracks?! You bastards better not think you can get away with this just because you're Marines!"
The voice carried a distinct rolling tongue sound, making it quite recognizable.
Not many people spoke like that.
Rorschach and his crew turned toward the source of the voice.
Standing on the deck of the other ship was a tall, broad-shouldered man with particularly thick arms.
He wore an open-front Hawaiian shirt, a thick gold chain around his neck, and only a pair of red briefs on his lower half.
He stood with his nose in the air, looking toward them.
Rorschach's eye twitched.
This guy… Could it be… Franky?
"P-PERVERT! He's only wearing underwear!"
Hibari immediately turned around and covered her eyes.
"Pervert? Are you talking about me?"
Franky ran a hand through his blue buzz cut, then suddenly stuck out his butt, pressed his thick arms together, and struck an absurdly flamboyant pose, yelling:
"Awwoo! Even if you praise me, I still won't forgive you! The sea train and tracks built by Mr. Tom are treasures of Water 7. If even one of them gets damaged, it's absolutely unforgivable... Huh?? The sea train!"
Franky's eyes bulged, and his mouth hung open as he stared at the sea train, which was now resting on the edge of the island in front of Enies Lobby's main gate.
"How did the sea train end up on land? Did it derail and fly over here?"
"Franky, if you keep running your mouth, get off my ship. I didn't bring you here to listen to your endless chatter. Hurry up and fix the tracks so the sea train can start running again."
The burly shipwright Daelstone, who had a "ship" tattoo on the left side of his chest, scolded impatiently.
"What the hell did you just say? You wanna die? I'm feeling super strong today—I could knock you out with a single punch!"
Franky straightened his back, giving Daelstone a side-eye.
"You sure about that? Your 'Franky Family' isn't here, and you're outnumbered, Franky."
Barry, the cigar-chomping vice president of the Galley-La Company, narrowed his eyes at Franky. Behind him, a group of burly shipwrights stood with various ship-repair tools in hand, eyeing Franky with ill intent.
Franky tugged at his speedo, smirking. "Hah! A bunch of useless show-offs! I could take all of you down by myself!"
"What did you say, you damn slacker?!"
Meanwhile, on the navy warship, Rorschach and the others watched as the scene aboard the other ship escalated into a full-blown shouting match. It looked like a full-on brawl was about to break out.
Just moments ago, Franky had been picking a fight with Rorschach.
Now, in the next second, he was about to start swinging at the Galley-La shipwrights.
What a fiery temper.
Just as things were about to turn violent, a middle-aged man in a striped suit stepped out of the cabin, speaking in a calm voice:
"Enough. Fix the tracks quickly—don't delay everyone's journey."
At the sight of the man, the Galley-La shipwrights immediately stepped aside.
Franky shot a glance at Iceburg, snorted, and said nothing. He grabbed a large bag of tools and dove straight into the sea, swimming toward the warship's propellers.
"Lower the boats—we're going down to check the situation."
Iceburg instructed.
"Understood." Barry, still chewing on his cigar, waved his hand, and several shipwrights lowered small boats from the side of the ship.
At the same time, a lifeboat was lowered from Rorschach's warship as well. Rorschach jumped aboard, while Bepo eagerly ran over to help row.
The boat was small, so none of the other marines disembarked.
Just as Franky reached the warship's propeller, which was tangled in the train tracks, the surrounding seawater suddenly erupted with a loud splash, sending a massive wave that pushed him back.
"What the hell?! What was that?!"
Franky steadied himself, looking over to see a massive head emerging from the water. It paid him no attention and simply swam toward the small boat coming from the warship.
"A g-giant?! That's super... HUGE!"
Franky stared at Palmer's massive, muscular back with a look of admiration.
Seeing Palmer's towering physique, the Galley-La shipwrights were also visibly shocked.
Iceburg's eyes flickered with interest.
This warship wasn't ordinary.
It actually had a giant soldier onboard.
While the other shipwrights assumed Palmer was the ship's leader, Iceburg alone recognized that he was just a soldier.
The real captain of the warship was likely the tall, elegant young navy officer standing beside him—his extraordinary presence made him look more like a prince than a marine.
His eyes glanced over the rank insignia on Rorschach's shoulder, and he immediately understood.
Still, he was surprised.
"A Marine Headquarters Commodore this young?"
Both boats quickly gathered near the warship's outer propeller.
Rorschach, looking apologetic, reached out his hand toward the slightly surprised Iceburg.
"You must be the mayor of Water 7 and the president of the Galley-La Company, the one that the train conductor mentioned—Mr. Iceburg, correct?"
"I'm Rorschach, a Marine Headquarters Commodore."
"My sincerest apologies. My warship didn't notice the sea train's tracks and ended up entangling them in our propeller. This accident was entirely our fault, and I'm sorry for the trouble we've caused you all."
A Commodore?
Iceburg was visibly taken aback and immediately shook Rorschach's hand.
Not daring to be disrespectful, he slightly raised his head and looked at the exceptionally refined marine officer before him. His extraordinary demeanor made him seem more like a noble than a soldier. Iceburg chuckled lightly:
"Nice to meet you, Commodore Rorschach. I'm Iceburg."
"The fact that the warship's propeller got tangled with the tracks isn't entirely your fault. The sea train's tracks are completely submerged, so they're hard to spot from a distance. Accidents like this actually happen a few times a year—it's nothing too serious. My shipwrights will have it repaired in no time."
As he spoke, Iceburg glanced toward the sea train resting on Enies Lobby's shore, voicing the question on everyone's mind.
"But I'm rather curious—how did the sea train end up on Enies Lobby? And it seems completely undamaged."
Before Rorschach could reply, Bepo, who had been enthusiastically rowing, suddenly placed his hands on his hips and proudly declared:
"The sea train you're talking about was carried over and placed on the island by our Commodore!"
(End of Chapter)
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