Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Water 7 - A Chance Encounter with the Whitebeard Pirates
Enel immediately transformed into a bolt of lightning, appearing before Kokoro in an instant.
Kokoro, having seen much in her time—especially as Tom's former secretary, who had once dealt with the likes of Gol D. Roger—was surprised by Enel's ability but maintained her calm demeanor.
"Hehehe, young man, are you a Devil Fruit user?" Kokoro asked with a drunken hiccup, smiling as she spoke.
"I am the God of Thunder," Enel declared, snatching the paper from Kokoro's hand.
"Hehehe, interesting," Kokoro chuckled as she took another swig of her drink. "That's a simple map and an introduction letter, so don't lose it."
"You'd better not try anything funny," Enel warned, taking the paper back to the ship.
Takumi remained indifferent. "Let's go."
Enel nodded and immediately controlled the ship, guiding it forward once more.
"A flying ship, quite impressive," Kokoro mused, watching Takumi and Enel sail away. She grinned to herself, muttering, "Looks like things are going to get interesting in Water 7. Maybe I'll head back there in a few days, hahaha."
Back on Takumi's ship, Enel unfolded the paper, only to find a map that looked even worse than a child's drawing. With a blank expression, he instantly fried the map into ashes with a jolt of lightning.
Without saying a word, Enel sent a bolt of lightning flying toward Kokoro's small house.
However, Kokoro's house had a lightning rod installed on the roof, which absorbed Enel's attack.
"What? It didn't work?" Enel, unfamiliar with the concept of a lightning rod, grew irritated and prepared to unleash millions of volts this time.
Takumi sighed. "Are we going, or not? You're being childish..."
Enel had been so distracted by his annoyance that the ship had come to a stop.
Hearing Takumi call him childish stung more than he'd like to admit. If it had been anyone else, they would have already been zapped to oblivion.
But it was Takumi speaking, and though Enel bristled, he couldn't argue—he couldn't beat him after all.
"She's lucky," Enel grumbled, reactivating the ship's power and heading toward Water 7.
Soon, a massive city came into view. At its center was an enormous fountain, from which water poured down into several large canals, running through a city built atop the sea itself. The city, with buildings perched on raised stone pillars above the water, was Water 7.
"This... this is Water 7?" Enel had never seen such a grand city, and for a moment, he was awestruck.
Takumi, on the other hand, remained calm and composed.
He had long known of Water 7's prosperity. After all, it was a city that worked closely with the World Government. Its scale and wealth were to be expected.
Their ship glided along one of Water 7's waterways, entering the heart of the city.
The canals wove through every corner of the city like a beautiful water town. Every building connected directly to the water, and the entire city was built on foundations that sank deep into the sea.
"This place is gorgeous," Enel remarked, growing more excited at the thought of adding a skilled shipwright to their crew. "Yahahaha, I have a feeling something good is going to happen today!"
Takumi remained silent. It was just a feeling.
In the Blue Sea, a flying ship like theirs was rare, something few people had ever seen.
Naturally, when Takumi and Enel entered Water 7, they attracted a lot of attention from the locals.
"Wow! A flying ship! So cool!"
"It's my first time seeing a ship that can fly. How does it work? Is it the propeller at the back?"
"Even if it has a propeller, how can it make the ship fly? Man, I'm so jealous—I want a flying ship too!"
"Hey! You on the ship! How does it fly? What's the secret?"
The crowd's admiration filled the air as they gawked at Takumi and Enel's ship.
"Yahahaha, such ignorant mortals," Enel chuckled, clearly enjoying being the center of attention.
Naturally, a ship couldn't fly with just a propeller. Enel had spent a long time modifying the ship to achieve its ability to fly.
"Hey, you two!" called out a woman from the shore, busy arranging her vegetables. "Are you here in Water 7 to sightsee?"
Enel didn't hesitate to ask, "Where's the best place for ship repairs?"
"Ship repairs? Is your ship damaged?" The woman thought for a moment and then pointed toward Dock One. "Most ships can't get there easily, but since yours can fly, you should be able to. Just head up to the middle layer, near the fountain. You can fly directly there."
To reach the upper parts of Water 7, most ships would need to use the water elevators that led up from the lower layers. But with their flying ship, Takumi and Enel didn't need to bother with that.
"Think she's lying to us?" Enel glanced at Takumi, still a bit skeptical after being tricked by Kokoro earlier.
"Let's go," Takumi said, nodding slightly.
Enel trusted Takumi's judgment completely. After all, Takumi had never steered him wrong.
With a smirk, Enel powered up the ship, drawing envious stares from the crowd as the vessel slowly rose into the air.
As the ship climbed higher, nearing Water 7's middle layer, Takumi's sharp eyes caught sight of something unusual on the distant coast.
A large ship with a whale-shaped bow was anchored there.
That's... the Moby Dick?
Takumi focused on the pirate flag flying atop the ship. It featured a skull and crossbones, with a crescent-shaped mustache on the skull.
It's the Whitebeard Pirates!
And judging by the ship's size, it was the main vessel, which meant Whitebeard himself was in Water 7!
Takumi: "..."
He suddenly remembered the encounter he'd had four years ago at the Baratie with Marco, the Phoenix.
Back then, thanks to a phone call from Marco, Takumi had unexpectedly earned Whitebeard's favor, completing one of his quest objectives in the process.
Takumi had always expected to cross paths with Whitebeard again, but he hadn't anticipated it happening here, in Water 7.
Was this just a coincidence?
He couldn't be sure.
He had no idea what Whitebeard was doing in Water 7 at this time.
Could it be that my next quest objective involves Whitebeard?
Whatever the case, Takumi decided it was best to first take care of his ship.
Putting his thoughts aside, Takumi turned his focus back to the task at hand.
Meanwhile, aboard the Moby Dick...
"Hey, come look at this! There's a ship flying near the big fountain!" someone shouted.
Nearly half the Whitebeard Pirates rushed to the deck's railing, peering toward the massive fountain at the center of Water 7.
"Where? I don't see it."
"Oh! Now I see it! Wow, there really is a flying ship!"
"You guys are acting like you've never seen anything like it before." Marco joined them at the railing, gazing at the ship carrying Takumi and Enel. "Wait a minute... that guy looks familiar..."
Marco squinted as he looked closely at Takumi, standing on the ship's deck. "Isn't that..."
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