Chapter 120

"Tch~ In the end, I still couldn't test my limits."

Sima Di sheathed Ice-Devouring Blade and flew toward the Going Merry.

The moment he landed,

everyone nervously crowded around.

"Are you not injured, Sima?"

"You actually managed to escape from a Navy Admiral?"

"As expected of you, Sima, you're too strong!"

"The combat power of a Navy Admiral must be very high, right?"

Everyone spoke all at once, making Sima Di's head buzz.

【Quiet!】

The scene instantly fell into a silence so deep a pin could be heard; Sima Di rubbed his temples.

"That Kuzan didn't even fight me; he asked a few strange questions and then ran off."

This answer left everyone greatly surprised!

Asked a few questions and then ran off?

He is a Navy Admiral, after all!

Facing a pirate who buried Enies Lobby and sank the Buster Call fleet, he actually chose not to capture him?

It was just...

rather strange!

Could it be...

Sima Di has some extraordinary identity?

"Aaah—this time I'm truly so grateful to you all!" Franky struck a strange pose: "Without us, we couldn't have saved Bingshan."

"Yes!"

"It's so good that Mr. Bingshan is safe."

"Thank you all so much!"

Many of the Karale shipwrights offered their thanks.

They did not know why Bingshan had been captured, nor did they have any interest in knowing.

They only cared about Bingshan's safety.

After sincerely expressing his gratitude, Bingshan turned his gaze to Franky.

"Everyone, could you allow me to speak with the Straw Hats alone?" Bingshan looked at Franky's crew and his own shipwrights.

"Yoshi! You go ahead without worry; leave controlling the ship to us," Barry said understandingly.

"This ship is extraordinary; even the Sea God cannot harm it."

"It's a pity it's just too small; with so many of you Straw Hat kids, it must be very cramped, right?"

Bingshan led Franky and the Straw Hat Pirates into the restaurant.

The moment they entered,

he looked at Robin and said, "But you heard it too, didn't you? About the location of the Pluton blueprints."

Robin nodded and looked at Franky.

Franky wore an expression of "just as I thought."

"I knew it! That bunch of bastards from CP9 was after the Pluton blueprints!"

"Eh? Pluton blueprints?" Vivi exclaimed in surprise: "Isn't that Crocodile's target? I never expected that..."

"Pluton was originally built by the shipwrights of Water Seven back then; it's not strange that blueprints remain," Robin explained.

Clearly, she had seen all this in the Poneglyph of Alabasta.

"Franky, you should understand that you are no longer suitable to stay in Water Seven," Bingshan said seriously. "The World Government already knows you possess the Pluton blueprints and will surely take action. If you continue to stay..."

it will only bring disaster to all of Water Seven!

Franky remained silent.

When Bingshan originally gave him the Pluton blueprints, his intention was for Franky to stay far away from Water Seven.

But he, who loved Water Seven so deeply, chose to change his name and appearance and remain in Water Seven as Franky.

But now...

it seems the time has truly come to leave.

Franky looked at Sima Di and said, "Sima kid, the warship design plans you mentioned earlier for the shipwrights—you must have foreseen this outcome, right?"

But Franky hadn't noticed anything amiss; now, the more he thought about it, the more something felt off!

Sima Di smiled without speaking.

"Tch, they say you're smart, but I didn't expect you to start scheming so early," Franky said displeasedly. "Does your promise still hold?"

Sima Di directly took out all the Mk-series design plans and piled them on the dining table.

"You can take them away anytime," Sima Di said.

Franky sighed.

He then turned to Luffy and said arrogantly, "Hey, Straw Hat kid, I want to be the shipwright of this pirate crew. Got a problem with that?"

This hardly sounded like asking for someone's opinion; it was practically "notifying" them.

How could an ordinary person tolerate such attitude?

But Luffy is no ordinary person!

Having fought side by side with Franky, he knew Franky was just stubborn with his words, and his true nature was flawless—otherwise he wouldn't have resolutely come to Enies Lobby to rescue Bingshan.

"Of course, no problem! The Merry will welcome you too!" Luffy grinned.

That sunny smile did soften Franky's expression a bit.

He then proposed: "This ship is too small. I have an idea for a dream ship. You..."

"We can't change ships!" Luffy declared firmly. "The Merry is our partner too! I will never abandon a partner!"

"Damn it! I thought you were decent, yet you immediately want us to abandon the Merry!" Usopp bared his teeth.

This was Kaya's Merry!

The others also looked displeased, clearly resistant to the suggestion.

"No wonder this ship gave birth to a ship spirit; they actually treated the ship as a partner," Bingshan sighed.

"Who would say otherwise?" Franky nodded.

This was also one of the reasons he was willing to choose the Straw Hat Pirates.

For a shipwright,

a pirate crew that can make a ship give birth to a ship spirit is simply the best choice imaginable!

"Huh? What is a ship spirit?" Nami asked, puzzled.

"A ship spirit is a spirit born from a ship due to the crew's mutual care and love for the hull. When the bond with the crew becomes intimate enough, the ship, to repay the kindness, will appear when the crew needs it," Bingshan explained.

"Previously, when this ship broke through the shipyard gate and appeared from the main gate of Enies Lobby beneath the Judicial Tower, it was surely the ship spirit sensing the partners' danger and steering the ship to save you," Franky added.

This left the Straw Hat Pirates stunned!

Then came tears of emotion!

"Waaah—The Merry has a life too!"

"Merry! We will never abandon you!"

Sima Di, watching Luffy and the others suddenly burst into tears, smiled instead.

He then looked at Crocus and asked, "Did the Oro..."

"Of course!" Crocus said proudly.

This surprised Bingshan and Franky!

"Oro... Yi... Ju... Cang...... Yu... Qing... Luo?"

"Mm... come to think of it, forging Oro... Yi... Zheng... Pang... Tong... Di... Chan...... Mi... Bie...... Ying... Fu... Zheng...... Tong..."

Bingshan: "!!!"