The drawbridge leading to the Tower of Justice descended.
At the hands of Pedro and Zepo, the levers in the towers flanking the Courthouse had been pulled, setting the bridge in motion.
As the gazes of both CP-0 and the Straw Hat Pirates turned toward it, Franky pulled out a certain something and flaunted it for all to see.
"Sorry to interrupt you while you're busy, Lucci, Kaku. You two recognize this, don't you?"
"...!"
"You… I thought that might be the case, but… inside your body!?"
Franky was a cyborg, a man with a unique history. Having suffered near-fatal injuries when he was attacked by a Sea King while testing a ship he had built, he had taken the opportunity to modify his own body, making it stronger. He had installed various weapons and reinforced numerous parts, making his construction a little different from that of a normal human. His abdomen, which functioned like a refrigerator, could be opened and closed, making it possible for him to hide things inside his own body if the need arose.
As he fanned the bundle of papers in his hand, the complexions of Lucci and Kaku, who had temporarily worked as shipwrights in Water 7, changed.
"That's right. These are the real blueprints for Pluton."
Franky had taken a gamble.
Nico Robin was not the "devil" that Iceburg and Tom had feared.
The World Government was a place full of fools who were far more obsessed with weapons than he had imagined and would not hesitate to misuse them.
Some might have criticized him for making such a decision based on that alone, calling it rash. But even so, Franky believed that these blueprints should not be handed over to anyone.
"T-The real ones!? Give them here! Those are the blueprints I've longed for!!!"
"The reason we shipwrights have protected these blueprints is because of the designer's wish! So that if the Ancient Weapon ever fell into the hands of a fool like you… we could stop its rampage!!!"
Without the blueprints, it would be meaningless if the actual weapon were to be awakened. If Robin fell into the hands of the World Government here, what Franky was doing would be in vain.
But even so.
It was worth doing.
"Wait, what are you—"
"Doryaaaaaah!!!"
The moment Guernica, who had been watching intently, tried to move, Tom appeared from the side and struck him with all his might.
His attention had been focused on Franky, and his anxiety over what was about to happen had lowered his guard against his surroundings. Being struck by Tom, who had been completely outside his awareness, dulled his initial reaction, and the other CP-0 agents, their attention diverted, were also too late to stop Franky.
"If I'm going to honor the designer's wishes in this situation, there's only one thing to do!!"
"Stop your rambling and hand them over!! They're mine!!!"
WHOOSH!! —Franky spewed fire from his mouth, turning the Pluton blueprints in his hand into charred ash in a single breath.
They were blueprints left behind to create a force of resistance in the event the rampaging Ancient Weapon was stopped. For them to be lost meant that if Robin fell into the hands of the government, stopping the weapon would become impossible.
Yet, the reason Franky had burned the blueprints was because he believed that a force of resistance left behind should remain unknown, and the moment it was brought to light, it had to be eliminated.
And neither Tom nor Iceburg considered Franky's judgment to be a mistake.
"Aaaaaaaah!!? M-My blueprints!!? What the hell have you done—!!? Damn you… I'll kill you!!"
"Nmaa, a choice worthy of you."
"You okay, you idiot Iceburg?"
"I almost died!! Can't you be a little more considerate of your surroundings!!"
"I apologized for that before I did it!"
"You don't expect it to turn out like that!!"
Tom and Iceburg, who had been chained together, had been slammed against the wall by the blast from Franky's Coup de Vent. Iceburg was already seriously injured. Any careless action that reopened his wounds could prove fatal this time.
"If Nico Robin falls into your hands here, it's hopeless. If the Straw Hats win, you gain nothing! I've bet on the Straw Hats' victory!!"
"…How shortsighted. I showed you the difference in our power in Water 7, and you still think you can win?"
"We can win," Franky said with a grin.
This was not a bet with a guaranteed loss.
If it were just the Straw Hats, he might have been anxious about them facing the full might of the World Government, including CP-0. But this was a war that had embroiled Twilight. If the strongest pirate crew Franky knew was on their side, he felt no fear, even with the World Government as their enemy.
The drawbridge finished lowering.
The path was open.
"Alright—Let's go, you guys!!"
"""Eh!!?"""
As if to save himself the trouble of climbing down from the roof, Luffy stretched his arms out to all his crewmates and fell straight toward the drawbridge.
Nami, Usopp, and Chopper were half-crying, but Sanji and Zoro were merely surprised.
"Tch, what a pain. Let's hurry, I've had enough of these delays."
"Damn it, my blueprints…! Lucci, drop Franky and Iceburg!!"
""Huh?""
With an expressionless face, Lucci followed Spandam's orders and pushed Franky and Iceburg off the Tower of Justice. Tom, who had attacked Guernica, was likewise thrown by the long-armed Joseph, and the three of them fell together.
"Serves you right!! Oi, I'm taking Nico Robin!! CP-9, intercept the pirates at the Tower of Justice! I authorize you to kill them all!!!"
In place of the sighing Guernica, Spandam casually issued orders to intercept Luffy and the others. Immediately grabbing Robin's arm, Spandam, with Lucci by his side and his elephant-sword Funkfreed in hand, retreated back into the room.
Akainu, who had witnessed the entire sequence of events, was there, and the members of CP-0 returned shortly after Spandam.
"So the blueprints are burned. A failure, indeed."
"It is. But now there's no hindrance to issuing the Buster Call. For now, we need to escort Nico Robin. You'll come with us."
"I know. It would be a problem if they took her back after coming this far."
A top-tier fighting force that Twilight was not yet aware of—a Marine Admiral.
Akainu pulled his cap down low, glanced once at Nico Robin, and then shifted his gaze toward the Courthouse.
"…This has become a troublesome matter. That's why I was against stripping Twilight of their Warlord status."
***
"You idiot!! What were you thinking, jumping off like that!!"
"I'll knock your teeth out, you bastard!!!"
"T-That was scary…"
Having landed on the drawbridge, Luffy had inflated his body like a balloon to cushion his crewmates' landing, only to be subsequently beaten to a pulp by Nami and Usopp. Kaie watched with a worried expression, wondering if they would be alright for the coming battle.
Including Zepo and Pedro, who had come down from the towers on either side of the Courthouse to join them, everyone had now gathered on the drawbridge.
"Aren't there enemies coming from behind?"
"In front of the Courthouse, the two giants have switched sides and are handling them."
The two giants Caterina had brought over, Oimo and Kashi, had decided to rampage against the World Government for the time being, whatever their circumstances, and were now wreaking havoc in the plaza before the Courthouse. Of course, this was after Kaie had already run rampant herself, so there weren't many soldiers with any fight left in them.
Zoro nodded at Kaie's reply, and everyone's gaze turned to the three who had just fallen—Tom, Iceburg, and Franky. They had been caught mid-fall by Tobi and had landed safely, but their hearts were still pounding from the fall, and they were on their knees, breathing heavily.
"Ah, damn… I really thought I was gonna die!"
"Tahahha… but we're alive."
"Nmaa, that was bad for the heart…"
Tom was elderly, and Iceburg was a seriously injured man. They couldn't be made to fight, nor could they be left behind. There was no guarantee that soldiers wouldn't slip through, and the group was racking their brains over what to do.
"We'll take them. We can't leave them anyway, and if they stay here, they'll inevitably get caught up in the fighting," Caterina said.
"I have no objection, but… have the reinforcements not arrived yet? It should be about time."
"Aqua Laguna was hitting Water 7, so the effects of that storm aren't zero. It'll probably take a little longer…"
The distance between Water 7 and Enies Lobby wasn't that great. The storm known as Aqua Laguna was by no means light, and with high waves and strong winds, it was likely causing delays. Though, there were some for whom that was not the only reason.
In any case, the need to rescue Robin remained unchanged.
As they walked across the drawbridge, they first used the stairs on the side of the building to ascend to the upper floors. During this time, Caterina took out a map and showed everyone a floor plan of the Tower of Justice.
It was supposed to be confidential, but the casual way she produced it made Iceburg and Franky break out in a cold sweat.
"If Robin is heading anywhere, it's here. The passage to the Gates of Justice."
"Aren't we crossing the sea?"
"While the Gates of Justice are closed, a complex current forms between them and the Tower of Justice, so you can't cross by ship. You can try if you want, but you'll just capsize and sink in an instant."
"Then what do we do?"
"That's why there's a passage. The currents are too rough on the surface, but inside an underwater tunnel, the currents don't matter."
Caterina knew the way. As they prepared to advance, wary of a surprise attack, a voice was heard from somewhere. It happened the moment they entered the building. The figure was unseen, but the voice alone echoed.
It was one of the CP-9 members, Fukurou.
"Chapapapapa. I see everything's been exposed. Everything was supposed to be confidential, yet it's all been exposed."
"…It seems he's just hiding. Shall I crush him first?"
"Wait. Let's get what information we can first—excuse me for a moment?"
"What is it? Chapapaa."
"You're CP-9, aren't you? And you've been given orders to exterminate us, correct?"
"That's right."
"And, I'm guessing one of you has the key to Robin's Seastone cuffs, right?"
"We do."
"So, unless we find all of you scattered throughout this Tower of Justice, defeat you, and take the key, we won't be able to get the cuffs off Robin even if we rescue her… Am I understanding this correctly?"
"That's right. My explanation was completely unnecessary. You're smart."
"Of course I am. Because that's what I would do."
Seastone, said to emit the power of the sea, inhibited the activation of a Devil Fruit user's abilities just by being in contact with it. It also drained their strength and willpower, making it a natural enemy for ability users. Its hardness, comparable to diamond, made it difficult to destroy, and once cuffed, it was difficult to remove without a key. Therefore, as long as Robin, an ability user, was cuffed, she couldn't use her abilities and could only rely on her somewhat diminished physical strength.
"There are five of us from CP-9 in this tower. The key held by one of us is the real one."
"So we won't know which one is real until we beat you all and try it in the cuffs, is that it?"
"What a stupid waste of time…"
"Wait, in that case, let's just focus all our efforts on getting Robin back first. We can worry about the key later. It's Robin who's in a hurry!!"
"Chapapa, you're smart too—but if you do that, I'll just throw this key into the sea."
If they wanted to remove Robin's cuffs, they had to split their forces to fight CP-9. If they wanted to rescue Robin herself, they had to chase CP-0. Concentrating their forces was extremely difficult, and there was a risk of being defeated individually.
And yet, if they didn't follow Fukurou's words and move to defeat CP-9, Robin's cuffs would never come off.
It was as if they had no choice—but Caterina did not think so.
"Go ahead and do as you please."
"Eh!?"
"Wait, Caterina!?"
Fukurou and Nami cried out in alarm. But paying them no mind, Caterina spoke quietly.
"You just said it yourself, didn't you? It's Robin who's in a hurry. We can deal with the cuffs later."
"But if we do that, the key to the cuffs will…"
"A key is something I can just make later."
For an ordinary pirate, it might have been a different story, but Caterina was the head of the Twilight Pirates' technical division. She was well-versed in metallurgy and could even pick the lock if she wanted to. Besides, though he wasn't here now, there were ability users who could open Seastone cuffs. In that sense, too, there was no need to prioritize the cuffs.
"The priority is securing Robin! Everything else comes later! If you want the Seastone cuffs off, I'll open them for you later!!"
"Can you really open them!?"
"I understand your concern, but if you aren't fixated on opening the cuffs, there are several methods. In either case, there's no reason to prioritize opening the cuffs here."
In the worst-case scenario, they could just cut off her wrists, remove the cuffs, and then reattach them.
Though she didn't say it aloud, Kaie knew of such methods and was well aware of the skill of the world's greatest doctor.
...Well, that man could probably remove the Seastone easily with the Op-Op Fruit's ability anyway.
In any case, it was Fukurou who was flustered by this.
"Chapa…!?"
"So that's how it is. Sorry, but we're in a hurry."
Ignoring Fukurou, Caterina aimed for the passage leading to the Gates of Justice.
To block her, Fukurou connected his baby Den Den Mushi and sent a message to the other CP-9 members.
Dispersion failed. Requesting backup.
He had made the call judging that he couldn't hold them off alone, which was a good move—but the moment Fukurou revealed himself from the shadows to buy time, Kaie was already in front of him.
No matter how much he concealed his presence, his location was revealed by Observation Haki, and the moment he exuded hostility to attack, she had moved to intercept.
"We don't have time either. We have no time to waste on you."
Even if he was a superhuman who could use Rokushiki, if that was all he had, he was no match for Kaie.
Swinging down a fist hardened with Armament Haki, Kaie forcibly silenced Fukurou without another word.
—Key number 4, obtained.