On the streets of Water 7.
Flare bought a large barrel of fine sea salt for two hundred thousand Belly.
In a world where even a single newspaper cost one hundred Belly, two hundred thousand Belly was not exactly a huge sum, especially compared with pirate bounties that often reached tens or hundreds of millions. But for an ordinary family in Water 7, it was already enough to equal an entire year's income.
Living conditions for ordinary families in the world of pirates were generally not very good. After all, among the famous powerhouses of the pirate world, most had been destitute whenever they spoke of their childhoods.
Compared with most islands still lingering in a primitive state, Water 7, an island renowned for its shipbuilding industry, was already considered prosperous.
Because it was highly concentrated crystalized sea salt, that large barrel was naturally quite heavy. But for Scarlet, it was nothing.
Although Scarlet was a gorilla, he was far from unintelligent.
In accordance with Boss Shiki's final wish, he and Dr.Indigo had joined the Sky Pirates. At first, the two had been somewhat worried they might not be treated as true members of the crew, but after Dr.Indigo became Ayala's teacher, they quickly settled in and found their own place among the Sky Pirates.
Naturally, the two of them understood who they should try to please, so they placed even more importance on Ayala.
Scarlet might only look like a gorilla, but his combat strength was not weak. He had been a crew member aboard the ship of the legendary pirate Golden Lion, and that was not simply because he had been kept as a pet.
So when the others could not show themselves, he became the best possible bodyguard.
The moment that group of pirates appeared behind them, Scarlet noticed them immediately. However, he did not react much, because this had been part of the plan to begin with. Small fry like that were not worth making Lord Scarlet step in personally.
So he simply continued following everyone down the street.
But just then, the sound of fighting came from not far away, making everyone stop in their tracks.
When they looked over, they saw that the two sides fighting were not pirates, but shipwrights holding all kinds of shipbuilding tools.
"What's going on?"
Flare and Ayala had only recently arrived in Water 7, so they did not quite understand the situation here.
Kokoro, standing beside them, sighed and explained, "Those are shipwrights from the Caffrey Shipbuilding Company and Hero-Lobato Shipbuilding Company. For all sorts of reasons, business at the island's shipyards has been getting harder and harder. In the past, they only competed for business behind the scenes, but now they've brought it out into the open."
"I see."
The scene before them was bloody, no less fierce than a battle between pirates. Everyone looked as if they were fighting with their lives on the line.
"Oh."
Flare sighed, but there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Ayala, however, seemed to think of something and asked, "Which shipyard does Enel-nii-san's shipwright, Griffin Cock, belong to?"
"The Precious Sail Shipbuilding Company. Among the open and hidden struggles between the Seven Great Shipyards, their boss, Kinster, was the first to be assassinated, so their shipyard was also the first to run into trouble. Later, through Tom-san's introduction, they met Enel. In fact, most of the shipwrights willing to follow Enel and leave Water 7 this time are from that shipyard."
"I see. Since he was introduced by Tom-san, Mr. Cock must be very reliable."
Grandma Kokoro glanced at little Ayala in some surprise, then continued, "Mm. The Griffin family, which Griffin Cock belongs to, has made its living through shipbuilding for generations. It's one of the oldest families in all of Water 7. He is also the sole heir of the Griffin family in this generation. He grew up in Water 7, and although he's young, he has great prestige here. His shipbuilding skills are also excellent. That is exactly why everyone is willing to trust him and follow him out of Water 7."
"I see!"
At that moment, the battle in the distance seemed to spiral completely out of control. Not only were they using flintlocks, they had even brought out cannons.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
"Boom, boom, boom..."
Gunfire and cannon blasts rang out one after another. The ordinary citizens watching from the side quickly hid themselves.
Now both sides had truly lost themselves in the killing, and the casualties grew even worse.
Just then, a voice and a figure no one had expected dropped from the sky into the chaotic battlefield.
"Stop! Don't fight anymore!"
"Iceburg? Has that boy lost his mind?"
Seeing Iceburg appear in the middle of the battlefield, Kokoro was startled.
As Tom's disciple, Iceburg was not weak, but bullets and cannonballs had no eyes. One careless mistake could cost him his life.
Especially when everyone was already seeing red.
Ayala was also a little surprised, but she reacted quickly.
"Scarlet, go protect Mr. Iceburg. Stop everyone while you're at it."
"Oh!"
Scarlet naturally obeyed Ayala's command without hesitation. Besides, he did not take these people seriously at all.
So Scarlet beat his chest, leaped up, and dropped from the sky, landing in the middle of the crowd.
"Boom..."
The massive force of his landing caused a violent tremor and shockwave, directly knocking the surrounding people to the ground.
To intimidate the others, Scarlet beat his chest and let out a deafening beastly roar.
"Oooh, oooh, oooh!"
The sudden appearance of this monster left everyone terrified. No one dared to move recklessly, and the gunfire stopped.
"What kind of monster is that... So terrifying..."
Iceburg looked at Scarlet beside him and let out a long breath of relief.
"Thank you, Mr. Scarlet!"
Regardless of whether Scarlet understood him or not, Iceburg thanked him, then stepped forward and said to everyone, "Everyone, stop fighting. Nothing will get better if you keep this up. You'll only end up hurting yourselves!"
Seeing Iceburg appear with the terrifying gorilla standing behind him, both sides finally calmed down a little.
Even so, they were still angry and shouted back.
"Iceburg, mind your own business! They were the ones who stole our customers first!"
"What do you mean, stole your customers? The customers just looked down on your shipbuilding skills."
"You bastard, what did you say? You clearly tricked them with low prices!"
"That was the customers' own choice!"
"You snatched our customers right in front of our shipyard. Is that what you call the customers' choice?"
Seeing that everyone was about to start fighting again over a single disagreement, Iceburg hurriedly raised his hands to stop them.
"I know everyone is struggling, but please hold on a little longer. As long as Tom-san completes the Sea Train, every problem will be solved!"
Unfortunately, not everyone believed that. In fact, it could be said that the vast majority did not.
"Iceburg, it's not that we don't trust Tom-san, but a train that runs on the sea? You can tell it's impossible just by hearing it."
"Exactly. Even if it really exists, who knows when it'll be finished? I might have starved to death by then."
"We have no business now, so we don't get paid. If we don't get paid, what happens to our families? My whole family of four depends on me alone. You tell us to hold on, but how long are we supposed to hold on for?"
"..."
Faced with the endless voices of the crowd, Iceburg had no answer at that moment.
Because he knew it himself. Even after Dr. Furumi arrived and helped Tom-san solve many problems, the Sea Train had still not begun its first experimental test run.
But just then, Iceburg suddenly felt as if something had drifted past his eyes.
He did not know if it was his imagination, but it looked like Belly.
And at that very moment, astonished cries rang out across all of Water 7.
"It's Belly... It really is Belly!"
"Money is raining from the sky!"
"Hurry, grab it!"