At the mention of this term, both of them were momentarily stunned, clearly unfamiliar with it.
Tom continued speaking: "The three ancient weapons, each one possesses the power to destroy the world!"
"Pluton, Poseidon, Uranus!"
"I am not familiar with nor do I understand the other two ancient weapons, but Pluton, as you can see from the design plans, is a super battleship!"
"One cannon shot can destroy an entire island!!"
"So, do you understand the weight of these design plans now?"
"Something like this must never be allowed to reappear in the world, otherwise, it could very well bring about a catastrophe that destroys the world!!"
Tom's tone was extremely serious.
Iceburg and Franky, listening nearby, kept swallowing hard. After calming down for a moment, Iceburg looked at Tom and asked: "Mr. Tom, why are you entrusting this to us?"
"Because it has been targeted!"
As he spoke, Tom roughly recounted the day's events to the two of them.
"That guy named Spandam somehow got wind of the Pluton design plans, but he only has suspicions and isn't certain!"
"However, just to be safe, we still need to be cautious. Keeping it here with me is no longer secure, but this thing cannot be handed over to just anyone. It is far too important, and the fewer people who know about it, the better. The only ones I can trust are you two!"
"So entrusting it to you is the safest option!"
Upon hearing this, Iceburg and Franky exchanged a glance. The next moment, they both turned their heads simultaneously and looked at Tom with unwavering determination, vowing: "Don't worry, Mr. Tom! We will definitely protect it!!"
From the gravity of Tom's words, they both understood the immense importance of the Pluton design plans. This was something that absolutely could not be leaked!
"Mm!"
Tom nodded, a slight smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. His gaze turned to Iceburg as he said: "Iceburg, come by tomorrow. The two of us will head over to the Ship Graveyard to see if they have the materials I'm looking for."
"Okay!"
Iceburg nodded.
Upon hearing 'Ship Graveyard,' Franky, who was nearby, gave an almost imperceptible shudder.
Thinking about the incident from earlier today with no news for so long, it should... probably be over by now, right?
---
The next day.
In the sea area not far from Water 7, a marine battleship was sailing there.
On the ship, Kyle called out to Zoro: "Hey! Zoro, come over here and hit me with your full strength!"
"Huh?!"
Zoro, who was in the middle of pouring booze into his mouth, looked over. He then slowly stood up and walked over to Kyle.
Without another word, starting from zero frames, he drew Wado Ichimonji without a moment's hesitation, wrapped it in Armament Haki, and fiercely slashed at Kyle.
Clang!!
Zoro's blade struck directly against Kyle's body, but strangely, what echoed was a sound like metal clashing.
It was as if Kyle's body were made of steel.
After Zoro delivered this strike, Kyle frowned slightly.
"Have you been drinking so much you haven't eaten? Otherwise, why is your strength even less than that guy Sanji's?"
"Is that all you've got?"
!!!
Upon hearing this, Zoro's body stiffened, his pupils dilating slightly.
Several words kept echoing in his mind.
'Less than Sanji, less than Sanji, less than...'
Whoosh!!
Zoro's movements became a blur, turning into afterimages. In less than half a second, he drew his other two swords and even tied on his bandana, revealing an incredibly sharp gaze.
Without saying a word, he began to strike a pose.
Zoro pressed the hilts of his two swords together, spinning them continuously like a windmill. A tremendously powerful gale blasted forth, causing Kyle's clothes to rustle loudly.
The next moment, Zoro slightly bent his legs, leaped powerfully from the deck, and his form shot forward instantly.
"Three-Sword Style Secret Technique..."
"Thousand Worlds!!!"
Their figures crossed in an instant, Zoro ending up behind Kyle, maintaining his slashing pose.
Rip!!
The sound of tearing fabric was heard. Kyle's shirt was torn open with a large gap, revealing fair yet incredibly firm muscle.
And on the muscle, there wasn't a single scratch, nor any trace of Armament Haki coating.
A faint smile played on Kyle's lips.
Zoro removed the sword from his mouth, turned around, and raised an eyebrow slightly as he looked at Kyle: "What's gotten into you? Looking for someone to take a swing at you?"
"No, I just simply wanted to test what level my defense has reached without using Armament Haki."
"Without using Armament Haki?!"
Zoro's eyes widened suddenly, and the others nearby who were watching also showed expressions of surprise.
"You didn't use Armament Haki just now?"
Zoro asked again.
He had genuinely felt his technique connect with Kyle's body.
And because he was aware of Kyle's strength, he had definitely put his all into it.
But that was under the assumption that Kyle would use Armament Haki to block. Now, Kyle was saying he hadn't even used Armament Haki. Didn't that mean his strongest technique...
In the truest sense, hadn't even broken the skin of his opponent??
However, Zoro wasn't too disappointed. It was Kyle, after all. Being a bit overpowered was normal.
If he couldn't cut Kyle, as long as he could cut others, that was fine.
"Kyle, since when did your skin get this thick?"
Sabo, standing nearby, couldn't help but ask. He was quite aware of Zoro's strength. Although he himself was stronger than Zoro, it wasn't by a huge margin.
Fighting Zoro would also require his full effort.
"Just made a small breakthrough and wanted to test my 'hardness'!"
A faint smile was on Kyle's face.
He had just inexplicably felt a stir within his genes, as if something had broken through, which led to this experiment.
And this stir within his genes naturally referred to the Bloodline Factor he had obtained back when he recruited Sanji.
His Bloodline Factor had suddenly and inexplicably awakened just now, granting him an exoskeleton.
Previously, he had been puzzled about how to awaken this Bloodline Factor because it had been completely inactive ever since he obtained it. It seemed it didn't awaken automatically as his strength grew.
In the original story, Sanji's Bloodline Factor was activated and eventually awakened because he used the Raid Suit.
He had originally planned that if there was still no progress, he would find time to borrow a Raid Suit from Germa to wear. But then, just while napping, it awakened out of the blue.
Even Kyle himself was baffled, having no idea what happened.
However, awakening was a good thing. Kyle's physique was already very strong, surpassing Big Mom's physical talent. Coupled with his 'efforts' over the years, his physique was actually no worse than many veteran physical combat experts, and his defense was naturally the same.
But now, with the awakened exoskeleton, it had elevated his defense to another level. That's why he used Zoro to test his current defensive capabilities.
The result was also very satisfying. He could feel that what he had just endured wasn't his limit. Even if Zoro's attack power were two levels stronger, he still wouldn't be able to cut through Kyle's skin.
Right now, his defense was formidable, and his recovery was maxed out.
Old man Garp, come out and fight one-on-one!!!
---
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