Over the past few days, Is had been living his usual daily life in the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
However, he noticed that he was being watched.
It wasn't Kegimendora seeking revenge against him.
It was someone else.
The people hidden in the shadows were extremely skilled at concealment.
If not for his Observation Haki, which had reached the level of briefly glimpsing the future, he might not have discovered those monitoring him.
There was no doubt—
Only the Five Elders could dispatch observers of this caliber.
Is wasn't surprised.
After all, his reputation, strength, and influence had all reached unprecedented heights.
The Five Elders were probably afraid he might rebel, so they had sent people to keep an eye on him.
…
Grand Line, Water 7.
Water 7 was the finest shipbuilding location in the first half of the Grand Line.
It housed world-famous shipwrights—
Such as Tom.
Even Roger's ship had been built by Tom.
And eight hundred years ago, a battleship known as "Pluton" had been created by shipwrights from this very island.
On this day, an unusual vessel arrived at the shore.
The captain of that ship—
Was none other than the man who would one day be known as the World Destroyer, Byrnndi World.
Back when the Rocks Pirates dominated the New World, he had quietly developed his own strength in secret.
He rarely displayed his true power and never caught Rocks' attention.
After Rocks died, he surfaced like a fish breaking through the water, destroying numerous Marine bases and earning his infamous title.
Byrnndi World looked toward the prosperous Water 7 before him, the corners of his lips rising slightly.
After gathering information throughout Water 7,
He finally obtained Tom's whereabouts.
At a shipyard in Water 7,
Tom was lying back in a chair resting when suddenly—
Bang!
The entrance was smashed apart.
A towering man walked in from outside.
"We're not repairing ships today. If you're in a hurry, go somewhere else."
"But first, pay for the door."
Tom slowly opened his eyes while reclining in his chair and spoke calmly.
"No. I'm not here to repair a ship."
Byrnndi World shook his head slightly, a meaningful smile on his face.
"Then compensate me for the door."
Tom replied coldly.
"I came to take something."
Byrnndi World casually sat down in a chair not far from Tom.
"What thing?"
Tom frowned and questioned him.
"The blueprint for Pluton."
Byrnndi World grinned.
The moment Tom heard those words, cold sweat covered his body.
Yet he forced himself to remain calm.
"I don't have anything like that."
"Hahahaha…"
"Stop pretending, old man."
His laughter suddenly faded, and his expression darkened.
"I'm only a shipwright. How could I possibly possess Pluton's blueprint?"
Tom maintained his composure and continued playing dumb.
Byrnndi World gave no response.
Instead, he snapped his fingers.
A group of pirates rushed in and began smashing everything.
Walls.
Floors.
Shipbuilding tools.
Countless precious ship blueprints.
Everything was destroyed.
The workshop became complete chaos.
"What exactly are you trying to do?!"
Tom's face darkened as he demanded.
He could tolerate losing anything else—
But those ship designs were his treasured life's work.
"Hand over Pluton's blueprint."
Byrnndi World spoke indifferently.
"Impossible!"
Tom abruptly stood and rejected him outright before launching an attack.
Don't be fooled—
Though merely a shipwright, Tom possessed tremendous strength.
Bang!
Byrnndi World coated his arm with Haki and met Tom's punch head-on.
The collision created a violent shockwave.
"Ah…!"
Tom dropped to one knee.
His fist twisted unnaturally, blood pouring from it.
The difference in strength between him and Byrnndi World was simply too vast.
"I'll ask one more time."
"Where is Pluton's blueprint?"
"If you refuse again…"
"I'll massacre all of Water 7."
Byrnndi World grabbed Tom by the throat and threatened him.
"The blueprint for Pluton is…"
Tom knew resistance was impossible.
Though he desperately didn't want Byrnndi World to obtain it—
He had no other choice.
For safety, he had always kept the blueprint close to himself.
Even if Byrnndi World killed him, he would eventually find it.
If he stayed silent now,
Not only would he die—
Water 7 would suffer a disaster as well.
"Captain! Found it!"
After a while, one pirate excitedly held up a complex blueprint and shouted.
Crack!
The instant he heard this,
Byrnndi World tightened his grip and snapped Tom's neck.
The corpse of the world-renowned shipwright lay upon the ground.
His eyes remained wide open—
Unable to rest in peace.
Byrnndi World then departed.
…
Only a few days later,
The news spread throughout the world.
Although Tom lacked overwhelming strength,
Many famous pirates and even the Marines had sought him out to design ships.
His death caused a considerable uproar.
He hadn't died of old age.
He had been murdered.
Then, several days later—
Even more shocking news surfaced.
Byrnndi World had killed Tom.
But the truly explosive revelation was this:
He had taken the blueprint for the Ancient Weapon—
Pluton.
On this day, in Mary Geoise,
Even Is and the others stopped eating as their attention was drawn to the newspaper.
"A shipwright actually possessed the blueprint for Pluton?"
Is took a sip of tea while reading with interest.
"What is Pluton?"
Rem and Ram asked in confusion.
"The Ancient Weapon Pluton was a super battleship created in Water 7 eight hundred years ago."
"It's said to possess the power to destroy the world."
"One shell is capable of annihilating an entire island."
Hashirama Senju explained to them.
Since arriving in this world, he had spent his idle time reading books to better understand it.
"Destroy the world?"
Rem looked shocked.
"A battleship can really destroy the world?"
Ram asked in disbelief.
"Who knows whether it truly can."
"But if it's called an Ancient Weapon, its power definitely won't be insignificant."
Madara Uchiha replied.
"So the blueprint for Pluton was in Water 7…"
"Though, that makes sense."
"After all, their predecessors were the ones who built the Pluton battleship eight hundred years ago."
Yoriichi Tsugikuni said while eating an apple and reading the newspaper in his hand.
The people Is had summoned into this world had all spent enough time here to become quite knowledgeable through books.
"The Pluton battleship…"
"If paired with his ability, destroying the world might not be impossible."
Is stared at the newspaper and muttered softly.
Byrnndi World possessed the More-More Fruit.
It allowed him to amplify an object's speed and size many times over.
If combined with the Pluton battleship—
A weapon already rumored to possess world-destroying power—
Then perhaps true destruction on a global scale wouldn't be impossible.
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