The garbage dump.
As the name suggests, there was a lot of garbage piled everywhere.
In the middle of the dump, there stood a small, shabby house. Inside that house lived Tom—the legendary shipwright.
At this moment, Tom was seated at his workbench, carefully sketching the blueprint of the Sea Train. His brows furrowed in thought every now and then, only to relax as he took large gulps of wine.
Next to Tom were his two apprentices, Franky and Iceberg, still in their teenage years. In an effort to clear their master's name from past accusations, the two diligently assisted him in building the Sea Train.
Suddenly—
Tom frowned.
Iceberg noticed immediately and asked, "Master, is something wrong?"
"No." Tom shook his head.
Just then, the door to the small house creaked open. A figure slowly stepped in and shut the door behind him.
"I've been looking forward to meeting you, Mr. Tom," the man said with a slight smile. "I'm Kurokawa Mio, captain of the Black Crow Pirates."
Tom's brows knit tighter as he looked at the unfamiliar face. "I don't know you."
Mio chuckled and shrugged. "That's fine. It's enough that I know the legendary Tom, the world's number one shipwright."
"You've seen me now. You can leave." Tom replied flatly.
Mio didn't get offended. He simply leaned back into his seat without invitation. "Let me get straight to the point. Mr. Tom, I want to build a ship."
"I don't build ships anymore," Tom refused directly. "Besides, your visit alone could attract the attention of the World Government. I'm a man with secrets. Anyone contacting me now might not leave Water Seven alive."
"Relax," Mio said with a casual smile. "If it were CP0, I might be worried. But CP9? They don't have the power to deal with me."
The CP organizations were mainly intelligence agencies. CP0 was the only division with real strength worth fearing. CP9 might be dangerous to others, but not to someone like Mio—especially with his Substitution Fruit ability.
Tracking or even locating him was nearly impossible unless CP0 got directly involved.
"I also know that Mr. Tom has an important mission to complete and doesn't have time to build my ship. So I didn't come here to force the issue." Mio continued. "All I ask is that you introduce me to capable shipbuilders."
A small smirk curled on Mio's lips. "I may not have great shipbuilding materials, but I recently visited Skypiea and brought back a lot of gold. Enough to purchase even Adam Wood."
"Skypiea?" Tom's eyes widened in disbelief. "You went to the Golden City?"
"That's right." Mio nodded.
Tom leaned forward slightly. "Then you must've seen the Poneglyph there, right?"
"I did," Mio replied with a calm expression. "And I know what it says."
"You can read the ancient script?" Tom asked, surprised.
Tom had built ships for Gol D. Roger in the past. Through that, he'd heard certain secrets. Still, even among Roger's crew, only Roger himself had the ability to read the Poneglyphs.
Roger never revealed much about the content, except perhaps to Rayleigh.
"Of course not," Mio replied with a small laugh. "But I just happen to have the only surviving scholar from Ohara on my ship."
Tom's expression immediately became serious. "That's not something you should be saying lightly. If you've read the Poneglyph and understand what it means, you should already know how forbidden it is. The World Government won't let you go if they find out."
"I know," Mio nodded. "But I trust Mr. Tom won't say anything."
Tom took a long sip from his bottle, letting out a faint chuckle. After a brief silence, he spoke again.
"I won't build your ship," he said slowly. "But I want you to let my two apprentices do it—Franky and Iceberg. I'll guide them as much as I can. They've been learning under me for years, but they've never built a real, grand ship, nor have they had access to quality materials. If you agree, I promise you they'll craft a ship worthy of fame."
Franky and Iceberg were more than just apprentices to Tom—they were like sons. This was why he made the offer.
Both boys were stunned, as was Mio.
"Master, we're still building the Sea Train," Iceberg protested. "We don't have time to work on another ship. If we finish the Sea Train, the World Government might lift your charges."
"Yeah," Franky added, tempted but hesitant. "This is important right now."
"It's fine," Tom replied with a grin. "Building the Sea Train will take years. We won't run out of time if we take a short break to build a ship."
"But—"
"No buts," Tom interrupted with a raised hand. He then turned to Mio, locking eyes with him. "So, what's your answer?"
Mio was silent for a moment, then smiled. "Alright. But I hope you won't disappoint me, Mr. Tom."
Tom's eyes lit up. "Don't worry. This is the pride of every shipwright."
Without wasting another word, Mio took out a box full of gold and placed it on the table in front of Tom. He also handed over a Den Den Mushi.
"This is how you can contact me. If you run out of money or need anything, let me know. I'll be in Water Seven for the time being."
Tom accepted the Den Den Mushi without hesitation.
Mio stood up and headed toward the door. Just as he opened it, he turned back and gave Tom a meaningful grin.
"Oh, and Mr. Tom… I hope you're still protecting the blueprints of Pluton."
With that, Mio stepped outside and shut the door behind him.
Inside, Tom sat frozen in shock. He hadn't expected Mio to know about Pluton's blueprints.
But as he thought more, realization dawned.
Perhaps the Poneglyph Mio saw contained a clue pointing to the location of Pluton's blueprints—and Tom just happened to be connected.
After a moment of deep thought, Tom turned to his apprentices, his voice serious.
"Iceberg, Franky, listen to me carefully. You must never tell anyone about what happened today. If word gets out, it won't just endanger Mio—it could bring disaster to Water Seven itself."
He wasn't sure if the World Government would go as far as to destroy Water Seven like they did to Ohara.
But it wasn't a risk he was willing to take.