Spandam

DURING THE 10 YEARS OF POSTPONEMENT... "TOM'S WORKERS" WERE SUCCESSFUL IN OPENING THE "SEA TRAIN" TO THE PUBLIC. AFTER THAT, THEY SPENT 4 YEARS COMPLETING THE OTHER 3 RAILWAYS. With the sea train finally running, cargo reaches Water Seven again, but the town has not yet been saved from hardship. Workers unload supplies and call out, "THE WOOD FROM ST. BURABO IS HERE!!!" Another man asks, "WAS THE TRADE GOOD?" The answer is bitter: "NO. THEY'RE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OUR NEED FOR MATERIALS." He adds, "SAN FALDO'S IRON'S THE SAME, IT'S SO EXPENSIVE." The shipyard still trembles on the edge of ruin. "SO THE SHIPYARD IS STILL BANKRUPT." Even so, Tom's apprentices do not surrender to despair. "WE'LL DO SOMETHING THIS TIME!" Above it all hangs the coming judgment: TOM WAITED FOR THE JUDGEMENT OF THE "SHIHOUSEN." WHETHER IT WOULD BE EXECUTION OR ACQUITTAL WILL BE DECIDED IN 3 DAYS.

Iceburg looks at the town's recovery with worry rather than celebration. "EVERYBODY'S HAPPY ABOUT BEING ABLE TO CROSS THE OCEAN. BUT THE TRADE IS STILL NOT ANY GOOD. THE TOWN'S STILL NOT GOING TO CHANGE..." Tom answers him with his huge laugh and the patience of a craftsman who has seen work take root slowly: "TAHA...!! BUT PEOPLE HAVE VIGOR! THE RESULTS WON'T BE THIS FAST, ICEBURG." For Tom, the value of the sea train is not measured only in immediate profit. "WHEN A MAN'S DOING ALL HE CAN... HE JUST THRUSTS HIS CHEST OUT...!!" Then the ordinary rhythm of the yard is interrupted by a call. "HELLO. IS THAT YOU?" The voice says, "THE SHIPWRIGHT, MR. TOM... IT WAS HARD LOCATING YOU. EXCUSE ME, BUT..." A small "WEEE..." trails through the panel. Tom and Iceburg pause, the mood tightening into suspicion. "HM?" "....." "YEAH." "HM?"

The caller does not arrive quietly. A government man bursts into Tom's world with smoke, noise, and theatrical confidence. "I'D LIKE TO HAVE A WORD ... WITH YOU!!" The sudden entrance startles the workers: "WAH..." Behind him, agents panic over the dramatic scene and cry, "SPANDAM-SAN!!" The man introduces himself as though the name alone should bend the room around him: "I AM SPANDAM OF CIPHER-POL NO.5!!!" The page identifies him plainly: CIPHERPOL NO.5 SUPERVISOR SPANDAM. His posture is all arrogance, but the people around Tom do not yet understand what he has come to take. The tone shifts from the hopeful labor of Water Seven to the shadow of the World Government, and Spandam's appearance turns the coming trial into something more dangerous than a legal judgment.

Before Spandam can command the scene fully, Franky's own chaos crashes into it. A cannon blast clips the newcomer, and Franky shouts without shame, "OW!! SORRY!! I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE, BUT I KINDA HIT YOU WITH THE CANNON!!" Then his apology turns instantly into self-praise. "AND... N~~~!! SUPER~~~!!!" He returns in triumph with his latest armed creation: "I DEFEATED A SEA KING!!!" The panel announces it with Franky's pride blazing across the page: "BATTLE FRANKY NO. 35" RETURNS!!! Around him, people stare at the massive sea beast and gasp, "LOOK!! IT'S HUGE!!" and "IT'S AT LEAST 100M LONG!!" Iceburg, however, sees less glory than danger. Looking at Franky and the weapon he has made, he mutters, "THAT IDIOT... IS INCORRIGIBLE...!!!"

Iceburg's patience breaks. He attacks the problem the only way he can think to: by trying to destroy Franky's dangerous ships himself. Franky yells, "AAAAAH!! STOP IT, AHOBURG!!!" Iceburg fires back, "IF YOU CAN'T DO IT, I'LL TURN IT INTO SCRAP FOR YOU!!" The argument is old and raw. "YOU'RE STILL MAKING THESE WEIRD BATTLESHIPS!!! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU?" Franky insists the proof is in his victory: "NMAA!! LISTEN, FRANKY. YOU BEAT A SEA KING, RIGHT? THAT MEANS THIS THING IS REALLY DANGEROUS!!!" Iceburg presses the real point: "I DON'T GET WHY YOU LEAVE DOZENS OF THEM LYING AROUND!" Franky objects, "IT'S NOT LIKE THEY'RE GONNA ATTACK PEOPLE ON THEIR OWN!!!" Iceburg answers, "I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT YOUR WILL!! I'M QUESTIONING THE EXISTENCE OF SUCH DANGEROUS WEAPONS, BAKANKY!!!" He turns to Tom in frustration: "TOM-SAN, SAY SOMETHING!! HE'S DIRTYING THE COMPANY NAME!!" Tom only laughs, "TAHA...!! ...!!...!!...!!...!!..." leaving the boys to their fight. Someone can only react, "HE... HEY..."

Spandam, bruised by the arrival and ignored by the argument, demands attention. "HEY, WAIT A MINUTE!!! YOU SHOULD APOLOGIZE FIRST!!! AND LISTEN TO WHAT I HAVE TO SAY!!!" His CP5 men stand behind him, but Tom's first thought is the trial. "YOU'RE FROM THE GOVERN-MENT... IS THIS ABOUT THE TRIAL...?" Spandam answers with careless ignorance: "HUH? WHAT'S THAT ABOUT... NO, I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT." Soon afterward, the others wonder where Tom has gone. "WHERE'S TOM-SAN?" someone asks. The answer comes: "HIM AND THAT GUY ARE TALKING ALONE... HE'S IN THE BRICK WAREHOUSE WITH THE GOVERNMENT GUY." The name itself is uncertain to them: "WASN'T IT SPAN-DAM?" "SPAN SOME-THING." They realize he is probably not part of the official court: "HE'S PROBABLY SOMEBODY OTHER THAN THE GUYS FROM THE "SHIHOUSEN"." The government presence feels fragmented and ominous. "THEY LACK ORGANIZATION..."

Inside the warehouse, Spandam drops the polite mask and reveals what he truly wants. Tom refuses immediately: "I DON'T KNOW!! I DON'T HAVE ANY SUCH BLUEPRINT!!" Spandam laughs with ugly certainty: "TAHA...!! ...!!...!!...!!...!!... LIAR!! DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME JUST BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO BE POLITE!!!" He boasts, "I'VE ALREADY RESEARCHED EVERYTHING ABOUT WATER SEVEN!! I CAN ASK FOR INFO ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND, AND I'LL GET THE BLUEPRINT ANYHOW!!" Tom needles him with a laugh of his own: "TAHAHA, DO YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO INVESTIGATE ME?" Spandam snaps, "I DO!! TOM...!! I KNOW THAT YOU'RE THE SHIPWRIGHT WHO BUILT GOLD ROGER'S SHIP!! NOW THAT YOU'RE A CRIMINAL, YOU'RE MINE!!!" Tom is unmoved. "THE GOVERN-MENT ALREADY KNOWS THAT." Spandam is stunned: "WHAT!? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!! THEN WHY HAVEN'T YOU BEEN CAPTURED?!!" Tom leaves him with contempt: "IF YOU'RE THE INFORMATION GUY, RESEARCH IT YOURSELF! SEE YA!" Spandam grunts, "UHG," then shouts after him, "HEY WAIT!! I'M NOT DONE TALKING YET!! WHO DO YOU THINK I AM?!!"

Spandam learns that Tom's situation is not the simple weakness he imagined. A report says, "YEAH... TOM'S ALREADY KEPT HIS PROMISE WITH THE SHIHOUSEN... I THINK HIS CHARGES WILL BE DROPPED IN THE TRIAL THREE DAYS FROM NOW... HE'S A GREAT GUY, THAT TOM IS...!!" Spandam cannot accept it. "WHAT!? A GREAT CRIMINAL WHO ONCE ASSOCIATED WITH ROGER WILL BE PARDONED!? YOU'RE KIDDING ME..." The conversation rises to the highest level of the World Government. The page names the speakers as GOROUSEI. One asks, "SO, THERE REALLY IS SUCH A THING?" Spandam answers, "YES." The danger is explained in strategic terms: "OF COURSE, THERE ARE PIRATES WHO WILL PROTECT THIS "BLUE-PRINT". WHEN IT HAPPENS TO BE IN THE HANDS OF SOMEONE OUTSIDE OF THE GOVERNMENT, THERE'S NO REALISTIC WAY FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO CONTEND WITH THEM." The era itself is the threat. "IT'S BEEN 10 YEARS SINCE "THE GREAT PIRATE ERA" BEGAN... THE PIRATES WILL ONLY GET STRONGER AND INCREASE IN NUMBER!!" Spandam argues for ruthless possession: "THIS ISN'T THE TIME TO PEACE-FULLY SAY WE MUST PREVENT THE RETURN OF THE ANCIENT WEAPONS!! WE, THE GOVERNMENT, WHO MUST REINFORCE JUSTICE, NEED TO BARE OUR FANGS!!!"

Spandam's ambition hardens into a government mission. He declares, "THE "ANCIENT WEAPON" WILL BE ACQUIRED BY US... AND WE WILL PUT AN END TO THIS PIRATE ERA!!!!" The elders do not dismiss the danger. "THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT THE DIRECTION THE ERA IS MOVING IN..." one says. Another gives the order that Spandam wanted to hear: "THEN GET THIS SAID BLUEPRINT... WE'LL TALK THEN." The authority of the Gorousei settles on him. "WE WILL... LEAVE THIS MATTER IN YOUR HANDS, SPANDAM." Spandam answers at once, "YES!!!" For him, the order is not only a mission but the opening of a door. A small "....!" and "TIP!" mark the shift from audience chamber to action. Spandam thinks of the chance he has finally been handed: "I'VE WORKED HARD FOR THIS CHANCE! I WON'T LET IT GO THIS EASY!!" His desire for promotion and power now aims directly at Tom, the blueprint, and the apprentices who stand closest to both.

Spandam runs with panic beneath his pride. If Tom escapes punishment, his own opportunity collapses: "IF HE'S NOT A CRIMINAL I'M IN TROUBLE!! ME!!!" His men cry, "SPANDAM-SAN!!!" He spits a threat toward Tom's coming acquittal: "WHAT "ACQUITTAL", JUST YOU WATCH...!!!" Then he slips, the page punctuating his humiliation with "SLIP" before he regains command. "..... HEY!!" A subordinate answers, "YES?" Spandam orders, "CALL IN FIVE MORE AGENTS!!" Again they shout, "SPANDAM-SAN!!!" The scene cuts back to Tom, who understands that danger has arrived before the court has even spoken. He calls his apprentices by name: "ICEBURG. FRANKY. YOU TWO, COME OVER HERE. I WANNA GIVE YOU SOMETHING IMPORTANT." The boys answer with a simple, uncertain "HM?" not yet knowing that Tom is about to pass them a burden tied to the world's most dangerous weapon.

Tom lays the secret before Iceburg and Franky. Their first reaction is not excitement but horror. They stare at the blueprint and fall into broken fragments of disbelief: "...... ...!!" "WHY WOULD ANYONE ..." "CAN THIS THING ..." "BE MADE BY A PERSON ..." Tom names what they are looking at with the gravity of a shipwright who understands every line of the design: "IT'S THE NASTIEST MONSTER... IN THE HISTORY OF SHIPMAKING." The object is not merely a document; it is a weapon made possible by craft itself, the terrible opposite of everything Tom taught them to love about ships. He explains why he can no longer keep it alone: "THE GOVERNMENT'S AWARE OF THIS BLUEPRINT, AND THEY'VE STARTED TO MOVE... IT'S TOO DANGEROUS FOR ME TO HOLD ON TO IT ANY LONGER." In that moment, the inheritance of Tom's Workers changes from pride and technique into responsibility for a disaster that must not be allowed to return.

Iceburg accepts the burden despite his fear. "IT'S SCARY..... BUT ALRIGHT, I'LL TAKE CARE OF IT!!" Franky, still unable to separate craftsmanship from danger, blurts out, "WOW~~ ICEBURG, HEY!! LET'S MAKE IT!!!" The reaction is immediate: "!!?" Iceburg pounds him for the thought. "STUPID IDIOT!!! THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK!!" Franky, stubborn as ever, shouts, "I'M GONNA TAKE CARE OF IT!" Iceburg tries to force the scale of the danger into him: "DON'T YOU GET IT?! IF YOU MAKE THIS THING EXIST IN OUR WORLD ..." Tom finishes the meaning with a laugh that does not soften the truth: "TAHAHA...!! YEAH... THE WORLD WILL BE DESTROYED." Yet he refuses to chain their choices entirely. "BUT, DO WHATEVER YOU DAMN WELL PLEASE!! IF IT GETS TOO DANGEROUS, JUST THROW IT OUT OR SOMETHING." Then Tom adds one more worry: "AND ONE MORE THING I'LL TELL YOU ANOTHER THING THAT WORRIES ME..." A wanted poster appears for NICO ROBIN, the child whose existence is already tied to forbidden knowledge.

Three days pass. The page marks it plainly: 3 DAYS LATER. THE DAY OF THE TRIAL. Instead of dread, Franky greets the morning like a celebration. Someone tries to stop him: "HEY, HEY, WAIT. HEY FRANKY!!" A voice questions the mood: "A CELEBRATION JUST BECAUSE HE'S GONNA BE FOUND INNOCENT... TOM-SAN WAS INNOCENT TO BEGIN WITH..." Kokoro notices the more immediate problem of Franky's clothes and warns, "IF YOU GO INTO TOWN IN YOUR SWIM PANTS, THEY'LL THINK YOU'RE WEIRD." Franky snaps back, "SHUT UP, I'M JUST BUYING A FEW THINGS..." Then the scene flips into alarm. "WH... AT!!" Someone shouts, "TODAY'S THE TRIAL!! GO GET TRIED ALREADY!!!" The call reaches the sleeping or absent men of Tom's Workers: "TOM-SAN, ICEBURG WAKE UP!!" The quiet "...... ...!!" before the page turns carries the feeling that something is already wrong.

The court ship arrives, and Water Seven gathers around the moment Tom has waited fourteen years to reach. Voices rise through the crowd: "THE SHIHOUSEN'S HERE!!" and "TOM'S GONNA BE TRIED AGAIN!!" The mood should be one of release, because the sea train has already proved Tom's promise to the world. In the proceedings, someone asks, "YOUR HONOR, HAVE YOU SEEN THE "SEA TRAIN"?" The answer is favorable: "YES, I RODE ON IT ONCE. HE'S DONE A GOOD JOB TURNING IT INTO A REALITY." The judgment seems almost settled before it begins. "I DON'T THINK ANYONE HAS ANY PROBLEMS WITH HIS INNOCENCE." Franky looks back at the years and says, "WOW, IT'S BEEN 10 YEARS ALREADY." Then the question that should have been ordinary becomes ominous: "WHERE'S TOM?" The page holds the court, the crowd, and Franky's anticipation together just before violence interrupts the acquittal Tom earned.

The trial is shattered by cannon fire. From the water, a fleet of armed ships rushes in and turns the court scene into a battlefield. People point and scream, "THERE!!" Someone orders, "ABAN-DON SHIP!!!" The attackers are not understood at first. "WHAT ARE THOSE SHIPS!!?" Then the shape of them becomes clear: "IT'S A GROUP ... OF WAR SHIPS!!!" The ships are marked as Franky's creations, Battle Frankys, with numbers visible among the fleet such as BF 30, BF 14, and BF 16. Explosions tear through the Shihousen and the waterfront. The crowd panics: "WAAAAAAA!!" "!!?" "WAAA! ARE WE UNDER ATTACK!!?" "KYAAA!!" "WHERE IS THIS COMING FROM?!" Someone guesses, "PIRATES!!?" Others can only shout, "WHAT!!?" and "HUH..." while staring at the weaponized hulls. The final recognition cuts deepest: "WHAT IS THAT ...!!" The ships Franky built as proof of strength are now attacking the very court that was about to clear Tom's name.

The aftermath spreads through the city in smoke, broken wood, and wounded bodies. Someone reports, "UNKNOWN SHIPS ARE ATTACKING!!" Another voice stares at their construction and asks, "WHAT THE HECK'S WITH THOSE SHIPS, THEY ONLY HAVE WEAPONS!!?" The attack is no longer abstract: people are trapped and hurt. "HELP!" a voice cries. "MY SON'S UNDER THERE!" Franky stands frozen before the impossible sight and can only ask, "WHY...? WHO'S... MY SHIPS..." Around him, rescuers shout, "HURRY!!! GET THE WOUNDED TO THE HOSPITAL!!" The accusation begins before anyone understands the trap. A voice insists, "I KNOW!!!" Another tries to defend him: "HEY WAIT, IT'S NOT FRANKY OK!? HE'S OUT BUYING..." But the report is undeniable and devastating: "FRANKY'S SHIPS FROM THE SCRAP ISLAND ARE ATTACKING THE SHIHOUSEN!!!" The cry reaches the heart of the matter: "TOM-SAN!!!" The weapons Iceburg warned about have become the instrument of Tom's ruin.

No one who knows Franky believes he would choose this, but intent no longer matters in the chaos. Iceburg says what the page has made clear: "I KNOW THAT HE WOULDN'T DO ANY SUCH THING...!! THAT'S WHY THIS IS SOMETHING BIG...!!!" Tom reads the attack in a wider frame and asks the terrible possibilities aloud: "PIRATES!? OR IS THIS THE GOVERNMENT'S...!!?" Franky is already furious, no longer defending himself but searching for the person using his ships. "DAMMIT WHO IS IT!! I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!!!" Voices shout toward the attackers, "GET AWAY FROM THE SHIPS!!" and answer, "YEAH!!" Franky calls, "LET'S GO STOP IT, ICEBURG!!" But behind the disaster, Spandam has already turned the trap into procedure. In shadow, he laughs, "HAHAHA..." Then he speaks the line that twists the whole attack into a false legal charge: "LET'S START THE TRIAL... TOM'S WORKERS..."

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