Chapter 128: The Blueprint of Pluto (Seeking subscriptions, recommendation votes, and monthly tickets)

Buffon waited for about half an hour, and as expected, a tremor resonated from the Bridge of Hesitation.

Just as he had anticipated, as the Gates of Justice opened, the final folding section of the Bridge of Hesitation slowly extended, reaching toward the gates. Buffon accelerated, flashing forward and slipping directly inside the Gates of Justice.

Once through, however, he saw only a single transport ship anchored there, a situation completely different from what Mr. 2 Bon Kurei had described.

"It seems the Navy is intentionally trying to confuse the issue, deliberately avoiding having all three ships arrive at once. I wonder if Moria is on this vessel."

Buffon muttered to himself and peered toward the transport ship. The officer in charge was Vice Admiral Dalmatian of the Navy Headquarters. Under his command, over a dozen prisoners, their hands and feet shackled, were escorted off the ship and onto the Bridge of Hesitation.

Buffon took a glance and, seeing no sign of Moria, flashed directly onto the transport ship. After searching the entire vessel and failing to find him, he exited the ship and returned to the bridge pier beside the Gates of Justice to continue waiting.

As he predicted, two hours later, another transport ship arrived along the vortex current. Once it stabilized, Buffon saw no commanding officer and no prisoners disembarking. The Gates of Justice opened slowly again, but this time, people were being brought out from Enies Lobby; naturally, there was no sign of Moria.

Buffon snuck into this transport ship as well, searched it, and found nothing. He resumed his vigil.

The final ship stayed for only a moment. An officer from Enies Lobby exchanged documents with the soldiers on board and left. Taking advantage of the distraction during the document hand-off, Buffon snuck in to check once more—it was clearly just a supply ship.

With that, Buffon ceased waiting and followed the officer back to Enies Lobby. He was now more certain than ever that this was a test from the World Government. Otherwise, there would be no need to split a single operation into three separate parts.

Meanwhile, at Navy Headquarters, Sengoku received the report and said to Vice Admiral Tsuru beside him, "The brat, Buffon, didn't show up."

"Hmm. It seems our intelligence hasn't been intercepted by him yet. Let's proceed with the next phase of the plan."

...

Buffon returned to Water 7 by sea train; it was already noon the following day. Just after he rendezvoused with Bon Kurei, a massive fire suddenly broke out at the Galley-La Company headquarters.

Buffon recalled the plot and sensed something amiss. He said to Bon Kurei, "Find any identity and sneak onto the sea train. If Robin is on board, don't reveal yourself for now—just follow her."

After cutting a piece of Bon Kurei's fingernail to keep, Buffon hurried toward the Galley-La headquarters. When he arrived, he found Nami lying unconscious in the fire, and Chopper preparing to rush into the blaze.

The surrounding crowd was preparing to attack them. "It was you Straw Hat pirates who attacked Mr. Iceburg! What's the point of coming here to put on a fake rescue act?"

"Capture these two and hand them over to the Navy to avenge Mr. Iceburg!"

Hearing this, Buffon flashed over, stood in front of Chopper, patted his hat, and smiled. "Leave the rest to me."

Seeing Buffon appear, tears welled up in Chopper's eyes as he choked out, "Captain Buffon, Robin is gone, and Luffy and Zoro..."

Buffon was currently wearing a mask and cloak. Chopper recognized him immediately because he had worn this same outfit back on Drum Island—the one that earned him the nickname "White Ghost."

Before Chopper could finish, Buffon addressed the crowd, "If you aren't going to save Iceburg, why are you standing here shouting?"

With that, he dashed into the fire and rescued both Iceburg and Paulie. Both were unconscious. Out of professional habit, Buffon instinctively began treating their wounds. Paulie's injuries were minor; as a fighter, his wounds were simply those sustained during the battle with CP9.

But looking at the broken bones of Iceburg, who possessed little combat ability, Buffon couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Robin seems to have cornered herself again. I should have just kept her by my side; it would have saved a lot of trouble."

After treating Iceburg's wounds, Buffon administered a shot of Excitement Hormone, and Iceburg immediately regained consciousness. The first thing Buffon asked was, "The one who hurt you was Nico Robin, right?"

Iceburg didn't answer but asked, "Who are you?"

Buffon didn't hide it; he took off his mask, let Iceburg see his face for a moment, and put it back on. Once Iceburg recognized him, he remained in shock for nearly half a minute before speaking. "Why are you here?"

"That's not important. I just need an answer to my question!"

Iceburg nodded, his tone heavy. "It's my fault for not realizing all these years that so many World Government spies had infiltrated my surroundings..."

What he revealed shocked the onlookers. They never imagined that the mastermind behind the attack wasn't the Straw Hat crew, but the World Government...

Buffon, however, already knew all of this and felt little surprise. He made a snap decision, took out the Vivre Card he had made for Bon Kurei, and saw it pointing toward the station.

He turned to Chopper. "Chopper, you and Nami come with me."

With lightning-fast speed, Buffon administered a shot of Excitement Hormone to Nami. Nami, just waking up and confused, was scooped up by Buffon as he prepared to leave the crowd.

Just then, a shrill alarm sounded across the entire city. Terror swept over the faces of the crowd.

Someone screamed, "It's a tsunami warning! The Aqua Laguna is raging!"

Buffon cursed internally, "How could I have forgotten about this? The situation is getting more complicated by the minute."

Iceburg, now fully recovered, stood up and told the crowd, "Quickly, send people to gather all the residents of Water 7 to the Shipwright Island!"

As the Mayor and president of the Galley-La Company, Iceburg's command gave the panicked crowd a sense of direction, and they immediately began to act.

Seeing everyone moving, Iceburg turned to Buffon and the others. "Are you going to save that woman? CP9's target is the blueprints my master Tom left behind, and Nico Robin is the only person alive who can read the ancient texts on them."

Nami asked, "What exactly is recorded on those blueprints?"

Iceburg checked that the surrounding people were busy and not paying attention to them before speaking quietly. "It is a weapon capable of destroying the World Government. Its name is Pluton. Eight hundred years ago, the shipwrights of Water 7 built it. The blueprints Tom left me were inherited from those shipwrights."

"However, the blueprints CP9 took are fake. The real Pluton blueprints were given to my junior apprentice, Cutty Flam—the cyborg now known as Franky."

Nami and Chopper were both stunned. They had heard the name Pluton back in Alabasta, but they never expected it to have been built by the shipwrights of Water 7, or that the blueprints still existed.

"Where will she be taken?" Chopper asked anxiously.

Iceburg and Buffon spoke in unison, their voices calm: "Impel Down."

Iceburg looked at Buffon with surprise before continuing, "To get from here to Impel Down, one must pass through Enies Lobby. In this weather, only the sea train can ensure safety. The next train departs at 11 o'clock. If they are heading to Enies Lobby, that is the most likely transport."

Nami checked the time. "If we leave now, we should make it."

As Nami grabbed Chopper and prepared to rush to the station, Paulie blocked their path. "The Aqua Laguna is coming. Everywhere except Shipwright Island is dangerous, especially the station, which is at sea level. Going there now is suicide!"

"But our companion is waiting for us to save her! If we miss this chance, we won't be able to catch up," Nami said resolutely. She drew her Clima-Tact, prepared to fight Paulie.

Buffon ignored them both, grabbed Chopper, and leaped toward the station.

"Captain Buffon, take me with you!" Nami shouted.

But Buffon only replied, "See you at the station!" and vanished across the layered rooftops with Chopper.

In other parts of Water 7, the islanders were already boarding Yagara Bulls to head to Shipwright Island. Buffon, meanwhile, thought about finding time to call Vivi on a Den Den Mushi; the true face of Long Ring Long Land would soon be revealed, and he should take this opportunity to map the island precisely for future development.

Just as his focus drifted, Chopper, terrified in his grip, suddenly shouted, "Captain Buffon! Zoro is stuck in that chimney!"

Hearing this, Buffon stopped on a nearby rooftop, steadied himself, and looked in the direction Chopper pointed. Sure enough, he saw a pair of legs in dark green trousers kicking wildly out of a chimney, and the black, white, and red scabbards at the waist were unmistakably Zoro's swords.

Buffon flashed over and pulled him out with a gentle tug. Zoro had never seen Buffon in this disguise, and the first thing he did after being pulled out was...