Uhe dark sky, with a faint breeze stirring, on the western side of Water 7 y Shipwreck Isnd. Among piles of broken and abandoned ships that formed a patchwork of “nd,” stood Tom’s humble shipbuilding workshop—a modest and unassuming pce.

  Inside, a young Fish-man sat hunched over a table, deeply focused og ship designs. Suddenly, an invisible wave of energy swept through the room.

  'Thud.' His eyes rolled back, and he colpsed, unscious.

  Iillness, a door appeared midair and opened silently. El, his wings dark and his back wreathed in fmes, stepped through, his massive frame reduced to a manageable three meters i. Beside him stood Uthan, the wielder of the Door-Door Fruit.

  “So, this is Fish-man Tom?” Uthan murmured, surprised. “Hard to believe he’s a master shipwright.”

  “People be full of surprises,” Ryan chuckled, nudging Uthan. “Take a look in the mirror sometime.”

  “Watch it, Ryan,” Uthan grumbled, narrowing his eyes. “You asking for a fight?”

  Ryan ughed, unfazed. “Before I got the Munch-Munch Fruit, you could’ve crushed me. But now? You might have to think twice.”

  With a fident smirk, Ryan approached Tom. He pced a hand on Tom's head, instantly sing his memories and log the pns for the a on, Pluton. He pulled an aged, yellowing blueprint from a hidden partment.

  “Should we take it with us?” Uthan asked.

  “Tom’s studied this design multiple times already,” El replied, assessing. “He probably won’t check it iail again soon. Ryan, you make a realistic replica that looks aged?”

  “Easy. Leave it to me,” Ryan said, eyes glinting with excitement as he took the blueprint. “Give me half an hour to go over it, and I’ll make a copy that’s a perfect match. I eve with the Munch-Munch Fruit. No one will know the difference.”

  As he sed the designs, Ryan’s eyes widened with astonishment, shifting from excitement to disbelief. “This… this on system is incredible! It’s turies ahead of its time… And the power source it requires—today’s teology couldn’t reproduce it!”

  He looked at El, who gave a knowing nod. “The level of teology o create something like Pluton suggests there was on a kingdom with extraordinary advas, long before the Woverook power.”

  “Big words, but if we ’t build it, does it even matter?” Uthan muttered, scratg his head, unsure of the pn.

  “It matters,” Ryan replied, clutg the blueprint tightly, his eyes shining. “We may not be able to recreate it exactly, but with time—and the Munch-Munch Fruit—I could develop neons based on this tech.”

  Ryan poio a se on the blueprint. “For example, Pluton's sedary ons are powerful ser ons. I might be able to reverse-ehat teology… even if we ’t reach the inal power, it would still far exceed today’s firepower.”

  El looked pleased. “Thehe blueprint for study, a’s get out of here once you’ve left the replica.”

  Ryaatic, carefully stashed the inal Pluton blueprint in his Munch Factory within. Shortly after, he replicated the design i detail, weathering it to appear aged, theurhe fake blueprint to its inal partment.

  The mission was plete.

  …

  Soon—

  The three quietly departed.

  Iom's Workshop, everything remaily as it was, untouched. Not a single footprint was left behind, as if nothing had ever happened.

  “Looks like it all went smoothly!” Ba the hidden underground chamber, Sally g the beaming Ryan, who couldn’t suppress a grin.

  “Yes, uess was correct. The blueprint for Pluton was indeed with him…” El nodded with a smile.

  “So, El, are we moving forward with the part of the pn?” Gerd asked, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.

  “That depends on Sally.” El looked over at Sally, the “Shapeshifting Witch.”

  “Don’t I always deliver?” Sally replied with a smile, produg a Vivre Card and handing it to El. “This will lead you to Impel Down, the great uer prison.”

  To ensure El’s pn could proceed, she had specifically infiltrated Enies Lobby, hiding a pre-prepared Vivre Card iiny gss bead resistant to digestive acids. She had thehe bead inside a rice ball and slipped it to a vict who had just beeeo life impriso and was set to be transported to Impel Down.

  Even if the bead had been expelled, it would have happened inside Impel Down, likely during the “processing” phase when prisoners were searched and sanitized before fi. The Vivre Card’s location would lead them precisely to the prison in the Calm Belt.

  “In that case, no reason to dey—let’s set out under cover of night!” El said, gng at the dire poio by the Vivre Card and then at the clo the wall. It was exactly 9:30 p.m.

  Looking around at his crew, El added, “To make sure we don’t lose time tonight, hide out in the Mirror World for now. I’ll personally fly you all over there.”

  “Once we’re close to Impel Down, Uthan will use the Door-Door Fruit to help us infiltrate the prison.”

  “Uood, El-sama!”

  Bleam