First, he headed to Water 7, then boarded the Sea Train.
In Water 7, Rono met several of his seniors.
Rob Lucci, Kaku, Bruno, and Kalifa.
All four were very interested in Rono. Not only was this newcomer one of only two members to enter CP9 directly—the other was Lucci—but he was also the only one recruited by a big shot from CP0.
Rono wanted to get along with Lucci and the others, but the Sea Train was about to depart.
To conceal his identity, Rono pretended to be Lucci's cousin. Lucci gave Rono some local Water 7 specialty—Water Water Meat—to dispel Iceburg's suspicions. The current CP9 members weren't yet the skilled shipwrights who would later earn Iceburg's deep trust; they were just a bunch of rookie shipwrights.
Rono waved goodbye. The Sea Train was packed with passengers, most of them riding for the first time and visibly excited. They chatted in small groups.
Rono was bare-chested, with seven or eight pieces of Water Water Meat hanging from his shoulders. He was holding one in his hand, stuffing it into his mouth.
"Hey, little bro, what's your name?" A shifty-eyed man with a small mustache sat down beside Rono and struck up a conversation like they were old friends.
"Rono." Rono stopped eating.
"Rono, how about buying a potted tree? This tree of mine has quite a history."
"Oh." Rono acknowledged him, then continued eating his Water Water Meat.
"Uh... aren't you curious to hear more?" Little Mustache was baffled. Why wasn't this guy following the usual script? But a good merchant knew how to create an opportunity when there wasn't one.
Rono glanced at him, set down the half-eaten Water Water Meat, and wiped his mouth. "Go on, what's so special about your tree?" Rono was actually bored out of his mind. Everyone around him took one look at his height and lost all interest in talking to him.
"Ahem, listen. This tree is incredible. It was brought back from a 'living' volcano. Its leaves are red, and it... What do you think? Quite a history, right?" Little Mustache rambled on, and Rono started to get a little interested. "Bring it over so I can see." He thought for a moment, then put the Water Water Meat on his seat. "Actually, I'll come take a look with you. If I like it, I'll buy it."
Rono wasn't short on money. He might have been bare-chested, but his fiery red pants were the latest style from Criminal, a brand famous among both Fishmen and humans. They had cost him over a hundred thousand Beli. His cloth shoes were from Criminal too, and they'd cost him tens of thousands. Otherwise, Little Mustache wouldn't have approached him. Money made you the boss.
They arrived at the carriage where the cargo was stored. A young man with a cigarette in his mouth was leaning against a flowerpot. When he saw Rono, he asked Little Mustache, "Found a buyer?"
Little Mustache nodded. "More or less. Rono here wants to have a look first."
"Of course." The young man moved aside, revealing a red-leaved tree that had been hidden behind him. It had neither flowers nor fruit, and its whole body was yellowish, faintly reflecting the light. Rono flicked the trunk, and it gave off a metallic "duang-duang" sound.
"Yeah, it's pretty unusual. How much do you want for it?" Looking at the strange tree, which stood less than two meters tall, Rono couldn't help getting excited. It would look so damn cool in his yard.
"Twenty million." Little Mustache didn't even blink.
"Oh." Rono turned and walked away.
Little Mustache nearly spat blood. Come on, man, you could've haggled! Walking off without saying a word was a great way to make enemies.
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't go! We can talk!"
Little Mustache hurriedly grabbed Rono by the arm.
"I may have money, but I'm no sucker. Right?"
"Right, right."
Up against Rono, this impulsive kid who didn't follow the usual script, Little Mustache wilted.
"Fifteen million. That's as low as I can go. We were going to take it to Sabaody Archipelago to auction it, where it'd fetch at least twenty million. This might be the only one in the world."
Little Mustache spoke with complete seriousness.
"You know it's an auction, then. Twelve million. I'll buy it if you agree. Otherwise, I'm leaving."
Rono pulled out a gold coin and flipped it in his hand.
"Deal!" Little Mustache replied at once.
"..." Rono was speechless, but still decided to buy it. He took out the gold card issued by the World Bank to show that he wasn't going to give Little Mustache a bad check.
Little Mustache relaxed, took out a check for Rono to sign, then called to the young man to leave.
It was an unspoken rule: as a major institution, the World Bank only issued gold cards to people with at least thirty million Beli. If the balance on Rono's card dropped below ten million Beli, the bank would replace it with a silver card, preventing bad checks from being issued.
Rono stroked the strange tree's trunk and extended his Bone Claws, gradually increasing the force. Only when he was using about ninety percent of his strength did he finally manage to cut a gash in the trunk.
"Yeah, I can use it as a target, too." Rono retracted his Bone Claws and stroked his chin.
He bent down, picked up the flowerpot with both hands, and carried it back to his seat. The pot took up half the aisle, but he didn't care and went back to eating his Water Water Meat.
Surprisingly, the system didn't assign him any tasks. It seemed to have given Rono the day off, too.
No one came to strike up a conversation for the rest of the journey. Rono saw Little Mustache and the young man get off at the stop after Water 7. They were probably going to cash in their Beli.
Rono slapped his forehead, pulled a bottle of expensive vodka out of the suitcase beneath his seat, opened it, and took a swig. "I knew something was missing. Turns out it was booze."
Accompanied by the clatter of the Sea Train, Rono ate heartily and drank deeply.
The sky gradually darkened. By then, Rono was the only one left on the Sea Train. The next stop was Enies Lobby.
Rono's head was spinning. His upper body was flushed red, and with his red pants and red hair, he stood out in the carriage.
"Hey, who's this?" Chimney, a little girl with twin ponytails around five or six years old, walked up and pinched Rono's cheeks, then squeezed his arm.
"Chimney, stop that." Kokoro, who was even drunker than Rono, was doing her usual train-cleaning duties with Chimney.
"Mm." Chimney had probably woken Rono up. He stretched and asked, "Granny, could you ask the Train Master when we'll reach Enies Lobby?"
"I'm the Train Master." Kokoro took another swig of liquor and answered with a hiccup.
"Oh! I see..." Rono sobered up halfway. "The hell you are! The Train Master is even drunker than me! And if you really are the Train Master, who's driving the train?"
Rono raised his hand to complain, his tongue lolling way out.
"Nobody. Hic." Kokoro was perfectly calm.
Rono couldn't remember the details of the One Piece story very well anymore. He only vaguely remembered that the protagonist was called Luffy, and that he had a brother who was the son of the Pirate King. What was his name again? He also had a father who was insanely powerful, the leader of the Revolutionary Army—one Den Den Mushi, and a thousand people would be at his command.
Of course, he didn't remember a side character like Kokoro.
Chimney ran around cheerfully, without a trace of nervousness.
"What?!" Rono leaned out the window. Damn it, even the lights in the train's Captain's Cabin were off.
"Am I really going to die in a place like this?" Rono slumped in his seat, his face filled with despair.
"Kid, I've been driving this train for nearly ten years. I'm an old driver. Trust me."
Kokoro gave Rono a thumbs-up and a radiant smile.
Before you continue