The Sea Train

"Wonderful, Mr. Tom!"

"With all this iron and lumber, we can start building the Sea Train right away!"

Iceburg looked at the mountain of shipbuilding materials Leon had brought back and spoke to Tom with great excitement.

"What are you thinking, Iceburg?"

"These materials don't belong to us. Leon brought them to repair his ship!"

"A man should earn what he needs with his own two hands, through honest hard work!!!"

Tom rarely spoke so sternly as he corrected his apprentice.

"Sorry, Mr. Tom..." Iceburg realized his mistake and lowered his head. "It's just that there's so much material here, and we wouldn't need most of it even to build another ship. We could buy the surplus from Mr. Leon."

"That depends on what Leon thinks..."

"Not a problem at all."

Leon's voice rang out at just the right moment.

"I really don't need this much material. I don't mind giving it all to you, Mr. Tom."

"But..."

Seeing that Tom was about to refuse, Leon stopped him at once.

"However, I'm very interested in the Sea Train Iceburg mentioned. Could you tell me more about it?"

"Well..."

With Tom's explanation, Leon finally understood how the Sea Train worked.

Simply put, under these conditions, using these principles...

A huge steam-powered vessel loaded with cargo could travel freely across the sea along underwater tracks laid between islands...

A miracle. It was simply a miracle.

The train was supported by tracks floating in the water...

Leon convinced himself that this was a wondrous world, after all. It was perfectly reasonable for the occasional thing to defy the laws of physics...

Seeing Leon looking a little dazed, Tom smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"What's wrong, Leon? Do you think I'm dreaming too big?"

"No, Mr. Tom!"

Leon shook his head firmly.

"I truly believe you can build the Sea Train, Mr. Tom."

Tom burst out laughing at Leon's words.

"The Sea Train won't be built overnight..."

"Where's the warship you want repaired, Leon? Now that we have enough materials, I can get started right away."

Leon slapped his forehead. He'd forgotten to bring the Dog Head Warship along when he came over. He'd have to make another trip...

"Mr. Tom, wait here a moment. I'll be right back."

Watching Leon dive straight into the water without another word, Tom swallowed the offer he'd been about to make to help him tow the ship.

Perhaps this was Leon's own special way of training...

While Leon went back to fetch the ship, a massive warship sailed into Water Seven's harbor.

"The Government's Judicial Ship is here!"

"What's a Judicial Ship?"

"It's a mobile court."

"Who are they here to try?"

Under the gaze of Water Seven's residents, a squad of fully armed Marines disembarked from the Judicial Ship and hurried toward Scrap Island.

"We've confirmed it. This is the home of the criminal Tom!"

"Be careful. He's a Fish-Man. Don't let him get away!"

Outside Tom's Shipbuilding Company, the Marines prepared to break down the door, led by a mustached Marine.

Just then, a huge shadow appeared on the ground. The next moment, a half-destroyed warship dropped from the sky, shaking all of Scrap Island as it crashed down.

"Enemy attack!!!"

The mustached Marine hadn't expected Tom to dare resist to the bitter end. The Marines immediately aimed their guns in the direction the warship had come from.

"Cough, cough..."

The dust Leon had stirred up made him cough.

"Wait!"

The mustached Marine looked at the warship that had fallen from the sky, as if something about it had jogged his memory.

Then he saw Leon emerge from the dust, wrapped in bandages from head to toe.

The mustached Marine shuddered and immediately gave the order.

"Put your guns away!"

"Chief Petty Officer Leon! I never expected to meet you here!"

Leon looked at the unfamiliar Marine, puzzled. After graduating from the training camp, he'd been a seaman recruit. When had he been promoted to Chief Petty Officer?

"You know me?"

"Chief Petty Officer Leon! We came from Judicial Island. Your feat of capturing Bullet has spread all over the island."

"I'm sure the entire Marine Headquarters already knows you by your title, 'Rookie of the Marines'!"

At the mustached Marine's words, Leon coughed even harder.

He hadn't expected the false information printed in the newspapers to have such an effect.

He didn't dare take credit for capturing Bullet. If he did, even Adou could claim he'd fought alongside Zhao Yun at Changban Slope and charged through Cao Cao's army seven times.

Leon let the subject drop and asked the mustached Marine, "May I ask what you're doing here?"

"On orders from the World Government, we're here to arrest Tom the shipwright, an accomplice who built a ship for a world-class criminal!"

The mustached Marine spoke, but inside he felt uneasy.

He didn't know why Leon had appeared here.