Plan Before You Act

"Are we just leaving?" Li Ziming asked, looking at the masked man—or rather, Blueno.

"Whether we leave has nothing to do with you. Remember, you're nothing more than my prisoner," Blueno said coldly.

"Fair enough." Li Ziming shrugged and pulled out a deck of cards. "Robin, Franky, let's play Fight the Landlord."

"Fight the Landlord?" Franky asked. "What's that?"

"A card game. Come on, I'll teach you." Li Ziming began explaining the rules.

"This sounds fun!" Franky said happily. "But there ought to be some kind of penalty for losing."

"What are you thinking, you pervert?" Li Ziming kicked him. "Robin's a lady. Show some gentlemanly manners!"

"You've got a good eye!" Franky seemed not to have heard a word. "I'm a super pervert!"

Blueno's eye twitched as he watched them. Neither showed the slightest awareness of being a prisoner. Still, as long as they didn't try to escape, he couldn't be bothered with them.

"Will you two stop it?" Blueno might not care, but Robin had had enough. "We're on our way to Enies Lobby!"

"So what?" Li Ziming smiled. "Going to Enies Lobby doesn't mean we'll die. And if this really is where my journey ends, then I simply wasn't strong enough to go farther."

"Exactly." Franky nodded. "I haven't even punched Spandam yet. I'm not dying like this. Besides, I'm super strong!"

"No. We're going to die," Robin said with a bitter smile. "You don't understand."

"Don't understand?" Franky bristled. "You think I don't understand how the World Government operates? If it weren't for those filthy bastards, Mr. Tom would still be alive! I'm going to take down Spandam myself!"

"That's how governments are," Li Ziming said with a helpless shrug. "They covet power that isn't theirs, but when they find someone with power beyond their control, their first thought is usually to destroy them rather than control them. Filthy politics."

Blueno shook his head and stopped listening. As an agent of the World Government, he was afraid he might kill all three of them if he heard any more.

"Well, well, the unpleasant fellow's gone," Li Ziming said mockingly. Blueno clenched his fists, but he didn't strike. He simply walked away.

"Brother, can you tell us your plan now?" Franky asked seriously. "If we reach Enies Lobby like this, we're in real trouble."

"Trust our companions," Li Ziming said with a smile. "The strongest people on Enies Lobby are CP9. Everyone else is basically an ordinary soldier. The island matters because the Gates of Justice connect it to Marine Headquarters and Impel Down, and both those places are packed with powerful fighters. So whatever we do, we have to do it on Enies Lobby. It's also the best place for it."

"Brother, your plan sounds big." From the way Li Ziming spoke, Franky had a feeling he was planning something major on Enies Lobby.

"What are you trying to do? Just knowing about the Ancient Weapons is a serious crime! Are you going to make things even worse?" Robin demanded.

"A crime?" Li Ziming stared at her, then laughed. "Robin, do you really think it's wrong? It's only wrong because those people in the World Government say it is. And I'm sorry, but I couldn't care less what other people think. Life's too short to spend it worrying about their opinions. I just don't want to live with regrets. What anyone else thinks is none of my damn business."

"Haha! Well said!" Franky laughed. "Brother, I like you more and more!"

"You're not bad yourself." Li Ziming looked at Franky with new appreciation. He had thought the man was just a pervert, but his character wasn't bad at all. "This plan might be a little too serious, though. It would be bad if it got out, so forgive me for keeping it to myself."

"No problem. Then let's talk about the ship you asked me to build! I've got the Treasure Tree Adam ready. I'm planning two propulsion systems: one that uses wind and waves, and another using the electrical equipment you gave me." Franky spoke proudly of his design. "That way, your ship can sail even through the Calm Belt, and it'll stand a much better chance against storms."

"That sounds great." Li Ziming was pleased with the design. "But what about the Ship Spirit?"

"I discussed it with Iceburg. We're thinking of dismantling the Going Merry, then seeing if we can build a smaller version of her," Franky said after a moment's thought. "We'd make that smaller Merry part of the new ship. It's the best solution Iceburg and I could come up with."

"Couldn't you dismantle the Going Merry and use her materials to build the new ship?" Li Ziming suggested.

"That'd be difficult." Franky shook his head. "Sure, we could build a ship that way. I've made things out of scrap before. But there's no guaranteeing the quality. It might fall apart one day. And some of your ship's materials are badly aged. They'd only weigh the new ship down."

"I guess so." Li Ziming nodded helplessly. "I can't wait to keep adventuring aboard the new ship."

"We..." Robin's expression turned sorrowful.

"If you're looking forward to it, then don't go running off on us!" Sanji's irritated voice rang out.

"I knew you'd follow us." Li Ziming looked at Sanji as though he had expected him all along.

"Come on, you left me a letter. I'd have to be as dense as Luffy not to figure out your plan." Sanji sighed. "But are you sure you want to do this?" He was still shaken. The night before they reached Water 7, Li Ziming had come to him. Sanji had thought he was about to hand Robin over to him, but instead, Li Ziming had given him a letter and told him to open it when the time came. He had never expected the letter to reveal a plan on such a huge scale. Even Sanji had been startled.

"What exactly are you trying to do?" Robin demanded. "I don't want to go back to—"

"Don't worry. Leave what comes next to me," Li Ziming said, satisfied. "Since you're here, Sanji, I expect Nami has opened her letter too."

"You left everyone a letter?" Sanji asked, wondering how Li Ziming could have predicted this situation.

"Of course. I like to plan before I act, and I'm used to getting everything in place first." Li Ziming shrugged. "This time, let's really raise some hell."

Meanwhile, every member of the Straw Hat Pirates had opened the letter Li Ziming had left for them. When they rushed out and saw a letter in everyone else's hands, they all understood: Li Ziming had planned everything. Now he was waiting for them to make their entrance.