After seeing the Gat off at the dock—
Shano's group of four people and one dog headed toward the Whale Shipbuilding Company.
The place wasn't far, just a few minutes' walk from the pier.
Following the obvious neon sign, they arrived shortly on foot.
Shano had already made a phone call in advance, so in the Whale Company's main lobby, over a dozen executives in suits were already lined up waiting.
At the head stood an energetic white-bearded old man with a monocle and a golden badge reading "Chief Shipwright" pinned to his chest.
The moment Shano's figure appeared behind the glass revolving door, he immediately led everyone in a synchronized ninety-degree bow.
"We've been awaiting your arrival, Lord Shano! I am Gandalfurt, and on behalf of all employees of Whale Shipyard, I welcome your esteemed presence!"
"You're too kind, Mr. Gandalfurt." Shano quickly stepped forward and shook hands.
After a brief exchange, the old shipwright solemnly presented a sheepskin scroll, which, when unrolled, was over two meters long.
In the center was a structural cross-section of the ship, surrounded by dense annotations in fine print.
"This is the acceptance checklist drafted according to your specifications. Please allow this old man to personally escort you on the tour. The new ship is in Dock No. 1—this way, please!"
Gandalfurt bent slightly and made an inviting gesture, only straightening up once Shano took the lead.
The other executives once again bowed deeply in unison toward the group's retreating backs.
"Hey, Kuina,"
Nokigo's eyes were gleaming with envy. She leaned close to the girl swordsman's ear and whispered, "Do you think there'll come a day where, even without my brother around, we'll receive this kind of treatment from the people?"
"Childish."
Kuina glanced at her blankly. "I am the world's greatest swordsman. Receiving respect and reverence from the masses—shouldn't that be only natural?"
"Ugh, you're more into the act than I am!" Nokigo bared her fangs and growled.
…
The group followed Gandalfurt into a corridor.
No one noticed that on the corner of the street outside the reception hall, two oddly dressed individuals were watching them leave through the glass windows.
"Sam! You saw it too, right?" The chubby man with a bell tied to his chest, dressed like a striped cat, let out a strange laugh.
"Of course, Butch. No mistake,"
The hunched, green-haired skinny man licked his lips greedily. "That snow-white long sword—it looks ordinary at first glance, but by the method the captain taught us last time, that's definitely a legendary blade!"
"That sword is worth at least fifty million Berries. And in the underworld, it's one of those rare treasures you can't even find for sale."
"Shall we make a move?"
Fat Butch extended his claws, itching to go.
"It's worth it! But just the two of us—it's too risky, too risky!"
Skinny Sam patted his partner's shoulder. "Let's go! We'll report back to Captain Kuro right away. Hehehe, this time we've really done something big! With prey this fat, the captain will definitely want to make a move himself!"
...
Soon after—
Following the corridor, the group entered a new area in the back of the building.
Over a dozen drydocks with transparent glass domes were lined up, each housing ships that were complete but not yet delivered.
Each drydock had its own waterway leading out to the open sea.
Gandalfurt brought the group to the most luxurious Dock No. 1. With a proud smile, he glanced around at everyone, then pressed a button—
"This is the one, Lord Shano. Please enjoy—this is the work I'm most proud of in the past decade!"
The towering steel gate rumbled open, and everyone instinctively held their breath.
"Whoa, what a huge and cool-looking ship!!"
Nokigo's eyes widened in awe, unable to hold back her exclamation.
It was dusk. The glowing red light of the setting sun poured through the dome skylight, illuminating the ship's figurehead—a silver wolf howling skyward, with twin wings sprouting from its ribs, as if a divine beast.
Beneath the figurehead, the streamlined hull bathed in the evening light was a dark brownish-black, sleek and sharp, yet elegant and graceful.
Sixty meters long, fifty-six meters high, and twenty-two meters wide at its broadest point. A dual-mast design—the foremast carrying square sails, and the main mast rigged with triangular sails.
Looking up from below, the white sails were furled, and the two thick masts stood tall like swords, reaching toward the sky.
"Old man, is this ship really only three hundred million Berries? Even with the waived twenty million, that can't be enough, right?"
Nokigo stared at the towering masts, stunned, then turned toward the old shipwright.
"The material costs are about right. That piece of Treasure Tree Adam alone cost two hundred million,"
Gandalfurt laughed heartily. "As for labor and profit… heh, being able to build a flagship for Lord Shano—any shipyard in East Blue would consider that an honor. Who would fuss over the price?"
Shano smiled nearby, saying nothing.
Back then, whether it was exposing the conspiracy on Sakura Island or wiping out Arlong and other pirate crews, it had all been coincidences that fell into his lap—he just dealt with them in passing.
Who would've thought that because of it, the people of East Blue would raise him up so high, treating him as their hero and pride?
"The four steel-forged training rooms are in the bottom deck. You originally asked for two, but we added a third. There's also an open-air sword training field behind the second-floor balcony—all the equipment is installed. The kitchen was built to the highest standards too, with a food storage area over 200 square meters."
Gandalfurt continued with enthusiasm, "Aside from that, there's an orange orchard, a bar, an aquarium, a library, a billiard room, a hot spring bath… basically, everything you could need for daily life is all included!"
"In short, compared to the interior layout, the exterior is nothing. You'll definitely be satisfied!"
"Hold up!" Nokigo suddenly remembered something. "Mr. Gandalfurt, wait—how come I haven't seen any cannon ports? Are they all on the other side?"
"Well…" Gandalfurt froze, looking slightly embarrassed. "The original blueprint did have twenty cannons planned, but later…"
"But later I specifically contacted them to cancel that part." Shano grinned. "Let me ask you—if a cannonball came flying at you, what would be your first instinct?"
"Me?" Nokigo pointed at herself. "Uh… I'd probably put on my gloves and punch every single one right back!"
"And you, Kuina?"
"One sword slash," the black-haired girl replied with cool simplicity.
"Mr. Zeff?"
"Heh heh, these old legs aren't just for walking. I can kick any cannonball right back where it came from."
"There you go."
Shano shrugged and opened his arms like a concertina. "As for me—well, no need to say it, right? Everyone has their own specialty. We wouldn't even bother firing the cannons. So why bother installing them?"
Read a thousand chapters of manga already—who actually dies to cannon fire anymore?
"Ohhh, that makes sense—" Everyone nodded in sudden realization.
"Uh…" Gandalfurt wiped his sweat. "Well, then… how about everyone goes aboard for a look?"
"Awoo!"
Before he finished speaking, Silver had already dashed excitedly up the gangway, racing to the prow to study the figurehead that looked so much like himself.
"Captain, shall we take a look too?"
Kuina turned her head to Shano.
"Yeah."
Shano smiled and nodded. His figure flashed, stepping into the air with Geppo and landing on deck in an instant. The other three followed—shoom shoom shoom—vanishing in a blur as they jumped up too.
Only Gandalfurt was left standing dumbfounded on the spot, looking up in a daze.
So… these are Lord Shano's companions? Every single one of them can fly?? No wonder they said they didn't need any cannons…