The City of Water 7 has pleasant sery and a beautiful enviro. Other than a weak ey, there's hardly anything to pin about here. After Cudius discussed his pns with Tom, he decided to settle in and wait to see his new ship take shape.

  Over the past two months, thanks to Cudius' massive iment, Tom's Shipbuilding pany had a resurgence. With the bag of a Celestial Dragon, who in Water 7 would dare to disrespe? And with his unmatched craftsmanship, there was no one who could look down on him. On the verge of ruin, Tom had transformed into a promi figure in Water 7 again.

  The ship Cudius had issioned was enormous, practically the size of a small isnd. Unlike Georia's Thriller Bark ild Tesoro's Gran Tesoro, which were built around the foundations of isnds iant isnd turtles with minimal teical innovation, Cudius' ship was a pletely orthodox ship structure, designed and built from the keel up.

  The timber used was her than the famous Treasure Tree Adam. Ba this era, its price wasn't as astronomical as it would ter bee, since pirate bounties hadn't yet reached the crazy levels of the future. This allowed Cudius to use Treasure Tree Adam as the primary material for the ship's frame without breaking the bank. He even incorporated eologies into the design, including elements of ironcd stru.

  The ship was to have every possible luxury, even including an aquarium and a swimming pool. Cudius, an avid reader, had also designed a vast library onboard. He had a unique vision for the vessel, by this time year, it would be the year 1502 in the Sea Circle dar, and O'Hara's fate would be sealed. If nothing ged, the Wover would eventually send Fleet Admiral Sengoku to lead a Buster Call and annihite O'Hara.

  The Tree of Knowledge on O'Hara held an immense archive of rare dots, a treasure trove for humanity. Cudius had already made up his mind: ohe O'Hara I broke out, he would sail his ship there, empty out all the books from the Tree of Knowledge, and enrich his library with the spoils. It would solidify his family's cultural legacy, ensuring this knowledge would eo the future.

  "Oh, I'm such a good guy, even I 't help but admire myself," Cudius said, shamelessly praising himself as he sat at the top floor of Tom's Shipbuilding pany headquarters, gazing over Water 7 and daydreaming about his pns.

  This building was now owned by him and had bee the headquarters of Tom's Shipbuilding. Cudius was staying here and didn't pn to leave anytime soon. Tom, a fish-man, was joined by his long-time friend, the mermaid Kokoro. Cudius alsht two other mermaids with him, Mero and Lenny. The four of them were delighted to be reunited and seemed to be treating Water 7 as a sed home.

  The young Enel was also having a great time, expl the city with Franky and Iceburg day in and day out, even learning the basics of shipbuilding. His Thuhunder Fruit abilities also had surprisingly useful applications in ship stru. Cudius mused that the boy seemed to have a knack for this kind of work. After all, Enel had ter mao build a spaceship on Sky Isnd all by himself. The so-called Ark Maxim had teology nearly on par with what Shiki could achieve with his Float-Float Fruit. While Cudius wasn't particurly impressed by the Golden Lion Fruit, he enced Eo push his limits in engineering and see if he could develop this teology for his own ship.

  Meanwhile, Nia stayed close to Cudius, ready to assist at any moment. As for Stussy, she was busy setting up a base of operations for Happy Street in Water 7, mobilizing personnel and arranging various resources.

  Whenever he had some downtime, Cudius would pull out his Den Den Mushi and make a call. Today, he decided to dial Fleet Admiral Sengoku. After a few rings, Sengoku answered, asking, "Yhness? Calli this hour—do you have orders for me?"

  "Hahaha, no orders! e on, Sengoku, we're equals here. CP-X and the Marines are just cooperating agencies. I wouldn't presume to order you around," Cudius replied with a ugh.

  "Hahaha, CP-X might be on equal footing, but you're a Celestial Dragon, Yhness. The Marines do ao the Celestial Dragons," Sengoku replied, chug.

  "All right, enough joking around. Are you busy these days?" Cudius asked.

  "Busy? I barely have time to catch my breath!" Sengoku grumbled. "The sea's a mess, thanks to that bastard Roger. He's stirred up every sdrel out there. Yhness, you wouldn't believe it, New World is chaos. Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom are all at each other's throats. Every silver-ranked pirate thinks they've got a shot at the top now, so they're all jumping into the fray."

  Sengoku sighed, clearly exasperated, but Cudius just listened, amused.

  "And those damn schors, who knows where they're crawling out from? They ignore every warning we send, obsessing over those damn Poneglyphs. We've even had to start hunting down any remnants er's bloodlihe situation is so chaotic, I feel like I hree of me to ha all!" Sengoku pined.

  Cudius chuckled, enjoying Sengoku's rant. The Admiral truly had a tough job, especially with his two former rades-in-arms either refusing promotions or retiring early. Now, he bore the weight of what had once been three roles all by himself.

  "I only imagine how hard it is to be an Admiral. Just think, Sengoku if you bee Fleet Admiral one day, won't you be even busier?" Cudius joked.

  Sengoku let out a helpless ugh. "What choice do I have? This is all for the sake of justice, after all. Say, Yhness, why don't you lend me some capable help? I hear that Miss Stussy is rather talented…"

  "Oh, please, Sengoku. The Marines have plenty of people. Do you really o poach talent from my little anization?" Cudius ughed.

  After a short pause, he tinued, "Actually, I do have something I'd like to discuss with you."

  "Oh? What is it, Yhness?" Sengoku replied, his tone more serious.

  "Are the Marines short on warships?" Cudius asked.

  "That's right. We're increasing troop numbers, but without ships, what's the point? We might as well station everyone on the Red Line and call it an army instead of a navy. But building ships takes time, and with the sea being as tense as it is, our losses are pared to previous years," Sengoku said, ughing at his own misfortune.

  "Well, I might be able to help with that. I've retly acquired a shipbuilding pany here in Water 7, and I'm w on solidating other struggling panies in the area. Their issues are more enviroal than skill-based; the craftsmanship is top-notch. But as much as I'd like to i, I also some money in to bahe books," Cudius expined with a smile.

  Sengoku paused, sensing where this was going. "Are you suggesting…?"

  "How about we partner up? Given our retionship, I'll even give you a 20% dist. Think you send some Marine shipbuilding tracts my way?" Cudius asked, grinning.

  "Of course, Yhness. I trust your iy, and I know the shipbuilding skills in Water 7 are top-notch. Since you've offered, I have no reason to refuse. I'll make the arras," Sengoku replied, not hesitating for a moment.

  "Hahahaha, excellent! I look forward to a successful partnership. And if you ever need CP-X's help, Sengoku, don't hesitate to reach out," Cudius said, clearly pleased.

  "I'll hold you to that, hahaha," Sengoku replied, ughing as well.