One Piece : From Slave to Fleet Admiral

At the back door of Tom's Workers in Water Seven, Jake and Monet sat atop a pile of scrap metal when Franky's voice boomed loudly.

"Hey! You two! Want some SUPERRRRR cola?"

As he spoke, he instinctively raised his hands high, striking an extremely bizarre pose.

Fortunately, the guy had listened to Jake's advice and was no longer just wearing underwear—he had on a pair of brown bell-bottoms, which looked a bit odd.

But at least it was much better than his usual attire.

Jake smiled at the overly enthusiastic Franky and said.

"Thanks a lot. We'll take two bottles. If you want them chilled, we can get more. I'll have Monet help ice them for you."

"You damn bastard! Of course cola has to be chilled to taste super good!"

Hearing this, Jake didn't take any offense to Franky's words.

He just grinned and handed the cola to Monet, who stood beside him with a resigned expression.

As chilled cola went down his throat, Jake felt every pore in his body open up, his stomach and throat tingling with the urge to burp.

But seeing Monet beside him, he held it back.

However, it was the first time Monet drinking cola and she couldn't suppress it, accidentally let out a small burp.

Though she quickly covered her mouth, her cheeks flushed bright red under Jake's amused gaze.

On the other hand Franky let out a massive, unrestrained burp before flashing Jake a thumbs-up and shouting.

"See? Icing cola is the best!"

Watching Franky's satisfied expression, Jake couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Franky, you usually drop by to chat now and then, but isn't the first Sea Train route about to open? Shouldn't you be busy with maintenance checks? Slacking off like this—aren't you afraid Tom will scold you?"

Franky shook his head, flinging off a couple of salt grains stuck in his hair, and replied.

"Tom-san wouldn't get mad at me for this. Besides bringing you cola, I've got something else he asked me to tell you."

"Oh? What is it?"

Franky pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket, on which was an extremely abstract drawing.

Jake pointed at the large black blob resembling a poop and asked, puzzled.

"What's this supposed to be?"

Franky seemed annoyed that Jake couldn't recognize it.

Snatching the paper back, he jabbed at the blob and yelled.

"That's Gourmet Town, you idiot! And that pink ship next to it belongs to the Yonko Big Mom Pirates! Part of the first Sea Train route passes near Gourmet Town. Though it's a bit of a detour, Tom-san circled around to survey the nearby waters and spotted this ship flying a Yonko crew's flag!"

"The moment Tom-san saw it, he sent me straight back to warn you and to ask for help from T-Bone, Vice Admiral Sakazuki, and Vice Admiral Borsalino. But seriously, how strong are these Yonko guys anyway?"

Listening to Franky, Jake thought for a moment before replying.

"Franky, those guys are dangerous. Don't provoke them recklessly, or it'll bring disaster to Tom Workers! By the way, did you see anyone on that ship?"

Upon hearing this, Franky scratched his head slightly and said.

"There seems to be a guy wrapped in a huge scarf on that ship. It's almost summer—how isn't that guy boiling?"

At Franky's words, Jake's entire face darkened instantly.

A man wearing a scarf and being a member of the Big Mom Pirates—there was almost no need to guess who it was.

The leader of the Three Sweet Commanders! Katakuri!

If that guy was coming, Lieutenant Commander T-Bone alone would likely be completely unable to handle the situation.

But according to the original storyline, no major incident occurred.

Judging by Katakuri's personality, he probably wanted to avoid unnecessary conflict with the Marines.

Since they were only there to gather some food, both sides likely pretended not to see each other.

Wait, no—given Lieutenant Commander T-Bone's upright nature, he would never ignore pirates if he spotted them.

Katakuri must have taken the initiative to avoid him instead.

His thoughts in disarray, Jake turned to Franky and spoke with a slightly serious tone.

"Franky, does Lieutenant Commander T-Bone know about this?"

"Tom-san told me not to inform T-Bone yet. He said telling him might put him in danger. At first, he wanted me to keep it a secret, but later, for some reason, he changed his mind and told me to inform you instead. What's wrong? Is that guy really that strong? Stronger than your lieutenant commander?"

Listening to Franky, Jake recalled Katakuri—the man who had utterly dominated Luffy's Snake-Man Fourth Gear.

Estimating his strength based on the original storyline, the guy had to be at least at a combat power of 150,000 or higher.

Though this wasn't the canon timeline and Katakuri might not be as strong yet, there was no way Lieutenant Commander T-Bone in his current state could handle him.

Charlotte Katakuri was born in 1476 of the Sea Calendar.

It was now 1509—he was already 33 years old, likely at the peak of his strength.

Even if he wasn't as strong as in the original story, he probably wasn't far off.

What a troublesome guy.

But why did Tom specifically tell me about this?

Did he think I could contact Vice Admiral Borsalino and Vice Admiral Sakazuki faster?

Or did Tom simply believe that if Lieutenant Commander T-Bone found out, he'd try to arrest Katakuri and so he kept it from him to prevent him from doing something reckless?

Either way, Jake decided it was best to call Kizaru and Akainu first via Den Den Mushi.

This was beyond his ability to handle.

Seeing Jake remain silent for so long, Franky's expression grew somber.

He then asked, "Jake, is this really that difficult? Did I make things worse by telling you...?"

Noticing Franky's guilt-ridden look, Jake patted him on the back and smiled.

"No, Franky, don't overthink it. This is within the Marines' jurisdiction—it's just a bit complicated. For now, stay away from that island and wait for my updates."