After negotiating with Iceburg, Enel and Tatsumaki eventually came to an agreement with him. 10% of the cash they produce will be payment for their work, while the rest goes into building the ship. Iceburg didn't really have a problem with this, as it was hard to find pirates actually asking how much they would need to pay for a ship.
Usually they come in expecting repairs or construction to be done for free and end up beaten out of the shipwrighting.
After that was done, Enel and Tatsumaki headed back to their temporary ship, the Bezan Black and took out the huge pillars of Gold via Tatsumaki's devil fruit.
They were still wrapped properly in cloth and under Tatsumaki's powers, no one could try and steal them. If the weak thieves could actually lift the damn things.
Finally arriving at the exchange location, Enel planned on emptying out the whole thing from its cash. Legally of course. He was a pirate, not a monster. He already had the funds, so robbery wasn't really useful.
It had taken a full day, but finally, they managed to exchange just one of the four pillars of Gold. It was worth over 2.5 billion belly in cash. The pawn keepers were so shocked to see that much Gold.
Carrying it back with Tatsumaki's powers, Enel went back to Iceburg and dumped the huge boxes of cash on the table.
Opening it, Iceberg was shocked. "Exactly how much is this?" He asked.
"Just over 2.5 billion beli." Enel said, much to Iceburg's awe. "I want you to build a ship of grandiose standards, fitting for a God. It must be no smaller or prestigious than that of the Four Emperor's."
Iceburg was stunned. "Y-yea, this might be enough to build a ship like that." Iceburg nodded in acceptance.
"More payments for furniture and the like, will be provided later, but for now, this should be used to build the ship. Please use Adam wood as well."
"Adam wood is illegal sir.." Iceburg says.
"We are pirates." Enel responds confidently.
Iceburg relents. He didn't really put up much of an effort to fight that as he really wanted to help build a ship like that. "Fine. We'll start preparations immediately."
"Thanks a lot." Enel thanks him sincerely.
"It's no problem. As long as you pay, we build." Iceburg responds. "Who do you want to lead the construction process?"
Enel was confused. "What exactly do you mean?"
Iceburg understood his confusion. "I'm the head shipbuilder, however I can't call myself the best. There are many individuals who could build a ship just like what you wish for."
Walking away Iceburg gestured for them to follow him. Eventually he met up with the rest of the shipbuilders who would be helping with this massive project.
Enel could recognize most of them. He could see the CP9 agents that had infiltrated Water 7 to look for Pluton's blueprints.
He also saw Franky there, part of the team as well. He wanted an elegant and intimidating ship. Despite assurances of top quality, he didn't want something Goofy-looking like The Thousand Sunny. Sighing, he was prepared to bite the bullet and speak to him, until he notices one last person there. Standing at an intimidating 12 feet, 3 inches tall, a man with ginger hair and mustache stood at the end of the line, completely unbothered with life.
The man radiated pride, and heat, even from a distance. Enel immediately recognized him.
It was Escanor. A man who's very nature deemed him a conqueror. Enel instantly knew who he was going to bring on his ship.
Approaching the man at the back, he noticed everyone backing away from the confrontation. They all knew how strong and terrifying Escanor was. Escanor was a powerful physical beast, and his devil fruit was absolutely broken. He was also very arrogant -rightly so- and therefore didn't get along well with others.
He was the one who usually kicked out annoying pirates trying to cause trouble simply because their battle against the shipwrights would have disturbed him.
Enel of course had no idea of this. He was just looking to build a strong crew with as many strong combatants as possible.
The air of Water 7 was heavy—not from humidity or ocean spray, but from the sheer tension vibrating in the space between the four individuals standing in Dock One's private hangar. A chamber usually reserved for the planning of high-stakes marine construction now bore witness to something more consequential: a crew's birth.
Escanor stood still, the radiant miniature sun in his palm glowing like a deity's eye. The light it cast danced off the gold-trimmed walls and industrial steel surrounding them. Beads of sweat formed on the foreheads of lesser shipwrights nearby—partially from the heat, and partially from the presence of something beyond comprehension.
Enel, arms crossed and wings tucked discreetly beneath his large black cloak, smirked. The atmosphere didn't intimidate him; if anything, it only intrigued him further. He could feel the burning radiation of the "Taiyo-Taiyo no Mi," and in some small, cosmic way, it excited the Thunder God within him. It was rare for Enel to meet someone who radiated raw power like this. Not arrogance. Not confidence. Power—tangible and immense.
Tatsumaki hovered a few feet behind him, arms crossed with a skeptical glare. The heat bothered her, but she didn't show it. She'd learned to hold her own ego in check ever since arriving in this world, but Enel's flirtation with lunatics never failed to raise concern. Even if they were powerful. Especially if they were powerful.
Escanor tilted his chin up slightly, looking down at Enel—not just physically but with the weight of a man who'd never once questioned his own worth. The flames from his small sun pulsed with his heartbeat. "You ask if I can fight," he said, voice deep, measured, almost regal. "I am the fight."
A few shipwrights in the background gulped and took a step back.
"I see," Enel said, amused. "And if I ask you to join my crew and build me the finest ship to ever touch these seas?"
Escanor smiled—not kindly, but warmly, like a sun rising over a battlefield. "Then your dream is bold. I enjoy bold dreams." He closed his hand, snuffing out the sun like a candle. "A ship worthy of my work, and your ambition. You have my hands. And my flame."
Tatsumaki blinked. "Seriously? That's it? No argument, no tests, no fighting?"
Escanor turned to her and gave a small, elegant bow. "Why would I argue? Your captain speaks truth. Your presence speaks power. And I…" he paused for dramatic effect, "am Escanor. When the sun is out, I fear nothing. When the sun is not, I make my own."
Enel clapped his hands, satisfied. "Then it's decided."
Behind them, Iceburg cleared his throat. His eyes had not left the two newcomers since they arrived, and he was only now recovering from the initial shock of seeing several billion bellies levitating around his shipyard. "You're all absolutely insane, you know that?"
"Fully aware," Enel replied, not even looking back.
"I don't even want to know where you got that kind of cash. That's more than the entire construction budget of the World Government's Marineford War Fleet."
"Good. That means it'll be enough." Enel's grin sharpened. "I want a ship large enough to rival the Moby Dick. Its wood will be Adam Tree. Its keel and frame reinforced with special alloys. A deck with its own weather shielding system. Storage rooms for every need—weaponry, food, training, entertainment. This will be our stronghold, our home, and the image of our flag wherever we go."
Tatsumaki added, "And a spa. A really good spa."
Iceburg rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You people… Ships like that are usually paid in increments after being built y'know."
Escanor, already taking mental measurements of the dock, turned toward Iceburg with a surprisingly professional demeanor. "The budget is no longer the issue. We'll need your best artisans. I will personally assist in the construction. I trust you've access to the Adam Tree shipment recently spotted near Water 7?"
"…yes," Iceburg admitted reluctantly. "But it's already under heavy bidding by several major pirate crews and a few shadowy nobles from the Underworld."
"I'll handle that," Enel said casually, the clouds above beginning to rumble faintly in response. "They'll find another tree. Or not."
"Let me guess," Iceburg deadpanned. "You're going to negotiate."
"With a divine right," Enel said, eyes crackling with sparks.
Iceburg sighed again. "Fine. We'll begin preliminary work. But don't expect miracles. A ship this size will take months, even with top talent and help from your personal firecracker."
Tatsumaki grinned. "Firecracker? Cute."
Escanor's gaze shifted again toward the sky as the sun slowly began to arc higher. His body started bulking subtly, the ambient heat intensifying, and his confidence thickened the air like syrup.
Tatsumaki rolled her eyes. "Ugh. You get more muscular as the sun rises?"
Escanor answered, almost bashfully—if a lion could be bashful. "It is merely a blessing I bear. One that grows by the hour, peaking at noon."
"Wonderful," she muttered. "You're a protein shake away from exploding."
Later that evening, after the golden funds were stored securely in a private vault Iceburg had requested just for the crew's materials, Enel and Tatsumaki sat on the rooftop of Dock One, overlooking the shipyard. The lights below twinkled like stars in the ocean.
"Didn't think we'd find a guy like that," Tatsumaki admitted, her legs dangling over the ledge.
"He's perfect," Enel said simply. "Strength. Vision. Pride. He understands what it means to chase something beyond the reach of mortals."
"You mean like being Pirate King?"
"I mean more than that." Enel's voice was soft, contemplative now. "This world… it's vast. Larger than life. It's made for those who reach into the heavens, into the stars, into the unknown, and demand it yield to their will."
Tatsumaki didn't answer for a long moment. Then she huffed, and leaned back on her arms. "Well, Captain. You better make sure the rest of the crew you recruit lives up to this guy's example."
Enel chuckled. "Oh, they will. I'm just getting started."
From far below, Escanor's voice carried faintly upward, barking orders at workers as easily as he might command flames. His forging fires had already been lit.
The ship of gods and monsters was beginning to take shape.
And somewhere, far off in the seas of the Grand Line, the winds of fate began to turn.