Chapter 40: Initial Exploration
Noah followed closely behind, using his advanced Observation Haki to sense the area, but he didn't detect any signs of human activity or ships near the sea surface.
Satisfied with the situation, Noah and Ari, both dressed in black suits and masks, began searching the Red Line coastline on the North Blue side.
After two days of searching, their patience paid off. They finally found a suitable location. It was about 80 kilometers from their previous small exit, situated near a stretch of sea filled with a special kind of marine life—Acid Coral.
The Acid Coral dominated this part of the sea, especially in the shallow waters near the Red Line, where it formed a dense forest of coral.
This species posed a serious threat to any ship that ventured too close. If a ship's hull came into contact with the Acid Coral, it would trigger the coral's defense mechanism, releasing a highly concentrated acid into the surrounding waters.
Noah collected some of this acid and discovered that it didn't just corrode wood; it could even eat through steel.
Given the density of the Acid Coral in the Coral Sea, any ship that neared the area would almost certainly have its hull corroded by the acid.
Moreover, the high concentration of Acid Coral filled the air with a thick, acidic mist, and acid rain occasionally fell. If a person's skin came into direct contact with the acid mist or rain, it would be like soaking in a vat of sulfuric acid.
Seeing this natural death trap, Noah immediately decided to set the tunnel exit in this area.
He sealed up the small exit they had previously dug, erasing any obvious traces, and began rerouting the tunnel. This process took another half month.
Finally, they reached the cliffside near the Coral Sea. However, the exit was not left open; it was heavily camouflaged.
By now, it was January of 1505 in the Sea Calendar.
With the East Blue-North Blue tunnel complete, Noah and Ari returned to the Rum Kingdom to celebrate the new year, but afterward, they spent their time secretly sailing through the North Blue.
Their goal was to find the Op-Op Fruit that was rumored to appear somewhere in the North Blue.
In the original timeline, the Kingdom of Flevance, where Trafalgar D. Water Law lived, was destroyed by its neighboring countries between 1505 and 1506. In 1506, Law joined the Donquixote Family, and by 1509, 13-year-old Law was taken by Rosinante to Minion Island in the North Blue, where he ate the Op-Op Fruit.
Noah's Tarot readings confirmed that the Op-Op Fruit was indeed in the North Blue at this time.
However, when it came to pinpointing its exact location, the Tarot cards failed. The fruit's strong Devil spirit instinctively resisted Noah's divination.
Unable to rely on the Tarot for precise information, Noah turned to an alternative method.
Instead of searching for the Op-Op Fruit directly, he used his cards to divine each island in the North Blue, checking if a Devil Fruit was present.
This tedious, needle-in-a-haystack approach had occupied Noah and Ari for over a month.
So far, they had searched 21 islands and had found one Devil Fruit on one of them—an ordinary Zoan-type Fruit: the Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Doberman. It wasn't the Op-Op Fruit, but it was still a decent Zoan-type fruit.
As time passed, their journey brought them closer and closer to the large island where Flevance was located.
Thanks to Morgans' reports, the truth about Flevance's Amber Lead disease had been exposed to the public, forcing the World Government into an uncomfortable position.
However, when Noah and Ari arrived on Barclay Island, the location of Flevance, they discovered that the other four nations on the island had secretly begun mobilizing their troops.
Clearly, the World Government was eager to silence any witnesses.
Secretly infiltrating the Kingdom of Flevance, Noah and Ari saw firsthand the despair that had overtaken the kingdom. The citizens of Flevance wandered the streets like living corpses, their faces pale and lifeless. Many had given up hope entirely, drowning their misery in alcohol.
Suddenly, a middle-aged man in a white coat rushed down the street, carrying a medical kit.
"Dr. Andy! You still haven't given up?" someone shouted, their voice slurred with drunken despair.
"Hah… give it up! We've been abandoned!" A drunkard jeered, his face twisted with sarcasm and hopelessness.
The doctor, named Andy, shook his head firmly. "Please don't give up. As long as we're alive, there's still hope. I swear, I will find a cure for Amber Lead poisoning."
An old man, his face ashen with death creeping over him, muttered weakly, "Give it up, doc… haven't you seen? The king fled long ago. The neighboring countries won't let us in either. We're stranded on this island… not even a chance to run."
Despite Andy's passionate pleas, the other residents remained utterly devoid of hope.
Noah and Ari, hidden in the shadows, observed without interfering.
Based on the intelligence Ari had gathered from the troops of the four nations, their plan to destroy the Kingdom of Flevance wouldn't begin for another two weeks. For now, they were merely tightening border security to prevent anyone from escaping.
There was no need to rush just yet.
They followed Dr. Andy for over an hour.
After visiting a few critically ill patients, the doctor returned to a small hospital.
Inside, a group of children were living, including none other than Trafalgar D. Water Law and his sister, Trafalgar Lammy.
When Noah saw Law calling Andy "Dad," he immediately knew this man was Law's father.
After watching the hospital for some time, Noah noticed that the children were in terrible shape. Many of them had faces covered with white spots, a sign of the late stages of Amber Lead poisoning.
Given the current medical knowledge in the North Blue, unless they could somehow convince the Witch of Drum Kingdom to intervene, these children had no hope but death.
Of course, Noah's card-based sealing technique could temporarily preserve these patients until a doctor or the Op-Op Fruit could cure the disease.
Later that night, with the world silent and still, the lights in Trafalgar Hospital's research lab were still burning bright. Inside, Andy and his wife, Melai, were deep in thought, their faces troubled.
"Andy, Law and Lammy's conditions are getting worse."
Looking at their blood test results, Andy knew the situation was grim. Even if they could leave Flevance now, the children probably wouldn't survive more than three or four years.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
Andy frowned, his heart sinking. He feared one of the children had taken a turn for the worse and hurried to open the door.
To his surprise, two young men he had never seen before stood there.
"Who are you?" Andy asked cautiously, eyeing them with uncertainty.
Noah smiled as he stepped into the research lab. "Dr. Andy, I can see you're feeling hopeless about Amber Lead disease. After all, developing a cure within a few years is almost impossible, isn't it?"
Andy instinctively wanted to refute him, but instead, his expression turned bitter. "I have no solution. After living in Flevance for so long, the lead has already infiltrated our blood, our organs, even our bones."
"I have two methods that could cure Amber Lead disease," Noah said calmly.
"What? Are you a doctor as well?" Andy's eyes lit up with hope as he looked at Noah.
But Noah shook his head. "No, I'm not a doctor. And my methods don't involve medical science."
"Not medical science?" Andy was confused, but at this point, he was desperate. As long as there was a way to save them, he didn't care how.
However, he quickly regained his composure. He knew there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
----------------------------------------------------------
𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!
𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:
• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 30+ 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.
• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!
👉 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬: patreon.com/sorkarnayeem
Now from today I am also going to upload 5 chapters weekly.
See you guys in a week.