After figuring out some of the Card-Card Fruit's basic properties,
Noah began printing cards.
He wove several bamboo cages, each one cubic meter in size, then filled them with dead branches and fallen leaves. He lit them and, once the fires were burning at their fiercest, sealed the burning bamboo cages away.
The Stone Card - Ghost Lantern was complete.
Using much the same principle, he went on to make more than a dozen types of cards, including:
The Stone Card - Smoke Lantern Rain released more than a dozen bamboo lanterns the size of soccer balls the instant it was activated. They contained a large amount of half-dry kindling and could produce thick smoke.
The Stone Card - Sleeping Smoke Lantern Rain had much the same effect as Smoke Lantern Rain, except that it released sleeping smoke. However, he knew little about poisons or sedatives, so he could only gather a poisonous plant growing nearby-fish-intoxicating vine-as a raw material.
The Stone Card - Falling Rock contained a large sealed rock. When released in midair, the rock would crash down from above.
The Stone Card - Rock Rain contained dozens of sealed small rocks. When released in midair, the rocks would crash down from above.
The Stone Card - Thorn Ball Rain contained dozens of sealed small bamboo cages. The cages held rocks and were wrapped in a vine called hornet thorn. Being pricked by it was as painful as being stung by a hornet.
The Stone Card - Sea Wave contained one cubic meter of sealed seawater, specifically for dealing with Devil Fruit Users.
The Stone Card - Mud Pit contained one cubic meter of sealed mud and could be used against flames.
The Stone Card - Sand Dust contained one cubic meter of sealed, dry fine sand. It could instantly produce a huge cloud of dust to interfere with and block vision.
The Stone Card - Poison Ant Nest contained a sealed red-fanged poison ant nest. A bite from one of the ants caused pain like a burn, and the pain lasted for several days.
The Stone Card - Storage Box contained a sealed bamboo basket one cubic meter in size, which could be used to store food or daily necessities.
There were eleven types of cards in total. If not for the limitations of his materials and tools, Noah could have made more, and more powerful, cards.
He had printed more than a hundred of these cards in total. Many were still unfinished when his stamina began to give out, so he had to sleep first.
The wilderness of the deserted island was utterly quiet.
Soothed by the chirping of insects and the sound of the surf, the night passed quietly.
The first rays of morning sunlight fell on his face. Noah opened his eyes and yawned. He had not slept soundly the night before, having gotten up several times to add wood to the fire.
He patted his aching body, picked up a bamboo pole, and tapped it against the ground as he made his way through the bamboo grove and mangroves to the beach.
He gazed out over the distant sea, but there was still no sign of a sail.
"Looks like I can't just sit here and wait anymore."
Noah began searching the beach for useful supplies. He also picked up some oysters and clams to take back for breakfast.
There was plenty of discarded ship timber, bamboo poles, and rotten fishing nets on the beach. He even found a rusty broken blade.
After returning and making breakfast, Noah hurried along the coastline to explore the whole deserted island before noon.
After walking for more than four hours, he finally made a complete circuit of the island. It was not small, with a coastline roughly fifty to sixty kilometers long and a mountain in the middle.
There were no other islands in sight in any direction, nor any sign of ships.
On the west side of the island, he found a large herd of walruses and took the opportunity to ambush one.
Back at the shelter, he sharpened the broken blade again and cut off more than ten jin of walrus meat. He sealed the rest in a storage card, then wrapped the cut meat in banana leaves and mud and cooked it as beggar's meat.
Though there was no seasoning, Noah still wolfed down all ten-odd jin of meat.
After eating it, he patted his belly and felt only seventy percent full.
My body can eat even more now. Before, he could eat five or six jin of food at most in one meal, but now it's more than tripled. Looks like even a Paramecia Devil Fruit can increase the body's potential, though the improvement isn't as pronounced as with a Zoan.
With food in reserve, Noah spent midday exercising in the bamboo grove.
In the afternoon, when the sun was less fierce, he went back to the shore and collected a large pile of shells. Not far from his shelter, he built a simple charcoal kiln and a simple lime kiln, then began making charcoal and lime.
At night, he worked on developing the Card-Card Fruit.
The days passed, until a week had gone by.
Noah was grilling food by the sea when he suddenly saw a small fishing boat appear on the water nearby.
He hurriedly took out a card and released a smoke lantern.
Thick smoke immediately billowed across the beach. When the fishing boat in the distance saw it, it adjusted its sail at once.
More than an hour later.
The fishing boat ran up onto the beach, and a figure hurriedly jumped down.
"Little Noah! You really are all right!"
"Uncle! Sorry for making you worry!"
The newcomer was Noah's uncle, Carnegie Joseph, a middle-aged man with black hair tied in a ponytail and a weary face. His eyes were bloodshot as he gripped Noah's shoulders. "Noah, you should come fishing with me from now on! If anything happened to you, I wouldn't know how to answer to my elder brother."
Looking at his exhausted uncle, Noah could only nod. "All right, Uncle. Let's sit down and rest first!"
The two rested on the beach for over an hour and had some grilled meat and coconut water before working together to push the fishing boat back into the sea.
They raised the sail to its fullest and cut through the waves.
"Noah! Let's go home!"
"Okay, Uncle!" Noah helped handle the sail.
More than seven hours later, in the fading light of the setting sun.
A small fishing boat slowly pulled up beside the little dock on Starfish Island.
Several old fishermen saw Joseph and Noah and immediately breathed sighs of relief, then gathered around them.
"Little Noah, thank goodness you're all right."
"We've been looking for you around here for days. Where did you drift off to?"
His uncle smiled. "He drifted over to Walrus Island. Thanks for all your help these past few days. Tomorrow, I'll treat you all to drinks at the Old Captain Bar."
"Hahaha, Joseph, you said it. Don't forget your money when the time comes..."
The men began joking with one another.
Amid the concerned greetings and playful banter, the two finally returned home.
As soon as they pushed open the wooden door,
The boy mending a fishing net saw his father and older cousin at the door. His eyes lit up with delight. "Brother, Father, it's wonderful that you're both all right."
The two brothers embraced and patted each other on the back.
Noah silently vowed that he would protect his uncle's family in the future to repay their kindness.
That evening, after washing up.
At the dining table, Noah ate with his uncle Joseph and younger cousin Joshua, and the three talked about what they had experienced over the past few days.
He did not hide the fact that he had eaten a Devil Fruit. After all, something like that was hard to hide from his family, and keeping it secret could easily lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.
"Brother, what's a Devil Fruit?"
"It's a secret treasure of the sea that gives you superpowers when you eat it."
Joseph's expression turned serious. "Noah, don't tell anyone else that you got a Devil Fruit. Joshua, you can't tell anyone either. Do you understand?"
Although Joshua did not quite understand, seeing his father's serious expression, he nodded like a chick pecking at grain. "I understand, Father. I won't tell anyone."
"Uncle, I'll keep it secret too. You don't have to worry so much." Noah knew his uncle was worried that others might grow jealous of him or target him.