Besides Uncle Joseph, Joshua, Lilith, Mary, Ray, and Jay, who became elders,
Tomani, Anthony, Vic, and Lilian became officers.
Andy, Luo, Mirei, Monet, Penguin, and Shachi became elite members.
As for Sugar, Lami, and Bepo, they were too young and could only become rookies.
The three Devil Fruits Noah had previously collected in the North Blue were the Hobby-Hobby Fruit, the Art-Art Fruit, and the Crow-Crow Fruit.
The Art-Art Fruit went to Tomani. He had always wanted a flashy Devil Fruit ability, and as soon as Noah obtained the fruit, he asked for it.
Although Noah felt that developing the Art-Art Fruit would be somewhat difficult, the ways to develop it were highly unusual, requiring someone with an artistic sensibility and, even more so, imagination.
Since Tomani wanted to eat it, Noah naturally had no objection.
Of the two remaining fruits, the Hobby-Hobby Fruit was meant for Sugar. However, Sugar was still too young. Once she ate it, her body would stop aging, so he planned to wait until she was around seventeen before giving it to her.
As for the Zoan-type Crow-Crow Fruit, like the many Zoan Devil Fruits he had obtained before, Noah sealed it in a card for the time being. It could later be awarded to family members who made contributions.
With the family reorganization complete,
the New Year passed as well.
Inside the biological laboratory on Sikasis Island,
Andy and Luo looked at the blond old man submerged in seawater before them, traces of surprise and fear on their faces.
"Don't worry, I have him under control. Shall we begin?" Noah said, keeping his attention focused on the Golden Lion.
After more than half a year of training, Luo had gained a basic grasp of the Op-Op Fruit's abilities. He had used them to cure the Flevance survivors who had previously been released.
Now Noah had finally decided to act on the Golden Lion.
Luo concentrated and instantly expanded his operating room domain. He cut the unconscious Golden Lion's head into pieces, then gradually removed the ship's helm embedded in his skull.
Meanwhile, Andy watched the body-monitoring equipment to prevent the Golden Lion from suddenly dying.
Time ticked by.
The helm in the Golden Lion's head was gradually removed, until the last fragment lodged in his brain had been cleared away.
Quick-eyed and quick-handed, Luo brought his blade down and swiftly removed the Golden Lion's frontal lobe completely.
Only after removing the frontal lobe did Luo nod to Noah.
"Continue as planned."
"I understand, Boss Noah."
Luo immediately injected the Golden Lion with modified IQ Extract and a special life serum, rapidly restoring his body.
Next came the most important part: Luo needed to repair the nerves and blood vessels in the Golden Lion's brain that had been damaged by the helm, so they would not cause problems later.
The operation lasted more than three hours.
Fortunately, they had the IQ Extract and life serum. Otherwise, even if the modification succeeded, the Golden Lion's strength would have fallen sharply.
The surgically modified Golden Lion had not only had the helm removed from his head, but all his hidden injuries and physical deficiencies had also been eliminated. He had even been given a pair of healthy feet.
Even after losing his emotions and Conqueror's Haki, the Golden Lion still exuded an overwhelming presence.
Noah quickly tossed the Emperor card from the Major Arcana Deck toward the sleeping Golden Lion.
A golden cocoon of light enveloped the Golden Lion.
Soon, a brand-new Apostle appeared before Noah.
[The Emperor: Shiki (Float-Float Fruit)]
Shiki opened his eyes. He had already sorted through the Golden Lion's remaining memories, and with the memories Noah had given him, he understood his identity.
Kneeling on one knee, Shiki gazed at Noah with fervent eyes. "My lord, your loyal subordinate Shiki salutes you."
"Rise, my Apostle."
Noah's Conqueror's Haki climbed even higher.
With Shiki as his Apostle, Noah's strength had officially entered the Admiral tier.
Although the Apostle Shiki had lost his Conqueror's Haki, his Armament Haki and Observation Haki had returned. His physical strength and vitality had also returned to their peak. Combined with the Float-Float Fruit and his skill as a Two-Sword Style great swordsman, his strength was at the Admiral tier.
Of course, having lost his Conqueror's Haki, the Apostle Shiki would find it difficult to return to his true peak. He could not overpower an Admiral and could only be considered their equal.
Even so, Shiki's strength was still terrifying, and the Float-Float Fruit had extraordinary strategic value.
Only now could the Noah Family truly be said to be in an invincible position.
With Shiki's Float-Float Fruit, Diamante's Glint-Glint Fruit, and Ray's Hole-Hole Fruit, the family could reach the entire world when it came to rapid relocation and transporting supplies.
The Noah Family could also avoid the harm of the future sea-level rise crisis.
More importantly, they had gained a way to safely reach the various Sky Islands. For example, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit Noah had long been longing for was on the Sky Island Birka.
Originally, he had planned to go to High West in the West Blue, ascend to a Sky Island from there, and then search for Birka.
Now he no longer had to go to all that trouble.
Moreover, with the Float-Float Fruit's power, the Noah Family no longer needed to fear the Sea Kings in the Calm Belt. They could travel directly from the East Blue into Paradise, or from the North Blue into the New World.
After encouraging Luo and Andy, Noah left Sikasis Island with Shiki, Ray, and Tomani.
Using the Float-Float Fruit to control the Nautilus, they crossed the Calm Belt from the East Blue and entered the Paradise section of the Grand Line.
Tomani used his fruit ability to disguise the Nautilus, concealing it high in the sky. Even Morgans, whose informants were spread across the world, could not discover its whereabouts.
After entering Paradise, Noah and his companions, who had long since obtained an Eternal Pose to Jaya Island, wasted no time and headed straight for it.
According to Noah's analysis, Enel had most likely not eaten the Rumble-Rumble Fruit yet.
That was because, according to the original timeline, Enel destroyed his homeland of Birka around the year 1514, then led his subordinates to occupy Angel Island.
Given Enel's personality, if he obtained the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, he certainly would not wait long. Within a year or two at most, he would destroy Birka.
In other words, the earliest Enel could have obtained the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was 1512.
It was only the beginning of 1506, at least six years or so before Enel ate the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. That gave Noah a chance to get there first.
Three days later,
high in the sky near Jaya Island,
Noah used his Observation Haki to sense the enormous Cumuloregalis Cloud above Jaya Island, as well as the islands and living creatures higher up.
Under the power of the Float-Float Fruit, the Nautilus rose rapidly and soon broke through the Sea Clouds within the Cumuloregalis Cloud.
Without the Nautilus, ordinary Devil Fruit users would have had no way to break through the Cumuloregalis Cloud, because the clouds contained Seastone components that could rob them of their strength.
At an altitude of seven thousand meters, an invisible outline burst out of the sea of clouds onto the surface of the White Sea. The surrounding sky sea beasts were also intimidated by an invisible presence and quickly fled that part of the White Sea.
With its artistic disguise removed, the Nautilus revealed its silvery-gray steel hull.
The Nautilus did not stop, however, and continued to float along the cloud current toward Heaven's Gate.