After Noah successfully awakened Conqueror's Haki, he considered its indiscriminate pressure in the early stages and went to the bay on the northwest corner of Starfish Island whenever he trained it each day.
The bay on the northwest corner of Starfish Island was about seventeen kilometers from town, so he didn't have to worry about his Conqueror's Haki affecting the residents.
Then, in the second month after awakening Conqueror's Haki, at the beginning of April, Noah also succeeded in awakening Observation Haki through constantly getting beaten up while blindfolded.
Time flew by.
June 13, 1502.
In the dining room of the wooden cabin in the estate's orchard.
Noah had now completed a year of training. His height had shot up to 2.09 meters, and the other youths had also grown noticeably taller with ample nutrition.
Vic had grown the most, shooting up from 1.76 meters to 2.23 meters in six months. His appetite had also reached the point where he could eat over eighty kilograms in a single meal.
Joshua had grown the second most and was now 1.94 meters tall.
In this world, being able to eat more actually meant having greater physical potential.
Watching the tall, heavily built Vic and Joshua wolf down their food at the table, Noah knew he had to arrange that matter as soon as possible. He wiped his mouth and instructed everyone:
"I'm going out today. While I'm gone, take turns standing watch at the safe house. Just follow the procedures we practiced before."
"Brother, be careful," Joshua said, a little worried.
"Noah, do you need me to prepare food?" Lilian asked.
Noah shook his head. "Don't worry. I have enough food in my cards to last more than a month. Take care of yourselves, and if you run into danger, make staying alive your first priority. Understood?"
"Yes, Noah," everyone replied in unison.
Noah turned his head and added, "Joshua, tell Uncle for me that I'll be back in two or three days at the earliest, or half a month at the latest."
"Noah, please come back safely." Mary looked at him with concern.
He nodded, then headed toward the mountain behind the estate.
He arrived at the bay on the northwest corner, where he had trained before.
Noah focused his Observation Haki into a line and scanned the area within five kilometers.
This was his Observation Haki talent: Ultra-Wide Area.
As soon as it awakened, it could cover a radius of about one kilometer. If he focused it in a single direction, its maximum sensing distance could reach about five kilometers.
He scanned the surroundings once and found nothing unusual.
He took out a card and tossed it beside the makeshift little pier he had built earlier.
Release-submarine.
A small submarine made of steel appeared on the water.
The submarine was twelve meters long and three meters in diameter.
He unscrewed the circular hatch on the submarine's deck. There was quite a bit of room inside. Although it was called a submarine, it was really just an iron shell with twelve watertight compartments of various sizes. There was no other equipment inside.
After closing the hatch, he inserted two cards into two specially made slots.
Release-fill with water!
A large amount of fresh water flowed into the two sealed watertight compartments at the front and rear. As the water inside increased, the air pressure in the compartments rose rapidly, and the one-way air valves began venting air outside.
In less than ten minutes, the submarine sank into the sea, stabilizing at a depth of about fifty meters.
Noah inserted two more cards.
Continuous release-water blast.
After a year of development, the maximum volume of his card space had reached about 1,000 cubic meters-a cube ten meters long, wide and high.
The two cards held two thousand cubic meters of seawater, which flowed continuously into two pipes. The reaction force from the expelled seawater propelled the submarine forward.
Such was the power of a Devil Fruit: a submarine that would otherwise have required a complex structure and a great deal of equipment had been reduced to nothing more than a shell.
The cockpit he occupied also drew its air supply from air stored in the card space, so there was no need for oxygen candles made with complicated technology.
He opened the periscope.
He carefully observed the surroundings.
With his Observation Haki as well, he could avoid most underwater reefs and large sea beasts. If he encountered a large sea beast he simply couldn't avoid, he could use Conqueror's Haki to intimidate it.
That was also why, after acquiring Conqueror's Haki, he had the confidence to take the submarine out to sea alone.
Without awakening Conqueror's Haki, he would most likely have used another means to go to sea. After all, as a Devil Fruit user, it was difficult for him to fight sea beasts underwater.
The submarine traveled underwater the whole way, advancing swiftly toward Polestar Island, where Loguetown was located, at a speed of over ten kilometers per hour.
After more than ten hours of travel.
He finally reached the waters near Loguetown. This time, Noah didn't use Observation Haki to probe the town.
There was a Marine Base there, and especially since the start of the Great Pirate Era, Loguetown had always been a key defensive area for the Marines in East Blue. There might be Marine officers stationed there who were skilled in Haki.
Directly probing the town with Observation Haki might draw the Marines' attention.
He brought the submarine ashore on an uninhabited stretch of coast. After landing, he sealed the submarine back into a card.
After landing, Noah had completely changed his appearance. He wore a mask and a conical hat, along with a black cloak coat, and had sprayed himself with orange-and-sea-salt-scented perfume to mask his natural body odor.
He released a small wooden cabin on the spot and began to rest.
Early the next morning.
Noah put away the cabin and came to Loguetown.
He soon arrived at his destination.
Number 38, Carl Street, in Loguetown's port district.
The sign over the entrance read "World Economy News Paper East Blue Branch." That was right: one of Big News Morgans's World Economy News Paper branches stood openly in Loguetown.
In fact, this was only a branch in name and could be abandoned at any time. Even if the World Government shut it down, the World Economy News Paper's newspaper publication wouldn't be affected.
He pushed the door open, and the bell by the entrance rang.
Behind the counter, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man glanced at Noah, then asked with a smile, "Sir, how can I help you?"
Noah said nothing, instead taking out a piece of paper and handing it over.
The middle-aged man took it and unfolded the note.
It read, "I have a piece of big news and need to speak with President Morgans personally. Sorry for the trouble, but please arrange a call by Den Den Mushi."
Noah then took out a stack of Beli with another note attached. It read, "One million Beli for your services."
The middle-aged man's gaze flickered for a moment. Then he put away the million Beli and said in a low voice, "I need to speak with the president. Wait ten minutes."
Without the million Beli service fee, the middle-aged man most likely wouldn't have helped. After all, he certainly wouldn't take the risk for nothing; if Noah didn't have any big news the president was interested in, he might be punished.
Ten minutes later, the middle-aged man emerged from the wooden door behind the counter.
"The president agreed, but you only have ten minutes."
"OK, arrange the Den Den Mushi call!"
"Please follow me."
Noah followed him into a basement.