The big news about Golden Lion had attracted attention from many quarters, but aside from Morgans, who had been monitoring the battle in the Calm Belt in secret all along, and the two sides involved, the other powers did not know what had happened there.
Morgans would probably follow up on the story, though.
But the Navy clearly did not have much energy to spare for keeping an eye on Golden Lion.
The struggle for supremacy among the emperors of the sea in the New World had already begun.
The first to be recognized as an emperor of the sea was Whitebeard, who had been taking in sons left and right.
With Whitebeard becoming an emperor of the sea, the remaining great pirates in the New World grew restless as well. They began expanding their territories, openly or covertly, throwing the New World into even greater turmoil.
Kaido and Charlotte Linlin in particular were rapidly expanding their forces.
That year, Kaido had dealt with the internal threat in Wano Country, killing Kozuki Oden, and had begun making frequent forays.
Charlotte Linlin, meanwhile, had brought many underworld forces under her control through tea parties, using both persuasion and coercion.
Then there were the Ochoku Pirates, who held Hachinosu.
After the Great Pirate Era began, the first wave of new-generation pirates from the four seas had entered the Grand Line. After three or four years of fierce competition, they were making their way into the New World one after another, further intensifying the chaos there.
Faced with the tide of the era, the Navy had also been forced to pull back its bases and sphere of influence in the New World and concentrate on defending key areas.
The East Blue, the most peaceful and stable of the four seas, seemed calm by comparison.
On Starfish Island, Noah and his family carried on with their routines as before.
But as the training methods for Armament Haki and the Six Powers spread, the family members' strength improved by leaps and bounds.
It was early September of the year 1502.
After more than three months of grueling training, Noah had finally awakened Armament Haki. Its strength was only enough to cover one fist, however, and it lasted less than twenty-odd minutes.
His body had already been fairly strong to begin with, so he could now use Tekkai and Shigan.
His Conqueror's Haki had not only grown more oppressive, but its maximum range had expanded to around 1,200 meters. He could also control its intensity to some extent, though his control over its direction remained inconsistent.
The maximum range of his Observation Haki had likewise expanded. Its limit was a radius of about 1.5 kilometers in all directions, or about 7.5 kilometers in a single direction.
Among the other members, Joshua and Mary had awakened Observation Haki, and Vic had learned the basics of Tekkai. The others had yet to show any particularly noticeable results.
In his study, Noah put down the training progress reports in his hands and sank into thought.
The reports on his younger male cousins and the others had shown him an expected result: there were clear differences in talent between individuals.
Joshua and Mary had a talent for Observation Haki; Vic had a talent for hard-hitting physical techniques and Armament Haki; Anthony had a talent for swordsmanship; and Ray had a talent for shooting. The others had shown no obvious talents.
Noah was not surprised in the slightest by this result.
But talent was not always fixed. A Devil Fruit, for example, could enhance a person's physical potential to a certain extent.
Looks like it's time to start planning the next step.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking.
At a bay on the northwestern corner of Starfish Island, beside a simple dock.
Over the past three months or so, he and Jay had modified and upgraded the submarine.
The submarine was now 18 meters long and 4.5 meters in diameter. An underwater access hatch had also been added to its bottom, making it easier to enter and exit underwater while wearing a diving suit.
At the dock.
Noah and Vic entered the submarine.
The submarine soon submerged and began exploring the seabed around the Starfish Archipelago.
He had not chosen the exploration route at random. His target this time was the trade route between the Starfish Archipelago and Loguetown.
After all, only a busy trade route would have enough shipwrecks on the seabed.
In waters near deserted islands, where years could pass without a single ship sailing by, how could there be any shipwrecks?
After sailing for over an hour, Noah looked at the Starfish route chart, which marked a reef in the area. He had bought these navigational records in Loguetown as well.
Hydrographic information for a relatively well-established route like this was usually quite detailed.
Sure enough, using Observation Haki, he detected more than twenty submerged reefs nearby. He promptly reduced the water output from the propulsion compartment, and the submarine slowed down.
Before long, the first shipwreck appeared within his Observation Haki's range.
"Vic, there's a shipwreck below. Go down and explore it in a bit."
"Yes, big brother Noah. Leave it to me."
"Be careful."
Noah then unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, driving away the sea creatures within a kilometer.
The submarine was a dozen or so meters above the wreck. Soon, Vic, dressed in a diving suit and trailing a breathing hose and an emergency safety rope, swam down through the hatch at the bottom of the submarine.
He switched on his waterproof searchlight, and through the glass window of his helmet, he saw a wooden ship lying on its side in the seabed silt.
Without wasting time, he held the searchlight in one hand and an iron ge in the other, prying open the wreck's wooden hatch.
An hour later, Vic crushed a wooden card tied to the diving suit on his left arm.
In the submarine's cockpit, Noah instantly sensed that the card had been destroyed. He began turning the rope drum, pulling Vic back up from the seabed.
After more than twenty minutes, Vic emerged from the diving chamber, dragging a fishing-net bag.
"Big brother, this is all I found."
Noah looked at the contents of the bag: more than a dozen gold and silver vessels, several hundred gold and silver coins, and a few gemstones, worth about 300,000 Beli in total.
"Not bad. Eat something and take a rest."
"Okay." Vic opened a temporary storage locker nearby, took out a carton of milk and a large piece of dried meat, and sat down to eat.
Noah casually sealed the gold, silver, and jewels inside the Secret Card - Treasure Room.
The submarine continued toward the next wreck on the seabed.
Before they knew it, the New Year of 1503 had arrived.
Since September of the previous year, Noah had taken Vic treasure hunting on the seabed along the nearby routes for one week every month.
Four consecutive underwater treasure hunts had brought Noah Manor gold, silver, and jewels worth more than 80 million Beli. They had also found a Skillful Grade Sword and two Eternal Poses for the Grand Line.
The seabed of the pirate world was the true One Piece.
After all, the shipwrecks accumulated over several eras and thousands of years numbered in the astronomical range.
Compared with scheming and fighting for territory on land, the seabed was what many transmigrators should have been focusing on.
More than eighty percent of this blue planet's surface was ocean. Most powers lacked the ability to explore the seabed, the World Government had the ability but looked down on it, and the Fish-Man Race could only huddle in the waters around the Ryugu Kingdom.
The vast majority of the seabed in the four seas remained undeveloped.