OP: My Aircraft Carrier Evolves#128+129: Ace's Adventure and Rayleigh the Coater! A Kingdom's Blueprint and the Might of a Logia!

The journey of Ace and the Spade Pirates pressed on.

In just two months, Ace was already halfway through his Grand Line voyage.

Island by island, adventure by adventure.

The Spade Pirates now numbered twenty strong, plus a pet lynx named Kotatsu. They had become a respectable crew in their own right.

With Ace at the helm, each member of the Spade Pirates had earned the respect of their peers.

Their captain's bounty had soared to 290 million Berries, placing him firmly on the Marines' radar.

He had planned to charge straight into the New World with all the momentum they had built, but it wasn't going to be that simple.

Skull was quick to bring them back to reality.

"Before we can go to the New World, we need to get the ship coated in Sabaody."

"Coated?" Ace tilted his head at the unfamiliar term.

The captain's quarters were brightly lit.

Ace sat in his chair. At his feet, Kotatsu was curled into a massive ball, purring contentedly. Ace had saved the lynx from a poacher's trap on a previous island, and it had been attached to him ever since.

Skull spread a sea chart across the table.

"That's right. Coated. It's a special natural resin that completely encases the ship. It allows the vessel to travel underwater—the only way to reach the depths of the sea."

He pointed to their Log Pose.

It was pointing straight down.

Toward an island ten thousand meters below the surface—Fish-Man Island.

"A normal ship can't make that journey. It has to be done by a professional coating artisan."

"And the only place to get it done... is the Sabaody Archipelago."

Ace’s gaze fell to Skull's chart. It depicted a cluster of islands of various sizes.

"Technically, the Sabaody Archipelago isn't a real island chain," Skull explained. "Each 'island' is actually a single tree called a Yarukiman Mangrove. They're the largest mangroves in the world. The roots form the 'ground' of the islands, and the resin they secrete is what we need for the coating."

"I see," Deuce said, the realization dawning on him. "And since they aren't real islands, the Log Pose won't reset, no matter how long we stay there."

The chart showed seventy-nine numbered groves.

It was staggering to think that this entire place was just a collection of trees, with people living on their roots.

"I already have a master artisan in mind," Skull said. "A guy named Rayleigh."

—————————

Sabaody Archipelago.

Ace and his crew stood on the deck of their ship, staring up at the colossal trees that scraped the sky.

"It's huge..."

"Incredible."

"Amazing."

Pirates weren't exactly known for their eloquence. Simple, forceful words were all they had to convey the sheer awe they felt.

The trees before them were beyond anything they had ever imagined.

A special natural resin was secreted from their massive roots. It was the material used for coating. As the roots "breathed," the resin filled with air and expanded, forming massive soap bubbles that floated up into the sky.

The bubbles danced everywhere, reflecting the sunlight in a shimmering rainbow of colors.

It was like something out of a dream.

At the end of a street filled with floating bubbles, they could see a huge bubble-vehicle. It was like a scene from a fairy tale.

Deuce quickly pulled a notebook from his coat and began to scribble, turning the sight before him into words on a fresh, white page.

Massive roots broke the surface of the water, and the Piece of Spadille navigated through the gaps between them.

—————————

The Sabaody Archipelago had fully equipped ports, but Ace and his crew steered clear of them, anchoring instead in a lawless area outside the World Government's jurisdiction.

To get the ship coated, they would have to stay on the island for at least three days.

If they were spotted by the Marines, bounty hunters, or other, less scrupulous pirates, it would be a huge problem.

Ace's bounty was just too high. A rookie, only two months into the Grand Line, with a bounty of nearly 300 million Berries—it was unheard of.

Everyone was watching him. Some wanted to recruit him; others wanted his head.

If they were recognized, a fight was inevitable.

Ace himself didn't care.

But Skull, Deuce, and the rest of the crew were on edge.

They didn't have Ace's monstrous potential, his incredible rate of growth.

If you rated the crew's total combat power on a scale of one to ten, Ace was a solid nine-and-a-half. The other nineteen guys had to split the remaining half-point.

It wasn't a crew following their captain.

It was Ace, carrying them forward.

And so, as they prepared to enter the New World, the crew, with the exception of Ace, was filled with a mixture of excitement and apprehension.

Were they really ready?

—————————

Skull had contacted Rayleigh. By the time he arrived, Ace and the others had already disembarked to explore the island.

"Thanks for doing this, Mr. Rayleigh."

Rayleigh laughed. "As long as you're paying... Your not stowing away on someone else's ship this time?"

Skull had once traveled the world by stowing away on other people's ships. He'd been to Sabaody before. It had been a close call, but Rayleigh had saved him, and the two had become acquainted.

"I was lucky enough to meet a captain who believed in me," Skull explained. "I joined his crew."

"Is that so?" Rayleigh smiled. "That's great. It's not easy to find comrades you can raise hell with."

Skull nodded. He noticed that Rayleigh was carrying a bag of hot buns wrapped in a newspaper. The headline caught his eye.

"Mr. Rayleigh... can I see that?" he asked, pointing to the paper.

"This?" Rayleigh took a bun from the bag and popped it in his mouth, handing the paper to Skull. "It's three days old."

Skull read the article intently.

"What is it?" Rayleigh asked. "You have a problem with that king?"

"Oh..." Skull snapped back to reality. "No. We just docked on Melcyse Island once. I was just a little curious."

Rayleigh smiled. "To once again become a part of a World Government member nation... I suppose that's a good thing, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Skull agreed. "Even though they'll still face injustice and oppression, it's a lot better than being a non-affiliated country."

He had seen it with his own two eyes. The lives of people in non-affiliated countries were worth far less than those in member nations. They lived in constant uncertainty. Rulers, pirates, Marines, slave traders... anyone could prey on them at will. In the New World, you could choose to align yourself with one of the Four Emperors for protection. But elsewhere, it was a lawless paradise.

It was a miserable existence.

<><><><><><><><>

After Hancock had given her approval, Jin had taken control of Melcyse Island without any resistance. The people had welcomed him with open arms.

Jin fell back on his usual playbook.

He posted notices everywhere, calling for information on criminals—murderers, rapists, thieves, and the like—with a reward for any verified tips.

This time, he wasn't as gentle as he had been on Hannabal.

Back then, he hadn't established his power base. He didn't have the men. He'd had to prioritize stability.

He was cleaning house before inviting guests in.

He executed a number of criminals and recruited a number of informants.

Under his heavy-handed rule, in less than three days, the atmosphere on Melcyse Island and Port Raven had been completely transformed. At least, on the surface.

Jin promoted his new informants to various positions. He then left Law in charge of Port Raven to watch over things, putting together a makeshift administration. For now, at least, these people were tied to him. If they didn't work out, he could always replace them later.

—————————

Jin returned to Drum Island.

"Snow!"

"Wow, it's so beautiful!"

"Can we go skiing?"

Nami, Nojiko, Carina, and Kaya, who had never seen snow like this before, were all squealing with delight.

Robin and Reiju were more composed. Maya, having grown up around it, wasn't as excited.

Kid's childhood friend, Doruyanaika, was more nervous than anything else.

As a "hostage," Jin was worried something might happen to her, that she might get "taken out," so he was keeping her out of harm's way.

Kuma disembarked and went home.

But Bonney wasn't there.

After Kuma had gone out to sea, she had moved into Dr. Kureha's castle with Chopper and Anaguma.

Jin had Robin take Nami and the others on a tour of the island. He then went to the municipal hall for a meeting.

He proposed a plan to improve the island's infrastructure, including the port, and to develop the service industry around "medical and snow tourism."

He had already drawn up a detailed plan, which Ai had supplemented and refined. Dalton, Jeston, and the others were tasked with carrying it out.

The development of a region is heavily dependent on its population, land, resources, and environment. Drum Island's snow and its medical expertise were good selling points, enough to create a high-end medical tourism destination. But that was its limit. No matter how much more he invested, it would never become a major power like Alabasta.

In the future, Jin's focus would inevitably shift to other regions, especially to key strategic locations.

—————————

With the development of Drum Island planned out, Jin went to Hannabal.

Rear Admiral Enru—or rather, Acting Mayor Enru—presented him with a development plan for the island.

A professional's touch really made a difference.

Hannabal was an island that had prospered because of pirates. Its industries were centered around entertainment and services—eating, drinking, gambling, and a number of gray-market activities.

Acting Mayor Enru's plan revolved around these core industries.

Jin thought it was a good plan, but it was missing something.

"Pirates are a hot-blooded, competitive bunch," he mused. "We should build a large colosseum."

"Slaves?" Enru asked.

"No slaves. The colosseum will have a main arena and a secondary one. Anyone can sign up to compete—pirates, Marines, bounty hunters, anyone. There will be a maintenance fee for the secondary arena. Win ten matches there, and you can compete in the main arena. In the main arena, you get paid just for showing up, win or lose. And we'll sell tickets for both. Then, once a year, we'll hold a grand tournament. Only those who have won ten matches in the main arena can participate. The prize will be... 500 million Berries."

Acting Mayor Enru's eyes lit up.

A brilliant idea.

Once word got out, pirates would go crazy for it. Strong fighters from all over the world would flock to the island.

It would be the perfect way for Jin to scout and recruit powerful new subordinates.

"But where would we build it?" Enru frowned. "A colosseum like that can't be too small."

Jin pointed to the other side of the mountain. "That tidal flat and swamp... it's about 4942 acres. That's more than enough."

"Fill it in? But how? With manual labor, it would take decades."

Jin looked at him like he was an idiot. "Have you forgotten? In this world, there's a certain power... called a Devil Fruit."

Enru froze.

—————————

That night, Jin took him to the place where he had fought Hanafuda.

A waterfall cascaded down from the high mountains, and a large river snaked through the land. On either side was a vast, fan-shaped area that was uninhabitable due to the daily tides and monsoons.

Jin looked at the landscape, a blueprint already forming in his mind.

He placed his hand on the ground.

Logia... Earth-Earth Fruit!

A yellow ripple spread out from his palm.

Then, the island began to tremble violently. The ground churned and rose.

Before Enru's stunned eyes, the entire coastline, the sand and stone, was transformed into solid earth and began to rise.

The next day, the people living on the higher ground of Hannabal woke up to a shocking sight.

The tidal flats, the swamps, the reefs to the northwest... they were all gone.

In their place was a vast, flat plain of compacted earth, with a new sea wall along the coast.

Only the great river still flowed.

"How is that possible? The entire ground... it's been raised by about fifteen meters!"

"It's a miracle!"

"How did he do it?"

The true power of a Logia fruit lay in its ability to reshape nature itself. In the hands of a master, those changes could be permanent.

Jin had also used the Steel-Steel Fruit, in conjunction with the Earth-Earth Fruit, to reinforce the foundations.

With the terraforming complete, the rest of the work—recruiting craftsmen, purchasing materials, and so on—was left to Enru.

And with giants and other super-strong workers on the job, it would be finished by the end of the year.

—————————

"Using a Devil Fruit for construction... that king really is something else," Du Feld said, a cigar in his mouth, as he looked out at the massive, man-made landmass.

Morgans stood beside him. "I told you he was the kind of guy who makes big news."

"I'm looking forward to meeting him," Du Feld said with a smile. "I wonder if he'll accept my loan."

Of course, he wouldn't.

Jin wasn't short on cash. He flatly refused Du Feld's offer.

Loan sharks were nothing but leeches.

Did he really think Jin was that stupid? He had to be joking.

—————————

After sending the two of them on their way, Jin went to Asuka Island. He had Maya take the sabertooth tiger back to her village for a couple of days.

He then went to see Hina and arranged for Nami, Nojiko, Carina, and Kaya to train there for the next six months.

Hina was still a little angry, but she was in his debt. And after hearing their tragic stories, she couldn't help but feel a sense of sympathy. She even offered to train them personally.

Jin wasn't about to argue with that.

—————————

For the next month, Jin stayed on his own territory. But he wasn't idle.

He dispatched Robin, Wilson, Maya, and Reiju to "assist" in crushing the local pirates and, in the process, took control of three more islands: Swan Island, Alan Island, and Fort Rick Island.

Unlike Melcyse Island, these were all member nations. So he was only "assisting," not taking over.

With the backing of the Celestial Dragons, and his own considerable strength, the small-time kings of those islands didn't dare to say a word.

While training his troops and expanding his territory, Jin used the Munch-Munch Fruit to synthesize the materials needed to build an airplane.

Synthesizing an airplane was a lot harder than a rifle. The number of components was staggering.

But after a series of complex calculations and designs, the first fighter jet synthesized by the demonic carrier was a success.

It marked the beginning of automated aircraft production.

"Good news," Jin said, looking at his dwindling supply of materials. "Time for a trip to Skypiea. I need some gold."