High above the snowy landscape, Ros used her Tube-Tube Fruit powers to open an air tunnel. She curled up and moved through it.
The invisible tunnel twisted through the sky. Hugging her knees, she navigated the tunnel, looking down at the white mountains and snow-covered land below, searching for any trace of the two pirates.
......
"We don't seem to have much food left, old grandma. You..."
"Don't get greedy, you brat!" Kureha snapped from inside the treehouse. "Do you realize that just handling your bottomless appetite these past two months has been barely manageable? Where do you think extra food comes from?"
"That's fair enough!" Liam casually dodged Kureha's strong kick and smiled indifferently. "Whatever. There's plenty of food in the sea, so it's fine."
This pirate world was extremely rich in material resources.
For ordinary people, poverty and hardship might exist. But for those with a certain level of skill, as long as they weren't stranded on an overly barren island, starvation simply wasn't an issue.
Take the three Luffy brothers as children, for example. They were just three ten-year-old kids with no income or adult assistance. Yet they thrived in the wild. They were capable of fighting crocodiles and fierce tigers. Occasionally, they would sneak into a city restaurant for a free meal.
Even if the city had no stored provisions, Liam could hunt sea beasts and survive.
Soon, the door of the treehouse opened, and Kureha, Chopper, Liam, and Robin stepped out.
Liam thought that, since Kureha was interested in the Torino Kingdom's "African punk" weapons technology, they could stay a few more days so she could study more books.
However, Robin informed him that over a month ago, Kureha had already requested assistance in copying the weapon-related books.
Kureha could understand any medical text from the Torino Kingdom after reading it once, even those created using the Shiro Shiro no Mi (Castle-Castle Fruit) ability. However, weapons blueprints were outside her expertise. She couldn't master them in one reading or take them out of the castle.
Over the course of a month, Robin helped Kureha sift through and copy the relevant materials, storing them in the treehouse.
In contrast, Dr. Vegapunk's research on Lineage Factors presented an intermediate challenge to Kureha: it was harder than medical texts but easier than weapon manuals.
Though the Lineage Factor research was profound, as an extraordinary top-tier doctor, Kureha could understand it within her professional domain. Her thinking was already beyond Vegapunk's research; she could grasp the broader patterns. What she needed next were long-term experiments to verify Vegapunk's findings and eventually expand upon them.
That would take years, not one or two.
Kureha cast her gaze on Chopper, who was in his small, half-human, half-reindeer form. The little guy was gazing longingly at Giorno and Jolyne.
"The magnetic force of this island... The Log Pose will take four and a half months to fully register," Kureha said, folding her arms as she leaned against the doorframe. "If you don't have an Eternal Pose for another island, it'll probably take another two months before you can set sail again..."
Chopper's eyes lit up. Could things get any better than this?
Robin considered it. Indeed, Liam was now using the Munch-Munch Fruit and could no longer use the Magnetic-Magnetic Fruit to "observe" the Grand Line's magnetic routes.
"That's easy. Since it's not fully logged yet, we'll just fill it up now," said Liam casually. He called B.I.B. over and temporarily drew his Munch-Munch Fruit back into the Magnetic-Magnetic Fruit.
Even Kureha, who has over a hundred years of experience, didn't immediately understand what he meant by, "Since it's not fully logged, we'll just fill it up now."
A Log Pose normally takes days to fill; that's just the way it works. Countless unlucky pirates had ended up stranded on islands where it would take years to fully log the magnetic forces. They were forced to live like savages. Such stories were common.
Otherwise, why would the Grand Line be considered so perilous? Why are the Log Pose and its seven magnetic routes so critical?
How could anyone decide to fully log it immediately?
As Kureha pondered this, she saw Jolyne pull a Log Pose from her backpack. The pointer trembled beneath her feet, clearly still logging the island and not yet complete. Jolyne handed the Log Pose to Giorno.
Once he switched to the Magnetic-Magnetic Fruit, he could instantly sense the island's magnetic whirlpools beneath his feet.
Compared to previous islands, this island's magnetic whirlpools were weak. No wonder it took over four months to fully log!
Liam suddenly understood the characteristics of the whirlpools. This is what defines a "Winter Island."
He entwined the magnetic whirlpools in his hands and slammed them downward.
The power of the Magnetic-Magnetic Fruit merged with the island's massive magnetic whirlpools, stirring them as if guided by an invisible hand. In an instant, the island's magnetic strength multiplied dozens of times.
Wuuuu! Wuuuu!
The sudden roar of the amplified cold wind sounded like the collapse of the heavens, shaking the earth with its terrifying force.
But it lasted only an instant. The avalanche-like, sky-shattering spectacle had not yet formed into a climate phenomenon when it suddenly vanished.
"What just happened?"
"Misconception?"
On the peak of Magnetic Drum Mountain, the citizens of this unnamed nation, along with their newly appointed king, Dalton, were feverishly digging a pit to bury the overthrown King Wapol and his allies. Suddenly, they felt the ground tremble violently, leaving them shocked and bewildered. Moments later, however, everything seemed to return to normal. Dalton leaned on his iron shovel and stared down at the snowstorm that had briefly raged and then eased. He was puzzled.
The sudden, violent snowstorm also startled Ros, who was gliding through the sky in her curved air tunnel. She nearly flipped over.
"What's happening? What's happening?"
Frightened, she quickly ate the two roasted potatoes she had tucked under her arms. She thought her near-collapse might have been due to exhaustion or her struggle to maintain her Fruit ability.
......
"What was that?"
Chopper was startled by the sensation of the entire world roaring around him as if caught in a fierce blizzard. Moments later, he realized that the environment hadn't changed at all. The cold wind remained the same, the snowflakes still fell, and the distant peaks of Magnetic Drum Mountain stood unaltered in the blizzard.
"To have altered the sky in an instant..."
Kureha murmured in shock, looking up at the flying snow. For the first time, she lost her composure in front of these three juniors.
When she lowered her gaze, she saw the Log Pose in Giorno's hand.
It no longer pointed to the island beneath them, but rather, pointed straight toward another island along the magnetic route — the next destination.
"See? It's done," Liam said, as if he had only performed a trivial task. He weighed the Log Pose lightly in his hand.
"What did you just do?" Kureha asked.
"Just logged the Log Pose's magnetic force," he said casually, tossing it to his captain.
"Don't joke around! Altering the sky or artificially accelerating the Log Pose's logging speed is against all reason!" Kureha muttered, giving Liam a complex, exasperated look. "Is that the power of a Devil Fruit related to magnetism? Can you steal other people's Devil Fruit abilities? Besides Wapol, you must have acquired other types of Devil Fruit powers, right?"
"Oh, not many," Liam said humbly, counting on his fingers. "Let's see... Magnetic-Magnetic Fruit, Shiro Shiro no Mi (Castle-Castle Fruit), Munch-Munch Fruit..."
"That's enough! No need to tell me all that," Kureha interrupted. Robin tilted her head and added, "You don't need to say everything, right?"
"Really?" Liam scratched his head and laughed. "I don't see why it matters. Hey, old grandma, do you want the Munch-Munch Fruit? It's great for making weapons."
(To Be continued…)
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