After dealing with the hidden threat of the cursed blade, everyone's attention turned back to the Devil Fruit sitting inside the small box.
The fruit was bluish-green, shaped like an oleander pod, with swirling patterns and two thin tendrils resembling insect antennae.
Noah had already pulled out the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia and flipped straight to the Zoan section.
After a few minutes of searching, he found the match.
Zoan-type—Insect Insect Fruit—Monarch Butterfly Form.
"A butterfly? You've got to be kidding me!" Anthony's face fell. This was clearly not the powerful fruit he'd been hoping for.
Ari, Tommy, and Vic exchanged glances, their interest in the fruit dissipating almost immediately.
On the other side, Mary, Lilith, and Lillian huddled together, whispering to each other in hushed tones. After a brief discussion, Lilith spoke up. "Big Brother Noah, I think I'll take this fruit."
"You want to eat it? Sure, it's all yours," Noah said, his voice calm and unsurprised.
He had already guessed what they'd decide. Each of them had their reasons. Lillian, as the crew's cook, would naturally seek a fruit that enhanced her craft, As for Mary, her heart was set on finding the elusive Slip-Slip Fruit.
Lilith picked up the fruit with an air of determination, as if she were about to march off to battle. She opened her small, cherry-red lips and bit into it with no hesitation, swallowing the chunk whole without bothering to chew. Then, like she was swallowing down a bitter medicine, she forced the rest of the fruit down in one go.
As soon as she swallowed the fruit, a faint purple mist rose from her skin.
"Wait—there's poison!" Noah quickly summoned an air card to push the air away from Lilith.
Lilith snapped out of her daze and realized that her body was leaking toxins. She quickly focused, controlling herself, and in moments, the toxic gas stopped spreading.
Uncle Joseph, who had been watching the whole scene, shook his head in amazement. "That's some powerful stuff. Just swallowing it causes her to release poison automatically."
"Lilith," Noah said, "try using your Observation Haki."
"Observation Haki? Sure thing." Lilith closed her eyes, centering herself as she activated her Haki. She had only awakened this ability about four months ago, and though she could use it, it wasn't anything special yet.
But this time, something changed.
Suddenly, she could sense everything around her—the wind, the sounds, even the tremors in the earth.
"What... is this?"
Noah smiled. "This is likely an innate ability of insect-type Zoans. Insects have an extraordinary sensitivity to their environment. When combined with Observation Haki, it sharpens that sensitivity into a kind of environmental and weather awareness."
Lilith's eyes widened with realization. Excited, she decided to try shifting into her half-beast form. As two antennae sprouted from her forehead, her perception expanded. Every detail of her surroundings sharpened. She could feel the tiniest changes in the air, the subtle shifts of the environment. Even better, her Observation Haki range had expanded, now covering several kilometers.
Noah had known this would happen all along.
As the crew's navigator, Lilith had always been diligent, but her natural aptitude for navigation was fairly average. It was one of the reasons Noah had chosen to use a submarine—it allowed them to bypass most severe sea weather, taking the pressure off her.
Now, though, Lilith was like a human weather radar. With her Devil Fruit powers and Haki combined, she could sense environmental changes with pinpoint precision—an invaluable skill for any navigator.
Of course, the fruit had other powerful attributes as well.
"Try going full beast mode," Noah suggested. "The Monarch Butterfly should have an innate camouflage ability too."
"Camouflage? Let's see!" Lilith's eyes sparkled with excitement as she shifted into her full-beast form.
Within minutes of practice, her body began to blend seamlessly with her surroundings. Her skin and clothes gradually changed, becoming indistinguishable from the environment, until she had vanished entirely from sight.
However, those with strong Observation Haki could still sense her presence.
Anthony snorted. "So, it's good for hide-and-seek with amateurs. Anyone with half-decent Haki's going to see right through it."
Lilith grinned, clearly pleased. "Still, not bad for sneaking around, right?"
In reality, the Monarch Butterfly form was one of the most versatile among the common Zoan types, nearly on par with the elite Ancient Zoans in terms of potential.
Its abilities were remarkably well-rounded, covering five main aspects: poison, heightened perception, camouflage, endurance, and flight.
The butterfly's poison came from the toxic plants it consumed. By storing these toxins within its body, the user not only gained immunity to most poisons but could also release deadly toxins at will.
Perception and camouflage were already demonstrated, and flight was, of course, standard for any butterfly.
As for endurance, the Monarch Butterfly was known for its incredible long-distance migrations. In the pirate world, these butterflies would fly from the South Blue to the East Blue, crossing both the Calm Belt and the Grand Line's Paradise. It was a feat that demanded almost superhuman endurance.
In many ways, this Devil Fruit was nearly equivalent to a half-Mythical Zoan in terms of sheer versatility and power.
Sure enough, when they ran tests on Lilith's strength afterward, her physical power had increased by eightfold. Given that she had already been ten times stronger than an ordinary person, her strength was now nearly a hundred times that of the average human.
Even Uncle Joseph, who had eaten the Silverback Gorilla Fruit, was only about seventy times stronger than a normal man.
No question about it—this insect-type Devil Fruit was exceptional.
After two more days of rest on Beast Island, the Nautilus set sail again.
This time, they didn't submerge but stayed on the surface, choosing a desolate route to avoid any other ships.
Noah, Joshua, and Lilith all had long-range Observation Haki, allowing them to detect nearby vessels with ease.
Sailing on the surface felt very different from their usual underwater journeys. But with Lilith's newfound ability to detect even the slightest changes in the environment, they were able to avoid sudden storms and dangerous weather conditions.
Three days after leaving Beast Island, the Nautilus passed near Orange Town, located in the waters of the Organ Islands.
Eleven days later, they arrived at the Clover Archipelago.
At this point, they were very close to their next target: Shells Town, just 122 kilometers away.
"Big Brother Noah, we're nearing the first uninhabited island," Lilith reported.
Noah glanced at the map of the Clover Archipelago. He doubted the Slip-Slip Fruit would be found on this particular island, but still, he gave the order. "Anthony, Vic, Joshua—get ready. We're going ashore. The rest of you, stay and guard the ship."
"Understood!"
On Clover Island #08, Vic took the lead, with Anthony close behind, his long sword at the ready.
Joshua and Noah followed at a careful distance, flanking them from behind.
The four of them maintained a distance of about seven or eight meters between each other—far enough apart to fight effectively but close enough to cover each other's backs if needed.
The island wasn't large, with a radius of less than five kilometers. Even with a thorough search, it took them just over two hours to reach the opposite shore.
Just as Noah was about to suggest splitting into two groups to search the coastline, his eyes narrowed sharply.