After obtaining the Op-Op Fruit, Noah and his crew continued their journey through the North Blue aboard the Nautilus, staying submerged to avoid detection.
Due to the presence of the Arctic Circle and the northern polar ice cap, the northern part of the North Blue was a frozen wasteland, much like Drum Island of the Drum Kingdom. Navigating these waters wasn't easy, as the seabed was riddled with underwater icebergs and strong currents.
Once they passed Labrador Island and ventured further north, the region ceased to have any World Government-affiliated countries. The land in these parts was barren, inhabited mostly by small, nomadic fishing tribes. One of the most well-known groups in this area was the Amoski people, a famous seafaring tribe in the region.
Noah, along with Law and Ari, visited a few Amoski villages before setting sail southwest once again.
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Half a month later, they arrived at Sea Swallow Island, where they found the young Mink child, Bepo, along with a few other orphans, including Penguin and Shachi, who would later become part of the Heart Pirates.
In the past month, Law had grown increasingly adept at using the Op-Op Fruit. With Noah's guidance, his progress was much faster and more comprehensive than it had been in the original timeline.
The Op-Op Fruit, after all, was fundamentally tied to surgery and the conceptual framework of medical techniques. Noah provided Law with numerous ideas and references—things Law wouldn't have been exposed to otherwise, such as X-rays, ultrasound, MRI scans, and even proton and gamma rays.
Though Law's stamina wasn't yet enough to utilize abilities like X-rays, gamma rays, or proton therapy, he had already started using simpler abilities like MRI and ultrasound with some success.
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On the northern plains of Sea Swallow Island, Law was using ultrasound in combination with his newly awakened Observation Haki, dodging attacks from Ari.
Despite the Op-Op Fruit's unique ability to create an Operating Room, granting Law the power to manipulate space within a set area, he still struggled to avoid all of Ari's strikes.
Panting heavily, Law knew his weaknesses well. Stamina was the key to mastering a Devil Fruit's power. No matter how formidable the fruit's abilities, if his stamina was lacking, it would be useless in battle.
This lesson was clear when comparing the usage of the Flame-Flame Fruit by Ace and Sabo—the gap in stamina was what made all the difference in their control over its power.
Additionally, the difference in their levels of Observation Haki was another reason Law couldn't fully avoid Ari's attacks.
Nearby, Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi were also training, practicing their physical combat techniques.
Meanwhile, Noah was underground, using a network of caves that Ari had excavated over the past few days to establish a temporary base on Sea Swallow Island.
Though most of the Noah family's power remained in the East Blue, they had no intention of abandoning their presence in the other seas.
Currently, Noah and Jay were testing a special device.
Above the cave on the rocky hilltop, a dozen "dead trees" appeared to grow in the cracks between the rocks. Upon closer inspection, one would notice that these dead trees were covered with fine black crystals.
These were modified graphene crystals, created by Jay's ability. Their function was to absorb nearby electromagnetic signals and transmit them down to the cave system below.
In the underground base, these signals were decoded by several specially trained Den Den Mushi.
To develop these specialized eavesdropping Den Den Mushi, the Noah family had sacrificed hundreds of ordinary Den Den Mushi. By combining IQ extracts with significant amounts of life force, they had successfully bred a dozen or so of these eavesdropping specialists.
The first eavesdropping station had been set up on Sixis Island, and now Sea Swallow Island had become the second.
As the system went live, Jay and a few Skypieans who had joined the Noah family worked tirelessly to test it.
Eavesdropping wasn't a blind endeavor; it required careful planning and skill. The system was divided into six departments: Number Locking, Network Mapping, VIP Ranking, Dedicated Surveillance, Data Analysis, and Central Coordination.
For ordinary conversations between less important powers, the eavesdropping station would pay little attention. The real focus was on the World Government, CP agencies, the Navy, regional overlords, the Revolutionary Army, and major pirates.
In the North Blue, the first batch of targets that Noah marked for special attention were the Vinsmoke Family, the Donquixote Family, and Vice Admiral Tsuru.
As for how they determined the phone numbers of these powers, the answer lay in keyword monitoring.
For instance, regarding the Donquixote Family, Noah's agents would listen for mentions of terms like "Doffy," "Young Master," "Donquixote," "Pica," "Diamante," or "Trebol." Whenever one of these keywords was detected during a phone conversation, the number would be flagged for further monitoring. Over time, they would gather enough data to confirm the identity of the person behind the line.
Though there were Den Den Mushi capable of blocking eavesdropping, these were not widely used due to limited production and tight government control.
Moreover, many powers didn't bother with anti-eavesdropping Den Den Mushi for routine conversations, which gave the Noah family the perfect opportunity to tap into their communications.
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Sure enough, on the fourth day after Sea Swallow Island's eavesdropping station became operational, they intercepted a signal from the Navy.
At first, the operator didn't notice anything unusual.
It wasn't until the conversation mentioned Vice Admiral Tsuru and terms like "Young Master" and "Family" that the operator flagged it as significant.
Over the next few hours, they continued monitoring these two numbers, quickly locking in on the entire Donquixote Family's phone network. They even identified several phone lines used by underground factions in the North Blue.
At that moment, Donquixote Doflamingo, who was still evading Vice Admiral Tsuru's pursuit, had no idea that his phone number had been compromised.
The eavesdropping station began recording several pieces of valuable intelligence.
As Noah sifted through the reports, one entry caught his eye.
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Record Time: Sea Calendar 1505.07.22
Call Participants: Doflamingo and Diamante
Call Transcript: "A young girl with possible Snow-Snow Fruit abilities has been spotted on the Angbo Islands..."
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"Could it be Monet and Sugar?" Noah glanced at a map of the North Blue and noted that the Angbo Islands weren't far from Sea Swallow Island, only about 976 kilometers away.
He quickly recalled the information he had on the two sisters. This was the year 1505, meaning Monet would be around 13 years old, and Sugar would be 5.
At this point, Monet should have already consumed the Snow-Snow Fruit, while Sugar had yet to eat the Hobby-Hobby Fruit. After all, the Hobby-Hobby Fruit had a unique characteristic—whenever it was consumed, the person's physical age would freeze. In the original timeline, Sugar's body was stuck at age 10.
This meant that Sugar wouldn't eat the Hobby-Hobby Fruit for a few more years.
Though Sugar hadn't yet eaten the fruit, Noah wasn't about to let the two sisters fall into Doflamingo's hands.
At the moment, Doflamingo and his family were too preoccupied with running from Vice Admiral Tsuru to hunt for Monet and Sugar, so this was the perfect opportunity for Noah to make his move.
He quickly ordered Ari and the others to set sail.
Before long, the Nautilus was speeding towards the Angbo Islands at full speed.