A few days later, on one of the inhabited islands of the Angbo Archipelago, Noah and his team, disguised as merchants, made their way to a local tavern in a small town.
The bartender poured a glass of rum for Noah and joked, "You seem like a new face around here, sir. Not from the Angbo Kingdom, are you?"
"Heh, sharp eyes," Noah chuckled, casually placing a silver coin on the counter.
Seeing this, the bartender's smile grew wider, discreetly pocketing the coin. "Sir, what kind of information are you looking for?"
"I've heard there's a famous gin distillery here in Angbo. If I wanted to buy some of their product, what would I need to prepare?"
The bartender shook his head. "Sir, you're too late. That distillery has already been bought out. Word is, the previous owner was killed by pirates."
Noah was already well aware of this; in fact, he knew that the owner had been secretly killed by Diamante in order to take over the distillery for the Donquixote Family.
"Oh? It's been purchased? That's troublesome. Are there a lot of pirates around Angbo these days?" Noah asked, pretending to be concerned.
The bartender sighed, a bit frustrated. "There have been more pirates recently. Two towns were even wiped out by them."
"These damn scum of the sea—so reckless!" Noah feigned irritation.
The bartender agreed, shaking his head. "Yes, but their luck won't last. About half a month ago, a pirate crew was killed on Makate Island by something they call the Snow Demon. They were all frozen into ice statues."
"Snow Demon? What's that?"
"I'm not too sure. That's just what some traveling merchants were saying. It seems that several pirate ships around Makate Island have been attacked this year. The ones who got killed were all frozen solid into ice sculptures."
"I see. Well, I'll be sure to avoid that island—don't want to end up as a frozen statue," Noah said with a half-smile.
After getting the information he needed, Noah quickly left the bar and led his team towards Makate Island.
At the same time, Diamante and a few members of the Donquixote Family were already on Makate Island, covertly searching for the rumored Snow Demon.
Unfortunately for them, Diamante's Observation Haki wasn't extensive enough, and with limited manpower, they couldn't conduct a large-scale search, making the task painfully slow.
By the time Noah and his crew arrived on the island, Diamante still hadn't found Monet and Sugar.
However, Noah's vast-range Observation Haki had already pinpointed over a dozen possible targets. He quickly filtered them based on gender, age, and Devil Fruit abilities, and within minutes, he had located the exact position of Monet and Sugar.
Ten minutes later, deep within the forest in the northwest part of Makate Island, a teenage girl was busy cutting up a deer carcass. Beside her stood a little girl around five or six years old.
Noah and his team descended from the sky.
"Who are you?!" Monet was shocked, immediately tensing up. She instinctively gathered snowflakes in her hands, positioning herself protectively in front of her little sister.
"Are you the Snow-Snow Fruit user?" Noah glanced at the frozen deer carcass and then scrutinized the two green-haired sisters.
"Blizzard!" Monet acted without hesitation. "You filthy pirates, die!"
The raging snowstorm, however, felt like a mere breeze against Noah, whose body was enveloped in Armament Haki. The freezing wind and snow were instantly dispersed by his Haki.
Monet's eyes widened in fear. She scooped up Sugar in her arms and tried to flee into the forest.
But in the next moment, both sisters felt a crushing pressure, as if the sky itself were falling down on them. They collapsed to the ground, unable to even activate their Devil Fruit abilities.
Noah's Conqueror's Haki had overwhelmed them instantly.
"Ari, Law, take them back to the Nautilus," Noah ordered calmly.
"Understood," Ari responded.
"Got it, Noah," Law nodded, instantly teleporting behind Monet. He placed a hand on her back, temporarily numbing her nerves, causing her to pass out.
Ari, meanwhile, grabbed the trembling Sugar, opened a wormhole, and led the group back to the submarine with the two captives in tow.
Minutes later, several figures appeared before Noah in the forest, but by this time, he had already changed into a white suit and mask.
Seeing Noah's appearance, Diamante grew cautious. 'Could he be from the CP?'
Before Diamante could act, Noah struck first, unleashing a wave of Conqueror's Haki that knocked out everyone except Diamante, including their Den Den Mushi.
Diamante's face turned pale. "Conqueror's Haki? No way… You're not with the CP!"
Noah didn't waste time with explanations. He flicked a dozen water cards toward Diamante.
Diamante, startled, swiftly swung his rapier and prepared to release an arsenal of weapons stored in his cloak.
What he didn't anticipate was that the moment his sword pierced the cards, the seawater sealed within them erupted out.
"What… seawater?" Diamante was shocked. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late.
The seawater flooded around Diamante, immediately sapping his strength and leaving him helpless. He passed out within seconds.
Noah fished him out of the seawater, sealed him inside a steel barrel, and then stored him in one of his cards.
Once he had cleaned up the rest of the Donquixote Family members, ensuring no one was left alive, Ari opened another wormhole to bring Noah back to the Nautilus.
Inside the submarine, Monet had regained consciousness. Her leg was still submerged in seawater, and her face was filled with anxiety as she glanced over at her little sister, Sugar.
Noah stood before them, smiling. "Interested in joining my family?"
"Join you? Hmph, you pirates are the worst!" Monet spat angrily, clenching her fists.
"Who said we were pirates?"
Monet blinked in confusion. "What? You're not pirates?"
"We're the Noah Family, respectable people. Pirates? Us? No way." Noah grinned innocently.
"Hah! Is this how you recruit people? You're no better than pirates!" Monet sneered, still defiant.
What she didn't notice was that her little sister, Sugar, was sitting nearby, happily munching on grapes and cheese crackers, oblivious to the tension around her.
Hearing the sound of Sugar eating, Monet turned to see her sister completely distracted by the food, causing her heart to sink. She knew she had no choice but to give in.
"As long as you agree to protect us and don't force us into anything, I'll work for you. But my sister—she's off-limits until she's of age. She won't work for you until then."
Noah wasn't bothered by her terms.
The Noah Family's training system was robust enough to gradually win the hearts and minds of recruits. He was confident that once Monet agreed, he'd have plenty of ways to bring her fully into the fold.
"Deal," Noah said as he removed the seawater-filled bucket from Monet's leg.
Monet, despite the agreement, was wary. Would she dare sabotage the Nautilus?
Noah knew she wasn't foolish. They were submerged deep underwater, and if she damaged the submarine, both she and her sister would undoubtedly die. Meanwhile, Noah and his crew could easily escape through Ari's wormholes. This was Noah's ace in the hole.