The captured Diamante quickly became Noah's fourth apostle:
• [Knight of Swords: Diamante (Flag Flag Fruit)]
Adding to his previous three apostles:
• [Devil: Pan Baton (Swap Swap Fruit)]
• [King of Wands: Kuma (Steel Steel Fruit)]
• [Page of Wands: Bryan (Leopard Cat Fruit)]
This bolstered Noah's strength significantly. With the development of his own Devil Fruit abilities and physical enhancements, he could now summon these apostles to fight for him or perform tasks. Moreover, he could even borrow their Devil Fruit powers. However, this borrowing came with limitations.
For example, Noah could only use one apostle's ability at a time. While borrowing the ability, that particular apostle couldn't be summoned, and the physical strain on Noah would also increase significantly.
At present, Bryan was stationed in the military training camp in Rum Kingdom, while Baton stayed in Rum City, assisting Noah's uncle Joseph in managing the kingdom. Kuma and Diamante, however, remained close to Noah.
Kuma's Steel Steel Fruit was a perfect complement to Noah's somewhat moderate physical strength. Its Paramecia-type abilities, akin to the Slip Slip Fruit, greatly enhanced Noah's combat prowess.
Diamante, though powerful, had to remain concealed. His Vivre Card was in the hands of Doflamingo, the head of the Donquixote family. If Diamante were summoned as an apostle, his Vivre Card would reveal his location, exposing Noah. As such, Diamante was kept sealed in a card state, where the Vivre Card couldn't track him. Likewise, if Noah borrowed Diamante's powers, the Vivre Card wouldn't detect his presence either.
The Flag Flag Fruit had significant potential, much beyond what Diamante had unlocked. Diamante had only developed crude applications, such as turning objects like iron balls or thorns into fabric, but Noah saw untapped possibilities.
The fruit's ability to transform objects into fabric was, in essence, a form of spatial compression—similar to the power of a card-based Devil Fruit. For example, Diamante could have created bombs, poison gas canisters, or even combustible materials, then compressed them into fabric for easy storage and strategic deployment. However, he hadn't explored these possibilities and instead pursued a clumsy combination of swordsmanship and Devil Fruit abilities.
Noah saw the Flag Flag Fruit as a tool for strategic long-range attacks and support, rather than a direct combat power, where physical prowess and swordsmanship were crucial.
On the other hand, Noah was focusing his development of the Steel Steel Fruit on iron-based experimentation and heat reactions. As a Paramecia-type ability, the Steel Steel Fruit couldn't manipulate external metals but could turn Noah's body into steel. The applications were vast: low-carbon steel, high-carbon steel, stainless steel, or even high-manganese steel, each with its own unique properties.
For instance, high-carbon steel could mimic the abilities of a Spring Spring Fruit, while pure iron form could withstand extreme temperatures up to 1,535°C, making it impossible for even an awakened Magma Fruit to melt. The fruit could even mimic magnets, allowing Noah to generate electricity within his body.
This was the true power of intellect.
________________________________________
Time flew, and a new year arrived. It was now January 1, 1506, in the Sea Calendar.
After half a year of roaming the North Blue, Noah's group had not only grown stronger but had also acquired three more Devil Fruits. During this period, Noah had captured two Devil Fruit-powered pirates.
Meanwhile, the North Blue was in turmoil. Diamante's disappearance had thrown Doflamingo into a fit of rage, launching the Donquixote family's vast underground network to search for him and hunt down his captor.
Complicating matters, Vice Admiral Tsuru was leading the Navy in their relentless pursuit of Doflamingo, leaving the Donquixote family in an increasingly precarious situation.
However, none of this affected Noah. His mastery of Observation Haki had expanded to an incredible range. His full-radius detection now spanned a radius of 120 kilometers, with a directional limit of up to 600 kilometers. This growth was largely due to his integration of the Steel Steel Fruit's magnetic properties, using the flow of blood to generate electrical currents, enhancing his Haki similarly to the Rumble Rumble Fruit's synergy with Observation Haki.
With such an expansive detection range, Noah could avoid discovery by simply altering his course or hiding before anyone realized he was there.
Upon returning to the Rum Kingdom's secret base, Noah and his team celebrated the New Year while introducing the newer members to the veterans.
The veteran members of the Noah family included:
• Noah, Uncle Joseph, cousin Joshua, Anthony, Tommy, Vic, Ari, Ah Jie, Lilith, Lilian, and Mary—11 members in total.
The new recruits were:
• Doctor Andy, his wife Melly, their children Law and Lamy, Beppo the Mink, Pekoms, Shachi, as well as Monet and Sugar—9 people in total.
As for Baton and Bryan, they were apostles, considered extensions of Noah's will, not part of the human hierarchy.
Other outer members, such as the Winged Tribespeople (388 members), trainees from the military camp (321), and those selected from the surviving citizens of Flevance (261), belonged to the middle ranks of the Noah family and weren't included in this gathering, as the family's core secrets were too sensitive to expose. This was also a means of protecting them.
Noah looked around at the assembled family and raised his glass of grape juice. "Everyone, the family we have today was hard-earned. I hope we can witness the dawn of a new era together. Cheers!"
"Cheers!" The crowd erupted in joyous celebration.
After they drank, Noah continued with a smile. "As our family continues to grow, it's time we reorganize everything."
Uncle Joseph nodded in agreement. "Noah is right. The internal structure does need to be readjusted."
Noah outlined his plan. "I propose forming a Round Table Council, made up of seven people who will serve as rotating elders, helping me manage the family's affairs."
"These seven elders will each oversee one of seven departments: Internal Affairs, Military, Commerce, Supervision, Science and Education, Industry, and Resources."
Everyone listened intently.
"I appoint Lilith as head of Internal Affairs, responsible for the family's internal management…"
"Joshua will lead the Military Department, with Anthony as Chief of Staff, in charge of our armed forces and military strategy."
"Uncle Joseph will head the Commerce Department, overseeing our business ventures while continuing to manage the Rum Kingdom."
"Mary will lead the Supervision Department, with Tommy as her deputy. They'll oversee internal affairs and manage our intelligence network."
"The Science and Education Department will be temporarily overseen by my apostle, Bryan, while Ah Jie will manage the Industrial Department, and Ari will handle the Resources Department."
Noah paused before continuing, "Lastly, I will introduce a new hierarchical structure within the family, dividing members into five ranks: Patriarch, Elder, Officer, Elite, and Newcomer."
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𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!
𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:
• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 45+ 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.
• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!
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