Pirate: I, Ace, am the King of Eclipse!

Ace looked at the chart and announced the first item: "Dark purple, pineapple-shaped Devil Fruit."

After writing, Karina lifted the pen tip, signaling him to continue.

"Trafalgar Law, or the Op-Op Fruit. The island that floated in the East Blue, and the island that suddenly disappeared. The Supreme Grade Sword Ace. A blind swordsman who was addicted to gambling. A Celestial Dragon."

He paused for a moment, then added a few more names and locations that might be useful later, but didn't cram all the clues from his memory into it at once. Spreading the information too thin would only add to the burden.

Karina wrote it down word for word. Some of the words pointed to Devil Fruits, while others seemed to be searching for a specific person; there was no apparent connection between them. She didn't inquire about their origins, but simply marked each one with a different priority level. Ace had already revealed previously unknown information more than once; her task was to follow the clues to find the target.

She then singled out "Celestial Dragons." This term appears frequently in the Grand Line, and if it were triggered every time, the filter would still be cluttered with a lot of useless conversation. Karina quickly added a restriction: it would only have a higher priority when it appeared simultaneously with words like "attack," "journey," "auction house," and "escort ship." She also broke down the other targets into different sound wave combinations and wrote them into the ability's trigger rules one by one.

“Let’s use these tests first,” Ace said, standing up. “We’ll add more later.”

After leaving Cloud Beach, he walked along the forest path towards the training ground. When he was still dozens of meters away, a muffled thud came from ahead. Enel lost his balance in mid-air and crashed backwards into a pile of fallen leaves.

Sabo, wearing a vest, hadn't fully lowered his right fist, which was covered in Armament Haki: "You can know where the fist is coming from, but your body can't keep up with the reaction. No matter how big your mental net is, it can't dodge the attack for you."

Enel pushed himself up from the ground, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth: "If it weren't for the restrictions on this Thor's use of wide-range lightning—"

"Lightning is useless if it can't hit anyone." Ace walked into the arena and signaled Sabo to attack again.

Sabo pushed off with his foot, his fist aimed straight for Enel's left shoulder. Enel only transformed into lightning when the fist was almost upon him, but his shoulder was still grazed by Armament Haki, and he took two steps back.

“In the past, as long as you transformed into your elemental form when an attack touched your body, no one could hurt you, so you got used to passively waiting.” Ace pointed to Sabo’s fist. “Haki can grab the Logia type’s physical body. If you continue to fight like this, transforming into your elemental form will only make you stand still and become a target.”

Enel frowned: "Then what should we do?"

“Don’t wait until the fist lands before turning into lightning.” Ace walked to his side and tapped his left shoulder. “Use your mind net to predict the landing point in advance, and actively move this spot away, or change the shape of the corresponding part first. By the time the fist arrives, there will only be a gap left in the original spot.”

This fighting style requires the simultaneous coordination of Observation Haki, reaction speed, and Devil Fruit control. Enel currently lacks the ability to foresee the future, but he possesses the mind-control network that covers the entire island and the speed of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. If he can control each part of his body individually, he has the opportunity to develop an evasion method similar to "foreseeing the future and actively altering his body structure."

After hearing this, Sabo waved to Enel: "Try again."

The second punch came from the right. Enel anticipated its trajectory this time, his right rib transforming into a burst of electricity. Sabo's fist passed through the lightning; although some of his Haki still grazed its body, it absorbed far less force than before.

"Once you see it, your body should follow suit," Ace said, turning to the other side of the training field.

Bucky, wearing a Seastone ring, was doing squats with a heavy wooden stake slung over his shoulder. Seeing Ace approach, he immediately grimaced, "Captain, I've done hundreds of squats already, my legs are about to break!"

"Keep training your physical abilities, and don't stop training your Devil Fruits either." Ace removed the wooden stake from his shoulder. "What's the smallest extent you can split right now?"

Bucky raised his right hand, and his palm immediately split into dozens of pieces of flesh the size of fingernails, which he then circled around his wrist twice: "About this size. Any smaller, and there will be too many, and I'll get dizzy trying to control them."

"Not small enough. Let's continue to break it down, first to gravel, then to dust that is indistinguishable to the naked eye."

"Dust?" Bucky nearly lost control as the flying fragments of his hand collided together.

Ace told him to gather his strength again: "The Chop-Chop Fruit makes you immune to slashes, but blunt weapons and wide-range impacts can still hurt you. If your body could break into dust, even falling rocks would only pass through the particles. At that level, your evasion ability would be more difficult to deal with than most Logia-type Devil Fruit users."

Buggy looked down at his hands, his mind already conjuring images of his body turning into red dust, allowing swords, spears, and boulders to pierce through him. Ordinary physical attacks and slashes couldn't touch his true form, and even attacks imbued with Haki were difficult to harm unless the attacker could grasp small fragments. The only things he truly needed to be wary of were restraining methods like Seastone.

"Practice! I'll practice right now!" He completely forgot his earlier complaints, raised his palm, and began to attempt the second split.

The first attempt quickly failed. After the number of fragments exceeded one hundred, Bucky's vision went black, and all the pieces of flesh shattered and fell to the ground. Ace told him to start with one finger, recording the number he could reliably control each time, and then gradually increase the number. Powderification is not a technique that can be performed by simply shouting it; if either perception or control is lacking, the separated body will become a burden.

As noon approached, several Shandian warriors carried a Sky Island boar and a large bird into the training ground. Regular hunting had been handed over to the recruited natives. Chef Leona was responsible for preparing food for everyone in Eclipse and also needed to set aside time to practice her knife skills. There was no need for her to expend her energy on carrying prey every day.

Several large pots were set up in the center of the open space. Leona, wearing a leather apron, used a cleaver to split open the wild boar's spine, while another boning blade traced the muscle fibers, carefully removing large chunks of meat. High-calorie meats that Ace needed were prepared on the grill, sea monster bone broth was simmering in the pot, and the empty fish on the cutting board was sliced ​​thinly and drizzled with local sweet and sour fruit juice.

Ace picked up a piece of fish, ate it, and then took another piece: "Your cooking skills are definitely better than when we were at sea."

Leona wiped the oil off her hands and sat down opposite him. "The food is fine. But the iron-cutting technique you mentioned, I've swung my sword tens of thousands of times these past few days, and I'm still a little short. When the sword falls, it just feels like I'm just trying to chop with force."

“So don’t just use brute force.” Ace tapped the black steel greatsword beside her. “When you’re dealing with your prey, you can see the connection between the bones and muscles, and you know where the blade should go in most effortlessly. Trees, rocks, and steel all have their own textures. First, use your Observation Haki to listen, find its breath and weak points, and then let the blade fall along those points.”

Leona gripped the hilt of the sword, but did not draw it immediately.

“Your Observation Haki only activates occasionally when danger is approaching, so it’s not very stable yet,” Ace continued. “Practice until you can always distinguish the surrounding presence. Once you can clearly hear the sword and the target, the Iron-Cutting Sword will naturally arrive.”

Leona glanced at the prey being dissected along the bone seams on the cutting board and nodded, "I'll try it after I finish eating."

The training didn't stop for long because of lunch. Enel stood opposite Sabo again, Buggy split one hand into increasingly smaller pieces, and Leona also walked into the forest with a knife.

Ten thousand meters above the ground separated the Navy from the Blue Sea's mundane affairs. Haki, physical skills, Devil Fruit abilities—everyone had found their direction for the next three months.

Chapter 73 The New Order of the Sky Island

More than half a month after the battle that covered God's Island, Apayado could no longer hear the shouts and curses of the God Team during their patrols.

"One, two—Go!"

The ancient colossal tree, requiring ten people to encircle, was slowly dragged out of the soil by ropes. To the left of the trunk stood a bare-chested Shandian warrior adorned with totems, while to the right stood a resident of Angel Island with small white wings on their backs. Both sides strained in unison, chanting the same mantra, to transport the log to the settlement that was under restoration.

For four hundred years, they had fought endlessly for the land and the hatred left by their ancestors. Now, however, they had to work together to clear the ruins, cut down trees, and build houses. For the first few days, both sides would hold their weapons tightly and be wary of each other. Only after they discovered that the land on God's Island was enough for everyone to live on, and no one dared to start another fight, did their guard gradually lower.

Wipa sat on the tree stump, his right arm wrapped in bandages. He took a sip of water, looked at the group of men carrying the logs together, and remained silent for a long time.

Gan Fall led Pierre, who had transformed into a giant bird, to the side, and they too looked up at the giant vine. At the highest point hung an eclipse flag, its crimson-gold wings unfurling amidst the central ring of fire, constantly spreading in the high-altitude gale.

“As long as it’s still hanging there, no one will pick up the war from four hundred years ago again,” Gan Faure said.

“They wouldn’t dare.” Weapa put away the water bottle. “Yesterday, that chef named Leona chased after the three-headed Sky Island Giant Wolf and cut down half a forest in search of seasonings. There’s not a single normal person on the Eclipse.”

Gan Fall followed his gaze to the forest, and silently nodded, recalling the commotion from the training ground these past few days.

The new order wasn't just about that flag. The Shandians regained their homeland, and the inhabitants of Angel Island were allowed to cultivate and live on God's Island; the Old Gods' Guard and the Shandian warriors maintained order together, and food, water, and the right to use the Cloud River were shared by people elected by both sides. Conflicts still existed, but no one needed to take the other's land to survive anymore.

Just then, Geno roared from underground, startling a flock of birds nearby into flight.

"Long earlobes! I told you to maintain a 30-volt direct current, why were you shaking just now? There's only one of these ancient gears, what will you use to replace it if it burns out!"

Inside the cave-like dock, Geno, wearing heat-resistant goggles, pointed a hydraulic wrench at the charred metal edge. Enel, wearing an ill-fitting work vest, stood beneath the ship's frame, veins throbbing on his forehead.

"A mere wild monkey from Qinghai dares to command the gods..."

He cursed under his breath, but his fingertips had no choice but to reignite the electric arcs. Lightning bolts powerful enough to shatter a block were compressed into hair-thin strands and soldered millimeter-level onto the mechanical motherboard.

“In my repair shop, the person who messes things up has to follow orders.” Geno slammed a wrench on a nearby iron post, sparks flying. “You can’t even output a stable signal, all you know is to slash randomly. It would be a waste for the Rumble-Rumble Fruit to be in your hands! Re-weld it. If it’s off by even a millimeter, you’re out of dinner tonight!”

Enel's lightning surged dramatically, almost solidifying into a lightning dragon. But then he glanced at the rock wall and saw Sabo resting against it, clutching a steel pipe. Sabo didn't open his eyes, but his Observation Haki and Armament Haki remained fixed on the dock.

Besides, Ace, who knocked him off his pedestal with a single punch, could come at any moment.

"When we reach the infinite land, I'll be the first to electrocute you into charcoal." Enel squeezed out the words through gritted teeth, still pressing the arc back to its original thickness and repositioning it against the broken line.

Geno removed the charred parts, replaced them with a spare motherboard, and placed the timer in front of Enel. For the next full hour, the voltage had to be maintained within a specified range; any fluctuation would reset the device to zero. Enel stared at the constantly jumping pointer, temporarily suppressing even the urge to curse.

After more than half a month of continuous low-voltage output, his control over the Rumble-Rumble Fruit has changed. In the past, Enel only cared about the breadth and destructive power of the lightning; now he can keep the current at thirty volts and complete welding along circuits thinner than a needle tip. Geno's use of him as a human power source has forced him to learn the importance of precise control.

Outside the cave, Ace stood on a thick tree branch, observing the argument in the dock with his Observation Haki. Geno wouldn't be polite to Enel because of his title of "God," which was perfect for smoothing out the latter's flaws. Only when that pride no longer hindered training would the Rumble-Rumble Fruit truly become Eclipse's fighting power.

He leaped down from the tree, and as soon as he landed on the ground covered with dead leaves, the bushes not far away exploded with a roar.

A mutated wild boar the size of a small mountain burst out of the forest, ran a few steps, then its limbs gave way and it slid down the ground in front of Ace. It had no other wounds, but there were two precise cuts on the side of its neck that had severed the muscles it was using to exert force.

"That's the third one, that's enough meat for today!"

Leona, the mad chef, emerged from the bushes carrying a blood-dripping cleaver and boning blade. Her leather apron was stained with mud and beast blood, and several Shandian warriors who had come to help carried ropes, looking at her with even more fervent eyes than they had when they looked at Vepa.

"Captain!" Leona sheathed her knife back in its leather sheath, walked over to the wild boar, and patted its thick back. "The air is thin on the Sky Island. To survive, the beasts here are stronger and more muscular than their counterparts in Qinghai. And their fat is evenly distributed. They'll definitely taste great roasted."

She took out another seashell: "I found a scallop. Using it to control the heat, along with the island's spices, will improve the taste of this pig by at least 30%."

"It's up to you." Ace has been doing weight training and Haki training every day for the past two weeks, and his appetite has increased along with his energy expenditure. With Leona preparing high-calorie meals, the deficit from training can be made up for on the same day.

Leona instructed the Shandian warriors to bind their prey. Ace, who was nearby, lent a hand and casually asked, "Where are Karina and Buggy?"

“The Fox took Bailey to the highest point of the Shrine of God early this morning, saying he wanted to reorganize the eavesdropping channels.” Leona tightened the knot and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Red Nose is still in Cloud River. In order to practice Dust Splitting, he deliberately went to provoke the Sky Sharks, and he’s probably being chased and bitten by a group of sharks right now.”

Just then, Bucky's scream echoed from the distant Cloud River. Several red-nosed fragments flew past above the clouds, followed by several sky sharks with their mouths wide open. The thinnest of his arms had already scattered into a pile of red debris, and the sky sharks pounced repeatedly, only to pass through the debris.

However, he couldn't let his entire body disperse at the same time; his feet had to remain within a certain range, and the smaller parts couldn't be separated from the main body for long. Whenever control was about to break, he would quickly gather the flesh back into place and then practice again using the next attack from the air shark.

Ace watched for a while, and after confirming that Bucky hadn't really lost control, he looked away.

Higher up, Bailey's flock of birds was leaving God's Island in droves. In the underground dock, the sounds of hammering and electricity never ceased. Occasionally, the sound of a blade cutting into rock could be heard from the other side of the forest, while Sabo quickly dragged Enel from his workstation to the training grounds.

The two tribes on God's Island began building their shared home, and the Eclipse's flight system was taking shape piece by piece. With just over two months left until the three-month deadline, everyone was moving closer to the next leg of their journey in their own way.

Ace looked up beyond the White Sea. The clouds blocked the Qinghai people's view, but they couldn't sever the expanding intelligence network. Once the flight system was complete, the Eclipse would first leave this planet to retrieve the ancient mechanical technology from the Infinite Land mentioned by Enel, before returning to the Qinghai to continue its journey. This stop wasn't for hiding, but to allow the entire ship to possess completely different powers when it reappeared.

Chapter 74 The Uninvited Guest, the Smiling Broken Monk

Apayado, the island of the gods, on the south coast.

The white sea rippled gently as several giant skybirds skimmed the clouds in search of food. Suddenly, an unfamiliar pirate flag appeared in the distance, startling the birds into scattering. A pirate ship with a demon-face carved on its prow then broke through the clouds and waves, landing on the shore.

Footsteps echoed on the deck, and an unusually large man leaped off the ship. The island cloud beneath his feet seemed to sink, and even the shore trembled.

The newcomer wore tattered monk's robes, was bald, and had a large string of red prayer beads around his neck. The white wings on his back proved he came from the Sky Island. His nearly four-meter-tall body was covered in muscles, and the hexagonal iron pillar on his shoulder looked as if it had been forcibly removed from a building. Despite carrying such a heavy load, his steps did not falter in the slightest, and a smile remained on his face.

One of the future supernovas, the "eccentric monk" Urouge.

"Is this the land of Qinghai that was swept up by the surging ocean currents four hundred years ago? The trees are growing quite well." Ulki looked up at the forest on the island and grinned. "I heard that the god who destroyed Bika was defeated here. Someone who can do something so great must not have let me come here for nothing."

He was a wandering monk who spent his years roaming the various floating islands. A few days ago, the sound of the golden bell traveled far across the sea of ​​clouds, and he followed the sound of the bell and the flow of clouds to find Apayado.

The island guards patrolling the shore gripped their weapons, not daring to stop him. Ulki ignored them, carrying the iron pillar into the forest, leaving deep footprints along the way.

Two guards tried to follow, but after only a short distance, they realized that the other man had no concealed route at all. Broken bushes and footprints sank into the ground led straight into the heart of the island. Ulki seemed to think his footsteps weren't loud enough; the iron bar on his shoulder occasionally brushed against ancient trees, scraping off large pieces of bark.

News of Enel's defeat had spread throughout the nearby skies. Most people only dared to watch from afar, but Urouge took it as an invitation. Anyone who could bring down a thunder-wielding ability user who had ruled the Skypiea for years was certainly worth taking a punch from.

At that moment, the aroma of roasted meat wafted from the clearing in the center of the forest.

The Eclipse Pirates had just finished their morning training, and the group was gathered around a giant grill to replenish their energy. Ace sat on a broken log, tearing off a piece of meat with the bone still in it. Before he could take a bite, Kalina's macaw, Bailey, turned its head and shook its wings in the same direction.

Ace, Sabo, and Leona stopped fighting one after another, and even Enel, who was sitting in the distance, looked up. Their Observation Haki had already crossed the forest and landed on the stranger who showed no sign of slowing down.

“I broke quite a few branches along the way, so it must be pretty big.” Sabo swallowed the food in his mouth and adjusted his top hat. “I wasn’t planning on hiding it.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a large hand pushed aside the bushes at the edge of the clearing. Urouge stepped out, a hexagonal iron pillar resting on his shoulder. His gaze first swept over the scattered bones of wild beasts, then lingered for a moment on the twin swords at Leona's waist, before finally settling on Ace, who was still holding a piece of roasted meat.

Ace simply sat there, but Urouge's Observation Haki was already tense. The young man's aura was very steady, which made him seem more like a ferocious beast lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce on its prey at any moment.

“Indeed, a dangerous bunch of benefactors.” Uroki slammed the iron pillar into the mud, causing a few drops of grease to drip from the grill. “If the rumors are true, it was you who brought down that high and mighty god, wasn’t it? I am Uroki, a broken monk. Today, I have come to the Island of God following the sound of the bell, hoping to learn about the cause and effect here.”

"Where did this wild bald monk come from, choosing to die during mealtime!" Enel threw down the food in his hand, and blue arcs of electricity shot up from his shoulder.

For the past three months, he had been forced to supply power to the shipyard and had also suffered numerous beatings during training, leaving him seething with anger. When Urki entered and immediately brought up his defeats, he could no longer contain himself and raised his hand to unleash lightning.

Ace pressed down on his shoulder, suppressing the lightning that had just appeared: "Don't move. This person is coming for me."

He set down the bone, wiped the oil off his hands, and stood up to look at Urgi. The other man had neither avenged Bica nor intended to conquer Apayado. Beneath that ever-smiling face lay only one simple thought—to find someone strong enough and settle the score with fists.