Starting with the Uchiha clan, they began cultivating demonic arts.

Chapter 254 Return to Alabasta

The first thing to do is to find an animal or object that can temporarily store the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. However, at this moment, Robin directly handed Uchiha Tou a seashell.

"What do you think of this shell? I found it on a priest in that forest; it has the ability to create clouds."

"Robin, you've done a great job! This was definitely a good choice!"

Uchiha Touyu took the cloud shell with an excited expression. The shellfish on the sky island looked like objects, but they were also living animals, making them the best temporary hosts.

Especially after Cloud Shell absorbed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, could this shell create a powerful thundercloud like Zeus's in Charlotte Linlin's hands?

Even if the Rumble-Rumble Fruit is taken away, will the thundercloud created by the Devil Fruit's power disappear?

If it doesn't disappear, that would be really interesting... The island clouds made from the cloud shells of Skypiea are said to only exist in the Skypiea environment. If the Rumble-Rumble Fruit can break this limit, perhaps some thundercloud weapons can be made in the future?

No matter how beautiful your ideas are, they're useless if you have to actually do them to get to the conclusion. Uchiha Hiyu brought Yunbei to the place where Enel was imprisoned. At this moment, the God of Skypiea had already woken up. When he saw Uchiha Hiyu come in, he immediately opened his mouth and started to whimper as if he wanted to say something.

Well, because she didn't really want to listen to this arrogant jerk's nonsense, Uchiha Touya simply shut Enel's mouth.

Seeing the cloud shell in Uchiha Touka's hand, Enel didn't know what Uchiha Touka wanted to do, but there was a hint of anger in his eyes.

However, he didn't need to think any further. Uchiha Touyu reached out and grabbed his head. The "magic power" that should have belonged to the vampire in his body was simulated by the power of the blood nerve in a short time, and began to carefully identify and extract the power of the Devil Fruit in his soul.

"Waaaaaahh ...

Enel's face was contorted with bulging veins, his eyes were so wide they seemed about to burst, his pupils were bloodshot, his body was trembling, and a large amount of sweat instantly soaked his hair.

It was a pain that transcended the physical body; the soul was being torn apart and fragmented, and reason was being evaporated. It was as if someone had opened his skull, poured boiling hot oil into his head, and then stirred it twice with a red-hot iron rod. Even this arrogant god completely collapsed under such pain.

A moment later, Uchiha Touya finally pulled out the Devil Fruit power from Enel's soul and directly integrated it into the Cloud Shell. The small Cloud Shell instantly burst out with intense lightning, as if it had transformed into a core with infinite electrical energy.

However, after a short while, the energy core gradually quieted down and returned to its original shell-like shape. Uchiha Hiyu manipulated the shell in his hand and spat out a large black cloud. Within the cloud, tiny snake-shaped lightning bolts were constantly weaving through it.

"Using cloud shells to create thunderclouds, it actually worked!"

Uchiha Touyu looked somewhat surprised; at least the first step of his plan had been completed. As for whether this thing could be used in the ocean below, that was another matter entirely.

Then Uchiha Touyu's gaze fell on Enel. The power of his Devil Fruit had been extracted, and the Seastone could no longer suppress Enel's stamina. However, the guy was still lying on the ground, his eyes rolled back, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth, and his body twitching intermittently.

Seeing this, Uchiha Touya casually flicked the Thundercloud Shell in his hand, and a thin bolt of lightning instantly struck Enel. After a scream, Enel convulsed for a moment before his eyes returned to normal.

No, he said he had returned to normal, but in reality, his eyes were lifeless, his mouth was slightly open, and he looked completely lost, which gave Uchiha Touyu a bad feeling.

"Hey, Enel, what's wrong with you? Have you gone idiot?"

"Hehehehe, hehe...hahahahaha!...Aba, ababa..."

"No way?! He's really turned into an idiot? Could it be because his soul is damaged?"

When extracting Devil Fruit powers, Uchiha Tou had little experience, so he always used the simplest and most brutal method, forcibly cutting off part of the soul that was mixed with the Devil Fruit. Therefore, Enel's soul is already covered in wounds.

Uchiha Touyu knew that this would definitely leave some aftereffects, but he originally thought that the aftereffects would only be some intermittent headaches or amnesia. However, it seems that he has become a complete idiot!

After tormenting Enel for a while, Uchiha Tou even activated his Devil Fruit ability, using the power of hypnosis and mind reading, and finally confirmed that Enel had indeed completely lost his mind. Not only was his memory blank, but due to the damage to his soul, his intelligence had also regressed to a level that was even less than that of an animal.

Losing memory and becoming an idiot are two completely different things. Even if lost memories cannot be recovered, the personality and intelligence of the amnesiac will gradually improve over time. However, being an idiot or mentally disabled is a lifelong condition.

"Tsk, it seems I can't give my subordinates Devil Fruits anytime soon. I'll have to do more experiments and familiarize myself with the process."

Uchiha Touyu estimated in his mind that to extract a Devil Fruit without harming the soul in the slightest, he would need at least dozens or hundreds of experiments to become proficient and have a certain degree of confidence. As for being able to do it 100%, he would probably need to experiment at least several hundred times.

Fortunately, conducting hundreds of experiments isn't a big deal. As long as one Devil Fruit is used to rotate the users, it's not necessary to have hundreds of Devil Fruit users. Otherwise, Uchiha Touyu would really have a headache.

After completing the experiment, Uchiha Hiyu released Enel back into Skypiea, letting the Skypiea people deal with the now-idiotic Skypiea god. He wondered if Enel would be beaten to death by the resentful Skypiea people.

Then, Uchiha Hiyu took the Cloud Shell and went to the core of the Golden Ark. After placing the energy source into the core, the entire Golden Ark immediately started moving with a clattering sound. Endless electricity flowed to every corner of the ark, and the huge gears began to turn automatically. After a moment, the propellers spun, and the Golden Ark took to the air.

"It really...it really can fly!!"

"It's unbelievable! A ship made of gold that can actually fly in the sky... Am I dreaming?!"

Nami and Mikita stared in amazement at the flying golden ark. The weather on the sky island was always clear and sunny, and the sunlight shining on the ark made it shimmer with golden light, almost turning Nami and Mikita's eyes gold.

In comparison, Robin was more composed, though she still couldn't hide her surprise.

"A flying golden ark? With such a ship, we could easily reach any corner of the ocean!"

"Even the Navy and the World Government probably can't do anything about this flying golden ship..."

As a seasoned veteran who had been evading assassins since the age of eight and had spent nearly 20 years in the underworld, Robin was not misled by the material value of the Golden Ark. Instead, he immediately thought of the strategic significance of this ship that could fly in the sky and even in space.

With this ship, Robin no longer needs to worry about being hunted down by the World Government and the Navy. After obtaining information about the Poneglyphs, finding them will become much easier.

"By the way, Captain, can we continue building flying ships like these?"

After hearing Robin's calm words, Uchiha Touyu showed a thoughtful expression:

"The ship is likely powered by electricity, which is why it needs to be made of gold... However, gold is not the best conductor among metals. In terms of conductivity, the order of highest conductivity among conventional metals should be silver, copper, and gold..."

"So theoretically, it should be possible to make such a flying ship using copper. The biggest problem is the energy core."

"If the thundercloud created by that cloud shell also possesses endless electricity, perhaps this kind of flying ship can indeed be replicated!"

Hearing this, even the most money-grubbing Nami finally snapped out of her daze:

"Doesn't that mean we can build a flying fleet?"

Michita's already rosy complexion became even more excited:

"I've heard that during the era of One Piece, there was a great pirate named Golden Lion who built the legendary Flying Fleet. Even Roger was once driven to the brink of defeat by him. The World Government and the Navy couldn't do anything to him, and I've even heard that he almost took over the entire world!"

"However, that Golden Lion relied on his Float-Float Fruit ability, which is only one word different from my Float-Float Fruit..."

Actually, they are worlds apart. The Float-Float Fruit and the Light-Float Fruit are completely different things. Trying to use the Light-Float Fruit to try and outdo the Float-Float Fruit is just being presumptuous.

Moreover, the Golden Lion's ambition to conquer the world is merely empty talk; in reality, he's at most a terrorist.

Uchiha Touyu silently complained in his heart, but he didn't laugh at Michita. This guy was just a small-time pirate from the first half of the Grand Line, so it was normal for him to be ignorant.

Moreover, the Flying Fleet is indeed very promising. At least it can be used for both offense and defense, without having to worry about threats from the Navy, pirates, or the World Government, nor needing to consider the bizarre sea conditions of the Grand Line or the Sea Kings blocking the Calm Belt.

"Alright, that's all for the future. I'm not entirely sure if it will succeed. For now, let's take our spoils back to Alabasta!"

……

In the Alabasta Royal Palace, Kobra, who was handling state affairs, suddenly heard exclamations from outside.

"What's going on? What happened? Are the pirates here again?"

Cobra was somewhat terrified and uneasy. There was nothing he could do; too many things had happened recently, and this king was a typical "wise ruler" who was benevolent but powerless. Naturally, he was seeing threats everywhere.

"Dad! Come out quickly! Come out and see! A huge golden ship is floating down from the sky!"

Princess Vivi poked her head out and shouted a couple of times, leaving King Cobra completely bewildered.

A golden ship? What is that? A mirage?

Lost in thought, Cobra walked out of the palace, raised his head, and then opened his mouth wide, revealing an expression of disbelief.

In the sky, the golden ark, bathed in golden light, slowly descended. Under the sunlight of Alabasta, it shimmered with a dazzling and blinding brilliance, as if another sun had appeared in the sky.

"W-what's going on? A golden ship flying in the sky? Is it some kind of Devil Fruit power?"

Just then, two figures flew out of the Alabasta palace. They were Eagle Bell and the Curly-Headed Guard Captain who had obtained the Sand-Sand Fruit. They were the only two people in Alabasta who could fly.

Although the Curly-Headed Guard Captain possesses the Sand-Sand Fruit's power, he doesn't fly very fast or very high, since flying is just an ability derived from the Sand-Sand Fruit.

Bell, on the other hand, already possessed unparalleled flying ability among ordinary Zoan-type Devil Fruit users, and his speed became even more astonishing after awakening. The fiery clouds behind him resembled a golden flowing cloak, leaving a golden tail flame as he soared into the golden ark in the sky.

Having just arrived on the deck of the Golden Ark, before Bell could even react, he heard a familiar voice:

"Hey! Bell, what brings you here? Oh... is this ship too conspicuous?"

Bell turned his head and looked in the direction from which the sound came, and there he saw Uchiha Tou and the others.

When the Golden Ark landed in the palace, it was already surrounded by a large crowd. The ordinary guards had long since been driven away, and those remaining were all members trusted by the Alabasta royal family.

After all—this is a golden ship! Not the kind of ship that's plated with gold or has a gold hull, but a ship made of gold inside and out, with every part and every screw.

Regardless of its practicality, the value of these materials alone is enough to attract the attention of Yonko-level pirate crews or Celestial Dragons.

If the news leaks out, the entire Alabasta will likely never have peace again.

"It's truly made entirely of gold. Alabasta's gold reserves probably don't even amount to a fraction of the value of these ships..."

King Cobra circled the ship, feeling completely disoriented. This was actually a result of Alabasta's treasury being full after Uchiha Hiyu had eliminated many high-ranking nobles.

Six months ago, Alabasta's gold reserves probably wouldn't have been enough to buy even a single mast of the Golden Ark.

(End of this chapter)