"So that's how it is?"
Ron was genuinely surprised. He knew very well how obsessed Nojiko was with becoming stronger—only second to Nami, himself, and then her, firmly in third place.
And yet now she was saying she could just rely on him and slack off… no, that wasn't quite right. Actually, it made sense.
"Because you think this Devil Fruit would benefit me more, that's why you refused it? But you're not denying that it's extremely valuable to you, are you?"
Ron stared at Nojiko seriously.
Her gaze wavered slightly. But perhaps realizing she couldn't hide anything from the man she shared a bed with, she finally sighed.
"…More or less."
"There's no need."
Ron smiled, pulled her close, and lightly bit her red lips before continuing,
"Whether you grow stronger or I do, there's no difference.
Because you and Nami are both my wings.
And as for me, I've got other considerations as well.
Not eating this fruit might actually lead to a better path."
This wasn't false modesty—it was the truth.
Vegapunk's artificial Devil Fruit was undeniably powerful, but it wasn't irreplaceable.
It was indeed among the world's top-tier fruits, but comparable alternatives existed.
In Ron's plans, at least two directions were viable.
The first was the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Whitebeard's Devil Fruit—the most destructive power in the world.
Its strength was unquestionable, but the problem was timing: it could only realistically be obtained during the Paramount War.
And under Ron's current strategic framework, a still-overwhelmingly powerful Whitebeard aligned perfectly with his interests.
The second option came from movie intelligence.
Based on everything Ron had experienced so far, movie characters clearly existed in this world.
The fruit in question was the More-More Fruit.
Its user was Byrnndi World—known as the "World Destroyer," a legendary pirate currently imprisoned on Level 6 of Impel Down.
Its ability allowed the user to multiply the speed, power, size, weight, and other properties of anything they touched—up to one hundred times.
Even ignoring the possibility of using it on himself,using it on lightning alone would result in a terrifying hundredfold amplification.
And even without consuming any Devil Fruit, Ron still had other ways to grow stronger.
"You're sure?" Nojiko stared straight into his eyes.
"When have I ever gone wrong so far?"
"…Alright."
After a brief hesitation, Nojiko finally accepted the Devil Fruit.
There was no ceremony—she casually took a bite, grimaced, swallowed, and tossed the rest away.
"Disgusting…"
She stuck out her pink tongue, her face full of suffering.
"The price of power," Ron said gently. "Try it."
He transformed into a six-winged angel, carried Nojiko straight up into the sky—
Then released her above the sea of clouds.
As she fell—
Nojiko closed her eyes and focused inward.
Her body began to change.
Her clothes seemed to merge into her form as they transformed along with her.
A faint pink hue spread across her fair skin as dense scales emerged from flesh and blood, covering her entire body.
Two small protrusions rose from her smooth forehead, rapidly growing into antler-like horns.
Her eyes turned golden, pupils narrowing vertically as a bestial aura spread—and her beautiful features shifted.
Starting from her head, her body elongated, thickened, and rapidly transformed into an Eastern dragon.
In the blink of an eye—
The clouds swallowed her.
Then, a massive pink dragon burst through the cloud sea.
A Eastern dragon, fully realized.
Roughly like this—
"Beast form… and she mastered Flame Clouds immediately?"
Ron narrowed his eyes.
The pink dragon racing across the sky wasn't flying via wings.
Instead, two clusters of flame burned around its claws, constantly generating pink cloud vapor that lifted its massive body through the air—
Then it dove downward.
The dragon's head tore through the white clouds, its colossal mass carrying terrifying momentum.
Below—
The Angel Island residents, who had only just dispersed, noticed the anomaly in the sky.
"What is that?!"
"The Sky Lord can fly now?!"
"Idiot! That's not the Sky Lord—he doesn't look like that!"
"Wait, it's diving—run!"
"Someone notify Ron's group! Pirates are causing trouble again!"
Amid the chaos, the roof of a residence shattered.
A towering man carrying a massive hexagonal pillar leapt into the street.
When he saw the dragon, he froze for a moment—then shouted loudly:
"Don't panic! You're under our protection—this will be handled by us!"
His voice immediately became the crowd's anchor.
Because this was Urouge—the member of Ron's crew responsible for liaison with the Skypieans.
Under his booming command, the residents barely managed to calm down.
But the dragon was still diving.
"Glory Angels—go inform Sister Nojiko! And notify Boss Ron as well!"
Without hesitation, Urouge charged toward the dragon's projected impact point, pillar raised.
Angel Island was critical—many of Ron's plans depended on it.
Not to mention the shipyard for the Punishment was located on the northern cloud shore.
And Angel Island affairs were Urouge's responsibility.
"If I let this succeed, I won't be able to explain myself, damn it!"
Using rooftops as footholds, he closed the distance rapidly, lifting the pillar to strike—
But then—
The diving dragon stopped.
Flame Clouds coiled around its enormous body.
Though it couldn't compare to the Sky Lord, it was already a hundred meters long.
Golden vertical pupils locked onto Urouge below.
Then a voice emerged from the dragon's maw.
"Not bad."
"…That's Sister Nojiko?!"
The familiar voice froze Urouge mid-attack.
He stared at the dragon, completely dumbfounded.
"I ate a Devil Fruit. Just testing it out."
With that ambiguous remark, Nojiko dipped her massive head and flew back into the sky.
At the same time, the Glory Angels received orders and began calming the island's residents.
Above the clouds—
Ron stared in amazement as Nojiko flew back, her size rapidly shrinking.
"What was that for?"
"Testing—and showing," Nojiko replied, shrinking back to human size as she examined her new power.
"You're usually hands-off.
Things like this are better handled by me.
Urouge joined the team recently and lacks experience.
And unlike Vivi, since he's a man and you have no interest in him,he needs to be tested first.
Showing strength lets the Skypieans see it.
Most of them are grateful to us—but not all.
There will always be people dissatisfied with the status quo.
And aren't we about to use that card for a comprehensive enhancement?
I don't know how it works exactly, but if something goes wrong then, it won't be easy to manage."
"You really are my perfect partner," Ron sighed.
He could handle things himself—but with Nojiko managing them, he saved a lot of effort.
"Hmph. You'd better know it."
Nojiko reverted fully, landing in Ron's arms.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, leaned in close, and whispered seductively,
"So… want to come stay with me for a bit?
Nami's been complaining lately that your stamina's too strong.
But I think holding it in all the time isn't healthy… how about—"
"…Later."
Ron wavered instantly, but forced a bitter smile.
"There's still a lot to do."
"More preparations?" Nojiko asked, puzzled.
"Some groundwork first. Then I need to share what I've tested successfully."
Ron spoke meaningfully.
Soon after—
Once the Glory Angels were deployed, Ron summoned the crew.
The largest building on Angel Island became their meeting hall.
Nothing too complicated—just arrangements for entering the Creator Domain.
They couldn't afford to go into seclusion only to come back and find their home stolen.
With Skypiea as their base, very few enemies could truly threaten them.
The real concern was pirates who wandered in by accident.
Those could be handled by the Glory Angels alone.
Still—
Given the hostility with Doflamingo, Ron made additional preparations.
He called in a favor from the Revolutionary Army.
At present—
Karasu had already returned to Skypiea with Robin.
Along with them came Glory Angels who had been on external missions.
From the mental communication network, it was confirmed—
The hippocampus had been captured.
In truth, the hard part had been locating it.
Once the Revolutionary Army's channels were used, everything became simple.
The hippocampus had been lounging on a small island, happily feeding on memories.
Then, at dawn, a group of terrifying angels launched a sweeping assault.
Anyone human—no matter what—was detained.
And that was that.
The hippocampus's host was among them.
Discovery was inevitable.
A complete dimensional suppression—
Like eating hotpot and singing, then suddenly getting kidnapped by bandits.
No resistance possible.
All abilities had already been anticipated and countered.
With security arranged, Ron confirmed that essentially everyone would enter.
Next came preparations for training and growth resources.
The Creator Domain's maximum range was one kilometer.
Honestly, that wasn't large.
Fitting ten people inside—each with their own projects—would be tight.
Zoro's sword training required relatively little space—a dojo was enough.
Other environments might need to be replicated.
But those weren't routine.
(End of Chapter)