At that moment, when they saw the island suddenly begin moving, the previously regretful crowd erupted into cheers again.
"It's moving! It's moving! It's really moving!"
Even Ian revealed a smile when he saw this scene.
The most crucial step had succeeded.
Of course, this was only one method. Perhaps in the future, they could find a more convenient way to make the island move.
As for whether the island might crash into the ship due to inertia once the ship stops sailing…
Ian was not too worried about that.
With Avalo Pizarro helping, if such an accident could still happen, he would seriously have to consider whether he should extract the Devil Fruit and let someone more useful eat it.
Under the pulling force of the ship and Avalo Pizarro's cooperation, the ship and the island gradually approached Ohara at a steady speed.
For the first attempt, Ian did not let the speed become too fast. That way, if any problem occurred later, they could react quickly.
After an unknown amount of time, under the expectant and excited gazes of everyone, the ship and the island finally approached Ohara.
Then, with a graceful maneuver by Ian, the entire ship quickly shifted direction, directly exposing the fragment island behind it.
Immediately afterward, Ian's calm voice sounded.
"Avalo Pizarro!"
"Hahaha, got it."
Avalo Pizarro also burst into a hearty laugh.
Then, the entire fragment island began to churn again. His hands lengthened once more and directly grabbed the edge of the Island of Ohara.
The moment they made contact, the island that had been moving suddenly stopped as if a handbrake had been pulled.
However, the sudden stop still raised layer upon layer of huge waves that crashed against the Island of Ohara.
"It worked, it really worked!"
Seeing this scene, excited smiles appeared on everyone's faces, and even Ace began dancing with excitement again.
This time, however, Binz did not pour cold water on them.
After all, it was already ninety percent successful. Even if they ultimately could not fuse the islands, just moving the island near Ohara would already be sufficient.
However, the fusion still needed to continue.
Ian looked at Avalo Pizarro.
At the same time, Avalo Pizarro looked at Ian.
After seeing Ian nod, Avalo Pizarro did not hesitate any longer. He let out a hearty laugh and then gently moved the hands holding the Island of Ohara.
Immediately, with the movement of his hands, the fragment island slowly approached the edge of the Ohara.
At this moment, everyone held their breath.
They knew… the most crucial moment had arrived.
After another unknown period of time, the fragment island finally touched Ohara.
The edges of the two islands began to squirm, as if they were truly fusing together.
No, more accurately, it was devouring.
At the moment the fragment island touched Ohara, Avalo Pizarro directly moved onto Ohara.
Then the island's edge opened like a giant mouth and bit directly onto the edge of the fragment island.
Afterward, like the snake game, it swallowed the fragment island entirely, forming one complete landmass.
Perfect and flawless!
It was as if that fragment island had belonged to Ohara from the very beginning.
At this moment, everyone looked at the newly raised section at the edge of Ohara and could no longer suppress the wild joy in their hearts.
They all shouted excitedly.
"It succeeded! It really succeeded!"
"You kid, you're really something else! Hahaha!"
Even Zephyr excitedly slapped Ian hard on the shoulder. After the slap, he even pulled Ian into a hug and laughed loudly. "Do you know? This will be the beginning of changing the seas, just like the sea train invented by the shipwright Tom, who built the ship for the King of the Pirates back then. No, this idea is even more shocking than the sea train!"
At this moment, the arrival of that new era seemed to become even clearer in his heart.
"Is this what they call a new era? No. Rather than calling it a new era, it would be better to say that we now hold the key to creating a new era."
Ian: "..."
Ian, who was silently looking at the Ohara in front of him that seemed to have grown a tumor-like protrusion, helplessly turned his head and looked at Zephyr.
"Let's not get too excited yet. We still don't know where Avalo Pizarro's limit is, or how large an island he can move at most."
Of course, if it is too large and cannot be moved, perhaps Avalo Pizarro could directly split the island into several pieces and then move them over piece by piece before merging them together.
However, islands that are too far away may require much more time and strength.
But the first step had already been taken. Next… everything would be left to time.
Moreover, there were still more important matters to handle right now.
Ian turned his head again and continued looking at the Ohara in front of him, smiling as he said, "Next, it's time to hold a meeting. Oh, right, tell the infrastructure team to pause for a moment. The reconstruction plan for Ohara might need to be changed."
…
Time passed little by little.
From the moment the islands were successfully merged, the development plan of the Umbrella Corporation also changed accordingly.
Those who originally had no idea what was going on became just as excited as Ian and the others after hearing this unbelievable idea and personally witnessing its success.
Without surprise, everything proceeded naturally.
Everyone in the meeting room was excitedly discussing the island-devouring plan. People spoke freely, sharing their ideas and proposals, gradually refining Ian's rough concept bit by bit.
Until finally, a massive yet complete plan was formed.
They named it… the New Continent Plan.
After the plan was finalized, there was no hesitation.
Ohara immediately dispatched personnel to scout the nearby islands and their specific conditions. Using the explored navigation charts, they formulated a sailing plan, analyzing from which direction and which island they should start.
At the same time, several scientists participating in this project continued experimenting, trying to determine which method of merging would be the most suitable, the safest, and the most perfect.
It might even be unnecessary to completely merge the islands. They could merge only part of them and then form a bridge, connecting Ohara with other islands.
In that way, the new islands would not be too far from Ohara, nor too close. The islands could serve as special sites for secret research and experiments.
Additionally, after witnessing the abilities of the Stone-Stone Fruit and the Isle-Isle Fruit, the previous plan for Ohara needed to be completely replanned.