The lively banquet didn't come to an end until midnight.
Beneath the pitch-black night sky, Yemu led the pirate crew as they saw Tom and the others off.
Tom and Kokoro were both in high spirits, while little Franky was practically vibrating with excitement.
At this point, Franky was still just an ordinary, competitive little boy. He wasn't yet the perverted cyborg he would become in the future, and for now, he looked fairly normal.
Among the four of them, he was also the only one who couldn't suppress the curiosity of a boy eager to be a man. He had slipped out of the ship's cabin and secretly watched the battle that took place on Scrap Island earlier that day.
Although Iceburg eventually dragged him back inside, just a glimpse of those exaggerated battle scenes and the overwhelming power on display was enough to make his blood surge.
From beginning to end, Franky circled around Enel, Tiger, Erik, and Kuromi with eyes full of admiration. He even went so far as to ask Tiger and Erik to teach him how to train.
Iceburg, on the other hand, wore a forced smile the entire time.
From the moment his teacher proposed helping the Sky Pirates summon sea beasts to deal with the submarines of the Seven Shipyards, Iceburg's heart had been heavy with worry.
He was no longer a child, and he thought far more deeply than Franky ever could.
Tom had already faced endless criticism in Water 7 for building a ship for Pirate King Roger. There were even rumors that the Marines and the World Government intended to hold him accountable.
And now, he had chosen to stand with the Sky Pirates.
Just imagining the possible consequences was enough to fill Iceburg with anxiety.
He couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to Tom-san, the man who was both a father and a teacher to him.
As they walked, Tom noticed the troubled look on his disciple's face. Feeling Iceburg's concern, he was moved. With a gentle pat on the shoulder, he said,
"Don't think too much about it, Iceburg. All of this is worth it. You've seen the potential of that metal yourself. Right now, we can only produce it through Devil Fruit abilities, but as long as we master the formula, we'll be able to manufacture it in large quantities. When that happens, it will bring about a transformation for the entire world, and our dream will finally come true."
Hearing this, Iceburg could only try to reassure himself. He forced a smile and nodded.
"I understand, Tom-san!"
…
After seeing Tom and the others off, Yemu led everyone back onto the ship.
Even though it was already deep into the night, not a single person felt like turning in. Instead, they followed Yemu down to the second-to-last level at the bottom of the ship.
This level was divided into four sections: the engine room and three storage areas.
The three storage rooms were the treasure vault, the food and water storage, and the general supplies room.
At the very center of the enormous engine room sat a massive black metal box, shaped like an oversized battery. It was the energy core of the Twin Goddesses.
Countless metal conduits extended outward from it, functioning much like electrical cables. They carried energy to the edges of the engine room, where rows upon rows of gigantic gears were installed.
Driven by this power, the gears spun at high speed, providing the propulsion needed to move the entire ship.
In addition, more than twenty thick metal conduits were connected to energy jet ports around the hull, supplying the ship with the power needed for flight.
Naturally, this world had no such thing as battery technology. In reality, the interior of the energy core was an array of Skypiea Dials arranged in a specific order. These included Wind Dials, Flame Dials, and Impact Dials, capable of storing the flames and lightning released by Yemu and Enel, as well as streams of flowing air.
In truth, whether it was Yemu's Mera Mera no Mi or Enel's Goro Goro no Mi, the energy released in an instant was enormous. The problem was that Dials could only store so much energy, and the metal conduits lost power during transmission. Because of that, the Twin Goddesses' propulsion system was never great in terms of endurance. One full charge could only last a little over an hour before it had to cool down.
But that was about to change.
That was one of the main reasons Yemu valued the Baku Baku no Mi so highly, and why he had stayed in Water 7 for so long in the first place. He needed time to create the metal he had in mind.
In just two weeks, with Tom's help and the abilities of the Baku Baku no Mi, the first generation of Baku Baku Metal had already been completed. It possessed limited energy storage and superconducting properties, and today's battle had proven its stability.
Once the second generation of Baku Baku Metal was developed, it would be able to replace part of the metal piping and some of the Dial-based power systems.
When that happened, the Twin Goddesses' overall performance would undergo a fundamental leap.
That said, this wasn't why everyone had gathered here tonight.
Under the illumination of countless lamp Dials, the engine room was brightly lit.
Everyone stood together, their gazes fixed on the true protagonist of the night: Kuromi.
Yemu felt both anticipation and a trace of tension.
If today's experiment succeeded, it wouldn't just mean a major leap in his own strength. The strength of the entire pirate crew would rise to a whole new level.
"Are you ready?"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Kuromi nodded, clearly nervous.
"Captain, leave it to me. I'll definitely pull this off!"
"Good. If anything feels wrong later, stop immediately. Don't force it."
Yemu had to make this clear in advance. The success of the experiment mattered to him, but Kuromi and the Baku Baku no Mi were far more important and couldn't be risked.
After hearing Yemu's words, Kuromi looked deeply moved. Instead of relaxing, his expression turned even more resolute, as if he were ready to carry the task through at any cost.
Seeing that, Yemu could only give the next order.
"Bring in the Atsu Atsu no Mi user."
As the airlock opened, a large, obese man was carried in. It was Achino, the Atsu Atsu no Mi user, still unconscious.
To prevent him from waking up and damaging the ship, Yemu had deliberately kept him submerged in a Sea Cloud-filled compartment below deck. That was why he still hadn't woken up.
That was probably for the best. What was about to happen wouldn't be pleasant to watch.
"Enel, stay alert. Supply Kuromi with energy at any time!"
"Got it."
Enel nodded solemnly. He had grown up on Skypiea and didn't fully understand what Yemu's actions meant for the world at large, but he could clearly feel how serious Yemu was.
With a swing of his arm, the golden staff in Enel's hand melted and reshaped itself into golden chains, which were fastened onto Kuromi's body.
Once everything was in place, Yemu took a breath.
"Begin!"
The moment Yemu gave the order, the atmosphere grew tense. Everyone stared at Kuromi without blinking.
Kuromi's body suddenly began to change. His head swelled dramatically, growing many times larger, even bigger than Yemu's entire body.
Then, like a hippopotamus, he opened his enormous mouth and bit down on Achino. With heavy gulps, his throat working again and again, he swallowed him whole.
Everyone knew why Yemu was doing this, but watching Kuromi literally eat a person still felt deeply unsettling.
"Gulp."
With that final sound, Achino was completely swallowed, and the process finally ended.
Yemu couldn't wait any longer.
"How does it feel? Can you use his ability?"
"Well…"
Kuromi frowned, concentrating, as if carefully sensing what was happening inside his body.
"It's strange. I clearly only ate one thing, but it feels like there are two inside me."
"Two?"
The others froze. Yemu's eyes, however, lit up.
"Can you separate them?"
"Captain, I'll give it a try!"
Everyone then watched Kuromi tense his body, straining as if severely constipated. His energy drained rapidly, and seeing this, Enel immediately controlled his Goro Goro no Mi, steadily feeding energy into Kuromi.
Nearly ten minutes passed before Kuromi's expression suddenly relaxed. White mist began to billow from his body, and the temperature of the surrounding air started to rise.
Under the stunned gazes of everyone present, a dazzling, fiery crimson glow began to spread across Kuromi's body…
"Did… did it work?!"