"Making a light bulb? Why on earth would you need me to engineer a giant light bulb?"
Dr. Vegapunk scratched his massive head, utterly confused by the request.
York just smiled mysteriously. "I'm going to use it for fishing!"
"Fishing?!" Vegapunk's confusion only deepened. As the world's foremost scientific mind, he naturally knew that certain deep-sea fish were phototactic, and that using luminescence at night was a standard fishing technique. But... a pirate with a 4.5 Billion Berry bounty wouldn't make a special trip through a spatial dimension just for a standard fishing trip, would he?
Despite his utter bewilderment, Vegapunk got to work. He didn't build a bulb; he built a specialized, giant geometric lampshade.
This crystalline shade was designed to act as a prism, altering the wavelength of the pure white light York emitted and transforming it into a blinding, mesmerizing golden glow. This perfectly met York's requirements, and circumvented the troublesome need to engineer a massive electrical power supply for a traditional bulb.
Having obtained the custom lampshade, York returned to the Crimson Harvest flagship via the Mirror World.
He had the crew install the giant crystalline shade directly inside the jaws of the massive dragon figurehead at the bow of the ship. It made the entire vessel look like a divine dragon holding a glowing pearl in its mouth.
Kaido, Stussy, and Dragon watched in utter confusion as York carried out his bizarre plan.
For the next several nights, York completely ignored the warmth of his bed. Instead, he sat cross-legged inside the dragon's mouth, activating his Light Sun God (Ra) Awakening. He channeled his plasma into the lampshade, emitting a dazzling, pulsating golden light that pierced through the ocean depths.
The entire 360-meter pirate ship was enveloped in a golden halo throughout the night. It was so bright there was virtually no difference between night and day on the deck.
Several days passed like this. Just as the crew was getting used to living without a day-night cycle, the ocean finally responded.
Deep beneath the waves, another golden light source appeared.
The lookout in the crow's nest didn't notice it at first, assuming it was a reflection. But then the sea level dead ahead violently bulged. A second, massive golden sun seemed to breach the surface of the ocean.
Only then did the lookout frantically ring the alarm bell.
SPLASH!!
A tidal wave crashed over the bow as a colossal shadow eclipsed the stars.
Kaido, Stussy, Dragon, and Shakky rushed out of the main cabin. They froze, staring up at the massive golden sun hovering in the sky dead ahead.
"Is this... York?!" Dragon gasped.
"No... that's not York..." Kaido gritted his teeth, his grip tightening on his club.
"It's a Sea King! An Anglerfish!!"
The giant golden sun illuminating the night sky was merely the fleshy lure dangling from the beast's forehead. Beneath the golden light loomed a body of apocalyptic proportions.
In front of this colossal leviathan, the Crimson Harvest flagship—a super-dreadnought measuring 360 meters long and 150 meters wide—looked like a child's bath toy. It was the legendary Bonbori Anglerfish.
BUZZZZZ~~~
With a vibrating, bass-heavy roar that rattled the crew's bones, the Bonbori opened its cavernous maw.
Millions of gallons of seawater were instantly sucked into the dark abyss of its throat. Caught in the inescapable current, the flagship was violently dragged forward.
"QUICK! ATTACK IT!!"
"WE'RE GOING TO BE EATEN!!"
"Kaido! Use your Boro Breath! Vaporize its mouth!"
Panicked shouts rose from the thousands of recruits. Even the usually unflappable Stussy felt a spike of genuine terror and turned to call out to the giant.
Kaido was already mid-transformation. Blue scales rippled across his arms as he drew a massive breath, ready to unleash a point-blank blast of draconic fire.
"EVERYONE! STAND DOWN!"
York, who had been sitting calmly in the dragon figurehead the entire time, suddenly stood up and roared an absolute command.
"DO NOT RESIST! OUR GOAL IS TO ENTER THE BELLY OF THIS BEAST!"
"NANI?!"
Kaido, his cheeks bulging with compressed fire, froze completely. He choked on the smoke, coughing violently. "York! You can't be serious?!"
"I'm perfectly serious!" York stared at Kaido, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Kaido! Do you remember the legend I told you about back on Drum Island?!"
"The legend?!"
Kaido's mind raced. He didn't recall York mentioning any myths related to giant fish. No... wait. There was one legend. The legend they had discussed after meeting the 104-year-old doctor.
Kaido instinctively opened his mouth to shout the name, but York immediately pressed a finger to his own lips, signaling him to keep quiet. Kaido clamped his jaw shut, but his massive heart began to pound violently against his ribs.
Pure Gold! The legendary metal rumored to halt the aging process and grant eternal youth! Could it be... was it hidden inside the belly of this monster?!
Seeing Kaido's expression shift from terror to absolute shock, Stussy, Shakky, and Dragon finally connected the dots. Their eyes widened as they stared intently at their Captain.
"That legend..." Stussy breathed, her voice trembling. "Is it really true?!"
"Of course it's true!" York smiled, leaping down from the figurehead and wrapping his arm around Stussy's slender waist.
"You've always been bothered by the age gap between us," York murmured, pulling her close. "You've been secretly terrified that in a few decades, you'd grow old and wrinkled, and I'd lose interest in you."
Stussy gasped. She had never spoken those insecurities out loud to York; she had only ever confessed them in private to Gloriosa. She truly hadn't expected the Lord of Corruption to not only know about her deepest fears, but to actively hunt down a mythical leviathan just to solve them.
"Now, you never have to worry about it again," York smiled gently. "Because I've successfully found the way for you to stay beautiful forever."
Stussy's eyes instantly welled up with tears. "I... I..."
She wanted to express the overwhelming, suffocating surge of happiness in her heart, but the words caught in her throat.
York smiled, leaning down to gently kiss her forehead.
"To repay me, next time... I want to see you in those leopard-print stockings."
Stussy let out a wet, breathless laugh. She buried her face in his chest, emphatically nodding. "Okay!!"
Under York's strict command, the crew held their fire. The Crimson Harvest flagship was swallowed whole by the Bonbori Anglerfish, riding the violent rapids of seawater straight down its massive esophagus.
When they finally splashed down into the beast's first stomach, the pitch-black abyss everyone had been expecting didn't exist.
Instead, it was as bright as day.
An ambient, golden light source from deep within the stomach illuminated the cavernous, fleshy world.
But what was even more shocking was the landmass protruding from the water. It wasn't just a rock; it was an entire, lush, green island—the lost island of Alkemi.
"This... this is..."
"AN ISLAND?!"
"Are you kidding me?! There's a whole island inside this Sea King?!"
"Just how astronomically huge is this fish?! It ate a landmass!"
"HEY! Look at the shore! Those are dinosaurs! Actual, living dinosaurs! I must be hallucinating!"
The thousands of pirates crowded the railings, screaming in absolute bewilderment at the Jurassic landscape before them.
York walked to the bow, looking down at the water line. The seawater was gradually changing color, turning a sickly, bubbling green.
"Kaido! Use your Flame Clouds to lift the hull!" York ordered. "Dragon! Provide forward propulsion! We're entering the stomach acid sea. Although Adam Wood is highly corrosion-resistant, it will eventually melt if we sit in it too long."
Kaido nodded. He slammed his hands on the rail, releasing dense purple Flame Clouds that coiled beneath the keel, gently lifting the massive flagship out of the bubbling acid.
Simultaneously, Dragon activated his Wind-Wind powers, generating a concentrated gale that pushed the hovering ship rapidly toward the shores of the island.
As the flagship hovered over the prehistoric jungle, York turned to his awestruck crew. His voice boomed across the deck.
"Listen closely! Bring all living humans and creatures on this island to me!!"
York's eyes flashed with a terrifying red Haki.
"Remember! Capture them alive!! If any of you trigger-happy idiots accidentally kill the locals, I will personally feed you to the dinosaurs! Do you understand?!"
The pirates collectively shivered under the killing intent. They snapped to attention, roaring their compliance.
"YES, CAPTAIN YORK!!"
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