Leaving Perona behind on the island had only been a joke. Naturally, Black had no intention of actually doing such a thing.
He wandered around the island, searching for locations that matched the conditions he had imagined.
Birka's overall area was considerably smaller than the Sky Island that appeared in the original story, so it was not difficult to walk around the entire island once.
At first, some Birkans had stepped forward, attempting to drive Black and his group away.
However, after Black shot a few of them dead and Mandy intimidated the rest with a burst of sword qi, none of the Birkans dared approach again.
Black snorted coldly.
"A bunch of people who bully the weak and fear the strong."
Eneru had never provoked anyone, yet because he had no wings, he had been bullied since childhood.
But the moment these same people saw that Black truly dared to kill, they immediately shrank back in fear.
Still, it was human nature to bully the weak and fear the strong.
Black did not bother dwelling on such matters.
"Um… are you people from the Blue Sea?"
Just as Black finished roughly circling the island once, a weak voice suddenly spoke from the shadows of a street corner.
Black turned his head and looked over, unable to suppress a chuckle.
I haven't even gone looking for you, and you've come to find me yourself.
The person who stepped out was Eneru.
Eneru, who was only one year younger than Black, stood in front of him looking almost like a child.
His height of more than two and a half meters was actually not short.
However, due to long-term malnutrition, the current Eneru was extremely thin, almost like a bamboo pole.
His clothing was similar to what he wore in the original story, except that the magatama drum ring behind his back had not yet appeared.
Black asked with interest,
"What do you want?"
Eneru gritted his teeth slightly before speaking.
"My name is Eneru. I grew up here."
"You people… you're looking for something, right?"
"I can guide you. I just hope that when you leave, you'll take me with you."
"Hm?"
Black raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.
Wasn't this guy's dream to reach the Endless Earth? Why would he suddenly want to go to the Blue Sea?
Seeing Black's expression, Eneru hurriedly explained his thoughts.
The Endless Earth was indeed his dream.
But dreams came only after basic survival was secured.
The current Eneru was not the future "God" of Sky Island.
He was simply a young man in Birka who was constantly bullied and struggled even to survive.
No matter how strong his yearning for the Endless Earth was, he first needed to stay alive.
Only then could he think about the future.
After hearing the explanation, Black shook his head.
"I can't take you away."
Eneru's face immediately fell with disappointment.
But Black continued speaking.
"If you can help me find what I'm looking for, then after I leave, I can have someone come pick you up and bring you to the Blue Sea."
Eneru hesitated when he heard that.
On one hand, he didn't want to lose such a rare opportunity.
On the other hand, he was worried that once Black left, he might disappear forever.
After a moment of hesitation, Eneru finally nodded firmly.
"Alright! I know this island very well. Just tell me what you're looking for!"
He had already made up his mind.
Even if he were deceived, the worst outcome would simply be wasting some time.
It was still worth trying.
Seeing this, Black briefly described the possible location of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit based on his deductions.
After listening, Eneru lowered his head and thought for a moment.
"I might know a place like that. I just don't know if the thing you want is really there."
"Oh? Tell me first."
Black was quite satisfied.
As expected from someone who had been ostracized since childhood he truly knew every hidden corner of the island.
Eneru explained,
"Near the northern coast, there's a reef area."
"That's the most barren place in all of Birka. Almost nobody goes there."
"When the tide goes out, the ground is covered with sharp reefs that can easily cut your feet."
"When the tide rises, underwater currents appear. If you're not careful, you can get swept away."
"Reefs?"
Robin looked surprised.
"Aren't Sky Islands usually made from island clouds and sea clouds?"
"Tides might exist, but how could there be reefs?"
Robin had voiced exactly what Black had been wondering.
In his understanding, aside from places like Shandora that were blasted up by the Knock Up Stream, most Sky Islands rarely possessed real solid land.
For Sky Islanders, land was an extremely valuable resource.
If a reef area truly existed, even if the environment was harsh, the Birkans should have tried to develop it.
It should not have remained abandoned for hundreds of years.
Eneru explained,
"They're not exactly reefs."
"They're more like the shells of giant shellfish."
"When the tides rise, those shellfish are carried to the northern shore."
"Over time their shells merged with the island clouds, eventually looking just like reefs."
"I see."
Robin nodded, her curiosity satisfied.
Black gestured for Eneru to lead the way.
"In that case, take us there."
"Alright. Please follow me."
Young Eneru behaved quite politely.
Soon everyone arrived at the northern coast of Birka.
Just as Eneru had described, the place was extremely barren.
At the same time, it also matched Black's expectations.
There was some danger here but not enough to be fatal.
"Alright everyone!"
Black clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.
"What we're looking for is a Devil Fruit."
"It's yellow, shaped like a pineapple, and looks like a ball of lightning."
"Now let's start searching!"
"Awooo!"
The moment Black finished speaking, Perona cheered loudly and rushed straight into the reef field.
Stella reached out as if to stop her, but Perona had already run far ahead.
Stella could only smile helplessly and call after her.
"Be careful! Those reefs are very sharp!"
Seeing Perona's excited behavior, Black knew the girl had been stuck on the ship for far too long lately.
So he didn't stop her.
Robin, however, looked at Black with a slightly surprised expression.
In Black's mansion, she had once seen the Devil Fruit encyclopedia.
"This description…"
She did not voice her guess aloud and simply followed the others into the reef area.
The shell formations there were extremely complicated, and no one knew how many hidden gaps existed where something could be concealed.
But Black wanted to cultivate powerful users with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
So he did not call the slaves from the ship to assist.
Everyone searched continuously for the entire morning.
Still, nothing was found.
Perona was already lying flat on the ground, exhausted, her tongue sticking out.
Rami's forehead was covered with beads of sweat.
Stella gently wiped Rami's forehead with a handkerchief and spoke softly.
"Take a rest for a moment. Your body has only recently started recovering. Don't push yourself too hard."
At that moment, Eneru suddenly walked over holding something in his hand.
"Is this what you're looking for?"
Black focused his gaze.
It was indeed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
Good heavens… could this thing actually possess some kind of awareness?
Black took the fruit and examined it briefly in his hand.
"That's the one."
He casually placed it into his pocket before calling out loudly to the others still searching.
"It's been found! Everyone come back."
Then he turned to Eneru and said,
"I'll contact my people to come pick you up. Follow his arrangements when he arrives."
"Once you complete the task I assign you, I'll provide you with enough funds to build your own flying ship."
Black casually painted a promising future for Eneru.
As he did so, he couldn't help feeling that he was starting to resemble a true leader more and more.