Aboard the Nautilus
Noah and Robin were sifting through some records of Paradise.
Since Stuka Island couldn't be redeveloped anytime soon, Noah needed to find a new refuge for Dalia and his team.
His target was "Turtle Island."
Soon, Robin located a relevant reference in the library's index.
"Mr. Noah, could you summon the book with this catalog number?"
Noah retrieved the book from his card-based library. The cover read, The Travels of Agut.
Robin flipped through it, finding an entry about Turtle Island.
Year 1105 of the Sea Calendar... As I passed through the waters around Blue Island, a sudden storm blew our ship off course...
The island looked like a giant turtle shell. Locals claimed it was a legendary giant turtle, and even had an old song about it...
"Rock and roll! Rock and roll! King of the Sea! Golden Crown!"
As Noah heard the song, he knew this was the place. "This must be the island."
He checked the chart to locate Blue Island, which was the sixth checkpoint on the fifth route of Paradise, about 293 kilometers from Long Chain Island.
The journal didn't give a precise location, and since the island emitted no magnetic field, it couldn't be found with regular log or eternal poses, only a special turtle compass.
This didn't deter Noah; he simply used his tarot cards for divination.
"Probability southeast of Blue Island: 0%…"
"Probability northeast of Blue Island: 14%…"
"Northeast, 63 degrees from Blue Island: 98%…"
With these results, Noah adjusted their course.
Two days later
In a calm stretch of sea, a massive, turtle-shell-shaped island appeared beneath them.
"It really does look like a turtle shell," Daz remarked, comparing the island's shape.
"Let's go down and have a look!"
Noah and his team soon found themselves on a beach at the island's edge, close to a small town.
As they walked down the streets, the residents watched them with wide-eyed curiosity; Turtle Island wasn't on any magnetic routes, so it was rare for ships to come near.
A short, middle-aged woman, escorted by several burly guards, soon approached.
Smiling, the woman introduced herself, "Welcome, travelers! I'm Roba, the mayor of Turtletown. I suppose the weather brought you here?"
"No, we've come specifically to visit this island," Noah replied with a smile.
Roba seemed at a loss for words, but the guards around her eyed them warily, hands drifting to their weapons.
"No need to be so tense," Noah said calmly. "If I meant you harm, there'd be no chance for you to fight back." At these words, he let a hint of his Conqueror's Haki seep out.
Sweat beaded on Roba's forehead.
Recognizing the strength before her, Roba forced a smile and asked, "Sir, is there anything we can help you with?"
"I'd like to know more about the legend of this island. Would you mind sharing it with us, Mayor Roba?"
"Oh, of course… absolutely…"
Just then, a young boy in a makeshift robot suit charged down the street, yelling, "You invaders! Prepare to be destroyed!"
"Rajet! Stop it!" Roba shouted.
"Don't worry, ma'am." With a wave of his hand, Noah used an electromagnetic field to freeze the robot in place.
Inside the cockpit, Rajet frantically pulled levers and pushed buttons, but the machine wouldn't budge. A swirl of iron sand pulled the shocked, golden-haired boy—about fourteen or fifteen years old—from the cockpit, and he looked up at Noah, awe-stricken.
"Please forgive Rajet, he's just a boy…"
Noah shook his head. "Coddling isn't good for growth. His skill with machinery is impressive—creating a robot like that with limited resources shows great potential. But he needs refinement. Kro, I'll leave him to you."
"No problem. I'll make sure he learns the true fundamentals of this world." A glint of dark amusement flashed behind Kro's glasses.
Seeing this, Roba's face filled with worry, though she knew too well the harsh reality of this world: survival of the fittest. Turtle Island had no true fighters; their only option was to endure.
Under Roba's guidance, Noah and his team were soon led to ancient ruins at the center of the island.
Through his electromagnetic senses, Noah had already mapped the ruins, and sensed the immense life force of the giant turtle beneath them.
However, he had also detected issues with the creature.
Its enormous body granted it great strength but also a heavy burden. With a diameter of over five kilometers and a height of nearly 1,800 meters, along with layers of rock, soil, and trees covering its surface, the turtle could barely move, and only for short periods.
For biological modification, Noah called in Law and Andy, the true experts.
Law used his Op-Op Fruit ability and Observation Haki to examine the island turtle thoroughly.
"Boss Noah, this turtle's condition is worse than expected. It's severely malnourished from years of inadequate food intake. If left untreated, it won't survive another thirty years before its organs begin failing."
"Can we improve its condition with biological modifications?"
Law thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, though it will take several months."
"Then stay and help here for a while. Other matters can wait."
"Understood."
After discussing the turtle's treatment plan, Noah and his team began arranging the relocation of the Turtletown residents.
Since the plan was to transform the island turtle into a mobile fortress, the low-powered civilians couldn't remain here. Ari used his abilities to transport them to Storm Isles for resettlement.
Meanwhile, Dalia, Syl, Wood, and the others remained on Turtle Island, beginning the fortress modifications.
The turtle's treatment and modifications proceeded simultaneously.
Law transplanted organs from the Stomach Baron, allowing the turtle to capture sea creatures with its vine-like appendages to sustain itself.
He also implanted organs from Sky Island creatures, enhancing the turtle's stealth, mobility, and attack capabilities.
Dalia, in turn, used weapons and steel from Storm Isles' industrial district to outfit the turtle shell with weaponry. Laser cannons, railguns, conventional artillery, and machine guns were all mounted onto small turrets across the shell.
The core area was converted into a manufacturing plant, producing shells, rockets, and bullets.
These modifications even included submarine features, as the turtle's 1,800-meter height made it suitable for underwater navigation in some regions. For example, the waters around the Sabaody Archipelago had depths of over 5,000 meters.
In the Calm Belt—the nesting ground of the Sea Kings—depths ranged even deeper, often exceeding 10,000 meters. The massive Sea Kings, with bodies stretching several kilometers, thrived at such depths, explaining why they seldom appeared in the Four Seas, where depths typically exceeded only a kilometer or two, restricting their movement.