In the crowd, an elderly woman spoke up, claiming she had seen the two pirates take Amoline toward the shoreline.
"I didn't see any ship with them, they looked like they'd been shipwrecked!" A young man with a bruised face muttered in confusion. He was one of the villagers who had earlier "captured" Liam using an iron cage by the sea.
'Pirates without a ship? That's even more alarming!' The villagers exchanged horrified glances.
A middle-aged farmer scratched his head and asked, "Then what do they want with Amoline? They're not planning to skin her and eat her, are they? Ow!" He was promptly smacked by a burly woman standing nearby.
"Enough of that nonsense," The woman scolded, rolling up her sleeves and grabbing a spear. "Let's go find out what's going on." She marched toward the shoreline with determination.
Meanwhile, back at the woman's home, an old fisherman was rummaging through crates, searching for something.
The villagers quickly made their way to the woods on the western coast. They crouched behind the bushes, peering cautiously at the figures in the clearing ahead.
"That's them, a man and a woman. The man's handsome, and the woman's quite striking… What a shame, such a beautiful girl, how did she end up as a pirate?" The elderly woman lamented.
"What are they talking about?" One villager whispered. "Look at all those trees they've cut down! Did they really pile up that much wood in just half a day?"
"You don't understand," Another villager hissed. "That male pirate is incredibly strong! He can snap iron chains bare-handed and pry open cages like they're made of straw. We can't just charge in recklessly; we need to be smart about this."
"Smart, huh? Then what's 'that'? Look, the wood, it's floating! It's shrinking… It's disappearing! One by one, the logs are vanishing!"
"What in the hell is going on?!"
The elderly woman was utterly stunned. This bizarre scene reminded her of Annie, a figure from the village's past.
The other villagers were equally dumbfounded. Witnessing such strange phenomena, they began to whisper among themselves. "It's sorcery, just like Amoline's mother…"
"Yeah, her mother was like that, always acting strange like she wasn't quite human."
"She was a monster, plain and simple. Thank the seas she's gone now; she was terrifying back then."
"Who's to say these two pirates won't suddenly turn into clawing, roaring beasts?" Nearby, petals shaped like ears drifted to the ground.
Liam was busy stuffing the logs one by one into the mouth of a green Den Den Mushi, sending them into its body, the City Fortress.
After calling out to Robin, he hooked his foot into the little green creature's mouth and began to crawl inside, ignoring its muffled protests of "blub blub…"
Robin glanced back at the group of villagers hiding in the bushes, then took Amoline's hand and followed Liam into the Den Den Mushi's City Fortress.
The two shrank rapidly, vanishing from their original spot.
Amoline didn't feel much of a change; she only noticed the scenery shifting from the woods to a cave with twisted, intricate patterns. Robin quickly led her to Liam, who was holding a pile of logs while B.I.B. carried another stack.
They arrived at an open area within the City Fortress, where an array of carpenter's tools of all sizes were already laid out.
"Hypnosis can be used like this too," Robin remarked with a light chuckle.
Liam surveyed the logs and carpenter tools scattered on the ground, not looking up as he remarked, "It's because little green's mind is simple enough that the hypnosis worked so quickly."
"A blank slate is easier to write on." Robin nodded in understanding.
On the twisted wall of the City Fortress, a white fluid surged, condensing into a clone of the green Den Den Mushi. It rushed toward Liam with a series of "blub blub" sounds.
"What's all the noise about?" Liam scolded, then paused thoughtfully. "Why don't you just swallow these logs and use the Shiro Shiro no Mi's power to craft a ship and spit it out?"
"Blub?" The green Den Den Mushi, clinging to the wall of the City Fortress, raised a question mark in confusion.
"See? I wasn't wrong when I said your mind is simple," Liam smirked.
Amoline stared blankly at the "blub blub" snail that had just appeared on the wall, while Robin teased Liam, "Since it doesn't understand how to swallow the wood and spit out a complete ship, why not use hypnosis again to 'teach' it how to do it?"
"Good point!" Liam laughed. "Because I don't understand either!"
Besides, the Shiro Shiro no Mi isn't the Munch-Munch Fruit. To achieve a similar effect, a full shipbuilding workshop would need to be constructed inside the City Fortress, which would require extensive knowledge of mechanical engineering, unlike the instinctive abilities of a Munch-Munch Fruit user.
The Shiro Shiro no Mi is not the Munch-Munch Fruit, and the Munch-Munch Fruit is not the Shiro Shiro no Mi.
The Magnet-Magnet Fruit is not the Goro Goro no Mi, and the Goro Goro no Mi is not the Magnet-Magnet Fruit; the same principle applies.
To achieve techniques beyond the abilities granted by a Devil Fruit, the user must fully master the relevant knowledge.
Constructing a complete automated shipbuilding workshop inside the City Fortress? Not only is the green Den Den Mushi incapable of such a feat, but Liam also doesn't understand it and has no interest in that kind of knowledge.
Unless, if the Shiro Shiro no Mi were given to a shipbuilding master like Franky, he might transform the City Fortress into a mobile shipyard or even a City Fortress robot for combat.
"Captain, the next part is up to you to dictate." Liam and B.I.B. raised their hands in unison. "You talk, and we'll do the hard work."
Robin shook her head and said to the green Den Den Mushi, "Get me paper and a pen."
......
A few hours later, inside the Den Den Mushi's City Fortress, Liam was covered in wood shavings, staring silently at the pile of materials on the ground.
It somewhat resembled a ship, but it was far too small, barely enough for him and Robin to sit closely together. Moreover, the way it was pieced together was utterly bizarre, crooked, and particularly strange, making one doubt it would leak, disintegrate, or sink within three seconds of hitting the water…
Liam glanced numbly at Robin beside him. She avoided his gaze, turning her head to look elsewhere.
Soon, she turned back and said, "I think… this ship is actually not that bad."
Liam brought over the blueprint of the wooden ship Robin had sketched on paper. The design on the draft was peculiar, and what Liam and B.I.B., who were at a negative level of carpentry skill, had managed to create was the pile of materials in front of them.
"Let's start over!" Liam sighed deeply.
In the dark woods, the green Den Den Mushi let out a "BIU" sound, spitting out a wooden ship that landed on the ground with a solid "thud."
Inside the City Fortress, several candles burned on the walls, their flames flickering, filling the Cthulhu-style cave with the scent of wood.
"This place is too strange; I can't believe you like it," Liam scoffed. "One day, when I have time, I'll design a set of plans for the City Fortress to let it transform itself."
"Can I design it?" Robin seemed genuinely intrigued.
"Robin, you need to have at least some awareness of your taste," Liam said, pressing his hands against Robin's soft cheeks. "I'll leave one room for you to decorate, no more than that."
Petals fell from Robin's face, revealing her true skin. After years of being "disguised" by Jolyne, her complexion was flawless, exceptionally fair, and had a tender pink hue.
Liam believed that even Hancock, that overly narcissistic woman, would have to bow down in the face of such perfect skin.
(To Be Continued…)
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