Half a month later, in the New World. Near the Calm Belt between the New World and the North Blue, the sea was completely calm. There was not a single animal visible on the water, and the sky above was clear for thousands of miles.
After some time, the sound of rolling waves suddenly rose over the sea, and two ships, one large and one small, appeared on the horizon.
At the front was the Twin Goddesses, and behind it was a massive warship being towed along by it.
Ever since they had come near these waters, though they had not yet entered the true Calm Belt, the airflow over the sea was already no longer enough to keep the warship moving.
The warship was not powered entirely by wind. It had its own steam engine as well, but after sailing for half a month, its fuel had already long since run out.
To avoid the risk of exposing their whereabouts, they could not approach any islands to resupply, so the Twin Goddesses could only tow it forward slowly.
But while the problem of propulsion had been solved, the food shortage was becoming more and more serious.
The World Government warship did have some stored supplies, but feeding more than five thousand people every day was no small matter. If Yemu and the others had not been catching large fish every day to supplement their food, they probably would not have made it this far.
That alone showed how difficult it was to establish a country. Just the matter of feeding so many people was already enough to give anyone a headache.
Luckily, they were almost at their destination. And according to the intelligence Gasparde had sent from over there, the Marines had already returned to G1 Base to rest and would not be making any moves in the short term.
By noon, a strangely shaped island appeared before everyone.
From a distance, the island looked like a human eye.
The whole island was oval-shaped and covered in short green plants of an unknown kind.
At the very center stood a huge volcano like a pupil. Around it was a vast circular lake that encircled the volcano, and outside that lake was an even larger ring of land.
Whether on the Twin Goddesses or the warship, everyone stared toward what would become their future homeland and murmured to themselves,
"So this is Wenmigudan Island? Our future home?"
Wenmigudan Island was the island's name. It was one of several islands they had chosen from the many nautical charts Mr. Dolon had given them, and in the end it was the one Ayala personally selected.
According to the records on Dolon's charts, this was a very gentle island.
That gentleness referred not only to the climate. The volcano had long since stopped erupting, there were no dangerous animals on the island, and most convenient of all, the circular lake at the island's center was fresh water, solving the island's water supply problem in one stroke.
But there was one strange thing about the island. It seemed unable to grow any plants other than those short green ones, for reasons unknown. That was why no one lived there.
As for why they chose this island, aside from Ayala's lucky intuition, there were three reasons.
The first was that it lay close to the Calm Belt, so neither Marines nor pirates would casually approach it, making it relatively safe and hidden.
The second was that the island was very close to Flare's homeland, the Gourmet Kingdom. So even if crops really could not be grown there, it would not become too serious a problem.
The third was that the island was truly enormous. Even among all the island nations Yemu had visited, this one was the largest.
"All right, now that we've found Wenmigudan Island, Tiger, pick up the pace. Let's get there as soon as possible and get everyone ashore first."
Tiger nodded.
Yemu then turned to Flare and asked,
"How many days of food do we have left?"
"We've still got plenty of meat, but we're running low on fruits and vegetables. Three days at most."
"I understand. Then after we land, Flare, Ayala, Gaos, and Kurota, the four of you go around the island. Learn what the place is like, and at the same time see whether there's anything edible here."
"Got it. Leave it to us!"
"Enel and Erza, the two of you fly over there right now. Use your high vantage point to get a look at the whole island, check whether there are any dangerous places, and find somewhere suitable for everyone to come ashore and rest tonight."
"Got it!"
Enel floated into the air at once, and Erza excitedly followed close behind.
"Enel-nii-san, wait for me!"
After watching the two of them fly off, Yemu continued giving orders.
"Tiger and Erik, once we land, Tiger, I need you to go into the sea and check the surrounding waters, including whether there are any Sea Kings and what the seabed is like. Erik, I need you to inspect the lake on the island. We're short on time, so I'm counting on all of you."
"Leave it to us."
Watching Yemu arrange everything step by step without the slightest panic, Tiger felt even more confidence in the dream of building their own country.
"Then Kuromi, Kuromu, and Kuroli, the three of you help Dana and Modlin move everything off the warship and onto the island. Empty the whole ship for me!"
"No problem, boss. Leave it to us."
"No problem, Your Majesty. I'll arrange everyone properly!"
"And finally, Dana and Ron, you two are coming with me and Lillilu. We're going to take a look at the volcano on this island..."
"Understood, Captain!"
And so, about half an hour later, with Enel and Erza guiding them, the two ships came ashore, and everyone quickly split up to begin their tasks.
...
Under the cloudless sky, Wenmigudan Island was quiet beyond belief.
As he flew across the island, Yemu truly did not see a single large animal.
It seemed Dolon's charts had not been wrong. This island really was gentle.
After flying over the circular lake, clean and crystal clear, what appeared before them was a volcano that was not especially tall.
It looked as though the volcano had once gone through some kind of crustal upheaval and collapsed around the edges. The whole volcano was low, surrounded by very flat land. Only at the very center was there a massive circular crater, and this seemed to be the only place on the whole island where there was no trace of green.
When the three of them landed, all they saw was yellow earth and stone.
After arriving, Ron jumped down from Yemu's shoulder, reached down to touch the ground beneath his feet, grabbed a handful of dirt and sniffed it by his nose, then said in surprise,
"Captain, I think I know why this island is so strange, why there are no large plants or animals here!"
"Oh? Why? Is it because the soil here isn't suitable for plants and animals to grow?"
Ron shook his head.
"On the contrary. The soil on this island is extremely fertile. But precisely because it's too fertile, ordinary plants simply can't grow here. I'd say those strange plants growing around the outer parts of the island are probably the only species that can adapt to this soil."
"I see. Then is there any way to change that?"
Ron nodded firmly.
"Don't worry, Captain. We just need to cultivate a new species. For us Tontatta, that's not difficult."
"That's a relief. Then there's the other important matter. About what I told you before, can you do it?"
"Well..."
A trace of uncertainty appeared on Ron's face.
"As for planting Devil Fruits, our tribe's records do mention such a thing, but I can't give you a definite answer, Captain, on whether it can really be done. I can only try. But I definitely can't do it alone. When it comes to cultivating plants, Gaos is even better than I am."
"I understand. Then make the preparations. Tomorrow morning, we'll give it a try..."