Unfortunately, Noah's Time-Time Fruit ability couldn't interfere with the effects triggered by its previous user.
If it could, Noah would've stirred up quite the commotion—like releasing Momonosuke and the others ahead of time and delivering them to Kaido for entertainment.
But even though Toki had passed away, the effect she had triggered on the five of them remained active.
Just like those turned into stone statues by the Pirate Empress—if she were to die, the petrification would still persist.
Such was the terrifying nature of advanced Devil Fruit abilities.
And it was clear—the Time-Time Fruit was one of them.
Noah gently stroked Sarie's long golden hair.
In his hand, he fiddled with a golden fountain pen, which he casually exiled into the void of frozen time.
Ten seconds later, the golden pen reappeared out of thin air, dropping neatly back into Noah's hand.
By now, he had developed quite a few techniques:
◇Divine Might of Time : Leaves a temporal afterimage at the original location. The real body always exists in the next moment, creating an illusion similar to a Logia-type effect, used to evade attacks.
The downside was immobility—making him an easy target if someone camped the location. Still, the afterimage could be cleared—mostly for show or misdirection.
◇Domain: Banishment :- Opens up a ROOM-like space, sending every enemy within the domain to different points in time. Noah could then prepare in advance and eliminate them one by one as they reappeared.
◇Banishment - Enhanced : A form of time imprisonment, like a sentence with a set duration. It was similar to what Bartholomew Kuma could do—something Noah aimed to evolve further, until he could banish anyone, anytime, at will.
◇Temporal Reversal : Captures bullets, cannon fire, slashes, and energy blasts—delaying their effect to a later time, releasing them only when enemies reappear in the same location. A bit situational, and thus underwhelming.
◇Time Trap : A proactive method of attack—banishing bombs, sword slashes, and other strikes into storage, waiting for enemies to enter the range, then springing a deadly surprise.
◇Temporal Storage : Stores objects in a time-space exile and brings them back at a set point—useful for protection or deployment.
Warships, for instance, could appear hours or days later. It was even viable for temporarily safeguarding people. The only drawback—no spatial relocation.
This ability could even help Noah challenge the storage monopoly of Giberson, the so-called Storage King.
But Noah wasn't short on money, nor did he have the time to be a warehouse mogul.
Time and space fruits each wielded dominion over their respective axes.
Yet depending on reference points and targets, their effects blurred—was a teleportation the work of space? Or time?
......
"The Kingdom of Conomi dares to insult us like this?" Sarie snatched the golden pen from Noah's hand, flipped past a few pages about Garp, and jotted something down furiously—like a spoiled, petty princess.
A weakling who still liked to play games.
"What's the matter?"
"King Inome IV of Conomi only sent a congratulatory gift of 100,000 beli and 10,000 pounds of oranges!"
"100,000 beli?"
"Yes! That's not even enough for one royal banquet. How dare he humiliate us like this!"
Sarie was furious and wanted to deal with the Conomi Kingdom right away.
This was about pride.
In East Blue, which kingdom would dare disrespect Goa Kingdom like this?
Goa was the most beautiful kingdom in East Blue—a favorite travel spot for the Celestial Dragons—and home to the Navy hero Garp.
"Don't be angry. I've been meaning to tour East Blue. I'll deal with it for you."
Noah pinched Sarie's cheek. Now that the situation in Goa Kingdom had stabilized, he was looking to strengthen it further—by recruiting powerful individuals and forming the ultimate Royal Guard.
After all, Issho and Aramaki—two future admirals—had once come from royal guard units.
If his guard could include a few admiral-level fighters... Then the strongest empire in East Blue would be his for the taking.
He might even, like Germa 66 of the North Blue, initiate a war to unify East Blue.
Become a leading member of the World Government's summit. By then, even the Five Elders and Navy HQ would have to heed the voice of Emperor Noah.
"That's wonderful! Noah, you're the best!"
This time, Sarie didn't object. She threw her arms around him and planted a kiss.
She didn't want to provoke Garp—but that didn't mean she wouldn't mess with the Conomi Kingdom.
She had taken Noah's Goa Empire plan to heart.
Unifying East Blue might be a stretch, but conquering a few neighboring kingdoms to form an empire? That was tempting.
"It seems our journey to empire begins with the Conomi Kingdom."
Noah looked at the tribute—a mountain of oranges—and frowned. What kind of garbage kingdom sends oranges as a wedding and coronation gift?
When he pulled out the sea charts for the Conomi Kingdom…
He immediately decided—they had to crush the place.
Damn it!
Marine Branch 16?
Cocoyasi Village? Shells Town?
No wonder King Inome IV was broke.
That territory belonged to Captain Nezumi and the fish-man Arlong. [AN: I changed Conomi islands to Conomi Kingdom]
So while Inome IV might be pitiful—squeezed by pirates and Navy alike—he had still dared insult Goa Kingdom.
Noah would raise his empire's flag above the Conomi Kingdom and begin the march toward imperial dominance.
Conomi Kingdom truly had it rough. After all, not every affiliated kingdom was allowed a Navy base.
Originally, Navy branches were meant to protect member nations. But Nezumi of Branch 16 had allied with Arlong, suppressing pirate activity reports and plunging the kingdom into chaos.
All the wealth went into Nezumi and Arlong's pockets. Now, they couldn't even send a proper tribute—utterly disgraceful.
Noah figured Inome IV had been threatened—or maybe even controlled—by those two.
If that was the case, then Noah would liberate the Conomi Kingdom and place it under Goa's banner.
If Inome IV showed sense, he might be allowed to keep a symbolic title—Duke Inome.
A chance for him to be grateful and serve as an example to other kingdoms.
But if he refused or lacked respect, then even a king of a member nation wouldn't be spared. After all, the World Government didn't interfere in wars between member nations.
As long as the heavenly tribute was paid, they turned a blind eye.
But when non-member nations were involved, or pirates invaded a member nation, the Government and Navy would retaliate with full force.
This was the law set by the World Government.
It forced non-members to beg for inclusion and compelled members to cling desperately to their status.
.........
With the East Blue tour now in motion, Noah began to carefully study its sea charts, examining the situation of each kingdom.
"Kingdom of Clover, Kingdom of Organelle, Kingdom of Moonlight, Conomi Kingdom..."
These names were unfamiliar to Noah.
But certain Navy bases and town names gave him immediate clarity.
For example, Shells Town was located in the Clover Kingdom's waters—home to Marine Branch 153, ruled by the infamous Axe-Hand Morgan.
And among the islands of the Polaris Kingdom was Loguetown...