Acier clapped his hands together and laughed. "Since you've all passed every test, the final prize, pure gold, now belongs to you!"
He tapped on a nearby wall, activating a mechanism. With a pull of a lever, the stone floor beneath them quickly retracted, and everyone dropped toward a dark void below.
Arima immediately used his Magnet Release to catch the group, slowly and safely lowering them to the ground.
Acier, being rather heavyset, simply jumped down himself, landing with a thud on the padded cushion laid out below.
Shaking as he stood, Acier brushed the dust from his clothes, then fetched an oil lamp to light up the pitch-black space.
The others were left speechless at his sudden antics. Even with the cushion, the fall had been startling enough to leave them quietly grumbling.
Olga, who had been shielded by Arima and hadn't landed directly on the cushion, still couldn't hold back her complaint. "That idiot father just loves giving people heart attacks like this!"
Acier chuckled without concern and led them deeper inside.
Before long, they reached an underground laboratory. Scattered across the room were countless documents filled with research data.
On the ground nearby lay gems and alloy materials, while the prize they'd been waiting for, the pure gold, rested within a sealed container on the desk.
Under the dim lamplight, the gold shimmered brilliantly.
Through the transparent glass of the container, everyone's gaze was drawn to the so-called "Pure Gold," their eyes glued to its glow.
Acier picked up the container and handed it to Arima. "It's yours now."
Arima accepted it solemnly without refusing. "Thank you. I'll make good use of it."
Acier smiled in relief. "So you're an expert too. From the moment you stepped in here, I could tell from your every move, you're a researcher."
Arima chuckled. "I used to help my granduncle with his work all the time. He's the true researcher. I was only ever half-competent."
Tsunade took the container from Arima's hands and asked, "Arima, how do you plan to use it?"
At her words, Arima's left eye shifted into the pattern of a Mangekyo Sharingan.
Channeling Kamui's spatial power, he separated a small piece of the gold, then used Wood Release to wrap and shape it into a pendant.
Placing the pendant around Tsunade's neck, he said, "This will do. From now on, my Tsunade will never grow old."
Acier lost count of how many times he'd been shocked today. These people constantly surprised him. Now, this man named Arima had casually turned a fragment of pure gold into jewelry.
Noticing the others' eager stares, Arima quickly said, "Don't worry, there's enough for everyone."
In less than half an hour, Arima crafted nine more pendants.
Each bore Konoha insignia on the front, while the back was engraved with the wearer's name. He handed them out to his family, keeping one for himself.
Only a tenth of the gold had been used so far, the rest Arima stored away.
Then he handed Acier a specially made shuriken. "If you ever run into trouble, bring this to the organization called Konoha. Someone will help you."
Acier, touched by their kindness, accepted the strange-looking shuriken with gratitude.
Arima had achieved his main goal. Now, it was time to truly set out into this world.
"Do you have blueprints for ships?" Arima asked.
Acier thought for a moment, then walked to the pile of documents. After searching for quite some time, he returned with a thick scroll of designs.
"These are ship blueprints I once obtained from the World Government. Though they're over two hundred years old, I've modified the design carefully. I promise you'll be satisfied."
"Can you help us build the ship? You only need to point out any mistakes we make," Arima asked.
Acier spread his hands. "The problem is, I don't have the materials. If only we had the right wood."
Arima smiled. "Leave the wood to us. How long would it take to build, then?"
Acier studied the plans for a long time before replying, "With a thousand workers, a month. With just us, at least nine years. If you're willing to scale it down, that would cut the time greatly."
Before he finished, Kushina, who'd long dreamed of sailing the seas, blurted out eagerly.
"That's fine! A thousand people is no problem. We're Devil Fruit users, after all. Leave the heavy work to us!"
The others laughed, looking at Arima and Nawaki, the two men who'd clearly be doing most of the heavy labor.
Acier grinned. "As long as there's manpower, that's enough. Don't worry, I'll build you the strongest ship!"
…
Time passed quickly, and half a month went by.
To speed things up, Arima and Nawaki created numerous shadow clones every day to work.
Whenever heavy materials needed moving, Arima used his Rinnegan to assist, sometimes even Kamui to transport wood.
Nawaki, on the other hand, grew increasingly skilled at using Water Severing Wave to slice through thick alloy plates.
The others weren't idle either. Guided by Natsuka and Mito, they rewove fabrics they had brought, carefully stitching together massive sails embroidered with the Konoha emblem.
The girls' hands were nimble. Besides sails, they made hammocks and sun hats, already planning to sunbathe on deck.
In addition to shipbuilding, Arima also used this time to learn more about the world from Acier.
Although the knowledge dated back nearly two centuries, it gave him a deeper understanding of this world's history.
One thing stood out: there was a glaring blank in the timeline.
Even Acier, as a scientist, only knew about six hundred years of history, tracing back to the World Government's founding. Clearly, that was suspicious.
Acier also warned Arima multiple times never to attempt studying the Poneglyphs. The World Government had long forbidden anyone from interpreting them.
Outwardly calm, Arima inwardly began plotting his next steps.
Acier had mentioned that Ohara, in the West Blue, was a sacred site of archaeology, home to the world's greatest library, the Tree of Knowledge.
Arima immediately decided their first voyage would be to Ohara. Even if he didn't study Poneglyphs, those precious books were essential to understanding this world.
Finally, the ship was completed, a vessel on par with the fleet of a Marine rear admiral.
It had four levels.
The underground level contained the armory and engine room, separated by black receivers created with Yin-Yang Release to prevent interference.
The upper three floors held the living quarters and activity rooms.
Though Arima insisted he didn't need an armory, Acier persuaded him otherwise.
According to Acier, if these ability users ever encountered enemies at sea, it was best to attack from a distance.
As for the engine room, the ship was equipped with an electric propulsion system designed personally by Acier.
It was powerful, capable of reaching 100 knots, over twice the speed of the fastest warships of the time.
Magnetic monopoles had never been proven to exist, so such propulsion systems had always remained theoretical.
But with Arima's Magnet Release and Yin-Yang Release, Acier succeeded in building it within just three days. Even two centuries from now, this ship would still be the fastest in the world.
Acier was so excited he couldn't sleep for three days, shouting that he wanted to announce this invention to the world.
But in the end, for safety's sake, he gave up. He didn't want another tragedy like two hundred years ago.
The first deck held a spacious lounge, leading into a dining hall and infirmary.
The second floor contained Arima and Nawaki's rooms, plus extra guest rooms for emergencies.
Above that was the women's quarters, with an aquarium built beside their rooms. Arima and Nawaki didn't mind, it wasn't like they couldn't see fish whenever they went out to sea.
The fourth floor was the library and treasure room. Kushina argued that if they ever found valuables, they had to be stored properly.
And if anyone wanted to reach the treasure room, they'd first have to get past layers of defenses.
Arima found her obsession with treasure amusing. He hadn't known Kushina had such a greedy streak.
With the ship complete, it was time to set sail. The problem was, how would they get out of the Bonbori Footballfish's stomach?
After some thought, Arima said, "We'll use Kamui. It'll drain my eye power, but a night's sleep will restore it."
And so, everyone boarded the deck. As Arima activated Kamui, the ship vanished from that strange space.
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