Arriving on the deck, the areas outside the rooms had been refitted with a white-gold color scheme, but the interiors maintained a cozy dark yellow. The training room had also been upgraded to the most advanced state, with its gravity adjustment system now capable of reaching up to 20 times the normal level.
The Lamp Dials that Hera and the others had casually placed inside before were now properly arranged in various locations. All of the argo's systems had been converted to electrical power, perfectly matching Nami's Rumble-Rumble Fruit abilities.
Even more eye-catching was the massive cannon at the bow. An intimidating aura emanated from its blue-and-white barrel.
Vegapunk began the introduction: "This is a new addition of mine—a Railgun. It can convert all the electrical current within the ship into ammunition and fire it. At full charge and with an overload, it could easily blast a small island out of existence. However, the ship would basically be scrapped after such a shot. For regular use, you can fire it sparingly to conserve power."
"The propulsion system is also state-of-the-art. Without any special devil fruit abilities involved, this should be the fastest ship around. Of course, it also has an overload system, but that would damage the propulsion system."
The sides of the ship were dotted with numerous small holes. Vegapunk walked over to one side and explained: "This is an Electromagnetic Defense System. When activated, it can intercept enemy cannonballs from all directions. The downside is that it consumes a lot of power."
Vegapunk then sighed with admiration: "Such luxurious specifications. Apart from being power-hungry, it has no flaws. And with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, even that drawback is eliminated. If possible, could you help me collect some of Nami's blood?"
Hera nodded: "I'll have Kizaru bring it to you on his next visit." She couldn't help but lovingly stroke the argo; she adored this steel behemoth. The argo seemed to sense Hera's affection, as the deck trembled slightly.
At that moment, Hera had already planned it out in her mind: first, fire an overloaded shot, use 'Fourth Bullet' to recover, then fire another overloaded shot. Who could possibly stand against her then?
The argo sensed Hera's inner thoughts and hurriedly accelerated the formation of its Ship Spirit. The still-gestating spirit felt a sudden chill.
Vegapunk looked at his masterpiece with satisfaction and then said: "I also verified the flaw you mentioned yesterday. You were right; I underestimated the influence of human nature on the satellites."
"York, who represents desire, has been temporarily frozen by me. The other satellites haven't shown any abnormalities yet, but Lilith, who represents evil, is also under surveillance now."
"Thanks to you, we successfully averted this crisis. Is there anything else you need help with?" Vegapunk looked at Hera with a trace of lingering fear in his eyes. He was researching the Void Century and couldn't afford to be exposed prematurely.
Hearing that Vegapunk had taken her warning seriously, Hera nodded with satisfaction: "Actually, there is one more thing, concerning Kuma." After saying this, she glanced at Kizaru.
Kizaru looked at Hera and raised his hand: "There's no place here for you two to have a secret talk. Don't worry, for the next few minutes, I won't hear a thing."
Hera also trusted Kizaru completely and continued: "The World Government might propose transforming Kuma into a machine. If Kuma agrees, I hope you can preserve his memories."
Then, Hera handed over a black bullet filled with 'Enhanced · Fourth Bullet': "This was created using my ability. When someone comes to rescue Kuma, shatter this with Haki and have it touch him. It will rewind his state by five years."
Vegapunk took the special Fourth Bullet and examined it curiously: "Is it safe to touch? How did you manage this?"
Hera explained: "It's my special ability. I used Haki to preserve it. It only takes effect after the black Armament Haki coating on it dissipates."
Hera thought for a moment, considering that Vegapunk might want to experiment with it. She infused another stream of temporal energy, creating a minuscule hole in the bullet.
"There, now there's a tiny hole for you to observe the energy inside. However, the energy leaking out will affect the surrounding area on a small scale. It's estimated the power will completely dissipate in about 3 to 4 years."
"This is just an insurance policy. Who knows, I might be there myself when the time comes." Hera thought for a bit and said playfully.
Although Hera had rescued Ginny, who knew if Kuma might still get himself trapped for the sake of gathering intelligence for the Revolutionary Army? Hera had high hopes for this gentle man. Moreover, his devil fruit ability had strategic-level importance.
Vegapunk nodded and carefully stored the bullet away.
Seeing their business here was concluded, Kizaru spoke up: "It's getting late. Once we're finished, let's head out."
Hera nodded. It wasn't the right time to take Vegapunk away yet. At the very least, she needed her money-making ventures to develop further. Besides, he was doing fine here for now.
The City of Devouring Time swallowed the argo, and Kizaru, carrying Hera within his shadow, departed.
After returning to the Marine Base, Hera released the dramatically transformed argo and led her crewmates on a tour. Unlike Hera's fondness for the giant cannon, Perona immediately fell in love with the more luxurious bath and rooms.
Nami, on the other hand, was mesmerized by the dark golden hull and asked Hera excitedly: "Is this made from the gold from that ship on Sky Island?"
Hera nodded: "Now we can truly say we're sailing on a golden ship. And Nami, you're going to be the key figure on this vessel."
Nami nodded, excitedly hugging Hera: "Don't worry, I'll definitely work hard to develop my Rumble-Rumble Fruit abilities."
Ain and Kuina were more interested in the updates to the training room. One was adjusting the gravity in the gravity chamber, while the other was testing how well the new sword post handled her strikes.
Hera reminded Kuina: "That post is a new Composite Metal created by Vegapunk. According to him, only a swordsman of Master Swordsman caliber can cut through it."
Hearing this, Kuina excitedly wielded wado ichimonji and performed "Shimotsuki Style · Iaido Slash." A flash of light, and the strike that had once severed steel only left a white mark on the post.
After finishing her affairs on Egghead Island, Hera also welcomed the New Year. She simply gave everyone a vacation, planning to rest properly at the Marine Base for a while and head to the Four Seas after the New Year.
It was another year of celebration. Compared to the previous year, Hera now had Nami and Perona as new crewmates and had also befriended the Empress, Jinbe, and others, while conspiring with Rayleigh and Issho.
She had also visited Sky Island, Thriller Bark, and Fish-Man Island—islands with vastly different scenery—making for a very fulfilling year.
Amidst the festive New Year atmosphere, even the devilish instructor Zephyr stopped pushing them to train, instead seeking out his old friends to drink and chat with.
Hera was also dragged by Garp to attend various internal Marine parties. The old man Garp introduced Hera to everyone he met.
"See this? This is my granddaughter, Hera. Awakened Two-Color Haki at 14, defeated a Shichibukai at 15. Do any of you have such an outstanding granddaughter?"
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