Back at Water 7, Kokoro had told them quite a bit about the Sabaody Archipelago.
"We're finally reaching the end of the first half of the Grand Line?"
"The Red Line! Fish-Man Island!"
"I wonder what the second half is like? They call it the New World, right?"
"The enemies are going to be even stronger!"
Zoro tightened his grip on his chopsticks, feeling the pressure. "I'm done eating. Going to train some more."
He stood up to leave.
Nika, who had managed to wheedle a small bottle of sake from Nami through sheer persistence, called out, "Hey, Marimo, not staying for a drink?"
Zoro's expression flickered with temptation. For a man who loved his liquor, the allure of good sake was powerful.
But in the end, he shook his head firmly. "Next time for sure."
With that, he headed toward the training room without looking back.
Sanji also rose, working his still-sore ankles. "Count me in. That Sky Walk technique of mine still needs work. I need to master it as soon as possible."
He followed Zoro out.
Luffy watched his two crewmates' determined backs and couldn't help but laugh wryly.
"What's with this? Now I look like the laziest one here."
Over the next few days, everyone seemed to enter a state of combat readiness.
Zoro and Sanji pushed each other in training. Usopp worked on his new ammunition types and tried to sense what he'd heard about Kenbunshoku Haki.
Chopper buried himself in medical texts and experimented with more forms of his Rumble Balls. Vivi practiced fine control of her Fū Fū no Mi on the deck. Robin read ancient texts and organized historical materials. Even Nami was cramming with thick books on navigation and meteorology.
Luffy followed the [Pirate King Training Plan]'s schedule—sometimes learning navigation with Nami, sometimes discussing ship maintenance and upgrades with Franky. It was fulfilling enough.
The one who seemed most idle was Nika.
The Sun God, who had once been consumed by thoughts of vengeance and freedom, now seemed to have fully embraced a life of blissful indulgence, her gourd never far from hand.
Her only wish now was for Nami to give her the key to the wine cellar.
They sailed like this for two days. Just when they thought they'd reach the Sabaody Archipelago without incident, trouble found them.
Early one morning, little Merry was up in the crow's nest, watching Luffy exercise on the deck below.
Some of the crew were still asleep; others, like Luffy, were already up for their morning routine.
She suddenly noticed a vast, endless stretch of thick fog on the horizon.
"Everyone, we've got a situation!"
Merry called out through the ship's speaker. "Large fog bank ahead—can't see anything inside!"
Navigating through thick fog was a serious hazard.
One misstep could lead to disaster.
Without knowing if there were reefs, icebergs, or other obstacles ahead, a sailing ship had no brakes. If you got too close, there was no time to avoid or stop.
Even Merry, as a ship spirit, had her perception drastically reduced in such dense fog.
Nami, as the navigator, rushed out of the women's quarters. Her expression was grave. "How large is it? Can we go around?"
Merry focused her senses, then shook her head in frustration. "No, Nami. It's too big."
This was a problem.
Nami glanced at the Log Pose. It pointed straight into the fog.
She made a quick decision. "Everyone, adjust the sails—reduce speed! Merry, dock the Going Merry in the Sunny's dock system. We'll proceed slowly."
With the two ships combined, the Thousand Sunny moved cautiously toward the dark fog that seemed to swallow all light.
As the Sunny entered the fog bank, the light around them faded rapidly, as if they had passed from day into twilight.
Visibility dropped to less than fifty meters. An oppressive silence hung over everything, broken only by the gentle lapping of water against the hull.
Lights came on across the deck, but in the thick fog, they barely illuminated the immediate area around the ship.
Luffy stood at the bow, reaching out to grab a handful of the mist. It felt cold and damp in his hand.
"This fog is really thick. You can't see anything unless it's right in front of you."
"It would be easy to get lost, wouldn't it?"
Vivi looked at the nearly identical gray-white surroundings, her voice filled with concern.
As someone who had once gone undercover in Baroque Works, she had read extensive intelligence on the various seas of the Grand Line. She already had a guess.
"This sea area—if I'm not mistaken—should be the so-called Florian Triangle."
"That's right."
Robin confirmed Nami's guess, a trace of barely perceptible tension in her voice. "This is the place. Legend has it that over a hundred ships disappear here every year. There are also countless terrifying rumors about ghost ships and monsters..."
Ghost ships?
Monsters!
Nami's face went pale at the mention. She wasn't exactly brave to begin with, and instinctively latched onto Luffy's arm like an octopus.
Little Merry squeaked in fright and wrapped her arms around Luffy's waist from behind.
"Wait wait wait—is this that haunted sea area Kokoro was talking about?!"
Usopp and Chopper were clinging to each other, trembling. "Why do we have to come to a place like this?!"
Just then, Luffy's passive ability [Information Derivation] activated. Information about this sea area flooded into his mind.
"I see."
Looking at the cold, fog-shrouded surroundings, Luffy's eyes lit up. "This is actually the territory of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—Gecko Moria. Most of those ships that went missing were his doing. He steals people's shadows to make zombie armies!"
"Z-Zombies?!"
Nami and Merry screamed simultaneously, clinging even tighter. Usopp and Chopper were frozen solid.
"Why are there zombies in a place like this?!" Nami's voice cracked.
Luffy explained, "It's probably Moria's Kage Kage no Mi ability. He can cut people's shadows and put them into corpses or specially made dolls to create obedient zombies."
Honestly, it sounded like a pretty interesting ability.
More importantly—this was a Warlord's territory.
Franky stroked his chin. "What happens to people whose shadows are stolen?"
"They die if they're exposed to sunlight. They can't be in the sun—they'll turn to ash."
"Why are we so unlucky?! We just finished fighting Golden Lion, and now we're running into another Warlord?!"
Nami's teeth started chattering. She was practically hanging off Luffy. "And why do you look so happy about it?!"
Luffy wrapped an arm around Nami's waist, grinning sheepishly.
Of course he was happy.
His thinking was simple. Opponents at the Warlord level weren't exactly common on the seas.
To run into one and not have a good fight? That would be wasting the adventure.
What Luffy didn't know was that Gecko Moria was widely considered the weakest of the Seven Warlords.
Come to think of it, he'd already encountered quite a few Warlords.
Hawk-Eyes in the East Blue.
The one possibly behind Arlong—Jinbe, Knight of the Sea.
Crocodile in Alabasta.
A clash with Doflamingo's men in Mock Town.
And now Moria.
If he ran into two more, he'd have tangled with all of them.
What was he—a Warlord killer?
Sanji took a drag from his cigarette and asked calmly, "Does the World Government know about this? Using Devil Fruit powers to rob passing ships and cause mass disappearances is a serious crime, isn't it?"
Vivi's voice carried a note of anger. "The World Government definitely knows! But the Warlords have legal plundering rights—that's the privilege the World Government grants them!"
Crocodile, the last Warlord she'd encountered, had been the one who started the war in Alabasta. So she felt nothing but disgust for the Warlord system and those who abused its privileges.
"So, Luffy."
Robin turned to their captain. "What do we do?"
Luffy grinned, fighting spirit blazing in his eyes. "Since we can't leave this sea area and the Log Pose points straight ahead—let's go knock out this troublemaker Moria!"
Vivi immediately voiced her support. "I agree! Anyone who abuses their power to hurt innocent people like this—we can't let them get away with it!"
She had transferred all her anger at Crocodile onto every Warlord who behaved similarly.
And so, the Thousand Sunny held its course, sailing steadily into this fog-shrouded sea, legendary for its monsters and ghosts.
"Is this fog natural? I can barely see anything."
Luffy stood at the bow, his figure almost invisible from the stern.
The fog was so thick that moisture clung to them within minutes.
Nami stuck close to Luffy, as if his presence offered some sense of security. She couldn't help asking, "Luffy, aren't you training today?"
Luffy grinned. "Nope. The next couple of days are crewmate days."
Nami blinked, a sudden sense of dread creeping over her. "Crewmate days? You're not thinking of inviting someone else onto the ship, are you?"
When Luffy nodded, Nami nearly broke down in despair. But he was the captain, and on a ship, the captain's word was absolute.
"Just... just don't invite any weirdos onto the ship, okay?!"
Like that Golden Lion from before—the thought alone was terrifying!
Who knew who Luffy would take a liking to this time?
It probably wouldn't be some weirdo, would it?
Wait—if they weren't weird, would Luffy even notice them?!
Waaaah~
A soft breeze rustled. Vivi, manipulating the air currents, carefully sensed what lay ahead. She nodded to Merry. "No large obstacles in front for now."
Merry closed her eyes, extending her perception into the water beneath the hull. After a moment, she opened them. "No reefs either."
In this weather, visibility from the crow's nest was terrible. It was more effective to navigate from the bow, using Vivi's wind perception and Merry's water perception to avoid hazards.
And so the Thousand Sunny pressed on cautiously through the dense fog for half a day.
The silence remained unbroken, save for the sound of the ship cutting through the water and the occasional, unexplained drip of moisture.
***
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