The Devil's Triangle.
A vast sea area shrouded in dense fog with very low visibility.
Legends tell of ghosts, ghost ships, talking skeletons, and a mobile phantom island within these waters.
The Freedom was currently stopped at the edge of this thick fog. Facing forward, everyone on board wore expressions of excitement, a feeling that dispelled the weariness they had felt from pirate hunting these past few days.
"Kong Tai, let's go in! I can smell adventure."
A Hua adjusted his glasses and looked towards Kong Tai, who stood at the prow of the ship. He clearly couldn't wait any longer.
What interesting things awaited them this time?
Seeing Kong Tai remain silent for a long time, everyone turned to look at him. As they watched, their excited expressions faded, replaced by a hint of confusion.
"What's wrong?"
Gu Yina walked over, took Kong Tai's dangling hand, and asked with a puzzled look.
"Nothing."
Kong Tai snapped back to reality, his gaze shifting away. The surprise deep within his eyes vanished.
This was the third thing he had encountered in this world that he couldn't explain.
Perhaps no one else in this world could sense it, including Gu Yina and the others, or even Luffy and his crew from the original story. They all felt nothing.
He didn't know why. Perhaps it was because he wasn't originally from this world, or perhaps his unique spatial constitution made him particularly sensitive to space and its fluctuations.
To everyone else, the three colossal shadows towering in the fog ahead might have seemed like mere projections, undetectable by any aura.
But in his eyes, he seemed to see...
He saw three pairs of glowing red eyes, staring intently at this world through infinite space.
He didn't know what those things were, but he could tell from their eyes that they were certainly something extremely evil.
However, they were isolated by the world beyond infinite space, which was why ordinary people couldn't sense them.
He could feel them because of the constantly fluctuating space in the void and the malice that occasionally emanated, detectable only by him.
"Interesting!"
Kong Tai glanced at everyone, a smile creeping onto his lips. He then turned his gaze forward, raised his hand, and shouted, "Set sail! Let's begin a new adventure, brothers."
"Yoho~"
A Hua and the other two shouted excitedly in response and turned to man the ship. Robin watched Kong Tai's retreating back, a gentle smile on her face, then looked towards the distant fog with anticipation in her eyes.
Indigo also opened his mouth in an exaggerated smile and began a pantomime, gesticulating wildly.
Gu Yina, meanwhile, tightened her grip on Kong Tai's hand. She said nothing, asked nothing, and simply turned her head to look at him tenderly.
Kong Tai squeezed her hand back, a silent response. He would never hide things from Gu Yina once she was able to handle such dangers and he could protect her. But not now. Revealing it would only add to her worries.
This world was not simple.
Even as a transmigrator who knew many truths unknown to others in this world, he hadn't seen the ending. Therefore, there were still many things he didn't know, just like everyone else in this world.
He would have to explore and discover them gradually.
And wasn't this process of exploration the adventure they were seeking?
Though the Freedom appeared to be at the edge of the fog, the actual distance was not short.
They sailed for nearly an hour before finally disappearing from the surrounding waters and truly entering the dense fog.
Strangely enough, the waters outside, while not exactly tempestuous, were never truly calm, even on a clear day.
But upon entering this fog-shrouded sea, they felt as if they had returned to the East Blue. Apart from the dim environment, the waves and the wind here were exactly like those in the East Blue.
No longer violent, no longer wild.
"Look! A ghost ship!"
Not long after entering, A Luo excitedly pointed in one direction and shouted.
Everyone looked up. In the depths of the fog, a ship-shaped shadow was slowly approaching them.
Before it drew near, they felt a chilling wind, causing goosebumps to appear on their skin and a shiver to run down their spines.
"Could there really be ghosts?"
A Hua stared at the approaching shadow, his voice a mix of fear and excitement.
"If there are real ghosts, we must get a good look."
As he spoke, his eyes gleamed. This was a classic case of being more excited the more afraid one was.
However, to his disappointment, as the distance closed, they saw clearly that what approached them was merely a ship, long since battered and abandoned.
Only the numerous scratches on its hull and the tattered flag at the top of its mainmast still spoke of this pirate ship's former glory.
Kong Tai glanced at it once and then looked away.
He couldn't sense any aura from the ship, nor any ghostly presence in his mind.
Yes, it was just a derelict ship.
Ever since their first stop in the Grand Line, Twin Capes, he had promised Laboon that he would find his crewmates, the "Yellow Dog" "Binks."
He knew Brook was somewhere in these waters, but he didn't know his exact location.
In the original story, Luffy encountering Brook was a matter of plot arrangement, but his own encounter might not be so simple.
However, if his luck was bad outside, it might indeed be difficult to find him. But as long as they found Moria's Thriller Bark, the legendary "Ghost Island," they were sure to find him.
Because, if he remembered correctly, Brook's shadow had been taken by Moria and implanted into the body of the legendary samurai from Wano Country, the sword god Ryuma.
With his shadow gone, Brook couldn't leave these waters. If he encountered sunlight, he would die.
Therefore, he wouldn't be far from Thriller Bark.
And with Gu Yina's Observation Haki, which was even stronger than Enel's, combined with her electromagnetic waves, her sensing range, if truly utilized, would be even greater than Enel's.
So, as long as they reached Thriller Bark, and since Brook wasn't too far away, they had a chance of finding him.
Even if they couldn't find him then, they could still follow the shadow that emerged from Ryuma's body after defeating Moria to find him.
The two ships met, and nothing further happened.
The Freedom continued its advance.
The dilapidated sailing ship, behind them, once again vanished into the fog, awaiting the next ship that entered these waters to encounter it.
But that was a matter for the future.
It might be days, years, or even decades before it met another ship entering these waters.
It was even more likely that it would sink to the depths of the ocean without ever encountering another vessel.
This sea area was vast, spanning more than half of the Grand Line.
Ever since the fog had enshrouded these waters, no one had been able to fully explore them.
It had thus become a forbidden zone for many ships.
Pirate crews with strength weren't afraid, but ordinary pirate crews and merchant ships wouldn't travel this route.
They would rather take a detour, choosing other routes to reach the Sabaody Archipelago.
This was likely why they had encountered so many pirate crews outside the fog.
After all, not everyone had the courage to challenge this unknown territory, did they?