Two days later.
Just as the merchants of the East Blue had rumored, the moment the eclipse sailed completely into the waters to the southwest, the sky darkened in an instant.
The sunlight was completely stripped away by a thick, viscous, gray-white fog.
The breeze on the sea surface vanished, replaced by extremely violent and twisted undercurrents deep beneath the sea, as if countless ancient Sea Kings were rolling and fighting.
“Bang!
Bang!” Terrifying undercurrents, capable of tearing ordinary merchant ships into shreds in an instant, slammed fiercely against the hull of the eclipse, emitting teeth-grinding thuds.
But the eclipse remained as steady as a mountain.
The iron-pine keel wrapped in anti-corrosive steel plates displayed the absolute substance befitting its 80 million Berries price tag.
The sharp, teardrop-shaped hull was like a black scalpel, and under Sabo’s extremely steady steering, it precisely and powerfully sliced through one deadly whirlpool after another.
“What terrifying currents.
No wonder this place is called a dead zone.” Sabo glanced at the surging black seawater outside the window, his tone devoid of much emotion.
“If we were in that ordinary sailboat we originally planned to build four years ago, we would have probably disintegrated by now.” Ace stood at the very front of the deck.
Even as the ship pitched slightly in the undercurrents, his body seemed to have taken root, nailed firmly to the deck, motionless.
“We’re almost there.” Ace narrowed his deep black eyes slightly, his gaze piercing through the tangible white fog before him.
As his words fell, a crack suddenly appeared in the thick fog ahead.
Immediately after, the outline of a vast, desolate island exuding an aura of endless deathly silence appeared in their line of sight.
Along the island’s coastline, large amounts of broken ship planks were piled up in disarray.
Bleached skeletons were half-buried in the coarse gravel—some from marine life, others human.
Inside the island were endless stretches of strange black rocks and a primitive jungle so dense it was suffocating.
There was no sign of human life here, only a wildness and deathly silence forgotten by the world.
“Drop anchor.” Ace’s voice rang out on the deck, calm and brief.
The eclipse’s heavy steel anchor crashed into the sea, firmly embedding itself into the seabed’s rock layer.
Ace did not take the gangway; he pressed one hand against the ship’s rail, his tall frame leaping directly down from the deck over a dozen meters high.
“Bang.” A dull, loud thud.
Ace landed steadily on the mudflat, his astonishing weight and gravitational acceleration causing his feet to sink directly into the hard, wet sand, leaving two half-meter-deep depressions.
Sabo followed close behind, landing lightly at his side, gripping the specially made alloy long staff in his hand.
“Such a heavy ominous aura.
This island isn’t even marked with a name on the nautical charts.” Sabo looked around, his gaze sweeping over the weathered skeletons.
“Let’s go.” Ace ignored the white bones on the ground.
He slightly raised his head, and the “calling” that had been lingering in his mind ever since entering these waters became extremely clear at this moment.
He strode forward with his long, powerful legs, walking directly toward the primitive jungle that seemed capable of swallowing light.
The interior of the jungle was extremely humid and sweltering, with giant ferns and tangled vines almost blocking all paths.
But this could not hinder their steps in the slightest.
Sabo didn’t even need Ace to intervene; he waved his alloy long staff casually, slicing through the thick vines blocking their way as if cutting tofu.
“Roar!!” Just as the two had ventured about two kilometers into the jungle, a deafening roar suddenly exploded overhead.
An extremely pungent, fishy wind rushed toward them.
The dense tree canopy above was violently smashed open, and an ancient beast over ten meters long, covered in hard black scales, resembling a saber-toothed tiger but with three tails, opened its blood-red maw and lunged fiercely at Ace, who was walking in front, like the crushing weight of Mount Tai!
This was the apex predator of this nameless deserted island.
Its sharp fangs were enough to easily crush steel.
“Watch out, Ace!” Sabo’s eyes narrowed, just about to swing his staff.