A dense gray fog enveloped the entire sea area, draping the ocean in a gray cloak that defied sunlight and rendered everything extremely dark.
With no sunlight year-round, anyone entering this place felt as if they were in an ice cellar, despite the absence of ice.
At this moment, the Freedom cut through the dense fog at high speed. Instead of proceeding slowly along a predetermined course, it pierced the darkness like a sharp sword, unhesitatingly navigating to the end of the gray mist.
"What is this?"
Staring at the inky black abyss ahead, resembling a sheer cliff, everyone standing at the bow of the Freedom was filled with shock.
The dense fog here formed a distinct boundary, as if blocked by something and unable to advance further, revealing a chasm that stretched from sky to earth.
What appeared before them was a mist-filled white, but behind that white was a striking black.
The seawater here descended in a straight line, as if this was the ocean's ultimate destination. The water flowed downwards without the slightest roar of water hitting the ground.
This abyss eerily gave everyone the feeling that it was connected to another world, a place that could never be filled, no matter how much water poured in.
Just then, everyone on the ship turned their heads to look towards the right front of the ship.
They saw a sea king, dozens of times larger than the Freedom, with a stunned expression, rapidly approaching the dark abyss ahead from within the fog, carried by the current.
There were no roars, no struggles, as if its mind had been lost.
Watching the sea king, everyone was taken aback, then turned their heads, looking at the fog behind them with surprise.
"Does this fog have the effect of clouding the mind?"
Robin rested her hands on the railing, looking at the dense fog behind them, a glint in her eyes as she spoke uncertainly, "And we are fine. It's probably because we haven't been inside for long enough, so we escaped this fate."
"Captain, can you sense what exactly is inside?"
Turning her head, Robin's gaze landed on the silver-haired figure standing in front of the windmill.
"No."
Kouta shook his head, glanced at the sea king in front of him, and then asked Robin, "This sea area must have been formed a long time ago. Have you encountered any legends about it?"
"Let me think..."
Robin tapped her right temple with her index finger. After a moment of thought, her eyes lit up, "I don't know if the legend I read is about this place."
"Oh~ Tell me."
Lying on the blades of the windmill, Kouta looked at Robin with a hint of interest on his face.
"The legend I read also mentioned dense fog, but it was only a few fragmented words."
Robin paused here. She looked up, her gaze fixed on the abyss ahead, and continued, "According to legend, there is a forbidden zone for all creatures on the sea, called the 'Zone of Life.' Anyone who enters will be abandoned by the world and can never come out."
"Is this it?"
Hearing Robin speak, everyone's gaze returned to the sea king, whose mind was clouded and was about to fall into the abyss, unaware of its fate.
"Whatever life zone it is, since we're already here, let's go down and embark on an adventure no one else can have."
Seeing everyone's silence, Alo spoke first.
"Yes, an unexplored territory is even more valuable for an adventure to us."
Having handed over the helm to Kouta, A Tao came to the bow of the ship.
Like Alo, his face was filled with excitement as he gazed at the abyss ahead.
For 99.999% of the people in this world, this was an absolute forbidden zone. Putting aside the mind-clouding fog outside, the abyss itself would bury anyone who reached this place.
However, for their team, this would be a unique adventure.
They trusted Kouta with danger.
Seeing the two speak, everyone turned their attention to Kouta, their eyes filled with excitement.
"Of course."
Kouta nodded without hesitation, looking at everyone. "Unknown adventures, unknown dangers, unknown enemies, unknown destinations – isn't this the ultimate goal of adventure?"
"So..."
Kouta raised his hand, turned around, stared at the abyss that was quietly approaching, and swung his right hand downwards with force. "Let's go."
"Roar~"
As Kouta's hand fell, everyone's face broke into excited smiles. Even Yi Sheng, who couldn't see all of this but could feel the surroundings, had become almost transparent on the ship, showed a hint of excitement.
Ah Hua, the other two, and Brook even let out exaggerated roars.
Feeling the adventurous hearts of his companions behind him, Kouta's lips curved upwards slightly, and a hint of excitement also flickered in his azure pupils.
How long had it been since he looked forward to an upcoming adventure like this!
The last time he felt such anticipation was when they entered the deep sea at Sabaody and headed for Fish-Man Island.
After arriving in the New World, everything here was no longer novel to him as it was when he first set sail. He didn't have much expectation for predetermined outcomes.
The difference in his mindset contributed to his extreme indifference and unpredictability towards this world beneath his gentle exterior.
This could also be described as acting on impulse.
It wasn't true indifference, but rather a loss of interest in many things, which made him appear somewhat absent-minded.
Only Bi An, who was connected to his soul, knew this.
And this place...
Gazing at the dark abyss, which grew grander as the Freedom approached, making the ship seem minuscule, an unprecedented interest emerged deep within Kouta's azure pupils.
"What awaits me below?"
"Will it be a god?"
"Will it be a god like Bi An?"
"Or will it be another world?"
Staring at the dark abyss, the azure nebulae in Kouta's eyes spun rapidly. His powerful spiritual energy, attached to his formidable Observation Haki, swept through the entire abyss.
But as he had told Robin earlier,
The abyss seemed to have no bottom. Even with all his might, Kouta could not sense any aura from below. All he could see was formless, colorless power swirling around the abyss, pulling every creature that reached this place towards it.
"Hold on tight."
Kouta shouted, instructing his companions behind him to grip onto nearby objects. He then released his control over the Freedom, allowing it to surge forward like the sea king that had already disappeared.
Bang—!
Following the current, the Freedom broke free from the restraint of the water, paused briefly in the air, and then free-fell, rapidly disappearing into the dark abyss.
At this moment, within the void of the dark abyss, a giant pupil, devoid of any emotion, slowly materialized.
The owner of the pupil seemed to have just woken up, or perhaps something had gotten into its eye. It blinked, its eyeball rolled a few times, and then gradually vanished into the void.
As the eyeball disappeared, the dark abyss seemed to close like curtains, leaving behind only a bottomless dark fissure, still ruthlessly devouring seawater.