One Piece: The sky is azure, I just time-traveled today.

Page 96

"Listen...it's happening again..."

A sailor huddled at the mast base suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes wide with terror as he stared intently at the thick fog outside the ship's side.

The others trembled violently, like startled quails, instinctively covering their ears and shaking even more.

Sounds began to emerge from the fog.

It wasn't the sound of wind, nor the sound of water.

Countless fragmented, indistinct voices, seemingly from different men, women, and children, intertwined to form a chilling background noise.

"Come on... come keep me company..."

"The water is so cold... Come down, come down quickly..."

"You're next... I see you..."

"Give me your body..."

"There's no escaping it... No one can escape it..."

They seemed to be speaking, sometimes weeping, sometimes laughing, sometimes uttering vicious curses.

These sounds penetrate directly into the mind, ignoring physical barriers.

What's even more chilling is that the content of these whispers often points directly to the listener's deepest secrets, fears, and desires.

"It...it's saying I know...I know I pushed my brother down the well, and I did it to my stepmother too...you beast..."

A sailor collapsed, clutching his head, tears streaming down his face, and screamed, "How could it know! Nobody knows except me!"

“It’s calling my name… saying I have to pay back my gambling debts… pay them with my life…” Another middle-aged man, pale-faced, trembled, his eyes unfocused.

“My darling…my precious daughter…is that you? Are you in the fog? Daddy has come to find you…” A gray-haired navigator stood up unsteadily, staring blankly at the thick fog, and then leaped off the ship. The people next to him couldn’t stop him in time.

Dead? The navigator is dead?!

Who will direct the ships' direction?

The captain, a burly man with a scar on his face, gripped his sailor's knife tightly at his waist, his knuckles white from the strain. His forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his eyes were bloodshot, filled with the weariness of fighting against something unseen.

He also heard the whispers.

The voice kept telling him that the first mate, whom he had killed with his own hands ten years ago in order to possess the other man's wife, was waiting for him in the fog.

"Shut up! All of you, shut up!"

The captain suddenly drew his sailor's knife and frantically slashed at the air around him, seemingly insane. "Hallucinations! It's all this damn fog creating illusions! Stay focused! We'll be out of here soon!"

His roar sounded so pale and powerless on the deathly silent deck.

No one responded.

Despair, like this thick fog, seeped into everyone's very bones.

Just then, the ship jolted violently, as if it had struck something.

It wasn't the kind of hard collision with rocks, but more like... crashing into a huge, slippery, tough clump of giant seaweed.

The speed suddenly slowed down.

"What's going on?!" The captain suppressed his fear, rushed to the ship's side, and peered down.

In the dark green sea, a large number of pale, slippery, tentacle-like objects, as thick as human arms, appeared out of nowhere. They densely wrapped around the bottom and part of the ship's side, slowly dragging the entire ship in a certain direction.

These tentacles are covered with suckers and appear weak, yet they contain astonishing power. No matter how the sailors slash them with knives and axes, they can only leave shallow marks. Moreover, the cut areas will immediately secrete a foul-smelling slime and regenerate rapidly.

"It's...it's the 'Elegy'! It's those seaweeds!"

Finally, someone recognized it, letting out a piercing scream, and completely broke down.

"We're finished! Once they've got us, we'll never escape this fog! We'll become their nourishment! Our souls will be trapped here forever, whispering!"

As if to confirm his words, the whispers in the mist suddenly became clearer and more intense, filled with malicious elation.

The ship, dragged along by countless pale tentacles, slid irreversibly into the deeper, darker part of the fog.

There, one could vaguely see the silhouettes of some huge, twisted shadows, resembling the remains of some deep-sea monster.

Those were the ships of the intruders, now an eternal part of this eerie sea.

"No, no, no... I don't want to die! Why are you forcing me to choose this way to die!"

"Help, help... please spare me..."

"Captain... please think of something! It's all your fault, you're the one who led us into the Grand Line... it's all your fault..."

"...Ah...help...help me..."

Now, the "Sea Serpent" is permanently stuck here.

The "Whirlwind" slowly approached the outer edge of the dense fog area.

"Oh? This fog... is interesting."

Sabo stood at the bow of the ship, adjusting his top hat. His blond hair still stood out in the slightly gloomy light. He squinted at the gray-white barrier in front of him that seemed to devour all light. Far from being afraid, his face showed a look of eager anticipation.

"I can already smell the adventure!"

Kuina placed her hand on the hilt of Ziyun's sword, her posture upright like a pine tree. She sensed the invisible, intangible yet chilling aura emanating from the mist, which penetrated deep into her soul. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, but her eyes remained clear and sharp.

"This fog can disturb one's mind," she succinctly concluded.

Robin held the recording pointer in his hand, which was trembling slightly and steadily, pointing steadfastly to the deepest part of the fog.

"According to the pointer, the first island on our second route is located inside this mist."

Her voice was calm, with a touch of scholarly composure. "It seems this is the path we must take."

Liu Jiu remained the most silent one. He leaned against the main mast, his gaze sweeping calmly over the eerie fog. He immediately noticed the problem: those with guilty consciences are easily swallowed by the thick fog.

"A necessary route? Then what are we waiting for!" Sabo snapped his fingers, his excitement growing even stronger. "Let's rush in and see! Maybe there's some incredible treasure or a powerful enemy hidden inside!"

Kuina nodded, her hand on the hilt of her sword tightening slightly, a gesture of acquiescence. To her, this environment, which tempered her will and challenged her swordsmanship, was itself a form of training.

Robin smiled slightly and carefully put away the recording pointer: "Well then, let's go. Everyone stay alert, especially beware of mental interference."

The "Whirlwind" adjusted its direction without the slightest hesitation, gliding straight into the awe-inspiring "Whispering Mist" like an elegant dancer.

Instantly, the light dimmed, and everything around was enveloped in a thick, damp, and cold gray-white.

Visibility dropped sharply, as if the whole world had been covered by a thick layer of frosted glass.

The seawater turned dark green and viscous, and the boat slowed down involuntarily.

Then, the eerie whispering arrived as expected.

"Come on... come keep me company..."

"The water is so cold... Come down, come down quickly..."

"You're next... I see you..."

"Give me your body..."

"There's no escaping it... No one can escape it..."

Fragmented, indistinct sounds, interwoven with countless emotions, began to burrow into the minds of the four people like invisible tentacles.

However, this was in stark contrast to the disarray of the crew aboard the "Sea Serpent"—

"Huh? Speaking directly in our heads?" Sabo blinked, not scared at all, but curious. He even tried to decipher the content of the voices with great interest. "This voice says the water is cold, is it inviting us to swim? Haha, too bad we don't have time right now."

Kuina didn't even flinch. The whispers that tried to stir up her fear or shake her resolve were like a breeze across a rock, leaving no trace. Her will had long been forged into an unbreakable fortress through countless life-and-death trials and sword training.

"Noisy." That was her only two-word comment.

Robin tilted his head slightly, as if listening to a rather uninteresting radio drama, his eyes even carrying a hint of analysis and research.

"It acts directly on the spiritual level, attempting to excavate and amplify negative emotions within... This mechanism is somewhat similar to the 'bewitching shell' recorded in some ancient texts. I don't know its origin."

Chapter 116 Island of Deception

Even Liu Jiu finally reacted. He slightly raised his eyes, seemingly finding the constant background noise a bit...annoying. But that was all; he didn't even bother to furrow his brow.

These eerie whispers, powerful enough to instantly break an ordinary person, had a significantly reduced effect on the four of them.

Sabo is open-minded and cheerful, with few dark secrets, and is a staunch fighter, naturally resistant to such mystical things.

Kuina possesses a clear mind and an iron will, making her impervious to distractions.

Robin is knowledgeable, mature, and has experienced the destruction of Ohara, so he has built a strong fortress in his heart.

As for Liu Jiu... to him, these whispers were probably no better than the buzzing of flies, not even worthy of his attention.

The Whirlwind continued its steady journey through the thick fog, cutting through the viscous seawater and leaving the unsettling whispers behind.

Sabo was even starting to get bored: "Is that all? Apart from being a bit noisy, it doesn't seem like a big deal. Isn't there always a reason behind everything? Why hasn't the mastermind shown up yet?"

As if in response to his "expectations", the ship shuddered slightly and slowed down again.

Below the ship's hull, in the dark green seawater, numerous pale, slippery tentacles began to emerge, silently coiling around it.

"Oh? They're here!"

Sabo's eyes lit up. Instead of being surprised, he ran to the ship's side and curiously observed the strange seaweed that was trying to drag the ship.

"It looks sticky and disgusting. But... it doesn't seem very sturdy either?"

He casually picked up a spare wooden stick from the deck, covered it with Armament Haki, and poked it at one of the tentacles.

The seemingly tough tentacles were easily pierced and severed like a hot knife through butter when faced with the imposing wooden stick, and a foul-smelling sap oozed from the broken ends.

"See? It's weak." Sabo pouted, seemingly somewhat disappointed.

Kuina didn't even draw her sword; she simply pointed her fingers like a sword, and a condensed sword aura swept across, severing the tentacles on one side of the ship at the root and clearing out an area.

Robin, meanwhile, calmly used his powers to grow several hands, holding small bottles and tweezers, attempting to collect samples of the tentacles for later research.

Liu Jiu didn't even lift his eyelids.

The Cyclone encountered almost no obstacles, braving the increasingly dense whispers and crushing the pale tentacles that were constantly regenerating only to be easily severed, steadfastly heading towards the direction indicated by the record pointer, into the depths of the fog.

As long as one's heart is upright and honest, and there is no confusion...

The fog suddenly dissipated.