After hours of loading, the last of the golden shells had been secured. They sailed away from Mecha Island.
On the upper deck, Ben stood quietly.
Alvida leaned against him. Her large breast touched his arm. "We left Mecha Island hours ago, my love. You've been staring in that direction ever since," she said.
Robin leaned towards Ben. She gave a knowing smile. "Are you missing Queen Roba?" she asked.
Alvida chuckled. "Or perhaps imagining her younger, my love," she teased.
Ben felt a chill crawl up his spine. He cleared his throat. "I was thinking about Shimagame," he said. "She said something as we left. Or… I thought she did," he added.
Robin's eyes narrowed with intrigue. "You heard something?" she asked.
Ben nodded slowly. "Not clearly. Just a whisper," he responded. He could not hear it properly.
"The Pirate King was said to hear things no one else could," Robin commented.
Ben's eyes met hers. "The Voice of All Things," he responded.
Alvida smiled proudly. "My love has it," she added.
Robin didn't dismiss it. "It's possible," she remarked.
Suddenly, Nojiko burst onto the deck, her boots thudding against the wood. "Captain! We're approaching something strange," she shouted.
Ben, Robin, and Alvida turned sharply toward the bow.
Ahead, the sea had vanished into a wall of thick, swirling fog. The air grew colder, heavier.
One by one, the rest of the crew arrived on deck, Kaya, Marianne, Raki, Mikita, Zala, Vivi, Maya, Honey, Conis, Saphir, and Kalifa all were drawn by the sudden shift in atmosphere.
Mikita squinted into the mist. "What is that? It's so dark," she said. She then thought could this be that place.
"Are we heading straight into it?" Cois asked.
Honey shivered. "It feels like the sun just disappeared," she commented.
"This can't be good," Kaya said.
"Wherever we go, is never good," Raki said.
"We always end up in trouble," Saphir said.
"We do help people as well," Vivi interjected.
Ben stepped forward and smiled. We are heading into the Florian Triangle," Ben said.
"Florian Traingle?" Kaya asked.
"I think I have heard of this," Maya said as she thought about it.
"This is the place notorious for the many ships that mysteriously go missing within it," Kalifa explained.
"Mysteriously?" Raki asked.
"Yes there was a report which said 14 ships went missing in the past month," Kalifa added.
"It is said to be haunted by ghosts and large creatures," Robin said.
"Ghost?" Marianne asked, looking frightened.
"There is no such thing as ghosts," Zala said. "Right Ben?" she asked.
They all looked at him. "Well, there are devil fruits so who knows," Ben chuckled. "Besides, if there are any ghosts I will protect you all from them," he stated.
The girls all smiled. Their heart beat fluttered.
"Their might be some that want to join us," Alvida said.
"I would not put that past Ben," Mikita remarked.
"We should keep our eyes open," Ben warned.
"For the ghost?" Maya asked. She thought their Goddess will protect them.
"That but also, Thriller Bark," Ben responded.
"Thriller Bark?" Conis questioned. She wondered what that was.
"It is a ship owned by the Warlord Gecko Moria," Ben answered.
"Like Crocodile," Marainne responded.
Vivi thought back to him. It brought back unpleasant memories. "Is he up to no good as well?" Vivi asked.
"I would assume they are all pirates at the end of the day," Nojiko responded firmly.
"He once fought Kaido back in his youth," Ben said.
"Kaido?" Zala echoed, as her mouth fell open.
"One of the Four Emperors of the Sea. His name alone shakes the Marines," Robin said.
"Like Shanks and Whitebeard, my love," Alvida added, leaning against Ben.
Ben exhaled slowly. "Yes, exactly. But Moria is no longer the powerhouse he once was, " Ben said. "He lost his entire crew. And now, he's gathering corpses to rebuild it," he added.
A chill passed through the group. "Corpses?" Conis asked.
"The Undead?" Marianne's eyes widened. "You mean… actual reanimated bodies?" she asked.
Ben nodded. "It's all tied to the power of the Kage Kage no Mi, the Shadow-Shadow Fruit," he said. "It lets him steal your shadow and implant it into a corpse. The result is something that moves… thinks… fights. A puppet for him to control," he added.
Kalifa adjusted her glasses. "I've read reports about it," she said.
"Have you seen it?" Mikita asked.
"No, but the reports are accurate," Kalifa responded.
Zala leaned closer. "So he's rebuilding a crew of undead soldiers. That's… grotesque," he said.
"Tragic," Robin said softly. "But dangerous all the same," he added.
Vivi frowned. Her arms were crossed. "It's heartbreaking. To lose everything," she said. She could not imagine losing her sisters or Ben.
Nojiko stepped forward. "Whatever sympathy he had, it died with his crew. What he's doing now is monstrous," she said.
"That may be true… but there's one among his ranks who I think is interesting," Ben said.
"Pervert," Kaya said.
"Another member for the harem," Mikita teased with a giggle.
"You do collect them," Raki quipped.
"My love. We'll make sure she joins us," Alvida stated.
Ben didn't argue. He thought he could not say anything.
"One more thing," he said. "Salt. It's the key to defeating those zombies. We need to pour it in their mouth and the stolen shadow is released," he explained.
"Salt?" Conis asked, blinking. "That's oddly simple," she added.
"It is for sure," Saphir agreed.
"Exactly," Ben confirmed. "From now on, I want everyone to carry a pouch. It will be useful against them," he added.
The crew nodded. They sailed into the Florian Triangle. It was completely foggy.
"It is so dark," Mikita said.
"Scared of the dark?" Zala teased.
"I bet you are," Mikita responded.
"Well, I am so I am going to hold Ben`s arm," Honey said.
"I missed my chance," Nojiko said.
As the Miss Love Duck crept through the dense fog of the Florian Triangle. The visibility narrowed to mere meters. The sea was unnaturally still, the sky blanketed in swirling gray.
"No wonder ships go missing here. I can barely see," Saphir said.
"I can see something there," Vivi said.
Kaya nodded. "I think I can as well," she added.
"You both have good eye sights," Nojiko remarked.
Suddenly, a hulking silhouette emerged. They saw an abandoned ship, dead in the water.
The vessel was massive. It was about the same length of the Miss Love Duck, its hull weathered and cracked with age. Moss and barnacles had claimed the wood. It formed pale green veins across its surface. The sails were torn and flapped weakly in the wind.
Lanterns hung from rusted hooks along the rail. Every window was dark. There were some shattered, others fogged with grime. The ship's figurehead was now chipped and half-missing, carved in the shape of a roaring sea dragon with hollow eyes. The cables and pulleys dangled from the masts. The crow's nest leaned unnaturally to one side, nearly snapped off, with strange symbols into its wood. On the deck, a trail of deep grooves marked the planks. A tattered flag hung limply from the stern.
"Creepy," Marianne remarked.
"Very scary," Honey added.
Robin stared intently. "It's not just abandoned… It's sealed. Like someone tried to trap something inside," she said.
Ben thought this did not look like the Rumbar ship. He thought there were other ships around here. Kalifa did say 14 ships were lost this past month only.
"Are we boarding this ship?" Maya asked.
Avida smiled as she looked at the ship.
"We always do," Vivi responded.
Ben thought it might have something interesting. "Let's do it," Ben added.