The subterranean labyrinth shifted again, not with violence, but with purpose. Mechanical gears deep in the walls churned to life, and corridors once sealed began to pulse with eerie light. The Straw Hats were still separated, each moving along their own path, unaware that the next step would test more than just their strength.
Luffy bounded along, grinning and poking the glowing walls. "These tunnels are like a maze! Maybe there's a giant treasure at the end!"
He skidded to a stop when a cloaked figure stepped into his path, unmoving.
"Yo! You guarding the treasure?" Luffy asked, head tilting. When the figure said nothing, Luffy shrugged. "Okay! Guess I'll punch you!"
Zoro marched steadily, guided only by instinct and the faint hum of danger. He pushed through a rusted door and entered a chamber dimly lit by flickering bulbs.
A tall figure, wrapped in black cloth with a katana resting loosely in one hand, stood across from him.
"You're a swordsman?" Zoro asked, cracking his neck.
The figure answered by drawing the blade slowly.
"Good," Zoro grinned. "Let's see what you've got."
Nami advanced through an arched corridor lined with shattered display cases. The air smelled like old ink and mildew. She paused when a figure in a tattered cloak emerged from a passage ahead, arms crossed.
"You've uncovered what wasn't meant to be found," the woman said.
"Then maybe it should've stayed hidden better," Nami shot back, clima-tact sparking to life.
Sanji blew smoke from his lips, marching with determination.
"Nami-swan! Robin-chwan! Just hold on!"
A heavy footfall made him stop. A brute cloaked in thick wrappings stomped forward, cracking knuckles that glowed with a golden shimmer.
Sanji's cigarette fell from his mouth. "I don't have time for thugs. But fine. You want to dance? Let's dance."
Robin ran her fingers over carved runes in a circular chamber. As the last word lit up, a hidden door slid open. A cloaked figure stood behind it, holding a thick, chained tome in one hand.
"How far would you go for the truth?" the woman asked.
Robin narrowed her eyes. "Far enough to expose people like you."
Chopper stepped carefully into a room filled with broken lab equipment. A pungent chemical scent made his nose wrinkle.
He froze when he saw a cloaked figure examining one of the stasis pods.
"They called it healing too, you know," the man said.
Chopper clenched his hooves. "But I know the difference."
Usopp tiptoed through a narrow corridor filled with pressure plates and tripwires. His nerves were fried.
He spun when someone whistled. A cloaked marksman leaned casually against the wall, crossbow in hand.
"You talk a big game for a liar. Let's see how brave you really are."
"I-I'm not just a liar! I'm a sniper, too!" Usopp said, drawing his slingshot with shaky hands.
Brook twirled into a spiral staircase lined with mirrors. He paused when a cloaked figure stepped out of a reflection, rapier raised.
"Death never truly left you," the woman whispered.
"True," Brook said, his voice calm. "But I'm more alive than you'll ever be yoho ho ho"
Above it all, Kael watched from the annex. His eyes flicked from screen to screen.
"Now it begins."
The cloaked figure behind him asked, "Will this change anything?"
Kael said nothing. But deep in his gut, something twisted.
These weren't enemies. Not yet.
But this island would decide that.