A week later, the Gourmet Navigation Group's fleet slowly sailed into the Florian Triangle.
This mysterious sea, perpetually shrouded in thick fog, was so dense that even sunlight couldn't penetrate the heavy gray veil.
Countless shipwrecks floated on the sea surface, silently telling the terrifying legends of this sea.
"Visibility less than fifty meters," The navigator reported nervously. "Magnetic field is chaotic. Log Pose is completely useless here."
Setsuna stood at the prow of the Ark Maxim, his black coat flapping in the damp sea breeze.
His target on this voyage was Moria. But Thriller Bark didn't stay in one fixed location.
To find Moria, the best method was to become the bait.
"All ships, disperse," Setsuna ordered solemnly. "All vessels, watch for drifting barrels. Once a signal is triggered, contact immediately via Den Den Mushi. All Captains, leave your Vivre Cards here and take my Vivre Card with you."
Due to the chaotic magnetic field of the Florian Triangle, navigation was impossible. Before entering this sea, he had specially made a batch of Vivre Cards to guide their way.
With the order given, dozens of ships shot forward like arrows released from their bow, quickly disappearing into the thick fog.
Soon, only the Ark Maxim remained on the sea surface.
Not long after Setsuna entered the cabin, Robin came running. "Captain, I think I found the drifting barrel you mentioned."
"That was quick. Hit the jackpot already?" Setsuna was also surprised, following Robin to the deck.
Looking in the direction Robin pointed, Setsuna indeed saw a wooden barrel floating on the sea, bearing the inscription [Offering to the Sea God].
"Good luck," A slight smile lifted the corner of Setsuna's mouth, "But we're not sure yet if it's Moria's trap."
A normal [Offering to the Sea God] was called a 'Flowing Barrel' (Nagare-taru), offered to the sea's guardian deity to pray for a safe voyage.
'Offering' meant dedicated to the gods.
Setsuna ordered the drifting barrel to be retrieved.
"Shall we open it?" Bonney eagerly raised her little hand.
"Open it. Let's see if it's fine wine or a signal flare," Setsuna wasn't worried. Signal flares themselves weren't dangerous.
Licking her lips, Bonney carefully stepped forward and opened the barrel.
The next moment, the drifting barrel burst with a cloud of vapor. A red signal flare shot into the sky, its light illuminating the heavens, its sound echoing through the clouds.
"Alright. Now we just wait for the 'hunter' to come to us," Setsuna clapped his hands. "Oh, right, Ace. Have someone temporarily cover the Ark's golden hull. Let's not scare away our 'hunter'."
Ace grinned, giving a thumbs-up. "Roger that. I'll handle it."
Three hours later, Setsuna, in the cabin, felt the ship shudder slightly, as if it had bumped into something massive.
"Pretty fast," Setsuna expressed approval, walking out of the cabin. Sure enough, he saw an unimaginably gigantic ship floating on the sea surface.
"Not bad. This ship will be our base from now on," Setsuna nodded with satisfaction. Even if he chained dozens of ships together, it'd still be too cramped for raising those monsters.
Now, with Thriller Bark, he could not only raise more diverse animals on board, but also fully utilize his inner farmer's planting talents… after all, with such a huge ship, it'd be a waste not to grow some vegetables.
"Moreover, based on information from my past life, this ship might be wreckage from God Valley…" Setsuna rubbed his chin.
Thriller Bark came from the West Blue. God Valley also happened to be in the West Blue.
How did Thriller Bark, being so huge, cross the Reverse Mountain to reach the first half of the Grand Line?
According to geographical knowledge, even if Moria could cross the Calm Belt with Thriller Bark, he should have entered the second half of the Grand Line.
The most likely possibility was that before God Valley sank, a part of it was taken by Golden Lion using his ability and directly sent to the first half of the Grand Line.
There was also Captain John and Ganzui's corpses, discovered by Moria and turned into zombies.
Of course, the Captain John part was questionable for now. After all, rumors said he was killed by his crew for hoarding treasure. But it could also be a distortion in the transmission of information, with Ganzui, who was actually a comrade, being mistaken for a crewmate.
'I wonder if Rock's corpse is on this ship. If we could find Rock's corpse and stuff it with a powerful shadow, Moria could actually become a decent fighter.'
With these thoughts, Setsuna led everyone onto Thriller Bark.
Although the ship was filled with an eerie, sinister atmosphere, everyone was relaxed, as if on a picnic.
Fear stemmed from insufficient strength. With their power, even if real monsters appeared, they'd probably scare them into screaming "Ghosts!"
Setsuna and the others strolled leisurely. Just as they entered the forest, groans suddenly rose from all around.
A large horde of zombies stumbled out from the shadows. Some were missing limbs, some even had only half a head left. Rotten bodies wrapped in bandages looked quite horrifying.
"Filthy vermin," Enel, clearing the path ahead, had a cold glint in his eyes. He raised his right hand.
Instantly, thousands of bolts of lightning descended from the sky.
The blinding flash of thunder illuminated the entire dark forest as if it were daytime.
When the light faded, all the zombies had turned to charred husks.
From those blackened corpses, countless black shadows drifted out.
"These are… zombie souls?" Enel rarely showed surprise.
As a god of Skypiea, he knew little about the Devil Fruit abilities of the Blue Seas.
"No," Setsuna explained. "This is Gecko Moria's ability. He can stuff other people's shadows into corpses to create these walking dead."
"What's the use of making these things? No combat power at all," Enel said disdainfully. "Does that guy like making toys?"
At the same time, in a dark castle deep within the forest, a stuffed bear zombie frantically searched for its master.
"Perona-sama! Terrible news!" Kumashi's voice was distorted with fear. "Our drifting barrel seems to have attracted some incredible people!"
"Kumashi, shut up!" Perona puffed out her cheeks, floating in mid-air. Her pink twin-tails swayed gently with her movements. "You're not cute at all when you talk like that!"
Seeing Kumashi fall silent, Perona nodded with satisfaction, then asked, "Who are the enemies?"
Kumashi immediately began gesturing wildly. Perona said angrily, "How am I supposed to understand you gesturing like that?"
But she still didn't want Kumashi to speak. She threw over a piece of white paper and a brush. "Draw the appearance of those people for me."
Kumashi tremblingly picked up the brush. However, his drawing skills left much to be desired.
The figures in the drawing were twisted and deformed, facial features misplaced, like monsters from a nightmare.
Yet, despite this abstract style, Perona clearly recognized them, letting out a scream. "It's that Warlord, Chiaki Setsuna! How did the drifting barrel catch him?"
"We're doomed! Doomed!" Perona spun wildly in the air, then flew toward the central castle. "Moria-sama! Disaster has struck!"