The so-called Divine Scripts meant to strengthen the ship's hull-
In reality, they were nothing more than an application of Shu, which is capable of rapid activation and expanded range.
What Moses and Ging needed to do was engrave these Divine Scripts, imbued with the properties of Shu, in every critical corner of the Purple Smoke.
This way, in times of danger, multiple Nen Users only need to position themselves next to these Divine Scripts and then focus their Aura on them to stimulate the effect of Shu, thereby enveloping the entire Purple Smoke with a protective layer of Aura.
The most tedious part of this process was ensuring the connections between each Divine Scripts.
It was as if Moses and Ging had to prepare countless tiny components and then install them in specific locations.
Every step had to be flawless, as any mistake would ripple through the entire system, causing the Divine Scripts within a certain range to lose their intended conversion efficiency.
Preparing these 'components' was a monotonous task for the two of them.
And the process of 'installing' them required intense concentration...
This was delicate work.
It could only be done slowly and meticulously.
But Moses and Ging didn't mind such a time- and energy-consuming task.
To them, it was also a way to improve themselves, so they actually enjoyed it.
Besides-
Engraving the Reinforcement Divine Scripts on the Purple Smoke was part of the payment for one of Morel's requests.
Moses and Ging had to take it seriously.
A month of sailing passed in the blink of an eye.
The Purple Smoke crossed the known waters of the world's map and entered the Uncharted Waters, where the risks of navigation began multiplying.
The past month of sailing couldn't be described as entirely smooth, as they encountered storms, violent waves, and even sea beasts that suddenly emerged from the surging tides.
But compared to the challenges ahead, the journey through the known waters was nothing more than a warm-up.
Now-
The real voyage was about to begin.
Once they successfully crossed the Uncharted Waters, what awaited them was the even more perilous Dark Waters.
That would be the final step before landing on the Dark Continent.
However, before they cross the Dark Waters, they could seek the help of the 'Gatekeeper'.
With the Gatekeepers' guidance, they could navigate the Dark Waters in a relatively safe manner.
"The Gatekeepers..."
After officially entering the Uncharted Waters, Moses had already decided not to intercept Beyond on the hypothetical continent.
He knew that what that old geezer Netero wanted to see more was that the pillars of the Hunter Association could reach the Dark Continent faster than Beyond.
And be able to find Hope and solve a Calamity.
Only then would they stand on the shores of the Dark Continent as the 'undisputed leaders', looking down at Beyond and his team with a 'What took you so long?' gaze.
If he could film this envisioned 'outcome' and burn it as an offering to Netero...
Heaven would surely echo with that iconic laughter.
"Rat Jewel."
Moses stood on the deck, gazing at the dark, turbulent waves ahead, and lightly tapped the bead around his neck.
Buzz-
The bead vibrated slightly, and then in a burst of white light, it transformed into Rat Jewel.
"Chuu!"
Rat Jewel deftly climbed onto Moses' shoulder, with a look of curiosity in its big eyes.
Moses stretched out his hand towards Rat Jewel and said, "Eyeball."
"Chu chu!"
Rat Jewel immediately understood, and after chirping a few times, it raised its short little hands and touched the straight mark on its head.
The straight mark flashed green, and then a gray eyeball appeared in Rat Jewel's tiny paw, which looked like an object carved from stone.
But this stone-like eyeball was actually one of the eyeballs given to Moses by Mammon long ago, and it was later stored in Rat Jewel's [Treasure Bag] to expand its space.
Moses rubbed the cold surface of Mammon's eyeball with his fingertip. After injecting just a small amount of Aura, the gray eyeball gradually emitted a deep green glow.
When the deceased Mammon gave him this eyeball, he told him that this eyeball was a 'necessary item for returning home'.
Thus,
Moses considered whether he should present this eyeball when visiting the Gatekeepers.
"Hmm?"
Just as Moses was deep in thought, he suddenly sensed something and looked up at the churning black waves ahead.
A massive creature leaped out from the dark tides, sending sprays of water everywhere.
Moses focused his gaze and immediately recognized the colossal figure.
It was a whale that looked like a sperm whale.
However, the size of this sperm whale is several times larger than the sperm whale he knew of.
Boom!
Its massive body crashed back into the waves, sending towering plumes of seawater into the air.
Moses handed Mammon's eyeball back to Rat Jewel, turned to glance through the windshield of the captain's cabin, and his gaze met Morel's, who was looking in his direction.
Through the glass, Morel gave Moses a nod, indicating that he too had noticed the giant sperm whale breaching the turbulent waves.
They had only just entered the Uncharted Waters, and already they had encountered such an extraordinary behemoth. It was hard to imagine what even more absurd and exaggerated creatures might lurk in the perilous Dark Waters.
Moses withdrew his gaze and turned back to where the sperm whale had plunged beneath the surface, only to suddenly sense something amiss.
"That is…?"
His eyes fixed on a streak of vivid red piercing through the black waves, spreading through the water like rouge, dyeing vast swathes of the sea crimson in an instant.
From a distance, it looked as though some massive creature had suffered a grievous wound, bleeding enough to stain the surrounding waters.
But Moses, with his keen vision, could see that the phenomenon wasn't caused by blood. Rather, it was a dense swarm of some unknown organisms.
Like a school of fish, or perhaps...
'Ant colony?'
Suppressing his confusion for the moment, Moses turned once more to look at Morel inside the captain's cabin.
Then, he saw a look of shock on Morel's face, as if he had just witnessed something horrifying.
Obviously-
Morel had also seen the crimson tide surging amidst the raging waves.
"Return to the cabins!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Morel's voice spread throughout the entire Purple Smoke through the loudspeaker.
Hearing Morel's words, Moses was slightly startled, then immediately responded and walked towards the cabin.
But as he walked, he couldn't help but glance back at the rapidly expanding red tide.
With just that one look, he discovered that the situation on the sea was different again.
The giant sperm whale that had breached earlier now leaped out of the water again.
But this time-
Its huge, dark blue body was partially covered in the red tide, which now clung to nearly a third of its body.
When Moses saw this scene, his pupils shrank sharply.
He watched as the crimson swarm clinging to the whale rained down like a storm as the creature crashed back into the sea, only for the whale to re-emerge missing a full third of its body.
From breaching the surface to plunging back beneath the waves.
The whole process takes only about one second.
But in such a short time, a giant whale with a body length of more than 70 meters had one-third of its body eaten!
For the first time, the true horror of the deep sea unveiled itself before Moses's eyes.