OPTC Chapter 184: The Devil's Triangle
For people who had only recently set out to sea, life on the ship still felt fresh and exciting.
Aside from fishing, swimming, surfing, daily training, and ship maintenance, the unpredictable weather of the Grand Line always brought them unexpected "surprises."
Spring, summer, autumn, and winter shifted randomly, while rain, snow, wind, and frost took turns appearing. Just like how in Conan's world no one ever knows what tomorrow's date is, on the Grand Line, no one ever knows what tomorrow's weather will be.
Some say long-term sailors find life at sea boring, but Zhang Da Ye and his group hadn't experienced that yet. The occasional extreme weather they encountered kept things thrilling.
When they had spare time, everyone took turns tutoring Ye Yan, who was still clueless about this world. If he couldn't remember basic knowledge, they made him spar with someone to practice fighting skills.
Without Flags or magic tools, Ye Yan's pure physical combat ability was lacking. Zhang Da Ye estimated that if Ye Yan faced someone like Krieg head-on, he would struggle badly. Of course, if he used his brains, that was another story.
The laziest one on the ship was definitely Tom. While others trained when free, Tom would simply roll over and go back to sleep.
Tom loved this lifestyle of eating, sleeping, and playing. If he had one remaining wish, it would be for someone else to cook for him so he wouldn't have to bother.
One day, Zhang Da Ye decided to try being lookout. Alone in the watchtower, he lifted small dumbbells while scanning the horizon.
He had wanted to bring Tom along so he could cuddle him when bored, but lately Tom had been obsessed with fishing for extra snacks. Even though he stuffed himself every mealtime until his belly was round, he still couldn't resist snacking afterward.
"Hm?" Zhang Da Ye noticed something unusual ahead. He grabbed his telescope and then shouted through the loudspeaker: "Large fog bank spotted ahead! Large fog bank spotted ahead!"
Fog at sea was a major problem. You could never tell if reefs or icebergs were hidden inside. Get too close, and there would be no time to dodge or stop—a sailing ship had no brakes.
The first to respond was Shark Chili, shouting up: "How big is it? Can we go around?"
Zhang Da Ye stepped out of the lookout and stood on the yard of the main mast. "Hard to say, I can't see the edge. Let's slow down and observe first!"
He needed to know whether the fog would disperse or if it was too large to avoid. If it lingered, they might have reached Moria's territory and needed to prepare.
Shark Chili and the others adjusted the sails, slowing the Amber down as they carefully approached the fog.
Everyone gathered at the bow. Artoria gripped the wheel tightly, ready for anything. "Fog at sea isn't unusual, but I've never seen it this thick before."
"I'll send someone to scout," Ye Yan suggested, summoning Jin Er Peng, the flying Flag demon with sharp eyesight—an excellent helper at sea.
With a flap of his wings, Jin Er Peng soared skyward and headed straight into the fog.
If not for his usual shameless antics, he actually looked quite heroic.
Tom stretched his paw. He had wanted to ride Jin Er Peng for fun, but he had a slight trauma with eagles and vultures, so he hesitated. He decided to wait until they were more familiar. Surely no one would refuse to let a cute kitten ride them, right?
While waiting for Jin Er Peng's report, Zhang Da Ye shared his concerns.
"You're saying we might have entered the Devil's Triangle?" Shark Chili asked.
"You know about it?"
"That liquor seller, Gulagas, mentioned it. Lots of ships disappear in this region, and there are all kinds of terrifying legends," Shark Chili explained. He paid close attention to all sailing rumors.
Zhang Da Ye nodded. "That's the Devil's Triangle. In fact, it's Moria's territory—the Warlord of the Sea. Many of those missing ships are his doing. He steals people's shadows to make zombies."
"Zombies?" Ye Yan perked up. "So they practice corpse-refining here too?"
Zhang Da Ye sighed. "That's why we told you to study. It's a Devil Fruit ability. He can take someone's shadow and stuff it into a corpse, creating an obedient, unkillable zombie. Honestly, I think he's using that power the wrong way."
As soon as studying was mentioned, Ye Yan lost all motivation again. Rui Meng Meng followed up with another question: "What happens to people whose shadows are stolen?"
"They become vulnerable to sunlight. Exposed to it, they disintegrate into ashes."
Tom's teeth started chattering, and without realizing it, he hugged Zhang Da Ye's leg.
His shadow also panicked. It separated from his body, ran in circles on the deck, then clung to Zhang Da Ye's other leg in the same pose Tom was making.
Zhang Da Ye bent down and patted them both, finding that both the real Tom and his shadow felt solid. "Oh? Hello there, Tom's shadow. Shadows that can leave on their own—Moria would absolutely love you."
Tom glanced at the deck and saw Zhang Da Ye's shadow clearly outlined. But his own was missing. He opened his mouth wide in shock.
Tom's shadow mimicked a diving pose and plunged into the deck. A moment later, it reappeared attached to Tom's feet again.
At the same time, Zhang Da Ye thought he saw his shadow shake hands with Tom's shadow.
Tom jumped away, spun, bent down, and made several gestures to check. Once he confirmed his shadow was normal, he finally sighed in relief.
Everyone exchanged glances and nodded. Now they were sure—shadows really could be cut away.
Artoria frowned. "So this Moria is utterly evil, isn't he? Stealing shadows so people can't walk in sunlight, and making zombies… corpses don't just appear. That means he either kills people himself or robs graves."
Zhang Da Ye nodded. "Exactly. It's not voluntary, that's for sure."
Artoria asked again, "The Marines and World Government know about this?"
"They should. They know what Moria's power can do, and they definitely know about all the ships disappearing here. But since most of the victims are pirates, they just ignore it. Besides, the Warlords of the Sea are allowed to plunder legally."
From what Zhang Da Ye knew, Jinbe and Mihawk wouldn't stoop to harming civilians, while Kuma only pretended to follow orders. The others? They didn't care about civilians at all.
"So, Da Ye, what do you plan to do next?"
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