But by the time she realized it, it was already too late.
If only she had been a little earlier, and hadn't let Kōta and Kuina discover the Thriller Bark, perhaps they could have hidden in this thick fog. Kōta would have had some trouble finding them, but now…
"Let's go! We'll go straight there."
Kōta withdrew his gaze and walked towards the Thousand Sunny first. Behind him, the piano floated in the air as if being dragged by a hand, silently following him.
Everyone was already accustomed to Kōta's abilities, so they followed him toward the Thousand Sunny.
However, Brook was seeing Kōta's power for the first time, so his pale skull face showed a look of shock again.
"Brook, if you want to get your shadow back, follow me. As for whether you'll board my ship or become my crewmate, we'll discuss that later."
While Brook was still in a daze, Kōta's voice came from the Thousand Sunny.
Brook froze for a moment, then picked up the violin case and his cane from the round table. He glanced back at the ship, then at the many skeletons inside the ship's cabin, turned around, and jumped onto the Thousand Sunny.
"Excuse me."
The moment he jumped down, Brook's gaze fell on Kōta. He said sheepishly, "Mr. Kōta, could you tow this ship for me? Although the ship is broken, my companions are still on it. I don't want to leave them. Even if I have to leave, I want to find a place for them to rest in peace."
"Hm!"
Kōta nodded and turned to look at A Tao.
"No problem at all."
A Tao made an "ok" gesture and then said, "With our ship's power, we can easily tow this giant ship if we use the electric system."
"That's good, as long as it's no problem."
As Kōta thought, two giant chains rose from the ship's compartments on both sides of the Thousand Sunny, floating like giant dragons in the air. Then, they moved, one on the left and one on the right, hooking onto the bow of the giant sailing ship beside them.
After finishing, Kōta withdrew his gaze, turned to look at Brook, and chuckled, "Are you relieved now!"
"Yes, yes, Yohohoho! Mr. Kōta, you're amazing!"
Whirr!
At that moment, A Tao in the cockpit pressed the switch for the motor. Instantly, the giant propellers behind the Thousand Sunny began to spin rapidly.
Stirring the water, they provided propulsion for the Thousand Sunny, allowing it to sail forward quickly.
Whoosh!
The sound of chains rubbing against each other followed, then the chains tightened, pulling the giant sailing ship forward together.
Before long, the people at the bow of the Thousand Sunny saw a long, dark shadow emerging from the thick fog ahead. As they got closer, they realized that this shadow was actually a moving island!
Looking up, they saw the large sails that blocked out the entire island and the skull emblem on them. They then understood that the legendary Ghost Island was actually a ship.
They reached the area where the island's mouth-like teeth were located.
Seeing that the island's mouth did not open,
Kōta knew that Moria had already discovered them.
Since he knew who he was, it was clear that Moria didn't want him to land on the island.
"Just because you don't let me, I won't come?"
Staring at the giant tooth gate before him, a cold glint flashed in Kōta's eyes.
Clang—!
The sound of a sword drawn.
The crisp sound of the sword draw echoed in the silent, dark sea beneath the thick fog, seemingly resonating throughout the heavens and earth.
Accompanied by a cold, ethereal sword light, two giant, crescent-shaped silver-gray slashes, with a hum, one to the left and one to the right, pierced through the air and space, instantly appearing before the giant mouth.
Before the giant mouth could react, the slashes, with a "swoosh," as if cutting through tofu, directly sliced through the giant mouth's teeth.
Boom!
After the sword light, the middle part of the giant gate directly fell into the sea.
It was clear that this gate could not stop Kōta and his party.
The Thousand Sunny continued forward, breaking through the splashing waves as the giant gate fell, and docked in a U-shaped harbor behind it, resembling a person being choked.
"Moria, come out and see me."
Kōta was not Monkey D. Luffy; he wouldn't waste time searching for Moria. So, as soon as the ship docked, he shouted loudly.
His voice was not loud, but it clearly spread throughout the entire island, and of course, it reached Moria in the highest castle in the center of the island, as well as the ears of his three subordinates.
"He's here, he's really here."
Perona, the pink-haired girl, looked at Moria with fear in her eyes.
Perona was one of Moria's Three Calamities, the commander of the zombie animals and scarecrows.
Also known as the "Ghost Princess," she was a Devil Fruit user who ate the Horo Horo no Mi (Horo Horo Fruit). She could separate her soul from her body, but her body would become an inert shell without a soul, making it extremely vulnerable to attack.
The glance Kōta had given towards the Thousand Sunny earlier was when he had detected Perona's ghost.
It was unclear what her ghost was made of, but it could cross such a great distance. In the original story, Luffy and the others had encountered Moria's trap treasure chest even before entering the Florian Triangle.
Her ghost could fly such a long distance, which was truly remarkable.
Moreover, her ghost could incapacitate anyone it touched, instantly rendering them powerless. If not for meeting her nemesis, the desperate Usopp, in the original story, Luffy and the others might have been annihilated by Moria.
However, this could also be due to Perona's insufficient development of her Devil Fruit.
A god-tier Devil Fruit, encountered by someone who didn't know how to develop it, only exhibiting its initial form, much like Foxy.
If Perona had developed her Devil Fruit properly, perhaps Luffy and the others would have been completely wiped out.
Well…
It wasn't "perhaps," it would have been a certainty.
Without anyone to counter Perona, none of Luffy and the others could have stopped her, unless Luffy awakened Armament Haki.
The other two standing beside Moria were the other two of the Three Calamities.
The sharp-nosed man wearing a net-like shirt and small sunglasses was named "Hogback."
Although he wasn't a commander, he could freely choose any zombie he wanted from Master Moria to command.
He had saved many patients with his miraculous surgery, earning him the reputation and status of a doctor.
In reality, however, this guy valued money over saving lives and was an utterly terrible doctor.
The death of Sindri ten years ago had caused him to fall into despair. Later, he became an ally of Gecko Moria on the condition that Sindri be resurrected.
Although he resurrected Sindri using Sindri's corpse and shadows obtained from Moria,
Sindri at this time was no longer the Sindri he remembered, but a zombie. However, he didn't seem to care; the guy just liked Sindri's appearance. Fundamentally, he was a scoundrel, a pervert.
The last of the Three Calamities was the man in black leather, with a lion-like face, golden hair, and a white hat, "Absalom."
This guy was the commander of the zombie soldiers and generals on the island.
He was a transparent person who ate the Suke Suke no Mi (Clear-Clear Fruit), which Sanji most desired.
He could make his body transparent and could also make people and objects he touched transparent.
This guy was extremely lustful and often went to inspect potential brides to find his ideal wife.
Well… a complete scoundrel, deserving to die ten times over.