As the mist over Mist Island dissipated, the crew began looting the treasures, discovering numerous treasure chests.
The Snake King had ruled the island for years, amassing an astonishing quantity of high-quality treasures. Combined with the abundant resources seized after the fall of Yang Luo's Pirate Crew and the massive Experience Points gained from slaying the Snake King and its vast brood, the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew's overall strength had significantly improved.
After the looting, they set sail once more.
When the ship reached a Treasure Drop Point at sea and found the floating piggy bank Treasure Drop, Ye Yu didn't hesitate to toss in the majority of their spoils from the battle. The remaining portion was divided among the crew.
Boom!
A surge of energy far surpassing anything before erupted from Ye Yu, sweeping across the entire ship. The crew looked at him in awe as his eyes gleamed with intensity, his aura harmoniously powerful.
"Captain, did you level up?" Xiao Ke asked excitedly.
Ye Yu, feeling the surging power within him, nodded. "Level 46!"
Yet, he also clearly sensed that the Experience Points required to go from Level 45 to 46 had been immense, and the path ahead would only grow more arduous.
Whether he could reach Level 100 before the Marines arrived in just over two years—he wasn't entirely confident.
Time flew by as the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew continued their adventures.
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye, and the deadline for the Marines' arrival had quietly shortened to two years.
During these six months, they explored several islands brimming with rare treasures, battled colossal deep-sea beasts as massive as mountains and terrifying in their ferocity, and ventured into multiple perilous Mystic Realms with bizarre and unpredictable rules.
Through sheer perseverance, exceptional talent, and countless life-and-death trials, Ye Yu's level climbed steadily, though with great difficulty.
Now, his aura had stabilized at a new height—Level 50!
The leap from Level 49 to 50, seemingly just one level, was far more challenging than the previous ten levels combined.
At this point, he had inherited even more of the Contracted Seven's combat prowess.
"Captain, something's off about the waters ahead," the lookout's voice came through the speaking tube, tinged with gravity.
Xiao Ke immediately grabbed the telescope, his brow furrowing. "It's the 'Shadow Realm.' Captain, this area has been shrouded in a peculiar black mist for months now. The magnetic fields are chaotic, and the currents are unnatural. Rumor has it that many capable Pirate Crews who ventured in never returned—not even a distress signal was sent. It's as if the sea... swallowed them whole."
The crew's expressions turned serious at the news.
Yet, standing at the bow, Ye Yu gazed at the slowly undulating black mist ahead—a darkness that seemed to devour all light—and felt a long-absent spark of excitement ignite in his eyes.
Though the past six months had been fruitful, the challenges they faced had gradually lost the kind of life-or-death pressure that pushed him to his limits. The calm days had begun to bore him.
"Shadow Realm..." Ye Yu murmured the name, a faint, intrigued smile curling his lips. "Sounds like a good place to relieve the monotony. All hands, battle stations. We're going in."
The Tyrant Feather Pirate Ship pierced through the thick black mist like a sharp blade, advancing slowly.
Light was instantly stripped away, plunging the surroundings into absolute darkness where one couldn't even see their own outstretched hand. Only the dim glow from the ship's lanterns struggled to penetrate the dense fog, as if on the verge of being swallowed whole.
The air was cold and damp, carrying a strange odor that mixed decay with rust. The ocean currents grew unnaturally viscous, causing the ship's speed to plummet.
"Observation Haki is severely disrupted!" Xia Ling attempted to release her Observation Haki but found her perception range compressed to the extreme. The feedback was blurred and distorted, filled with chaotic noise.
"The magnetic field is completely scrambled—the compass is useless!"
"Maintain formation, proceed slowly, and watch the waters below!"
As the Tyrant Feather Pirate Ship ventured deeper into the core of the Shadow Realm, the outline of an island loomed faintly through the dense fog. It wasn't a naturally formed landmass but rather a colossal nest constructed from countless enormous, twisted black reefs and the wreckage of sunken ships—exuding an overwhelming aura of foreboding. Shadow Island!
At the island's highest point, within a castle built from massive bones and shadows, stood a tall, pale-skinned man with bat-like ears and sharp fangs. He observed the intruding Tyrant Feather Pirate Ship clearly through a mirror formed of pure darkness. This was the Overlord of the Shadow Realm, the Shadow-Shadow Fruit Ability User—Moya.
Greed and excitement flickered in Moya's eyes. "Finally, they've arrived... the One King Pirates, the fractured Dominant Feather Pirate Crew, the fractured monster Ye Yu!"
He spread his arms wide as if embracing the dense shadows enveloping the island. "What perfect prey! What formidable shadows! If I can obtain Ye Yu's shadow... no, even the shadows of his powerful Executives, my zombie army will possess the strength to sweep across the seas! The Marines' arrival, the World Government—all will kneel beneath my shadow!"
Beside him, a portly man dressed in a white lab coat and round glasses—Hogback, inherited from the pirates—flattered with a sycophantic grin. "Brilliant as always, Lord Moya! Over the past six months, we've spared no expense, collecting countless corpses of powerful warriors through various channels. Even including..."
He lowered his voice, a hint of fanaticism creeping in. "...the remains of those once-renowned fighters who fell to Ye Yu! Jin Mo's, Ba Ye's... and, as you specifically instructed, the corpse of Yang Luo, purchased at an astronomical price from the black market!"
Moya's eyes gleamed with fervor. "Hogback, you've done well! Not only do we have the corpses of powerful warriors, but also those of formidable Exotic Beasts and Sea Beasts. We spent fortunes to acquire them, leaving others baffled. But in truth, with these and my Fruit Ability combined, the value is immeasurable. Now, I command an overwhelmingly powerful shadow army—one that can even become my own combat strength in critical moments, the ultimate technique of my Fruit Ability. Perhaps the strongest individual fighter isn't Ye Yu... but me, Moya!"
He gazed at the upright figure of Ye Yu reflected in the dark mirror, his face brimming with a sickly confidence: "Ye Yu... you're strong. Unbelievably strong. Even a monster like the Snake King fell beneath your blade. But you're too arrogant! How dare you barge into my domain of shadows! Here, light and darkness are mine to command! My 'Shadow Mage' has long since evolved, the binding power of my 'Shadow Box' is unparalleled, and my zombie army... won't lose to your Dominant Feather Pirate Crew!"
With a sudden wave of Moya's hand, massive shadows beneath the castle began to writhe and converge. Countless zombies of varying forms, exuding an icy aura of death, crawled out from the darkness—some were once mighty Pirates, others ferocious Exotic Beasts, while the surrounding waters churned with Sea Beasts.
Their eyes were hollow, their bodies crudely stitched together with coarse thread, their movements stiff yet brimming with terrifying power. A dense miasma of death and resentment coalesced into a visible black cloud, shrouding the skies above Shadow Island.
A flicker of madness flashed in Moya's eyes. "And I've prepared a special gift just for you! Those opponents who once gave you some trouble... they'll return to greet you in another form! Ye Yu, are you ready to meet your nightmarish old acquaintances?"
The Tyrant Feather Pirate Ship slowly approached the eerie dock of Shadow Island, constructed from bones and sunken wrecks.
Ye Yu was the first to step onto the frigid black earth, the rocky ground beneath his feet cold as ice. He raised his head, gazing toward the bone castle deep within the island, radiating an overwhelming aura of evil. His powerful Observation Haki expanded, keenly detecting the countless cold, lifeless, yet malice-filled presences surging from all directions like a tide.
At that moment, a massive, twisted, nightmare-like shadow abruptly rose from the direction of the castle, projected onto the thick black mist, transforming into an enlarged, distorted image of Moya. His eerie laughter, amplified through the vibrations of the shadow, echoed cl
early across the entire island and sea:
"Welcome, Ye Yu! Welcome to Shadow Island! Welcome to... your grave!"
(End of Chapter)