One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 161 The light of day pierces the sea of ​​fog, and you will see the abyss.

"Lord Moriah, sob sob."

Amidst the ruins and corpses scattered on the ground, Perona's weeping was the only sound in the surroundings.

So much so that Brook, who was still standing guard beside Ryoma not far away, adjusted his top hat.

He is an enemy of both Perona and Moria.

But that doesn't diminish his empathy at this moment.

"Losing a companion is indeed a very painful thing."

He thought of his companions.

But it is precisely at this moment
"There's nothing we can do about that."

A voice rang out from beside him: "After all, he's a pirate."

"yes."

Brooke nodded.

To kill someone, or to be killed by someone.

To cause others to lose their companions, or to lose one yourself.

Since you've chosen to go to sea and become a 'pirate,' this is something you have to accept.

But then again.
"Who!? Who's speaking!"

Brooke finally came to her senses. Her skeleton body trembled, and she looked at Chenlong, who had appeared out of thin air beside her: "Lord Chenlong, could you please stop appearing and disappearing like that? You scared my heart out—oh, although I don't have a heart, yo ho ho ho!"

"It's amazing that your body makes a sound when it shakes."

At this moment, Chenlong was speaking with a cheerful smile.

"After all, I'm a skeleton."

Brooke took it as a compliment: "Speaking of which, I must thank Lord Chenlong for helping me find my shadow."

As he said this, he shook his body, gesturing for Chenlong to look at his shadow.

"Such a great kindness will never be forgotten."

he said seriously.

"You are welcome."

Chenlong replied casually, "If you take good care of this corpse for me, that will be enough to repay your debt."

As he spoke, his gaze also fell on the 'Frostmoon Dragon Horse' behind Brook, which was frozen in ice.

"Oh?"

Brooke raised an eyebrow curiously upon hearing this—even though he had no eyebrows.

"So, Lord Chenlong really intends to leave the dragon horse's corpse behind?"

He was a little curious.

"Yes, after all, he is the legendary sword god of Wano Country. There might be someone in our organization who is very curious about him."

Chenlong made this up on the spot.

"Members of the organization? Are they swordsmen?"

Brooke was as talkative as ever.

"That's it."

Chenlong nodded.

Of course, that's still a lie—there aren't any swordsmen among the 'Twelve Constellations' at the moment.

However, this statement is also true at the same time.

The reason he left behind Shimotsuki Ryoma's corpse was because he already had a preliminary idea for a future member of the 'Twelve Constellations'.

"Oh~"

Brooke was even more curious—although his main profession was musician, he could also be considered a swordsman.
Moreover, he witnessed Chenlong's strength throughout the entire process.

That was a notorious pirate outside the Devil's Triangle, 'Gecko Moria,' who once made Brook feel utterly powerless, was utterly no match for him.

The power to manipulate celestial phenomena, as if it were the embodiment of natural disasters, already seemed unbelievable to him.

However, according to Moria, such a member was merely one of the high-ranking officers of the 'Twelve Constellations'.

Brook, a swordsman who exists in such an organization, is bound to be curious.

"However, I might need you to look after him for a while."

However, Chenlong did not offer any further explanation.

"Eh?"

Upon hearing this, Brooke was also taken aback: "Is there anything else, Lord Chenlong?"

"Yes, I just got some information from Moria, and I need to confirm some things."

Chenlong said calmly.

"Oh!"

Brooke didn't ask any further questions at this point.

He simply nodded, stating solemnly, "Rest assured, I will never let anyone else take this body—to take it, they'd have to step over my corpse first, although..."

"You are already a corpse."

After finishing Brook's skull joke, Chenlong looked at Brook, who was choked on the spot, and chuckled softly.

Then he jumped.

"Roar!"

A deep dragon roar echoed, and a crimson dragon soared into the sky.

"Longlong!?"

Perona stared wide-eyed at the incredible scene.

Yes, she was sleeping when Chenlong descended, and when she woke up, she only saw Chenlong in his 'human-beast form'.

So at this moment, looking at that mythical creature that treads on fiery clouds, surrounded by wind and thunder, and whose mere flight stirs up the surrounding sea.

Only then did she truly realize the immense power of the being that had just fought Moria and destroyed the 'Thriller'.

She then understood the meaning behind Moria's words.

"No retaliation against the twelve constellations—this is the captain's order!"

That wasn't the usual cowardice, but rather his final act of protection for her.

Because the opponent is really as strong as a monster.

Meanwhile...
"Crimson Dragon's Might - Wind and Thunder Heart Net!"

As the dragon soared through the sky, its crimson vertical pupils slowly closed.

"Boom!"

"call!"

In that instant, thunder roared and the wind howled.

The spreading lightning and storm emanated from him, spreading outwards.

Yes.

Previously, Enel could use an ability called 'Mind Field' – which was essentially Observation Haki amplified by the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

Observation Haki, in essence, is the ability to perceive the presence of living beings and the environment through the five senses, thereby anticipating danger.

For the Dragon of the Earth, which can influence all celestial phenomena in the nearby seas.

The celestial phenomena around him are his five senses—wind, thunder, clouds, and fog; everything is an extension of his 'mind network'.

This directly resulted in his mind network ability being even more terrifying than Enel's, which covered an entire island.

"Although it takes a lot of physical effort, with the stamina boost from the Red Dragon Fruit, it shouldn't be a big problem."

As he murmured, Chenlong began scanning everything in his path.

The message Moriah gave before he died was of great significance to him.

Moria is a member of the Kozuki clan, which is not surprising to Chenlong, since it is stated in the original work—he is not only a member of the Kozuki clan, but also a 'legendary hero' worshipped in Suzugo Village of Wano Country.

Chenlong also knew that Wano Country was in a state of isolation.

In the early years, however, a group of people from Wano Country traveled to the four seas—perhaps to preserve the flame of civilization, or perhaps simply to avoid being bound by constraints. This is the case with Shimotsuki Koshiro and Shimotsuki Village, whom Ino once encountered.

They often inherited more of the hidden knowledge of Wano Country, such as Shimotsuki Kozaburo's Enma Iron.

Therefore, he certainly wouldn't take the prophetic song Moria mentioned lightly.

In Chenlong's opinion, there were two key points in the prophecy that he could be certain of.

First, there is the 'cursed bloodline'.

Chenlong knew very well that in the original work, the 'David Clan' to which Rocks belonged was called the 'Cursed Clan'.

The cursed bloodline likely refers to this race.

Second, it is the 'drumbeat of liberation'.

If there are no surprises, this should refer to the Liberation Drum unique to the 'Human-Human Fruit - Nika Form'.

Of course, the latter is not important to Chenlong.

Importantly, based on the first point, we can basically confirm that Chenlong is involved.

"Rox came here because of the 'giant ship that Moria mentioned, which lingers in the mist'."

"The 'first king' and 'cursed one' mentioned in that prophecy song should be David D. Jones, the ancestor of Lox and the progenitor of the David family."

That is the reason for his actions at this moment.

Having realized that Im seems to have his eye on the Twelve Constellations, Roy is now quite interested in these matters related to the truth of this world and its ancient past.

"Ok?"

But Chenlong soon realized something was wrong.

because
"There's not a trace at all?"

He frowned.

The Devil's Triangle is a very large area.

However, if there really is a huge ship sailing in this thick fog—and that ship is indeed as unbelievably large as Lockes described—it would be impossible.

So no matter how you look at it, it's impossible for that ship to sail without leaving any trace, right?

The ripples on the sea, the obstruction of the wind—there should always be at least a trace left.

But the truth is, at this moment, his Wind and Thunder Mind Network still hasn't discovered anything.

In this sea area, it seems that only thick fog and cold sea wind exist.

"Could it be that Rocks came here back then, found that ship, and then sailed away?"

Chenlong muttered to himself.

However, just a moment later, his figure suddenly stopped.

because
[The user of the fruit, 'Abyss', has been discovered.]

[The Devil Fruit has been confirmed as a 'Special Mythical Zoan Type: Bebe Fruit - Mirage Mode', and is currently being analyzed and stored in the 'Devil Fruit Encyclopedia'.]

[Fruit Ability - Can create mist by breathing, completely concealing oneself within the mist and creating near-realistic illusions]

[Effects at Each Level]

[LV3: Gain all Devil Fruit effects, and can transform into the mythical beast 'Mirage'. This is a special Devil Fruit—since the mythical beast 'Mirage' itself has no concrete form, although the user gains physical enhancements, they cannot perform the Zoan-type Devil Fruit transformations. The user will passively release a special gray mist 'Mirage Aura' around them, which can be used to create illusions 'Mirage Views'. Requires 17 billion Berries to unlock]

Releasing 'Mirage' does not consume stamina. Within the mirage, the user can conceal all traces of themselves. The 'Mirage' created can be an object or a creature. Objects can be shaped at will, but if it is a creature, one must have seen its appearance and posture before creating a 'Mirage' of the corresponding appearance. The mirage illusion is extremely realistic.

[LV4: Deep fruit development allows altering the color and properties of mirages, creating illusions with a physical form. While still unable to launch real attacks, the mirages can be made to look exactly like the originals, making them almost indistinguishable. Requires 40 billion Berries to unlock.]

[LV5: Fruit Awakening - Mirage, grants the unique transformation of a Zoan-type Devil Fruit awakening. Surrounded by a 'Mirage Cloud,' the user can switch positions with any illusion at any time. A specific illusion can be created, which transforms into a real 'Mirage' through the Mirage Cloud and merges into the user. This places a significant burden on the body, but grants temporary access to the 'Mirage's' combat skills, strength, and physique. However, the user cannot acquire the Devil Fruit's abilities or Haki. This state requires 150 billion Berries to unlock.]

Entering the 'True Mirage' state will continuously consume your physical strength. The stronger the selected illusion, the greater the burden and consumption on the body. The True Mirage state can last for a maximum of 1 minute.

[Analysis progress: 0%]

Chenlong: "?"

Where did this Mythical Zoan type Devil Fruit user come from? Is there a bug in the Devil Fruit encyclopedia?
But after a moment, he realized what was happening.

"A mirage!?"

He had certainly heard of such mythical beasts.

Some say it looks like a dragon, some say it looks like a shellfish, and some say it doesn't have a specific shape at all.

In ancient legends, it often appears with dense fog, and the so-called 'mirage' commonly seen on the sea refers to the illusion created by this legendary creature.

Of course, that's not the key point.

The key point is the name of the person who consumed the fruit, as indicated by the fruit encyclopedia at this moment.

【Abyss】.

This doesn't sound like a person's name at all; it sounds more like a ship's name.

"Could it be that"

Therefore, Chenlong had a bold guess in his mind.

He abruptly stopped flying and scanned his surroundings.

The 'HeartNet' told him that there was nothing inside the thick fog around him.

But now he knows why.

"Mirage. Conceals all traces."

He read through the fruit's abilities in the encyclopedia and already understood the reason.

"If we follow the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia's guidelines, then we need to..."

With this thought in mind, Chenlong had already soared into the sky!

His crimson vertical pupils suddenly snapped open—in his mouth, on his claws, and on his body.
A powerful storm is brewing in both.

The next moment, he swept his giant tail and roared towards the sky!

"Roar!"

A deep, rumbling dragon's roar echoed within the mist.

The wind howled, thunder roared, and mist swirled.

【Celestial Phenomenon Manipulation - Crimson Dragon's Roar】

Meanwhile, on the terror tugboat.

"."

Brook was humming a tune as he looked after Ryoma's corpse.

"."

Perona was wiping away her tears, gritting her teeth, and dragging Moria's body away.

They all saw it, that incredible scene.

"Buzz!"

At this moment, without a sound or a whisper.

From the depths of that distant, thick fog.

"Roar!"

A dragon's roar echoed through the howling wind.

The next moment, it was as if a hand had pulled back the gray curtain on the stage of the 'ocean'.

The entire Devil's Triangle, where the dense fog that had existed for countless years and was so thick that nothing could be seen, was suddenly cut open from the middle, creating a huge hole.

And from within that void.
Layers of sunlight streamed down through the torn mist!
The sunlight fell on Brook's face, on the cold, damp ground of the Thriller Bark, on Perona's long hair, and on Moria's peacefully dead body.

then
"."

For a moment, they were all at a loss for words to describe the scene.

Just like at this moment, Chenlong also didn't know how to describe the scene in front of him.

And there he was, standing right in front of him.

Within the dissipating thick fog, the colossal vessel he was searching for finally appeared.

　It's confirmed that Moria is a member of the Kozuki clan; this isn't my own creation. The manga's cover page explicitly states that the hero after Ringo is 'Kozuki Moria'.

　　By the way, the swordsman's clones are still a long way off; there are two more ahead of him in line, according to the order.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)