Alright then, Mr. Rayleigh, Sister Shakky — we'll be heading out first!
Standing on the deck of an ordinary triangular-sailed boat, Fang Yi waved toward Rayleigh and Shakky with a cheerful smile.
"Hahahaha… take care of yourselves, and come visit me when you have the time!" Rayleigh replied with a wide grin, raising his voice so the four of them could hear.
As the Sabaody Archipelago faded in the distance, Shanks asked,
"Captain, where are we going now? Straight to the East Blue?"
Fang Yi had already told them earlier that their destination this time was the East Blue, known as the weakest sea. But since it was Roger's homeland, even Barrett hadn't objected; they all wanted to see the East Blue for themselves.
"Nope! First, we're heading to Water 7. We'll ask Mr. Tom to build us a proper ship before anything else!" Fang Yi replied with a smile, shaking his head.
So the four of them sailed away from Sabaody and set a direct course for Water 7.
Since they didn't yet have a ship of their own, Fang Yi hadn't officially formed a pirate crew, and naturally, there was no pirate flag. Only a plain skull flag hung from the mast as a token gesture, marking their pirate identity.
But after they'd been sailing for a while, dark clouds suddenly began to gather overhead, and a dense fog rolled in. It felt as though day had turned instantly into night.
"What's going on? Fang Yi, come out and look at this!"
Bucky, who was acting as the temporary lookout and had been napping on the mast, woke up from the sudden chill in the air and called down to the cabin in surprise.
"Hm?"
Hearing Bucky's voice, Fang Yi and the other two came out onto the deck — only to be stunned at how the surroundings had turned pitch black.
"Is this… a storm coming?" Shanks asked, glancing at Fang Yi.
Fang Yi shook his head, frowning. "Doesn't look like a storm to me…"
"This place feels strange. Don't let your guard down," Barrett muttered after scanning their surroundings.
Fang Yi pulled out a map and studied it carefully. While maps were practically useless for navigation on the Grand Line — with the Log Pose being the only reliable guide — they could at least help him gauge their general location.
"We didn't just wander into the Devil's Triangle, did we?" Fang Yi said quietly after comparing the map with their surroundings.
"The Devil's Triangle?"
Bucky, who had climbed down from the mast, froze at Fang Yi's words, a flicker of fear on his face.
The Devil's Triangle was the place where the future Warlord of the Sea, Gecko Moria, would one day make his base. But at this time, Moria was just a somewhat well-known rookie, off adventuring somewhere unknown.
Even without Moria, the Devil's Triangle already had quite the reputation in the first half of the Grand Line.
Because of its bizarre environment, many pirates and merchants who entered were never seen again.
It was said that thick cloud cover blocked out the sun year-round, and the strange conditions made it dangerously easy to lose one's bearings. Without careful navigation, it was all too easy to become hopelessly lost.
And at sea, food and fresh water were limited. Once a crew lost its way, the result was often total annihilation.
The Roger Pirates had passed this stretch of sea many times before, but with the skilled navigator Jaba on board, they had always managed to avoid the Devil's Triangle entirely.
This time, however, Fang Yi had been careless, forgetting about the Triangle's existence and sailing right into it.
"So, what do we do now?" Shanks asked, frowning after hearing Fang Yi's explanation.
"Don't worry. Even though it's easy to get lost here, we've got a permanent pointer for Water 7. As long as we follow it, we'll be fine," Fang Yi said with a reassuring smile.
Before Moria took over, the Devil's Triangle was still dangerous, but it wasn't an absolute death trap. As long as you were prepared, you could get out without much trouble.
After all, the biggest danger here was simply losing your way.
"But hey, Bucky… I've heard that because ships often get lost and their crews die off, there are plenty of treasure ships drifting around here. Why don't we stay a day or two and see if we can find something?" Fang Yi asked, smiling at him.
"Treasure ships?" Bucky blinked — then his eyes lit up. "Seriously?"
"Yeah. I've heard of pirates finding abandoned ships here, loaded with treasure," Fang Yi nodded.
He wasn't lying — this was a genuine rumor about the Devil's Triangle. Alongside the treasure ship tales came legends of ghost ships as well.
"Wahahahaha! Since we're already here, it'd be a waste not to look!" Sure enough, the mention of treasure instantly banished Bucky's fear, replacing it with boundless enthusiasm.
"Alright then, we'll search for one day. We've got enough food and water for now, so we'll treat it like an adventure. But after one day, whether we find anything or not, we're leaving," Fang Yi said with a nod.
"You guys have fun. I'm not interested in childish games," Barrett said flatly, turning and heading back into the cabin.
"Tch… acting all high and mighty," Bucky muttered in irritation as he watched Barrett go.
"Bucky, everyone has different interests — just like you're not into training. No need to force people," Fang Yi said with a wry smile.
Their personalities and habits were all wildly different; without Fang Yi mediating, they'd never have been able to travel together at all.
But after spending most of the day wandering through the Devil's Triangle, they found nothing — no treasure ships, no ghost ships, not even a single seabird.
"Guess the legends are just legends. Let's go, Shanks — turn the rudder toward Water 7," Fang Yi said at last, disappointed.
Bucky, slouched over the railing, looked utterly dejected. Without treasure, life just seemed… meaningless.
But just as he was about to give up, he spotted a tiny black speck on the distant horizon.
To confirm, he grabbed the monocular Fang Yi had given him, separated his upper and lower body, and sent his upper half floating high into the air.
"Bucky?" Fang Yi immediately noticed the movement.
"Hahahaha… Fang Yi! Look! Is that a treasure ship over there?" Bucky called excitedly from above, waving his arms and pointing toward the distant black speck.
"Hm?"
With his Hawk Eye skill, Fang Yi could make out only a vague shadow, but it did look like a ship.
"I'll try a flare…"
He took the Sun-Shooting Bow from his back, drawing it to a full moon shape.
Swish!
The arrow, with a flare tied to it, shot into the sky.
Bang!
The flare burst high above, bathing the area in light.
In that brief glow, both Fang Yi and Bucky could see it — a ship with black sails, floating out on the sea.
"Shanks!" Fang Yi shouted to the man at the helm.
"Got it!" Shanks had already been watching closely. The moment the flare revealed the ship's position, he began steering toward it.
"Found a treasure ship?"
The commotion drew Barrett out of the cabin.
"This is my find! All the treasure on board is mine!" Bucky snapped at Barrett immediately.
Barrett merely gave him a sidelong glance and ignored him.
"We don't know what it is yet — could be a merchant ship, could be pirates. I fired that flare earlier, so if they saw it, they might not be waiting around for us to get close," Fang Yi pointed out with a smile.
If it were a merchant ship, they might try to flee — after all, pirates were everywhere. But if it were a pirate ship, they might sail straight toward them instead.
But as they drew closer, they saw the ship hadn't moved at all.
"Looks like an abandoned vessel," Fang Yi said, eyeing the massive but weathered ship.
"Whatever — I'm going aboard to check!" Bucky said eagerly, eyes fixed on the target. He didn't care if anyone was there; he just wanted to know if there was treasure.
"Yohohoho yo hoho ho~"
"Yohohoho~ yo hohoho~~"
As they neared, they began to hear singing drifting across the waves.
"Huh? Someone's on board?" Shanks said, startled.
"No way…" Fang Yi froze as well. But unlike the others, his reaction wasn't pure surprise — there was a flash of recognition.
"Looks like we're in for a real surprise today," Fang Yi said, listening more closely.
He was certain now — it had to be Brook.
Brook, known as the "Humming Swordsman," was a former member of the Rumbar Pirates. After the crew perished in the Devil's Triangle, he alone had returned to life thanks to the powers of the Revive-Revive Fruit, wandering the Triangle ever since.
Back when Roger's crew sailed these waters, their doctor, Crocus, had been looking for the Rumbar Pirates, but they'd always avoided the Devil's Triangle — and so had never crossed paths with Brook.
If not for hearing that song today, Fang Yi might have forgotten all about him.