Blood Moon in the Sky

In the large kitchen of Abente Heim's Cloud Cave, Yelena tucked her long ponytail over one shoulder and plated the food she had prepared.

Then she carried the food out into the hall and set it in front of Louis and Uta, who had been waiting for some time.

"All right, eat while it's hot!"

"My cooking might not be anything special, but at least it won't taste bad or go to waste."

Louis offered no comment. He wasn't picky about food; as long as it was edible, he wouldn't complain.

There was a guy aboard Bar who was an exceptionally skilled swordsman but a truly terrible cook. His food was so awful that even the Lunarians, who were said to be able to survive in any environment, couldn't stand his cooking.

That man had invited Louis over for dinner more than once, and Louis had never turned him down.

Despite his terrible cooking, Louis had eaten every dish the man made without batting an eye.

Louis wouldn't turn down even the most revolting food, so he certainly wasn't going to complain about Yelena's meal, which wasn't even bad.

"Isn't this pretty good?" Uta's cheeks were puffed out, making her look even rounder as she gave her verdict through a mouthful of food.

It was obvious that she had stuffed quite a bit into her mouth.

Yelena stared at Uta eating and was momentarily taken aback, but she soon smiled without saying anything.

She picked up a glass of juice and handed it over.

Meanwhile, Louis picked up his utensils and began eating at an unhurried pace.

As soon as the food touched his tongue, Louis savored its flavor and realized that Uta hadn't just said that to comfort Yelena.

It wasn't quite good enough to be called unforgettable or melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

But it was certainly tasty.

After a while, Louis and the others finished eating. They lounged on the Island Cloud sofa, some sitting and others lying down.

Uta and Yelena chatted about their upcoming adventure.

"Hey, Yelena!"

"Do you think we'll find some treasure that's been forgotten for hundreds or even thousands of years on our next adventure?"

"Probably not. People have been sailing the seas for a long time. If there were any treasure, someone would've found it by now, wouldn't they?" Yelena pondered before sharing her thoughts.

"Even if there is some, we might not be the ones to find it."

Louis smiled at them. "Aren't the pirate ships scattered across the sea treasure chests that can move?"

"If you really want treasure, you can just take it from other pirates."

"But then we'd miss out on so much of the fun of an adventure!" Uta replied, putting her hands on her hips.

"Fighting other pirates is an adventure too!"

"We can't expect to get lucky and find every treasure out there. We just have to keep looking forward to the next stop."

"If you get it, you're lucky. If you don't, it wasn't meant to be."

Louis didn't care much about treasure or money. For now, he wanted to leave his mark on this world by sailing its seas before the counterattack.

At his words, Yelena looked at Louis with a thoughtful expression.

At night, the flying Island Cloud descended to the sea.

With a backpack on her shoulders and a light short sword and flintlock pistol at her waist, Uta leaped off the Island Cloud and landed steadily on the beach.

"Louis, Yelena, hurry up!"

Uta turned toward her companions behind her, her face alight with excitement as she urged them on. "This is the first stop on our journey. It's an adventure worth remembering!"

"Maybe we'll run into some ancient creatures that disappeared long ago!"

"Coming!" Yelena replied. She had a large backpack on her shoulders and carried her war hammer as she landed beside Uta.

Louis followed, descending gently.

He looked up in a certain direction. His gaze seemed to pierce through the entire forest and reach the altar he sensed with his Observation Haki.

Then Louis turned to the two of them and asked meaningfully, "Did either of you hear something strange?"

"No." Uta looked completely bewildered.

"No."

Yelena glanced in the direction Louis had just looked, tightening her grip on her war hammer.

"Good..." Louis nodded.

It was better that Yelena and the others didn't hear those bewitching whispers.

Louis led the way, following the path at the end of the beach.

As they walked, the path, already faint, grew darker beneath the canopy.

The oddly shaped trees on either side looked increasingly eerie in the night, their gnarled branches reaching out like monstrous hands.

The next moment, Louis stopped and gazed up at the sky.

The other two, unsure what was happening, looked up as well.

The moon high overhead began to change. Its pure white light turned blood-red before their eyes.

A blood moon hung in the sky, bathing the dark world in crimson. Its scarlet light spilled across the ground, making the already eerie path even more terrifying.

As the moonlight shifted, countless branches cast grotesque, terrifying shadows on the ground, like ghostly hands slowly reaching for them.

"!!" Uta's hair stood on end. She quickly drew the pistol and short sword at her waist and went on guard.

Behind her, Yelena knitted her brows, puzzled over why the moon had turned red.

At that moment, Louis looked at Uta and reassured her, "Don't worry. They're just shadows!"

Uta glanced at the ghostly hands on the ground, then at Louis's serious face. At last, she put away her pistol and short sword.

Then she edged closer to Louis without drawing attention to it.

"Let's go. Keep moving."

Seeing how confident Louis was, the two trusted him and followed without asking any questions.

Soon, they reached an open plateau and stood at the edge of a cliff, with the entire island spread out beneath them.

"Ruins!" Uta cried.

In the distance, a cluster of ruined buildings stood at the heart of the island. In the crimson world, three towering pagodas stood around the ruins.

Far away, a small town was brightly lit. Torches flared to life, and a crowd of people carrying them raced toward the ruins.

The ruined buildings, the altar holding the Cursed Blade, the three pagodas...

A flicker of understanding crossed Louis's eyes.

He remembered what this place was: Asca Island.

And the whispers he'd heard most likely came from the Cursed Blade forged thousands of years ago during a war—the Seven Star Sword!

A moment later, Louis's expression changed.

There were things on this island that didn't fit the style of this world: a witch and a barrier.

That's right—a witch and a barrier, things that belonged in a fantasy world.

And if Louis remembered correctly, this island was supposed to be in the Grand Line...