Dangerous Devil's Island, Terrifying Monsters

"Haha! I see land!" The surviving crew members cheered, jumping up excitedly, feeling their strength return.

"Everyone get ready, full speed ahead, target, the island ahead!" Seeing the island, the old captain breathed a sigh of relief. The giant tornado before was too dangerous, and he had been on edge the entire time commanding the merchant ship. A smile appeared on his face as he shouted, boosting the morale of all his crew.

With the joint efforts of all the crew members, the island quickly grew closer. Trees over ten meters tall, lush forests, and a primitive aura everywhere. The fresh air and the scent of new soil made everyone relax considerably.

Stepping off the merchant ship and onto the land, Mobius couldn't help but bounce a couple of times in place, a smile of excitement on his face. He had been sailing at sea for so many days, but still, he found the feeling of solid ground beneath his feet far more comfortable.

Looking into the depths of the forest, he couldn't help but feel a sense of eagerness, his heart beating faster. This was the first island he had encountered on his maiden voyage.

He couldn't help but recall stories he had read in old books. Is this what adventure is like? Mobius thought, a sense of anticipation growing within him.

"Everyone can explore this island freely. The merchant ship will need about a day to rest and repair. Just remember to come back early and don't get lost on the island, haha!" Arriving at the island, the old captain was a bit excited. He spoke to the sailors and guards who had already disembarked, which naturally included travelers like Teach.

"Boss Teach, let's go," Mobius said excitedly, wanting to explore the island, and smiled at Teach.

A group of people entered the forest, some scattering, others gathering in small groups. Teach and Mobius walked together. Mobius's steps were light and quick, as if he wanted to run straight to the other side of the mountain. He wanted Teach to walk faster, and Teach understood his feelings.

Hearing Mobius's words, Teach took a deep look into the depths of the island and then turned to Mobius, "Mobius, calm down. Stay close to me and don't wander off. This island is very dangerous."

"What?" Mobius asked, confused. He slowly moved closer to Teach, seeing the serious expression on Teach's face. He knew Teach wouldn't lie to him without reason.

Suddenly, a "hissing" sound came from the grass, followed by a flash of purple that shot out from a nearby bush, heading straight for Mobius. Mobius had no warning; after hearing the sound, his eyes could only catch a glimpse of a purple shadow.

Startled, Teach flashed forward, appearing in front of Mobius. He grabbed the purple shadow with a large hand. Upon closer inspection, it was a snake with purple skin – clearly a venomous snake.

The snake was at least two meters long. Its head was caught by Teach, and its body writhed and coiled around Teach's arm, seemingly trying to force him to let go.

However, such strength was not enough to make Teach loosen his grip. With a surge of strength, the venomous snake opened its mouth, flicking its forked tongue. Under Teach's power, it couldn't even close its mouth. Deep green venom dripped from the snake's mouth, falling onto the grass, which instantly withered and corroded, turning from vibrant green to a dull yellow. Such venom seemed capable of devouring life itself.

Seeing such toxicity, Mobius felt a chill in his heart. "What strong corrosive power!" Teach also frowned. With a squeeze, the snake's head was crushed.

"This is truly a Beast Island!" Teach exclaimed.

On the coast of the unnamed island, aboard the merchant ship, "What? It's a Beast Island!" the old captain exclaimed in shock upon hearing the report from a sailor beside him. "It's that Devil's Island!"

"That's right, Captain. I've confirmed it several times. After accurate calculations, we were blown off course by the tornado and ended up on this island, the legendary Devil's Island." The sailor's eyes were filled with bitterness and urgency. "We must call back everyone who entered the forest."

The old captain had sailed these waters for decades and knew the rumors of Devil's Island nearby. It was precisely because he knew its reputation that he understood the terror of this island.

On the table before him lay an old, yellowed sea chart. This chart was the accumulation of the old captain's decades of experience, detailing the conditions of various islands in these waters, worth tens of millions of Berries.

To the right of one of the shipping routes, the route their merchant ship had taken, there was an island marked with a blood-red skull – indicating extreme danger. Beside it were the words "Devil's Island" written in large characters.

"Damn it, how could our luck be so bad?" The old captain couldn't help but pound the table. "How could I have forgotten about it?" It had been many years since he had thought of this island. Coupled with his frequent voyages on this route and his familiarity with its conditions, the old captain rarely looked at maps anymore. He hadn't expected such a major oversight.

The old captain looked up and said to the sailor beside him, "Quick, send people in! They shouldn't have gone too deep, likely staying around the island's outskirts. Hurry and find them all! Save who we can. We can't let brothers we've known for so many years sacrifice themselves for nothing." The old captain was resolute.

"No, how can we do that? This is a Beast Island, it's too dangerous." The person in charge of the cargo, after receiving the news from the old captain, clearly refused. "We should just leave quickly."

The old captain was furious. Hearing such words, how could he abandon those sailors? "Leave? Without those sailors, we can't even sail the ship! If we don't find them, we're truly waiting to die," the old captain roared, his face turning red. He felt the cargo manager in front of him was incredibly foolish.

Finally, the cargo manager was persuaded, and the remaining guards and sailors were dispatched into the forest to search for those who had already entered.

"Beast Island!" Mobius's eyes widened. He naturally knew what a Beast Island was – an island filled with ferocious beasts. Some islands still maintained their primitive environment, inhabited by terrifying dinosaurs.

"Yes, this island is no place for a young fellow like you. This venomous snake is merely at the bottom of the food chain here. You should hurry back to the ship," Teach said with a smile.

"Then what about you, Boss Teach?" Mobius was unwilling, but he knew his limits. That venomous snake could have easily killed him. If Teach hadn't intervened, he would be dead.

"Of course, I'm going to explore this island thoroughly. I can sense interesting opponents," Teach said with a smile, excitement showing on his face as he looked towards the depths of the island.

Teach's clothes rippled as Conqueror's Haki spread out from his body in all directions. Then, the surrounding forest fell silent.

"Alright, I've dealt with the dangers around us. You should run back quickly. Some of the presences on this island are even stronger than mine," Teach said, turning to Mobius.

"Okay, I'll be going then. Boss Teach, be careful." Mobius, understanding the importance of life, didn't hesitate. He ran back the way he came, but his heart yearned even more for strength. A thought suddenly formed in his mind: his goal was to train hard, become stronger, and one day return to this island, to this Beast Island where he could barely survive, and conquer it.

Teach continued forward. He sensed a faint scent of blood in the air, not just in this area, but throughout the entire island. This indicated that the competition among the creatures on the island was fierce, and killing and fighting were happening constantly.

Of course, the favorable climate also promoted their reproduction and growth.

Using Observation Haki, he sensed someone screaming not far away. Immediately after, the person's life force vanished, indicating they had died.

Teach had no intention of saving them. After all, they were strangers, and running into this dangerous forest in such numbers was akin to seeking death.

He had already sensed a powerful presence on the island, one of the island's overlords. Teach could feel it, but compared to other overlords, its presence was more aggressive, filled with more killing intent, more savage. Moreover, its size was much smaller than the others, around two meters, almost three meters. Teach was curious. The others were giant beasts dozens of meters tall, so what was this one?

Deep within the island, in a massive mine pit hundreds of meters in diameter, giant ants with metallic-looking bodies dwelled. Some held hard ore in their mouths, swallowing it. Their hard teeth gnawed at the ore effortlessly. With a height of one meter and a length of two meters, they were absolute giants in the world of ants.

Their six limbs were covered in sharp spikes. With a "hiss," the abdomen of a four-meter-long leopard was easily ripped open. Around them lay the corpses of beasts, bearing the claw marks and bite marks of these giant ants. The largest among them was a giant ape ten meters tall.

And at the very back, on a golden platform, seemingly a throne, sat a golden figure. Unlike the other ants, which moved on four limbs, this one stood on two legs.

It held a giant bone in one claw, bringing it to its mouth and continuously devouring it. "Crunch, crunch!" The hard bone was like foam under its sharp teeth, quickly crushed and swallowed.

Suddenly, it raised its head and stood up from its throne. It was nearly three meters tall, its entire body covered in a hard exoskeleton, like wearing golden armor.

Its scarlet eyes seemed to contain endless slaughter. This was a humanoid ant. The moment it stood up, it exuded an extremely ferocious aura, like Conqueror's Haki, intimidating everything within a large area. The giant ants were disturbed by its actions, stopping their work and kneeling, heads bowed, as if paying homage to a king, which it was.

Its actions alerted the other overlords on the island, as if issuing a challenge, provoking them. They let out earth-shattering roars, causing chaos within the entire island.

Terrifying presences emanated, and the weaker beasts within the island were so frightened that they fled the interior, constantly moving towards the exterior.

"Hahahaha! Is that a show of force?" Teach exclaimed, as if sensing it. His Observation Haki seemed to communicate with the other entity, conveying their intentions. Although they didn't understand each other's words, their emotions were clearly perceived.

Teach no longer held back, stepping forward, his Conqueror's Haki erupting continuously until it reached its peak. His aura became increasingly terrifying, and surrounding creatures were scared away. Some, too weak, fainted from the mental pressure.

Teach's Observation Haki covered more than half the island. In his mind, he sketched the hình dáng of that powerful opponent. It was a monster, a standing monster. In the air, it seemed to be opposing Teach.

At the mine, the golden monster let out a series of screeches from its mouth, like roars, like howls. Sensing Teach's response and feeling the powerful aura coming from afar, its golden antennae twitched, as if communicating with other giant ants.

As if receiving his command, the giant ants one by one raised their heads, emitting bursts of screeches from their mouths. Their limbs moved rapidly on the ground, turning and heading in Teach's direction.

"Oh, you want me to warm up? Yahaha." Teach clearly sensed figures rushing towards him from that direction. Each of them was not weak, and their speed was extremely fast, but compared to Teach, they were still far inferior.

But Teach was ready for battle. His footsteps did not stop. This was a probe, and also a test for him, to see if Teach could reach his front. How could Teach disappoint him? He was becoming more and more interested in that monster.

This was the first time he had seen such a creature. In the world of pirates, most powerful beasts possessed intelligence not inferior to humans, or rather, close to human intelligence. They could understand human speech and comprehend the meaning of language, but overall, they still operated with a beast's mindset.

The intelligence of this monster made it somewhat difficult for Teach to imagine, a feeling he had already sensed through their intangible communication.