A small island lay hidden within the dense fog.
Calling it a small island was not entirely accurate. The place Tsugikuni Yoriichi and his warship had reached was actually beside a sailing ship.
It was simply that this sailing ship was so enormous that it could easily be mistaken for an island.
Thriller Bark, originating from the West Blue, was the largest pirate ship currently in existence and the vessel of Gecko Moria.
That was the true nature of the "small island" Tsugikuni Yoriichi and the others had landed on.
The warship slowly docked at the shore. Tsugikuni Yoriichi and the Marines stood by the rail, gazing into the "island." Thriller Bark no longer looked anything like a ship. Thick soil had buried the entire vessel, and all kinds of plants grew across the island.
Perhaps because this place had not seen sunlight for years, most of the vegetation had withered away, leaving only shriveled trunks swaying in the wind.
Near the harbor stood countless burial mounds, scattered haphazardly across the ground among the dead trees. Before those mounds were numerous broken, toppled gravestones and crosses.
Specks of green will-o'-the-wisps drifted and flickered through the fog. This place resembled a medieval European mass graveyard—silent, terrifying, enough to send chills down one's spine.
"Hiss!!"
"Wh-what kind of place is this?"
"Could anyone even live here? Vice Admiral, maybe we should just leave. There can't possibly be pirates in a place like this!"
On deck, a young Marine took a quick look at the shore. The hairs on his body stood on end. The temperature in the fog was rather low, and the young Marine in short sleeves could not help shivering as he subconsciously rubbed his arms.
"Leave?"
"My senses cannot be wrong. There are people on this island, right in