It was a very Stillness island.
That was Dalton's first impression after coming ashore.
Even in the Drum Kingdom, where snow fell year-round, a forest should not have been this Stillness at night. There were no predators prowling, and he could barely hear an insect chirp or a bird call.
What Dalton did not know was that the order came from Jones, the boss of Turtle Island in every sense of the word.
Taming the Island Turtle had not only let Jones complete Loa's task of finding a Pirate Ship that would not make him seasick. It had also made Jones, a Beast-Speech Fruit user, the true king of Turtle Island.
When he told every creature to shut up and keep Stillness, few dared disobey him.
As for the people on the island, Jones had already moved them deep into Turtle Island's interior. With “people” standing guard, no one could escape his notice.
After crossing the rocky Coast, Dalton soon found traces that only humans could have left behind. A winding path paved with Stone Slabs led from the landing point toward a simple harbor.
“Was the legendary Cannibal Island once inhabited?”
Dalton looked up at the silent cluster of buildings in the distance. He drew the strangely shaped, door-sized greatsword from his back, gripped it tightly, and crept forward along the path.
Before long, a dilapidated fishing village appeared before him.
The houses here were strange. Each had been half dismantled. Over walls less than a meter high, he could still see tables and beds inside.
They had been dismantled, not destroyed: the bricks and stones taken from them were stacked neatly nearby. Several carrying poles lay beside the piles, their curved ropes looking like venomous snakes hidden in the dark beneath the moonlight.
"Did everyone move away together?