The Thousand Sunny sailed smoothly through an unfamiliar sea on the Grand Line. Having just finished its adventure in Sky Island and the Emerald Dream, a lazy and content atmosphere permeated the ship. Luffy was fast asleep on the deck, Zoro was dozing off in the lookout tower, Sanji was preparing afternoon tea in the galley, and the melodious sound of a violin drifted from the music room.
"Hmm?" Nami, who was drawing a nautical chart, frowned slightly, noticing an unusual tremor in the Log Pose, which was beginning to deviate slightly from the planned course. "This direction..."
She walked to the bow of the ship, raised her binoculars, and looked into the distance where the pointer indicated. At the horizon, the sky was an unusual grayish-blue, with tiny white spots faintly visible floating in the air.
"There seem to be ice floes ahead?" Nami wondered, " Iceburg shouldn't be here given the climate."
Her voice caught Robin's attention as he rested on deck. Robin walked over to her, gazing thoughtfully at the grey-blue sky. "I remember reading in an ancient book about the Northern Route that certain magnetic field regions along the Grand Line contain an unusual climate zone known as the ' Eternal Winter Domain.' It's said that a lost kingdom lies frozen there."
The two's conversation woke Luffy, who rubbed his eyes and leaned closer. "The Frozen Kingdom? Sounds so cool! Is there meat in there?"
"Idiot, meat that's been frozen for hundreds of years is inedible!" Nami gave him a playful tap on the head.
Just then, a slight tremor came from the ship. Thin, broken ice began to appear on the sea surface. As the ship moved forward, the ice layer grew thicker and thicker, and the surrounding temperature dropped noticeably.
"Super-emergency!" Franky burst out of the workshop. "The seawater temperature has plummeted! If this continues, the engine will freeze!"
Sanji carried a cup of hot tea onto the deck, his breath instantly turning into white mist. "Looks like we've stumbled into something extraordinary."
Soon, the Thousand Sunny was forced to stop on a gradually freezing sea. Looking around, all that could be seen was a vast expanse of white ice, with huge Iceburg piercing the gray-blue sky like swords. The biting wind howled, whipping up ice shards, and visibility was getting lower and lower.
"This is bad..." Usopp pulled his coat tighter, his teeth chattering.
Suddenly, Chopper's nose twitched, and he pointed to the right front. "Over there... there's life!"
Following his pointing finger, the group could vaguely see the outline of a massive, frozen castle standing amidst the blizzard. Even more astonishingly, a figure seemed to be silently gazing at them from the top of the castle.
"Someone's there!" Luffy immediately perked up, "Let's go see!"
Just as they were preparing to investigate, the ice suddenly cracked open, and several warriors clad in ice crystal armor and wielding ice spears leaped out of the ice cave, surrounding the Thousand Sunny. Their eyes were like blue crystals, and their bodies emanated a chilling aura.
The lead warrior raised his ice spear and shouted in an ancient language, "Intruders, leave the Eternal Winter Domain! Outsiders are not welcome here!"
Zoro's hand was already on the hilt of his sword, Sanji adjusted his stance; the battle was about to begin.
However, Allen stepped forward. He could sense the energy fluctuations emanating from these ice warriors, energy that shared the same origin as the icy plains, but deeper within, there seemed to be a barely perceptible trace of... pain?
"We meant no offense," Allen said calmly, while quietly extending his Definition Domain to sense his surroundings. "We were just brought here by the ocean currents. What happened inside this frozen castle?"
The leading ice warrior paused, a flicker of emotion flashing in his crystal-clear eyes. Just then, a deafening roar suddenly erupted from the direction of the castle, shaking the entire ice plains!
The Ice Warriors' expressions changed drastically. They no longer cared about the Straw Hat Pirates and turned to rush towards the castle.
Luffy grinned. "Looks like something even more interesting is happening over there! Let's go!"