258. Way to Laugh Tale

Of course, they need to face the absurd phenomena in the sea after they leave Lodestar Island just like when they tried to go there. But they are more prepared now with an upgraded ship & more supplies. They even make a schedule so everyone can get enough rest.

Their thorough preparations paid off because now they can pass the dangerous sea much easier than before although there are some different phenomena now like magma pillars that suddenly shoot out of the water because there are volcanoes erupting down there.

They want to wait until the eruptions are over, but it's just a never ending circle of eruptions. So they decide to take a detour because these magma pillars are too close to each other so their ship also can't move between them.

"Will it be like this until we reach Laugh Tale?"

"Most likely. The sea at the end of New World should be the most dangerous area. Also, the danger level is most likely to increase the closer we are to Laugh Tale. It could be one of the reasons why that island is so difficult to find aside from it not being pointed by Log Pose."

"Then we can only depend on Nami to find the way to Laugh Tale now."

"Leave it to me!"

They keep sailing on the dangerous sea and face many dangerous situations. The weather in the sea here changes every few hours and the changes are mostly violent. They only find calm weather once and that only lasts for 3 hours.

After 3 weeks, Nami finally tells them that the island must be close now while looking at the 4 Eternal Poses. Laugh Tale is located right in the center of those 4 islands. So Nami needs to find the center location pointed by these 4 Eternal Poses which is very difficult.

"What's that? Mist?"

The crew sees mist covering a very wide area on the sea. They can't see anything through the mist because it's very thick. The mist area is very wide and tall that they can't see its corner at all even from afar.

"Our most precious island, protected by an untouchable wall. Everyone can pass through, but only few can see through. Like a labyrinth, those fated to find the destination will arrive, while those who aren't will be lost, unable to see anything till the end."

"What's that, Robin?"

"One of the verses I found in the underground room. Untouchable wall, can pass but can't see, lost unable to see anything. If my guess is correct, then those words are referring to that mist."

"So what you're saying is, Laugh Tale is located inside that mist area?"

"Most likely."

"Alright! Let's get inside the mist!"

"Wait! Don't be rash! We need to prepare. Robin said it's like a labyrinth, so it shouldn't be easy to move in the mist. At the very least, our vision will be restricted. But we don't know to what degree we can see in there. Maybe we can see a few meters ahead, or we can't even see anything even our hands once we enter."

"So what do we do?"

"Let's scout it first using my shadow clones."

Jon makes some shadow clones and orders them to enter the mist by running on the water. They move very close to each other to check their range of sight by splitting apart slowly later inside the mist.

The clones aren't using sharingan so they have normal sight ability. They keep distancing themselves while going deeper into the mist. The crew waits patiently while Jon is monitoring his clones' situations.

"How is it?"

"The mist is getting thicker the deeper it goes. At first, the visibility is still quite good. We can see up to 20 meters, but then it gets shorter as the mist gets thicker. Currently my clones are in the area where they can only look a meter around them and it's still quite blurry. Thankfully, they can still see each other's chakra through the mist once they use sharingan. Observation Haki can be used too in there, so at least we can sense each other."

"But not all of us can use Observation Haki. And the problem is we need to see to know where we're going. At least I need to be able to see the Eternal Poses."

"Although we can't see each other well, we can still see light spots. My clones tried using fire jutsu and although the others that are far from the user can't see the jutsu clearly, they still can see the red light from the fire."

"Hmm, then each of us needs to wear something that emits light. Alright, I'll make something."

"Ah, Franky, can you make lights for these Eternal Poses?"

"Sure, I'll make them very bright so you can still see them when the mist gets very thick."

"Make it adjustable! If it's too bright then I won't be able to see it when the mist is thin."

"Alright, alright."

Franky then makes some headbands that can emit red light for the crew. As for the Eternal Poses, he places some lamps with adjustable brightness just like what Nami asked.

"Why headbands?"

"It's the easiest to make, so I chose it because we need to be fast. You can use them as armbands too if you want, but fold them in half first or they'll be too big. Uh, well, maybe not for Jinbe."

Some of them then use the headbands as they're supposed to be while some use them as armbands because they don't like headbands. The ones using them as armbands are Jon, Zoro, Sanji, and Robin, just the 4 of them.

"Alright, let's enter the mist!"

They continue to sail after Luffy gives his order. Their hearts are racing as they enter the mist because soon they will finally find Laugh Tale. This mist may be the last obstacle to find Laugh Tale, after all, so they are very excited.

Their excitement is so high that it makes them restless. They feel very impatient to pass through this mist, but it's really difficult to get through. As Jon said, the mist keeps getting thicker & thicker to the point they can't see their own hands.

Good thing they have been prepared for this before getting inside the mist. The headbands with red lights make them able to check their cremates' locations. But they need to set the light at the brightest setting or it won't be seen by the others at all.

Without the light, Nami won't be able to see the Eternal Poses in her hands too. Even the brightest light setting on the Eternal Poses looks like normal light that's not too bright because of the very thick mist. This mist is more like a cloud now instead of just mist.

They also keep checking each other by talking and using Observation Haki. No one knows what kind of danger lurks in this mist, so they need to stay alert. Jon even makes many shadow clones and makes them stand side-by-side on the railings to block any sudden attacks.

"Hey, don't you feel heavy all of a sudden?"

"Are you tired even though you do nothing, damn cook?"

"What'd you say, moss head?"

"Stop! Zoro is right, my body somehow feels heavier."

"Hmm? This is, I can feel a little resistance when moving. It starts to feel like moving in the water."

Everyone tries to move around and they realize their movements are getting restricted. It's not as bad as moving underwater now, but it slowly gets even harder to move. They feel like the mist becomes sticky too.

"The mist is becoming more viscous, or should i say it becomes more solid. I can even start to feel the mist particles as if they are dust, but made of water vapor. Such a strange sensation."

"Then, if the level keeps getting higher, won't the mist really become solid. It might even form a solid wall at the end."

"We just need to break it if there's a wall."

"It won't be so simple. As Robin said, the mist will most likely become even more solid as we go further. When we reach the solid mist wall, we will be inside the mist that is almost as solid as the mist wall. It's like we are buried in the sand or soil instead of just being underwater. Moving our bodies will be very difficult, so sending strong attacks to destroy the wall will be very difficult too. But the biggest problem is breathing."

"!?"

They've just realized it's getting harder to breath now as the mist becomes denser.

"Then, what should we do?"

"As before, let's send some scouts to check the situation ahead. We should stop advancing for now."