The sky was faintly bright, with a thin mist lingering in the forest. The air carried a hint of icy dampness.
Law stood atop a giant tree, surrounded by an endless sea of trees. The white mist was everywhere… not too thick, but enough to make the treetops appear faint and elusive.
His gaze focused into a beam, stretching far into the distance where the blurred outline of the World Tree was visible.
"Hah."
Law exhaled a puff of warm air, then drew in a cool breath, slowly closing his eyes. He pushed off slightly with his feet, his body flying backward before plummeting vertically toward the ground.
His body cut through the thin mist, the sound of wind whistling past his ears.
When he was about two meters from the ground, Law opened his eyes, executed a neat flip, and adjusted his posture to land head-up and feet-down.
Just before touching the ground, he released Aura from the soles of his feet, neutralizing the force of the fall and landing steadily.
The team was ready to depart, watching as Law landed in front of them.
Without lingering, they set off into the forest, heading in a determined direction.
Law led the way, followed by Biscuit, with Tonpa and Bruna in the middle.
With Cookie as their support, Law required Tonpa to maintain his Nen Ability continuously, only stopping when completely exhausted.
Although Tonpa's Nen Ability could effectively avoid many obstacles, some things remained undetectable, such as shadows.
Maintaining the Nen Ability nonstop required constant consumption of Aura. When his Aura was depleted and his physical strength exhausted, Cookie's massage would restore him within half an hour.
This meant that every two hours or so, they had to stop and rest for thirty minutes.
To some extent, the duty Tonpa has to perform are actually a kind of training that cannot be delayed.
A day passed, and Tonpa was miserable, but he gradually adapted.
If this continued for a while, Tonpa's Nen Ability usage and Nen Techniques would see significant improvement.
"What's with this fog?"
Kuro sat at the entrance of the tree hole, watching the damp air drift in, only to be quickly dissipated by the heat of the fire.
At first, he thought it was just ordinary morning mist, but as the day passed, the thin fog showed no signs of dispersing.
No one answered Kuro's question.
Law pressed his hand against the tree wall, his palm wrapped in a faint Aura, and opened a small hole. Strands of thin mist seeped in like water, finding every gap.
The mist had persisted from dawn until night. It was clearly visible during the day, but less so at night, though its presence could still be felt.
Law sealed the hole again, leaned against the tree wall, and closed his eyes to rest.
Believing the forest at night to be more dangerous than during the day, they had to find a place to rest once darkness fell, waiting until morning to continue.
Night watch duty was left to Kuro, allowing the others to rest assured.
Only late at night could Tonpa feel at ease, able to fall into a deep sleep without worry.
Early the next morning, they hastily ate dry rations for breakfast, left the temporary tree hole they had carved out, and continued deeper into the forest.
The mist still hadn't lifted.
Yesterday, it was thin with fairly high visibility, but this morning, it had clearly thickened by a degree or two.
"The fog is getting denser," Law said softly as he led the way.
"Yeah," Biscuit replied.
Even as the mist thickened, the forest showed no unusual signs. Everything was as usual.
A week passed like this. The team encountered no major dangers, but the mist persisted for the entire week without dispersing.
Moreover, the creatures in the forest showed no obvious reaction to the gradually thickening fog.
Confusion and uncertainty lingered, but the team did not stop because of it. With Tonpa's Nen Ability, they advanced unimpeded.
Another week passed, and the fog had thickened to the point where visibility was reduced to only three or four meters.
Law wasn't sure how much farther they had to go to traverse the sea of trees, but after traveling nonstop for over half a month, he felt they had made considerable progress.
The journey had been relatively smooth, without encountering any particularly troublesome beings.
Law maintained a cautious and careful attitude, preferring to suppress curiosity at times rather than risk endangering the team.
Over the past half-month, the one who had changed the most was Tonpa.
During each leg of the journey, he had to continuously use his Nen Ability. Initially, he could only maintain it for two hours, but now he could last nearly three hours.
His hard work and growing ability to remain calm in the face of danger made Law view him in a new light.
Simply put, especially when compared to Kuro, Law felt Tonpa had become far more useful and was gradually evolving into a qualified teammate.
If half a month ago, Tonpa was merely a tool-like radar, now he was a human-shaped radar.
If possible, Law hoped Tonpa could become a true teammate radar.
It had to be said that the decision to uncover Tonpa's Nen Ability and bring him to the Dark Continent was incredibly wise.
The thick fog enveloping the sea of trees, never dispersing, was like an invisible wall hindering their progress.
But with Tonpa's radar, even if their pace slowed somewhat, they could at least avoid direct encounters with certain creatures in the dense mist.
Law's goal was to traverse the sea of trees, so he preferred to avoid combat, even if it meant taking detours.
Thus, they traveled peacefully for a month, with the thick fog still not lifting.
Having been on the Dark Continent for several years, they had grown somewhat accustomed to such phenomena and no longer paid it much mind.
However, during this time, Law repeatedly climbed to the treetops and used Sky Walk to ascend, hoping to rise above the fog to determine their direction and approximate location.
Strangely, no matter how high he climbed, he remained within the thick mist.
It was as if the fog enveloping the sea of trees was a chimney-shaped reaching the sky phenomenon.
After multiple attempts, Law gave up. Although he couldn't be certain they were heading in the right direction, at least they were making progress deeper in.
…
On this day, their steady journey was interrupted.
As they traveled as usual, the cry of a crow suddenly came from far away.
Since it sounded distant, they paid it no mind and had no intention of investigating.
Yet, the crow's cry lingered like a shadow, stirring restlessness in their hearts.
"Is it behind us?"
After walking for several hours, the crow's cry remained persistently audible. Law asked Tonpa about it multiple times.
"No," Tonpa shook his head. He also found the crow's cry extremely annoying, but his Nen Ability hadn't picked up anything. This meant the crow was not just far away… yet its cry sounded quite clear.
Since it was far away, they endured it.
Another twenty minutes passed, and the crow's cry still haunted them relentlessly.
As the team walked, Tonpa suddenly stopped.
Seeing him halt, Law and Biscuit immediately grew alert.
"This feels familiar," Tonpa muttered.
"What?" Law asked curiously.
"I think... I have an upset stomach?" Tonpa said uncertainly, as a drum-like sound suddenly erupted from his abdomen. Abruptly, he clutched his backside tightly with both hands.
Seeing this, Law's face darkened.