Initially, Kuro didn't realize what was happening, but soon, without Law explaining, he understood on his own.
Almost by reflex, he put on a wary expression.
However, based on past experience, if Law wanted him to do something, even if he disagreed, he would have to comply in the end.
"Hey, come here."
Law beckoned to Kuro.
Kuro's expression slightly crumpled as he cautiously asked, "What do you want me to do this time?"
"Just a small thing."
Three minutes later, Kuro sighed dejectedly and reached his hand out beyond the Domain.
Under his control, only the outstretched hand was devoid of released Nen.
Moments later, tiny petrified feathers slowly adhered to his hand.
In less than two seconds, Kuro's expression changed, and he yanked his hand back sharply.
Law was prepared and waved his hand, blowing the petrified feathers off Kuro's hand and outside the Domain.
By then, the palm of Kuro's hand that had been adhered to was already a patch of gray-white.
"Less than two seconds?"
Everyone gathered around, closely examining Kuro's petrified palm.
At first glance, this petrification phenomenon did not spread... only the spots where the petrified feathers adhered turned to stone.
However, without the protection of Nen, the petrification speed was extremely fast.
"Two seconds is way too fast, right?"
"Actually, two seconds is already quite ample time. As long as one is fast enough to deploy Nen, using Ko should be possible."
"It's not two seconds. The specific time, I'm not sure, but the petrification speed is definitely less than one second."
Kuro glanced at them. As the person involved, he could only confirm that the petrified feathers took effect within one second.
Once his arm was petrified, although he could still control it, it became very heavy, as if fitted with cumbersome weights.
Kuro moved his fingers, producing a harsh stone-grinding sound.
"Less than one second?!"
Everyone exchanged glances.
If it was less than one second, the room for maneuver was pitifully small.
Law stared at the petrified part of Kuro's hand and asked, "How did the petrification feel?"
Kuro rolled his eyes at the question and wanted to retort: 'Why don't you go try it yourself?'
But reason made him swallow those words, and he honestly described the sensation.
It boiled down to one word: heavy.
After gathering the general information, Law signaled Kuro to amputate the petrified part.
Kuro first took a pained look at his petrified arm, then cut it off, subsequently expending part of his stored Nen to materialize a new palm.
"This petrification effect is similar to the rusting attack of the bronze mechanical. The difference is that Nen can't defend against the bronze mechanical's attack, but it can block the petrification effect of these feathers."
"Although it can be easily defended against, the petrified feathers are everywhere. That means our Nen Abilities will be somewhat restricted here."
Law turned his head to look at the light specks fluttering endlessly outside the Domain, summarizing the currently known information to his teammates and outlining some precautions.
Ko and En were unusable, as was Zetsu for concealing presence.
Additionally, there were visual obstructions and the inability to rest.
No wonder this place was called a dead zone. No matter how much HP a boss had, once they entered the Forest of Medusa, they would eventually be worn down and turn into a stone statue.
Fortunately, Law's group had the new Nitro Rice to increase their endurance. Even deep in the Forest of Medusa, they could return to the Fourth-Dimensional Apartment anytime to rest or separate the spiked canopy of the caltrop trees to rest on top.
With no worries, Law and his team were quite confident.
After informing his teammates of some precautions, Law withdrew the Domain.
Without the Domain's isolation, the numerous light specks floating up from the ground immediately moved towards Law and the others.
The first parts to be affected were their legs.
In less than ten seconds, everyone's lower limbs were covered in a thick layer of petrified feathers.
In contrast, the number of petrified feathers on other parts of their bodies was visibly increasing.
The team had only advanced less than five hundred meters, and the petrified feathers flying wildly through the air had turned each of them into snowmen.
Protected by Nen, there wasn't too much to worry about, except that every so often, they had to wipe the petrified feathers off their eyes… it's even more troublesome than a rainstorm.
Given these factors, plus the unknown dangers still lurking in the forest, the team's progress was quite slow.
The forest was quiet, with few audible sounds.
After half an hour of walking, they hadn't encountered anything like the stone eagle, indicating the density of living creatures was very low.
It seemed that in a forest covered by the cycle of petrified feathers, normal living creatures were rarely seen.
They might be encountered on the periphery, but once deep in the forest, it was mostly unlikely.
Unless the creatures entering the forest had special means.
The team continued moving forward without incident.
Without Tonpa's detection ability, the team walked with extreme caution.
But so far, no danger had been encountered.
After about three hours, the team finally encountered their first living creature.
It was a giant python capable of swallowing Buhara in one bite, coiling and moving around the caltrop trees in the forest.
The python had many parts of its body already petrified. On the non-petrified parts, numerous petrified feathers were attached.
As the python moved, the feathers shook off, revealing its pitch-black body.
The gray-white of petrification, combined with its original black, created a ring-like pattern like a venomous snake.
The python would shake off the feathers attached to its body, but soon new ones would adhere, and the cycle continued.
The python seemed disoriented, or perhaps lost, moving endlessly in one area, its strength slowly worn down by the ubiquitous petrified feathers.
If this continued, it was only a matter of time before the python was assimilated by the feathers.
Watching from a distance, Law and his group could see the python had no chance to escape.
In any case, the python was doomed sooner or later, so Law thought they might as well act and end its suffering.
Just as he prepared to eliminate the blocking python, a small figure flashed briefly in the milky white light. It acted on his behalf, instantly slicing the not-yet-assimilated python cleanly in two.
It was a vertical split from head to tail.
The python collapsed dead without making a sound.
The figure landed on the python's corpse, allowing Law and the others to see its appearance. It was a sphere about the size of a basketball, with facial features and wings.
At the bottom of its spherical body were two small white inverted hooks, like a pair of stationary barbed teeth.
This inexplicably appearing creature made Law's group wary.
The spherical creature also seemed to notice Law and his group. It turned slightly, and its pair of big crimson eyes looked their way.