A fairly valuable photograph was preserved.
Law conjured his book and once again had Bruna establish a connection to communicate with the turtle.
"I will notify you in advance when it's time to depart."
"Alright. And if you are about to meet an unfortunate death, please also notify me in advance."
"No problem."
Law smiled.
He knew the turtle's words were serious. After all, if he died an unfortunate death and didn't inform the turtle, then the turtle would have to abide by their agreement and remain guarding this place until its own death.
And once the turtle transported them to the Dark Continent, from the moment they disembarked, both parties would immediately sever all contact forever after.
This was the true effect of the [Agreement].
Law recalled the book, severing the communication link, and led the group to the edge of the turtle's shell. He then addressed Kuro: "Take us across."
There was still some distance to the coastline here, so swimming was naturally out of the question.
Hearing Law's words, Kuro directly transformed into his panther form, his size swelling several times over. The area of his back could easily accommodate over ten people standing.
Law, with practiced ease, leaped onto Kuro's back and signaled the others to do the same.
Soon, everyone stood upon Kuro's back. Kuro's limbs powered, and his massive form surged forward in a tiger-like leap.
Law expertly released his Nen, intending to create a series of Domain to serve as stepping stones for Kuro.
Then... Kuro's foot found empty air, and he, carrying everyone, plunged headfirst into the sea.
An awkward silence filled the scene.
"What's going on?"
Tonpa surfaced from the sea, utterly bewildered.
'What happened to the promised walking on air and making a cool landing?'
"Law, are you messing with me?!"
Kuro immediately turned to Law to demand an explanation, afraid the blame might be pinned on him.
Law surfaced, awkwardly replying, "Sorry, I forgot my Aura Nodes aren't fully opened yet."
"..."
The time limit for his unsealing had already been reduced by more than half, yet his Aura Nodes weren't even half open. He could use [Hatsu], but it was difficult to create the individual Domain needed to coordinate with Kuro's aerial running.
It wasn't until Kuro stepped on air that he remembered this detail.
Thus, the group, having fallen into the sea, obediently swam ashore, arriving at the oddly shaped cluster of reef rocks.
In the distance, the turtle's colossal form still stood quietly upon the sea's surface.
Standing on the reef cluster and looking up towards the cliff top above, they realized its height was considerable.
Their earlier position on the turtle's back had created the illusion that the cliffs weren't very high.
The cliff was both tall and steep, but before skilled Nen Users, it was akin to flat ground. Climbing it posed no pressure.
Within just a few minutes, everyone had reached the cliff's edge one by one.
The area several hundred meters ahead was all rocky ground. Beyond that lay lush forests.
Their view was obstructed by the large trees within the forest, creating a visual break. However, they could make out the hazy outlines of tall mountains in the far distance.
What their eyes saw was merely a tiny corner of this continent. Being physically present here, they could immediately sense a flavor named [Primordial].
"How large is this place?"
Shiro asked. Upon seeing the forest imbued with a strong primordial essence, his mind was thinking about how many types of raw materials for making tobacco he could find within it.
"There's only a rough and vague measurement. It's about two-thirds the size of the combined Six Continents. However, whether that's accurate is hard to say. The only certainty is that it's larger than the largest of the Six Continents, Azian."
Law turned to look at the turtle, motionless on the sea's surface, and answered Shiro's question.
Shiro let out a deep exclamation upon hearing this.
"V6's target is this place. It will likely become an excellent colony," Knov said softly.
"After all, humanity's hand hasn't reached here yet. That is to say, this place is equivalent to a brand new, uncultivated set of Six Continents. As the Dark Continent declared in the King of Kakin's proclamation, it certainly qualifies."
Biscuit chimed in, then looked at Law. "You caused this mess. Aren't you going to dry our clothes?"
Hearing Biscuit's words, Law gave an awkward smile and promptly extracted the seawater from everyone's clothing.
Creating Domain was beyond him, but extracting seawater from clothes was still doable.
"But... I have a feeling this place is very dangerous," Nique said cautiously, eyeing the forest. In a certain sense, he was actually quite similar to Tonpa, possessing a trait of 'Sensing Danger to Survive'.
Upon landing, he sensed danger from the edge of this unknown, vast forest. This was actually a normal sensory phenomenon.
It's similar to how ordinary people might naturally feel danger before entering the Amazon rainforest or preparing to step into a quiet, silent swamp.
Tonpa glanced at Nique and said flatly, "Any movement within three kilometers is under my control. I'll give an early warning if there's danger. You don't need to be so cautious."
He could extend his radar's range farther, but his Nen consumption would increase exponentially, and clarity would be affected. A three-kilometer range was optimal.
Upon hearing this, Nique could only give Tonpa a sheepish smile.
According to Tonpa's statement, there was currently no danger within three kilometers.
With this as the baseline, his statement about feeling danger became a bit of a joke, big or small.
"Boom!"
Just then, an ear-splitting sound of water came from the sea.
Everyone looked towards the source and saw the turtle, as agreed upon earlier, slowly submerging into the depths of the sea.
Until Law notified him, it would not surface, relying on a talent skill similar to 'turtle breath technique' to stay submerged on the seabed.
Watching the turtle submerge into the sea, Law turned back to look at the forest's edge. "We'll probably have to wait here for about a month."
"What will we do during that time?" Shiro was quite eager to explore the forest.
"You can do whatever you like, but no solo ventures," Law said, as if sensing the restless urge in Shiro's heart, seriously adding, "Although this isn't the Dark Continent, the danger level isn't lower than that of the magical areas in the Six Continents."
"Of course, every inch of land here holds exploration value. You are free to explore here. Consider it a rehearsal before heading to the Dark Continent."
Biscuit looked at Law's profile and asked, "Aren't we going to make contact with the Gatekeeper?"
"Not for now," Law replied.
The [Gatekeeper] of the Dark Continent was on this very continent. To voyage to the Dark Continent, humans needed to rely on the [Sub-Human Guides] summoned by the [Gatekeeper].
Although they happened to have arrived here, with the turtle's assistance as a prerequisite, Law had no motive to visit the Gatekeeper.
…
Somewhere on the Imaginary Continent, a massive, towering wall meandered like a giant dragon, lying across the desolate land as if it were a Great Wall dividing the ground.
At a certain point on this Great Wall-like, towering rampart stood a wooden gate imprinted with a peculiar painted seal.
Both the city wall and this gate shared two common features.
They were enormous.
They bore clear signs of artificial construction.
However, this Great Wall rampart and the sealed gate were not built by humans.
Guarding this place was a race of Magical Beasts from the Dark Continent… the Gatekeeper.