A dazzling white light flashed, and the fake Peace Star with its plasticky glow affixed itself to the compass.
The compass instantly expanded from the size of a bowl to the size of a washbasin. The central section where the needle rested bulged outward, forming a transparent sphere. The needle's axis vanished, and the needle itself floated freely inside, no longer bound to flat rotations.
"Looks like the enhancement worked. I just don't know if it'll do what we want," Shark Chili muttered. He was very familiar with Peace Stars—he knew that their strengthening effects were unpredictable. And once the Peace Star was removed, or its power burned out, the effect would vanish.
"At least the needle's steady now. Seems it's no longer tied to magnetism. Let me try it out." Zhang Da Ye cleared his throat and, imitating a witch from a cartoon, said in a raspy voice: "Compass, compass, tell me, who is the fairest woman in the world?"
"..." For a second, the air was silent.
Rui Meng Meng immediately complained. "Boss, this isn't a magic mirror, and you're not the Evil Queen!"
"Haha, just loosening the mood. Next time I get a Peace Star, I'll stick it on a mirror and see if it really makes a magic mirror." Zhang Da Ye grinned, then spoke to the compass again: "Tell me Tom's location."
The needle inside spun like it was searching for a signal—first horizontally, then vertically—before settling firmly on Tom.
Tom stepped left, the needle swung left.
Tom stepped right, the needle swung right.
Tom leapt onto Zhang Da Ye's head, and the needle tilted upward at an angle.
"Success!" Shark Chili and Rui Meng Meng clapped hands.
Zhang Da Ye was delighted. This Peace Star wasn't wasted. "Compass, compass, tell me Van der Decken IX's location!"
The needle spun twice in searching arcs before finally locking in a direction.
"No idea how long this Peace Star will last. Artoria, can you speed us up?" Zhang Da Ye passed her the compass.
"Understood." Artoria took it and stepped to the prow. Ripples of unseen energy spread out beneath her feet, enveloping the ship and the sea catfish pulling it.
The sea catfish suddenly felt a surge of strength, its speed soaring. The naive creature thought it had just gotten a second wind from a full belly.
Watching it swim with renewed vigor, Zhang Da Ye suddenly had a bold thought: if he fought while carrying Artoria on his back, wouldn't that be like wearing speed-boosting equipment? He shook his head right away—too much hassle. Easier to just let her fight herself.
Guided by Artoria's commands, the sea catfish darted nimbly between reefs and slipped past giant sea beasts lunging at them. For the fish, it was the wildest parkour run of its life.
After half an hour of racing, a faint light appeared in the distance.
"Did we find them?" Rui Meng Meng asked uncertainly. Down here in the deep sea, light could only mean people.
"There's definitely a gathering of auras nearby, but it feels strange. Prepare for battle," Artoria warned.
Zhang Da Ye and Rui Meng Meng readied their weapons. Tom, however, wasn't sure what kind of fight this was going to turn into.
Thankfully, Shark Chili was steady—he had already summoned a shark giant to lead the way.
The sea catfish swam closer to the light. Suddenly, the light surged toward them. A massive jaw full of teeth gaped open, lunging at the catfish.
"No—that's a giant anglerfish! Dodge!" Zhang Da Ye shouted. He recognized the species instantly from the glowing lure on its head.
For a second, he panicked—memories of One Piece flashed in his head. The most famous anglerfish was "Lord Lantern" from the special Pure Gold arc, a monster big enough to swallow an entire island. Thankfully, this one wasn't nearly that size.
The catfish and the shark giant dodged aside, slipping past the snapping jaws. The anglerfish immediately got socked with a fist.
A fist the size of their ship. It slammed into the anglerfish's head, leaving a massive lump.
"He's huge! Even bigger than Neptune!" Shark Chili exclaimed from inside the shark giant.
"T-t-this… this is a giant, right?" Rui Meng Meng stammered.
"No," Artoria shook her head. "I've read about the navy's giant vice admirals. They're only about twenty meters tall. This man is pushing a hundred."
"Yellow Lantern, how many times have I told you, no eating ships! If you eat a ship, Captain Decken will get mad!"
The massive body spoke with the voice of a child. The anglerfish whimpered, tears welling in its eyes, too afraid to resist.
"It's him!" Zhang Da Ye recognized the figure. He couldn't recall the name, but he knew it was Van der Decken's underling. Wadatsumi, but the intelligence of a little kid—easy to fool.
Just then, a pirate ship emerged from the shadows.
It was eerie, draped in gloom. A giant skull hung from the bow, and across the main sail, the words read: "Flying Dutchman."
Its tattered sails and cluttered decorations gave it the look of a true ghost ship.
A raspy voice called from the bow: "Yellow Lantern! Wadatsumi! If you eat the ship, we won't get the treasure! Sink them and take it all!"
"Got it, Captain!" Wadatsumi answered childishly, slowly raising his colossal fist.
Tom's fur bristled the moment he saw the figure standing at the ship's prow. Four-legged, familiar—it was the man from the photo. The one who had smashed his head during dinner. Furious, Tom stomped his feet.
Out of nowhere, Tom rolled out a cannon, gave a thumbs-up, aimed at Van der Decken, and lit the fuse.
"Boom!" A round cannonball burst from the barrel, piercing the bubble shield around their ship, slicing through the water, and crashing into Van der Decken's bubble shield—heading straight for his head.
Van der Decken never expected an attack, much less aimed at him. But the cannonball was slow enough that he dodged with a quick duck.
"You dare—"
But from an angle he couldn't see, the cannonball struck the mast. It didn't explode—Tom had used a solid shot. Instead, the mast bent at an unnatural curve, ricocheting the cannonball right back—straight at the back of Van der Decken's skull.
"Captain! Watch out!" his crew screamed in terror.
"Hm?" He turned in confusion, then his eyes bulged. "Eh???"
Thud! The solid cannonball nailed him square in the face, flipping him head over heels. He landed with his head stuck deep in the deck, his four legs twitching helplessly in the air.
"Ohohohohoho!" Tom rolled on the ground laughing hysterically.
"Captain!" Wadatsumi froze mid-punch, staring at his toppled leader in panic.
Artoria was already at the prow, standing on a bubble coral platform, preparing to charge. She wasn't sure if her strikes would rupture the ship's bubble shield.
Meanwhile, Shark Chili seized the moment, commanding the shark giant to slam its jagged dorsal fin into Van der Decken's decrepit ship, aiming to cleave it in two.
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