Seeing the Marine warship, Xia Qiu found it rather strange.
A three-masted warship powered by sails like this had been completely phased out in modern times and couldn't possibly be used as a real warship; it could only be a model.
But a one-to-one scale model of a Marine warship? He'd never even heard of such a thing, and it was impossible for anyone to be willing to build one.
What's more, a replica model couldn't possibly sail on the sea, nor could it navigate between islands.
Xia Qiu felt something was off, and he immediately swam towards the warship.
The speed of a sailing warship was around seven to ten knots. This warship had just left port, so its speed wasn't fast, and it was heading towards Xia Qiu's left.
Thus, Xia Qiu swam diagonally towards the warship, paddling with all his might to increase his speed to the maximum.
He was getting closer.
Xia Qiu appeared within ten meters of the warship. He surfaced and looked, seeing figures appearing on the warship.
These figures wore white hats with green English lettering for "Marines."
They wore sleeveless white Marine uniforms with blue trim on the collars and blue scarves.
As for their lower halves, Xia Qiu couldn't see them from his angle.
They were indeed dressed as Marine soldiers from One Piece.
Xia Qiu tried to approach the ship but found it bizarrely felt like seawater to him; it wasn't a ship at all.
Seastone.
Dr. Vegapunk had placed Seastone at the bottom of the ship, making Sea Kings perceive the warship as seawater and not attack it, thus allowing it to pass through the Calm Belt.
And Seastone had wide-ranging applications. It didn't just affect Sea Kings; even ordinary fish would be affected by the Sea Kings' presence.
There really was Seastone.
Xia Qiu was filled with shock. He watched the warship slowly drift away, paused for a few seconds, then immediately dove underwater and swam towards the direction of the harbor.
Entering the harbor, Xia Qiu immediately saw several sailboats docked within.
These sailboats weren't larger than the Marine warship, and some were quite old and dilapidated, but they were indeed wooden sailing ships.
Means of transportation, indeed wooden sailing ships.
Just like the sailboats he saw when he first arrived in this world, these sailboats weren't for commemoration or collection but were genuinely used as means of transportation.
Xia Qiu noticed two figures busy on one of the sailboats and slowly approached, hiding beneath the seawater, quietly listening.
Fish had excellent hearing. Although they lacked external ears, they had internal ears that could receive vibrations in the air to distinguish sounds.
Some fish could even receive sound vibrations from kilometers away in the sea and could even distinguish their own kind by sound.
The frequency range of sounds that fish received was mostly similar to humans, with only a small portion having significant differences.
Xia Qiu approached the sailboat and immediately heard the voices of the two men.
"Finally, we're rid of them. These guys, under the guise of maintaining public order, extort a hefty security fee from us every month. But when pirates raid us, and we report them, they always arrive late."
"Yeah, they always show up after the pirates have plundered, then after defeating the pirates, they claim the stolen goods for themselves."
"These Marines are more insatiable than pirates."
"You can't say that. With the Marines around, pirates only come occasionally, and they don't dare to kill people. The Marines are still somewhat useful."
"Did you see today's newspaper? The Celestial Dragons visited the Goa Kingdom."
"Goa Kingdom? The most beautiful country in the entire East Blue. I wish I could visit someday."
"..."
Xia Qiu listened to the conversation between the two men, his heart filled with shock. The information in their words was too much, leaving Xia Qiu unable to fully process it all at once.
First, the language. The language they spoke was Japanese. He had studied abroad in Sakura Island and was now in his third year. Including preparatory school, he had spent four years in Sakura Island and was very fluent in Japanese.
Secondly, the content of their words. Marines and Pirates. This world had Marines and Pirates, and the Marines had just collected the security fee and left. Therefore, the Marine warship that had just left wasn't a model or cosplay; it was a genuine Marine warship.
Then there were the Goa Kingdom and the Celestial Dragons. The Goa Kingdom was an important location in the world of One Piece, where Sabo, Luffy, and Ace grew up.
And the Celestial Dragons were a term for the World Nobles in the world of One Piece.
The Marines with their seagull and scale emblem, the unique warships and Seastone, the Goa Kingdom, the Celestial Dragons – these were all unique to the world of One Piece.
All these pieces of evidence proved that he had arrived in the world of One Piece.
Moreover, as a fish, his food intake, digestion speed, and growth rate exceeded the standards of his original world.
But in a world with giant Sea Beasts and Sea Kings stretching for kilometers, such a growth rate wasn't particularly special.
He had truly arrived in the world of One Piece.
Xia Qiu was extremely shocked. He never imagined he would end up in the world of One Piece.
However, compared to the unbelievable fact that he had become a fish, arriving in the world of One Piece wasn't so difficult to accept.
And according to the conversation between the two men, the Celestial Dragons were visiting the Goa Kingdom.
He knew of a Celestial Dragon visit to the Goa Kingdom when Sabo left the Goa Kingdom. That year, Sabo was ten, Ace was ten, and Luffy was seven, which was Marineford Calendar 1510.
But whether the Celestial Dragons had visited the Goa Kingdom at other times, given the grandeur of that welcoming ceremony and the Goa Kingdom's reverence for the Celestial Dragons, perhaps it had only happened once.
Of course, whether it was that time still needed to be investigated carefully.
Xia Qiu found himself in this world, and his heart was filled with complex emotions.
He had become a fish and entered the world of One Piece.
Although One Piece was Xia Qiu's favorite manga, and he had a certain longing for such a magnificent world.
But if I were to transmigrate, they should at least have arranged some other identity for me, like Garp's adopted son, a dojo apprentice, or the son of a rich man.
But what was the deal with becoming a fish?
He could evolve, he could become stronger, but how strong could he get?
One must remember that Luffy defeated a Sea King as soon as he set sail.
And the Sea Beast Moo Moo, which was far larger than the Going Merry, was utterly defenseless before Luffy.
Even the giant Sea Kings of the Calm Belt were easily dealt with by Vice Admirals.
In the world of One Piece, Sea Kings were often just background elements.
Unless it was a deep-sea Sea King summoned by Shirahoshi that could drag Noah's Ark, with a length of over five thousand meters, it could contend with top-tier fighters.
But it would take an unknown amount of time and involve encountering countless dangers to become one.
Xia Qiu wanted to explore, to become the Pirate King, to adventure with Luffy, to fight with strong individuals, to cause a major stir, to go to Laugh Tale, to find Roger's buried treasure, and to become the world's strongest.
But the difficulty was too high.
I'm not a protagonist like Luffy.
Forget it.
It would be better to just live a quiet life.
Xia Qiu exhaled a string of bubbles and slowly submerged into the water.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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