Hachi dove into the ocean, his six arms flailing as he swam downward.
Hachi had six arms that resembled octopus tentacles. Each tentacle arm had no joints but was covered in suckers.
At the end of each tentacle arm was a human-like hand, though the fingers were webbed.
He moved his body, warily scanning his surroundings, trying to find any trace of sharks, but he found nothing.
Hachi continued downward, reaching the seabed, and observed his surroundings.
There was nothing.
No sharks at all.
Did the sharks run away? Or was Nami lying?
Hachi frowned, but just then, he felt a ripple, a vibration growing closer from a distance. He looked into the distance, and a figure rapidly enlarged before him.
"A shark?"
Seeing the silhouette, Hachi instinctively thought it was a shark. But as the silhouette drew closer, Hachi's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So big."
This was no shark that was ten-plus meters long. This creature not only didn't look like a shark, but it was also over thirty meters long.
Seeing the approaching figure, Hachi's expression turned grave.
...
"It's him."
Xia Qiu lay hidden quietly on the seabed. His position was some distance from the port, concealed behind a protruding rock that obscured part of his body. He hugged the seabed, observing the waters beneath the distant port.
From this vantage point, he could ensure he was the first to spot any enemies emerging from the port. The enemies descending from the port would have their vision partially blocked by the protruding rock, and wouldn't immediately notice the area behind the rock.
After detecting the signal of a Fish-Man landing, Xia Qiu paused for a moment before charging towards him.
The instant he charged, he saw the other's appearance.
Six tentacle arms – an unmistakable characteristic.
It was Hachi, a cadre of the Arlong Pirates.
He was very strong, capable of moving reefs on the seabed and creating whirlpools that could drag ships onto currents.
He could wield six 300-kilogram swords, his strength second only to Arlong's in the Arlong Pirates.
Although Xia Qiu's own strength far surpassed this level, he had to mobilize his entire body, and Hachi's strength was enough to inflict damage on him.
However, Xia Qiu didn't flinch and continued his charge.
Under a surprise attack, the opponent would be caught off guard and find it difficult to react appropriately.
He might even be able to kill him.
*BOOM.*
Xia Qiu transformed into a black silhouette and charged directly, opening his maw to bite the other.
*SWISH.*
Just as Xia Qiu was about to bite him, Hachi suddenly pushed off with his six arms and two legs, rapidly retreating and narrowly dodging Xia Qiu's attack.
The massive fish-like body swept past Hachi's side. Hachi let out a cold snort, turned to face the approaching body, clenched his six arms into fists, and struck out.
*Octopus Fist.*
Six fists blurred into afterimages, striking towards Xia Qiu's body.
But Xia Qiu had already anticipated this the moment he missed his bite. He sharply veered left, slamming his body into Hachi.
*THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP...*
Hachi's fists struck Xia Qiu's body, producing dull thuds that shattered the scales on Xia Qiu's body.
However, Xia Qiu's momentum barely slowed. His massive body, after being hit by Hachi's fists, directly collided with Hachi.
*BOOM.*
Hachi raised his six arms to block, but he was still hit and sent flying backward.
"Such immense power."
Hachi's expression was grim. He stabilized himself. Aside from his arms being shaken and injured, he wasn't significantly harmed.
His arms had no bones, and by bending them, he used them as a shield to absorb some of the force.
He also curled his body into a ball, using Xia Qiu's momentum to his advantage. He offered no resistance, allowing himself to be sent flying a great distance, but the force exerted on him wasn't that great.
Xia Qiu, having missed his attack, continued to swim upward and left, flicking his tail fin.
Here we go again?
Seeing the tail fin lash out, Hachi didn't try to block it directly. He pushed off again with his arms and legs, retreating rapidly like an octopus.
*WHOOSH.*
The tail fin grazed past Hachi, missing him by a hair's breadth.
But the moment they brushed past, Hachi extended four arms, grabbed Xia Qiu's tail fin, and lunged forward, climbing onto Xia Qiu's body.
Xia Qiu felt his tail fin grow heavy and flicked it again.
But Hachi's tentacles were tightly wrapped around his tail, and two tentacles stretched out, pressing against the scales on his tail. Although the scales were smooth, the suckers latched on perfectly.
He couldn't shake him off.
Hachi climbed up Xia Qiu's body, staying close to him to avoid being bitten or struck.
But just then, Hachi suddenly saw the rocky cliff face rapidly approaching.
Xia Qiu charged directly at the cliff, simultaneously thrashing his tail against it.
Damn it.
Seeing the rapidly enlarging wall, Hachi had no choice but to let go of Xia Qiu. He used his six arms to grip Xia Qiu's body, then sprang upwards.
Xia Qiu flipped downwards at the same moment. Hachi used Xia Qiu's momentum, combined with his own strength, to evade Xia Qiu's body.
Bang.
Xia Qiu's body slammed into the cliff face. Rocks immediately shattered and rained down.
That hurts.
Xia Qiu felt a sharp pain at the impact point. His scales were shattered there, and his muscles were damaged. His body went limp.
"Good opportunity."
Seeing this, Hachi turned his body, clenched his six fists, retracted his arms, and struck out.
Octopus Barrage Fist.
His six fists blurred into countless punches, attacking Xia Qiu's back.
Bang, bang, bang, bang...
In an instant, Xia Qiu took over a dozen hits. The area between his two dorsal fins had its spines shattered, his skin burst open, and his muscles tore.
But fortunately, this was his back. The spines here converged to form a massive skeletal structure, blocking Hachi's punches.
Pfft, pfft.
Hachi's fists on two of his tentacles suffered deep, bone-revealing wounds, and blood bloomed.
Huh?
Hachi was momentarily stunned. He felt like he had struck sharp spines. Did he have spikes on him?
These spikes were grown by Xia Qiu from eating tuna. However, due to his large size, he didn't eat many tuna, so the spikes were small, located between his two dorsal fins.
Xia Qiu's back was very wide. Hachi threw two rounds of punches with his six arms, delivering over a dozen blows. Only two hit the spikes, instantly crippling those two arms.
The remaining arms struck Xia Qiu's back, tearing through it as if hitting a wall, making his arms go numb from the impact.
At the same time, Xia Qiu's body began to descend rapidly.
The moment he was hit, Xia Qiu regained control of his body. He relaxed his body, letting himself sink, and used the force of the impact to accelerate his fall.
Seeing Xia Qiu fall, Hachi shook his arms and pursued him.
But after descending a short distance, Xia Qiu twisted his body and swam directly away into the distance.
Seeing this, Hachi sighed and did not pursue. Instead, he swam upwards.
The battle came to an end.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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