"Captain Arlong, something's wrong."
The Fish-Man who survived underwater climbed out of the pool at Arlong Park and rushed up to Arlong, saying with a panicked expression, "Riou was killed by a sea fish, and Captain Kuroobi was captured by a sea fish."
"What?"
Arlong, who had been leaning back, watching the distant battle unfold and leisurely waiting for it to end, immediately straightened his back upon hearing this. He leaned forward and looked at the other Fish-Man, asking, "What are you talking about? A sea fish captured Kuroobi?"
"It was a giant black sea fish. It attacked us as soon as we went underwater, killed Riou, and then abducted Captain Kuroobi." The Fish-Man's expression was tense, and he still felt a lingering fear as he recalled the scene.
"A black sea fish?"
Arlong thought of Hachi's description from half a year ago. Could it be that same sea fish?
"How did it capture Kuroobi?"
Arlong asked, puzzled. Even if Kuroobi was attacked, he should have been injured, not abducted.
"Tentacles, that sea fish's belly is covered in tentacles."
The Fish-Man shouted.
"A sea fish with tentacles on its belly? Hachi didn't mention anything like that."
Arlong frowned, then stood up directly and said, "I'll go take a look."
Arlong walked to the edge of the pool and leaped in.
Whoosh.
Arlong pushed back with his hands and kicked off the seawater with his feet, shooting forward.
He was close to the surface, and the curved bone extending from the back of his head was like a shark's dorsal fin.
Arlong was fast, even faster than Chuu. After a few lunges, he arrived around the warship.
Kuroobi and Riou were indeed gone.
What the…?
Arlong narrowed his eyes, sniffed the air, and pursued in the distance.
He tracked the blood, moving away from the coast to a patch of sea where the water still held a relatively strong scent of blood.
Kuroobi had been severely injured here.
But where did he go?
Arlong felt the scent of blood all around him, making it impossible to pinpoint a specific target.
"It got away?"
Arlong frowned, his expression incredibly grim. "That sea fish was severely injured by Hachi using only his fists. And Kuroobi's unarmed combat strength is even greater than Hachi's when he's not using a sword? How could Kuroobi possibly be killed?"
"Let's wait a bit longer."
...
Above the water, Chuu was fighting two Fish-Men and some Marines. However, with Kuroobi's departure, the Marine warship stabilized, and all the sailors joined the fight.
The two Fish-Men were already injured, while Chuu dodged attacks, finding it difficult to find an opportunity to strike.
"What is Kuroobi doing?"
Chuu wasn't skilled in close combat, but he couldn't easily leave the ship, and the water he could absorb was limited.
Thwack.
Chuu was hit in the shoulder by a Marine. He reached out, grabbed the Marine's neck, and twisted it sharply.
With a crack, the Marine's cervical spine snapped.
But the next moment, he was stabbed again.
Chuu gritted his teeth and said, "Let's retreat for now."
Splash, splash, splash.
Chuu and the two Fish-Men jumped into the water. Finding Kuroobi absent, they left the ship and swam back towards Arlong Park.
"Go, hurry, the Captain is injured, let's go back."
Another officer who had accompanied the Captain shouted loudly. The Marines changed course, and the warship sailed away, disengaging from the battle.
...
Underwater, Xia Qiu swam into the distance, but instead of leaving directly, he circled around, using the island as a center.
Xia Qiu did this because he was worried that the shark Fish-Man and the dolphin Fish-Man might be able to locate him using the scent of blood, vibrations, and sound waves.
Especially Arlong; if he caught him, it would be difficult for him to escape Arlong's wrath.
Being cautious was the right move.
Xia Qiu swam further away, the heat flow within his body slowly dissipating over time.
After the heat flow completely disappeared, Xia Qiu passed a patch of underwater rocks. As he swam past a protruding rock, he suddenly swished his tail.
Boom.
The rock exploded upon being struck by the tail, completely shattering, while the tail itself remained unharmed.
This rock was large. Although it was pitted and corroded by seawater, the fact that I could shatter it meant my strength had increased significantly.
My strength had become much greater.
While my body weight hadn't increased much, my muscles had become more robust, leading to increased strength.
The power of my tail strikes and pectoral fin slaps had increased considerably, my bite force was greater, and my swimming speed and ramming power were also enhanced.
My bones were harder, and my scales were also tougher.
This reinforcement had greatly improved my combat power.
Most importantly, my strength had reached a critical threshold, allowing my ramming power, as well as my striking and slapping force, to meet the standards of an executive.
This way, many of my attacks would no longer just be for crowd control; they could inflict massive damage.
Xia Qiu swam past the rock and hid behind it, waiting for a while before going to feed again.
As Xia Qiu continuously fed, the severed tentacles began to regenerate rapidly.
This was not only because Xia Qiu could heal injuries by consuming Evolution Energy but also because Xia Qiu ate many octopuses while growing new tentacles.
Many octopuses possess powerful regenerative abilities. When facing a formidable enemy, they can detach their tentacles to save themselves, and the tentacles can regrow by the next day.
As Xia Qiu continued to feed, the tentacles were slowly growing back. It was estimated that they would be fully restored within a day.
Furthermore, with one executive dead, the Arlong Pirates would inevitably become wary of me. Therefore, I needed to go into hiding for a while, slowly increase my strength, arm myself, and become stronger.
Sooner or later, I would devour every Fish-Man in the Arlong Pirates.
...
Onboard one of the Shining Gold Merchant Association's merchant ships, Marcel stood at the bow, holding a broadsword and slashing forward.
Clang.
In front of him, one of Hachi's hands, holding a samurai sword, blocked the attack with ease.
Clang, clang, clang.
Marcel swung his broadsword, relentlessly attacking Hachi, but every blow was parried by Hachi's sword.
"Too many openings."
Hachi smirked mockingly and, spotting an opening, unleashed a strike.
Clang.
Marcel retracted his longsword and blocked in front of himself, the swords clashing.
Thump.
Marcel felt a powerful force transmit through the blade, causing him to kneel on the ground.
"You're too weak."
Hachi sheathed his samurai sword and shook his head, dissatisfied with the spar.
"Your strength is too great."
Marcel sat on the ground, wiping the sweat from his brow. When the opponent struck, he couldn't block it.
Not only that, but the opponent had only used one sword and focused on defense, yet it had pushed him to his limit.
If the opponent had used all six swords simultaneously, even ten of him would have been slaughtered.
"The arm strength of us Fish-Men is naturally greater than that of humans," Hachi said proudly.
Marcel rubbed his wrist and replied, "But I will train hard. I hope one day I can be as strong as you."
"Oh really?"
Hachi burst into laughter. "Impossible. Even in a hundred years, you won't reach my level."
"I will definitely do it."
Seeing Hachi's reaction, Marcel said silently in his heart.
He walked to the side, picked up his broadsword, and began his training.
I still need to work hard, become stronger, and then become a Bounty Hunter to hunt down pirates.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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