"Abandon the wounded?"
Upon hearing this, Hachi stopped in his tracks and looked at Arlong.
The Arlong Pirates, with the exception of Nami and Moo Moo, were all Fish-Men. Although the Fish-Man Race was divided into various species, and many Fish-Men would gather by species, even eating each other, they justified it by saying it wasn't cannibalism if they weren't the same species.
But the Fish-Men of the Arlong Pirates had long been like a family.
They had all come to the East Blue together, having endured the pain inflicted by humans and agreeing with Arlong's beliefs.
While Arlong was extremely cruel to humans, he greatly valued his fellow Fish-Men, treating them as his own family.
His dream was for Fish-Men to rule the world.
Yet, he was now considering abandoning his own kind.
Hachi and the Fish-Man soldiers couldn't quite believe it. Arlong nodded and said, "If we carry them, it will consume too much energy and slow us down considerably."
Dragging the injured Fish-Men would slow them down. The remaining journey was over ten kilometers, and the rest of them could reach their destination in less than an hour if they sped up.
"But..."
Hachi was unwilling to accept this outcome.
The Fish-Man, whose bones had been broken by Xia Qiu during the Spaburi shipwreck, spoke up, "Abandon me, Boss Arlong."
Hearing this, Arlong felt even more conflicted, but he still said, "We'll put you down when we get closer to the seabed. Although you're injured, you still have some mobility. It might be a better chance for you to survive if you separate from us."
With that, Arlong turned his back and waved his hand, saying, "Let's go."
The Fish-Men moved forward together, leaving behind the two injured Fish-Men, and then continued on their way.
...
"No, no."
Amidst the shouts of the injured Fish-Men, Xia Qiu bit down and swallowed them, then continued to pursue.
Seven people remained.
Arlong, Hachi, and five Fish-Man soldiers.
Xia Qiu located their position and followed closely, intending to launch another attack, but then he noticed something.
The Fish-Men's formation had changed.
Hachi was ten meters to Arlong's right and ten meters behind him, with the other Fish-Men positioned between them.
If he attacked the other Fish-Men, he wouldn't be able to reach Hachi and Arlong. They could simply charge at him without dodging.
If he attacked Hachi, then no matter which direction he came from, Arlong would appear to his side.
Even if he attacked Hachi and then turned right to dodge Arlong, he would only have about one second.
Hachi was powerful, and he couldn't kill him in one second. Hachi could at least delay him for a while.
Then Arlong could also attack.
If he attacked Arlong, the other Fish-Men could assist in the attack, and Arlong could hold out for longer.
Therefore, his sneak attack plan was no longer feasible due to their mutual support.
He hadn't expected Arlong to have some brains.
Xia Qiu narrowed his eyes and transformed into a black shadow, swimming towards Arlong and the others.
"Stop."
Arlong sensed the vibration and immediately shouted.
Everyone stopped and drew their weapons. Hachi clenched his fists; he wasn't carrying a sword because of its immense weight. A single sword weighed over 300 kilograms, and carrying such a heavy weapon would make it impossible to swim far.
In the original story, although Hachi was a swordsman, he never carried a sword when using one.
When he arrived at Cocos Village, he was unarmed, even though Kuroobi carried a sword.
He didn't carry one when feeding Moo Moo.
When fighting Zoro, he initially used his fists, and only after being knocked into the tower did he retrieve his sword.
He didn't carry a sword when walking on the seabed, when he was tied up by the Flying Fish Knights, or when he tried to stop Hody.
So, was he really a swordsman?
As they were on high alert, a massive dark shadow swam from the distance and shot towards them.
"Here they come."
Arlong tensed his body, ready to attack at any moment.
But with a whoosh, after getting close, Xia Qiu swam past them and then continued swimming into the distance, disappearing from view.
"What the..." Hachi stared blankly at the scene.
"What is he doing?"
Arlong couldn't understand. Why did he come and then leave?
Hachi looked at him and asked, "Boss, what should we do?"
Arlong gritted his teeth and said, "Don't mind it, let's go."
The group moved forward again, but they hadn't gone far when Xia Qiu rumbled back.
"Alert."
Arlong shouted again, and all the Fish-Men stopped.
But Xia Qiu turned around immediately when he reached about fifty to sixty meters away from them, swimming past not far from their side.
Arlong's fists clenched with a creaking sound, but he suppressed his anger and said, "Keep moving."
Then, Xia Qiu charged again. Seeing him coming, Arlong pushed off with his feet and rushed towards Xia Qiu.
But Xia Qiu had already anticipated his move, turned, and swam towards the distance.
Damn it.
Arlong stopped in frustration and returned to the group.
Over the next two times, he even had a fish in his mouth.
Arlong felt like he was about to explode with anger, constantly telling himself to calm down, to calm down, but he couldn't control the rage in his heart.
The fifth time, Arlong simply stopped. Xia Qiu came again. This time, Arlong's crew stopped at a distance.
Hehehehe.
Xia Qiu wagged his tail, wriggling there.
"Boss, is he provoking us?" Hachi asked blankly.
"I..."
Arlong was furious but helpless. He said, "Keep moving."
And in the distance, Xia Qiu saw them leave, followed them again, and secretly rejoiced.
Getting angry, aren't you?
You used a pincer strategy to prevent me from ambushing, but I still have other methods.
A librarian once said, "When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy camps, we harass; when the enemy tires, we attack; when the enemy retreats, we pursue." (Maybe the boss said it.)
Xia Qiu acted according to this strategy: if you attack, I'll retreat; if you stop, I'll harass you; if you leave, I'll pursue.
So cheeky, so satisfying.
Under Xia Qiu's actions, Arlong and his crew were extremely angry, and their nerves were constantly strained, consuming a lot of physical strength and energy.
More importantly, they had slowly veered off course from Jumada Island, deviating by at least thirty degrees.
If this continued, they might not even be able to return to the island.
Xia Qiu followed closely behind, constantly harassing them, making Arlong's crew extremely annoyed.
And so, another hour passed, and they had only advanced about ten kilometers.
This speed was the same as before they abandoned their wounded.
Just as Arlong's crew's stamina was reaching its limit and they were getting tired of it, Xia Qiu began to implement the last four words of the sixteen-character strategy that he hadn't used yet.
When the enemy tires, we attack.
Since you've reached your limit, I won't hold back.
Xia Qiu swayed his body and charged towards Arlong and the others again.
"Here he comes again."
Hachi saw the figure in the distance and shouted loudly.
But Arlong said dismissively, "Don't mind him, let's wait for him to pass."
The moment he finished speaking, Xia Qiu suddenly accelerated and crashed into their midst.
The final battle was about to begin.
-----------
Translation by: randomtranslator.com
Read 2500+ original & fanfic translations and Translate for Free at: randomtranslator.com