Three months passed in the blink of an eye, and the time was February of Marineford Calendar 1516.
Boom.
Near Loguetown, a pirate ship slowly sank into the sea.
"This is the third one this week, isn't it?"
"Every pirate ship sinks shortly after setting sail, with no survivors."
"They say it's the Sea God's wrath, punishing these wicked pirates."
"It's good they're dead; these people made Loguetown such a mess."
On the shore, by the harbor, a crowd of civilians stood watching the slowly sinking pirate ship and discussing it.
"It's a sea fish, at least forty meters long."
On the coast beside a huge Marine warship at one end of the harbor, stood a burly figure with messy brown hair, a fierce and ugly face, and a long sword at his waist.
"Commodore Yuchimura, why is this sea fish attacking pirates?" Beside him stood a strong man, a cigar clenched in his mouth.
"I don't know. It arrived here last week and has attacked pirates three times since they set sail," Yuchimura said, frowning.
"As long as it doesn't attack merchant ships or fishing boats, killing pirates is just eliminating pests for the people," the man said nonchalantly.
"Indeed, there's no need for us to interfere."
Yuchimura withdrew his gaze and looked at the other man. "Smoker, why did you volunteer to take over as the head of the Loguetown branch from me? This isn't a good place."
"Because this is the town where the Pirate King Roger was executed, and it's the mandatory route for pirates from the East Blue before they set sail," Smoker said with a distant look in his eyes. He recalled the events of eighteen years ago. At just twelve years old, he had witnessed the Pirate King's execution in Loguetown, which sparked his desire to become a Marine.
"This place? Although the East Blue gave birth to the Pirate King Roger, as well as strong individuals like the Revolutionary Army leader Dragon and the Marine hero Garp, the East Blue is the weakest sea among the four seas."
Yuchimura chuckled and said, "The pirates in the East Blue are weak. If you stay here, you might end up like me, unable to get promoted for years."
Smoker exhaled a long puff of smoke. "Whether I get promoted or not doesn't matter. I just cannot allow anyone to inherit the will of the Pirate King and head to the Grand Line from here."
"As you wish. I'm returning to Marine Headquarters. See you around," Yuchimura said with a smile.
"Lord Yuchimura, you seem very happy to be leaving."
Smoker shook his head and said, "Be careful of the giant Sea Kings in the Calm Belt."
"Don't worry, with Seastone, it'll be fine," Yuchimura said with a smile as he walked along the harbor and boarded a massive warship.
Before long, the warship set sail and headed into the distance.
"Let's go, Tashigi."
Smoker called out to the woman behind him as he watched the warship slowly depart and walked away.
...
"Too little."
Xia Qiu felt the Reinforcement Energy within his body and angrily twisted his body.
For nearly six months after killing Arlong, Xia Qiu had hunted very few pirates.
So, he thought of Loguetown and came to the island near Reverse Mountain where Loguetown was located.
This was the closest island in the East Blue to Reverse Mountain, and Loguetown was the final stop for many pirates before entering the Grand Line.
Xia Qiu had been in Loguetown for a week and had encountered three groups of pirates.
However, the Reinforcement Energy contained within them was still too scarce.
Xia Qiu wanted to become stronger, and this urgency was even greater than when he had spent two years in dormancy to defeat Arlong. At that time, his main goal was to evolve the tentacle claw that could injure Arlong, increase his size, and quietly wait for an opportunity, observing the surrounding waters and attacking when the chance arose.
Therefore, for two years, Xia Qiu had been steadily improving himself without excessive urgency.
But now, Xia Qiu desperately wished to improve himself by consuming pirates.
He was doing this because he wanted to go to the Grand Line.
This desire grew stronger and stronger, and the only thing preventing him from acting on it was the danger that the Grand Line held.
To suppress this fear, Xia Qiu desperately wished to become stronger.
But it wasn't enough.
This pirate energy alone was insufficient.
But at this moment, Xia Qiu saw a Marine warship approaching.
This warship?
Xia Qiu felt that this Marine warship was different from the ones he had seen before; it was larger and longer.
Moreover, the fluctuations in the seawater it emitted were more intense, indicating a greater effect from the Seastone.
This was not a warship from an ordinary branch base.
Loguetown held a unique status in the East Blue, being the island where the Pirate King was born and died. From here, it wasn't far to Reverse Mountain.
The person in charge of Loguetown was Smoker, who had once declared, on his honor as a Marine Headquarters Captain, that he would not let Luffy leave the island even a single step.
Therefore, the person in charge of Loguetown must at least be at the level of a Marine Headquarters Captain.
Oda mentioned in SBS that official positions at Headquarters are three ranks higher than those in the Four Seas. A branch Captain is roughly equivalent to a Lieutenant like Tashigi.
There is a warship in the port now, and another warship has just emerged. The warships are of the same specification, clearly not ordinary Marine warships from the East Blue.
Moreover, the departing warship is heading towards the Calm Belt.
He is going to Marine Headquarters, Marineford, in the Grand Line.
In other words, the people on the warship must be quite strong.
A Marine Headquarters Captain? A Rear Admiral? It couldn't be a Vice Admiral; their ships are even larger.
Xia Qiu didn't know, but at least it was a Headquarters Captain. If he ate it, his own strength might increase again.
Furthermore, regardless of whether the opponent is a Devil Fruit user, their strength would be greatly reduced if they fell into the water.
Naturally, Xia Qiu dared not devour Devil Fruit users. In One Piece, Big Mom's Soul-Soul Fruit ability was likely obtained by eating a nun.
Although he was a Sea Fish, he might not obtain Devil Fruit abilities in this way.
But if he did, he would be finished.
If a Devil Fruit is eaten and the user falls into seawater, the ability doesn't disappear, but the body becomes powerless.
As a Sea Fish, he wouldn't worry about suffocating, but if he couldn't swim and fell to the seabed, he would likely be bitten to death by other Sea Fish before long.
So, Xia Qiu tried his best to avoid this, always making the pirates he ate swim in the water for a while.
And without Devil Fruit abilities, their strength would also weaken underwater.
Eat him, then head to the Grand Line.
Xia Qiu thought, his body turned into an afterimage, and he charged towards the Marine warship.
*Boom.*
Xia Qiu, carrying immense power, used the ramming horn on his head to collide with the bottom of the Marine warship.
*Crack.*
The keel was unharmed, but the planks at the bottom of the warship were smashed, revealing a large hole through which seawater gushed in.
"Not enough."
Xia Qiu knew that Arlong's ship required four collisions to sink, and this ship, capable of sailing the Grand Line, couldn't be sunk in one go.
So, Xia Qiu circled around and charged again.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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