With a rumble.
The Marine warship shook violently.
"We were hit? Was it that Sea Fish?"
On deck, Yuchimura, who had just been promoted to Commodore, felt the ship sway and thought of the black Sea Fish that had been attacking pirates for the past week.
"To dare attack a Marine warship, how overconfident." Yuchimura shook his head, not taking it to heart.
But at this moment, a sailor ran up and shouted, "Commodore, there's a large hole in the starboard side of the hull, and two compartments have been destroyed."
"What did you say? The ship was smashed, and two compartments were damaged?"
Yuchimura couldn't quite believe it, that a fish about forty meters long could smash a hole in a Marine warship and damage two compartments.
It was just a fish. This warship could withstand the harsh weather and treacherous currents of the Grand Line.
Let alone a Sea Fish, even a Sea Beast or a small Sea King would have difficulty breaking through.
More importantly, how could it attack this warship?
There was Seastone below me. Even Sea Kings would see the ship as just seawater and not attack. Why did it attack?
Rumble.
Just as Commodore Yuchimura was puzzled, the ship trembled again, this time more violently.
"Three compartments are leaking this time," the sailor ran up again, shouting loudly.
"I can't let it hit us again. I'll go down and kill it."
Yuchimura's expression turned cold. He took off his cape, then his outer coat, pants, and shoes, and threw them aside.
He then picked up his long sword, discarded the scabbard, gripped the hilt, and stepped onto the ship's railing.
Whoosh.
Yuchimura jumped off the ship and dove into the sea, submerging himself.
"Where is it?"
Yuchimura looked around in the water and saw a huge black shadow charging towards them in the distance.
Here it comes.
Yuchimura gripped his long sword, not attacking immediately.
Underwater, a person's strength is halved. Although Yuchimura was confident he could kill a Sea Fish or a Sea Beast of the same size.
But this Sea Fish could damage two to three compartments; its strength was immense.
He couldn't be careless.
Yuchimura slowly sank, planning to wait for the Sea Fish to charge, and then dart out to attack its underside once it got close.
Here it comes.
As Yuchimura saw it approach, he realized it was a giant Sea Fish with a massive head and a protruding ramming horn.
No wonder it could smash the warship.
Yuchimura bent his body, ready to attack upwards at any moment.
But at that instant, the Sea Fish stopped charging forward and instead dove downwards, heading straight for Yuchimura.
"It found me? It seems its primary target is people."
Yuchimura was not surprised. This Sea Fish had sunk three Pirate Ships in a week, with no survivors. It seemed to have killed them all.
And now that he was down here, it prioritized attacking him, proving that people were its primary target.
As long as it didn't attack the warship.
Yuchimura's primary mission was to prevent it from sinking the warship. Since it was attacking him now, he would deal with it.
Yuchimura didn't dare to underestimate it. He stared intently at the Sea Fish's form. As it approached, he pushed off with his legs, shifting his body to the side.
Quickly.
His legs unleashed immense power, instantly creating distance.
The timing was perfect.
The moment he created distance, Xia Qiu charged into the spot where he had just been.
And Yuchimura, now holding his sword with both hands, slashed towards Xia Qiu's side.
The blade cut through the water with immense force. Yuchimura believed he could sever its head with one strike.
But imagination and reality were far from each other.
Boom.
As it charged forward, Xia Qiu's massive body shifted sideways, its body colliding with Yuchimura.
Dodging me?
My sonar sensitivity is no less than a dolphin's. Even with a 200ps difference, I can still distinguish it.
Yuchimura dodged just as Xia Qiu, gripping his blade with both hands, slashed out while his fish body charged forward.
Bang.
Yuchimura's blade struck the scales just in front of Xia Qiu's gills.
What good is reacting now?
My blade can shatter stone, how can you possibly block me?
Pfft.
Yuchimura's blade landed on Xia Qiu's scales. The scales were cut, but they overlapped. The tail end of one scale blocked the starting position of the next.
So, after Yuchimura cut through one scale, there were still more scales beneath.
Clang.
Yuchimura's blade was blocked, unable to advance even an inch further.
How is this possible?
Yuchimura's face showed surprise. He had only managed to cut through a single scale. If it were a whale, this one strike would have split its head open.
Yuchimura was a Commodore from Headquarters, possessing great strength, especially in swordsmanship. His title was Hundred Man Slayer, and many pirates had met their end by his blade. He could cut through stone and small boats, yet he could only slice through one of Xia Qiu's scales.
This was because a human's strength was halved underwater.
Secondly, Xia Qiu had shortened the attack distance, preventing Yuchimura's blade from reaching its full reach, further weakening his power.
Finally, Xia Qiu's scales had become incredibly tough through multiple reinforcements.
The ability to cut through a blade was no small feat.
Boom.
Yuchimura's blade couldn't stop Xia Qiu's charging body. It continued to slide sideways, pressing down on Yuchimura's blade and slamming into him.
Yuchimura strained his arms, holding his blade steady, and kicked off the water with his feet, rapidly retreating.
Xia Qiu halted his forward momentum, and Yuchimura also stopped, stooping low and diving beneath Xia Qiu, intending to attack from below.
The moment he descended, four massive tentacles attacked. Two shot directly at Yuchimura, while the other two slowly closed in, aiming to entangle him.
"What is this?"
Yuchimura's eyes widened. Does your fish have tentacles?
He quickly raised his blade and slashed forward.
Pfft.
His long blade sank two-thirds of the way into a tentacle, but it didn't break.
"So tough."
Yuchimura's attack was rushed, and his strength wasn't fully concentrated, but he shouldn't have been unable to cut through a tentacle. This tentacle was tougher than he could have imagined.
Meanwhile, another tentacle struck his body.
Bang.
"Such immense strength."
Yuchimura's body shuddered as he was struck by the back of a tentacle, but he didn't sustain major injuries.
At the same time, the two surrounding tentacles closed in, wrapping around Yuchimura's body.
Whoosh.
Yuchimura knew he couldn't be entangled. He dropped downwards, slashing with his long blade.
*Arc Slash.*
His long blade transformed into a circle, instantly cutting into the tentacles.
Pfft, pfft.
Both tentacles suffered a wound, cut halfway through, and drooped limply.
But the instant Yuchimura's arc slash hit Xia Qiu's tentacles, Xia Qiu's body rolled, and his massive pectoral fin swept towards him.
Your strength is formidable. Your first strike nearly severed one of my tentacles, so Xia Qiu harbored no illusions.
When Yuchimura dodged downwards, Xia Qiu attacked with his tentacles, but he also charged forward.
This exposed Yuchimura's body directly beneath his pectoral fin.
Yuchimura felt the water current rush towards him. Just as he was about to draw his blade, Xia Qiu's massive pectoral fin struck him.
Bang.
Yuchimura could only raise his long blade to block in front of him, hoping to withstand the attack.
But it was futile. The massive pectoral fin was sliced by the blade's edge, but the blade's width was insignificant to the fin. It still slammed down, hitting his body.
Gah.
Yuchimura used the strength of his arms to retreat downwards, but he was still hit squarely, spitting out a mouthful of air.
Not only that, but his left arm was also in severe pain, making it almost impossible to hold his sword.
Damn it.
Yuchimura felt a breath escape him, a stuffiness already building in his lungs, but he could still hold on, for thirty more seconds.
But he couldn't kill it.
With its defense, there was no way he could kill it.
Tentacles in its abdomen, who would have believed it?
More importantly, it could use its pectoral fins. Was this even a sea fish anymore?
Its strength was immense, far exceeding that of a sea beast.
Underwater, he couldn't use his favored Soru.
With only thirty seconds, he couldn't kill it at all.
He had to find an opportunity to surface.
A new week, please vote.
-----------
Translation by: randomtranslator.com
Read 2500+ original & fanfic translations and Translate for Free at: randomtranslator.com