In Cocos Village, within the Orange Orchard.
Clang.
Marcel stumbled backward, his feet digging two furrows in the ground. The moment the force dissipated, Marcel fell to his knees with a thud.
"I... I lost," Marcel said, his face filled with unwillingness.
"You're still no match for me," Hachi said, looking at Marcel.
Marcel glanced at Hachi and replied, "But this time, you needed two swords to defeat me. It seems I have made some progress."
"Two swords?"
Hachi let out a scoff. "Look at your clothes."
"Huh?"
Marcel lowered his head and looked at his clothes, finding two slashes on them.
"When did these get cut?"
Marcel stared at the cuts, realizing he hadn't noticed or felt them at all.
"You're still a long way off!" Hachi said with a smile.
"Have I not changed at all over these years?" Marcel asked, frustrated.
"Of course not."
Hachi's smile faded. "It's just that I've also been improving, and after changing my swords, my strength has increased significantly."
Hachi had switched from swords weighing 300 kilograms each to ones weighing 10 kilograms each, greatly increasing his speed and overall power.
It had taken him half a year to adapt to the change in fighting style brought about by the difference in sword weight.
"If you're that strong, then go find that Sea Fish," Nami said from the side, as if casually.
"I... I'm no match for him."
Hachi immediately lowered his head. He didn't believe his improvement was enough to match the strength of their boss, Arlong.
However, even Arlong and himself combined wouldn't be a match for that Sea Fish.
"But I will definitely defeat him," Hachi declared, hands on his hips.
"Go cook."
Nami said impatiently.
"Yes!" Hachi immediately ran towards the house and began to busy himself.
Hachi's cooking skills were good, especially his grilled meat and takoyaki. He had also recently studied cooking specifically, so his culinary skills were excellent.
Cooking had become Hachi's job.
"Brother Marcel, your clothes are torn. Take them off, and I'll mend them for you," Nojiko said softly, standing beside Marcel.
"That would be too much trouble for you, Nojiko," Marcel said apologetically.
Nojiko shook her head. "It's no trouble."
"Okay, okay. Thank you."
Marcel took off his clothes and handed them to Nojiko.
After taking them, Nojiko walked towards the house. As she passed Nami, Nami asked with a smile, "Sister, when did you learn to sew?"
"I've known how for a long time."
Nojiko shot Nami a glare and entered the house. Nami watched her retreating figure and smiled slightly.
"It's already been half a year."
Nami turned her head and looked at the azure sky. Half a year had passed since Arlong's death, yet she felt a sense of boredom.
The peaceful life was warm, but she didn't like it.
She longed to go out to sea and continue drawing sea charts.
...
It was night. The bright moonlight cast down, illuminating the sea and leaving behind a shimmering path of light.
The dark ocean was deep and terrifying. Beneath the surface, two dark shapes swam towards the distance: one was a giant Sea Fish, and the other was a giant Sea Cow.
"Target: Grand Line."
The black Sea Fish was Xia Qiu. Three days after finishing off the Marine general, he had healed his injuries and was swimming towards Reverse Mountain.
To the west, in a southerly position.
Xia Qiu left Loguetown and swam southwest. He intended to reach the Grand Line but dared not travel through the Calm Belt, where the Sea Kings were colossal.
Any single one of them was hundreds of meters long, making a twenty-meter-long ship merely a small toy on their heads.
My small frame could swallow it whole.
That's why Xia Qiu's target was Reverse Mountain, which lay to the west. He would have to travel a distance in that direction.
From Reverse Mountain to the Grand Line, the route passed through the East Blue waterways, requiring a slight southward turn.
Below Reverse Mountain, there was a lighthouse that illuminated the surrounding sea and guided the way.
But the lighthouse hadn't appeared yet.
Xia Qiu's mouth was open, releasing sound waves to constantly scan for danger.
The Calm Belt, with no wind and no currents, was a completely different world from the East Blue and the Grand Line.
When Luffy had sailed the Going Merry towards Reverse Mountain, one moment they were in a raging storm with thunder, lightning, and colossal waves, and the next, the sun was shining, and the sea was calm.
He didn't know the location of the Calm Belt. Beneath the water, it was difficult to sense the wind on the surface; he could only rely on changes in the current to judge.
But by the time he sensed a change in the current, he had already entered the Calm Belt.
So, Xia Qiu continuously released sound waves, moving forward slowly.
After traveling for a while, Xia Qiu suddenly felt the surrounding current gradually slow down, until it came to a complete stop.
What was this?
Xia Qiu immediately halted his movement.
However, Moo Moo seemed oblivious and continued to charge forward. Seeing this, Xia Qiu became anxious but dared not pursue recklessly. Instead, he released sound waves.
Xia Qiu discovered that as Moo Moo advanced, several figures slowly surfaced from the immense body of water.
They were Sea Kings.
Sea Kings were extremely sensitive; Luffy's Going Merry alone had attracted nearly ten of them.
He and Moo Moo were much larger than the Going Merry, and the vibrations they caused were even greater.
There was enough time.
Xia Qiu accelerated, instantly catching up to Moo Moo and blocking his path.
"Huh?"
Moo Moo tilted his head, looking at Xia Qiu in confusion.
Xia Qiu nudged him and swam towards the direction away from the Calm Belt.
Oh.
Moo Moo understood. Xia Qiu wanted him to leave, so he followed behind Xia Qiu, swimming away.
But at this moment, the Sea Kings began to surface, sending immense vibrations through the water.
Xia Qiu sped up. Moo Moo felt the vibrations, jolted, and accelerated behind him.
Boom.
As Xia Qiu and Moo Moo entered the East Blue, several massive figures behind them slowly surfaced, the shortest being two hundred meters long, with some even exceeding a thousand meters.
Faster, faster.
They didn't stop but accelerated their swimming.
Xia Qiu noticed the Sea Kings pursue for a distance before stopping and slowly retreating.
Hoo.
Xia Qiu let out a breath and slowed down. Moo Moo also stopped, looking as if he had narrowly escaped.
Running around like that.
Xia Qiu swam to Moo Moo, grabbed his pectoral fin, and slapped him across the face.
Moo Moo knew he had made a mistake and lowered his head, not daring to resist.
"Let's go."
After a few slaps, Xia Qiu swished his tail fin across Moo Moo's face and swam ahead.
Moo Moo raised his head, shook it, and quickly followed.
After swimming for a distance, the light grew dimmer, forcing Xia Qiu to surface.
Furthermore, the reduced pressure underwater expelled oxygen to the surface. Xia Qiu felt the filtered oxygen weaken and broke the surface, gasping for air.
Crack.
Not far away on the sea, a bolt of lightning struck.
In the distant sky, dark clouds gathered, and fierce winds whipped up torrential rain, falling in the distance.
And within the downpour, a faint light flickered.
That was the lighthouse.
Crack.
Not far away on the sea, a bolt of lightning struck. In the momentary illumination provided by the lightning, Xia Qiu vaguely saw a colossal dark silhouette.
That was Reverse Mountain.
We've arrived.
Xia Qiu grinned, filled his nostrils on his back with air, and charged into the gale.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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