Tom stood at the boat's edge, a fishing net in each hand, watching the roughly eighteen-meter-long Laughing Fish occasionally leap from the water in the distance. It emitted its highly mocking, scornful laugh, flicking its blue tail fin in apparent disdain. A slight smile tugged at Tom's lips.
The fish's tail fin was distinctive. When raised, it resembled a human giving someone the middle finger, giving the viewer a distinct feeling of being mocked.
"Want me to row us closer?"
Luffy picked up an oar, full of vigor as he asked Tom beside him.
"Don't interfere. It's my prey. I can handle it alone."
Tom declared with confidence, his face full of self-assurance.
"Ooh!!"
Luffy let out an exaggerated exclamation. "You really look manly right now!"
Tom grinned. His body was still fatigued, but for some reason, facing this fish many times his size, he felt he could handle it.
It was a fisherman's intuition, honed over more than half a year of fishing life.
Though his combat skills were ordinary, Tom was an excellent fishing hunter. He clearly knew which fish he could catch and which he couldn't.
That's why, whenever he went fishing, he rarely wasted effort. He'd choose the right sea area for his target school, cast his net once, and return fully loaded.
To put it bluntly, the guy was a professional. Even if some fish were too large to catch, he still knew their weaknesses.
In the East Blue, aside from some deep-sea species, Tom had seen descriptions of nearly eighty percent of the fish in various marine books.
In just about half a year, Tom went from knowing nothing about fishing to becoming a highly skilled fisherman. The effort and sweat he poured in was dozens of times greater than others!
The fishing-related books Tom read far outnumbered those read by most fishermen in his former village.
Maybe the results of my crazy training these past days are better than I expected.
Thinking this, Tom cast the net in his right hand toward some barrels nearby. Using the net, he dragged the caught barrels into the sea.
"Ah! Those are the ones I moved out to have as a snack later! Why did you throw them overboard?!"
Seeing Tom toss three meat-filled barrels into the water, Luffy immediately cried out anxiously.
For goodness' sake. These barrels are big enough to hold a person. And you call eating three barrels of meat just a 'snack'?
Even after spending some time with Luffy, Tom was still occasionally shocked by his extraordinary appetite.
"How can you hook your prey without bait?"
Tom retorted. Then, his eyes fixed on the sea ahead. The Laughing Fish loved to taunt fishermen. It had terrifying brute strength and sharp teeth that could easily tear through wire-reinforced nets, let alone the common nets made of coarse cloth and hemp in Tom's hands. The net Luffy used earlier, the one the fish bit through, was wire-reinforced. Unfortunately, there was only one of those.
After Tom tossed the bait and net into the sea, the distant Laughing Fish showed no reaction. The sea remained calm.
"It doesn't seem to be falling for it. You threw the net so close. Is that really okay?"
Luffy, beside him, was practically scratching his head like a restless monkey.
"I think it's about time."
Indeed, Tom had thrown the net and barrels very close to their boat—barely a meter away.
He did this because he knew the fish's习性. When fishermen used bait, they would definitely eat it and counter-attack. The closer the bait was to the boat, the angrier the fish would get.
That's right. Tom wanted to anger the fish, hence placing the bait so deliberately close.
Doing so would also make his next move easier.
"Stand firm later. Don't fall in."
Seeing ripples appear on the water's surface to the right of the boat, Tom knew the fish, lurking below, was speeding toward them and quickly warned Luffy.
"Why wou—"
Before Luffy finished, a loud BANG! echoed. Luffy, standing at the edge, staggered, and both he and his straw hat were sent flying.
But Luffy reacted quickly. Snatching his hat mid-air, he stretched an arm to grab the mast and whooshed back onto the boat.
Their boat rocked violently, clearly hit by something—from below.
Steadying himself, Tom knew it was the fish hitting their boat from underneath.
BANG! BANG!
Two more powerful, swift impacts. The fish rammed their boat so hard it spun a full 720 degrees on the water's surface.
"This is awesome!"
Hanging from the mast, Luffy clung tightly with one hand and held his hat with the other. Using the boat's spinning momentum, he began spinning through the air himself, doing loops. Tom watched, utterly exasperated.
For crying out loud. I said you didn't need to help, but you don't have to be so carefree and just play around, do you?
On the other hand, it showed Luffy completely trusted Tom to handle the fierce fish alone. Otherwise, with the boat being knocked around, how could he play so happily?
Feeling Luffy's unconditional trust, a warm feeling flowed through Tom's heart. This really is nice.
Only now did Tom truly feel the realization that he was a member of the future Straw Hat Pirates.
Even if I can't provide much help in battles in the future, I just need to do my own part well.
I'm not sailing alone!
Tom's eyes grew brighter. His earlier fatigue seemed to vanish, making him look spirited.
SPLASH! After knocking their boat away, the Laughing Fish shot up from the depths and swallowed the net and barrels in one gulp.
Tom had anticipated this. With a shout, he hurled the net in his left hand—not at the fish's head, but at its tail.
Just as the fish was about to dive, Tom's net caught its tail fin. Tom clenched the net and spun rapidly, tightening it around the fin.
The veins on Tom's left arm bulged, showing he was using all his strength. He gritted his teeth,死死抓住渔网.
The fish was back underwater now, struggling even more fiercely, churning up waves.
Tom's hand gripping the net was already bleeding from the rough fibers. His body was being pulled forward uncontrollably. If this continued, he'd be dragged into the sea.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Tom roared, holding the net tight. He took a quick step, pivoted, planted his right foot firmly, and with all his strength gathered in his left arm, he pulled hard.
RRRIP!
The net tore apart. But the fish underwater, caught by the powerful momentum, was forcibly yanked out of the sea by Tom, flying toward their boat.
The fish let out a shrill, mocking shriek, its massive maw open wide as it lunged at Tom from the air.
Now Tom saw the fish's front clearly. Its head was snake-like, its mouth similar to a蟒蛇's, capable of swallowing things several times its own mouth's size.
Facing the attack, Tom stood fearless. He leapt to the fish's side, clenched his right fist, and delivered a heavy punch to the fish's left flank. "You've already lost!"
BOOM!
The fish crashed onto the deck like a cannonball, causing the boat to bounce slightly from the impact.
After being punched down by Tom, the fish lay motionless, knocked unconscious by the single blow.
Landing back on deck, Tom planted a foot on the unconscious fish, raised his head, and let out an激动长啸. "I won!"
At this moment, on a not-too-large fishing boat on the sea, a straw-hatted boy hung from the mast, grinning and laughing heartily. His laughter mingled with Tom's triumphant shout from below, carrying far across the seemingly boundless ocean.
Before setting sail, Tom couldn't have hunted such a powerful, fierce Laughing Fish. But now, he could handle it alone.
Though the Laughing Fish couldn't compare to giant Sea Kings, it was still a troublesome species in the East Blue. Tom's ability to subdue it now meant his recent疯狂训练 was extremely effective and showed significant results. It gave him hope for the future.
As long as I work hard, I can change!
Tom panted heavily. Both his hands were bleeding—his left from the net's friction, his right from hitting the fish's rock-hard flesh. Blood flowed steadily from his right knuckles.
Damn. This fish has no scales, but its flesh is ridiculously hard. That hurts like hell.
Shaking his numb right hand, Tom began bandaging himself. Just then, Luffy, having had his fill of spinning, jumped down from the mast,兴奋说道. "Alright! Today's feast is here!"
And so, Tom and Luffy happily enjoyed a big meal.
After the Laughing Fish incident, seven more days passed in the blink of an eye.
On this day, Tom was still training relentlessly. He felt his training results seemed better than ever. It was as if, since eating the Devil Fruit, when he trained hard, he could clearly feel himself slowly getting stronger.
"What is your Devil Fruit ability anyway? If it's something fun, you could put on a good show at our parties later!"
Luffy, a piece of meat in his mouth, came over to Tom, looking excited.
Huh?
Don't tell me you're thinking I'll stick chopsticks up my nose and dance a belly dance like you do?
Imagining himself in front of a crowd, chopsticks in his nose, shirt open, dancing a belly dance made Tom's嘴角直抽.
"I have an idea to find out if your Devil Fruit is real or not."
Luffy said to Tom, looking like a smart person.
Seeing Luffy's expression, Tom felt a sense of foreboding. With Luffy's single-celled brain, what good idea could he possibly have?
Just as Tom opened his mouth, Luffy grinned, grabbed Tom, and threw him off the fishing boat. As Tom was about to hit the water, Luffy shouted, "Don't worry! If something really happens, I'll definitely save you! Devil Fruit users are cursed by the sea. To find out if you're really a Devil Fruit user, just take a dip in the sea!"
"I'm so smart."
The单纯的路飞 added, utterly carefree.
Dammit! I could just stick my hand in seawater for a while to find out! Why throw me in?!
Before Tom could say anything, he hit the water.
Once in the sea, the former swimming expert could muster no strength. His body grew weaker and weaker—the definite aftereffect of consuming a Devil Fruit.
Fortunately, seeing Tom about to sink, Luffy quickly stretched an arm to pull him up.
Tom sighed in relief. Even though Luffy is reckless, at least he's saving me in time. Not a total坑人 move.
But as soon as the thought formed, Tom sensed something wrong. Why did he feel like he was spinning?
Most importantly, Luffy's outstretched hand seemed to be getting farther away.
"How did this big whirlpool appear?!"
Luffy clutched his head,惊呼. Looking at Tom being sucked into the massive whirlpool, his face was a picture of焦急和震惊.
Yes, the huge whirlpool had appeared out of nowhere. One moment the sea was normal; the next, a massive whirlpool inexplicably formed, pulling both Tom in the water and Luffy on the boat into its grasp.
In other words, the moment Luffy threw Tom into the sea, the whirlpool came for them.
It was, without a doubt, a tragedy.
The moment the whirlpool appeared, Tom, caught in it, was dumbfounded. Luffy, sharing the misfortune, was also dumbfounded.
They said the weather in the world of One Piece was ever-changing, and in the Grand Line it was even more unpredictable. Now Tom truly believed it. As he was swept into the whirlpool, an image of a pretty girl with features flashed in his mind.
If Nami were here, I probably wouldn't have fallen for this shitty trick...
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T/N :
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