Continuously maintaining Ten just to stay upright on a violently rocking ship was exhausting.
Luo Ou, however, had a more once-and-for-all solution.
Whether it would work… that was another matter.
Struggling to steady himself, Luo Ou asked, "Gon, does Whale Island have a tradition of offering sacrifices to the Sea God?"
Gon's physical ability was truly exceptional. Not only could he stand firm, he was still jumping around rescuing people.
While reeling in another person who had fallen into the sea with his fishing rod, he heard Luo Ou's question. After thinking briefly, he replied immediately:
"Yes! Aunt Mito told me that ships all have this custom."
Then that settles it.
The corners of Luo Ou's mouth curled upward.
"I've got an idea," Luo Ou said. "Gon, help me bring over a table."
Gon answered right away and rushed into the cabin. In this kind of violent swaying, only Gon—or possibly Kurapika—could manage to carry a table out.
"And plates!" Luo Ou called after him. "Two plates!"
"What are you doing now?" Leorio asked, still managing to hold on by clinging tightly to a wooden pillar. Seeing Luo Ou start moving around, he couldn't help but ask.
"I once heard someone say that when ships encounter huge waves at sea, it's because the Sea God is hungry and has become angry," Luo Ou said matter-of-factly. "So I'm preparing to offer something to calm this tsunami."
Leorio stared at him as if he were looking at an idiot.
"You're serious?"
"Of course," Luo Ou replied. "Just wait for the good news."
As soon as he finished speaking, the ultra-efficient Gon returned, carrying a table and two delicate plates.
"I still have some food," Luo Ou said. "Gon, go to the kitchen and bring back more."
Using Nen temporarily to stabilize himself and the table, Luo Ou waited.
Gon—being a truly earnest kid—soon returned carrying an entire roasted suckling pig.
"That'll do," Luo Ou nodded.
With Gon's help, they set up the table on the rocking deck. The roasted pig clearly didn't fit on the two plates, but under the circumstances, it would have to do.
Fixing everything in place required more than just Gon's strength, so Luo Ou scanned his surroundings.
Due to the earlier St. Elmo's Fire incident, everyone aboard had already remembered this arrogant kid. Now that he was doing something unusual again, many eyes turned toward him.
"That's Ten?" the red-nosed captain murmured.
"What is he trying to do now?" Kurapika—normally very perceptive—admitted that even he couldn't tell.
Ever since Luo Ou mentioned offering sacrifices to the sea, Leorio had worn an I don't know this guy expression. To him, this was simply too ridiculous—and completely useless.
Luo Ou looked straight at Leorio.
"Leorio, give me some face. Help me steady the table."
"I—"
Leorio instinctively wanted to refuse. He really didn't want to do something this embarrassing.
But before the words came out, he hesitated.
Wouldn't refusing make me look heartless and ungrateful?
After all, Luo Ou had helped him so much.
So he changed his tune.
"I'll help you this once. Don't expect a next time."
With that, Leorio joined Gon in stabilizing the table.
"What are they doing over there?"
"Looks like… maybe they're offering a sea sacrifice?"
"Yeah, that's definitely a sea offering."
Luo Ou, Gon, and Leorio's actions were all in plain sight. People weren't stupid—soon enough, they figured out what was happening, and the discussion grew louder.
"When a ship hits a storm, offering to the sea does make some sense… but I don't know why, I kind of want to laugh."
"This kid just told us to read more books. Looks like he read so much he went crazy—actually believing in sea sacrifices."
"Isn't sea offering just a superstition? He's probably so scared of the storm that he's trying something unreliable."
"And he wants to take the Hunter Exam? He should just go home early."
Luo Ou knew that at this moment, he should probably give a wicked, domineering smile.
But that wasn't his style.
So he settled for a cold one.
Thus, everyone saw this scene:
Luo Ou gave a calm, indifferent smile and said,
"The Sea God isn't angry anymore. I'll treat you to roast suckling pig."
With that, he tossed all the roast pig from the plates straight into the sea.
The raging waves swallowed it without even a ripple.
"Sea God, give me some face. Stop the waves."
It was as if Luo Ou held a remote control.
The instant his words fell, the violent winds stopped. Thunder and lightning went silent. The dense black clouds dispersed, and clear moonlight poured down.
Peace returned.
In just a few seconds, everything calmed completely.
The sea lay flat and still, and the Sea God cruised forward leisurely, as if nothing had happened.
It felt like everything earlier had been an illusion.
Except for the lightning-scorched mast—standing there plainly, leaving no room for denial.
"???"
Leorio was drowning in question marks.
Kurapika felt his brain simply wasn't enough to process this.
Silence.
The deck was deathly quiet.
All eyes turned toward Luo Ou.
Meanwhile, the man himself acted as if nothing unusual had happened. He bowed politely toward the sea and said,
"Thank you, Sea God, for giving me face."
"Gon, remember to clean up the table and plates later. I'm going back to the cabin to rest for a bit."
With that, Luo Ou hid his achievements and quietly returned to the cabin.
Through this sea offering, he had gained much smoother control over his Specialist-type Nen ability.
Just as he had tested before, the ability of the Face Fruit wasn't limited to people or even living beings.
More accurately, it could affect everything.
Of course, being able to do it wasn't enough—if the Hunter world didn't already have a tradition of sea offerings, this wouldn't have worked at all.
Only after Luo Ou's back disappeared did everyone finally snap out of their shock.
"So… weren't we supposed to have a massive storm?" the red-nosed captain muttered, jaw snapping shut.
"So sea offerings really work! Aunt Mito didn't lie to me!" Gon said excitedly. "And Ou was amazing for thinking of this!"
He then looked at Leorio.
"Leorio, you helped too—so you must've believed Ou would succeed, right?"
Ever since meeting Gon and Luo Ou, Leorio felt utterly exhausted.
"How was that even possible?" Kurapika murmured. "That clearly wasn't a coincidence. A storm and black clouds like that don't just disappear instantly without some special method."
He tried every explanation he could think of—but none made sense.
"Looks like next time we hit a storm, we should just offer a sea sacrifice," the red-nosed captain mused seriously.
Though one had to wonder—
if the captain tried it himself next time and it didn't work…
just how large would his emotional damage be?
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