Wrath of the Sea Kings

The flesh was packed with energy. Ling Donglai's appetite had shrunk to that of an ordinary person, while Nami was full after eating only a little.

After drifting at sea for a week, they finally finished digesting the half-tentacle. Momoo had actually eaten the most of them all.

As though it wanted to swallow all its previous fear into its stomach.

During the process of eating and training, Ling Donglai successfully broke through to 400,000 Volts and began pushing toward the 500,000-Volt threshold. His body's cells were strengthened once again!

"Captain, what do we do next?" Nami lay on a lounge chair, enjoying a sunbath.

"Our ship has been damaged. It'll be hard to pull off an operation like that again."

"So we need to return to Loguetown to repair and reinforce the ship. Besides that, we also need to buy plenty of empty ships."

Ling Donglai read beside Nami, occasionally asking her about letters he did not recognize. One hand rested on her back, fine currents flowing down his arm and into Nami's body, strengthening her.

"Empty ships... what are we buying those for?"

"Sea Kings are fairly intelligent. The first time we fought, it was only because it underestimated us. We won't be able to use the same trick a second time.

"Sea Kings also have a habit of destroying ships. So we only need to stand outside the Calm Belt and toss empty ships inside. Those sea beasts will attack the ships on their own. It'll be like fishing."

But repairing ships required money, so the pirates of the East Blue suffered once more.

This also earned them the hostility of the East Blue pirates.

A large sailing ship without a pirate flag, yet its captain had a 30-million-beri Marine bounty and was classified as one of the East Blue's most vicious pirates—a martial artist at sea.

Instead of doing pirate things, he went around robbing pirates every day.

Was he even human?

He was wanted by the Marines, yet he still wanted to pretend he was innocent?

Who was he trying to fool?

Wasn't he just a bounty hunter who couldn't even collect bounties?

Working for free?

Even Smoker in Loguetown was puzzled. A guy whom the Marines had classified as a major pirate did not engage in any pirate activities at all. Instead, he went around robbing pirates.

He really could not make heads or tails of it.

"Give me every scrap of information on this martial artist at sea within one day!" Smoker, who had been paying close attention to Ling Donglai, raised one finger.

He had every reason to care. In a backwater like the East Blue, there was actually an expert who knew Armament. He did not know whether Ling Donglai had a master or was simply born gifted.

Ship repairs would take half a month, and Ling Donglai could not afford to wait that long. Wary of Smoker as well, he directly abandoned the Shark Superb, then bought over fifty large ships in one go. Added to the ships seized from pirates, Ling Donglai now possessed over a hundred vessels.

Thirty were large ships capable of carrying a hundred people, fifty were medium ships capable of carrying fifty people, and the rest were insignificant little boats—the kind that could pass as pirate ships just by hanging up a skull flag.

Ling Donglai selected the sturdiest medium armored ship as his and Nami's new ride, linked the other ships to it with iron chains, and headed for the Calm Belt once more.

Over a hundred ships were chained together, as broad as flat land and an awe-inspiring sight.

Momoo had it rough, but it knew this was preparation for hunting Sea Kings, so it diligently bore the burden without complaint.

Ever since tasting Sea King meat, Momoo's fear of those rulers of the sea had lessened considerably.

Naturally, this absurd stunt reached Smoker's ears. Ling Donglai had bought up every available ship in Loguetown and seized quite a few pirate ships as well, leaving some pirates in Loguetown unable to put to sea.

"That guy's goal is to break into the Calm Belt. He can't be stupid enough to think that chaining a pile of ships together will let him cross the Calm Belt and reach the Grand Line, can he?"

Smoker could not understand Ling Donglai's move at all.

After all, simply hunting Sea Kings was meaningless.

Even if Sea King meat was of exceptional quality, there was no need to hunt them in the Calm Belt. The cost-benefit ratio was far too low. If one accidentally ventured too deep, there would be no way out.

After all, in the Calm Belt, most pirate ships that relied on sails had no power to push themselves out. All they could do was leave their fate to chance.

They could never have imagined that Ling Donglai's ability to make use of food energy far surpassed that of ordinary people.

"Momoo, get ready. Launch the Shark Superb!" Ling Donglai removed the iron chains, lightning crackling over his entire body.

Momoo pressed its head against the side of the Shark Superb, then shoved with all its strength. The sea cow rammed the empty ship into the Calm Belt.

In an instant, a tentacle emerged from the middle of the Shark Superb, tearing the ship apart in moments.

Without Momoo beneath the ship to watch over it, and with the Shark Superb's familiar appearance, the octopus monster instantly flew into a rage and destroyed it.

Ling Donglai raised one finger.

"Current Drive: 400,000 Volts!"

A bolt of lightning instantly struck the tentacle that had destroyed the ship. The thick pillar of lightning, with its extreme heat and piercing force, blasted straight through the middle of the tentacle.

Another tentacle was severed!

The octopus monster surfaced from the water. Looking at the tiny Ling Donglai beyond the borders of the Calm Belt, Ling Donglai could feel the Sea King's rage even from so far away.

At the same time, several more bizarre Sea Kings surfaced in the waters around the octopus monster.

One resembled a giant sea snail, while another looked like a crab.

"This time, it even called for backup!"

Ling Donglai limbered up, firing bolt after bolt of lightning. They often struck those Sea Kings in an instant.

The octopus monster furiously slapped the sea, raising enormous waves.

But Momoo directly carried the ship on its back, adjusting its balance with the waves. The strike destroyed half the empty ships, leaving only some medium and large ships afloat.

But that was fine. Those ships had been intended as spares and bait anyway.

"With this kind of long-range fire, I can keep shooting all day!" Ling Donglai yawned as he fired Hole-Hole Waves.

With experience under his belt, Ling Donglai was already treating these Sea Kings like punching bags, training his long-range attack abilities.

So what if Sea Kings had thick hides, tough flesh, and enormous health bars? He could slowly shoot them like targets. It was like a mosquito constantly pestering you while sucking your blood, yet you could not hit it.

Ling Donglai was exactly such a mosquito. And his single-target attacks were ridiculously strong; if a Sea King let its guard down, he could poke a toothpick-sized bloody hole through it.

The three Sea Kings had also tried diving underwater and ignoring Ling Donglai, but the electricity still traveled through the water to harass them.

It was utterly revolting!

Had Sea Kings ever suffered such humiliation?

Of course not. Powerful opponents would kill them instantly, never allowing them to be tortured for so long, while weaker ones would flee at the sight of a Sea King.

Thus, the octopus monster was completely enraged.

It crossed the boundary of the Calm Belt!

This time, the aggro was fully locked in!

This makes up for a missed update earlier. Please vote.