One Million Volts

The octopus monster's hatred had already crossed that threshold. Its rage drove it out of the Calm Belt, while its accomplices, lacking such intense hatred, slipped straight into the deep sea.

Though the octopus monster had seemingly been left alone, Ling Donglai knew that it was the one surrounding them!

"Thunder Drive!"

Ling Donglai leaped toward the octopus monster and struck it hard in midair before landing on its body and unleashing a rapid barrage of electric blows.

Compared to the octopus monster, he was like a mosquito. He was far faster than it.

The octopus monster's advantage was its immense attack power. If it so much as touched Ling Donglai, he would be coughing blood and suffering for quite a while.

Its tentacles lashed at its own body one after another, like a person swatting at a mosquito—wanting to kill the mosquito, yet only ending up making their own face hurt.

With its hatred completely maxed out, the octopus monster naturally failed to notice that the sea cow had quietly entered the Calm Belt and begun picking up the body parts floating on the surface.

Blinded by rage, the octopus monster never considered that it only needed to dive into the seabed to easily force Ling Donglai back.

At the end of the day, a sea beast was still just a sea beast.

Only after seeing Momoo and Nami safely withdraw from the Calm Belt did Ling Donglai stop fighting. He sprang off the octopus monster, landed on an empty ship scattered by the currents, then leaped away again.

The ship behind him was naturally smashed apart by the tentacles pursuing him closely.

As ship after ship was destroyed, Ling Donglai safely landed on Momoo's back and reunited with Nami.

"What do we do now? That Sea King is chasing us!"

"Lead it in circles. It'll come to its senses!" Ling Donglai gave the order after thinking for a moment.

"Come on, Momoo. I'll use electric currents to stimulate your potential. Go all out without worry—you're the fastest sea cow around!"

"Moo..." (*)

Momoo dearly missed the days when Arlong had kept it. All it had needed to do was pull ships. People fed it specially, and from time to time, it could go ashore to show off and stomp on a few people under Arlong's orders.

Those had been such comfortable, carefree days. It had gained several tons during its life as a cow, but now... who knew how many tons it had lost.

"Why are you still chasing me so relentlessly? What the hell is this?" Ling Donglai stood on the ship and frowned at the octopus monster behind him.

Its hatred was way too locked in.

"Captain, a thunderstorm is coming soon!" Nami shouted to Ling Donglai as she gripped the mast, the sea wind lifting her short hair.

Without her noticing, Nami's hair had already grown past her ears.

After another three hours of pursuit, Momoo had begun foaming at the mouth. When the sky darkened, the first bolt of lightning streaked across the horizon.

The bizarre change in weather finally brought the octopus monster back to its senses. This was not the Calm Belt!

The awakened octopus monster shot Ling Donglai a resentful glare, then dove into the deep sea and stopped chasing them.

Only then did Momoo slow down, floating on the sea as though it had only half its life left.

"Good job, Momoo. You even lost some weight while you were at it!" Ling Donglai cut off a piece of tentacle and tossed it into the sea. Momoo caught it in one bite and slowly chewed.

"Next, it's time to enjoy the spoils of war!" Ling Donglai and Nami looked at the Sea King body parts piled across the ship.

"Another relaxing, leisurely stretch, right?"

Nami stretched lazily. Perhaps due to the effects of developing electric currents, she seemed to be showing signs of starting to develop.

She already had soft curves.

This time, Ling Donglai rested for half a month, and his Current Drive broke through to one million volts in one go!

Even his Armament Haki and Observation Haki had improved along with his formidable physique. He could now activate them freely in battle!

This meant he had initially gained the foundation to go up against Logia users. At the very least, he could grab them now.

If a Logia user was arrogant and overconfident in this first half of the Grand Line, his sudden Armament Haki would be enough to deal a fatal blow.

"With one million volts of current, I can fight that Sea King head-on instead of merely scratching at it and only managing to sever its limbs."

As Ling Donglai clenched one fist, he stroked Nami's back with the other. Crackling currents ran over her body.

Nami let out a few soft moans without replying. From being uncomfortable at first to enjoying it now, she had to admit that this electric massage was incredibly pleasant—and it could slowly make her stronger too.

"We should head back and resupply first. We're running low on seasonings," Nami suggested.

"Sounds good." Ling Donglai nodded naturally.

Thus, Momoo leisurely sailed home.

To it, every day without facing Sea Kings was paradise.

When the ship returned to the waters near Loguetown, several pirate ships blocked Ling Donglai's path.

The pirate ships stood in a row, their gaudy flags of all kinds fluttering in the wind.

"Hahaha, look! That's the martial artist of the sea's ship. No flag, just a giant sea beast pulling it."

"They set out for the Calm Belt with over a hundred ships, yet only this many returned. The rest must have been buried by Sea Kings!"

"Perfect. They were beaten up by Sea Kings, so they must be badly wounded. Let's put in some effort and kill him, so they'll understand that we pirates aren't pirates for nothing!"

"He stole our ships and left us trapped in Loguetown, hiding all over the place and nearly getting caught by the Marines!"

"If we can't kill Marines, can't we kill you instead?"

All sorts of chaotic pirate taunts reached Ling Donglai's ears.

After seeing him enter the Calm Belt, these pirates knew he would surely return. So they had formed a pirate alliance to teach this unusual wanted pirate a proper lesson?

"Ling Donglai, prepare to die!"

"Prepare the cannons! Let him learn the consequences of taking our beloved ships!"

"Seriously? This many pirates... did all the pirates in the East Blue come here?" Nami leaned over the ship's rail and looked at the pirates without fear.

They had even fought Sea Kings. How could they possibly fear their own kind?

Nami's courage had already surpassed what it once was.

Dense black cannonballs were fired from the pirate ships opposite them.

"Momoo, get ready!" Nami shouted down into the sea.

"No need to bother dodging. Just crush them." Ling Donglai raised his head beneath his cap and extended one hand.

"Kneel... beneath Azure Thunder!"

A ring of lightning spread outward, instantly striking the cannonballs. Amid the dense explosions and billowing smoke, a voice like divine punishment rang out.

An ultra-long-range attack!

During his battles against Sea Kings, Ling Donglai's long-range abilities had improved tremendously.

Compared to the Sea Kings of the Calm Belt, these pirates were far too weak.

Lightning pierced through one pirate ship, then continuously leaped through the crowd before jumping from ship to ship.

Lightning Chain!

The most suitable move for clearing cannon fodder in group battles. Once unleashed, it would continuously bounce among the crowd, though its power would steadily diminish and disperse.

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