Sea Tiger

Nami watched the gangsters leave with a complicated expression.

Then she suppressed the surging emotions in her heart.

"I've seen scenes like this many times." Nami turned around and forced a smile at Ling Donglai.

"I just didn't expect there to be such things here too, in such a prosperous place so close to the Marines."

Ling Donglai could understand. Nami had yet to experience too many storms in life, and she still held expectations for everything.

Perhaps the moment she truly spent eight years gathering 100 million Beli, only for Arlong to have Captain Nezumi come and harvest it all away, would be the moment of true despair.

"Captain, do you think..."

"Is there a place where there's no oppression from gangs, no ravaging by pirates, where everyone has enough food and warm clothes...?"

With the faint longing of a fourteen-year-old girl, Nami asked her captain.

"There is. I've seen such a place. Its roads are clean and level, most people can live and work in peace, with enough food and warm clothes. Schooling is free and compulsory, and books filled with knowledge can be found everywhere... Such a place truly exists."

Ling Donglai took Nami's hand.

Nami said, "That kind of place must be paradise."

Ling Donglai said, "No. It's the human world."

Nami said, "Is it the Great Kingdom that fell into the sea?"

Ling Donglai said, "No."

"Then I'll draw sea charts of the entire world and find that place."

The innkeeper watched the two of them depart and could not help sighing.

"Youth is wonderful. You still have dreams... As for me, I can only guard this family business and drift along with the tides of the times."

After spending seven days touring Loguetown, Ling Donglai set sail for the Calm Belt again with a large batch of supplies.

The trial of conquering the king of the sea was far from over.

Over those seven days, Ling Donglai's Current Drive had reached 1,500,000 Volts, while Nami's body had practically been remade, considering she received electric massages every day.

This time, as they approached the Calm Belt, before they even reached the area, shadows had already blanketed the sea beneath them. Momoo raised its head in panic and cried out as it fought against one tentacle after another.

"Ha, has this guy finally gotten smarter? It actually launched its attack from underwater." Ling Donglai remained completely calm, using the power of Observation Haki to lock onto it.

It was none other than their old acquaintance, the octopus monster.

"You think I can't hit you underwater?"

1,500,000 Volts: Lightning Strike!

In an instant, violent lightning exploded through the seawater and struck the octopus monster, blasting it straight out of the sea.

Although part of the power had been dispersed, the octopus monster still endured agony beyond what it could bear.

Facing his old opponent again, Ling Donglai was far more composed this time. His hair stood on end as dazzling lightning strikes continuously bombarded the octopus monster from afar, electrocuting it until it was half-cooked and unable to fight.

Time: twenty minutes.

"Alright, keep heading for the Calm Belt!"

Bearing a few burn marks, Momoo tossed the octopus monster's corpse onto the ship and continued toward the Calm Belt.

It had also suffered a small amount of damage from stray lightning beneath the surface, but it had grown accustomed to it. Its resistance was much greater than the octopus monster's, so it was fine.

As they neared the edge of the Calm Belt, countless Sea Kings surfaced to tear apart the intruders who had disturbed them. What awaited them, however, were lightning strikes descending from the sky!

Blinding electric light surged forward and branched out. The power of 1,500,000 Volts raged without restraint, forming an electric net that protected the wooden ship within the Calm Belt and kept the terrifying Sea Kings outside.

"Captain, should we retreat?" Nami asked at Ling Donglai's side.

"No. We'll just linger at the edge of the Calm Belt."

Hunting Sea Kings, eating their meat, then cultivating to increase his strength—Ling Donglai was growing stronger at high speed.

A News Coo flew over from afar, hesitating over whether to land on the ship.

There were simply too many Sea King corpses around it.

Only when a girl waved Beli in her hand did the News Coo finally make up its mind and land on the ship. Once the transaction was complete, it soared into the sky again, not daring to remain in the Calm Belt for long.

"I didn't expect there to be News Coos in the Calm Belt too." Nami held the newspaper and looked over that day's news.

"Even in the Calm Belt, there are countries where people live." Ling Donglai rested on the ship bare-chested.

Perhaps because he had killed too many Sea Kings, very few now appeared near the ship to attack.

Momoo had even begun daring to move ahead, yet hardly any Sea Kings suddenly ambushed it.

This showed that there were not actually that many Sea Kings in a Sea King nest that would endlessly charge at ships.

At the very least, there were fewer Sea Kings near the surface.

Still, considering the size of Sea Kings, that was understandable.

"Any big news recently?" Ling Donglai poured himself a glass of cola and added two ice cubes.

"That depends on what standard you consider big news."

Nami glanced over the newspaper twice, then tossed it aside. It was all about pirates doing this or that, and she had no interest in it. A quick look was enough for amusement.

"Come to think of it, Captain, you mentioned the matter of a flag before. What kind of design do you want? I'm pretty good at drawing."

"The flag, huh? It should be something fierce." Ling Donglai pondered.

"A bunch of lightning coming down from the sky?"

"A fist?"

"Or should we just draw you, Captain?" Nami casually swept a glance over Ling Donglai's abs, her cheeks growing slightly warm.

"I don't think any of those work." Ling Donglai shook his head. Especially the last one—using himself as the flag would be far too embarrassing, wouldn't it?

Ling Donglai flipped to a new page in his cookbook and saw the tiger illustration on it.

Sea Tiger, a Sea King among Sea Kings, one of the apex predators. Violent by nature, it appeared only in the Calm Belt.

"How about this? A Sea Tiger."

"Let me see..." Nami leaned over Ling Donglai's shoulder, their cheeks pressed together.

"You really do like these marine creatures. You're actually using a Sea King for the flag. But it works. If we alter this design a little, it should look great."

Nami spent a week drawing the pirate flag. On it was a Sea Tiger, lightning flashing from its eyes as it rode the waves forward.

Just looking at the design, its savage aura already came rushing at them.

"I never expected your talent for drawing to be this incredible too." Ling Donglai looked at the Sea Tiger and praised her.

Without ever seeing the real thing, she had relied solely on her imagination and the reference in the book to draw such a satisfying Sea Tiger.

"It's not that amazing, hahahaha..." Nami's face flushed, and she felt a little shy at the praise.

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The test recommendation is finally coming in a couple of days. I'll take a break with only one update on Saturday. Also, please vote—the bonus updates from recommendation votes have somehow accumulated to three already...