Pirates

Time gradually reached February of Marineford Calendar 1511. In this tropical region, the temperature remained fairly high.

Sunlight poured down, making everyone feel warm all over. Even in short-sleeved shirts, they did not feel cold.

On the beach, Eli, Angelo, and Lia were playing. Angelo and Lia sat together building a sandcastle, while Eli carried a basket nearby, picking up shells and starfish.

A month and a half had passed since the Marines tried to capture Black Fish. Although they had failed and lost a commander, Black Fish had also vanished without a trace.

After a month of observation, all the villagers of Naruto Village finally felt safe enough to return to the shore.

"I found so many."

Eli carried her basket back to the other two and spoke with a grin.

"So many? Can I have one?" Lia asked with a smile as she looked at the shells in the basket.

"Of course." Eli glanced at the little girl, her face flushing red.

"Can I have one too?" Angelo asked from beside her.

Eli immediately snorted and said, "Pick one up yourself."

"Okay."

Angelo lowered his head. Was Eli no longer friends with him? Why did she treat him so differently from Lia?

But at that moment, Lia went stiff. Looking into the distance, she said blankly, "P-Pirates."

"Hm?"

Eli and Angelo immediately looked into the distance. Far out at sea, a pirate ship flying a Jolly Roger was sailing toward them.

"Pirates! Run!"

Eli shouted, tossing her basket aside before turning and running toward the village.

Lia and Angelo hurried after her, returning to the village and spreading the news throughout the entire village.

"Pirate ship?"

Behind the pirate ship, a huge black sea fish slowly surfaced, its eyes fixed on the distant vessel.

This pirate ship had a strange design. Its prow was shaped like a pig's face, and it had two masts, though it was far larger than an ordinary two-masted merchant ship.

Seeing the pirate ship's course, Black Fish silently mourned for Naruto Village for a moment.

Black Fish was Xia Qiu now. At this point, he was about fifteen meters long and weighed around thirty-five tons.

In just a month and a half, he had grown from roughly two tons to thirty-five tons. Such growth speed was somewhat unbelievable.

But this rate of growth had not exceeded Xia Qiu's expectations.

In his previous life, a blue whale could grow from seven meters at birth to fifteen meters in just eight months.

In the world of One Piece, however, he ate more, digested faster, and converted food more efficiently, greatly shortening the time needed. It had taken only a month and a half.

Xia Qiu now had an enormous head, with a bulge on his forehead containing hard bone that could be used to ram enemies.

He had a massive mouth filled with seven layers of teeth. The front teeth were serrated, while the rear teeth were molars, making it easier to crush food thoroughly.

Eight long barbels grew from the sides of his mouth. The longest was around four meters long and as thick as a thigh.

His eyes were huge, and their surfaces were covered by a white nictitating membrane that could close. Especially during battle, it could protect his eyes.

The nictitating membrane was part of the eyelid. Sharks, amphibians, animals, and humans all had them.

However, only sharks, amphibians, and creatures such as kingfishers had nictitating membranes that could close sideways. Humans could not do that, though their eyelids could still offer protection.

Xia Qiu had only eaten sharks, so he did not know whether growing a nictitating membrane had anything to do with them.

Xia Qiu's body was huge and robust, his spindle-shaped form like a massive siege hammer.

Xia Qiu's fins had become extremely large. His dorsal fin was not much different from before, but his pectoral fins, pelvic fins, and tail fin had all grown hard spines.

A single hard spine appeared along the front edges of his pectoral and pelvic fins, protecting them while making them tougher and more capable of ramming.

As for his tail fin, like his second dorsal fin, it was divided by several hard spines while also being connected together.

Xia Qiu's scales had transformed and grown once again. The largest were the size of washbasins, and they were incredibly thick.

After this transformation, Xia Qiu's massive size meant he could no longer get too close to the island.

That was why the villagers of Naruto Village had seen less and less of Xia Qiu during this time.

Xia Qiu looked at the distant pirate ship, and a trace of bloodlust appeared in his gaze. He split open his huge mouth, his grim teeth reflecting a terrifying gleam beneath the sun.

These were pirates, plundering wealth and taking lives.

Although some pirates in this manga sought strength and One Piece, and some powerful pirate crews even protected villages by flying their own Jolly Rogers, while others had territories and businesses of their own—

It had to be said that many pirates were villains who cared nothing for the lives of others.

He was a fish, and he had eaten people. Thus, he rarely saw things from a human perspective. He felt disgust toward the evil of pirates, but he was not overly righteous about it either.

Still, Xia Qiu regarded the pirate ship before him as a target and began considering how to attack it.

The Evolution Energy from human flesh was special and powerful. When it did not cause his body to change in size, it could give his body greater strength.

That way, he would not merely grow larger and thicker. He would possess combat power far beyond his size and weight.

To verify the effects of human flesh, he needed to prey on humans.

But his size prevented him from approaching Naruto Village, and he was unwilling to casually harm innocent people.

The pirate ship before him would be the best possible choice.

"They're coming ashore."

The pirate ship approached the shallows, but the water there was too shallow for it to reach the island.

So they lowered two small boats. Two groups of pirates jumped aboard, twelve pirates in total, and rowed toward the island.

The small boats rushed onto the beach. The pirates jumped ashore, waving firearms and longswords as they charged toward the village.

The water was deep enough.

The pirate ship had stopped a long way above the seabed, so he could get closer.

Xia Qiu slowly sank beneath the surface and moved toward the pirate ship. After drawing nearer, he stopped, dived deeper, and waited silently.

"Get out of Naruto Village!"

Warned in advance by Eli and the other children, the residents of Naruto Village had prepared themselves. All the men gathered together, holding fish spears, long spears, harpoon guns, crossbows, and hunting rifles aimed at the pirates before them.

"Boss, what do we do?"

Faced with twenty or thirty burly men holding weapons, the first mate stood there with a troubled expression.

With those numbers and weapons, they could stop them.

"You think the likes of you can stop us?"

The pirate crew's leader held a huge Spiked Club and suddenly swung it sideways.

Crack.

A tree as thick as a person's embrace was snapped cleanly in half, crashing heavily to the ground and kicking up a great cloud of dust.

"Th-This..."

The villagers of Naruto Village looked worried when they saw that.

But the village chief stepped forward and said, "Naruto Village falls under the jurisdiction of Marine Branch 19. We have already notified the Marines through a Den Den Mushi. They should be on their way now."

"Hm?"

Hearing this, the pirate captain narrowed his eyes.

An island under Marine jurisdiction was indeed not easy to deal with.

The pirate captain snorted and said, "So you want us to make this trip for nothing?"

The village chief immediately said, "As long as you are willing to leave, we are willing to prepare food, water, and a payment for your crew."

"Fine."

The pirate captain thought it over. If they insisted on fighting, his side would definitely suffer losses. And if they injured or killed villagers, the Marines would pursue them.

His pirate crew could bully a village, but they were no match for a Branch base. Even a single warship would be enough to defeat them.

It was good enough if they could get paid.

The pirate captain agreed to the deal. The village chief handed over several cows and sheep, as well as fresh water. The pirates first sent men to deliver the supplies to the ship, then slowly retreated under the villagers' watchful guard, boarded the small boats, and rowed back toward the pirate ship.

Far out at sea, Xia Qiu had long grown impatient waiting for the two small boats to return. He turned into a black shadow and charged toward them.