Hunting

Boom, boom, boom.

Shells fired from the cannons toward the sea, blasting up sprays of water that formed towering columns.

Beneath the surface, a massive figure swam into the distance. Shells landed to either side of it, with only the occasional shot striking it accurately.

But with layers of seawater cushioning the impact, the force that reached Xia Qiu's body was easily resisted by his thick scales and muscles.

"He's coming, he's coming."

Muir and the others had not swum far when they saw the Black Fish swimming toward them. One pirate turned pale and shouted, "Lord Muir, what do we do?"

"Keep swimming."

Muir gritted his teeth and swam toward the distance.

But how could their swimming speed compare to Xia Qiu's?

Boom.

Xia Qiu suddenly rose closer to the surface. Fixing his sights on one pirate, he tilted his body slightly, opened his gaping maw, and bit down on him.

"No! Help!"

Faced with Xia Qiu's enormous mouth, the pirate was so frightened that he stopped swimming and floated on the surface, screaming loudly.

Crunch.

Xia Qiu bit into the pirate, severing him in one bite and swallowing him into his belly. Then he lifted his head and took another bite, sucking the pirate's upper body straight into his stomach.

Xia Qiu then gave chase again, charging toward them.

"Run!"

Seeing this, Muir clenched his teeth and swam toward the distance, with the First Mate close behind him.

The other pirates also frantically swam toward the island.

But they were too slow. Compared to Muir and the First Mate, they gradually fell behind.

Boom.

They could clearly feel the pressure coming from behind them. That enormous Black Fish was steadily closing in.

"Lord Muir, save me!"

One pirate could not help shouting toward the distance.

Save you? What a joke!

If I save you, what happens to me?

If he eats you, at least you'll buy me some time.

With that thought in mind, Muir acted as though he had not heard the weak plea for help and desperately swam onward.

It's here.

The pirate sensed the massive body appearing behind him, and despair filled his face.

I'm dead.

Just as he thought that, Xia Qiu's huge body slammed into him with a bang.

Crunch.

The pirate's spine and ribs were all shattered by the impact, sending his entire body flying.

But Xia Qiu did not stop. He charged straight ahead.

Every pirate in his path was sent flying by Xia Qiu.

"I'm not dead."

One pirate watched Xia Qiu swim past him in pursuit of those ahead and breathed a sigh of relief.

But the next moment, a shell landed directly on top of his head.

Smack.

The massive shell crashed into his head, crushing his skull. His body tilted to one side, dead beyond any doubt.

"Why is he so fast?"

Muir sensed the rapidly approaching figure behind him, his expression turning grim. "Why isn't he feeding on those pirates?"

"Boss, he's coming for us!" the First Mate shouted.

"Then stay behind and stop him!"

Muir shouted back.

The First Mate froze for a moment. He had never expected his leader, who usually valued brotherhood, always took the lead in battle, and had even shielded him from attacks before, to say such a thing.

He saved my life.

The First Mate gritted his teeth, gripped his longsword, turned around, and lunged at Xia Qiu.

Tiger Bite.

The First Mate swung his right hand, slashing his longsword forward like a ferocious tiger opening its bloody jaws to bite its enemy.

Clang.

The blade struck Xia Qiu's forehead, cutting through his scales and hitting his skull, leaving behind only a mark.

Bang.

The next instant, Xia Qiu's tremendous force knocked the longsword back, then slammed into the First Mate's body.

The First Mate's body jolted as though he had been rammed by a ship. Who knew how many bones had broken throughout his body? Even the longsword slipped from his hand.

Xia Qiu then opened his gaping maw and bit down on him. Crunch. The First Mate's body was crushed apart, his seven layers of sharp teeth grinding him into pulp.

Gulp.

Xia Qiu swallowed him, then chased after Muir, intending to eat him too.

Bang.

A shell struck Xia Qiu. His body stalled as pain shot through him, and the spot where he had been hit suffered a serious injury.

But Xia Qiu endured the pain and continued his pursuit, reaching the pirate captain's back in an instant.

"Die!"

Muir knew he could not escape. He turned around, raised his right fist, and smashed it viciously toward Xia Qiu's head.

He had thrown away his Spiked Club to swim faster.

Now, he could only attack with his fists.

Bang.

Muir's fist struck Xia Qiu's head with a dull thud.

Are you scratching an itch for me?

The next moment, Muir's upper body disappeared into Xia Qiu's open mouth.

Xia Qiu ate Muir in two bites. Rather than going back to eat the other pirates, he turned around, made a wide circle, and swam into the distance.

The heat had already appeared, intense and surging.

And he was injured as well.

I'll find somewhere to digest.

Thinking this, Xia Qiu swam farther and farther away.

"Boss Muir and First Mate Fanny were both eaten."

On the Porcupine Pirates' ship, the pirates stared blankly into the distance.

Even now, they could not accept that their boss, First Mate, and so many other pirates had been attacked by a sea fish and killed.

"What do we do?" one pirate asked blankly.

Both their captain and First Mate were dead. They had been the two strongest among them, and those left behind had no idea what to do.

"The Second Mate is still in the water. Pull him up and get out of here first!" another pirate shouted.

They immediately sprang into action, rescuing the pirates who had fallen into the water. Then they hurriedly turned the ship around and sailed away without daring to linger for even a moment.

"The pirates were killed by a sea fish?"

On the island, Naruto Village's residents stood by the shore, watching the distant scene with astonished expressions.

Who could have imagined that the pirates who had just taken their money and supplies would die at the hands of a sea fish?

Watching the pirates flee back in panic, they felt a trace of satisfaction.

Was this karma?

"That sea fish looks rather familiar," one villager could not help saying.

"Although it has grown much larger, it looks very similar to that sea fish from before. Didn't it leave?" a burly man asked worriedly.

"Having such a huge sea fish nearby isn't a good thing," a villager could not help saying.

"At that size, restricted by water depth and pressure, it would already find it difficult to get close to the island. At most, it could appear near the harbor. And there isn't enough food nearby to sustain it, which is why it disappeared from around here." An old man who had once been a fisherman spoke to the crowd. He had extensive experience. "It probably won't come near the island."

But a young man could not help asking, "If it won't come near the island, what if it attacks merchant ships?"

"Merchant ships are so large. How could it possibly affect them?" another person said with a dismissive wave.

The young man continued, "But what if it keeps growing? In a month and a half, it grew from seven meters to fifteen or sixteen meters. What if it grows even bigger? Fishing boats, merchant ships, seagoing vessels... who knows whether they could withstand its ravages? By then..."

They wanted to say that the fish might not necessarily attack ships, but that fish had clearly launched a deliberate attack on the pirates just now.

Its purpose had been to eat them.

When the time came, it would be hard to say whether it would attack nearby merchant ships.

Without fishing boats to catch fish, and without merchant ships from trading companies to purchase salt and deliver supplies, Naruto Village would face a grave crisis.

One villager could not help saying, "We should report this to the Marines. Not long ago, they specifically hunted that sea fish in this area because of the Commander it killed."

The village chief nodded. "They're almost here. We used a Den Den Mushi to send news of the pirate invasion to Manluo Town, and they've already set out. Once they arrive, we'll ask them again to eliminate the sea fish."