Marine Officers

"Looks like that fish has already left."

Several figures stood on the Marine warship, the three at the front dressed in Marine officer uniforms.

One of them was Lieutenant Commander Kurume from the Branch 19 base. Of the other two, one was a burly man in his prime, wearing a horned helmet and holding an enormous shark-slaying blade. Simply standing there, he radiated an overwhelming sense of pressure.

The other was around forty, leanly built, with a long sword at his waist and a calm expression.

It was this middle-aged Marine who had spoken just now.

"Colonel Lester, that fish stayed here for nearly four months and never left the surrounding waters. It's only been seven days. I don't think he would leave so easily," Kurume said hurriedly.

Colonel Lester frowned and looked at the tall man beside him. "Vice Admiral Bastille, what do you think?"

"We've already searched for four days. I don't have time to waste here."

Bastille snorted coldly. "It's just a fish, yet it killed a Captain and required me to come personally. Return to base."

Leaving those words behind, Bastille turned and returned to the cabin.

"Then let's head back."

Colonel Lester waved a hand, ordering the sailors to turn the warship around and return to base.

"Sir." Kurume looked anxious. "If Vice Admiral Bastille leaves, we'll have no chance of catching that fish."

"But the fish truly isn't in these waters. Vice Admiral Bastille is, after all, a vice admiral from Marine Headquarters. He can't stay here forever."

Lester gazed into the distance, then suddenly asked, "Have you ever heard his title?"

Kurume said softly, "Bastille the Shark Slayer. Captain Lido mentioned him before and held him in extremely high regard."

"Lido once served under Vice Admiral Bastille before coming to the East China Sea base. Otherwise, Vice Admiral Bastille would never have come here personally."

Lester's gaze turned distant. "To him, even Sea Kings are nothing more than fish on a chopping board. Countless Sea Kings have died by his hand. He wouldn't care about a single fish at all."

"The strength of a Marine Headquarters vice admiral really is formidable," Kurume said with a sigh.

Lester nodded. "Moreover, he's already been placed in line for promotion to vice admiral. However, in the vice admiral assessment not long ago, his military achievements fell behind Vice Admiral Storobelli's, so Marine Headquarters arranged for Storobelli to be promoted. But as long as Bastille earns enough achievements, his promotion is certain. It will probably only take three or four years."

"Storobelli?" Kurume was entirely unfamiliar with the name.

Lester smiled. "He's an important assistant to Vice Admiral Borsalino. Last year, he attacked the Sun Pirates and severely wounded their captain, Fisher Tiger. Not long afterward, Fisher died from his severe injuries."

"The Sun Pirates? He wounded the Sun Pirates' captain?"

Lieutenant Commander Kurume's eyes widened.

Lester nodded. "Five years ago, a rear admiral named Kadar led his soldiers in an attack on the Sun Pirates, only for the entire force to be wiped out. According to reports, Fisher did not kill Kadar, but Kadar's whereabouts became unknown. Then, a year ago, Storobelli managed to seriously injure Fisher. Although some said he caught Fisher off guard, both his strength and military achievements were already sufficient for him to become a vice admiral."

Lieutenant Commander Kurume asked, "I remember the current captain of the Sun Pirates seems to be one of the Shichibukai. They made quite a big deal of it not long ago."

Lester smiled. "That's right. Not long ago, Jinbe of the Sun Pirates became their captain and accepted the government's offer, becoming one of the Shichibukai. The government recruited him not only because he met the strength requirement, but also because it wanted to promote harmony between the races and resolve the hatred toward Fish-Men."

Kurume asked curiously, "You mentioned Vice Admiral Borsalino just now. He seems to be..."

"That's right. He was promoted this year as well, becoming one of the Three Admirals. His nickname is Kizaru."

Lester smiled. "Storobelli's promotion to vice admiral was also strongly recommended by Admiral Kizaru."

"I see."

Kurume nodded, only then realizing how many connections were involved.

Lester glanced at Kurume and said, "I know you want to avenge Captain Lido, but the fish isn't in these waters. Finding one fish in the ocean is no easier than finding an ant on an island."

"I... I understand."

Kurume replied with a gloomy expression.

Seeing his expression, Lester could not help but nod. He had a good impression of him.

He was very loyal. In order to avenge Captain Lido, he had spent the past few days searching for the fish and slept only three or four hours a day.

Though his loyalty was toward his former superior, that superior was already dead. Kurume was capable, loyal, and devoted to personal bonds. Since Colonel Lester had come to the Branch 19 base, he intended to make good use of him.

He had already decided that in about a year, he would apply for Kurume to be promoted to Commander.

Xia Qiu moved through the seabed, swimming away from the island. Other fish spotted his massive body and immediately scattered in all directions.

Xia Qiu ignored those fish. They were too small to fill him up at all.

But as Xia Qiu ventured deeper, many fish two or three meters long appeared around him. The instant they saw Xia Qiu, they fled in every direction.

These fish weighed roughly one or two hundred kilograms each. As long as Xia Qiu ate four or five of them, he could meet his minimum feeding requirement.

But Xia Qiu did not hunt them.

First, he wanted to establish a relatively peaceful area. In these waters, Xia Qiu did not prey on fish.

Second, Xia Qiu needed them to keep growing. He would not eat small fish, but they would use smaller fish as food. They would eat those small fish, continue growing larger, and then Xia Qiu would eat them.

That way, the small fish could also become part of his food chain, without him needing to bother hunting them himself.

So Xia Qiu ignored them and swam onward.

After going deeper for some distance, Xia Qiu found several fish around four meters long.

Xia Qiu still treated them as reserve food and continued onward.

Only after finding a fish roughly seven meters long did Xia Qiu decide to make it his prey.

But when Xia Qiu drew close enough, the other fish fled in panic.

How could I let you get away?

Xia Qiu followed close behind, chasing the fish and rapidly closing the distance between them.

But when Xia Qiu was only three or four meters away from it, he sensed waves of vibrations coming from nearby.

There were many of them, and they were not small.

A Shark Group?

Xia Qiu frowned and rose to the surface. Looking into the distance, he saw more than a dozen creatures repeatedly leaping from the water and plunging back into the sea in the waters nearby, swimming toward the other side of the island.

Their agile bodies gave off a beautiful impression beneath the sunlight, their constantly leaping forms seeming nimble and lively.

Xia Qiu's eyes brightened slightly at the sight of them.

Dolphins.