Ambush

Xia Qiu attacked the Fish-Men, left Arlong Park, sank to the seabed, and waited quietly.

At that moment, a warm current began to emerge within Xia Qiu's body, spreading through every part of him.

It was no small amount of warmth. If he had to compare it, it was roughly equivalent to when he attacked the Porcupine Pirates and devoured Muir and the First Mate.

More than Lieutenant Colonel Berio, but less than Colonel Lido.

That was already quite a substantial amount of warmth.

They were merely two ordinary Fish-Men. They did not even look particularly sturdy, yet they had provided so much energy.

It seemed this was thanks to the strength of the Fish-Man race. Their natural arm strength was ten times that of humans, and their bodies contained even more powerful energy.

Powerful strength was nurtured within their relatively compact bodies. It grew horizontally rather than vertically, making this energy seem more like Reinforcement Energy.

Although Fish-Men were taller than humans—for example, Jinbe was three meters tall, Arlong was 2.6 meters tall, and the giant squid Fish-Man from the New Fish-Man Pirates could reach four meters—

there was still a limit to their growth. Within that limit, their strength continued to increase.

Of course, the giant tiger puffer Fish-Man Bald Sea God was an exception. He stood at least 250 meters tall.

Yet his strength exceeded even Jinbe's and Sanji's, making him a giant among Fish-Men.

Other than such massive giants, most Fish-Men increased their strength in a way that was not too different from humans.

Xia Qiu was not sure whether there was any Growth Energy involved, but most of it was clearly Reinforcement Energy.

That was enough.

The fact that two ordinary Fish-Men could provide so much energy made Xia Qiu extremely excited.

They were not particularly strong and were only left behind to guard the place. How much more powerful would the sturdy Fish-Man soldiers, the officers, or even Arlong's energy be?

He still needed to attack more Fish-Man soldiers and officers of the Arlong Pirates.

With that thought, Xia Qiu lay low on the seabed and continued waiting quietly.

Time passed bit by bit, and before long, it was afternoon.

"Why haven't Ruijin and Peters returned yet?"

At Arlong Park, Hachi, with his six octopus arms, stood there with four arms crossed over his chest and two scratching his head. He looked somewhat irritated. "Did they slack off and go somewhere else?"

Hachi was in charge of guarding the place. As the second-in-command of Arlong Park, he was strong enough to deal with most threats.

"Lance, Eddie, you two go look for them and bring them back." Hachi looked toward the two Fish-Men standing in the distance.

"Yes."

The two Fish-Men immediately answered and walked out of Arlong Park toward the distance.

"Lance, where should we look?" Eddie looked at the Fish-Man beside him and asked curiously.

Lance smiled. "Ruijin is a drunkard. After those two saw Lord Arlong off, they probably snuck off to drink. Let's search the woods over there first."

Eddie nodded and headed into the distance with Lance. But at that moment, he looked toward the distant harbor and frowned slightly. "Why is the walkway gone?"

Only a short section of the entire walkway remained near the shore. The rest of the planks floated on the water, while a large portion had disappeared entirely.

Looking at the walkway, Lance asked in confusion, "Was it dismantled? Or did something crash into it?"

"Without the walkway, Boss Arlong and Lord Kuroobi will have a hard time getting off the ship. They'll be furious if they see this." Eddie nodded, then said to Lance, "Forget Ruijin and Peters for now. Let's go back and report this to Hachi."

"Alright."

Lance and Eddie returned to Arlong Park and told Hachi what had happened. The latter furrowed his brows.

"Who would dismantle the walkway? Did those villagers do it?" After hearing them out, Hachi's expression darkened.

"Who else could it be?" Lance said angrily. "Let's go find them."

"How could it be them?"

A somewhat childish voice sounded from behind them.

"Nami?"

Hachi turned around and saw Nami walking toward them. He asked curiously, "Why do you say it wasn't the villagers?"

Nami snorted. "Why would they do it?"

Hachi thought for a moment. "Dismantle the walkway so pirate ships can't dock?"

"Idiot."

Nami said impatiently, "You're Fish-Men. You won't drown in the water, so a broken walkway has no effect on you whatsoever. Why would they do something that would only make you angry?"

"That's true."

After thinking about it, Hachi realized Nami was right. The villagers had no reason to do such a thing.

Lance asked in confusion, "Then why was the walkway damaged?"

Nami thought for a moment before saying, "Maybe it wasn't built sturdily enough. Or perhaps the pirate ship bumped into it when it set sail. Or maybe Ruijin and Peters damaged it?"

As she spoke, Nami looked at Lance and asked, "Did you two retrieve the fragments of the walkway to inspect them? Are there signs of impact, or was it dismantled by someone? You can determine the cause from the fragments."

"No."

Lance and Eddie shook their heads. Eddie said, "We came to report it as soon as we saw the walkway was broken."

"You need to investigate properly before reporting to me. You're useless, not even as capable as Nami."

Hachi snorted. "Why are you two still standing around? Go inspect it."

"Yes."

Lance and Eddie hurriedly replied, then ran outside together.

"Hachi, aren't you going with them?" Nami looked at Hachi, her eyes flickering.

"They're only checking the situation. The two of them are enough." Hachi shook his head.

"Mm, that's right."

Nami smiled, turned, and walked toward the tower. She climbed the stairs and returned to her room on the fifth floor, which was piled high with thick documents.

Nami walked to the desk, picked up a pair of binoculars, and looked into the distance through the window.

The harbor was fully within her view.

Lance and Eddie slowly entered her line of sight.

Seeing them, a smile appeared at the corner of Nami's lips, and her eyes were filled with anticipation.

"No one came down to investigate?"

After feeding again, Xia Qiu returned and lay in wait beneath the water.

The two Fish-Men had disappeared. Shouldn't they have sent someone over to investigate?

Even if they wanted to repair the walkway, someone would have to come down.

As long as someone came, he could ambush them, kill them, and swallow them into his belly.

Thus, Xia Qiu lay hidden on the seabed, waiting quietly for an opportunity to strike.

But Xia Qiu waited until afternoon. He went out to feed several times during that period, yet not a single person came.

Could they have not noticed?

Xia Qiu was unwilling to let this opportunity go. With the main force of the Arlong Pirates gone, this was the perfect chance for him to strike.

At most, he would face one officer.

Even if it was an officer, with a sneak attack, it was not as though he had no chance of fighting. Even if he could not win, he could dive into the deep sea.

Wait a little longer.

Xia Qiu continued waiting, hiding beneath a more distant cliff. He sensed the vibrations on the surrounding water's surface and continuously emitted Ultrasound to explore the nearby waters.

But at that moment—

Splash. Splash.

Two vibrations came from above, and Xia Qiu's echolocation locked onto two figures.

They were here.

Xia Qiu grinned, revealing his savage teeth.