Metamorphosis

The tingling itch grew more intense. Unable to endure it any longer, Xia Qiu slowly rose up, pressed himself against the ship's cabin, and rubbed himself carefully against it.

Zzt.

Xia Qiu felt the itch ease considerably, but with the rubbing, something began falling from his body.

What was that?

Xia Qiu hurriedly stopped and looked over, but it was too dark to see clearly.

So Xia Qiu swam out of the cabin, found a rock, and continued rubbing against it.

With the friction, scale after scale fell away.

His scales were falling off.

Xia Qiu stopped moving and looked at the scales on the ground. They were gray, yellowish, and yellowish-brown.

Even after Xia Qiu stopped, the scales continued to fall off slowly.

What was going on?

Losing scales was not a good thing.

Scales served many purposes. They were a protective barrier for the body, a shell that prevented water loss, and could be used for camouflage, as well as blocking microorganisms and infections.

Scales could also reduce friction and drag, while making it difficult for predators to get a grip on the body.

Fish scales came in many shapes and were divided into Placoid Scales, Ganoid Scales, Cycloid Scales, and Ctenoid Scales.

His own scales were Cycloid Scales, a type of Bony Scale.

He had never expected them to fall off.

Most fish never replaced their scales in their entire lives. Their scales gradually grew along with the fish, forming alternating wide and narrow rings. The number of such rings could be used to determine a fish's age.

Some fish lost scales because their scales came off easily, but most did so because of parasites or bacteria.

Did his body have parasites or bacteria?

The tingling itch persisted, making Xia Qiu nervous. But all he could do was adapt to whatever came. He returned to the cabin and waited carefully.

The scales kept falling off. After roughly two hours, a large patch of scales had accumulated on the ground. Nearly half of his scales had fallen away.

When Xia Qiu accidentally brushed against the cabin or the sand on the seabed, he could feel everything more clearly, along with a faint pain.

This wouldn't do.

Without the protection of his scales, his body would become vulnerable.

But at that moment, Xia Qiu felt a prickling pain across his surface. The painful area was small, but it felt like being jabbed by needles.

Hmm?

Xia Qiu immediately tensed. What was this pain?

The pain grew more intense, and the affected area expanded. It began near his tail, then spread until nearly half his body was pricked with pain.

It was like being pierced by countless needles, causing excruciating pain.

Was this caused by his scales falling off?

But the next moment, the pain intensified again, as though something were piercing through his skin and slowly growing out.

This was...

Xia Qiu felt something gradually covering his body. Starting from his tail, a sense of fullness slowly spread bit by bit.

Xia Qiu hurriedly swam out of the cabin and landed on the sand outside. Enduring the pain caused by the sand touching his body, he twisted and bent himself.

Once he had bent far enough, Xia Qiu saw the area near his tail.

New scales.

He was growing new scales.

Though replacing scales was relatively uncommon, quite a few fish on Earth did replace their scales.

In the world of One Piece, it was even less surprising.

Xia Qiu examined the new scales. They resembled the Cycloid Scales that had fallen off, but their edges bore serrated protrusions.

These were Ctenoid Scales.

He had originally possessed Cycloid Scales, but now they had become Ctenoid Scales.

Both Ctenoid Scales and Cycloid Scales were Bony Scales unique to bony fish, but Ctenoid Scales were more commonly found in advanced fish species, such as Perciformes.

Fish with Ctenoid Scales were generally larger and could even grow beyond two meters long.

A famous example of Cycloid Scales falling off and being replaced by Ctenoid Scales was the Goatfish. It had Cycloid Scales as a juvenile and replaced them with Ctenoid Scales as an adult.

The color of his Ctenoid Scales had changed as well.

They had originally been pale gray, yellow near his belly, and yellowish-brown near his back.

Now they were silver-white. The scales themselves were silver, while their edges were white, gleaming beautifully.

Realizing that his scales were growing back, Xia Qiu relaxed.

He was only replacing his scales.

It wasn't illness, parasites, or some other cause.

Xia Qiu let out a breath and returned to the cabin to wait quietly. Even the pain seemed to lessen considerably.

But then hunger struck.

So soon?

He had eaten a great deal this time, enough to last him at least three hours. Yet not even two hours had passed, and he was already hungry.

Xia Qiu had no choice but to swim out of the cabin to look for food.

Crunch.

Xia Qiu swallowed two or three sea shrimp. Now, when he ate sea shrimp, he no longer needed to spit out their heads, tails, or rostrums. After crushing them, he swallowed everything.

A school of sand dartfish.

Xia Qiu spotted a school of sand dartfish and immediately charged at them. The fish scattered in panic.

But Xia Qiu was incredibly fast. He immediately picked out one sand dartfish, bit down on it, severed it with his three layers of sharp teeth, and swallowed most of its body, leaving only the head.

Splash, splash, splash.

Xia Qiu relentlessly pursued the school, often catching up to fish that had fled in the opposite direction and swallowing them whole.

Before long, he had eaten most of the school—seven or eight fish in total.

It wasn't enough.

He continued searching, keeping close to the seafloor as he looked for sea shrimp and crabs.

After eating two crabs and several sea shrimp,

Xia Qiu ate two more solitary fish. Only after filling his belly did he slowly return to the cabin.

His scales continued to fall off, only to be gradually replaced by new ones.

As the new scales grew in, Xia Qiu's digestion sped up dramatically, forcing him to keep hunting.

And so, two days passed.

All of Xia Qiu's Cycloid Scales had fallen away and been replaced by Ctenoid Scales. The new scales were denser and more compact, gleaming with silver light.

During the replacement process, Xia Qiu's body had also changed, becoming more rounded.

Smack.

Xia Qiu moved close to a warped ship plank, suddenly swung his body, and violently lashed out.

Crack.

The plank snapped apart and was sent flying, yet Xia Qiu felt no pain at all.

His scales had become harder, and his body tougher and stronger.

He had become stronger.

Feeling the changes in his body, Xia Qiu was overjoyed.

The stronger he became, the easier it would be to survive.

Xia Qiu did not hope to become as powerful as a Sea King, but he needed at least enough strength to protect himself.

As he was now, Xia Qiu had no enemies in the waters near the island.

Most of the fish here were between twenty and thirty centimeters long. Even those reaching fifty centimeters were considered quite large.

Xia Qiu was now over a meter long, with hard scales and a tough body. Combined with his huge pectoral fins, he possessed tremendous speed, and his three layers of sharp teeth could even bite through crab shells.

In these waters, Xia Qiu was invincible.

But if he ventured a little farther into the ocean, still within the coastal waters, he could find even larger fish.

Massive creatures over two meters long, even over three meters long.

The occasional shadow that flashed past was enough to frighten Xia Qiu back, extinguishing his desire to explore farther out.

Restricted by the water depth, they were accustomed to staying in areas with greater pressure and would not come here.

But Xia Qiu feared that one day, they might happen to come here and discover him.

So it still wasn't enough. He needed to keep growing bigger and stronger.