Attack

On the vast ocean, the Spab sailed onward with its sails full, heading toward the distance.

"How far are we from Burnett Island?"

On the ship, Arlong looked at Hachi and asked.

Hachi answered, "We've traveled about twenty nautical miles from the Zhumeda Archipelago. Burnett Island is roughly another sixty nautical miles away."

"I remember there's an occupied island nearby, right?" Arlong asked curiously.

Hachi nodded and said, "It's Mel Island, thirty nautical miles from here. It's also southeast, in the same direction as Burnett Island."

Chuu said with a smile, "Boss Arlong, the villagers of Mel Island were actually the ones who told us about Burnett Island. That villager told me about the island in exchange for sparing his family three months of tribute."

"You got the information when Chuu was collecting tribute, right? How many people are in his family?" Arlong asked curiously.

Chuu nodded. "Four in total. Two adults and two children."

"Two adults, two children, three months. That's only 1.2 million Belly in tribute."

Arlong smiled. "For 1.2 million Belly, he sold out an entire island. Humans really are creatures who forget loyalty at the sight of profit."

Hachi froze briefly before saying bluntly, "I don't think they did it for money. They couldn't afford the money, and they would have been killed. They did it to stay alive."

"You..."

Arlong's expression stiffened. Remembering Hachi's blunt nature, he did not argue. Rising to his feet, he said, "I'm going to rest in the cabin. Call me when we arrive."

After saying that, Arlong headed for the cabin. But at that moment, the hull shuddered violently with a boom, tilting sharply to one side.

"What happened?"

Arlong swayed slightly before steadying himself.

Hachi took a step forward and stood firm, while Chuu grabbed the railing to stabilize himself.

However, some Fish-Men who had not managed to grab hold of anything were sent sprawling onto the deck as the pirate ship tilted and rocked.

"Boss Arlong! The ship—the bottom of the ship is leaking!"

A Fish-Man rushed out of the cabin and shouted.

"The ship is leaking?"

Arlong frowned and urgently asked, "How bad is it?"

The Fish-Man replied, "The port-side hull plates of the seventh and eighth compartments have been breached."

"Can it be repaired?" Arlong asked.

The Fish-Man answered, "Kaneshiro says the Watertight Compartments will hold, and it can still be repaired. He's already assigned men to fix it."

Kaneshiro was a Goldfish Fish-Man and the Arlong Pirates' shipwright. His skills were exceptional, and within the Arlong Pirates, he was no less important than an officer.

"That's good."

Once Arlong heard Kaneshiro say it could be repaired, he relaxed. Even if the ship sank, Fish-Men would be fine in the sea, but this ship was extremely valuable. How could he let it sink so easily?

"Then why is it leaking?" Arlong asked.

The Fish-Man said, "It looks like it was rammed."

"Rammed? By a rock, or a sea beast?"

Arlong looked at Chuu by the rail and said, "Chuu, go down and take a look."

"Yes."

Chuu immediately moved to the side of the ship and dove in.

Splash.

Chuu plunged into the sea and dived beneath the surface. Looking at the waters the ship had passed through, he found neither rocks nor sea beasts.

But just then, he felt the seawater tremble.

"Hm?"

Chuu slowly descended, looking around from beneath the pirate ship. The next moment, he saw a dark shadow rapidly growing larger on the other side of the ship.

"What is that?"

As it drew closer, Chuu saw that it was a fish, rushing toward the starboard side near the stern.

Chuu quickly swam upward and broke the surface, but just as his head emerged from the water—

Boom!

The pirate ship was struck again.

This time, the impact was even more violent.

The people aboard the ship staggered about as Arlong shouted, "What the hell is it?"

"There's something in the sea! A huge fish rammed the ship!"

Chuu shouted toward the deck.

"A fish?"

Arlong frowned. What kind of fish could smash apart such a large pirate ship?

"It's coming."

Chuu suddenly felt the pressure of the seawater intensify. Looking down, he saw that the dark shadow had not stopped. It flipped over in an unimaginable turn, swept beneath the ship, and appeared directly below him.

Get aboard first.

Chuu's strengths were his swimming speed and water cannons, not brute force. Fighting such a massive fish underwater would be a losing proposition.

He kicked off the water with both legs and shot out of the sea.

But at that moment, a massive tentacle burst through the water and lashed toward him.

What?

Chuu froze for a moment and raised both arms in front of himself.

Bang!

Chuu was struck head-on. Though the tentacle's force did not send him flying, he no longer had the strength to rise, and his body fell.

Splash!

Several tentacles lashed up from the depths, striking at Chuu.

Trying to kill me?

Chuu snorted coldly, planted his right foot against the hull, and shot backward.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

All the tentacles missed, while Chuu vaulted over the enormous fish and fell back into the ocean.

As long as I get into the sea, I'll be fine.

In the ocean, unless it's one of the massive Sea Kings from the Calm Belt, no fish or sea beast can catch me.

Yet the instant he entered the water, the fish suddenly twisted its body, making an unbelievable turn. Its head charged toward him, its huge mouth opening as it bit down on Chuu.

"Ah!"

Chuu had just entered the water and had no time to dodge before a giant mouth appeared in front of him.

I'm done for.

Panic filled Chuu's heart, but he still raised his fist and struck at the upper part of the enormous mouth.

For many fish, striking the upper jaw or the area around the nose could interrupt their movements, perhaps even make them stop.

For example, if a person encountered a shark and it attacked them, they should not try to run. They could not outrun it.

Try striking its nose. If that did not work, then punch its nose.

But it was useless.

Crunch.

Chuu was bitten in one gulp. Then the massive fish turned with the motion and swam into the distance.

"Tentacles... a black fish."

Seeing this, Arlong's face turned cold. Wasn't that the fish that had killed Kuroobi? It had also attacked many Fish-Men before.

It had not appeared for two years.

Arlong had thought it had disappeared, gone elsewhere, or been frightened off by Moo.

But who would have thought it would choose this moment to attack?

Damn it.

Arlong leaped straight into the sea and chased after the fish.

"It's that fish." Hachi also jumped into the sea and followed close behind.

"Follow Lord Arlong!"

Splash, splash! Several Fish-Man soldiers jumped into the sea.

Arlong was the fastest. He thrust both hands backward and kicked off the water with both legs. Immense force exploded outward as his body shot ahead.

He took the lead in pursuing the fish, but it was even faster than him. Not only did it speed forward, it also swam deeper into the sea.

After chasing for a while, Arlong found that the distance between himself and the fish was only growing. The water around him was filled with the scent of blood, and Arlong knew it was Chuu's blood.

After being bitten by that fish, Chuu was likely dead.

Yet Arlong continued chasing it relentlessly, only for the gap to widen further and further.

I can't catch it.

Arlong chased it for three or four nautical miles, roughly five or six kilometers, but the fish had already vanished.

He could track Chuu's blood. Even the faintest trace of amino acids or blood scent was enough for him to know where Chuu had gone.

But it was faster than him. If he kept chasing like this, he would never catch it.

And if he competed with a fish in speed underwater, he would collapse from exhaustion first.

"Damn it!"

Arlong stopped and surfaced, his expression filled with fury.

This was the fish that had repeatedly attacked the Arlong Pirates. After killing Kuroobi, it had now killed a second officer and a seventh Fish-Man.

"Boss."

Hachi came to his side and asked, "Where's the fish?"

"It got away."

Arlong said darkly. Looking at Hachi, he shouted angrily, "You were too slow."

"Boss Arlong, you didn't catch it either."

Hachi muttered quietly.

"You..."

Arlong trembled with rage. He waved a hand, his voice icy as he said, "We're going back first."

Arlong led Hachi back along the route they had come from. After swimming two nautical miles, they encountered the other Fish-Men who had fallen far behind. Once they met up, they continued toward the ship.

But the Fish-Man soldiers were relatively slow. Those two nautical miles took as long as the four or five nautical miles Arlong had spent chasing the fish.

When Arlong led them back near the ship, while they were still some distance away, he saw a sight that made his eyes split with rage.

The Spab had already sunk more than halfway, with only its masts left above the water.

Beside the ship, blood spread through the sea. The enormous fish was hunting the Fish-Men. Its tentacles beneath its belly had bound two Fish-Men, and it had just bitten a Fish-Man attempting to flee.

Only a handful of Fish-Men remained alive.

Seeing this, boundless fury surged through Arlong's heart, and his eyes turned bloodshot.

I'll kill you.