Departure

In the Orange Orchard Cocoyasi Village.

clang.

Marcel staggered backward, his feet leaving two marks on the ground. The moment the force dissipated, Marcel collapsed to his knees.

"I... I've lost."

Marcel said with a resentful expression.

"You're no match for me," Hachi said, looking at Marcel.

Marcel glanced at Hachi and said, "But this time, it took me two knives to defeat me. It seems I haven't been without improvement."

"Two knives?"

Hachi chuckled and said, "Take a look at your clothes."

"Um?"

Marcel looked down at his clothes and noticed two cuts on them.

When was this cut?

Marcel looked at the cut marks, realizing that he hadn't noticed or felt them at all.

"You still have a long way to go!" Hachi said with a smile.

Marcel said in frustration, "Haven't I changed at all over the years?"

"Of course not."

Hachi suppressed his smile and then said, "But I'm also improving, and my strength has increased a lot since I changed my sword."

Hachi replaced his 300-kilogram swords with 10-kilogram ones, which greatly increased his sword-wielding speed and strength.

The change in combat style brought about by the change in the weight of the sword took him half a year to adapt to.

"Since it's so strong, let's go find that sea fish."

Nami walked over and said something casually.

"I... I am no match for you."

Hachi immediately lowered his head, not believing that his growth was sufficient to reach the strength of Boss Arlong.

However, even with Arlong Long and himself, they were no match for that sea fish.

"But I will definitely defeat him," Hachi said, hands on his hips.

"Go cook."

Nami said irritably.

"Yes." Hachi immediately ran to the house and started busying himself.

Hachi is a good cook. She is good at grilling meat and making takoyaki. Now she has also studied cooking skills. Her cooking skills are quite good.

Cooking also became Hachi's job.

"Marcel, your clothes are torn. Take them off and I'll mend them for you," Nojiko said softly, standing beside Marcel.

"This is too much trouble for you, Nojiko," Marcel said apologetically.

Nojiko shook her head and said, "No trouble at all."

Okay, alright. Thank you.

Marcel took off his clothes and handed them to Nojiko.

After Nojiko, she walked towards the house. As she passed Nami, Nami asked with a smile, "Sister, when did you learn to sew?"

"I already know it."

Nojiko glared at Nami and went inside. Nami watched her retreating figure and smiled slightly.

"It's been half a year already."

Nami turned her head and looked at the azure sky. Half a year had passed since Arlong's death, yet why did she feel somewhat bored?

The mundane life, though cozy, is something I don't like.

I long to go to sea and continue drawing nautical charts.

That night, the bright moonlight shone down, casting a dazzling white glow on the sea.

The ocean at night is deep and terrifying, and beneath the surface, two dark figures swim towards the distance: one is a giant sea fish, and the other is a giant manatee.

"Goal: The Grand Line."

The black sea fish was Xia Qiu. Three days after eating the naval commander, he had recovered from his injuries and was swimming towards the direction of Reverse Mountain.

To the west, in the southern part of the area.

Xia Qiu left Loguetown and swam southwest. He was heading to the Grand Line and dared not travel through the Calm Belt, where the Sea King were all giant Sea King.

Even a random ship, hundreds of meters long, or twenty meters long, would be nothing more than a small toy atop Sea King's head.

With my small frame, I could swallow it whole in one bite.

Therefore, Xia Qiu's destination is Reverse Mountain, Reverse Mountain is in the west, so he needs to travel a certain distance westward.

To travel from Reverse Mountain to the Grand Line, one must pass through the East China Sea waterway, heading slightly south.

Below Reverse Mountain, there is a lighthouse that illuminates the surrounding sea and provides navigation.

But we haven't seen the lighthouse yet.

Xia Qiu opened her mouth, releasing sound waves, constantly probing for danger.

The Calm Belt is a completely different world from the East China Sea and the Grand Line, where there is no wind and no ocean currents.

When Luffy boarded the Going Merry to Reverse Mountain, one moment there was a raging storm with Raiu and waves, and the next moment the sun was shining and the sea was calm.

Since one doesn't know the location of the Calm Belt, it's difficult to sense the wind force at sea while underwater; one can only rely on changes in ocean currents to judge the wind.

However, by the time one senses the change in ocean currents, one has already entered the Calm Belt.

Therefore, Xia Qiu and autumn release sound waves, slowly moving forward.

After walking for a while, Xia Qiu suddenly felt the surrounding ocean currents slowly stop, until they came to a complete stop.

This is?

Xia Qiu immediately stopped moving.

However, Moo seemed oblivious and continued rushing forward. Seeing this, Xia Qiu was anxious but dared not chase after it rashly. Instead, she released a sound wave.

Xia Qiu noticed that, along with Moo's advance, several figures were slowly rising to the surface in the vast sea.

It is Sea King.

Sea King incredibly sensitive; Luffy's Luffy Going Merry alone attracted the appearance of nearly ten Sea King.

Both I and Moo were much larger than the Going Merry, and the tremors they caused were much greater.

There is enough time.

Xia Qiu sped up and instantly caught up with Moo, blocking his way.

"Um?"

Moo tilted its head, looking at Xia Qiu with a puzzled expression.

Xia Qiu nudged him and swam away from the Calm Belt.

oh.

Moo understood; this was a signal for him to leave, so he followed Xia Qiu and swam into the distance.

But at that moment, the Sea King floated upwards, causing a huge tremor.

Xia Qiu quickened her pace, Moo felt the vibration, shuddered, and swam faster after her.

boom.

After Xia Qiu and Moo entered the East China Sea, several huge figures slowly rose up behind them, the shortest being two hundred meters long and some even over a thousand meters long.

Hurry, hurry.

They didn't stop, but swam faster.

Xia Qiu noticed that the Sea King had chased them for a while, then stopped and slowly retreated.

call.

Xia Qiu let out a breath and slowed down. Moo also stopped, looking like she was still shaken.

Running around aimlessly.

Xia Qiu rushed to Moo and slapped his face with his pectoral fin.

Moo knew he had made a mistake, so he lowered his head and dared not resist.

"They're gone."

Xia Qiu slapped him a few times, brushed his face with her tail fin, and then swam forward.

Moo raised its head, shook its head, and quickly followed.

After swimming for a while, the light grew dimmer, and Xia Qiu had no choice but to rise to the surface.

Moreover, the pressure in the water decreased, forcing oxygen to the surface. Xia Qiu felt the reduced filtered oxygen and floated to the surface, breathing heavily.

Click.

A bolt of lightning struck down on the sea not far away.

In the distance, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and a strong wind brought down a torrential rain.

Amidst the torrential rain, a single light flickered faintly.

That's a lighthouse.

Click.

Not far away on the sea, a bolt of lightning struck, and in the brief moment illuminated by the lightning, Xia Qiu could vaguely see a huge black shadow.

That's Reverse Mountain.

arrive.

Xia Qiu grinned, filled his nostrils with air, and rushed into the raging wind.