Bellemere's Family

When Senga steered his small boat ashore, following the direction the Sea King had pushed him, he found the corpse of the Sea King—its eyes rolled back white—already washed up on the beach. A crowd of villagers had gathered around it, chattering noisily about this sudden appearance of a Sea King.

"This... this is a Sea King, right? How did it end up here?"

"No idea. Could it be a gift from nature?"

"Gift from nature my ass. Something this big couldn't have been washed this far inland by the waves alone."

"What about that kid Senga? Someone should go out to sea and look for him. It's dangerous now."

"Yeah, any able-bodied men, come with me to search. Hope nothing's happened to him."

In the crowd, Bellemere, with her pink hair, stood with eight-year-old Nami and twelve-year-old Nojiko, arms crossed, silently staring at the Sea King's corpse.

The lively Nami pointed at the Sea King and said curiously to Bellemere, "Bellemere, look! What a huge fish! I've never seen one this big before!"

"I wonder how Brother Senga is doing. He should have gone fishing today, right?"

Beside her, the quieter Nojiko was worrying about Senga. Bellemere patted both their heads without a word, though a flicker of concern passed through her eyes.

Having once been a Marine, she could tell from the Sea King's wounds that its death was man-made.

"When did the East Blue produce someone this strong? Is it the Marines? If it's a pirate, that's trouble. I don't care about myself, but Nami and Nojiko..."

Bellemere clenched her fists.

"Whoever it is, if they try to hurt them, I'll protect them even if it costs me my life."

Just then, Senga, now ashore, reached the corpse. The villagers quickly surrounded him.

"Senga! You're back! A Sea King showed up—Granny Lisa was worried sick!"

"Yeah, yeah. Don't go out to sea for a while. If your little boat ran into that thing, it'd capsize you for sure."

"Brother Senga!" x2

The two little girls popped out of the crowd and hugged Senga's... shins. It was Nami and Nojiko.

"You okay, Senga? These two brats were worried to death about you," Bellemere said, squeezing in as well.

Nojiko's face was slightly red as she clung to Senga's leg without a word. Nami, on the other hand, bounced off his leg like a firecracker, shouting that she wasn't worried at all—she just didn't want to lose the person who caught fish for her!

Feeling the warmth of the crowd's concern, Senga's heart swelled. This kind of care was precious to him after years of living on edge in the Naruto World.

Shaking his head, Senga smiled and said to the people around him, "I'm fine. Thank you all for your concern. As for the danger, don't worry—this Sea King was my prey."

After Senga spoke, he noticed the crowd suddenly fall silent, staring at him blankly.

After a long moment, Nojiko raised her hand and hopped a few times. Senga looked at her oddly. Realizing how silly she looked, Nojiko blushed and stammered worriedly, "Brother Senga, did the shock scare you stupid? Or are you running a fever?"

Beside her, Nami wore the exact same expression, as if to say: Same here!

No sooner had she spoken than the villagers burst into laughter.

"Haha! Senga, even the kids think you've lost it!"

"You always seemed so cool and aloof—never knew you had a talent for deadpan jokes!"

"Hahaha!" More laughter followed.

Bellemere didn't laugh. She looked at the young man before her. Her instincts told her he wasn't telling a deadpan joke. She knew Senga wasn't ordinary—the pressure from those eyes was far too intense. Only a fool would believe they were just oddly shaped.

The villagers, in their daily interactions, either subconsciously avoided looking at his eyes or, after spending enough time with him to know he was a good person, simply overlooked how unusual he was.

Senga wasn't annoyed. He said nothing, simply raised a hand toward the Sea King and uttered four words softly, "Shinra Tensei."

And so, before the stunned, wide-eyed crowd, the Sea King's corpse was blasted another several hundred meters away.

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