Arrival in the West Blue

The sky was clear and the sun bright. This was the windless, waveless Calm Belt.

After a day of sailing, the warship had crossed the Red Line and entered the New World. The New World was filled with powerful figures, with pirate crews constantly fighting one another. Even Zephyr did not dare let his guard down. Rather than rashly sailing into the depths of the sea, he followed the Red Line westward and entered the Calm Belt.

After entering the New World, Zhong Hao no longer dared to swim in the sea for long periods. The weather changed too quickly. One moment, the sun was shining brightly; the next, there would be raging winds and towering waves. The undercurrents beneath the sea were equally unpredictable. One careless mistake could sweep him into the deep sea and separate him from Zephyr and the others. At that point, with Zhong Hao's strength, surviving in the New World would be nearly impossible.

It was even more so after entering the Calm Belt. Sea Kings hundreds or even thousands of meters long could be seen everywhere. The warship only dared cross the Calm Belt because Seastone had been embedded into its hull, deceiving the Sea Kings.

At night, only a few soldiers remained on watch on deck. Zhong Hao lay atop the ship's upper structure, quietly watching the sky. The surroundings were silent.

Suddenly, two slender, fair hands reached up from below. Gripping the edge, their owner leaped up and landed beside Zhong Hao, then lay down next to him.

Zhong Hao turned his head and saw that it was Hina, so he withdrew the foot he had been about to kick out. It was fine since she was a girl. If it had been Smoker or one of the other boys, that kick would already have flown.

Hina lay quietly for a while, taking in the peace around them. After some time, seeing that Zhong Hao had no intention of speaking, she said first, "This is a great spot. Looking at all those stars, even my heart has calmed down."

Zhong Hao turned to look at her and said somewhat stiffly, "I'm not used to someone lying beside me. It feels awkward, especially when it's a girl."

This habit came from his previous life. The inferiority of growing up an orphan had made him afraid to talk to girls. Even when girls approached him first, he would become flustered and uneasy. As a result, he had lived to twenty-three without making a single female friend.

Hina was not as precocious as children in Naruto. At twelve or thirteen, she had only just begun to understand the difference between boys and girls. No one would find anything inappropriate about two children lying side by side. She chuckled. "So only boys are allowed?"

"Boys are better. At least I can relax around them. Of course, that excludes a certain white-haired smoker. If he comes up here, I'll kick him straight off."

Smoker, who was eavesdropping beneath the ship's upper structure, immediately gritted his teeth and cursed inwardly. When he saw Zhong Hao and Hina climb onto the roof one after the other, he had wanted to follow them. The three of them were good friends, after all. There was no reason to leave him out. But after hearing Zhong Hao's words, he stopped at once. He had no desire to get kicked.

"You're really stingy. Since you didn't kick me, I'm not leaving." Hina giggled, turning onto her side and looking curiously at Zhong Hao. He was clearly only eight years old, yet there was not a trace of innocence or childish confusion on his young face. Unable to hold back, she asked, "Back at the training grounds, I heard you spend all your time training except when you're eating. That really startled me. Why are you working so desperately?"

Zhong Hao thought for a moment before answering, "There's a place where my family is, people I care about. I have to go there. But that place is dangerous, and most of the people there have bad intentions. They're always coveting what belongs to others. The moment I show myself there, endless pursuit and killing will follow. I need enough strength to protect myself and my family."

Hina asked in confusion, "Aren't you Vice Admiral Garp's disciple? He'll help you! And I can tell that Teacher Zephyr thinks highly of you. If you ask him, he'll help too. Maybe even if you don't ask, once he finds out, he'll do everything he can to help you."

In the bedroom below, Zephyr was still awake and had been listening to the two of them talk. Hearing Hina's words, he grinned and praised her inwardly. Good girl. All those special meals I made for you weren't for nothing.

But Zhong Hao refused. "There's no need to trouble them. I know what I'm doing. When I go there, it will mean I already have the strength to protect myself."

Hina fell silent for a while, then said unhappily, "You're obviously a child. Why do I always feel like you're the adult?" She had always felt that way. She also knew Smoker felt the same, which was why he always liked competing with Zhong Hao.

Zhong Hao laughed brightly. "There are two kinds of age: physical age and mental age. Just think of me as eight physically and twenty-three mentally. Take Smoker, for example. One look at that head full of white hair tells you his physical age must be eighty, while his mental age is only thirteen. He's obviously a problem child with incomplete intellectual development."

"Bastard! You're the one with incomplete intellectual development! I was born with white fur—ptui! I mean, white hair!" Smoker could no longer hide. White smoke burst from beneath his feet as he shot onto the roof.

"Hahahaha, enough. Time to sleep." Seeing Smoker, Zhong Hao gave him no chance to retaliate. He immediately jumped down from the ship's upper structure and returned to his bedroom.

Hina glanced at Smoker's head of white hair, narrowed her eyes, and laughed lightly before heading back as well. Smoker was left standing there alone, so angry that smoke rose from his head. "Damn it—"

The following afternoon, the warship finally sailed out of the Calm Belt and entered the West Blue, heading toward the island they had chosen long ago.

The instant they entered the West Blue, Zhong Hao plunged into the water and vanished from sight. Zephyr followed by waving his fists and driving the miserable-looking new recruits into the sea one by one.

The winds and waves of the West Blue were clearly gentler than those of the Grand Line, making things much easier for Zhong Hao, who had grown used to both visible waves and hidden currents. Three hundred meters beneath the surface, he found a squid-like Sea King roughly sixty meters long. Drawing Sea Fang, he casually sent out a slash that struck the squid's head. The wound was not deep, but it was enough to enrage it.

He had not had a chance to hunt underwater before, and the food stored aboard the warship had to be shared by everyone. He could not very well eat it all by himself. Now that they had finally reached the West Blue, naturally he had to go hunting at once.

It was not that he was greedy. His growing body required enormous amounts of energy. The more he ate, the faster he grew. Though only eight years old, he was already as tall as a ten-year-old. Once his body fully matured, he would not need to eat like this anymore.

The enraged squid chased Zhong Hao wildly, looking as though it would not rest until it had devoured him. Gradually, they drew closer and closer to the surface. Sea Kings might be massive, but they were not slow. Several times, it nearly caught him, only for Zhong Hao to use Geppo to accelerate away. Using Geppo in the sea was much easier and less strenuous than using it in the air.

As one chased and the other lured, man and squid drew closer to the surface. The shadow of the ship could vaguely be seen. Zhong Hao continued swimming upward, and after a while, he could make out the group of floundering recruits behind the ship. He immediately changed direction, burst out of the water a hundred meters behind the warship, and shot straight into the air ten meters high. The squid Sea King broke through the surface right after him, opening its mouth wide toward the sky and waiting for Zhong Hao to fall in.

However, what came down was not a tasty meal, but a sharp slash...

The enormous commotion drew everyone's attention. Still in midair, Zhong Hao shouted, "We're having extra food tonight! Tell the cooks to get ready!"

Hundred Style: Demon-Slaying Barrage

Zhong Hao began to fall through the air. Every half meter he descended, he swung his blade once. Each swing sent out a silver-white slash, all of them striking the same spot on the giant squid's head. The slashes were incomparably sharp, instantly piercing through its body.

With Zhong Hao's current strength, combined with the Fine Grade blade Sea Fang, killing a sixty-meter squid was far easier than slaying the Lord of the Coast in the East Blue.

"Haha, we're having grilled squid today!"

"Braised! I want braised squid!"

The floundering new recruits saw an opportunity to slack off. They all untied the ropes from their bodies and tied them around the giant squid, letting the warship tow it along.

"Hey, don't leave! You bastards, untie my rope first!" That was Smoker. Perhaps because Zhong Hao had casually mocked him back at the new recruit camp, everyone acted as though they had not heard him and left him soaking in the water.

That night, everyone ate until they were stuffed, burping contentedly.

That night, Zhong Hao showed them what it meant to be exceptionally gifted. More than half of a Sea King as large as the ship went into his stomach.

And that night, another group of cooks added him to their blacklist.