Deep-Sea Pursuit (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

After throwing Smoker aboard, Zhong Hao dove back into the sea and rapidly descended. By the time he returned to the previous spot, even the ship's shadow was gone.

"Damn black technology. It disappeared that fast. This world really is full of things that make no sense—from flintlock guns to laser cannons, from three-masted sailboats to iron warships. Even a submarine wouldn't be anything strange."

With no other choice, Zhong Hao could only follow the submarine's previous direction from memory, though he no longer held much hope.

"Hmm... a sea beast?"

He had chased for less than a hundred meters when a tiger-like sea beast, thirty meters long, shot up from below. Black stripes ran across its snow-white fur, and a black character for king marked its forehead. It opened its jaws and bit at Zhong Hao, somehow even letting out a tiger's roar underwater.

Zhong Hao used Geppo to evade it. As he twisted aside, he grabbed its white fur and flipped onto its back. Bang! Bang! Bang! Three heavy punches landed on its head in succession, immediately leaving the tiger sea beast dazed and disoriented.

More than ten seconds later, the tiger sea beast finally regained some clarity. When it turned its head, two streams of tears had somehow appeared on its pitiful tiger face. Zhong Hao gave it another punch, then gestured the shape of a submarine while using Observation Haki to convey his emotions and intent. He did not know whether it would work, but he had to try anything. After all, the animals in this world were all quite intelligent.

The tiger sea beast tilted its head and watched for a while, then suddenly raised a paw and pointed toward the front left.

If it's the wrong direction, I'll eat you. Zhong Hao's eyes carried a trace of killing intent as he slapped the back of its head with his left hand and pointed in that direction with his right.

The tiger sea beast's massive body trembled, then it obediently swam in the indicated direction.

They pursued through the sea for about half an hour. Just as Zhong Hao thought the direction was wrong and was about to give up the chase and eat the tiger beast, he finally caught sight of the submarine. He patted the tiger beast's head, and it immediately understood, speeding toward the submarine.

Inside the submarine were Jeff and six other pirates. One pirate said to Jeff, "Captain, something is chasing us from behind."

Jeff snatched the periscope and looked back. When he saw a ghost riding a sea beast and desperately chasing the submarine, he immediately ordered his men, "Fire the torpedoes at once. Blow that ghost to death."

"Yes!" The pirate pressed a button, and three torpedoes immediately shot toward Zhong Hao.

Zhong Hao had kept Observation Haki active the entire time. As the three torpedoes rushed at him, he slashed out in advance. Thirty meters away, he cut all three torpedoes into six pieces, and they exploded. The force of the explosion blasted open a waterless sphere, and a burst of flame somehow appeared beneath the sea.

Zhong Hao frowned and stared intently at the submarine. The explosion had not injured him or the sea beast, but it had slowed them down. And whenever they were about to catch up, another three torpedoes would shoot toward them.

"This world makes no sense. Aren't torpedoes and submarines equipment used by the NE Marine Guerrilla Unit fifteen years later? How do they already exist this early?" Zhong Hao complained. At this point, even if he saw an atomic bomb in this world someday, he would not be surprised.

Finally, when Zhong Hao closed in on the submarine again, no torpedoes were fired.

One pirate said, "Captain Jeff, we're out of torpedoes."

Jeff tossed aside the periscope and ordered, "Surface. I want to see why this ghost isn't back home drinking milk and is chasing after me instead."

The six pirates obeyed, and under their control, the submarine began to rise.

Zhong Hao sat on the tiger sea beast's neck, gripping its fur with one hand and holding his blade in the other. With a sweep of his long sword, he sent a silver-white slash toward the submarine.

Screeech—

The slash struck the submarine with a teeth-grating sound, but it only left a shallow mark.

"Is this... material mixed with Seastone? Forget it. If I can't cut it open, I'll go up and deal with them."

Zhong Hao made his decision instantly. He patted the tiger beast, and it intelligently began swimming upward at once.

On the surface, the top of the submarine split apart and folded to both sides, forming a flat surface. Two iron plates then rose from the middle of that surface and flipped over, ending up level with the original section. After several transformations, the entire surface became a deck-like platform.

A hatch opened on the deck, and Jeff and the other six crawled out of the submarine.

At that moment, a tiger head emerged from the sea. Zhong Hao stood atop the tiger beast's head and looked at the platform in amazement. "This technology is almost on Franky's level, isn't it? Transformations of every kind."

He then said to the tiger beast, "You worked hard this time. Wait here a little longer. I'll treat you to a big meal afterward." With that, he jumped onto the submarine. The tiger beast truly did not leave, only exposing its head as it watched him, drool pouring from the corner of its mouth.

"Ghost, you're really pissing me off." When Jeff saw Zhong Hao step onto the deck, he slapped his belly. His tower-like body stood over four meters tall, while Zhong Hao's one-and-a-half-meter height barely reached his knees.

"You've already decided to abandon the Iron Pirates and committed something like slaughtering a Marine branch. Why did you stay on Lukesen Island for three days? You should know something like this would enrage the Marines, right?" Zhong Hao voiced the question in his heart.

"What the hell am I afraid of? In just three days, what kind of people could the Marines send?" Jeff's eyes darted around, clearly betraying his words.

"Then do you know who came to wipe you out this time? Former Admiral Zephyr. If he hadn't wanted to train the recruits and stayed off the island, do you think you could have escaped this far?" With a rather malicious sense of amusement, Zhong Hao brought up Zephyr.