Finally Arrived

Ketara Sea.

This was a relatively remote region of the South Blue. Resources were scarce, the islands were barren, and even the Marines had not established a branch in this impoverished stretch of sea.

This was the destination of Luo Ze and Monya's voyage. The fish-man they intended to hunt—Kashal—was the ruler of these waters.

Ever since encountering those three massive Sea Kings, Luo Ze and Monya's journey had been smooth sailing. And today, the Ghost Sword, carrying the two of them, finally arrived in the Ketara Sea.

Luo Ze and Monya stood on the deck of the Ghost Sword, surveying the sea around them.

Luo Ze carefully examined the waters, hoping to uncover some useful information. Monya, meanwhile, gazed at the sea with a wistful expression. Ever since escaping Bock Town all those years ago, she had not set foot in these waters for several years.

After carefully studying the surrounding islands, Luo Ze quickly withdrew his gaze and looked out at the sea ahead. He slowly said, "It really is a rather barren place. There are actually so many undeveloped islands here. If this were near Dog Town, the Marines would have turned them into military bases long ago."

Monya nodded as well. "That's true. This sea has always been relatively poor. The local people live in poverty, and no particularly famous figures have emerged here over the years. Besides, these waters have been in the fish-men's hands for several years now. Fish-men have no interest in developing land. All they know is how to exploit the humans under their rule."

Luo Ze nodded slightly. The pirate world was simply like that: the strong lived, and the weak died.

"Bock Town is located near the center of these waters, so it isn't far from here. And the Ghost Sword is equipped with an engine installed by Lord Yulis, making it much faster than other pirate ships. It's still early; we should reach Bock Town around dusk."

Monya looked over the surrounding waters, then glanced at the sun overhead before speaking to Luo Ze.

"Mm." Luo Ze nodded lightly. Then he added, "We've entered fish-man territory now. Fish-men are extremely formidable in the sea. Once we spot any, we have to eliminate them quickly. Otherwise, if they get into the water, things will become troublesome."

Monya nodded in firm agreement.

The Marines had lost several battles in these waters before because the fish-men destroyed their ships, forcing them into aquatic combat. So she agreed with Luo Ze's view: the moment they saw fish-men, they had to kill them as quickly as possible.

"Hm? What's that? A ship?" Just as he finished speaking, a ship drifted into Luo Ze's field of vision.

Luo Ze took out a telescope and raised it to his eye. He quickly made out the scene aboard the distant vessel.

"So they're fish-men transporting supplies." Luo Ze quickly lowered the telescope and spoke indifferently.

On that ship, Luo Ze saw several large fish-men and several large crates. He did not know what was inside the crates, but they were likely materials that could not be taken underwater. Otherwise, the fish-men would have had no need to travel by ship.

"What do we do? Open fire?" After hearing Luo Ze's words, Monya became slightly flustered. She had once suffered under the fish-men's brutal rule. Though she had always wanted revenge after narrowly escaping, seeing those fish-men before her again still filled her with fear.

Monya felt goosebumps rise all over her body. Her hands trembled constantly, and her voice lacked strength.

"Calm down," Luo Ze said flatly.

"Shelling them is out of the question. It would make too much noise. We don't know whether there are other fish-men in these waters, and it would be bad if the cannon fire alerted them."

"Then what do we do?" Monya was flustered. She was afraid. Though she had tried her best to calm herself, she still could not return to her usual state.

After all, the fish-men had left far too deep a shadow in her heart.

"Keep sailing as usual. At our current course, we'll run into them soon. Once we're close enough, I'll use Moonwalk to fly over from above and deal with them on their ship."

After thinking for a while, Luo Ze proposed a fairly thorough plan.

"You're going to confront them head-on? Are you crazy? They're fish-men!" Monya spoke with some agitation. Her fear of fish-men made her believe they could not be defeated.

"Just do as I say. And you need to calm down," Luo Ze said as he gave Monya a deep look.

Her reaction disappointed him somewhat, but at the same time, he wondered what those fish-men had done to Monya to make such a renowned viper fear them so deeply.

"Alright." Monya stared at Luo Ze for a long time before finally calming down. Only then did she remember that while fish-men were terrifying, the person before her was a complete monster as well.

"Let's begin. Go back inside first. Just act as usual." Seeing that Monya had finally settled down, Luo Ze withdrew his gaze and gave his instructions.

Monya quickly went inside.

As for Luo Ze, his expression remained calm, his eyes without the slightest ripple as he stood where he was.

As a pirate hunter, he had long become intimately familiar with this sort of hunt. There would not be the slightest mistake.

The Ghost Sword continued sailing forward as usual.

And as the Ghost Sword drew closer, the fish-men aboard the other ship finally noticed its presence.

"Bashemanda, why is there a ship over there?" Telkobi and Bashemanda were the leaders of this group of fish-men. Upon noticing the Ghost Sword, Telkobi asked Bashemanda.

"A ship?" Bashemanda hesitated for a moment and carefully examined the Ghost Sword.

"Outsiders?" Telkobi said.

In their waters, all humans were slaves who could only work for them day and night. There was no way a local could be sailing such a large ship.

"No pirate flag, no Marine insignia. It's neither pirates nor Marines, so could it be... a merchant ship?" Bashemanda said doubtfully.

The ship looked impressive, yet it flew no flag. It was neither a Marine vessel nor a pirate ship, so it could only be a merchant ship.

But it was impossible for a merchant ship to sail into their waters! They had ruled this region for so many years, yet no merchant ship had ever come here.

"That doesn't seem likely," Telkobi said. But before he could finish, he suddenly let out a shriek. "Oh no! A human is flying over from that ship! Careful, they must be a Devil Fruit user!"