Heading in the Same Direction

Brook burst into delighted laughter. "Yohohoho! That's wonderful."

The others watched the scene around them on the screens, thrilled. The sea was vast beyond imagining. Island Whales over a thousand meters long swam here in pods, though on the screens it looked almost like watching fish in a tank at home. Only when one came close to greet them did its sheer size become clear.

Laboon was two thousand meters long, a strapping fellow even among Island Whales. There were also two calves in the pod, each only a few dozen meters long. They would have dwarfed an ordinary ship, but in this family they were tiny. The little ones kept swimming up to pay their respects to Laboon.

Then a light suddenly appeared on the seafloor.

Laboon called out.

"Laboon wants to know if that light is in the direction of the Fish-Man Kingdom," Chopper said.

Miming checked the pointer. "Same direction."

The whales around them suddenly grew agitated. The calves had raced ahead toward the light.

"Oh no! The other whales say we're not there yet, and that light is dangerous!" Chopper cried.

"Island Eater!" Miming realized at once. Was it some kind of gigantic anglerfish?

The fight began in an instant. Drawn by the light, a calf was suddenly sucked into a huge mouth and swallowed. The enraged Island Whales charged, slamming into the ugly monster with earth-shaking force. The surrounding sea churned. Unable to withstand their blows, the monster kicked up a cloud of silt and vanished into a dark trench.

"That's terrifying!" Chopper clung tightly to a pillar as a violent tremor ran through Laboon's belly. When the silt settled, all they could hear were the Island Whales' mournful cries. The Island Eater had disappeared.

"Find it! Where is it?" Chopper and Brook shouted. Crocus