"What do we do! What do we do! What do we do?!"
Nami shook Norton's shoulders desperately, her voice distorted by fear. "We're all going to be eaten by a Sea King!"
The Sea King, shaped like an angel shark, slowly swished its tail. The enormous passenger ship looked like a toy on its back, and its shadow weighed upon the sea like the last gloom of dying twilight.
Panic had overtaken the deck, and despair was written across everyone's faces.
Before a Sea King this enormous, humans were no different from ants.
"There's no way we'll survive..."
"It's over! My life is over!"
"What rotten luck. First pirates, now a Sea King. Is this really the peaceful East Blue I knew?"
Amid these grim remarks, everyone seemed lifeless, as though all hope had been shattered.
An atmosphere of despair spread like a mist.
Yet Norton remained perfectly composed.
"Relax. I'm here," Norton told Nami.
Even with Norton's reassurance, however, Nami couldn't feel at ease.
The situation was dire. A huge hole had been torn through the bottom of the ship, and the shipwrights were helpless. They had even been lifted onto the Sea King's back. Apparently, it considered the ship an interesting toy and was pushing them up with its spine.
With every jolt, the keel groaned under the strain, and the cracking planks sounded like the ticking seconds of a countdown.
Even if the giant beast suddenly lost interest and tossed them back into the sea, the ship was too badly damaged to reach the next island.
Were they supposed to swim to the next island? Come on, there wasn't a single Fish-Man among them.
"Damn it! I can't die yet!" Tears streamed down Nami's face.
"Don't worry. You won't die as long as you're with me." Norton patted Nami's head and looked at Sanosuke.
Though Sanosuke had buried it deep, Norton still caught the trace of self-blame in his eyes.
The ship lurched violently again. The Sea King had grown tired of its game of "keep the ball up" and abruptly rolled to one side.
The whole world tilted and collapsed in an instant.
Under an irresistible force, the ship broke apart with a thunderous crash, turning into a spray of splinters and ropes. Screams and wails were torn apart by the howling wind and waves.
"Aah!!"
"Help!"
"If there's another life, I swear I won't be a pirate! I'd rather accept that fat daughter of the mayor's marriage proposal!"
Screams rose one after another.
Nami fell through empty air, her eyes squeezed shut, feeling as though her heart was about to smash through her chest.
Am I going to die? Nami wondered.
The next second, the weightless sensation abruptly vanished. The impact and seawater she had expected never came. A powerful arm wrapped around her.
She opened her eyes shakily and found Norton's face right before hers.
So handsome... Nami murmured inwardly.
"Hold on tight," Norton said softly. Before Nami could react, he hoisted her onto his shoulder.
Nami cried out, "What are you doing!"
Norton said nothing. As he continued falling, he simply threw an ordinary punch at the Sea King.
The force of his punch whipped up a violent gale. Its surging pressure condensed into a visible shock wave and slammed into the Sea King's back, which stretched as broad as a landmass!
The sea erupted. A terrifying fist-shaped crater dozens of meters across suddenly caved into the Sea King's back, shattering scales and twisting flesh!
The Sea King let out a thunderous cry of pain.
Norton raised his hand, poised to throw another punch. Before his fist moved, that mountain-shattering, sea-overturning force gathered once more.
But the second punch never fell. Everyone heard an immense sound-the Sea King's anguished cry.
A cry that sounded like a plea for mercy.
Sea Kings couldn't communicate with humans, but they possessed intelligence comparable to theirs and couldn't be tamed like sea beasts. Legend had it that only "Poseidon" could command them.
Yet at that moment, everyone could sense that this Sea King was backing down!
This enormous creature feared Norton's fists.
An eerie silence suddenly settled over the sea. The Sea King grew still, leaving only the soft splashes of wreckage hitting the water and everyone's uncontrollably heavy breathing.
Norton slowly lowered his fist, looked at Sanosuke, and grinned. "Looks like my fists trump your bad luck!"
Sanosuke stood dumbstruck as a thought flashed through his mind once again.
Could Norton really be the master he had searched so desperately for, the one who could suppress his bad luck?
Nami wriggled down from Norton's shoulder and stared blankly at his face. This guy is ridiculously strong!
And he's really nothing like other pirates!
Her heart was thrown into turmoil again, and the thought of giving up resurfaced.
Relieved to have survived, everyone crowded around Norton and showered him with praise.
"Mr. Norton, you're incredible! You actually knocked down a Sea King with one punch!"
"Thank goodness you were here!"
"We're saved!"
After the brief round of praise, the duke approached. "Mr. Norton, what do we do now? The ship has been destroyed, and we..."
Although Norton had defeated the Sea King, the ship had been wrecked beyond recognition and could no longer sail. If they hadn't been on the Sea King's back, they wouldn't even have had anywhere to stand.
"Easy. Tell this fish to take us to land," Norton said.
"But we're still at least a day's journey from land, and humans can't communicate with Sea Kings..." Nami said anxiously.
"Hey! Can you understand me?" As though he hadn't heard Nami, Norton shouted at the Sea King. "Since you wrecked my ship, take me to land, or I'll kill you and make fish soup!"
As if it had understood Norton, the Sea King let out a low cry and actually began swimming.
"It's moving! It's really moving!" Nami turned to Norton in delight. "How did you do that?"
"Maybe it's a natural gift." Norton rubbed his chin.
He didn't know how to explain it either. Ever since he was little, he had been able to communicate with all kinds of animals. Although he sometimes couldn't understand their cries, the animals seemed to understand his words.
A reverse version of the Voice of All Things?
Norton figured it probably wasn't. He hadn't yet grasped the power of Haki. His fists alone were enough to solve any problem, and he had never faced a predicament that could awaken his Haki.
Sometimes, being too strong was a problem of its own. Invincibility was far too lonely.
That was why Norton was so eager to set sail.
"Hey! Big fish, swim that way!" Mimicking Norton, Nami pointed in a direction and shouted at the Sea King.
The Sea King didn't respond.
"What's wrong with this stupid fish?" Nami complained.
Norton burst out laughing. Nami bit her lower lip and shot him a fierce glare.
"Don't laugh!"
"All right, I won't... Ha ha..."
Despite his words, Norton kept laughing. Only after a while did he point in the direction Nami had indicated and shout at the Sea King, "Hey! Stupid fish, swim that way!"
The Sea King gave a low cry and swam in the direction Norton pointed.