Whale Song
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be it."
Jilan spoke up.
"Boy, well done! Leave the rest to me, I'll make sure this guy gets what he deserves!" Barus said impatiently after a short wait.
Regardless of whether the deceased even existed, in your mind the intruder should have died long ago. What do you want to do to a dead person...? Jilan sighed, and just as he was about to withdraw his hand, the Sheer Heart Attack inside the whale directly opposite his hand suddenly spoke up anxiously.
"Hey, Master, I've found something really strange!" Only Jilan could hear the sound of the chariot, so he could shout loudly without any restraint.
Jilan hesitated for a second, then asked softly, "What is it?"
"I don't know either, but that thing has a special energy. It's holding me in place, and I can't move at all!" the chariot shouted anxiously.
Jilan had only focused the power of the Hamon on guiding the chariot through the sperm whale's body without conducting any internal examination. After hearing the chariot's sound, Jilan focused her attention on the Hamon spreading throughout the sperm whale's body.
As soon as Jilan projected her mind into it, she was surprised. Just as the Sheer Heart Attack had said, there was a spherical object in front of it, only the size of a basketball. It had an immeasurable amount of energy. To put it metaphorically, it was like the Spark on Optimus Prime's body, acting as the heart and constantly transmitting energy to various parts of the sperm whale's massive body.
Seeing that Jilan's hand remained on the sperm whale's belly, Barus asked curiously, "What's wrong, boy? Did you find something?"
Jilan was about to answer, a thought suddenly struck her: the location of the Sheer Heart Attack was...
Jilan quickly simulated the location of the whale's internal organs in her mind and soon realized something: the chariot was now in the sperm whale's intestines, and there... was something that sperm whales were most well-known for.
"No need to wait any longer, use the Sheer Heart Attack now!" Jilan said softly and decisively.
"Hey, Master? You haven't let go of my hand yet, it might hurt you now..." The Sheer Heart Attack hesitated, after all, there was no such thing as harming its master in its system.
"Hurry up!" Jilan whispered.
If Jilan isn't mistaken, there's now an opportunity to divert Barus's attention and reveal the secret behind Isana's transformation into a sperm whale. Although it might be dangerous, this could very well be the reason Isana prefers to transform into a sperm whale rather than set foot on the mainland, and it's highly likely to be closely related to Dio!
"Is it not done yet?" Barus was getting a little anxious. Although he wasn't worried about anything happening on the ship thanks to the first mate's guidance, he still wanted to get back as soon as possible. After all, they were getting soaked in the rain. Finishing work as soon as possible and going back to the cabin for a cup of coffee was what Barus was really looking forward to.
Furthermore, his Quirk consumes a lot of stamina when used. With his abilities, he can naturally sustain it for a long time, but it wouldn't be good if some guests saw him doing so.
Let's urge him one more time. Is this little guy pretending to be capable when he hasn't actually discovered anything? This kind of behavior—pretending to be capable when he's clearly incapable and lying—is not a good habit.
Just as Barus had this thought in his mind, suddenly, a surge of heat from nowhere made him look up instantly. What he saw in front of him was Jilan Jiyu, who hadn't had time to retract his hand and had been hit hard in the abdomen by a wave of heat, about to be engulfed by roaring flames.
"High-Pressure Water Gun!"
Without a second thought, Barus stepped forward and grabbed Jilan, throwing the water blade he was holding tightly in his right hand. The water blade, which had been Compress in mid-air, lost its restraint and expanded as if a seal had been broken. In an instant, it became like a roaring water dragon, crashing head-on into the surging flames!
The encounter between fire and water did not produce extreme effects. As they collided, a large amount of water vapor began to spread across the deck, quickly enveloping the area around the sperm whale's belly, making it impossible for Barus to see what was happening.
Meanwhile, the sperm whales were awakened from their slumber; however, after such an explosion, no animal could possibly maintain shortwave sleep.
The sperm whale struggled frantically, as if it had realized what had happened to it. It let out a mournful, painful, and heart-wrenching cry, like a song. The cry seemed to have the power to penetrate people's hearts and spread throughout the entire deck in an instant. The sound spread throughout the entire ship without diminishing and even affected the creatures within hundreds of meters around!
Upon hearing that sound, regardless of the occasion, Jilan was immediately filled with negative emotions such as sadness and grief. Overwhelmed with regret and guilt, she looked at the sperm whale that was emitting painful cries. Although she usually doesn't feel any pity for animals, seeing the sperm whale's condition at this moment made Jilan feel extremely heartbroken, and even her heart ached!
It shouldn't have to suffer like this! Jilan blamed herself inwardly, and an impulse arose in her heart to untie the rope and release the sperm whale!
Jilan subconsciously released Hamon. The Hamon that started shining from her palm seemed to have a consciousness and spread throughout Jilan's body. Stimulated by the Hamon, Jilan's mind instantly cleared up, and she looked at the sperm whale with a complicated expression.
"Is this its last resort, a mental attack that can influence someone's mind? If Hamon hadn't neutralized its mental attack, I might have charged in..." Jilan wiped the sweat from her brow, watching the sperm whale wildly thrashing its tail. "If I had gotten close, forget about untying the rope; a single slap would have been enough to seriously injure me..."
Barus seemed to possess the power to resist this mental attack. With the body of an elf dragon, he took only two steps forward before stopping, shaking his head and letting out a cry towards the sky.
He quickly regained his composure and, upon seeing the scene before him, reflexively shouted out the unknown lullaby he had used twice before, hoping to calm the whale in front of him.
However, the sperm whale seemed to have entered a berserk state, completely ignoring Barus's cries. The mournful sounds emanating from its mouth, though not as soul-stirring as the initial one, continued to affect Barus's mind.
"Hey, boy, what did you do?! Answer me!" Barus grabbed Jilan and pulled him in front of him, shouting loudly.
He wasn't angry with Jilan, but he was genuinely confused about what had happened. He could only find the answer in Jilan.
Jilan had gray burn marks on his face and body, and his expression was downcast as he said, "I'm sorry, Captain Barus, I may have touched something very sensitive on the sperm whale, which is why it resisted so desperately..."
What is that?
Jilan Jiyu raised her head. "I think it should be Ambergris, or rather, it's the source of Isana's power."
"Power... the source?" Barus couldn't help but repeat the word.
Jilan nodded with a wry smile and said, "I think Captain, you've probably guessed it just like me. Isana isn't an ordinary whale. That's the conclusion I drew from its unusual physique. And then, I have an even bolder hypothesis... I suspect it has Quirk."
"Quirk, huh..." Barus loosened his grip on Jilan's neck slightly and turned to look at the sperm whale. The water vapor generated when the water and fire collided earlier had not dissipated but instead remained tightly wrapped around the sperm whale's belly, visually obscuring that part of it and making it impossible for Barus to observe it.
At this moment, with the sperm whale struggling fiercely, the ropes and hooks binding it around were already teetering on the verge of breaking, as if it might break free at any moment.
Barus said in a deep voice, "You just mentioned Ambergris, right? Go on."
As far as Barus knew, Ambergris was just a rather precious medicinal spice, and had absolutely nothing to do with the source of magic that Jilan mentioned. He was curious to see what shocking things Jilan would say.