Through this encounter with Red Hair, Cheng Xiaoyu also realized that the gap between him and the Four Emperors was still very large.
He must accelerate his pace of becoming stronger!
"Captain, where are we going next?" Eneru asked.
"To the Calm Belt."
"The Calm Belt? It seems the Captain wants to..." Kuro immediately understood Cheng Xiaoyu's idea.
"Kuro, you guessed right, we're going to fish for big fish!"
To further enhance his strength, Cheng Xiaoyu decided to undertake a major task in the next few days.
—Hunting Sea Kings!
Sea Kings are, after all, just fish, though a bit larger in size.
As long as it's a fish, it fears electricity!
His helmsman now was a man who wielded lightning!
"Eneru, the next few days are up to you." Cheng Xiaoyu told him his plan.
"Hehe, Captain, do you mean fishing with electricity? I've actually wanted to try that for a long time!"
Eneru rubbed his hands excitedly, lightning crackling at his fingertips.
The Shadow's ship sailed into the Calm Belt.
This sea area was calm, yet it harbored immense danger—Sea Kings.
These colossal sea beasts were the nightmare of all navigators.
But for Cheng Xiaoyu, this place was simply a natural hunting ground, an excellent leveling map!
"Eneru, begin your performance!"
Eneru grinned, standing high in the air, like a thunder god descended.
He released Observation Haki, swiftly locking onto the Sea Kings swimming beneath the surface, then thick bolts of lightning descended from the sky, precisely striking the Sea Kings.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
The sea surface instantly erupted, and the Sea Kings struck by lightning immediately turned belly-up, their massive bodies floating on the sea, emitting the aroma of roasted fish.
"Haha, Captain, how was it? My 'Inazuma' is powerful, right!" Eneru returned to the deck triumphantly.
"Not bad, very efficient, keep up the good work!" Cheng Xiaoyu nodded, then directed the other crew members to begin salvaging the Sea Kings' corpses.
Such large fish, if all the meat was cut, it would be enough for him to eat for a long time.
In the following days, they began a frantic hunting journey in the Calm Belt.
Eneru was like a human generator, shrouding the Calm Belt in thunderclouds, continuously outputting lightning!
He stunned Sea Kings one by one with electricity, and then the other crew members finished them off.
This trick worked every time!
Although the experience gained from killing Sea Kings was not too much, on average, one was equivalent to a pirate with a bounty of 50 million Berries, but the quantity was abundant!
Every day they could kill more than ten, and Cheng Xiaoyu's experience points soared.
Day after day of hunting, though monotonous, significantly improved Cheng Xiaoyu's strength.
A week later, Cheng Xiaoyu's level finally reached 90!
"Whew..." Cheng Xiaoyu let out a long breath, feeling the surging power within him.
"Level 90, one step closer to the goal!"
He opened the system panel to check his attributes:
Name: Cheng Xiaoyu
Level: 90
Fruit: Shadow Fruit (Awakened)
Fruit Abilities: Shadow Weapon, Shadow Bind, Shadow Spikes, Ghost Step, Shadow Eight Gates, Eternal Night
Haki: Conqueror's Haki (Intermediate), Armament Haki (Advanced), Observation Haki (Advanced)
Strength: 900
Intelligence: 900
Agility: 900
Stamina: 900
Spirit: 900
Height: 1.98
Weight: 129
Length: 9-23 (?)
"Not bad." Cheng Xiaoyu nodded in satisfaction.
Calculating the time, it was almost time to go to Sabaody Archipelago.
...
Three days later, the coated bubbles shimmered with colorful light in the sun, and the Shadow slowly landed in Area 29 of Sabaody Archipelago.
Cheng Xiaoyu stepped onto this peculiar land, formed by the roots of Yarukiman Mangroves and covered in soap bubbles, feeling quite curious about such a dreamlike scene.
He knew that the Supernovas from the Four Seas would soon gather here.
Originally eleven, now with him, there were twelve in total.
And among these so-called Supernovas, his bounty alone could equal the sum of four others!
"Captain, why are we here?" Eneru jumped off the ship, curiously looking around, occasionally reaching out to pop a passing bubble.
"Fishing." Cheng Xiaoyu said concisely, his deep gaze sweeping over the bustling crowd, as if searching for something.
"Fishing? What kind of fish can we catch here? Are they bigger than the Sea Kings in the Calm Belt?"
Eneru looked puzzled; he couldn't imagine what powerful creatures could be on this seemingly prosperous island.
"More interesting than Sea Kings." Cheng Xiaoyu didn't explain, walking directly to a newsstand.
"Boss, a copy of today's newspaper."
The stall owner was a burly man with a scarred face, and seeing Cheng Xiaoyu in black, with an imposing aura, he didn't dare to be slow, quickly handing over a freshly printed newspaper.
Cheng Xiaoyu unfolded the newspaper, his gaze fixed on the front-page headline:
"Shadow Pirates' Cheng Xiaoyu, Bounty Raised to 800 Million Berries!"
The accompanying picture hadn't changed, it was still his blood-soaked Shura silhouette from Impel Down.
"800 million Berries... not enough yet..." Cheng Xiaoyu's lips curved slightly, "Moriah, it seems the World Government put your bounty all on my head."
"..."
800 million Berries, this bounty amount was already comparable to a high-ranking officer of the Four Emperors, enough to prove his level of threat in the eyes of the World Government.
"Captain, what kind of fish are you going to catch after all?" Eneru couldn't hold back anymore, he idly kicked the bubbles under his feet, like a curious child.
Cheng Xiaoyu smiled mysteriously, handing the newspaper to Eneru, "See for yourself."
Eneru took the newspaper, scanning it quickly.
Then he pointed to the photo on the front page, exclaiming: "Isn't this you? 800 million Berries! Captain, you're going to get rich!"
"It's just a bounty, I can't tie myself up to exchange for a bounty, and that's not the point."
Cheng Xiaoyu pointed to another corner of the newspaper, where there was an inconspicuous small news item:
"Fire Fist Ace defeated by Blackbeard Teach, already escorted to Impel Down! Public execution scheduled!"
Eneru scratched his head, "This... what does it have to do with us?"
"Of course it does." A glint flashed in Cheng Xiaoyu's eyes, "This concerns our next actions."
Eneru was even more confused, "What actions? Are we going to break him out of prison? It seems we've only met Fire Fist Ace once, our relationship isn't that good, is it?"
"And last time you clearly advised him, but he was still stubborn and went to find Blackbeard to throw himself away, isn't that just pure foolishness?" Eneru shook his head, feeling very puzzled.
"Breaking out of prison?" Cheng Xiaoyu scoffed, "Impel Down, a place where it's easy to get in, but getting out depends on luck. We don't need to take that risk."
"Then we..." Eneru became even more confused.
"What we need to do to fish is wait..."