Contentedly, Kagura skipped away, her pockets stuffed with a wad of bills.
"It's only twenty thousand Berries. I don't know what she's so excited about."
Through his recent grocery shopping, Xia En had roughly figured out the purchasing power of the Berry. Ten thousand Berries were equivalent to about 600 RMB (approximately $85 USD), although this was based only on the prices in the Sabaody Archipelago, so it might fluctuate elsewhere.
Twenty thousand Berries was just over a thousand RMB (about $170 USD). As long as Kagura didn't try to fill her bottomless stomach with it, the money was perfectly sufficient for a week's spending. He hadn't played favorites, giving Klee two thousand Berries as well.
Watching the two little girls on the deck, excitedly counting their cash, Xia En smiled wryly.
"Stop counting. Aren't you afraid the sea breeze will blow it away?"
"Time to get to work!"
Dozens of wooden barrels filled with fresh meat were tossed overboard, encircling their fishing boat as they floated on the sea.
Animal blood seeped out through the cracks in the barrels, spreading like ink in the water. In just a few minutes, the seawater within a dozen meters of the fishing boat was stained red.
If an uninformed ship were to pass by now, they might mistakenly believe a fierce pirate battle had just occurred.
"A little bloody," Xia En said, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the strong smell of blood in the air as he looked at the crimson sea surface.
"Only this will attract the real big ones," Drake stood next to Xia En, his sharp, hawk-like eyes scanning the sea surface, looking for any sign of a Sea King's appearance.
At the same time, he gripped his two weapons: a Western-style longsword he'd used when sparring with Xia En, and a half-man-tall iron axe, which looked more suited to his muscular physique.
Truthfully, taking on one Sea King wasn't difficult for him, given his strength. However, as a Devil Fruit user, he was reluctant to fight too far from the ship. He would have to wait for Klee to blast it out of the water before delivering the killing blow.
Splash!
Suddenly, a massive bubble erupted on the sea surface.
The seawater churned and waves surged. A shadow even larger than the boat swam beneath the water, disturbing the dozens of wooden barrels floating on the surface.
The fishing boat was affected, rocking slightly.
It came so fast!
Xia En's heart soared with excitement, but he was also slightly startled by the sheer size of the shadow. This thing must be tens of meters long.
It could probably swallow them, boat and all, in one gulp.
"Brother Xia En, Mr. Drake, can we start now?"
Klee was already itching to go. In her eyes, this wasn't a monster; it was just a big fish. And if it was a fish, it meant she could bomb it to her heart's content.
What a big fish!
She had never bombed such a large fish before, and she couldn't imagine how happy she would be if she managed to blow it over!
Klee's eagerness grew stronger. She stared intently at the enormous fish swimming back and forth in the water, searching for food, like a starving beast eyeing its nearby prey.
"Wait a little longer. Wait until it breaks the surface to eat the bait," Drake answered first.
"Mhm, listen to Drake. He has more experience. Just a little longer, Klee."
Looking at the behemoth—which was faintly visible beneath the surface, its menacing scales gleaming in the sun—Xia En couldn't help but swallow. He felt those scales could probably withstand typical cannon fire.
If it were just him, he honestly wouldn't know how to deal with this monster. With a size difference of several dozen times, his fist probably wouldn't even be a snack for it.
Luckily, he had Klee, the demolition expert. Although he hadn't seen her Jumpy Dumpty bombs, she had managed to blow up a slave ship two days ago. Surely the upgraded version, improved over two days, would be even more terrifying.
But while Xia En was thinking, the unexpected happened.
The shadow swimming beneath the water suddenly stopped. Just when Xia En and the others thought it was about to surface and bite into the floating barrels, it mysteriously vanished.
"It ran away?" Klee looked at the sea surface in confusion. The shadow was gone, seemingly having plunged to the seabed.
"Did it not like the bait we put out? This thing is too picky!" Xia En felt annoyed that his money had gone to waste.
"Xia-chan, it hasn't left, you know. I can feel it right below," Kagura suddenly pointed at the deck. At this moment, Drake was the most experienced person on the ship, but she was the most perceptive.
Xia En, of course, knew about her outstanding ability, and a cold sweat instantly broke out.
"You don't mean it's right under our boat, do you..."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the fishing boat began to shake violently, nearly throwing the four people off their feet.
And at that very moment, a terrifying, massive maw erupted from the sea right alongside the sail, casting a massive shadow over the entire ship. It was indeed going to swallow the entire boat, just as Xia En had initially feared!
No one had anticipated the Sea King would be so cunning. Caught completely off guard, Drake was stunned for a moment and missed his chance to attack. Klee had only just picked up her bombs from the deck and hadn't yet channeled her Pyro Elemental Power. The colossal maw had already swallowed most of the ship.
Fortunately, at this critical moment, Xia En's unpredictable, yet awakening Supreme King Haki was activated. A powerful aura burst forth from his body.
The effect of Supreme King Haki was most pronounced on beasts of this type. Even this tens-of-meters-long Sea King's pupils dilated in fear upon sensing Xia En's oppressive presence. Its immense, closing mouth was instantly retracted.
"Klee! Now!" Xia En hurriedly shouted a warning.
"Jumpy Dumpty!"
With a cheerful yelp, fire erupted like a blooming flower. A continuous stream of more than ten fiery red bombs sliced through the air, leaving brilliant, firework-like trails.
The bombs flew swiftly, all landing precisely inside the Sea King's still-open mouth.
The Sea King wore a look of human-like bewilderment. It hadn't figured out why the food it was targeting suddenly unleashed an aura that made it fearful, and now some warm things had inexplicably entered its mouth.
Was it food?
RUMBLE!
A muffled, thunderous sound burst from the Sea King's mouth. The explosion caused its pupils to scatter, and blood splattered from its upper body. Finally, its mouth was blown open, and it exhaled a long plume of thick smoke.
Immediately following was Drake's move. His body was nimble. He consecutively stepped on the deck, the cabin, and the mast, leaping dozens of meters into the air in just a few motions.
His longsword and iron axe struck simultaneously, cutting a tens-of-meters-long X-shaped slash through the air.
CRACK!
Blood rained down. The Sea King let out a cry of agony. Its entire body was sliced by the X-shaped cut; the two intersecting wounds nearly bisected its body, completely robbing it of the ability to resist. It lay motionless and flat on the sea surface.
"Phew—"
Everyone exhaled a long breath. They had managed to take it down, with only a few close calls.
"But... how are we going to haul it back?"
Looking at the Sea King, which was several times larger than their fishing boat, everyone was stumped once again.
It was then that Xia En remembered the Den Den Mushi that a certain person had given him that morning.
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