The year gradually turned to February of Marineford Calendar 1511. In this tropical region, the temperature remained quite high.
Sunlight shone down, warming everyone's bodies. Even in short-sleeved shirts, no one felt cold.
On the beach, Eli, Angelo, and Lia were playing. Angelo and Lia sat building a sandcastle, while Eli gathered shells and starfish in a basket nearby.
A month and a half had passed since the Marines attempted to capture the black fish. Although the capture failed and a Vice Captain died, the black fish had vanished without a trace.
After a month of observation, all the villagers of Naruto Village felt safe enough to come to the seaside.
"I collected so many," Eli said with a grin, returning to the other two with her basket.
"That many? Can I have one?" Lia asked, looking at the shells in the basket with a smile.
"Of course," Eli replied, blushing slightly as she glanced at the little girl.
"Can I have one too?" Angelo asked from the side.
Eli immediately snorted and said, "Go pick your own."
"Okay," Angelo said, lowering his head. Is Eli not friends with me anymore? Why is her attitude so different towards Lia and me?
Just then, Lia froze, staring into the distance. "P-Pirates," she stammered.
"Huh?"
Eli and Angelo immediately looked into the distance. Out at sea, a pirate ship flying a Jolly Roger was heading towards them.
"It's pirates! Run!" Eli shouted, tossing her basket aside and turning to flee back towards the village.
Lia and Angelo followed closely behind, returning to the village and spreading the news throughout.
...
"A pirate ship?"
Behind the pirate ship, a massive black fish slowly surfaced, its eyes fixed on the approaching vessel.
The pirate ship had a strange design, with a pig's face at the bow and two masts. It was much larger than an ordinary brigantine.
Seeing the direction of the pirate ship, the black fish offered a moment of silent sympathy for Naruto Village.
This black fish was Xia Qiu. He was now about fifteen meters long and weighed around thirty-five tons.
In just a month and a half, he had grown from about two tons to thirty-five tons. Such a rapid growth was almost unbelievable.
However, this growth rate was not outside of Xia Qiu's expectations.
In his previous life, a blue whale grew from its birth length of seven meters to fifteen meters in just eight months.
In the world of One Piece, he consumed more, digested faster, and had a higher conversion efficiency, greatly shortening the time. It had only taken him a month and a half.
Xia Qiu's head was now enormous, with a bony protrusion on his forehead that could be used to ram enemies.
He had a huge mouth filled with seven layers of sharp teeth. The front teeth were serrated, while the rear teeth were molars, perfect for crushing food.
Eight long barbels grew around his mouth, the longest being about four meters long and as thick as a thigh.
His eyes were huge, covered by a layer of white nictitating membrane that could close, especially during combat, to protect his eyes.
The nictitating membrane was part of the eyelid, found in sharks, amphibians, and even humans.
However, only sharks and amphibians, and creatures like kingfishers, had nictitating membranes that could close horizontally. Humans could not do this, but their eyelids offered some protection.
Xia Qiu had only eaten sharks, and he wasn't sure if growing nictitating membranes was related to them.
Xia Qiu's body was massive and robust, spindle-shaped like a siege ram.
His fins had become very large. His dorsal fin was similar to before, but his pectoral fins, pelvic fins, and tail fin had all grown spines.
The pectoral and pelvic fins had a single spine along the leading edge, protecting the fins and adding ramming power.
As for the tail fin, it was divided by several spines, similar to the second dorsal fin, and connected together.
Xia Qiu's scales had once again molted and grown larger. The largest scales were the size of a washbasin and extremely thick.
After his transformation, Xia Qiu's immense size prevented him from getting too close to the island.
This was why the villagers of Naruto Village had seen him less and less during this period.
Xia Qiu looked at the pirate ship in the distance, a hint of bloodlust in his eyes. He opened his massive mouth, his terrifying teeth glinting in the sunlight.
These were pirates, plundering wealth and taking lives.
Although in this manga, some pirates pursued strength and the One Piece, and some powerful pirates even protected villages under their Jolly Roger, with some having their own territories and businesses, it was undeniable that many pirates were villains who disregarded human lives.
He was just a fish, and he had eaten people before, so he rarely empathized with human feelings. He disliked the wickedness of pirates but wasn't overly righteous.
However, Xia Qiu now regarded the pirate ship before him as a target, contemplating methods of attack.
The Evolution Energy from human flesh was special and powerful. When it didn't cause his body shape to change, it could grant him more strength.
This way, I won't just get bigger and thicker, but possess combat power far exceeding my size and weight.
To test the effects of human flesh, I need to prey on humans.
However, my size limits my ability to approach Naruto Village, and I'm unwilling to harm innocents indiscriminately.
The pirate ship before me will be the best choice.
"They're coming down."
The pirate ship approached the shallows, but the water was too shallow for them to get close to the island.
So, they lowered two small boats. Two groups of pirates jumped into the small boats, totaling twelve pirates. They rowed the small boats towards the island.
The small boats冲上了 beach, and they jumped off, brandishing firearms and long swords, charging towards the village.
The water depth is about right.
The pirate ship is still a long way from the seabed, so I can get closer.
Xia Qiu slowly lowered his body and approached the pirate ship. After getting a certain distance, he stopped, continued to dive, and waited quietly.
...
"Get out of Naruto Village."
Thanks to Eli and the other children's early warning, the residents of Naruto Village were prepared. All the men gathered, holding harpoons, long spears, spearguns, crossbows, and hunting rifles, aiming at the pirates before them.
"Boss, what do we do?"
Seeing twenty to thirty burly men armed before him, the first mate stood there, looking troubled.
With this number and equipment, they could be stopped.
"With just you people, you think you can stop us?"
The leader of the pirate crew, wielding a huge spiked club, suddenly swept it horizontally.
Crack.
A tree as thick as a person's embrace was snapped in half and crashed to the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust.
"This..."
The villagers of Naruto Village looked worried upon seeing this.
But the village chief stepped forward and said, "Our Naruto Village is under the jurisdiction of Marine Branch 19. We've already notified the Marines via Den Den Mushi, and they should be on their way now."
"Hmm?"
Hearing this, the pirate crew leader's eyes narrowed.
An island under Marine jurisdiction was indeed troublesome.
The pirate crew leader snorted coldly and said, "So you're making us come all this way for nothing?"
The village chief immediately replied, "As long as you are willing to leave, we are willing to prepare food, water, and some compensation for your crew."
"Alright."
The pirate crew leader thought about it. If they insisted on fighting, his side would definitely suffer casualties. Furthermore, if they injured or killed villagers, they would be pursued by the Marines.
His pirate crew could bully a village, but they were no match for a Marine branch, even just a single warship.
It was good to get compensation.
The pirate crew leader agreed to the deal. The village chief handed over several cows, sheep, and fresh water to them. They first sent people to load the goods onto the ship, and then, under the watchful eyes of the villagers, they slowly retreated, boarded the small boats, and sailed towards the pirate ship.
From the sea in the distance, seeing the two small boats return, Xia Qiu, who had been waiting impatiently, turned into a black shadow and rushed towards the small boats.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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