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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 37: The Trap
Lance and Eddie reached the shore and looked at the Surface of the Sea. "There are wooden planks floating on the Water Surface, along with some logs and stakes scattered across the Surface of the Sea. Let's fish them out and take a look."
"Okay."
Eddie nodded, and the two of them found a spot before jumping into the water together.
Fishmen are creatures that possess both lungs and gills. On land, they breathe using their lungs, while underwater, they rely on their gills.
Their gills are not positioned the same way; for instance, Fischer, Jinbei, Hody, and Crocboy have their gills located on their shoulders. Arlong's gills are on his neck, while Whitebeard's Eighth Division captain, Mule, has his gills near his temples.
Both Lance and Eddie have their gills located near their shoulders close to their necks. As they submerged, water flowed in through their mouths and out through their gill openings, allowing dissolved oxygen to be absorbed and distributed throughout their bodies via the capillaries in their gill filaments.
However, since they were just retrieving items from the Surface of the Sea, there was no need to dive deep into the water, so they didn't require their gills.
The two of them surfaced and swam towards the nearby debris.
"This one."
Lance picked up a wooden plank and examined it but couldn't discern anything significant.
He tossed the plank onto the shore and swam towards another piece.
Eddie did the same; they collected numerous wooden planks and placed them on the shore, gathering all the fragments of Boardwalk that were floating nearby.
"It looks like it was struck by something," Lance said as he picked up a wooden stake from a distance. The stake broke easily in his hands, appearing as though it had not been damaged by tools.
Lance held a wooden stake and several fragments as he made his way toward the Coast.
Meanwhile, Eddie found a rope-bound frame at a distance and picked it up, examining it closely. "Hmm, there are no signs of disassembly. It seems this wasn't made by humans."
Lance chuckled, "Could it really have been smashed by a Pirate Ship?"
Eddie nodded in agreement, "It's quite possible."
But at that moment, Eddie furrowed his brow and shouted toward Lance, who was swimming toward the shore, "Lance, look out!"
"Huh?"
Lance paused for a moment, then felt a surge of pressure approaching. He swam toward the rock wall, trying to escape quickly.
But in the next instant, a massive jaw erupted from the Water Surface, clamping down on him.
Crunch.
Lance was swallowed whole, crushed instantly, his blood slowly dispersing as he was consumed by Xiaqiu.
Xiaqiu's enormous head emerged above the Surface of the Sea.
"What a huge fish."
As Eddie caught sight of the sea creature, he understood how the Boardwalk had been destroyed and why Ruijin and Peters were missing.
Damn it.
Eddie wanted to escape, but the sea fish was right between him and the Coast. Just moments ago, Lance had swum back with a wooden stake, and he was closer to the Coast than Eddie was. If the sea fish swallowed him, it would block his path completely.
There was no way to flee.
Eddie let out a bitter smile in his heart and turned to swim away into the distance, planning to create some space first.
Want to run?
Xiaqiu certainly wouldn’t let him get away. While they were picking up fragments in the distance, Xiaqiu chose to attack the Fishman that was moving toward the Coast. This was Xiaqiu's decision.
Xiaqiu chased after the Fishman, always positioning himself between the opponent and the Coast while also closing in on him.
Whoosh.
Eddie dove directly into the ocean, using his gills to breathe as he continued swimming forward, his speed suddenly increasing.
But Xiaqiu was even faster and quickly caught up.
Just as Xiaqiu closed in on him, Eddie suddenly turned his body, pushing off with his feet in the water. He came to an abrupt stop and began swimming backward.
He wasn’t trying to escape; instead, he aimed to provoke the sea fish into attacking him.
Then he would swim in the opposite direction to create distance.
His large size made it difficult for him to stop quickly, and turning around wasn’t easy either.
He charged toward the rear half of the sea fish's body. As it turned, he swam toward the Coast, hoping for a good chance to escape.
Eddie thought as he swam backward, but suddenly realized that the creature was charging at him with great force, showing no signs of stopping or turning to pursue him.
Instead, it continued to surge forward, and Eddie found himself directly at the tail of the massive sea fish.
Hmm?
A sense of foreboding washed over Eddie, and in the next moment, the enormous tail struck him.
Bang.
Eddie was sent flying through the water, his bones shattering upon impact, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
It hurt so much.
Eddie continued to spit out blood, not dead yet, but his body was too weak to move as he slowly sank in the water.
He could only watch helplessly as the gigantic sea fish swam toward him, its mouth wide open, revealing teeth that looked as terrifying as those from hell.
No, please don’t.
Eddie wanted to plead for mercy, but all he could do was gulp down water.
In the next moment, Eddie was bitten by Xiaqiu and swallowed whole.
Very good.
Two more Fishmen had entered its belly.
The two Fishmen were impressive, even more robust, clearly battle soldiers, and they would surely provide more energy.
Was there any possibility of others entering the water?
Four Fishmen had already appeared; would anyone else come?
Even if an Officer came down to ambush, it would be a futile effort.
Xiaqiu thought this as he submerged again, preparing for an ambush.
...
"Just as I thought."
At the top of the tower in Arlong Park, Nami put down her telescope, her expression filled with excitement. "That sea creature is aggressive towards Fishmen, and it's lurking right there."
Nami's window faced the harbor. When Arlong left with his Pirate Crew, she set aside her pen and paper to observe their departure through the telescope.
After the Pirate Ship had left, Nami withdrew her gaze. Just as she was about to lower the telescope, she suddenly saw the Boardwalk shatter as a sea creature devoured Ruijin and Peters.
The massive horns and the dark, thick body of the Fish made Nami recognize its identity.
It was that Hunting Dolphin Blue Whale, along with the sea creature of the pirates.
Thus, Nami tricked the other two Fishmen into going into the water, where they were directly consumed by it.
Nami had gathered two pieces of information.
The sea fish in that area were aggressive towards the Fishman.
If that's the case...
Nami's lips curled into a sly smile as she dashed downstairs.
Tap, tap, tap.
Nami hurried down to the first floor, but her smile vanished, replaced by a look of panic.
"Eight, something's wrong! Something's really wrong!"
"What happened?" Eight asked, wiping his long sword. Noticing Nami's anxious expression, he inquired curiously, "Nami, what's going on?"
Gasping for breath, Nami pointed into the distance and said, "I went back upstairs and used the telescope to look at the harbor. I saw Lance and Eddie—they were attacked!"
"What?"
Eight stood up, his expression turning serious.
Nami nodded, "After they went into the water, they were attacked by sharks and disappeared beneath the surface."
"Sharks?"
Bachi furrowed his brows and asked, "Can the sharks kill them?"
"It's Shark School, and the largest ones are over ten meters long."
Nami looked at him and said, "You know, Bachi, no one lived here before you all came because of Shark School."
"If it's Shark School, it can indeed pose a threat to them."
During the construction of Arlong Park, Bachi had heard the villagers' opinions about this place and trusted Nami's words.
"I'll go take a look."
Bachi immediately put down the knife in his hand and headed toward the port.
When he arrived at the port, the blood had not yet dissipated, and a streak of crimson still lingered on the surface of the sea.
"Did they really get attacked by sharks?"
Bachi's expression darkened as he walked to the shore, gazing at the water, intending to jump in for a closer look.
But just as he was about to leap, a voice called out from behind him, "Bachi, don't go down there; there's Shark School below."
"Nami."
Bachi turned around to see Nami running toward him. She reached him, bent over with her hands on her knees, her youthful face filled with exhaustion.
"Nami?"
Seeing Nami come all the way here to remind herself, exhausted as she was, warmed his heart. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's just a shark. Even if it's a Sea Beast, I can take it down."
With that, he leaped into the sea.
Watching this scene, Nami's expression became complicated. Eight was the kindest among all the Fishmen; he treated her well and even cooked for her since she didn't like raw food.
But he was a member of the Dragon Pirate Crew, having personally killed villagers from Cocoa West Village and participated in many raids alongside the Dragon.
The crimes he committed were enough to warrant the death penalty.
Nami took a deep breath, her gaze firming as she clasped her hands together in prayer. "Sea fish, sea fish, please make sure to kill him."
Meanwhile, underwater, Xiaqiu's eyes lit up. Was someone else coming?
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