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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Forty-Eight: The Eve of War
Time flies, and two years have passed in the blink of an eye.
In August of the year 1515 of the Sea Circle Calendar, the heat was intense, with the sun baking the earth and waves of heat rising one after another.
At the port of Branch Base 16, three massive battleships were anchored.
On the land before the battleships, hundreds of sailors had gathered.
In front of the sailors stood seven or eight men dressed in naval officer uniforms.
One of them, a strong man, looked at the crowd and said, "After our application, we have finally received approval from headquarters to unite Branch Base 77 and Branch Base 19's navy to launch an attack on the Dragon Pirate Crew."
He paused for a moment and continued, "The battle plan will be commanded by Commodore Blin Blin from Branch Base 77. Now, I invite Brigadier Blin Blin to present this operation plan. Commodore, please."
"Colonel Karls."
Blin Blin nodded toward Colonel Karls from Branch Base 16, stepping out of the ranks to slowly outline the battle plan.
Behind him, most people's thoughts were varied.
Colonel Karls clutched his chest, where an old wound throbbed faintly.
Two years ago, he had been struck by a water cannon fired by a Fishman. After being rescued, it took him several months to recover.
Since then, he had applied to Naval Headquarters for permission to eliminate the Dragon Pirate Crew, and only now had it been approved.
The nearby Branch Base 77 would coordinate with Branch Base 19.
Three navies would join forces to attack the Dragon Pirate Crew.
Beside him, Colonel Krumay looked expectantly. "The Evil Dragon Pirate Crew, currently the most wanted criminals in the East Blue. If we take them down, we will surely receive a commendable evaluation. In a few years, when Colonel Lester steps down, I can seamlessly take his place."
However, Colonel Lester felt a sense of unease. He had an old friend at Naval Headquarters and had inquired about Arlong's information.
Arlong was a member of the Sun Pirates, and his presence in the East Blue was one of the conditions for Jinbei to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Moreover, Fishmen possessed immense strength.
The three branches of the Navy might not be able to overpower them.
In addition, there was another individual filled with rage, sporting a rat-like face—he would later be known as Colonel Mouse.
But for now, he was merely a Major.
Colonel Karls was still alive, and there was even a Lieutenant Colonel above him; he had no chance of taking over.
"Set sail."
Brigadier Blinblin waved his hand, and all the sailors boarded the battleship. The battleship slowly started up and headed towards Zoumeida Island, where the Evil Dragon Pirate Crew was located.
...
"This time our target is the village on Bernat Island. We will bring them under our rule and make our empire even stronger."
Arlong stood on the deck of Shark Spab, shouting loudly.
Beside him stood Hachi, Chew, and a dozen other Fishmen.
Hachi controlled the helm as the pirate ship gradually sailed towards the distance.
At that moment, a massive figure emerged beside the Pirate Ship.
“Moo Moo, you stay back. This time, there's no need to fight at sea; just protect the base here.”
Ba waved at Moo Moo.
“Huh?”
Moo Moo tilted its head and then slowly submerged, returning to Arlong Park.
On the fifth level of Arlong Park, Nami gazed into the distance and sighed.
The Dragon Pirate Crew was out again, and this time she wondered which village would suffer.
Moreover, that sea fish had vanished; it hadn’t appeared for two years since killing Crocboy.
But perhaps it was for the best. With a giant Sea Beast Moo Moo from the Grand Line lurking underwater, that sea fish should be no match, right?
She hoped it would never come here.
Nami thought as she pulled her body back and leaned over the table to draw a sea chart.
...
The Dragon Pirate Crew was out?
In the waters not far from Arlong Park, Xiaqiu slowly surfaced, looking into the distance.
The enormous Spaboo was sailing away.
This was the opportunity.
Xiaqiu aimed at the direction of the Spaboo and chased after the Sea Vessel.
He had already planned to attack the Dragon Pirate Crew this time.
It had been two years and two months since he killed Crocboy, and Xiaqiu was ready to battle the Arlong Pirates.
During these two years, Xiaqiu had grown from thirty-five meters long to forty-one meters long.
In twenty-six months, he had grown six meters, averaging over four months for each meter gained, indicating that his growth rate had slowed down again.
Xiaqiu had gone from thirty-two meters to thirty-five meters in eight months, averaging just over two months for each meter.
Previously, he could achieve a growth of one meter per month.
His growth rate, along with his increasing size, was becoming slower and slower.
However, there were advantages to this; without pursuing an enormous size, he could enhance his lateral strength and become more powerful in combat.
Xiaqiu's appearance had not changed much, but many transformations had occurred within him.
First, his dorsal fin had grown significantly larger; the scythe-like fin curved up to four meters high, with a vertical height exceeding three meters. The front was protected by thick bony spines, making it capable of smashing ships.
Even his second dorsal fin stood at two meters high.
Other fins—the Pectoral Fin, Pelvic Fin, anal fin, and tail fin—had also become enormous.
Additionally, there were spikes on his body; on his back and towards the rear of his abdomen, four rows of slender spikes had emerged. These spikes were triangular and approximately twenty centimeters long.
Finally, there were the Tentacles. Excluding the Tentacles, the other Tentacles reached a length of twelve meters and a diameter of thirty centimeters. More importantly, where the Suction Cups used to be, claws had grown.
The claws measured ten centimeters in length, and combined with the retraction force of Xiaqiu's Tentacles, they could easily strangle an enemy.
In addition, Xiaqiu had consumed two groups of pirates, further enhancing its body.
Before consuming Crocboy, it could defeat him; now that it had devoured Crocboy, its strength had increased significantly.
After two years of evolution and scaling up its power, Xiaqiu felt ready to battle Arlong.
Of course, Xiaqiu did not intend to engage directly in combat.
Arlong, Arlong, Jou—Xiaqiu was no match for them, especially with the numerous Fishmen around.
So Xiaqiu devised a plan: to sink fishing boats in the deep sea and lure them into the water.
Fishmen could breathe underwater, but they couldn't stay submerged forever; they would attempt to reach nearby islands.
With their swimming abilities, reaching the nearest island would not be a problem.
However, Xiaqiu planned to wait until they had swum a distance and exhausted some of their stamina before launching an attack on them.
It could also continuously harass them in the water, attacking one by one.
Thus, it followed behind the Spaboo ship at a distance.
The Spaboo ship moved farther away from Zoumeida Island, venturing into the vast ocean, at least twenty nautical miles from Zoumeida Island.
Looking at their direction, the nearest island was still at least thirty nautical miles away.
Xiaqiu had spent two years navigating around Zoumeida Island, thoroughly exploring the nearby islands and estimating their distances.
Now, this distance was just right.
He could ensure that Arlong and his crew would have to travel two to three dozen nautical miles to reach each island.
Twenty nautical miles equated to over thirty-seven kilometers.
Even if they managed to reach Zoumeida Island, it would take them at least an hour, and the effort would be immense.
During this time, he would harass them, prevent them from eating, and wait for the opportunity to strike. Additionally, there could be other sea creatures attacking them.
Once their stamina was sufficiently depleted, he would engage them in battle.
This strategy would increase his chances of victory.
With this thought in mind, Xiaqiu looked at the massive Spaboo ship as it surged straight from the depths of the sea toward the Pirate Ship.
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