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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Fifty: Pursuit
Arlong never expected that this fish would circle back and kill the remaining Fishmen under his command.
Just a fish, yet it managed to lure him away. I can't even do that.
Furious, Arlong charged towards the fish.
But in the next moment, the fish swam away into the distance, glancing back at him before leaving.
This kind of provocation only fueled Arlong's rage, and he hurried after it.
Zoro followed closely behind, but as they passed the Going Merry, he heard Fishmen calling for help. He recalled how the fish had circled back.
There was no guarantee he would catch up, and if the fish got too far away and turned back again, the remaining Fish Soldiers might also meet their end.
"Stop chasing it."
He struggled to suppress his anger and halted Zoro, turning around to shout, "Tend to the injured."
Aside from Arlong and Zoro, there were nearly ten Fishmen still alive.
Four had followed Arlong and Zoro when they left, four survived, while two had been injured by Xiaqiu.
The number of those eaten was more than seven or eight.
"In other words, there are only sixteen Fishmen left in the Arlong Pirates now."
Arlong's expression was grim; counting himself, there were a total of twelve people here.
Only four Fishmen remained at Arlong Park, making a total of sixteen. Adding Nami and Moo Moo, there were barely eighteen in total.
Three officers had been lost, two of them gone.
The entire Pirate Crew had lost half its Fish Soldiers, weakening their strength by two-fifths.
"Damn it."
Arlong's face darkened; his blue skin now appeared a shade of blue-black.
Seeing Kanehiro still alive, he looked at him and asked, "What happened after I left?"
"After you left, he came back and crashed into us twice more. The ship couldn't take it anymore, and we had to go into the water to escape his attack," Kanehiro replied nervously.
"Four crashes? And the ship sank?" Arlong asked incredulously.
Kanehiro hesitated before saying, "Arlong, during the first three crashes, two compartments were damaged each time. The fourth crash hit three compartments, and the damage was spread out across four locations, disrupting the buoyancy balance."
Arlong glared at Kanehiro and demanded, "What were you doing? Why didn't you make repairs?"
"Such damage requires extensive repairs; it can't be patched up," Kanehiro said, lowering his head, his voice trembling.
"Worthless."
Arlong slammed his hand down into the water, wanting to strike the Boatman dead with a slap, but ultimately restrained himself.
"Arlong, what should we do next?" Eight asked from the side.
"What can we do?"
Arlong snorted and said, "The ship is damaged; we can only head back for now."
"What about the sea fish?" Eight inquired. "Are we just going to let it go?"
"Can you catch it?"
Arlong glared at Eight and then said, "We'll deal with the sea fish later. We’ve only been out at sea for twenty miles; let’s swim back."
"Understood."
Eight and the other Fishmen responded in unison. After tending to the injured, they submerged beneath the water's surface and swam together toward the distance.
...
"Are we heading back? It’s in the direction of Zoumeida Island."
Xiaqiu, several hundred meters away from the Evil Dragon Pirate Crew, used echo location to confirm their departure towards Zoumeida Island, so he decided to follow them.
It was smoother than expected.
He hadn’t anticipated that after attacking the Pirate Ship, it would be Jiu who came down; he thought it would be an ordinary Fishman.
Jiu's specialties were water cannons and speed. The power of the water cannon was immense; if it hit him, it could potentially blast scales off his body.
However, in terms of strength, he was the weakest among all the Officers.
Xiaqiu easily captured him and killed him before moving away from the Vessel.
Afterward, he realized someone was chasing from behind; the fastest was definitely Arlong, followed by Eight-Armed and several other soldiers.
Xiaqiu ran with Arlong for four or five nautical miles, creating a distance of about seven or eight hundred meters. Once Arlong stopped, he made a wide turn and headed back to find the Fishman near the Sea Vessel.
Upon returning to the shore, he discovered that the ship had not sunk.
The thirty-meter-long ship had been struck by Xiaqiu three years ago, before the Evil Dragon Pirate Ship even reached the East Sea, causing a crack from the keel up.
Now, Xiaqiu could directly smash the ship to pieces.
Even with larger ships, Xiaqiu could render them irreparable and slowly sink them.
Yet this ship had survived two of his attempts to sink it and was still sailing.
After crashing into it twice more, he finally managed to sink it and send the Fishman overboard.
The material of this ship was exceptional, far sturdier than an ordinary Pirate Ship; it truly lived up to being a vessel from the Grand Line.
So if Arlong hadn't pursued him but stayed around the ship, he probably wouldn't have found any opportunity to attack.
Fortunately, Arlong chose to chase him down and ended up falling behind, giving Xiaqiu the chance to completely destroy the Pirate Ship and even take down seven or eight Fishmen.
At this moment, Arlong returned to the side of the ship, pursuing him once again.
Xiaqiu chose to flee, planning to wait until they had traveled a certain distance and were exhausted before launching his attack.
At Arlong Park, there were ten soldiers, some of whom were injured. In truth, Xiaqiu was already somewhat confident in defeating them.
However, he was unwilling to take risks, unwilling to let any of them escape, and even less willing to sustain significant injuries.
Any unexpected event could lead to his downfall.
Thus, Xiaqiu opted for the method with the highest success rate.
Another important factor was that he had consumed the meat of both Chou and so many Fishmen, which would provide a tremendous boost of Enhanced Energy—more than when he had devoured Crocboy.
As long as he could digest it, his physical strength would increase once again.
Waiting until their stamina was depleted would ensure his victory was even more certain.
Of course, these were just excuses; the most crucial reason was that Xiaqiu was an idealist. For him, the most important aspect of any endeavor was the intention behind it.
Xiaqiu followed the Arlong Pirates at a distance of about seven or eight hundred meters behind them.
At this distance, he could still track their movements.
In the water, Fishmen moved more freely than on land.
The problem was that he had lost some of his fish-like traits through evolution; his body was not entirely suited for swimming, resulting in greater resistance.
Additionally, their mode of propulsion was quite similar to that of humans, relying on the strength of their arms and legs.
Fish have a unique way of resting; they require only minimal movement to maintain their balance. Many fish can rest with their pectoral fins gently undulating, allowing them to stay in a stable position.
However, Fishmen are different. They need to relax their bodies and require an environment with minimal pressure, among other things.
In addition, their eating habits and water pressure greatly affect their stamina.
Thus, while they can move through the water, they still expend a significant amount of energy.
When their stamina reaches a certain level of depletion, it becomes the right moment for them to make their move.
Xiaqiu closely followed behind them, waiting for the perfect opportunity to arise.
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