Even so, Zeff found himself caught in a tough battle.
“Fire! What monster is that?”
The pirates of the Cook Pirates shot bullets at the Gyarados, but the bullets from their flintlocks seemed powerless against the curved armor of the Gyarados. The scales inherited from Magikarp, combined with its curved design, resembling slanted armor, rendered the outdated guns ineffective.
Survival of the fittest is a law of nature. 1st generation Magikarp’ offsprings spread to every sea region as per Arceus’ order, and then multiplied in various sea regions.
The ocean environment, different from the Pokémon world, led them to develop a new race consciousness. Pokémon that feed on Magikarp are almost non-existent, but these Sea Beasts, Sea Kings, and various peculiar fish are exceptions. Some fish even became natural predators of Magikarp.
This particular Gyarados was on a mission of vengeance. As the number of its offspring continues to increase, the genetic information deep within them has almost boiled down to just the “pilgrimage” phase.
At specific times, swarms of Gyarados would lead Magikarp towards the New World. Some biologists had even begun to study these newly discovered strange fish species.
However, no one has come up with any significant findings so far. Anyways, for Zeff, these results mattered little. As the Gyarados submerged once more, his anxiety increased.
“Turn the helm! Full turn! It’s coming!”
The sole purpose of the Gyarados diving was to attack the ship from below, intending to capsize it. Zeff knew that once they fell into the water, they would be at the mercy of this monster.
Luckily, their ship, Cooking George, was agile. The Gyarados, due to being a lower level, lacked the strength to overturn the ship directly. So, it had to dive deep to build momentum, giving them some prep time.
“Captain, the Grand Line is too dangerous. Let’s go back!”
The sight of the Gyarados diving in the water from the side terrified some. They hadn’t expected the creatures of the Grand Line to be so dangerous.
“Fools! Think about how to deal with this monster before spouting nonsense!”
Zeff leaped from the deck and delivered a kick to the Gyarados just below its chest as it emerged from the water. An ordinary sea beast of this size couldn’t withstand his kick, as a single kick from him was enough to deform steel.
But the Gyarados merely cried out in pain and lunged at Zeff again with its massive jaws wide open.
“Is it a sea snake? What kind of species is this?”
Sea Beasts also follow certain biological traits. For instance, sea dogs prefer bones, catnip works on sea cats. Gyarados looked like a mutated sea snake, so Zeff tried attacking its vital point, but it proved ineffective.
Their fight seemed to have attracted other sea beasts. Concerned for its kin and finding Zeff a tough opponent, the Gyarados chose to retreat.
But even after it disappeared into the depths of the sea, the Cook Pirates remained on edge for quite some time.
“Captain, we should go back. Grand Line is too terrifying.”
Although they’d heard of its dangers, encountering this ‘starter’ Gyarados was far too harrowing for them.
“Reverse Mountain’s currents don’t flow backward. Do you want to traverse the Calm Belt? There are even bigger and scarier Sea Kings there.”
The powerful water currents of Reverse Mountain left these wind-powered ships with little hope. In theory, with sufficient propulsion, going against the flow should be possible, but their ship, the “Cooking George,” clearly lacked that capability.
“…”
“This is just the first challenge. Keep sailing. On the bright side, that might have been the biggest threat we faced.”
Of course, these words were just to comfort them. Zef had only just arrived here, and one obstacle was not enough to make him back down. However, he also took out his little notebook and began to record his sailing experience.
In early October of 1502, Mandrell’s ship once again arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago. The Beasts Fruits’ branch located there had already raised coating craftsmans.
They didn’t trust the skills of other craftsmen, so they dispatched some of their own to learn the coating skill. This was a life-or-death matter and couldn’t be taken lightly.
Within the Beasts Pirates, only Arceus and Kaido could fly their ships over the Red Line.
Others could at most fly a part of their crew over, while the rest of the ships had to travel underwater. Anyway, there wasn’t a devil fruit user aboard Mandrell’s ship, so they had fewer reservations about submerging.
“Take it easy, there is no need to rush.”
“Don’t worry, Sir Mandrell. These craftsmen are all experienced. You’re aware of our inspection system.”
No one could tell how effective the coating was until the ship submerged. The Beasts Pirates had many bases in the New World, all equipped with coating craftsmen. These craftsmen rotated regularly. Every time a ship got coated, half of them would change work locations.
They might not care much about others’ lives, but when it comes to their own safety, they wouldn’t be careless at all. Every time they worked, they gave their utmost attention.
During this time, Mandrell wasn’t idle either. He and his crew went on a shopping spree in the Sabaody Archipelago, purchasing specialties like the Grand Line Manju and Grand Line Senbei. These items were quite popular in Onigashima.
Even if the pirates within the crew didn’t fancy them, they made excellent gifts for the locals. Some of these pirates had already settled down in Wano Country.
“Stop dawdling. The coating will be done in a day. If we head back now, we might make it to Miss Yamato’s birthday celebration.”
“Boss Mandrell, you’re the one who’s been dawdling the most. How long have you been standing here?”
Pierman, carrying five boxes of Senbei, passed by Mandrell’s location. When he had gone to buy the Senbei, Mandrell had been right here. However, upon his return, Mandrell still remained in the same spot, standing in front of a store called the “Love Chocolate Shop.”
“Boss Mandrell, you’re not smitten with that woman, are you?”
Chocolate sellers often link their products with love, and the shop Mandrell was standing in front of was plastered with such advertisements.
As Mandrell’s deputy, Pierman knew his habits well and guessed a few things.
“She’s beautiful, but boss, she’s already married.”
“I don’t care about that. Mind your own business! Scram!”
Mandrell lifted his foot to threaten Pierman, who quickly left with the Senbei. After some contemplation, Mandrell decided to buy some chocolate to take with him. This small expense was trivial for him.
The next day, the coated ships began to submerge. The even texture of the bubbles indicated that the coating craftsmen had indeed put in a lot of effort. However, this time, when they arrived at Fishman Island, there was something different from before. There was a new pirate flag at the entrance.
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