Boom.
Xia Qiu collided with the Swan Ship, and after a huge sound, the ship began to sway from side to side.
"My ship was hit."
Mr. 2 Bon Clay, carrying the last two bounty hunters onto the sea ship, saw his ship being hit and looked somewhat anxious.
"Don't worry, Mr. 3, you stay here. I'll handle your crew."
Gardino said, jumping onto his own ship.
"The Quick Swan is my darling, you must not let it sink into the sea," Mr. 2 Bon Clay shouted loudly.
"I'll do my best."
Gardino said, ordering his ship to approach the Quick Swan.
But as soon as the sails were raised and the rudder was turned, a surprising sight appeared.
The Quick Swan, Mr. 2 Bon Clay's ship, was heading away from their location.
"Look, there's a dark shadow under the ship," Mr. Christmas said, standing beside Gardino and pointing into the distance.
Beneath the stern of the Swan Ship, a giant black fish was pushing the ship and swimming away.
"This fish is actually pushing the ship away," Gardino's eyes widened.
The Swan Ship was large, and this fish could push the entire ship forward. Its strength far surpassed that of sea fish of the same size, making it seem incredible.
But most importantly, why was it pushing the ship away?
He had sunk two ships. The third ship was saved by himself, and his own ship was nearby. Besides that, only Mr. 3's Swan Ship remained.
And to prevent him from stopping the sinking of the ships, it chose to push this ship far away.
If this were true, it would be too clever.
"My ship," Mr. 2 Bon Clay exclaimed, seeing this and jumping onto Gardino's ship, looking anxious. "Chase after it quickly."
"Chase? We can."
Gardino wanted to abandon the ship. He felt that the fish's actions were too clever, and the best choice would be to discard that ship and leave with these two.
However, Mr. 3 wanted to pursue, and Gardino couldn't easily disobey. Moreover, perhaps they could kill the fish.
"Chase after it."
Gardino said, turning the ship around and heading into the distance.
But the sea ship in the distance grew further and further away, and its speed increased.
"Turn the rudder, lower the sails, use the paddle wheels, and attack the sea fish," Mr. 2 Bon Clay shouted.
Mr. 2 Bon Clay's Quick Swan had paddle wheels, which provided extra power and made it very fast.
But in the next moment, Mr. 2 Bon Clay's eyes narrowed slightly because one side's paddle wheel had been destroyed. Using only one side would make it impossible to maintain balance.
Not only that, but the stern rudder was also destroyed, making it impossible to steer.
However, the bounty hunters on the Quick Swan reacted quickly. They could only lower the sails and adjust their position to catch the wind.
Xia Qiu pushed with all his might, but the sail was tilted, and the force spread across the hull, making the ship's forward speed extremely slow.
If this continued, the speed would not increase.
Xia Qiu realized this plan had also failed, and the sea ship of Mrs. 4 in the distance was approaching.
"Very good."
Xia Qiu suddenly changed direction and accelerated towards Gardino's sea ship.
"He's coming," Mr. Christmas shouted in time.
"He can't sink this ship," Gardino said confidently. This ship had three layers: wax on the inside, wood in the middle, and wax on the outside.
Gardino's wax, once solidified, was as hard as iron and could not be smashed.
The wood and wax formed a single unit, three layers in total, much stronger than a temporarily reinforced pirate ship.
Even if the wax melted due to high temperatures near some underwater volcanoes, the wood underneath would be sufficient to keep the sea ship sailing.
Boom.
Xia Qiu crashed into Gardino's ship. The hull shook violently, swayed from side to side, and creaked.
Under the immense impact, the sea ship stopped in its tracks but was not breached or capsized.
"That force is immense."
Gardino felt the ship's movement and was somewhat wary, but no matter how great the force, it couldn't break his ship unless he could break steel.
But in the next moment, Xia Qiu turned his body and charged towards the Quick Swan in the distance.
Boom.
Xia Qiu, with immense momentum, slammed into the Quick Swan, creating a large hole in its side.
"He's crashing into ships again, quickly, go!" Mr. 2 Bon Clay was extremely anxious.
Gardino waited until the hull stabilized and ordered his subordinates to pursue again, only to find the black fish in the distance charging towards them once more.
"What is he trying to do?" Mr. Christmas asked, confused.
"So that's how it is."
Gardino suddenly understood the black fish's plan; it was ramming the two ships for several reasons.
The first was to gain acceleration distance. With dozens of meters between the ships, it was enough for the black fish to accelerate and smash a large hole in the sea ship in the distance.
The second purpose was to destabilize his own ship and halt its forward momentum. Moreover, it was ramming near the bow, causing the ship to tilt.
If he wanted to pursue, he would have to turn his ship around. By the time he stabilized his ship, the black fish could do it again.
This way, no matter where he went, the Swan Ship would have already sunk.
Then, it could leisurely devour the crew of the Swan Ship.
This fish was truly intelligent.
Gardino suddenly felt a chill, while Mr. 2 Bon Clay hadn't realized this yet and shouted, "That damned sea fish is back! Quick, quick, go!"
"Mr. 3, we have to abandon your ship," Gardino said through gritted teeth.
"What? You want me to abandon the Swan Ship? There are so many sweethearts on board, I can't give them up!" Mr. 2 Bon Clay glared at Gardino.
Gardino replied, "But with it ramming us like this, we can't get through at all. Your ship will sink sooner or later."
Boom.
As Gardino spoke, the ship beneath their feet trembled again, and the sea fish charged towards the Swan Ship in the distance once more.
"Then what do we do?"
Mr. 2 Bon Clay gritted his teeth, looking at the rapidly approaching black fish, desperately wanting to kill it.
But the black fish was underwater, and he was a Devil Fruit user, so he was helpless.
"There's only one way."
Gardino glanced at Mr. 2 Bon Clay and said, "Let's split up. You get on that Sea Ship I've repaired and approach from another direction."
"That's a good idea!" Hearing this, Mr. 2 Bon Clay's face lit up with joy, and he was about to jump onto the distant Sea Ship.
"Wait a moment."
Gardino called out to Mr. 2 Bon Clay, raising his hand. Wax liquid spread out, elongating and finally condensing into two long spears.
"This is for you."
Gardino handed the wax spears to Mr. 2 Bon Clay.
"Spears? I'm not used to this kind of thing."
Mr. 2 Bon Clay said, but he still took the spears, as they were the only weapons that would allow him to attack the sea creature from the ship.
Mr. 2 Bon Clay took the spears, jumped onto another Sea Ship, raised the sails, and charged towards the Quick Swan in the distance.
Boom.
The Quick Swan in the distance was rammed again.
With three impacts, the Swan Ship had already begun to sink, but at this rate, the two ships would be able to reach it in time to save the people on board.
However, Gardino said, "Turn, we're leaving."
"Huh?"
Mr. Christmas blinked slightly and asked, "Aren't we going over there?"
"Of course not."
Gardino narrowed his eyes and said, "The ship Mr. 3 is on has been reinforced with wax, but my abilities are limited, and I can't cover the entire ship. Unlike my ship, where the hull and wax are integrated, I could only reinforce the weak points. The wax layer is thin, and some areas aren't covered. With the explosive power of that sea fish, if it rams a few more times, that ship won't last long. So, if it continues to attack, that ship will also sink. What will we do then?"
"Have them come onto my ship? This ship can't carry so many people, and we'll still have to abandon them," Gardino said. "Besides, the weather here is unpredictable, the sky is covered in dark clouds, and the wind has already picked up. A storm will hit soon. You can imagine what a storm on the Grand Line is like. It's usually manageable, but with a sea fish in the water treating us as enemies, we'd be in grave danger."
Gardino smiled and added, "More importantly, if Mr. 3 dies, won't we be able to take his place?"
"You're right."
Mr. Christmas listened to Gardino's words but still asked with concern, "But how do we report this to Mr. 0?"
"We and Mr. 2 Bon Clay split up to search for Mr. 5 and Valentine, and we never met at sea."
Gardino smiled and said, "Besides, only our ship and Mr. 3's ship have Den Den Mushi. His ship is sinking, so as long as you don't say anything, Mr. 0 will never know."
"Don't worry, I won't say a word." Mr. Christmas felt a shiver as he met Gardino's gaze and quickly added, "I've long wanted Mr. 3's position. I've wanted to get rid of that sissy for a while now, occupying two positions."
"Then let's set sail."
Gardino smiled, and the ship beneath his feet slowly started, heading into the distance.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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