The seas of the Grand Line are mysterious and unpredictable, constantly changing.
One moment, the sun shines brightly in a clear sky; the next, lightning cracks and a fierce storm rages.
Sometimes the ocean steams, a sign of underwater volcanic eruptions.
In other places, snow falls, and the water is chillingly cold.
Giant whirlpools, waves that surge into the air, strange air currents, and powerful typhoons.
This is the Grand Line, where the dangerous climate alone is enough to make many people recoil in fear.
Fortunately, Baroque Works has a relatively experienced crew who have sailed this route many times before. They detected the weather changes in advance, and along the way, they encountered no real danger.
Xia Qiu, meanwhile, leisurely followed behind.
Xia Qiu could detect most oceanic disasters in advance, and even if he were caught in a whirlpool, he could escape with ease.
The Grand Line's threat to Xia Qiu lay more in the stronger sea creatures.
Thus, Xia Qiu followed Baroque Works' ships, swimming towards Alabasta.
Besides the turbulent seas, Xia Qiu detected the magnetic forces emanating from many islands.
These islands' magnetic forces varied in strength, some large, some small, some near, some far.
Most of these islands were distributed along a single route. Perhaps at certain route nodes, it was possible to detect the timing of other routes' islands.
The magnetic forces fluctuated significantly, and Xia Qiu recorded these changes, trying to map out the routes in the nearby waters.
Once he had a clear understanding, he could travel back and forth in this area. After completing his plan, he would return to Whiskey Peak Town and devour all those bounty hunters.
Xia Qiu followed the sea ships, sailing towards the distance. Occasionally, he would leave the ships to catch a sea fish, kill it, and then return to the ships' sides.
When the ships sailed against the wind, Xia Qiu would take a short nap of a few minutes to alleviate his fatigue before catching up.
The ships were not in a hurry. Sometimes, at night, when the weather was good and the current was favorable, they would lower two sails.
And so, a day and a night passed.
By the next morning, amidst several faint magnetic forces, Xia Qiu detected a powerful one. This magnetic force was significant compared to the surrounding islands.
However, it was not much stronger than the magnetic forces of starting points like Whiskey Peak and Eagle Snake Island.
What surprised Xia Qiu was the sheer size of this island.
This island was dozens of times larger than Eagle Snake Island and Whiskey Peak. The ships, following the direction of the magnetic force, sailed towards that island.
Throughout their journey, the two sea ships had not stopped at any island to accumulate magnetic force.
They only used Eternal Poses, and the pointers all pointed to one place.
Lodestar Island.
If nothing unexpected happened, this island was Lodestar Island, the island where the Alabasta Kingdom was located.
They had finally arrived.
Xia Qiu looked at the massive silhouette of the island in the distance, his heart filled with excitement.
Since he had found Lodestar Island, these people were no longer useful.
Xia Qiu looked at the two distant sea ships and suddenly surged forward towards them.
...
"Miss All Sunday, we are about to reach Alabasta," said a Billionaire on board the sea ship as he walked into the cabin where Robin was seated.
"Call me when we reach Alabasta," Robin replied softly, without looking at him.
"Yes." The Billionaire immediately left the cabin, closing the door behind him.
Inside the cabin, Robin sat by the table, reading a book by the light filtering through the small window.
She raised the coffee cup on the corner of the table with her left hand and took a small sip.
With her right hand, her slender fingers gently turned the pages.
Boom.
At that very moment, the ship gave a violent shudder.
The coffee sloshed violently, spilling and soaking Robin's clothes.
"What's going on?" Robin frowned, her delicate eyebrows knitting together.
"We're taking on water! The cabin is leaking!" Shouts erupted from outside.
"Leaking?"
Hearing the commotion outside, Robin suddenly walked out of the cabin and onto the deck.
"Miss All Sunday, the ship is leaking!" a Billionaire shouted loudly upon seeing Robin.
"I know."
Robin suddenly closed her eyes and raised her hands.
Petals drifted down.
The next moment, arms suddenly sprouted from the ship's cabin, the deck, and the port side, each palm bearing a red-black eye in its center.
These arms rotated, looking around.
The deck was fine, the port cabin was leaking, and the starboard side was fine.
The port side… what is this?
Boom.
Robin watched, wide-eyed, as a giant black fish slammed into the ship's hull from underwater.
Crack.
Wood splintered, and the arms in the cabin saw a massive hole appear in the hull, with seawater pouring in.
Not only that, the sea ship's keel had snapped, and a crack was spreading upwards along the hull.
"The keel is broken, the ship is sinking."
Robin spread her hands apart and opened her eyes, which were filled with horror.
"Such immense power."
It only took two hits to make the sea ship sink. It was terrifying.
These ships were all built from strong wood, yet only two impacts caused irreparable damage. This black fish possessed immense strength, far exceeding sea fish of comparable size.
And that massive ramming horn was exactly as Mr. 2 Bon Clay had described.
If nothing was amiss, this black fish was the one that attacked the fishing boats in Whiskey Peak Town, the black fish that Mr. 5, Valentine, and Mr. 2 Bon Clay had encountered.
But the question was, why was it attacking here?
The black fish's first two attacks had destroyed two dispatched fishing boats, both of which had vanished.
Next were Mr. 5 and Valentine, followed by Mr. 2 Bon Clay and Gardino.
According to Mr. 2 Bon Clay's account, the black fish had attacked them after they had sailed a considerable distance out to sea.
However, the general vicinity was around Whiskey Peak.
Whiskey Peak was at least 150 kilometers away from here. Had it followed him here?
If it had been following him for a long time since Whiskey Peak Town, coupled with the previous four attacks on Baroque Works members, and had followed him all the way here.
Furthermore, it attacked after Mr. 2 Bon Clay had left Whiskey Peak Town a certain distance. If it wasn't using its habitat as its base of operations, it would definitely have to start from Whiskey Peak Town to follow him.
So, after attacking Mr. 2 Bon Clay, had it returned?
Then why, when she stayed in Whiskey Peak Town for so long and even sent out sea ships with bait to lure it, did it never appear?
Was it a coincidence? Did it just happen to encounter them on their way out?
It encountered them five or six days later, only when she was leaving?
How could it be such a coincidence?
The black fish's behavior defied the basic behavioral rules of wild beasts.
It was as if it possessed intelligence.
Robin suddenly felt a chill run down her spine and dared not think further.
At this moment, she saw another sea ship approaching in the distance, intending to rescue them, so she raised her hand.
The next moment, on both sea ships, dozens of arms sprouted, each with a mouth in the center of its palm.
"Everyone, pay attention! Ready the Harpoon Crossbows and prepare to attack the sea fish. Also, prepare the explosives."
Robin's voice emanated from the mouths, spreading across both ships.
Rescue at this moment would be useless. If that black fish truly possessed intelligence, it would attack the rescue ship and force them into the sea.
At that point, her abilities would be useless, and they wouldn't even be able to use these weapons meant for sea fish.
Therefore, while the sea ship was still usable, launching an attack was the best course of action.
"Yes, Miss All Sunday."
The Billionaires, seeing the arms, were momentarily stunned but quickly understood Robin's intention and acted according to her instructions.
Meanwhile, Xia Qiu had already rushed towards the other sea ship.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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