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Chapter 43: Flowing Sky
Boom!
The naval artillery roared again, and cannonballs fell like meteors onto the coastline of Arlong Park.
Although the explosions didn't hit any Fish-Men directly, the flying shrapnel and shockwaves still destroyed several Fish-Men's houses and kicked up a cloud of dust.
"Bastards! You inferior humans... how dare you destroy my house!"
Chew, one of the three top officers, the kissing-gourami Fish-Man whose lips protruded like a cannon barrel, was filled with rage as he watched his home be destroyed.
He rushed towards the shore at astonishing speed, took a flying leap, and jumped into the sea.
Glug, glug, glug...
An unusually loud sound of water being sucked in came from underwater, like a giant whale drinking.
A few seconds later, Chew suddenly poked his head out of the seabed. His cheeks were swollen like two giant spherical water bladders, his skin stretched almost transparent, faintly revealing the water compressed to its limit inside.
"Water Gun!"
Ptoo! Ptoo! Ptoo! Ptoo!
A burst of muffled sounds, like beating on a drum, erupted!
Several high-pressure water columns shot through the air like cannonballs, streaking towards the deck of the Marine warship more than ten meters away with a sharp whistle!
"Argh!"
"Gak!"
Several Marine soldiers who were loading cannonballs were caught off guard and hit hard in the chest by the jets of water.
The impact was no less than that of a solid cannonball; their chests instantly caved in, blood spurted from their mouths, and they collapsed to the ground, their eyes lifeless.
Only the officer in the "Justice" coat reacted quickly, drawing his sword in time to block the water column shooting towards him.
With a loud bang, his arm went slightly numb, and he took half a step back to lessen the impact, his expression becoming extremely serious.
"Turn the cannon towards that Fish-Man; we absolutely cannot let him launch another attack like that!"
He sheathed his sword and gave the order.
"Yes!"
Several more Marine soldiers rushed to the cannon positions, quickly loading the heavy cannonballs into the chambers.
However, when they pulled hard on the cannon's lanyard, it didn't make the expected roar.
The cannon didn't react at all, like a dumb chunk of iron.
"What's going on?!"
"Why won't it fire?!"
The Marine soldiers operating the cannons checked the equipment in a panic, their faces filled with terror.
"What's happening?!"
The Marine officer frowned, took a few steps towards the nearest cannon, preparing to inspect it himself.
But at this moment...
"It's useless. I've already gutted all your cannons from below!"
A sarcastic voice came from below the ship's side.
The sailors on deck turned pale and looked down in the direction of the voice.
All I saw before me was...
A Fish-Man in a karate gi was clinging to the outside of the hull with one hand, effortlessly.
In his other hand, he held a transmission rod, clearly just removed from a cannon, dripping with seawater!
He was none other than Kuroobi, one of the three Fish-Man officers. He had taken advantage of the gap created by Chew's focused attack to sneak in from under the ship and destroy the core components of all the cannons on the warship.
"D*mn it, open fire! Shoot him full of holes!" The Marine officer roared in anger, veins popping on his forehead.
Even without cannons, they still had rifles!
At such a close distance, a volley of bullets could easily riddle this arrogant Fish-Man!
However.
Facing the dozens of black muzzles pointed at him in an instant, Kuroobi showed no fear at all; instead, he revealed an even more mocking smile.
He held up one finger and pointed to the other side of the warship.
"Are you guys really not going to run for your lives?"
"Hraaaaagh!"
A wild, angry roar came from the other side of the sea!
Immediately after, under the terrified gazes of the sailors, the sea began to churn violently.
Of the three top officers, the octopus Fish-Man Hatchan used his six incredibly strong tentacles to lift a massive reef from the seabed, equivalent to a small mountain!
"What... what is he trying to do?!" The Marine officer's pupils suddenly contracted, unsure of what this Fish-Man with superhuman strength was up to.
"As a member of the Marines, you can't possibly not know this, right?"
Kuroobi said in a playful tone.
"What are the consequences of placing such a huge obstacle in a strong ocean current?"
As soon as his words fell, Hatchan let out another roar.
His six arms exerted force at the same time, hurling the massive reef into the center of the current, not far in front of the warship!
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
The next moment, with the point where the reef sank as the center, the surrounding seawater, as if being madly stirred by an invisible giant hand, began to spin and churn violently!
In the blink of an eye, a giant whirlpool with astonishing suction power formed and rapidly expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye!
A whirlpool... It's a whirlpool!
A drop of cold sweat trickled down the Marine officer's forehead, and he shouted with all his might:
"Quick! Full starboard! Full speed ahead! Get out of this sea area! Otherwise, we'll all be swept away!!"
"Haha, too late! You won't escape the whirlpool so easily!"
The three Fish-Man officers roared with laughter.
Even the sturdiest warship couldn't withstand the destruction of a whirlpool; once inside, without exception, it would face total annihilation.
Support.
"It's over, it's over, these Marines are done for!" Usopp, who had witnessed the entire battle, covered his face with his hands and shouted in terror.
It was strange. Even though he himself was a pirate, he had hoped this group of Marines would win.
But it couldn't be helped; as Nojiko had said, this group of Fish-Man pirates was not so easy to deal with.
It's definitely impossible in the water. It seems we can only attack them from land after Luffy and Zoro arrive.
Based on the failure of this naval battle, Usopp was reflecting on what they would need to pay attention to when they attacked Arlong Park.
Suddenly.
A biting cold suddenly spread without warning, and the temperature of the surrounding air plummeted, even his breath instantly condensing into white mist.
This feeling... so familiar...
Ganyu?!
Usopp suddenly realized something and whipped his head around.
The blue-haired girl, who had been standing quietly at the back, had somehow drawn a longbow.
The longbow was ancient in design and glowed with a faint blue light. She held it tightly, and both the bow and her body were enveloped in a biting chill.
Her long, ice-blue hair fluttered with her clothes, and her reddish-purple pupils became unusually focused and serious.
"Flowing... Sky!"
The girl's cold voice pierced everyone's ears as she parted her lips slightly. At the same time, with a twang, the two fingers holding the bowstring suddenly released!
An ice arrow shot from the bow, piercing the air and streaking across the sky like a meteor, heading straight for the center of the sea!
Nojiko, Genzo, Johnny, and Yosaku all held their breath, their eyes wide, staring at the scene before them in disbelief.
They couldn't understand why Ganyu would suddenly shoot such an astonishing arrow at this moment.
Was it to help the Marines fight the Fish-Men?
But if they really wanted to help, why wait until the Marine warship was about to be swallowed by the whirlpool and all the crew were on the brink of death before taking action?
Even if we hit a Fish-Man now, it probably won't turn the tide of the battle.
Their question was quickly answered.
The icy arrow shot from the bowstring, piercing the sky. Its target was not any of the Fish-Men, but the huge, madly spinning whirlpool itself!