Chapter 10: Youthful Indulgence, Adult Indiscretion
Chapter 10: Youthful Indulgence, Adult Indiscretion
"Meeeh!!!"
After spitting out Baggi, the ram revealed its enormous fangs as it opened its mouth, letting out a roar while its lower body emerged from the sea, exposing its full form.
This creature was roughly ten meters long, with the upper body of a ram and the lower body of a fish—a classic sea beast.
It was quite easy to distinguish between a Sea King and a sea beast.
Sea Kings often resembled non-mammalian creatures, exhibiting a chaotic mix of features from fish, reptiles, amphibians, and birds.
On the other hand, sea beasts were more uniform, with mammalian upper bodies and fish-like features in their lower halves.
The vast ocean never ceased to amaze, and though Sag had known about the existence of sea beasts and Sea Kings, he was still taken aback when he first encountered them years ago.
The ram sea beast that leaped out of the water opened its mouth wide, revealing sharp fangs as it charged directly at Sag.
"Sag!!!"
Lili, not too far away, cried out in surprise. She drew her slender sword and, like a swimming dragon, swiftly dashed through the water toward Sag.
Regardless, this was the captain she had just acknowledged—she couldn't let anything happen to him!
"No need."
Sag called out to stop Lili in her tracks. His body burst out of the seawater, leaping into the air. As the ram lunged at him, he performed the Moon Walk, stepping on air to sidestep and dodge the sea beast's attack gracefully.
Boom!!
A massive splash erupted below him as Sag ascended into the sky, crossing his legs as if climbing a staircase. From the splashing water, the ram sea beast emerged once more, its gaping mouth biting upwards, aiming for Sag.
Its speed was no joke; the rate at which it burst out of the sea would catch most off guard. Yet, as its sharp teeth made contact with the sole of Sag's foot, it suddenly came to a halt.
Not high enough.
Sag glanced down at the rapidly approaching sea beast, a cold smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.
For a creature of this size, comparable to a ship, it fell short in the vast ocean...
"Just a little sea beast!"
Facing the sharp fangs, Sag's feet flickered with a series of afterimages, sending out a barrage of light blue slashes that rained down like a curtain.
"Ranjaku: Ran!"
The North Dipper Fist also possessed a way to defeat such sea beasts. Over the years of practicing his secret acupoint technique, he had learned to apply it not only to humans but to all creatures. Everything in the world had secret acupoints, and with a bit of careful observation during close combat, one could identify these points even in non-humans.
But with the Six Styles, why bother with such complications?
Sssssss!!!
"Meeeeeh!!!"
The light blue slashes grazed the body of the ram sea beast, carving deep gashes into its flesh. As its blood splattered everywhere, the beast let out a pitiful wail, its rigid body slamming heavily onto the water's surface, floating listlessly.
Only then did Sag descend, stepping onto the sea beast's body. He addressed Lili, "Come on up, Lili."
Lili swam over and climbed onto the sea beast's body. The seawater soaked her golden hair, causing it to stick to her neck, and even her wide skirt clung tightly to her body, accentuating her long, straight legs and perky, elastic backside. Not to mention the grand narrative her upper body presented as it trembled with each movement.
A true golden-haired bombshell.
A sixteen-year-old girl...
Sag glanced at her, then quickly averted his eyes, saying, "Lili, slice some meat off. Let's have some seafood."
Creatures of the sea were, naturally, considered seafood. Even this sea beast, with its upper body resembling a ram, could be eaten raw.
Lili's sword was likely a fine product; it glistened with a chilling light as she brandished it. As she prepared to stab, Sag instructed, "Not from the upper body. Go for the waist and abdomen—where the beast's body transitions from mammal to fish. That part is soft, tender, and full of flavor."
Following Sag's advice, Lili adjusted her sword's position and sliced open the sea beast's skin, carefully extracting a chunk of meat to toss over to Sag.
Sag raised his hand to catch the meat and took a bite, chewing a couple of times before swallowing and letting out a satisfied "Mmm! Delicious!"
Lili used the tip of her sword to pick up another piece, but instead of using her hands like Sag, she took a delicate bite from the blade's edge. Her eyes widened as she quickly devoured the meat.
It had a nice bounce to it, yet it wasn't overly chewy, and it was incredibly tender.
Lili swiftly finished the meat on her sword and picked up another piece to hand to Sag before continuing to indulge herself.
It wasn't until they had devoured most of the sea beast's waist and abdomen that Lili finally paused, eyeing Sag as he continued to eat. "Sag, I don't quite understand," she said.
"Hmm?" Sag sat cross-legged on the sea beast's body, taking large bites of the meat. "What don't you understand?"
The people of this world had hearty appetites, and even Lili had put away quite a bit. Of course, Sag finished off the rest.
Ever since he started cultivating the North Dipper Fist, his appetite had steadily increased over the years, from his childhood to the present.
"You're so strong, why are you so fixated on that dream? If you're going to be a pirate, shouldn't you be aiming for the One Piece?" Lili asked.
Sag sighed. "Because housing prices back home are too high."
"Huh?" Lili was perplexed.
Sag shook his head and laughed.
How should he explain it? People from his hometown had an innate attachment to land. Who wouldn't want to own a vast stretch of land and a grand house? After arriving in this world, he had developed the same dream, and it had only grown stronger, becoming an obsession.
As for the reason...
Bad luck, that's what it was!
If he had possessed all of this from the beginning, perhaps his obsession wouldn't have taken such a strong hold. But precisely because he had lacked these things for so long, his obsession had deepened and even taken on a twisted nature.
"There's no conflict!" Sag declared, swallowing the last piece of meat and clenching his fists. "Now that I've become a pirate, I'll commit to it wholeheartedly. There's no rule saying that the Pirate King can't own real estate! I want to be a landlord, and I want to be the Pirate King too!"
The choice of a young man was to have it all, but only adults knew how unrealistic that was... Yet, a man remained a boy at heart until the very end!
"Let's go find an island to rest," Sag said as he stood up from the sea beast's corpse. "If we don't leave soon, the scent of blood will attract more sea beasts."
He didn't dare linger in this spot for too long. Eventually, the sea beast's corpse would be torn apart by other sea creatures. For now, finding an island to rest and recover was the best option.
Sag grabbed the back of Lili's collar and used the Moon Walk technique, treading on air as he kicked off toward the direction Buggy had pointed out earlier.
He might not trust his own luck, but he sure trusted Buggy's instincts.
After all, Buggy had led him to catch a fish, so he had to trust his judgment.
And this time, his trust was well-placed.
As night fell and the sky lit up with twinkling stars, Sag spotted the silhouette of an island, and his eyes lit up with excitement. He increased his speed, leaping through the night sky toward the island.
Now they could rest for the night!
As they drew closer, Lili suddenly paused, pointing to a landing spot on the island. "Sag, there's a boat over there."
A boat?
Sag followed her gaze and indeed spotted a small boat at the landing site. It was similar to the little wooden boat Lili had been using before, but slightly larger. It had a small cabin for one person and a black sail with a white painting of a skull with hourglasses on either side.
A pirate ship!
Sag's gaze instinctively shifted to the center of the island, where he could make out the flickering light of a fire.
"Excellent!" He smiled. "Looks like we won't just be sleeping under the stars tonight, but we might also get to enjoy a warm meal and a drink!"
(End of Chapter)
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