https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-253-If-I-m-Going-to-Screw-Someone-Let-the-Sea-Kings-Swallow-Me-Whole/13536629/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-255-Do-You-Really-Think-We-d-Believe-Your-Nonsense-/13536631/
Chapter 254: Growth Stagnation
Chapter 254: Growth Stagnation
Who is the supreme ruler of the Grand Line?
The World Government? The Navy? The Revolutionary Army? A pirate?
None of them.
It's these Sea Kings that inhabit the ocean!
Small Sea Kings can render ships sailing the Grand Line completely immobile.
Large Sea Kings can threaten an island's very existence.
And colossal Sea Kings can erase islands entirely from the map.
This was a colossal Sea King - even the largest Sea King Kuro had ever seen, Oz, would barely fill this creature's tooth gap.
How could such an enormous Lanternfish even exist?
A wispslash was unleashed, but for this island-devouring Sea King, it was barely an additional wound. Right at the edge of the Lanternfish's mouth, it tore away a strip of bloody flesh already reduced to pulp.
The Lanternfish's eyes clearly showed pain, yet this pain only made it more violent. Its mouth opened wider, its suction power became even more formidable, and the entire Moe Island trembled from the shockwave. Structures groaned and shook as massive debris rained down from above.
The island's residents, watching the giant Lanternfish, fell into chaos.
With this kind of size, ordinary people stood no chance. Even Lida might have been able to handle it if she absorbed enough energy, but there was no way she could get that time now.
Kuro floated in the sky, the smoke from his cigar obscuring his expression. He gripped the hilt of his sword, re-sheathing it in one motion as he assumed his Iaijutsu stance.
"Ichiryu Style!"
With one swift draw of his blade, a hundred slashes erupted forth. As his sword cut through the air, hundreds of black-gold slashes shot toward the Lanternfish, tearing into its flesh and exposing raw wounds.
The hundred slashes momentarily disrupted the Lanternfish's suction as it gulped seawater.
"F*cking hell, do you think I'm just giving you decorative cuts?!" Kuro spat through clenched teeth.
These were just ordinary slashes infused with Haki. If he had unleashed hundreds of advanced Haki-infused slashes all at once, he himself wouldn't be able to withstand the strain.
"Boom!"
After being momentarily stalled, the Lanternfish suddenly shifted from suction to expulsion. A massive tsunami wave formed from the sea water it spewed downward.
The volume was enough to flood the island three or four times over.
"My god!"
Sazil, watching from a distance with his mouth agape, stared in stunned silence. This kind of wave couldn't be stopped - it was beyond human capability!
Even Kuro, powerful as he was, was a Devil Fruit user. If overturned by these waves, he would be helpless.
"Run for your lives!"
The residents screamed as panic spread, but with waves this massive, where could they possibly run?
"Lion's Might!"
Kuro surged upward against the oncoming tidal wave. As his palm touched the seawater while other droplets nearly kissed his skin in that same instant, he activated his ability.
"Imperial Palace!"
In that moment, the massive seawater surged inward, condensing into a colossal lion's head roaring with fury. It crashed into the Lanternfish with tremendous force.
The water mass struck the Lanternfish, splitting apart as it hit its body. The impact pushed the Lanternfish backward a distance before the water crashed into the ocean, creating massive waves that turned the sea surface into a stormy maelstrom.
When dealing with inanimate objects, Kuro had supreme confidence in his abilities.
There might be more peculiar Devil Fruits, but the Lanternfish couldn't possibly have one.
Despite Kuro's best efforts to control it, the turbulence from the water mass crashing into the sea still flooded the beach and port. The water level began creeping inland, making Kuro grimace in frustration.
"If you want to fight me on the Grand Line, I'll wear you down until you're dead! I swear on my name, Kuro!"
If this were on the Grand Line, he'd have all the time in the world to wear down this Lanternfish. But this was his territory now, and if he kept fighting here recklessly, the island would suffer.
The Lanternfish was too close to the island. Any technique with a wide range would inevitably affect the island, while smaller attacks would be completely ineffective against a creature this massive.
"Aaaargh!"
The Lanternfish continued to open its mouth, emitting a deep drum-like sound that made people's scalps tingle.
It seemed determined to keep sucking, as if it really wanted to swallow the entire island.
But its gaze wasn't fixed on the island. Those massive eyes were locked solely on Kuro in the sky.
Kuro, who had his Observation Haki activated, keenly sensed that intense desire.
"Me?"
Kuro pointed at himself, his expression strange. "Could my luck really be this bad? I swear I don't go around ruining people's days."
Was heaven really so against him that it would send a colossal Sea King to teach him a lesson?
That seemed just a bit too far-fetched.
To test his suspicion, Kuro moved slightly to the side. Sure enough, the Lanternfish's massive eye followed his movement.
So it really was focused on him.
"Does this fish have a craving for some part of me? Hey, fish! Want my hooded cloak? Navy-issued hooded cloak - a symbol of glory you can't buy with money!"
Kuro shouted toward the Lanternfish.
The Lanternfish remained silent. Without the 'Voice of All Things,' Kuro naturally couldn't make it understand. Instead, it opened its mouth even wider, preparing to use its signature suction ability again.
This scene seemed oddly familiar to Lida.
It reminded her of some rumors she had heard before.
She stared at the Lanternfish's massive eye. As it turned, following Kuro's movements in the air, she noticed how its gaze followed him - and how its eyes were particularly drawn to the ear accessory glinting in the sunlight.
Suddenly, an idea struck her.
"Kuro! Pure Gold! It's Pure Gold!" Lida shouted.
"Huh?"
Kuro turned his head to look at Lida, momentarily stunned.
Of course he knew about Pure Gold - the legendary miraculous gold that granted eternal youth. Possessing it meant achieving true immortality.
But he didn't have any Pure Gold himself.
Was his ear accessory really made from Pure Gold?
That was ridiculous.
Would the World Government really give him something like that? He wasn't Imu.
Wait a minute...
"Pure Gold? Lanternfish?"
Kuro rubbed his chin, lost in thought. Come to think of it, there was something in his memory about this...
"That's the Lantern Officer! Wherever Pure Gold exists in legend, this Lantern Officer will surely appear! That light from your ear accessory probably confused it. It craves that glow - use it to distract the Lanternfish!" Lida shouted.
Pure Gold and Lanternfish?
The connection was becoming clearer now.
"Whatever, we'll figure it out later. You want my light? Fine!"
Kuro swiftly flew forward, appearing at the Lanternfish's side. He stabbed his sword into the area just below its eye.
"You think you can become a light giant or something? Want some light? Come and get it!"
Hiss!!
Kuro positioned himself directly below the Lanternfish's eye, making sure it could clearly see the glow from his ear accessory. Then, with one swift motion, he slashed forward. His Black Blade became a wisp of straight light, tearing through the Lanternfish's outer skin as Kuro propelled himself backward.
"Aaaaargh!"
The Lanternfish let out a painful cry, but its eye kept tracking Kuro. As Kuro moved, the massive creature slowly began turning its body.
It really was following Kuro now.
Kuro flew straight ahead, quickly moving far beyond Moe Island's range. He only stopped when Moe Island was just a silhouette on the horizon.
The enormous Lanternfish slowly followed, its head slightly raised as if trying to pocket Kuro.
Kuro looked down at the Lanternfish from above, a cruel smile forming on his lips. "Now we're in a place where I don't have to hold back anymore."
He raised his arm high, then brought it down with force.
"Let's see whose bigger - you or my treasure vault!"
The sky abruptly darkened.
It wasn't nightfall, but rather something that had obscured the skies around them. Above Kuro, countless islands, factories, and weapons formed a dark canopy that swallowed the sky, casting a heavy, oppressive shadow.
It felt like the heavens themselves were collapsing.
"Get ready to sink to the ocean floor, you beast!"
The dark mass descended rapidly, striking the Lanternfish with objects even larger than itself. The impact force from the high-altitude descent was beyond human comprehension.
Rocks, islands, weapons - all crashed into the Lanternfish's body, as if trying to flatten it. The creature's flesh caved in under the relentless assault.
The pain made the Lanternfish open its mouth wider than ever. Sea water flowed from its mouth as it vomited it back into the Grand Line.
This was its stomach acid.
Such a massive impact triggered its vomiting reflex.
Countless fish were expelled with the seawater - all the creatures this massive Lanternfish had swallowed before, including some enormous Sea Kings.
Deep within its gaping mouth, an island's silhouette faintly appeared.
Boom!
An island was vomited from the Lanternfish's mouth, crashing into the Grand Line waters and drifting away.
Witnessing this, Kuro's lips twitched involuntarily.
Good thing he had moved the island out of range in time. If that thing had come here and bitten Moe Island, the island would've been history.
After expelling the island, the Lanternfish's body was clearly much flatter than before. Not because it was hungry, but because Kuro's treasure vault had smashed it flat. It flipped over on the sea surface, panting heavily, its breath like howling wind sweeping across the ocean.
"One more round!"
Kuro raised his palm, and his treasures lifted back into the sky, ready for another strike.
But at this moment, the Lanternfish seemed to sense something. One of its eyes, which had turned toward Kuro as it floated on the sea surface, gave him a deep look before the creature submerged itself into the Grand Line.
"Fleeing?"
Kuro watched as the massive shadow on the ocean surface gradually shrank, clearly going deeper.
He stood there frozen, his arm halfway through its motion.
What was this?
Did it come just to vomit an island for him to see?
"Even managed to spit out a pretty big one."
Kuro looked at the island below. From the way it had been expelled from the Lanternfish's belly, it must have been compressed and damaged during the process, leaving residual energy that had left the island in complete disarray.
But faintly, some architectural outlines were still visible.
Deep within those ruins, he spotted a brilliant golden glow.
Kuro narrowed his eyes as he descended. With one slash of his sword, he created an air pressure wave that cleared away nearby debris.
In that instant, the golden glow intensified, shining directly on him.
"What the..."
As the light shone on him, Kuro immediately sensed something was wrong.
In this world, carelessness could cost a life. He was always very attentive to his own body, sensing even the smallest change.
And now, he clearly felt his growth had been stalled.
No, to be precise, it was moving forward at an extremely slow pace - so slow it was practically stagnant.
He cleared away the ruins surrounding the glow and retrieved a transparent jar. Inside the jar, a golden pebble was soaked in liquid, radiating brilliant light.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
