Without Enel's power to support it, the thunderclouds in the sky slowly dissipated, and the ship that had been flying smoothly lost its energy and started to descend.
Fortunately, the ship wasn't flying very high and landed gently on the calm sea.
But the four Sea Kings, still enraged from the earlier lightning strikes, roared and surged back toward the ship with renewed fury.
Kaku frowned as he watched the Sea Kings getting closer.
If it were only one or two, he could manage, but four at once? He wasn't confident he could handle them all...
"Captain Takumi, there are four of them left. How do we deal with this?" Kaku turned to look at Takumi.
Takumi leaped up to the top of the ship, drew his Sandai Kitetsu, and without a word, swung it horizontally. A powerful, invisible slash of sword energy spiraled outward in all directions.
If these had been ordinary Sea Kings, the sword slash would have either killed or gravely wounded them. But these four were far tougher than the Sea Kings Takumi had encountered in other seas, with the slash only leaving half-meter deep gashes on their thick hides.
They were a lot tougher than expected.
A single strike was only enough to injure them. Two more strikes should be enough to finish them off, Takumi thought as he prepared to swing again.
However, before he could act, the four wounded Sea Kings unexpectedly retreated, diving back into the depths of the sea and fleeing.
Kaku stood there, stunned, watching the Sea Kings—who had just been fiercely intent on devouring the ship—suddenly retreat in pain.
He had struggled so much to deal with one, and Takumi had scared off all four with just a single slash?
How powerful must he be to pull that off...
There was a question Kaku had been meaning to ask but hadn't had the chance. Now seemed like a good moment.
As Takumi jumped down from the ship's top, Kaku quickly spoke up, "Captain Takumi, I didn't realize your swordsmanship was this strong. Are you a dual-wielding swordsman?"
"No," Takumi replied casually.
Kaku blinked, a bit incredulous. "If you're not, then why carry two swords?"
"Why not?" Takumi glanced at him.
Kaku chuckled awkwardly, "It's not that. I'm just curious... Being able to wield Kitetsu already shows you're no ordinary swordsman. But if you're not using two-sword style, why carry two? And one of them is a wooden sword. With your power, you wouldn't settle for an ordinary wooden sword, so it must be special. But I can't sense anything unusual about it... Could you let me take a look?"
Takumi silently stared at the hopeful expression on Kaku's face for a moment. Then, without a word, he unhooked the Lake Toya sword from his waist and held it out for Kaku to see.
Kaku's eyes lit up, and he reached out to take it.
But before he could, Takumi casually reattached the sword to his waist.
Kaku was left standing there, bewildered. "Uh... weren't you going to let me see it?"
"I did," Takumi said flatly.
Kaku was speechless for a moment, then couldn't help but smirk. Of course, he really had only been shown a quick glance...
"Prepare the ship," Takumi ordered, looking in the direction of Amazon Lily.
Even though the ship couldn't fly anymore without Enel's power, it could still sail normally. Kaku, being the shipwright, knew the ship's structure and functions inside and out. Getting it moving again wouldn't be difficult for him.
But there was one problem: they were in the Calm Belt. Without wind, the sea was dead calm, and most ships that entered it couldn't move at all.
Kaku hesitated, "This is the Calm Belt. Without Enel's electricity, how are we going to move forward?"
Takumi glanced back at him calmly, "Don't worry about it. Just steer the ship."
Kaku didn't know what Takumi had planned, but he had no choice but to trust him.
Without further questions, Kaku headed to the control room—a place they rarely used—and began maneuvering the ship with practiced skill.
Meanwhile, Takumi moved to the stern of the ship. Using Moonwalk, he leapt about twenty meters into the air behind the ship. Gathering chakra, he manipulated the surrounding seawater, quickly forming a massive water dragon, which surged toward the area five meters behind the ship.
With a thunderous crash, the powerful force of the water dragon launched the ship forward.
Kaku, clueless about what Takumi had done, felt the ship begin to move and quickly adjusted the steering to keep them on course.
Takumi landed back on the ship's deck just as it shot forward.
On the shores of Amazon Lily, the girl who had been watching them through a telescope had seen everything. She had witnessed every move Takumi and his crew had made.
Her heart raced in shock, especially when she saw the ship 'flying' toward the island at an alarming speed. Her expression grew more and more tense.
"This is bad. It looks like their goal is to land on the island. We can't let them make it ashore!" Her brow furrowed in determination, and she grabbed a small whistle hanging around her neck, ready to call for reinforcements.
But before she could blow the whistle, the ship carrying Takumi and his crew soared over her head, crashing through several large trees before finally coming to a stop.
"Ugh, this is going to take a long time to fix..." Kaku stepped out of the control room, looking at the smashed bow of the ship with a headache.
Takumi, however, simply jumped off the deck and onto the ground.
The moment his feet touched the earth, a voice echoed in his mind.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for successfully reaching the sign-in location: Amazon Lily. Sign-in progress +10%. Current total progress: 10%. Reward: Conqueror's Haki +1 level. Current Conqueror's Haki level: Lv7.]
Instantly, a powerful aura radiated from Takumi, spreading rapidly in all directions.
The girl who had just been about to blow her whistle was still watching from a distance. But the moment Takumi stepped off the ship, she managed to blow her whistle for less than half a second before collapsing. Her eyes rolled back, and she fell to the ground, unconscious.
Even the little green snake resting on her shoulder fainted.
As for Kaku, he didn't pass out like the girl, but he was completely immobilized by the overwhelming pressure of Takumi's Haki. For a brief moment, he felt as if he were on the verge of death.
Fortunately, the sensation only lasted a second. Kaku quickly regained control of his body, though his forehead was damp with cold sweat as he stared at Takumi, who had already stepped onto the shore.
Takumi had half-expected a new skill as a reward.
But gaining another level in Conqueror's Haki? That wasn't a bad reward either.
"You stay here," Takumi said, turning back to the stunned Kaku still standing on the deck. "Watch the ship and keep an eye on Enel."
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