The massive sea beast that appeared around the waterfall-like ocean current was a giant octopus known as Kraken, a legendary sea monster dubbed by many as 'a relentless killer, an ocean demon that targets and swiftly destroys ships.'
Kraken usually prowled in deep-sea areas, often attacking ships venturing into the depths of the ocean.
This was why the survival rate for those trying to reach Fish-Man Island was less than one in ten.
The Kraken didn't always stay in one place, so the nine out of ten who perished en route to Fish-Man Island could only partly blame the Kraken. At most, a third of the failures were due to the Kraken. The rest were victims of larger sea creatures lurking in deeper, darker waters, or were lost to underwater volcanoes, natural disasters, or other unfortunate coincidences.
Kaku double-checked the rope tied securely around his body. Once satisfied that it wouldn't easily come undone, he jumped onto the ship's railing, a small smirk forming on his lips as he faced the Kraken's massive tentacles head-on, leaping towards the bubble beyond without hesitation.
Enel held tightly to the other end of the rope that Kaku had practically thrust into his hands. Frowning, he asked, "Is that long-nose really gonna be okay? What if his bubble pops?"
"That bubble won't break so easily," Takumi said calmly. "And if it does, you've got the rope. Just pull him back."
Just as Takumi finished speaking, Kaku slipped through the large bubble that encased the ship.
His body was surrounded by a smaller bubble, but being underwater and with the force of the waterfall-like current nearby, Kaku's forward swimming speed was slow.
As the Kraken's tentacle loomed over the ship, Enel quickly maneuvered the ship to the side.
Kaku positioned himself under the tentacle, his short sword evolving into twin blades. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he gripped the hilts, crossing the blades and slashing downward just as the tentacle came crashing down. In an instant, a sword aura formed by intersecting red and blue beams severed the Kraken's tentacle.
A normal slash would have merely cut off a tentacle, but the evil energy from the blade made this different.
A black mist began to shroud the Kraken's severed tentacle, giving the impression that it was devouring the flesh.
Given how far they were from the ocean surface, visibility underwater was low, and the dark mist was almost swallowed by the surrounding darkness, making even Kaku, who was the closest, nearly miss it.
"What is that?" Kaku squinted, staring at the dissipating black mist on the Kraken's severed tentacle.
Suddenly, the Kraken went berserk. Its massive body surged out from the darkness, its tentacles flailing wildly like cannon fire, fiercely striking towards Kaku.
Kaku instinctively tried to evade the barrage using Moonwalk.
But unexpectedly, the speed of Moonwalk in these depths was only slightly slower than on land, and the bubble surrounding Kaku couldn't keep up, causing him to slip out of it...
As a Devil Fruit user, he instantly lost his strength, and the two short swords slipped from his grasp, the red and blue glow fading as they sank into the pitch-black ocean depths.
"This guy is useless..." Enel muttered, seeing Kaku struggle. He pulled the rope, quickly reeling Kaku back in.
Takumi glanced at the now soaked and exhausted Kaku inside the ship's large bubble, then turned his gaze to the sinking swords, silently asking the system: Can I retrieve the blades into system storage?
[Ding! Retrieval is possible.]
Upon receiving the confirmation, Takumi willed it, and the sinking blades disappeared with a flash.
Onboard the ship.
The moment Kaku was pulled back inside the bubble, the Kraken, now in a frenzy, turned its attention once again towards the ship, rushing forward aggressively.
Takumi placed his hand on Lake Toya, but Enel interrupted, "No need for you to deal with this guy. I'll handle it."
With that, Enel extended his golden staff, making its diameter grow to about a meter.
Though it could get even larger, Enel was wary that the bubble surrounding the ship might not withstand it, so he didn't push further.
Even so, the golden staff still couldn't reach the Kraken.
"The staff has a will of its own," Takumi suddenly said. "You know that even if you aren't holding it, it can still act according to your intent, right?"
Enel blinked, realization dawning upon him. The annoyance he felt vanished instantly.
A smirk formed on Enel's face as he let go of the staff. The golden staff flew out of the bubble under his control, instantly growing to several hundred meters long, with a diameter of dozens of meters, weighing tens of thousands of kilograms. With just a horizontal swing, the Kraken had no chance to escape, and was struck, sent plummeting into the rapidly downward-flowing waterfall-like current, disappearing instantly.
"Yahahaha! My Golden Staff is unbeatable," Enel laughed, recalling the staff, which shrank back to its original size and slipped through the bubble.
Kaku, having somewhat recovered, climbed to his feet, looking disheartened. "Captain, I'm sorry... I lost the swords you gave me. Whatever punishment you decide, I'll accept it without complaint."
Takumi and Enel both turned to look at him.
Enel scoffed, "Told you you couldn't do it, but you didn't listen. Useless."
Kaku remained silent.
With a sigh, Enel disappeared in a blur, reappearing moments later with a towel, which he tossed at Kaku. "What's with that look? It's just a sword. We're heading underwater; we might find it again. And even if we don't, the captain's soft on you—he won't blame you."
No sooner had Enel finished speaking than Takumi pulled out the short sword, tossing it towards Kaku without a word.
Kaku instinctively caught it. When he realized it was the very sword he thought he'd lost, he was stunned.
"Captain, this..." Kaku looked at Takumi, bewildered.
Takumi said coldly, "This is the last time. If you lose it again, don't expect to get it back."
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