When the massive great white shark appeared before the film crew, it sparked instant panic.
"Didn't they say these things are usually around 10 feet long? This one's ridiculous—has to be over 20 feet!"
"I'm guessing it weighs more than three tons. It's huge, like a small submarine!"
"Look at that gaping maw and those razor-sharp teeth. Terrifying! I can't even imagine what it'd be like to get chomped by that thing—probably torn to shreds in a second."
"Is Luke seriously going to jump in and dance with it?"
"Not just dance—he's gotta provoke it, make it come after him."
"That's insane. But honestly, when is Luke not insane? I'm almost used to it."
"Look! Luke's in the water!"
With the director's shout of "Action!" Luke leaped high into the air.
Gripping a long spear with both hands, his body stretched taut like an arrow, he plunged swiftly into the sea.
Splash!
The crisp sound of his entry barely stirred the water. If this were a diving competition, his minimal splash would've earned him extra points.
Once underwater, Luke immediately scanned his surroundings, searching for the shark.
It didn't take long to spot it, lurking just below him, not far off.
Even for Luke, seeing this ocean behemoth up close with no protection sent a jolt of nerves through him.
This was a creature weighing three tons and stretching over 20 feet long.
Most people would consider a 400-pound lion or tiger on land an unbeatable killer. Now imagine a great white shark, 15 times heavier than that!
Luke knew that even with his custom-made spear, a life-or-death fight with this monster would likely end badly.
He wasn't superhuman, just the best of the best among humans.
He extended his left hand, tightly gripping a shark lure, and began vibrating it at the frequency Dr. Carl had taught him.
With his other hand, he pressed a button on the spear's shaft.
Click!
The spear instantly split into three sections.
Luke hooked the head and tail pieces onto his belt, keeping the middle section—a smooth pole—in his hand.
After prepping, he increased the vibration frequency of the lure.
The great white had to be coming for him now, right?
Where was it?
Underwater, Luke calmed his mind, focusing on the subtle shifts in the water's flow around him.
He had to anticipate the shark's move to dodge and counter effectively.
As a master of multiple weapons, reading environmental changes was second nature to him.
Even underwater, that instinct wasn't dulled much.
Soon, he sensed an unusual disturbance in the water coming from his left rear.
The great white was there—and it was about to strike!
Luke yanked his left hand back in a flash.
Whoosh!
In a split second, the shark's gaping jaws snapped shut on empty water.
Luke shot out his left leg, delivering a powerful kick to the shark's side.
On land, it would've made a loud thud.
But underwater, it was like a silent movie—just motion, no sound.
The kick wasn't meant to hurt the shark; that was impossible.
Even on land, without water resistance, a kick like that wouldn't faze a great white. In the heavy drag of the ocean, it was even less effective.
The goal was to use the recoil to put some distance between him and the shark. If it managed to whip its head around and graze him, he'd be done for.
Just as he'd planned, the kick's recoil pushed him back from the shark.
The great white immediately swung its head for another bite, nearly catching Luke's left leg. It was a close call.
Watching through the camera, Director Verbinski clenched his fists.
"That scared the hell out of me! If that thing had connected, it could've ripped his whole thigh off!" a cinematographer exclaimed.
"That shark's sneaky as hell, pulling a fake-out like that. If Luke hadn't been on guard, he'd have been toast!" a makeup artist added.
"That was too close! Bob , is this really safe?" Annie asked, her voice tense.
"Trust Luke. You outsiders can't see it, but if you're in the know, you'd get how insanely skilled he is," Bob replied.
"When did he get so agile underwater, though? And that crazy-long breath-holding? It's unreal," Bob added, almost as an afterthought.
"Oh no, he's baiting the shark again!" Depp shouted, spotting Luke's next move.
Luke began vibrating the lure again, deliberately provoking the shark to attack.
With the last encounter under his belt, he looked more relaxed this time, his movements fluid, like he had everything under control.
This time, the disturbance came from directly behind him.
Luke anticipated the shark's charge again and dodged with precision.
But this time, as he evaded, his right arm shot forward like lightning.
Collapsing fist!
Gripping the spear's middle section, Luke drove a collapsing fist strike right into the shark's open jaws.
The high-strength carbon-fiber pole jammed vertically into the shark's mouth, forcing it open. No matter how hard the shark tried, it couldn't close its jaws.
It couldn't spit the pole out either—the barbs at both ends dug into the shark's mouth muscles, locking it in place.
The crew watching was floored.
"Holy crap! That actually worked? He just deep-throated the shark with that thing?"
"What's that pole made of? It's so tough the shark can't even close its mouth!"
"Haha, I'm dying! Classic move—bad guy opens their mouth, hero shoves something in to prop it open."
"I can't read a shark's face, but it looks like it's about to cry!"
"It's all Luke, man. Not only does he dodge the attack, but he times it perfectly to jam that pole in. If I tried that, I'd be meeting my maker in no time."
"I'm dying to know what he's gonna do next!"
Seizing the moment while the shark was still stunned, Luke pulled two polymer ropes from the pole's middle section.
In a flash, he flipped onto the shark's back, gripping the ropes and yanking them tight around its head.
The shark, thoroughly manhandled, finally realized it was in trouble.
It started thrashing wildly, whipping its body back and forth, desperate to shake Luke off.
Luke clung to the shark's body, pulling the ropes taut, like a cowboy taming a wild stallion on land.