Chapter 62: The Ambition of the Sea King!
"Stop fighting already! If you want to fight, go down below! Don't do it on the Going Merry!"
As he spoke, he grabbed the barely conscious Hachi from the ground and threw him with all his might.
"Off you go!"
Hachi traced an arc through the air before crashing into the courtyard's pond, sending up a huge splash.
Meanwhile, Momoo had already flown directly above the Going Merry!
It was about to crash down!
Ralph's figure vanished, reappearing mid-air.
"Soru: Sky Step!"
Simultaneously, Zoro and Sanji sprang into action.
"No Sword Style: Tatsu Maki!"
"Anti-Manner Kick!"
Three attacks struck Momoo simultaneously!
"Moo——!!!"
Momoo screamed in agony, changing direction mid-air as it skimmed past the Going Merry's railing before crashing with a thunderous "boom" into the empty courtyard space, creating a massive crater.
Dust filled the air.
The battle had temporarily come to an end.
Lufia landed, dusting off her hands with some regret. "Ah... I haven't had enough fun yet."
Zoro chuckled lightly. "Too weak, not interesting at all."
Sanji flicked his cigarette ash. "Indeed, this kind of opponent doesn't even count as a warm-up."
Meanwhile, Chabo, who had been watching the battle, stood dumbfounded.
He looked at the unconscious Hachi on the ground, then at the weeping Momoo in the crater, before turning to the three completely unfazed individuals.
His eyes gradually began to shine.
"You... you're so strong!" Chabo rushed up to Lufia, excitedly exclaiming, "With this much power, you can definitely defeat Arlong!"
Lufia grinned widely. "Of course! We'll wait right here! This is Arlong's territory, so he's bound to return, right? When he does, we'll knock him flying in one go!"
"I agree."
Ralph jumped down from the Going Merry. "..."
He pointed at the ship:
"We need to move the ship first. Otherwise, when the real fight starts, the aftermath might destroy it."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Lufia, Zoro, and Sanji simultaneously turned their gazes toward Ralph.
That look... felt somewhat off.
Ralph's heart skipped a beat.
"Why... are you all looking at me?"
Lufia said with a playful smile, "Ralph, you're the one who knows the most about navigation among us, right?"
Zoro crossed his arms. "That's right, and you handled things pretty well just now."
Sanji bowed elegantly. "Therefore, the task of returning the ship shall be entrusted to you."
Ralph: "...All by myself?"
The three spoke in unison: "Of course not alone! Johnny and Yosaku will help you!"
Seriously?
Just to compete for the chance to fight Arlong, they'd even come up with this kind of excuse?
He looked at Lufia.
Had this usually simple-minded girl been corrupted by Zoro and Sanji, or had she actually become smarter?
"According to the information provided by that Chabo," Sanji added, "Aside from Arlong himself, there are two other strong officers under his command. Kuroobi and Chew, plus Arlong himself—exactly three."
Zoro continued, "If Ralph stays here, there won't be enough to go around."
Lufia nodded vigorously. "Exactly! So Ralph, you go send the ship back! Leave defeating the Fish-men to the three of us!"
Ralph fell silent.
Fine.
Building favor and skill proficiency wouldn't suffer from missing one or two battles.
He was mainly more concerned about the Going Merry.
He didn't trust any of these three with it.
With him here, the plot had already begun to deviate.
If any accidental damage occurred, causing the Going Merry to be scrapped prematurely...
That outcome was absolutely unacceptable to Ralph.
"Alright."
As Ralph agreed, Lufia cheered, "Ralph is the best!"
"...But before that, there's one more thing!"
Ralph turned and went back to the cabin, fetched some emergency medical supplies, then walked to the edge of the large pit.
Inside the pit, the Sea Beast Momoo was lying down crying.
A large bump swelled on its head, and tears welled in its lantern-sized eyes as it occasionally sniffled, looking utterly pitiful.
Ralph jumped into the pit and approached Momoo.
Momoo watched him warily, shrinking back slightly.
"Don't be afraid," Ralph said softly.
He opened the medicine bottle, poured out some ointment, and gently applied it to the bump on Momoo's head.
The cool ointment felt soothing, and Momoo squinted its eyes comfortably.
While applying the medicine, Ralph looked into Momoo's eyes:
"Does it hurt? It's okay, the medicine will help you heal."
His voice was very gentle, "As long as you promise me not to do bad things with Arlong and the others anymore, we won't hit you again."
Momoo couldn't understand human language.
But it could sense that this person's voice... was so gentle.
And that shiny thing on his chest, swaying in the sunlight, was so beautiful.
[Ding!]
[System Notification:]
[Medical Treatment (Beginner) activated]
[Hypnosis (Beginner) activated]
[Beast Taming (Beginner) activated]
[For a period of time, the target will actively understand your commands and obey your instructions]
[Sea Beast Momoo has successfully established a 'Friend' relationship with you]
[Claim relationship reward?]
Ralph silently thought: "Claim."
[Reward claimed successfully]
[Obtained: Swimming (Advanced)]
A warm current flowed into his body.
Knowledge, techniques, and experience about swimming were all imprinted deep in his consciousness.
How to conserve energy, how to increase speed, how to maintain balance in complex sea conditions, even how to engage in short-distance combat underwater...
His swimming skill had directly advanced to the advanced level.
Feeling the changes in his body, Ralph smiled wryly to himself.
Establishing a relationship with a Sea Beast indeed rewarded "Swimming."
Well, what else could they do besides swimming? Eat!
It's not like he could obtain the bloodline of a Sea King!
But it's still good. He just wondered how his current swimming level compared to that of a Fish-man.
Moreover, this combo of "Medical Treatment + Hypnosis + Beast Taming" was incredibly effective for building relationships with animals.
If he could level up his Beast Taming skill to the top...
A sudden thought crossed Ralph's mind:
Could he, like the future Princess Shirahoshi, command the Sea Kings?
He shook his head, dismissing this unrealistic idea.
For now, he needed to solve the immediate problem.
"Momoo," Ralph pointed at the Going Merry, "that's our ship. You pulled it in earlier, now pull it back out. Take it to the bay where we came from. Understand?"
Momoo blinked its large eyes.
It didn't fully understand what this human was saying, but it recognized the sound "Momoo."
That was its name.
And this human was pointing at the ship, then pointing outside...
Did he want it to pull the ship out?
Momoo hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded.
"Ooh!"
It got up from the pit, walked over to the Going Merry, bit the rope at the bow with its mouth, and gave a gentle pull.
The Going Merry began to move slowly.
Although this method saved effort by eliminating the need to steer the ship, it didn't mean Ralph didn't need to keep an eye on Momoo.
So Ralph jumped aboard, preparing to return with Johnny and Yosaku to where their boat was anchored.
They watched as the Going Merry, towed by Momoo, slowly sailed out through the gates of Arlong Park, disappearing from view along the waterway.
Lufia seemed to snap out of a deep dream.
It felt like she had just been asleep, yet also like she hadn't slept at all.
The way Ralph applied medicine to that giant sea cow was so gentle!
She vigorously shook her bouncy head!
"Alright!" Lufia patted her cheeks, "Now we just wait for Arlong to return!"
No sooner had she spoken than her stomach let out a loud "gurgle."
Lufia rubbed her belly with an innocent expression: "Ah... Sanji, I'm hungry."
Sanji, being the chef, immediately sprang into action:
"Miss Lufia, please wait a moment! I'll prepare food for you right away!"
His eyes scanned the courtyard before finally settling on Hachi floating in the pond.
"Miss Lufia," he asked elegantly, "do you enjoy eating octopus?"
In the pond, the unconscious Hachi seemed to sense something, his arm twitching violently.
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