Sunlight streamed down, illuminating everything on the tranquil seabed with perfect clarity.
Small fish darted through coral reefs, shrimp hid beneath the sand, jellyfish drifted past in schools, and schools of fish slowly swam toward the distance.
The scenery here was incredibly beautiful, vibrant, and colorful.
From beneath the sand, a crab scuttled sideways, moving slowly toward the distance.
Hoo.
The crab sensed something and suddenly sped up, crawling toward a rock.
In the distance, a dark shadow swam toward them. As it approached, it became clear it was a giant fish.
This fish was about a meter long, powerfully built, with a large head and massive pelvic fins, swimming toward them at an extreme speed.
Sensing the fish's approach, the crab had no time to reach the gap beneath the rock. It suddenly retracted its limbs, curling into a ball and flattening itself on the sandy ground.
It didn't dare move, trying to make the predator overlook it.
But the next moment.
Snap.
The giant sea fish charged forward, opening its enormous mouth and swallowing the crab whole before swimming upward, its jaws closing.
Several rows of sharp teeth bit down, crushing the crab's shell before it was swallowed.
After eating the crab, the sea fish didn't stop but swam toward the distance, locking onto a large yellow croaker.
The yellow croaker was already trying to escape.
But with the sea fish's speed, there was nowhere for it to flee.
Closer.
The sea fish neared the yellow croaker's body, accelerating again and instantly reaching its side.
Snap.
The sea fish opened its gaping maw, biting the yellow croaker's midsection, crushing its body and swallowing it, leaving only its head and tail.
"Now I'm full."
The large fish exhaled a stream of bubbles and slowly swam toward the direction of the harbor.
This fish was Xia Qiu.
After half a month of feeding and evolving, Xia Qiu was now over a meter long and weighed over fifty pounds, with significant changes to his body.
Originally, Xia Qiu had only one dorsal fin, but now, near his tail, another dorsal fin had grown, connecting to his tail fin.
In addition, Xia Qiu's teeth had been replaced twice. Each time, the new teeth grew longer, thicker, and sharper, and two rows of teeth had grown inside.
With a total of three rows of sharp teeth, combined with immense biting force, he could even crush the shell of a crab.
It could be said that Xia Qiu was the undisputed overlord of the waters near the island.
Furthermore, Xia Qiu's appetite had increased dramatically. He now ate at least a pound of food per meal, with his maximum intake reaching three pounds.
With a pound of food, Xia Qiu ate roughly once every hour.
And if he ate three pounds at once, Xia Qiu would need at least three hours, or even more, to digest.
Xia Qiu tried to eat more at once to gain more time to act.
He would use this time to gather information about this world.
His only means of gathering information were sight and hearing.
His vision in the sea was limited, so most of the time, he listened to the conversations of the island's inhabitants.
He heard the conversations of fishermen on their departing boats and children playing by the sea.
Most of it was meaningless.
However, a small amount of information led Xia Qiu to confirm that this world was indeed the world of One Piece, and his current location was the East Blue.
Xia Qiu had already explored this island. To the south was the sea where he appeared, to the east was the harbor, to the north were jagged rocks and the vast ocean, and to the west was a shallow beach.
The island was about four kilometers long from east to west and one kilometer from north to south, with an area of four square kilometers, not very large.
There was a village on the island called Naruto Village, with a small population.
The Village Chief was named Kaldo, a plump middle-aged man who had visited the harbor once and was respected by many fishermen.
The village's livelihood was salt production, with many salt fields. Only a small number of fishermen went out to sea to fish.
Both salt and seafood were purchased daily by cargo ships, which also delivered supplies.
Besides the occasional names mentioned by fishermen, it was difficult to obtain further information.
Xia Qiu also confirmed that the current year was Marineford Calendar 1510, nearing the end of the year.
This year, Luffy and Usopp were seven years old, Sabo and Ace were ten, Sanji and Zoro were nine, and Nami was eight.
This was the year Luffy accidentally ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi, and the year Shanks lost his arm saving Luffy from a Sea King.
This was the year Luffy vowed to become a pirate, was gifted the straw hat by Shanks, and was taken by Garp from Windmill Village to Mt. Colubo, where he was handed over to the bandit leader Dadan, met Ace and Sabo, and became their friend.
Six months later, within this year (or before March of the second year), Sabo set sail, encountered Celestial Dragons visiting the Goa Kingdom, and was hit by a cannonball. Sabo was rescued by Dragon and joined the Revolutionary Army.
This year, Red-Legged Zeff led the Cook Pirates to the Grand Line, and naturally returned to the East Blue a year later.
And this year was also the beginning of Xia Qiu's transmigration to the world of One Piece, becoming a fish.
Xia Qiu knew this year was very important. Luffy vowed to become a pirate, indirectly influencing the turbulent changes that would follow.
But it had nothing to do with him.
All Xia Qiu cared about now was filling his stomach and surviving better.
...
Xia Qiu headed towards the direction of the harbor, but stayed close to the seabed, swimming away from the harbor.
The water depth increased, and Xia Qiu could feel the pressure rising, but relative to his enormous size, he didn't feel the pressure.
Xia Qiu swam forward, and before long, a shipwreck appeared before him.
It was a two-masted fishing boat, quite large, about twelve meters long, with a huge cabin.
The fishing boat's mast was broken, and its keel was broken, but it wasn't completely split in two. The cabin was cracked, revealing a large hole.
Xia Qiu entered the cabin directly through the large hole. His massive body exerted immense pressure, immediately startling small fish, which swam away in all directions through the gaps in the cabin.
Xia Qiu ignored them, slowly lowered his body, stayed close to the sand, and stopped there.
This was the shelter Xia Qiu had found. Although with his size, he had no enemies in the waters near the island.
However, Xia Qiu still wanted to find a place to live. When not foraging, he could rest here.
And if a powerful enemy were to appear, this place could serve as a hiding spot and a refuge.
Xia Qiu hid in the shadows beneath the inner wall of the cabin, slowly waiting for the food within his body to be consumed.
A heat flow circulated within his body. Compared to Xuexin's current size, the heat flow allowed his body to evolve without him feeling the pain of growth.
But before long, Xia Qiu felt a slight itch on his body's surface.
What's going on?
Xia Qiu was a bit confused, but the itching sensation grew more intense, making it unbearable for Xia Qiu.
What on earth happened?
(Note: Luffy obtained the Devil Fruit at age seven, then met Ace and Sabo. Sabo left when Luffy was still seven.
The first event is in the first chapter, where Luffy eats the fruit, Shanks loses his arm, is attacked, and then it directly states that ten years later Luffy sets sail.
The second event is in the flashback arc. Seven years after Sabo left, Ace set sail, and three years after that, Luffy set sail, still a total of ten years.
Both events happened when Luffy was seven, basically in the same year. Luffy's birthday is in May, but since Sabo's birthday is in March, Sabo's departure date could be pushed to March 1511 at the latest.
Some people commented and discussed in the chapter, believing Luffy and Sabo spent a long time together, but in reality, it was less than a year, between six to ten months.)
-----------
Translation by: randomtranslator.com
Read 2500+ original & fanfic translations and Translate for Free at: randomtranslator.com