Carlo nodded, pleased with Pathesius's attitude.
Seeing the pirates around him still kneeling on one knee, he waved them off.
"Disperse! Have someone prepare a banquet!"
"Yes, Captain Carlo!!"
The crowd scattered in excitement.
At that moment…
Babel returned.
Behind them, the surface of the sea erupted in violent splashes, drawing everyone's gaze.
Then Dragon and the others saw…
A circular patch of sea a hundred meters across suddenly exploded upward.
Amid the soaring spray, a monstrous fish—hundreds of meters long, python-thick and dotted with yellow spots—burst from the water.
"It's huge! A Sea King! An oarfish!" Kuma cried.
He had seen such colossal creatures as a child when he went fishing with his father.
He knew how hard these giant Sea Kings were to catch.
While everyone gasped and shouted…
Before the massive oarfish could dive again…
Another plume of water burst skyward.
A burly figure with flame-like hair and beard rocketed out of the sea,
boosted by a geyser of current, and shot dozens of meters into the air.
He cocked his webbed right fist and punched the oarfish Sea King square in the head as it tried to flee.
"Fish-Man Karate! Ten-Thousand Tile True Fist! Deep-Sea Current!"
His huge fist punched the air, driving a shockwave of compressed water and wind straight into the creature's skull.
BOOM!!
A deafening blast rang out.
In the next instant…
The Sea King's several-hundred-meter body—its head alone the size of a small pirate ship—exploded into a rain of flesh and blood that splattered across the sea.
The lifeless carcass crashed back into the waves.
Babel, who had killed the Sea King with a single punch, plunged after it.
He grabbed the bloody edge of its jaw and towed it toward shore.
He swam with terrifying speed,
dragging the hundreds-meter Sea King as swiftly as a ship running before the wind.
In the blink of an eye…
Babel surged onto the beach, swung his massive right arm, and flung the Sea King onto the sand with such force the ground trembled.
Done, he turned toward Carlo, scratching his huge catfish head and grinning.
"Bahahaha, Carlo! You're finally back?"
As he approached…
Ivankov and the others craned their necks at the nearly ten-meter-tall Fish-Man bulging with muscle.
"A Giant?"
"He's enormous—bigger than my dad!"
Kuma stared curiously.
He was of the Bacania Tribe,
naturally far larger than ordinary humans.
His father, Kurappa, stood over six meters and was powerfully built,
but beside this Fish-Man he looked small.
Babel rivaled smaller members of the Giant Race.
He claimed…
he was a hybrid of catfish Fish-Man and Giant, which explained why he dwarfed ordinary catfish Fish-Men.
He had inherited both a Fish-Man's crushing grip and a Giant's raw strength.
As Babel walked up, Carlo asked, "Where's Shamrock?"
"In the fairy forest, being looked after by the Tontatta Tribe."
"Oh? Those fairies?" Carlo blinked. "They don't mind humans? They're actually helping with a child?"
Babel chuckled, scratching his head. "Simple—I got rid of the fighting fish plaguing their waters, and now they're grateful."
"Fighting fish? What's that?" Ginny asked, eyes wide.
"A type of piranha with bull horns. Vicious things—when hungry they'll charge onto land to attack people and beasts."
Babel glanced down at her with a toothy grin; she yelped and ducked behind Kuma.
Babel roared with laughter and started toward the forest.
"Come on, I'll introduce you to the Tontatta."
"Fairies? The little-people?"
Hearing they'd see the legendary Tontatta, the children forgot their fear and scampered after him.
Carlo took his time,
walking with John, Jesman, and Pathesius behind them.
Jesman gazed at the ten-thousand-odd busy pirates and sighed…
"No wonder you didn't want to stay a Marine, Carlo. This is real power. Put a Fleet Admiral beside you and he'd look ordinary."
"You've got it wrong—since when is being a Fleet Admiral anything to boast about?" John, wrapped in so many bandages he looked like a mummy, gave a scornful laugh.
"Your Fleet Admiral needs World Government approval before he can move troops against anyone, but if Carlo here wants to attack, he only has to give the word and every pirate in earshot will charge howling into battle."
Jesman thought it over and nodded in agreement.
"You've got a point."
The group followed Babel deeper into the forest until they reached a flat clearing.
There,
they saw countless tiny wooden houses built high in the trees.
Hundreds—perhaps thousands—of these delicate huts, each barely the length of a forearm, were linked by vines and wooden ladders into a vast web.
Inside the huts, on the ladders, and among the vines and branches, twenty-centimetre-tall folk bustled about.
The sight of the newcomers made them drop their work and turn.
Their eyes held curiosity, some fear.
A moment later several sturdier members of the Tontatta Tribe rode dragonflies, beetles, and hummingbirds through the air.
Their leader, an elder who was clearly chief, first hovered before Babel for a brief talk, then flew to Carlo and bowed.
"I am Tonta, current chieftain of the Tontatta Tribe. You must be Captain Carlo Land, Captain of Babel Land. Welcome to the Tontatta Kingdom."
"Greetings, Chief Tonta. I hope my people haven't disturbed you."
Carlo extended a hand; the two leaders touched palms in the customary greeting.
Hearing this, Tonta—who was also king of the Tontatta Kingdom—felt deeply honoured.
Though he paid little heed to the outside world
and had no idea what sort of great figure Captain Carlo might be,
he could judge from Babel's strength, the huge pirate fleet anchored offshore, and the thousands of fierce pirates
that Carlo's status must be immense.
Yet this great outsider showed no trace of arrogance, treating the Tontatta chieftain as an equal.
That delighted Tonta
and set his mind at ease.
He had feared Babel's Captain might be difficult, even vicious.
If so,
he would have worried that Carlo might set his sights on the Tontatta folk themselves,
for their rarity fetched high prices on the open sea.
Clearly he had worried for nothing.
Tonta quickly smiled and said,
"Captain Carlo Land, what are you saying? Your crew have been perfectly behaved. They haven't harmed a single Tontatta and even helped us drive off those fighting fish. Those cursed things eat hundreds of us every year."
As he spoke he glanced at the group behind Carlo.
When he noticed the bandages covering John and Jesman, his eyes flickered and he asked,
"Captain, your men seem badly hurt. May we treat them?"
"Thank you for the offer, Chief Tonta. They've already had their wounds tended to."
Carlo replied.
Tonta said, "I mean I can make those injuries vanish right now."
"Oh?" Carlo's eyes lit; guessing what that might mean, he nodded. "In that case, thank you, Chief."
"Haha, Captain, you're too kind. Let's not stand about—come, let me show you our capital. Your family is already there; our women and children are looking after them."
Riding his hummingbird, Tonta turned and led the way back.
Carlo and the others followed.
Ivankov and young Kuma had already been lured away by the tiny folk and their marvellous dwellings, running off in wide-eyed excitement.
Carlo's party followed Tonta through a riotous flower field until they reached a sunlit meadow.
There
Carlo spotted a plump, red-haired baby lying on the grass, giggling as he played with butterfly-sized Tontatta children.
It was a scene of pure warmth.