Bulu bulu, bulu bulu... On the deck of the swordfish, the unique calling sound of a den den mushi rang out.
Kailo, who was leaning against the ship's railing enjoying the warm sunshine of Liashida Island, snapped back to his senses and reached out to pick up the receiver.
Katcha.
The den den mushi's appearance changed rapidly, mimicking Sammy's looks and expression.
"Hello, Kailo? This is Sammy."
"Boss Sammy!" Kailo's spirits lifted. "How's the situation on your end?"
The Sammy image mimicked by the den den mushi revealed a smile.
"We've successfully crossed the Knock Up Stream and landed smoothly on the White Sea. The log pose is reacting, and we're heading toward the first target island. How are things with you?"
Kailo glanced into the distance. Isaac was leading some of the brothers in physical training at the dock area, while nearby, several energetic Crew Members were borrowing surfboards from the islanders, playing happily in the harbor and splashing water everywhere.
"Everything is normal here, Boss," Kailo laughed. "Isaac and some of the guys are training and handling supplies, while the rest of us are... well, just having a bit of fun."
He chose his words carefully.
"Oh, it sounds like you're all quite leisurely."
Sammy's voice carried a hint of teasing.
"Well, since we have to wait for you guys to come back, we have to find something to do," Kailo laughed too. "On the other hand, you guys on the Sea of Clouds should be car..."
His words suddenly stopped.
Because from the den den mushi's end, a faint but urgent cacophony of noise could be heard, seemingly mixed with exclamations and some kind of... muffled impact?
"Boss, what's that sound on your end?"
"Hmm?"
The Sammy image mimicked by the den den mushi seemed to tilt its head to listen, then turned back.
"Ah, it's nothing, nothing. A small situation cropped up here, no big deal. Anyway, let's leave it at that for now. Keep in touch, and wait for our return."
"Understood," Kailo replied, though he felt a slight sense of doubt in his heart.
"Katcha."
The call ended, and the den den mushi returned to its original state, letting out a lazy yawn.
Kailo put down the receiver and looked toward the western sky, where nothing could be seen except white clouds.
"A small situation, huh..." he whispered to himself, then shook his head. "With the Boss there, nothing will go wrong..."
...Shifting focus to the Sea of Clouds, aboard the skylark.
"Look behind us! What is that thing? It's charging over!"
"My god! What a huge shadow!"
"It's a monster fish! A monster fish! In the Sea of Clouds!"
The Crew Members were gathered at one side of the ship, pointing behind and shouting in alarm.
The rest of the crowd looked in that direction and saw a massive shadow breaking through the pure white surface of the sea not far behind the skylark, chasing them at an incredible speed!
It was a massive fish, estimated to be nearly thirty meters long, with a flat and broad body. Its skin was a grayish-white similar to the Sea of Clouds, covered in strange spiral patterns.
It had no obvious fins; instead, it had several pairs of wide, membrane-like winged limbs that moved with exceptional flexibility through the clouds.
It was extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, it had already caught up to a position parallel with the skylark, its massive shadow looming over one side of the hull.
And Sargins was currently standing by the railing on that side, seemingly lost in a daze.
The shadow completely covered him.
Sargins seemed to sense something and slowly raised his head.
On the lowered head of the flat monster fish, two massive, emotionless yellowish-brown eyes met his gaze directly.
Eye to eye.
In the next second, without any warning, the monster fish opened its giant mouth filled with fine, sharp teeth and lunged toward Sargins at the railing!
"Get out of the way! Sargins, don't just stand there!"
"Sargins! Get back!"
However, Sargins, who had been motionless, looked at the rapidly approaching bloody maw that was large enough to swallow him and the railing in one bite. In those eyes that usually appeared hollow, something seemed to flash.
"...Attack range!"
Just as the giant mouth was about to snap shut, Sargins moved.
He didn't dodge backward; instead, to everyone's surprise, he gripped the heavy iron bar Aldo had given him for practice with one hand and kicked off the deck with both legs!
Instead of retreating, he charged straight toward the monster fish's biting maw!
"Sargins! Don't go there!"
Bang—!!!
A dull, tooth-aching sound of impact rang out.
Sargins' seemingly clumsy yet terrifyingly powerful swing landed solidly on the side of the monster fish's protruding snout.
The massive force caused the monster fish's momentum to veer off, its head knocked to the side as it let out a strange cry of pain.
Using the force of the recoil, Sargins flipped in mid-air and actually leaped over the railing, falling toward the churning Sea of Clouds below!
The monster fish, having taken such a heavy blow, showed a fierce light in its eyes. It whipped its body around, its massive frame turning flexibly in the Sea of Clouds as its winged limbs churned up large waves of clouds, once again opening its giant maw to charge at the falling Sargins!
For a moment, above the Sea of Clouds, one man and one fish actually began to clash right next to the skylark.
Although Sargins' figure appeared tiny before the behemoth, the power with which he swung the iron bar was astonishing. Every collision with the monster fish's body produced a heavy thud, causing the surrounding cloud vapor to roll.
The battle ended faster than expected.
Likely because Sargins' unreasonable brute force had taken its toll, the monster fish's movements stiffened after taking seven or eight heavy hits. It then let out a mournful cry, its massive body slowly tilting as it lost its vitality, floating on the surface of the Sea of Clouds and swaying slightly with the currents.
By this time, Hans, who had noticed the anomaly, had already brought the skylark to a slow stop.
Sargins swam back through the Sea of Clouds and climbed back onto the deck via the rope ladder the Crew Members had lowered, dripping wet.
As soon as he got up, Aldo rushed over and gave him a firm knock on the head!
"You brat!" Aldo was both angry and anxious. "You didn't take a single word the Boss said to heart! I told you not to leave the ship! Not to leave the ship! And you still jumped down! Is that thing something you can just jump down and fight randomly?!"
Sargins' head lowered from the strike. He covered the spot where he was hit and slowly raised his head.
There was still no obvious expression on his face, but his eyes silently watched the furious Aldo, then slowly turned toward Sammy, who had just arrived on deck.
"That's enough, Aldo," Sammy spoke, his gaze sweeping over Sargins and the floating corpse of the monster fish in the distance. "Since he's fine and the result was resolving the trouble, we'll let it slide this time."
He looked at Hans and Leon: "Continue forward, set course for Alamuk Island."
"Yes, Boss!"
Hearing this, Aldo gave Sargins another fierce glare.
"Hmph! You're lucky this time, and you've made me proud too! But remember, without an order, you are not allowed to jump off the ship again! Do you hear me?!"
Sargins looked at him and slowly nodded: "...Mm."
The crisis averted, the skylark set sail once more.
A few brave Crew Members gathered around Sargins, curiously eyeing his wet clothes and hair.
"Sargins, how was it? Swimming in the clouds... is there any difference from swimming in the sea? How did it feel?"
Sargins shook the water droplets from his hair. Hearing the question, he turned his head, his face still wearing that somewhat vacant expression.
He opened his mouth, and in the end, only two dry words came out,
"Uh... No."
Then, holding the iron bar, he silently walked back to the corner behind Aldo where he usually stayed, sat down against the cabin wall, and returned to his state like a quiet shadow, as if the fierce man who had just jumped ship to fight a giant fish wasn't him.
Leaving only a few Crew Members looking at each other, shaking their heads with a smile.
This guy really is an oddball