That last kick had nearly killed the Sea King. About half of its tentacles had been ripped to shreds. A gaping hole had been blasted into its massive body, and countless pink, viscous fluids were oozing from the wound.
Despite such horrific injuries, it hadn't lost its ability to fight. Bellamy was incredibly envious of the Sea King's terrifying vitality.
"Hey, Mia, I want grilled squid tonight." A Sea King… it should taste pretty good, right?
The fight wasn't even over, and Bellamy was already thinking about food.
"It's practically blown to bits because of you! Couldn't you have gone a little easier?" Even the chef had never tasted a Sea King before, and she was genuinely curious about its flavor.
While they were chatting casually, the squid suddenly inhaled deeply, its mouth pointing towards the sky, its body swelling. It looked like it was about to spray something.
Bellamy suddenly remembered something. "Crap!"
"Look out! Everyone, dodge!"
His warning came too late. Before he could finish speaking, the Sea King's mouth erupted with a torrent of incredibly foul-smelling ink.
How could he forget that move? Squid, ink… ink-spitting was its signature ability. This was a squid's last-ditch survival tactic; it seemed like it wanted to take the opportunity to escape.
But why didn't it just flee from underwater when it had the chance earlier?
Bellamy instantly moved, kicking Muret away. He could ignore the ink, but his crewmates couldn't. He took another step, arriving beside Mia, intending to kick her away as well.
Suddenly, a tentacle emerged from beneath Mia's feet, dragging her underground.
This happened so fast that not only was Mia caught off guard, but even Bellamy didn't react in time.
"Damn it, this thing can even burrow!"
Bellamy was shocked. Sea Kings were this powerful?
Actually, thinking about it, a Sea King over fifty meters tall could easily dig a hole in the ground.
This was the first time his crewmate had been snatched right in front of him. Bellamy, who had been in a playful mood until now, instantly turned ferocious.
No one could slap him in the face like this, not even a beast.
Furious, Bellamy stomped the ground hard, his figure instantly appearing above the Sea King's head. A rapidly spinning Vacuum Ball reappeared beneath his foot, but this time, he was determined to kill.
Sensing the lethal threat once again, the Sea King actually emitted a pleading cry. Then, a tentacle holding Mia emerged from below.
"So this guy was planning to take a hostage."
This scene stunned everyone. They never imagined a Sea King could be so intelligent.
No wonder it hadn't fled earlier. It seemed like it was too injured and knew it couldn't withstand a second attack.
The mucus on the Sea King's tentacles seemed to be corrosive. Most of Mia's clothes had been corroded away, revealing large patches of pale skin.
This squid was clearly very skilled at binding. A tentacle was wrapped tightly around the chef's body, rendering her completely unable to exert any force.
The way it was binding her, though, was somewhat reminiscent of a certain… traditional art from a particular land of wano. Those prominent… assets were almost squeezed out of shape.
Mia's arms and legs were also pulled wide apart and tightly bound. Her posture was so incredibly embarrassing that her face was flushed red, and she didn't even dare to look up at her captain's expression.
"I told you to practice Paper Drawing, but you all gave me excuses."
If Mia knew Paper Drawing, she wouldn't have been caught so easily. And to be tied up by a squid… it was truly infuriating.
"Now you know shame? Now you're scared?"
What were you doing before? He had to constantly push them to train; they wouldn't practice seriously without pressure. Consider getting captured today a lesson.
As for letting the squid go? Not a chance. Bellamy wouldn't accept such a threat.
"Iron Body," Bellamy's voice was ice-cold.
Hearing her captain's command, Mia understood almost instantly what he was going to do. Back during their devilish training in the forest, Bellamy had told her that learning Iron Body first was to enable them to withstand the aftershocks of battle.
Sensing her captain's frigid tone, Mia didn't even care about the embarrassment anymore. Spreading her legs wide, she activated Iron Body with difficulty.
The instant she tensed her entire body, an incredibly violent shockwave exploded from below, blasting her into the sky with a resounding "BOOM!"
Then, she felt the world spinning, and a strong, powerful hand grabbed her in mid-air.
Mia's instincts were correct. Almost the moment she sensed danger, Bellamy kicked the Vacuum Ball down.
"I survived." Mia, in tatters, gasped heavily for breath. She hadn't yet realized that her clothes had been almost completely corroded away.
Fortunately, Muret had seen the situation early on and quickly ran over, covering her with her own upper garment.
"Captain, how could you do that!" Bellamy's actions had, unsurprisingly, angered her.
"Alright, stop complaining." Not wanting to dwell on the subject, Bellamy cut her off. "Remember, since you chose to be pirates, you have to be prepared to die in battle at any time."
He'd told them this countless times, but had they listened?
"Hmph." Muret glared at him resentfully. "You're the captain; you have a responsibility to protect us."
"We're just the cook and the doctor."
"Of course, I'll protect you, but I won't be your babysitter."
Like today, Bellamy would definitely step in to protect his crew, but he would never hold back in battle. That would be suicidal.
"I told you to practice Iron Body, I told you to practice Paper Drawing, so get to it."
"If you two hadn't been slacking off, would you have failed to even grasp the basics in a month?"
Ultimately, the Bellamy Pirates had never actually set sail. They didn't understand the cruelty of the sea, so they wouldn't understand his painstaking efforts.
"Forget it, I don't want to say any more."
"Once you've all learned the Six Powers, we'll find a small boat and take a trip out to sea."
This sudden attack had slightly altered Bellamy's original plans. Perhaps sailing around the North Blue for a while would be a good form of training.
_______
+50 chapters on: patreon.com/Shinobi_Scrolls