Chapter 44: The Intruder
"It's said to be related to the food they eat," Captain Gula explained in response to Kado's question. "As everyone knows, Sea Kings are ordinary fish that have undergone mutations. They can mutate into forms resembling birds, beasts, or even ancient dinosaurs."
Kado nodded. Scientists on Earth referred to this kind of mutation as an atavistic phenomenon. However, the probability of mutation on Earth was very low, and the mutated creatures were relatively small, nowhere near comparable to the Sea Kings in the world of One Piece. Perhaps these enormous mutations were related to the vast oceanic area in the One Piece world. During his earlier spatial traversal, the Nine-Dimensional referred to the One Piece world as "Water Planet" and Earth as "Land Planet."
Earth's oceans cover more than 70% of its surface, and even then, it's not called "Water Planet." This gives an idea of how immense the oceanic area in the One Piece world must be. Based on Kado's years of experience and rough calculations, the landmass in the One Piece world occupies at most 10% of the total area, meaning the remaining 90% is ocean.
"After undergoing mutation, the habits of these Sea Kings are vastly different from ordinary fish. Some prefer eating meat, some eat seaweed, and others, like the island-eating monsters, even consume entire islands. Generally, we classify these creatures into three types: sharp-toothed, grinding-toothed, and toothless. Sharp-toothed types mostly eat meat, grinding-toothed types eat plants, while the habits of toothless types are more complex and unpredictable. You can't easily figure out what they eat.
For instance, the Sea King encountered by the third king of Naga was a sharp-toothed type and could be successfully raised by feeding it meat. On the other hand, the one I encountered before was a toothless type, resembling a sea serpent. Since I couldn't figure out what it relied on to grow, I couldn't provide effective care. In the end, it probably died from malnutrition," Captain Gula said, his face filled with sorrow.
He had once been close to owning a Sea King that could have been a guardian beast. Yet, due to his inability to understand its habits, it died. Every time Captain Gula thought about this, he couldn't help but feel immense regret, and his mood soured significantly.
Kado had a strange expression on his face. He fervently hoped that this little turtle wasn't some island-eating monster. From the One Piece anime, particularly the part involving the Little Garden arc, Kado vividly remembered how disgusting those creatures were. After consuming islands, they would excrete mountain-like piles of feces that floated on the sea's surface. These dung mountains couldn't sustain any plant life and would forever remain as unchanging heaps of waste, much like non-recyclable garbage.
"Come on, little guy, open your mouth and let me see if you've got teeth," Sanchi said after listening to Gula's explanation. He ran over to the little turtle, which was still struggling with most of its body stuck in its eggshell. With a grin and a tone that sounded eerily like a creepy old man coaxing a little girl, Sanchi gently stroked the turtle's head and spoke cheerfully.
The little turtle, its head exposed outside the eggshell, looked at Sanchi with an innocent expression. Then, all of a sudden, it opened its mouth and bit down hard on Sanchi's outstretched arm.
"Ah! It bites!"
Sanchi yelled, tugging at his arm, trying to pull it away.
"Wait a second," Captain Gula quickly stopped Sanchi and said, "This little guy seems to be suckling."
Sure enough, Kado and the others noticed that after the little turtle bit down on Sanchi's arm, it began to suck hard, just like a child nursing. However, Sanchi's arm was certainly no bottle, and no matter how much it sucked, there was nothing to be gained.
After a few futile attempts, the little turtle finally released Sanchi's arm, its pair of bright green eyes looking even more innocent.
"Ahem, so it's a toothless type," Sanchi coughed awkwardly. The fact that this little creature had mistaken his arm for a pacifier was deeply embarrassing for him as a grown man.
"That's not entirely accurate," Captain Gula said with a mischievous smile. "Some Sea Kings, whether toothless or grinding-toothed, don't grow teeth immediately after birth. You can only tell after they've matured for a while."
Gula's teasing smile made Sanchi wish he could find a hole to crawl into.
"What should we feed it for now?" Kado was deeply concerned about the little turtle's growth. This creature might one day become a great companion, much like Brook's partner, Laboon the whale. Laboon had waited for Brook's crew at the Red Line for fifty years and, despite the danger to its own life, even rammed the Red Line in its determination to reunite with them. Kado had shed tears multiple times while watching Laboon's story and now earnestly hoped to have such a loyal partner of his own.
"Feed it soft foods," Captain Gula suggested. "Most infant Sea Kings can accept liquid or semi-liquid meals. If there's no issue, high-nutrition liquid food should be enough to help it grow its teeth."
"So basically, we're feeding it milk," Kado nodded and turned to Sanchi. "Chef, judging by the little turtle's actions just now, it seems to like you a lot. From now on, you'll be in charge of its meals. After all, you're the cook, so this kind of work naturally falls to you."
"Oh no, I refuse to be a nanny!" Sanchi wailed in protest.
"Objection overruled," Fite and Kado raised their hands in agreement, making the decision by a decisive 2-to-1 vote, completely disregarding Sanchi's protests.
After making their decision, Kado and the group patiently waited for the little turtle to fully emerge from its shell. Most of its body was still encased in the eggshell, and this was something no one could help with—it had to rely on its own efforts. Much like a silkworm breaking out of its cocoon to transform into a butterfly, if someone were to intervene, the butterfly might never gain the strength to soar through the skies.
While they waited patiently, the once-quiet, blood-red sea suddenly began to ripple. Waves surged, crashing repeatedly against the beach.
"Could this beach be sinking into the sea?!" the fat man exclaimed, jumping to his feet with a face full of confusion. From his experience, whenever a beach emerged on the back of a Sea King, even after the Sea King retreated, it would take at least a full day for the beach to sink back into the ocean. Yet now, less than half a day had passed, and the beach was already trembling and shifting.
"This isn't the beach sinking, it's the Sea Kings about to surface," Captain Gula said, his expression serious. Being someone who frequently hunted in this area, he immediately recognized the difference. This kind of tremor wasn't from the beach sinking—it was the kind of disturbance caused when a Sea King rises from the depths.
"Impossible! We haven't disturbed any Sea Kings. How could they surface, especially after they've already eaten?" The fat man was extremely surprised. They had all been quietly waiting for the little turtle to emerge from its shell and hadn't done anything to disturb the Sea Kings. So how could these creatures be surfacing now? Was there someone else here?
"Someone else?" Fet suddenly spoke up. "It's not the Naga natives. When I was surveying the island, I found traces of a campfire and shoeprints."
"The Naga natives don't wear boots!"
Kado glanced at the fat man and Captain Gula. There was nothing like glass shards on the island, and after being in the sea for so long, not wearing shoes was actually more convenient. So, the Naga people almost never wore boots, not even the king or the captain of the guard.
The fat man and Captain Gula exchanged looks before speaking in unison: "There are intruders on the island."
End of chapter
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