Chapter 227: Captain Taolong
“Quick! Are the cannonballs ready?”
“Second group, hurry and follow up! Don’t let the cannon fire have any gaps!”
“Aim for that big hole for me, sink the enemy ship on the other side at the fastest speed!”
In the Beasts Pirates’ fleet, on a large pirate ship marked with hull number 001, Taolong was observing the enemy situation with a telescope while giving timely commands.
As the top-ranked Island Garrison Executive, his First Combat Squad had the best discipline and weapon equipment among all Island Garrison Troops, and naturally the highest combat power among the many subordinate units.
Even in pure cannon battles, his First Squad could rival the two exclusive warships of Burufaruto and Ember at the center of the fleet.
“Prepare, fire—”
Bang~
Just as Taolong was about to give the order to fire according to the rhythm, a strange sound suddenly came from beside his ear, and the tightly coordinated cannon fire stuttered for a moment!
“What’s going on!”
“Captain, it’s the Eighth Squad over there!”
“The Eighth Squad’s ship suddenly turned into cubes and disintegrated!”
The pirate in charge of lookout immediately reported.
“Wha—”
Boom!!!
Before Taolong could react, the cannons on Bin Jack’s side, which had already adjusted direction, poured out fire, and the pirate ship of his Second Squad beside him immediately fell into a sea of flames.
“Damn it!”
The scorching blast wave blurred his line of sight, but seeing the second wave of cannon fire about to hit, Taolong couldn’t worry about anything else and immediately ordered a preemptive strike.
“Fire quickly, don’t give the enemy a chance to brea—”
Bang~
It was that strange sound again, and this time it was the No. 1 ship he was on.
The deck under his feet suddenly turned into neat cubes and then scattered apart, and everyone on the ship instantly lost their footing and fell into the sea.
Splash!
Splash!
……
Splash!
“Damn it, what’s going on?”
“Is it an Ability User?”
“Where? Where is the enemy?”
“Captain!”
The people who fell into the water did not panic; the well-trained group immediately grabbed the nearby cube debris to float, then searched around for the enemy and their own captain’s whereabouts.
“Puhah~ Don’t panic! Everyone stay calm and watch the surroundings.”
“The enemy should be nearby!”
Taolong, who poked his head out of the water, immediately ordered vigilance while quickly looking around.
“Hee hee hee! You reacted so quickly?”
“You’re a Beasts Pirates Executive, right?”
On the sea surface behind Taolong, a Fish-Man wearing sunglasses slowly emerged from the water.
“A Fish-Man… No wonder he could approach our fleet undetected.”
Seeing the enemy appear, Taolong wiped the water from his face and said with a serious expression:
“You should have companions, right? After all, turning the ship into cubes is definitely the work of an Ability User.”
“Where is that guy?”
“Hee hee~ Answering a question with a question isn’t a good habit.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the figure of Fish-Man Sebastian suddenly vanished into thin air.
This was not a visual error caused by high-speed movement, but…
” ?!”
In the instant after Taolong instinctively assumed a defensive stance, a hammer with long spikes lunged toward his head.
Clang!
Splash!
Although he defended with Haki in time, the immense force sent Taolong plunging into the sea again.
Glug glug~
The exhaled air turned into bubbles rising upward.
Feeling the cold and pressure of the surrounding sea current, Taolong shook his somewhat numb arm and prepared to surface immediately.
【Don’t fight a Fish-Man in the sea】This is common sense for all humans.
『Fighting that Fish-Man in the sea gives me no chance of winning; I must get back on the ship immediately.』
Obviously, the enemy thought the same.
『Hm?!』
After confirming Taolong was a Beasts Pirates Executive, Sebastian prepared to seize the opportunity and finish him off in the sea.
“Great Arrow Martial Shark!”
Discarding the iron hammer, countless Ji Shui-like cannonballs shot toward Taolong who was surfacing at full speed, instantly hitting all over his body!
“Puhah!”
Hit in the abdomen, Taolong involuntarily opened his mouth, and seawater instantly surged in, forcing him to clutch his throat instinctively.
“So fragile… So powerful on land, yet so helpless in the water.”
『Where is he? Why can’t I see his figure at all?』
“Wondering why you can’t see where I am?”
Sebastian’s voice traveled into Taolong’s ears along the sea current, making it impossible to pinpoint the exact location.
“Simple, because I’m a goby Fish-Man; I can camouflage by changing the color of my skin surface.”
“So even if I’m right in front of you now, you can’t see me.”
Spikes popped out from his arm, and Sebastian dashed right in front of Taolong.
Bang!
Sizzle—!
The long spike struck Taolong’s abdomen straight on, and blood immediately spurted out, staining the water around him red.
“Urgh!”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Without giving any chance to breathe, countless fists hammered toward Taolong from all directions.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!
Massive amounts of blood splashed out, dyeing the surrounding seawater bright red!
At this moment, Taolong seemed to have completely lost the ability to fight back, taking the beating like a sponge.
“This is the finishing blow!”
Sensing the opponent who could no longer move, Sebastian extended countless spikes from his arm again, preparing to finish off Taolong.
Swimming behind the opponent, the goby Fish-Man raised his hand blade and slashed fiercely toward Taolong’s head!
“Goodbye! Beasts Pirates Executive!”
Psh—!
“Hm?!”
The expected sensation of spikes piercing flesh didn’t come; instead, his arm felt stuck and unable to move.
“This is…”
“Cough~ You… your eyes probably can’t see, right?”
Gripping the spikes on the opponent’s arm tightly with both hands, Taolong said in a weak but victorious tone.
“Just now, you accurately judged my position using Observation Haki and perception of the sea current, right?”
Traces of blood seeped from between Taolong’s fingers, dispersing into the seawater…
“H-How did you know?”
“Simple. If you could see, you wouldn’t be so blatantly visible right now.”
“Hm?!”
Around Taolong, in the seawater already tinged pale red by his blood, a stark outline strongly revealed the presence of a certain Fish-Man.
“Your camouflage can change color, but not the water flow passing through your body. Now that my blood has given shape to that previously invisible water flow…”
“You’re exposed!”
“!”
“……”
“Hee hee hee! As expected of a Beasts Pirates Executive.”
“These eyes were indeed blinded in countless past battles, so you exploited that flaw.”
“But unfortunately, you’ve lost too much blood and don’t have much strength left now, do you?”
Unexpected that his technique would be countered this way, Sebastian fell silent for a moment.
But feeling the strength in the opponent’s grip on his arm gradually weakening, the Fish-Man smiled again.
“Cracking my『liquid camouflage』 so what? It only delays your death by a few seconds—utterly meaningless!”
“West Inner!”
“Saw Spike Shark!”
Pulling out his arm, a row of dense sawtooth-like spikes popped out, and Sebastian aimed to cleave the man before him in two!
“Heh~ Sorawa Dokana~”
Seeing the figure finally appear in the distance, Taolong smiled with his last strength.
『The rest is up to you, Brother Burufaruto…』
“Fish-Man Karate · Gui Wa Zheng Quan!”
“What?!”
Don’t ask why Taolong can still talk underwater; like Luffy’s Fire Fist Gun, it’s sheer willpower.
