Chapter 41: Sea Kings

On the beach of Skull Island, the queen had left long ago, and Kado learned of her identity from the fat man.

The queen's name was Alexandra Cherry. She was 27 years old and the fat man's biological sister. Due to the fat man's lack of ambition, the entire Skeleton Rock Island was governed by Cherry, making her the most powerful person on the island.

When Kado heard that Cherry was the fat man's real sister, he couldn't help but be skeptical. The difference in their appearances was just too stark. The fat man, while not exactly ugly, was clearly much less attractive compared to the queen. In fact, next to her, he looked more like a pile of dog manure. Could this be the so-called genetic mutation?

After the queen left, the fat man became noticeably more excited, constantly explaining interesting things about Skull Island to Kado, Sanchi, and Fite. For example, the island's specialty, the Crystal Vine. This plant is very fragile when it is full of moisture, and a gentle tug can snap off a whole bunch. However, if the moisture is dried out and the vine is sun-dried, it becomes incredibly strong—stronger than steel. As a result, the island's residents use dried Crystal Vines as ropes.

Kado, clearly skeptical, took a rope from Captain Gura. The dry, darkened material looked just like a piece of withered vine. He pulled hard on it a couple of times, and to his surprise, it didn't snap. Kado couldn't help but marvel at the wonders of nature. After all, his strength had reached over 7,000 points, which was equivalent to over 700 times the strength of a normal human. He could nearly lift rocks weighing more than 70 tons. Yet, he couldn't break the rope made from Crystal Vine. This clearly showed just how durable this material was.

The fat man also told Kado that this rope was closely related to Naga's greatest secret, but he couldn't tell him just yet. Once they arrived at their destination, he would be able to surprise Kado.

Along the way, the fat man kept telling Kado how great and shocking Naga's greatest secret was. Watching the fat man's smug expression, Kado's curiosity grew, and he began to look forward to this secret.

Finally, when they reached a cliff, Captain Gura signaled for everyone to stop and said they had arrived.

Standing at the top of the cliff, Kado looked down. The vertical cliff, over 100 meters high, plunged directly into the water. Aside from the vast expanse of sea, there was nothing unusual to be seen.

"What's going on? There's nothing here," Kado said, confused. The cliff was just above the sea—was the secret hidden in the cliff itself?

"Hehe, you'll find out in a moment," the fat man said as he ran to the side, lifted a massive stone, about two people high and weighing tens of thousands of pounds, and brought it to the edge of the cliff. With a single motion, he tossed the stone down.

"Plop!"

A huge splash echoed as the stone hit the water, creating a wave that rose several dozen meters high. After that, the surface of the sea seemed to respond, slowly forming swirling whirlpools, as if some enormous creature was about to rise from the depths.

"Roar... Roar..."

Suddenly, hundreds of water columns erupted from the distant sea, accompanied by continuous earth-shattering roars of beasts. The normally calm waters of the windless zone were now struck by waves towering dozens of meters high, crashing toward Skull Island. The violent tremors caused the cliff beneath Kado's feet to seem as though it might collapse, but Kado remained oblivious, his eyes fixed intently on the distant sea.

Cool droplets of water splashed onto the hundred-meter-high cliff, soaking Kado's clothes. The icy sea water sent a chill through him, making him shiver. It was only then that he reacted, incredulously muttering, "Sea Kings... so many Sea Kings."

"Haha, isn't it spectacular to see hundreds of Sea Kings leaping out of the sea at the same time?" The fat man, now completely soaked, wore a proud expression. The earth-shaking scene before them was the greatest secret of the Naga.

In the distance, hundreds of giant Sea Kings, each over a thousand meters tall, rose simultaneously from the water, clustering in a small area. It was at this moment that Kado realized that each Sea King was tied with massive ropes, and crystal-dried vines, as thick as barrels, spread across the entire sea, intertwining into a huge spider web. These Sea Kings, like prey caught in a net, struggled desperately, but no matter how hard they tried, they could not escape the control of the giant web.

The strength of a single Sea King might not seem like much, but when hundreds of giant Sea Kings gather together, they could easily destroy an island. Beneath Kado's feet, it felt as if an earthquake had struck Skull Island, with rocks rolling in every direction. The nearby sea was also shaking like boiling water, and before long, as the Sea Kings rose from the depths, the cliff beneath Kado's feet was forcibly raised by several dozen meters, revealing a large expanse of beach at the base of the cliff. Unlike the usual pebble beaches elsewhere, this was a real sandy beach, with crystals of sand that were bright and plump, clean and yellow, like harvested wheat, vivid and colorful.

The sight of the Sea Kings soon answered Kado's question about the beach. As these Sea Kings casually moved their limbs, rocks were shattered into pieces, and the beach below the cliff was most likely formed by these Sea Kings grinding the rocks into sand.

In the distance, a Sea King with the head of a bull and the body of a serpent seemed to notice a few tiny ants on the cliff, staring at it. It stretched out its long neck and began moving toward them.

"Wow, is this thing going to eat us?" The massive head, blocking out the sky, frightened Sanchi, who quickly drew his knife and fork, taking a defensive stance.

"It's fine, it can't reach us here," the fat man said confidently. He even made various gestures of contempt at the bull-headed, serpent-bodied Sea King, shouting loudly, "Come bite me, bite me!"

The Sea King struggled forward a few times, but the ropes binding it restricted its movements. It stopped about a dozen meters from the cliff, unable to advance any further. Helpless, the Sea King began to retreat, but then, as if triggered by something, it opened its mouth wide and started to snort repeatedly.

The foul odor hit them like a wave. Kado's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly dropped to the ground, shouting, "Get down! This guy's about to sneeze!"

Captain Gula, Sanchi, and Fite had already dropped to the ground, gripping the rocks tightly to avoid being blasted away. Only the fat man stood there, yelling wildly.

"Ah-choo!"

The sneeze sounded like thunder, and Kado felt as if he were caught in a storm. His body was nearly blown away.

Even Kado, who had been the first to take precautions, was almost blown off. It was easy to imagine how miserable the fat man's fate was. After all his show of bravado, he saw a huge, sticky mass of something flying toward him at lightning speed. He tried to dodge, but with his lack of speed, there was no way to escape. He could only quickly cover his face, bracing for the Sea King's snot impact.

"Ugh!"

The screeching sound made Captain Gula shiver, and he silently prayed, "Please, this idiot fat man better not get hurt... or else the cold-blooded Governor will definitely kill me."

"Ah, ah, ah, I'm going to eat you!"

After the storm subsided, the fat man, with an expression of grief and fury, charged forward, leaving a trail of sticky snot all over the ground, making him look like a snail. Everywhere he passed, there was a wet, slimy trail left behind.

Kado and the others didn't have time to stop him. The furious fat man had already rushed off the cliff. Suddenly, his arms grew thick and long, and he grabbed the Sea King's head, his body following as he lunged onto its head.

"I'll strangle you!"

The fat man stood atop the Sea King's head, black ropes as thick as water barrels continuously emerging from his body, wrapping around the Sea King's neck, beginning to tighten.

he intense suffocation made the dying Sea King struggle violently. The sea surface churned as a massive serpent-like body rose, causing constant waves to ripple across the water. Some of the Sea Kings, accidentally swept by the serpent's body, screamed in agony and flailed about. Those closer to the serpent began fighting, and in the distance, it seemed as though countless small mountains were colliding, creating massive waves. The cliff being struck by these waves shook violently.

Kado watched in astonishment as the fat man, still clinging to the head of the Sea King with a bull's head and serpent's body, struggled. He hadn't expected this seemingly harmless, somewhat foolish fat man to possess such power. The ability for ropes to grow all over his body was clearly a Devil Fruit ability.

"Surprised, huh?" Captain Gula said with a look of admiration as he watched the fat man from afar. "Naga is a kingdom left behind by pirates. This country is brave and skilled in battle, and the king is the most powerful warrior among them, even though he's a bit of an idiot."

As Gula finished speaking, Kado distinctly heard a sharp cracking sound from the neck of the bull-headed, serpent-bodied Sea King. It seemed that its neck had been snapped.