Chapter 189: Black Tortoise

Arriving in the sea king's stomach, Trenza and I floated just above the beast's stomach acid, which was releasing rather toxic fumes that we were inhaling, though I've had experience being inside creatures' stomachs, so we would be fine. Watching Trenza gasp for breath after nearly drowning, I waited for her to regain her composure before we continued searching for these supposed voices that, for some reason, I couldn't hear.

"Ugh, b-being able to breathe feels so nice." Muttered Trenza as she lay on Nimbus while looking at the ceiling of the sea king's stomach, only to flip onto her stomach and slowly stand up.

"Can you still hear the voices, Trenza?" Asked Diddy curiously as he sat upon Nimbus while looking at Trenza, who glared at him in annoyance before she huffed and nodded.

"Yes, I can still hear the voices, though they're getting fainter by the second; I think the sea king we're inside of is swimming further away." Replied Trenza with a nod as she closed her three eyes and concentrated on listening while sitting in front of Diddy, who furrowed his brows.

"Fainter? Hmm, I should be able to fix that." Muttered Diddy with a thoughtful expression as he gazed at the creature's stomach, only to grin while unholstering Naga-sa.

"Hold onto, Nimbus, if you don't wish to be flung away, and make sure to say when the voices are getting louder." Added Diddy with a feral grin as he leaped off Nimbus before landing on the skeleton of a large fish, which was partially sticking above the stomach acid.

Tightly gripping Naga-sa, I leaped off the skeleton, launching myself towards one of the walls of the creature's stomach before violently hitting it, causing the stomach to tremble while the sea king roared out in pain. Continuously hitting the stomach wall, I forced the sea king to go in the direction I was attacking as if I was leading a horse with reins, only I was using a bo-staff, and the animal of choice was a sea king.

"Are we going in the right direction or not, Trenza?" Asked Diddy with a slight frown as he turned and yelled at Trenza, who was covering her ears.

"Ugh, I-I don't know! T-The roaring is drawing out everything else; stop attacking for a second!" Yelled Trenza with a slightly painful expression as she leaned over Nimbus and looked at Diddy, who scoffed in annoyance.

Grumbling under my breath, I listened to Trenza and momentarily paused my attacks while I floated in the air using geppo; resting Naga-sa on my shoulder, I looked up at her and waited for her to respond.

"I-I can hear it, Captain; t-they sound very close, but they sound even more distressed than normal like they're in pain; I think something is attacking them." Stated Trenza with a slight frown as she closed her eyes while intently focusing on the two voices, which were whimpering and howling in pain.

"Tsk, probably a stupid Sea king; they're the only creatures that live this far deep in the ocean. C'mon, let's get moving; I didn't help you and come all the way down here just for these supposed voices to die; if they're going to die, I'm going to do it." Remarked DIddy with a click of his tongue as he leaped onto Nimbus before quickly flying through the stomach, heading back the way they came from.

Flying up the sea king's esophagus, I arrived at its shut mouth and raised Naga-sa above my head while lightning coiled around it before violently slamming it upon the beast's tongue, causing it to open its mouth and roar in pain. Holding onto Trenza lest she gets whisked away by the rushing water, we exited the sea king's mouth and floated in the dark depths of the ocean, yet that wasn't a hindrance to either of us; our eyes were able to easily see through this abysmal darkness.

Looking around, I tried searching for activity, but I didn't need to as I heard a pair of howls and whimpers coming from deeper below; now, I was no sea king expert, but I've lived most of my life in the forest surrounded by beasts, so I've gotten pretty confident at noticing various things from just a creatures voice alone.

'Trenza's right; they do sound rather young, at least for a sea king; however, they're two completely different' creatures.' Mused Diddy as he faintly heard howls and whimpers before glancing at Trenza when he felt her repeatedly tap his leg.

Glancing at Trenza, I saw her pointed down below a little ahead of us, and when I looked down there, I spotted a large, scaly sea king that reminded me of a salamander, attacking what looked to be a turtle and a snake, however, what was very weird, was the fact that the snake looked to be connected to the turtle.

'Snake and a Turtle? Or maybe a Tortoise, I don't know. However, it might just be me, but that pair sounds rather familiar.' Thought Diddy with a slight frown as he looked at the turtle and snake, which were trying their best to defend themselves from the much larger salamander sea king, though it was all for naught.

Feeling Trenza aggressively tap my leg again, I scoffed before flying the two of us toward the battle, though our presence went pretty much unknown, given how tiny we were compared to the two sea kings. Gesturing to Trenza, I leaped off Nimbus and kicked the water beneath my feet, causing a small explosion as I blasted off toward the Salamander while readying my bo-staff.

'I'm going to have to end this rather quickly; Trenza can only hold her breath for so long.' Mused Diddy lightly as he lunged toward the center of the Salamander's face while smirking.

Once I got close enough to its face, I noticed the Salamander's eyes focus on me, and instantly, I could see the wariness in them, though it was too late; holding Naga-sa above my head, I coiled it in lightning and incorporated fish-man karate to ensure my attack bypassed its scales.

Slamming Naga-sa with nearly all of my might right in the center of the Salamander's head, its eyes exploded while the rest of its body intensely trembled before it suddenly stopped moving, only for its lifeless body to start floating upwards toward the surface.

Exhaling a breath, I rested my bo-staff onto my shoulder before glancing at the turtle and snake, who was in rough shape, but from what I could discern, it wasn't life-threatening; the duo were eyeing me in slight fear, yet they didn't back down, clearly showcasing their pride and will to fight. Inwardly chuckling, I used my color of the supreme king on them, causing them to recoil while their bodies trembled intensely, but they didn't fall or float, given that we were in the water.

Smirking, I retracted my haki, causing them to return to normal, though, to my confusion, they weren't looking at me in fear; I could see awe and reverence, causing me to tilt my head in confusion. Though, when I saw Trenza, drowning in the distance, I ignored the snake and turtle duo and swiftly headed towards Nimbus before flying towards the surface as fast as possible.

Within several seconds, we eventually arrived at the surface, yet by then, Trenza was already unconscious, and her heart had stopped beating, causing me to curse inwardly.

"Tch, I swear to god, Trenza, are you really going to die such a pathetic death?" Muttered Diddy in slight concern as he ripped open Trenza's shirt before raising his palms while lightning arched across them both.

Imitating defibrillators, I placed them diagonally to Trenza's heart and surged a weak pulse of electricity into her, hoping it would restart her heart, though it unfortunately wasn't working. Clicking my tongue, I plugged her nose and kissed Trenza as I pumped air into her lungs while also trying to suck the water out; however, all of a sudden, the turtle and snake duo emerged from the water with a loud roar, which managed to startle Trenza back to life as she snapped her eyes open and started coughing out water while gasping for air.

"F-Fuck, I-I thought I-I was g-going to die." Said Trenza weakly with an unsightly expression as she continued coughing out water while lying on her side.

"Tch, you should've said something, idiot." Remarked Diddy in slight anger as he sat on Nimbus while glaring at Trenza, who turned and looked at him with annoyance.

"Tsk, sorry for being part of the three-eyed tribe and not a fish-man; if you haven't noticed, Captain, I can't breathe underwater, so why would I open my mouth and use the last of my air?" Declared Trenza angrily as she sat upright and eyed Diddy, who scoffed before looking away, causing her to huff in annoyance.

"Also, why the hell is my shirt ripped open?" Asked Trenza with a slight blush as she glared at Diddy while covering her exposed breasts.

"CPR, and stop acting like you've got anything to show; I've got bigger breasts than you." Replied Diddy as he gave Trenza a side-glance before looking away, prompting her to look at his muscular chest and then her own chest, only for her to sigh.

"Haa, mine are slightly bigger, but if I'm forced to compare my chest size to that of a man, I've already lost the argument." Muttered Trenza with a sigh of defeat as she lowered her arms, not even caring anymore, only to look up when she heard a familiar voice.

"Eh, why are you two here?" Asked Trenza in surprise as she looked at the turtle and snake duo, who were both floating right before them.