When Chiga drove his small boat along the direction pushed by the Sea King and reached the shore, he found the white-eyed Sea King's corpse had been pushed ashore. A group of villagers surrounded the corpse, chattering about the sudden appearance of the Sea King.
"This… this is a Sea King, right? How did it end up here?"
"I don't know, could it be a gift from nature??"
"A gift from nature my ass! With such a huge body, even if it was washed ashore by waves, it couldn't have been pushed this far, could it??"
"What about Chiga? Go out and look for him quickly, it's very dangerous now."
"Yes, those of you who are young and strong, come with me to find him. Don't let anything happen."
…
In the crowd, a pink-haired Belle-mère, with ten-year-old Nami and twelve-year-old Nojiko, stood silently with her arms crossed, looking at the Sea King's corpse in front of her.
Lively Nami pointed at the Sea King's corpse and curiously said to Belle-mère, "Belle-mère, look, what a big fish! It's my first time seeing such a big fish!"
"I wonder how Brother Chiga is doing. He should have gone fishing today, right?"
Nojiko, who was usually more quiet, worried about Chiga. Belle-mère stroked their little heads, not speaking, but a hint of worry also flashed in her eyes.
As a former Marine, she deduced from the Sea King's death that its demise was man-made.
"When did such a strong person appear in the East Blue? Is it a Marine? If it's a pirate, then it's going to be troublesome. I don't care about myself, but Nami and Nojiko…"
Belle-mère clenched her fists.
"No matter who it is, if he tries to hurt them, I'll protect them even if it costs me my life!"
At this moment, Chiga, who had come ashore, also arrived at the corpse, and the surrounding villagers quickly gathered around him.
"It's Chiga, you're back! A Sea King appeared, and Granny Risa was worried sick!"
"Yes, yes, don't go out to sea recently. Sea Kings are appearing. Your small boat would be flipped over directly if it encountered one!"
"Brother Chiga!" x 2
The two little ones popped out from the crowd and tightly hugged Chiga's… calves. It was Nami and Nojiko.
"Are you alright, Chiga? These two brats were worried to death about you," Belle-mère squeezed in as well.
Nojiko's face was slightly red, and she hugged Chiga's leg without saying a word. Nami, on the other hand, was like a lit firecracker. She bounced off Chiga's leg and shouted that she wasn't worried, she just didn't want to have no one to catch fish for her anymore!
Chiga felt a warmth in his heart from the concern of the surrounding crowd. Such care was precious to him, who had lived cautiously for several years in the Naruto world.
Shaking his head, Chiga smiled and said to the people around him,
"I'm fine, thank you all for your concern. As for the danger, you don't need to worry. This Sea King is my prey."
After Chiga finished speaking, he noticed that the surroundings suddenly fell silent. People stared at him blankly.
After a while, Nojiko stretched out her hand and suddenly bounced a few times. Chiga looked at her strangely. Realizing her behavior was a bit silly, Nojiko stammered, blushing,
"Brother Chiga, were you scared silly, or do you have a fever?"
Nami next to her had the same expression, as if saying: "Me too!"
As soon as her words fell, the surrounding villagers burst into laughter.
"Haha, Chiga, look, even the kids think you're not normal!"
"I always thought you were quite aloof, I didn't expect you to have a talent for telling bad jokes!"
"Hahaha!" Another burst of laughter.
Belle-mère didn't laugh. She looked at the young man in front of her. Her intuition told her that he wasn't telling a bad joke. She knew that Chiga was not an ordinary person, after all, the oppressive feeling from his eyes was too strong. Only a fool would believe that it was just a peculiar appearance.
The surrounding villagers had only subconsciously avoided his eyes during their usual interactions, or they had ignored this uniqueness after spending a long time with him and discovering that Chiga was a good person.
Chiga wasn't annoyed. He didn't say anything, just raised his hand towards the Sea King and lightly uttered four words,
"Shinra Tensei."
And so, the Sea King's corpse was pushed several hundred meters further away amidst the stunned expressions of everyone.