Chapter 68: The Stranded Pirate Ship

Chapter 68 - 68: The Stranded Pirate Ship After the four girls vanished, the dozen giant snakes were momentarily stunned. They began to hiss and communicate with each other. Seeing the two fallen snakes on the ground, their eyes filled with greed. Suddenly, they all rushed forward, fighting and tearing apart the bodies of their fallen kin! "This is terrifying; how can there be so many giant snakes here... no wonder we haven't seen any other large animals on our way..." Daisy looked outside in shock. "There are at least a dozen... Nami, let's get out of here..." Nojiko confirmed that they couldn't handle this. Nami nodded and quickly opened the portal, bringing the four of them back from the special space to the beach in an instant. "It looks like we can't go into the forest now. Why are there so many giant snakes? How annoying!" Kuina said, a bit frustrated. They could handle one or two, but they had no chance against a dozen! The scales of these giant snakes were just too strong. Their attacks were too simple; the only one capable of dealing significant damage was Kuina's Rankyaku. The others' attacks could break through the defense but didn't deal enough damage. Because those giant snakes were so massive, their attacks couldn't take effect right away. "There's no choice; how about... we follow the coast and see? This island is so big; maybe we'll find something," Daisy suggested, looking at the beautiful, calm shoreline. "That's the only option! Let's go!" Nami agreed immediately. The four girls quickly forgot about the dozen giant snakes and happily continued their adventure along the beach. It was a rare chance to cross the ocean, and they didn't want to go back just like that. Near the shore, sea kings occasionally surfaced, seeming to watch the situation on the island. Nojiko guessed that this might be why the giant snakes didn't dare to come out; otherwise, they wouldn't just stay on the island given their size. "This place is so beautiful! If only there were some wind, swimming with the breeze would be so nice..." Nami sighed dreamily about the coastline. "Don't get your hopes up. Besides, this is the doldrums, and you can't swim because you can't even swim!" Nojiko interrupted Nami's daydream without hesitation. "Ah~" "Nojiko, you're so annoying! I haven't swum in the sea for ages..." Nami said, feeling a bit down. Eating the Devil Fruit was a downside. "Hahaha!" Nojiko laughed happily; Nami loved summer so much. "Hey?" "Look! There seems to be a ship over there!" Kuina pointed excitedly at the distant shoreline. The other three girls looked and indeed saw a beached pirate ship, although it looked a bit worn out. "Let's go check it out!" "Sure! Adventure awaits!" "There must be treasure! The treasure is all mine! Hee hee hee..." The four girls' eyes lit up as they dashed toward the stranded pirate ship! "It's actually a large pirate ship! It looks like it just got stranded recently. Look, the scratches on the hull are still very clear!" Nojiko pointed out the marks left by the rocks. Kuina had her hand on the hilt of her sword, ready to draw it at a moment's notice. "There's no movement on the ship; let's go up and take a look!" Nami said as she touched the pirate ship and opened a space door. The four entered the alternate space and instantly disappeared from the beach. Inside the ship's cabin, a space door opened, and they stepped out. "It seems like there really is no one here!" Kuina said quietly. "The floor is already getting dusty, so it looks like the people on the ship either died or went to the island!" Nojiko squatted down and ran her finger across the floor. "No one is even better! Let's search quickly; maybe they didn't take the treasure!" Nami said excitedly, immediately starting to look for treasure on the ship. The other three girls began to move as well, their small figures darting around the cabin, frantically searching for pirate loot. After a while, Nami returned to the center of the cabin and said, "I didn't find anything. How about you?" "I didn't find anything either!" Kuina followed closely behind. "I searched the storage room; there's nothing!" Nojiko appeared right after. "We've searched everywhere, and we found nothing!" Daisy was the last to come back. The girls exchanged glances, feeling a bit discouraged, and slumped down on the floor with sighs of disappointment. "They must have taken the treasure away. How frustrating!" Nami said angrily, not willing to give up. "What should we do now?" Daisy asked. They had come to the island today but hadn't gained anything. "Let's check the deck," Nojiko suggested softly. The other three girls nodded in agreement. They all got up, patted the dust on their body, and climbed up the stairs to the deck. It was a large three-masted sailing ship, and every torn sail had a picture of a horned skull on it. Everyone guessed this was because the pirate crew's captain was a Devil Fruit user and was likely related to a bull-type animal. The four girls walked on the worn deck, gazing around. Birds occasionally flew overhead, and the sea often revealed some sea kings. "Over there... it looks like something... it's a sword!" Kuina pointed toward the grass by the beach, noticing a glint of light on the blade. "Let's go check it out!" The four of them jumped down from the deck and quickly ran over. Kuina picked up the fallen sword. It was a somewhat rusty double-edged sword, very ordinary and not worth much—definitely not a fine blade. They also found some bloodstains in the surrounding grass, leading them to suspect that this pirate crew had experienced an internal conflict! Some pirates who survived had run into the forest. The four girls exchanged glances, each seeing eagerness in the others' eyes. Finally, Nojiko made up her mind, "Let's go! We need to investigate further!" They began to track the surviving pirates by following some remaining traces. As they ventured deeper into the forest, the signs left by the pirates vanished, but they believed they were still nearby! "Be careful and don't stray too far from each other. If anything happens, let us know immediately!" Nojiko said calmly. "Understood!" they replied in unison. The four girls started searching separately but stayed within shouting distance; after all, the area was home to those giant snakes! Time passed, and Nami spotted signs of a struggle. Nearby, she saw several trees that had been knocked down! She quickly opened a space door and returned to where they had just scattered. Before long, the other three returned. "I found something in my direction!" Before the others could speak, Nami excitedly reported. Hearing that Nami had made a discovery, joy spread across everyone's faces! --- ---- You can read 10 Chapters ahead on my pat reon.com/GMadman