Just as the Mockfish was about to dive beneath the waves, the net Alex had thrown out caught its tail fin right in ti. He gripped the net with his left hand and quickly spun around, tightening the net even further around the creature's fin.
The veins in Alex's left arm bulged as he gave it everything he had. He clenched his jaw and refused to let go of the net.
By now, the Mockfish had already slipped back into the sea and was thrashing violently, sending waves crashing all around.
The rough net tore into Alex's hand, drawing blood. His body was being dragged forward uncontrollably—if this kept up, he'd be pulled into the sea right after the beast.
"Don't underestimate !"
With a furious shout, Alex locked his grip, took a sharp pivot, stomped his right foot forward, and yanked the net with every ounce of strength in his left arm.
Rip!
The net tore apart, but the force he applied had already taken effect. The Mockfish, still caught by inertia, was forcibly pulled out of the water and launched toward their fishing boat.
The fish let out a sharp, mocking screech as it opened its massive jaws mid-air, aiming directly at Alex.
Now that it was closer, Alex finally got a good look at it. Its head looked like a snake's, and its mouth was more like a python's—capable of swallowing things several tis larger than itself.
But Alex stood firm in the face of the attack. With a leap to the side, he dodged the lunge and drove his right fist into the fish's left side.
"You're finished!"
Boom!
The Mockfish slamd into the deck like a cannonball, and the shock made the fishing boat bounce slightly.
After the impact, the fish went limp. It had been knocked out cold by Alex's punch.
Landing back on the boat, Alex placed one foot on the unconscious Mockfish, threw his head back, and roared in triumph:
"I WON!"
At that mont, on a small fishing boat floating in the endless sea, a straw-hatted boy was hanging from the mast, laughing uncontrollably. His laughter rged with Alex's victorious roar and echoed across the vast, empty waters for miles.
Before this, Alex could've never hunted such a fierce and powerful sea beast on his own. But now—he could.
While the Mockfish was nothing compared to the colossal Sea Kings, it was still one of the more troubleso creatures in the East Blue. The fact that Alex could handle it now proved just how effective his relentless training had been. He finally saw hope for his future.
With hard work, change was possible!
Alex panted heavily. Both hands were bleeding—his left hand scraped raw by the net, and his right injured from punching the Mockfish's rock-hard flesh. Blood flowed freely from his knuckles.
Damn, this thing doesn't even have scales, and its at is tough as hell. My hand's killing .
He shook his numb right hand and began wrapping it up.
Just then, Luffy, having spun himself dizzy on the mast, leapt down excitedly and said, "Alright! Ti for a feast!"
And so, Alex and Luffy enjoyed a great al together.
Seven more days passed after the Mockfish incident.
Alex kept up his training without pause. Lately, he felt his workouts were more effective than ever. Ever since eating that Devil Fruit and pushing himself to his limits, he could feel the power building in his body.
"What exactly is your Devil Fruit ability, anyway?"
Luffy asked as he munched on a hunk of at, beaming with excitent.
"If it's sothing cool, you could even perform it during our parties!"
…Excuse ?
You an like you, sticking chopsticks in your nose and belly dancing at every celebration?
The ntal image of himself, shirtless, nostrils stuffed with utensils, dancing like a maniac flashed through Alex's mind. His eye twitched.
"I have an idea to test if your Devil Fruit is real," Luffy said proudly, grinning as if he'd just solved a great mystery.
Alex imdiately felt uneasy. With Luffy's single-celled brain, how good could this idea possibly be?
Before he could ask, Luffy grinned wider, grabbed him by the collar, and yeeted him off the boat.
"Don't worry!" Luffy called out as Alex plumted toward the sea. "If sothing bad happens, I'll totally save you! Devil Fruit users are cursed by the sea, so if you really did eat one, it'll show right away."
"I'm a genius!"
Luffy even had the nerve to pat himself on the back, grinning ear to ear.
You could've just told to dip a finger in the water to test it, Alex thought furiously. Why throw in?!
Before he could shout, splash—he hit the sea.
Instantly, all strength drained from his body. The once-skilled swimr couldn't even stay afloat. His limbs went soft. This was definitely a Devil Fruit side effect.
Luckily, Luffy saw Alex sinking and quickly stretched his arm out to rescue him.
Alex breathed a little easier. Luffy might be reckless, but at least he followed through.
But just as that thought ford—sothing felt off. He was spinning.
And Luffy's outstretched arm... seed to be getting farther away?
"WHAT?! Where did this whirlpool co from?!"
Luffy yelled, holding his head in panic as he watched Alex get pulled into the vortex, his face full of shock and worry.
Yes—a massive whirlpool had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. One mont the sea was calm, the next it was chaos. Both Alex in the water and Luffy still on the boat got swept into it.
In other words, the mont Luffy tossed Alex into the sea... fate decided to throw a giant whirlpool into the mix.
Talk about terrible timing.
As the current dragged him deeper, Alex's brain blanked out. And Luffy, who'd been caught as well, looked just as stunned.
They say the Grand Line has unpredictable weather and bizarre sea phenona.
Alex now believed it.
As the world spun and the sea dragged him under, a girl with orange hair flashed through his mind.
If Nami were here, maybe I wouldn't have gotten suckered by this walking disaster…
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