Watching Nekomamushi's reckless and crazy actions, Inuarashi felt it was necessary to do something to prevent the two of them from falling into a desperate situation and dying.
To be honest, he was starting to regret sneaking out to sea with Nekomamushi.
They had longed for the world beyond, so they seized an opportunity to secretly leave the Mokomo Dukedom. In the beginning, things were fine. The two of them were full of ambition, feeling that the world was so vast, and their hearts swelled with bravado.
But they soon discovered that the vast ocean had become their nightmare.
It had been who-knows-how-many days since they left Zou, and they hadn't caught even a glimpse of land. The food they had brought was slowly running out. They could have held on for a while longer, but that bastard Nekomamushi had sneaked all the remaining rations during the night and devoured them!
At the time, Inuarashi was so furious he genuinely wanted to tie this stinking cat to the boat and use him as bait to fish.
In the end, he didn't go through with it, mainly because the bait would be a bit too large. He was afraid it might attract a Sea King they couldn't handle.
And right now, Nekomamushi was clearly starving out of his mind. He hadn't noticed that the leaping carp were in fact a species of Sea King. Normal carp wouldn't be nearly a hundred meters long!
Inuarashi frantically threw down his oar and lunged toward Nekomamushi, intending to drag him back!
"Let go of me, you stinking dog! Once I catch a carp, I'll share the fish bones with you!"
Nekomamushi's eyes were bloodshot as he dragged Inuarashi to the stern.
The small boat immediately began tilting, looking like it was about to capsize.
Inuarashi hadn't even seen a bone to chew on in ages, whereas Nekomamushi had devoured all of Inuarashi's food by himself. Add to that the fact that this stinking cat kept slacking off while rowing, and now Inuarashi was so weak he couldn't stop Nekomamushi at all.
The rope in his hand flew out. The loop at the front was about to lasso the carp, and Nekomamushi's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"That's right, just like that, meow!"
"Hurry, lasso it!"
The rope didn't disappoint Nekomamushi. It successfully looped around the carp... its whisker.
Nekomamushi's excited expression froze. He suddenly realized something.
"Inuarashi, grab onto the boat!"
He shrieked in terror, immediately diving down and gripping both sides of the boat with his hands.
As for Inuarashi, who had been dragged along by Nekomamushi, he still hadn't figured out what had happened.
He had barely lifted his head when he felt his lower half being yanked away as if something had snagged it. Then his upper body followed.
At that speed, he was stretched out like a noodle.
The bigger problem was that he was about to be flung off entirely.
That carp hadn't even noticed the two little accessories dangling from its whisker. To be fair, it was used to carrying cargo ships weighing dozens or even hundreds of tons on its body. Tiny creatures like Nekomamushi and Inuarashi hanging off it — it couldn't feel a thing.
Inuarashi was feeling pretty miserable right now. It was all that stupid cat's fault for causing trouble again. Now the carp had started swimming rapidly, whipping him around like a ragdoll.
Fortunately, his reflexes were quick. At the crucial moment, he grabbed hold of a long yellow rope-like object, which kept him from being flung into the sea.
What Inuarashi didn't understand was why Nekomamushi had been screaming his lungs out this whole time.
'So scared? Fair enough, we might actually die here.' He sighed inwardly. At a time like this, he had to admit that this stupid cat wasn't entirely without redeeming qualities.
At least... he had a big appetite.
"NYAAGH—"
Nekomamushi let out a blood-curdling scream, his hands gripping the small boat for dear life.
A few minutes earlier, he had wanted to let go of the rope, but it had somehow gotten tangled around the bow. Just as he was about to cut it with his claws, his tail was suddenly grabbed, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.
If it were just that, it would have been manageable. But Inuarashi had grabbed his tail and was yanking it backward fiercely, almost tearing it right off.
Nekomamushi's fur stood on end as he howled in agony, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes from the pain.
Right now, he couldn't focus on either the front or the back, because he could see that the enormous carp was continuously accelerating, charging toward that massive waterfall!
If this kept up, they would be launched into the sky along with the boat! And if they fell from up there, they were dead for sure!
"No! We're dead!"
He opened his mouth and was immediately stuffed full of wind — and even a fish that had leapt up from the sea. Nekomamushi started chewing instinctively.
They were going to die anyway, and he still got to eat a fish. Nekomamushi suddenly felt like it wasn't such a bad deal.
...
"I'm so hungry..."
Kawamatsu poked his head out of a small river, a lotus leaf resting on top of his head.
"There doesn't seem to be anyone around... I wonder if I've made it to that Kuri place."
He sighed. His small head glanced around, and after confirming no one was nearby, he slowly climbed out of the river.
Kawamatsu and his mother had actually arrived in Wano Country several years ago. But because he was a Fishman, he was afraid of being discriminated against by others. So his mother had told him to always claim he was a kappa when meeting people.
"But Mom, they're not very friendly to kappa either."
He slowly made his way ashore and glanced back at the stream.
Truth be told, he had managed to eat some small fish and shrimp in this stream, but that was hardly enough to fill his stomach.
"I heard Kuri has a reservoir. There should be plenty of big fish in there."
Kawamatsu's eyes sparkled with longing. He had originally planned to try his luck in the inner sea, but the Sea Kings there were too fierce.
Especially in recent years, the Sea Kings had grown stronger and stronger, making it even harder for him to catch any food.
"Hopefully I can find it. Otherwise I'll have to eat garbage again."
To be honest, Kawamatsu didn't actually mind eating garbage. It tasted bad, and sometimes it made him sick, but at least he wouldn't go hungry.
But he wasn't even allowed to eat garbage. Whenever he was spotted, dozens of men would come chasing after him with hoes and pitchforks to beat him.
"I just wanted a mouthful of garbage..."
Kawamatsu searched through the forest for the legendary reservoir. He moved with great caution, because he had sneaked into Kuri.
In recent years, entering Kuri had become increasingly difficult. Those who came through proper channels had no issues, but for someone sneaking in like him, he had heard the punishment was execution!
Kawamatsu hunched his body and shuddered.
"I don't want to die, kappi... I need to be careful."
"But... what a delicious smell..."
As he walked, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and a blissful expression spread across his face. His body instinctively began moving toward the source of the aroma.
[
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