14 Chapter 14
The next day, just as dawn broke, at the Higuma bandit stronghold, after a night of rushed repairs under Higuma's direction, the bandits had finally managed to rebuild the wooden huts that were demolished by the flood.
"Phew, I'm dead tired, but we finally fixed the house!"
"That rain yesterday was so strange. I've lived in the East Blue for many years, but I've never seen anything like it."
"What do you know? Extreme weather like that is all too common in that fearsome New World!"
"Really? Have you been to that hellish sea area?"
"No, I just saw it occasionally in the newspapers."
...
The bandits, exhausted from the night's efforts, sat scattered around the repaired stronghold, their fierce faces filled with weariness.
Higuma, sitting on a large rock, stared at the clear sky above, frowning deeply.
Clearly, even he, who had ruled this area for years, had never witnessed such a massive "rain" before.
"It's like we're cursed."
Thinking of the losses, Higuma turned his gaze away, cursing and spitting on the ground.
In the East Blue, where Devil Fruit users are rare, he couldn't comprehend the "disaster" from yesterday and could only chalk it up to bad luck.
Luckily, the weather in the East Blue is generally stable, so a similar situation shouldn't happen again.
Just as Higuma breathed a sigh of relief, the light dimmed again, and the rumbling sound of floodwaters approached.
He looked up, and the moment he saw the deluge pouring down, he was completely overwhelmed.
"Damn it, not again?!!"
Boom!
Before the other bandits could react, the next second, the surging floodwaters swallowed them, scattering the newly repaired huts!
Just like yesterday, Higuma ended up hanging from the branches of the same tree in the southeast direction.
Seeing the devastated stronghold and his subordinates in agony, his expression was dark and grim.
Normally, ordinary people hit by such floods twice in a row would suffer broken bones if not death, but Higuma, nearly worth ten million in bounty and having defeated 56 crew leaders (if he wasn't exaggerating), suffered little due to his superior physical condition.
He was just unfortunate in the original story to encounter the overwhelmingly powerful Red Hair Pirates, missing the chance to show his strength.
Hidden in the distant bushes, Zyhark was still calm, sharing a sneaky laugh with Aqua after their successful operation, then quietly left.
With the lesson learned from last time, Aqua could now skillfully control the scale of the Sacred Water Creation without being drained afterwards.
Even Zyhark had to admit, in terms of power control and potential, this foolish goddess indeed possessed unparalleled talent.
The more he recognized this gap, the deeper Zyhark's regret grew in his heart:
Why did his first partner have to be Aqua, the Goddess of Water?
For the next few days, besides maintaining the daily operations of the restaurant and dealing with Luffy's dine-and-dash attempts, Zyhark and Aqua kept flooding Higuma's stronghold.
After several tormenting sessions, it was clear that the arrogant bandits were in a state of near-collapse.
Even Higuma, with decent physical strength, showed signs of mental breakdown, with dark circles under his eyes.
He even considered relocating the stronghold away from this cursed hill to start anew!
Finally, after five days of torment and with Higuma's silent approval, the bandits began to act defeated, each equipped with a sturdy umbrella.
Since the repaired huts would inevitably be destroyed by the floods, they decided not to bother repairing them anymore.
"Zyhark, Zyhark, when are we going today?"
Inside the Windmill Village restaurant, after downing three large bowls of fried rice, Aqua was eager to go, her water-blue eyes shimmering with anticipation.
Though as a proud and stubborn goddess she'd never admit it, she seemed to have taken a liking to this sneaky way of attacking from the shadows.
It felt exhilarating!
Not long ago, she had mocked Zyhark for his cunning.
Now, it's hard to say who's being unserious...
"Let's rest for a couple of days, give them a glimmer of hope after the storm. Otherwise, if they move their base, we'll have to find them again, unnecessarily increasing our risk."
Zyhark sat at the counter, legs propped up on the table, savoring a cup of tea placed before him.
After a sip, the bland taste alerted him to something amiss.
Looking down, he saw the tea was clear, without a trace of tea color.
"Did you purify my tea again?" Zyhark frowned slightly.
Aqua, as the Goddess of Water, could purify any liquid she touched into pure, pollution-free water.
Of course, alcohol was unaffected by her powers; despite drinking too much, she would still get sick, seemingly having deactivated this passive ability for alcohol.
"Making tea with a goddess turns out this way." Aqua said with a smile.
"Touching someone's tea with your body, that's pretty weird."
Zyhark glanced at her, "Since there's not much to do today, why don't you go clean the toilet?"
Seeing Aqua's smile falter, Zyhark sighed softly, "Ah, if only I had your powerful abilities."
"Humph, mere mortals shouldn't compare themselves to a goddess!"
Aqua enjoyed being envied and jealously, cheerfully went to clean the toilet.
Gotcha!
Zyhark looked at the ultra-pure water in his hand, hesitated for a few seconds, and decided not to waste it, taking a small sip.
The taste was nothing special.
He put down the cup, stood up, and thought about checking the progress of the sailboat at the carpenters' shipyard, but suddenly, the street outside erupted in chaos.
"The bandits are back! Elderly and children, quickly go home and hide. Don't go out if it's not necessary!"
"Those guys have been soaked in the rain for the last few days, their temper must be terrible. Everyone try to endure and avoid provoking them!"
...
Just as Aqua finished in the toilet and came out, she heard the alarm about the bandits' attack.
"Zyhark, they're here. Could it be that they've found out about our secret watering and have come to settle the score?!"
Thinking of their recent "good deeds," the Goddess of Water immediately felt guilty.
Compared to Aqua's worry and fear, Zyhark was much more composed, sitting back down and leisurely taking another sip of purified water.
He couldn't help but notice after a few more sips, the water seemed to have a faint sweetness.
"Don't worry, if we were really exposed, they wouldn't have waited until now to come after us."
"It's just the bandits' usual robbing activities, nothing much to do with us."
Bang!
Just as he finished speaking, the restaurant's tightly closed door was kicked open.
The arrogant bandits entered one by one, led by the knife-wielding bandit king, Higuma!
(End of Chapter)
