novelnext Chapter 223 Fishing
Chapter 223 Fishing
Chapter 223 Fishing
Deep-sea night fishing. "Night fishing?"
Robin blinked, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"That's a good idea."
Rangiku had already taken action, staggering towards the warehouse while muttering about the location of the fishing gear.
Despite having drunk quite a bit, her steps were surprisingly steady, probably an instinct honed through long-term training.
"I remember there were fishing rods in the warehouse; I saw them when I was organizing things a couple of days ago—"
Mirajane stood up and followed him toward the warehouse.
"Do you need any help?"
"Come here, come here, help me find it, I think it was placed in […]"
The two people's voices disappeared into the cabin.
Kanna sat up on the deck, rubbing her stomach, looking on with curiosity.
"What is fishing?"
"It's about catching fish from the sea."
Yachiru explained with a smile, her smile as gentle as ever.
"Fishing?"
Kanna tilted her head, not quite understanding what she meant.
"It's about using delicious food as bait to make the fish think there's food, and then they get hooked."
Kanna's eyes lit up.
"Then I want to go fishing too!"
The deck began to buzz with activity.
Rangiku and Mirajane found several fishing rods in the warehouse. They were of different lengths, made of bamboo and metal, and of various styles. They had probably bought them on a whim and left them to gather dust in the warehouse.
Wow, so many?
Kanna was somewhat surprised.
Yachiru walked over, picked up a bamboo fishing rod, and weighed it in his hand.
"This one is good, it's very light."
"I want this one!"
Kanna jumped up to grab the shortest fishing rod from Rangiku's hand, but Rangiku raised the rod high, and Kanna jumped even more energetically, like a bouncy little rabbit.
"Can you reach it?"
"Within reach!"
"It's impossible to reach it."
Rangiku smiled and lowered the fishing rod. Kanna snatched it away and hugged it to her chest as if it were a precious treasure.
Bai Yu leaned against the ship's side, watching the group of people busy themselves, without moving.
Robin walked up to him and asked softly.
"Aren't you going fishing?"
Bai Yu glanced at her and shook his head.
"I'll watch you guys fish first."
"be lazy."
Bai Yu would never admit that he did it just to see the girls' graceful figures while they were fishing.
Robin smiled, took a fishing rod from Rangiku, and inspected the reel and hook.
Mirajah took out the bait—some chopped small fish and shrimp meat, with a strong fishy smell.
"This can be used as bait; fish in the sea should like it."
Artoria walked over, looked at the bait, wrinkled her nose, but didn't say anything.
"Does Artoria fish too?"
Ranju asked.
Artoria was silent for a second.
"I'll take care of eating."
"————Okay, that fits your persona perfectly."
Everyone chose their positions and dispersed along the ship's side.
Rangiku occupied the bow of the boat, saying that it was a good feng shui spot.
She sat down at the bow of the boat, her legs dangling over the gunwale, and cast her fishing rod into the sea, the line drawing a silver arc in the moonlight.
Yachiru sat at the stern of the boat, resting her fishing rod on the railing. She then crossed her arms over her chest, closed her eyes, and seemed to be dozing off, but the end of the fishing rod trembled slightly in the crook of her arms.
Robin chose the port side, leaning against a wooden barrel in a relaxed posture, holding a wine glass in one hand and a fishing rod in the other, taking small sips every now and then.
Mirajane was on the starboard side. She pulled up a chair, sat down, and carefully baited the hook with practiced ease, clearly not the first time she had done this.
Kanna sat next to Shiraha, since Shiraha didn't fish, so she was placed in a safe spot in the middle of the deck.
She held the short rod and tried to cast the fishing line like an adult, but she was too weak and the line only flew two meters before falling into the water.
Is this okay?
'
Kanna turned to look at Bai Yu.
"Can."
Bai Yu said.
Will the fish come up?
""
"wait."
"How long will it take?"
"have no idea."
"Then I'll wait."
Kanna turned her head, gripped the fishing rod with both hands, and stared intently at the water like a kitten eyeing its prey.
Bai Yu watched her retreating figure, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
The sea was calm.
Starlight sprinkled on the water's surface, shattering into shimmering fragments with the gentle ripples. The boat rocked softly, the waves lapping against its hull with a deep, rhythmic sound.
Whoosh—whoosh—
"It's so quiet~"
Rangiku looked up at the starry sky, her tone languid.
"It's so quiet it makes you want to sleep."
"Weren't you full of energy just now?"
Robin asked.
"That's because I was drinking earlier, and now the alcohol is kicking in, so I'm a little sleepy."
"Then don't fall."
"How could that be? I have excellent balance, okay?"
Before Rangiku could finish speaking, her fishing rod suddenly sank.
"They're here!"
Rangiku's eyes lit up instantly, her previous laziness vanished, and she gripped the fishing rod with both hands, pulling it up forcefully.
The fishing line was taut and straight, and the rod was bent into a bow.
"Wow, that's pretty strong!"
Rangiku gritted her teeth and began reeling in the line. The reel made a clicking sound, which was particularly crisp in the quiet night.
Kanna excitedly stood up from her chair, grabbed her fishing rod, and ran over.
"Did you catch it? Did you catch it?"
"I caught one! I caught one!"
Rangiku's voice was filled with excitement; clearly, this fish was quite large.
"Move aside, move aside, don't get tangled in the line."
Bai Yu stepped forward, picked up Kanna around the waist, and retreated to a safe distance.
Even as she was lifted into the air, Kanna still craned her neck to look ahead.
Mirajae put down his fishing rod and came over to help.
"Do you need any help?"
"No need, no need, I can manage on my own!"
Rangiku braced the fishing rod against her abdomen, alternately reeling in the line with both hands, leaning back and straining with all her might.
The water began to churn, white sprays flew up, and a huge dark shadow could be seen struggling underwater in the moonlight.
"Wow, it's huge!"
Yachiru opened her eyes at some point and tilted her head to look at the dark figure.
Artoria put down the plate, walked to the ship's side, crossed her arms, and looked at the ship with a serious expression.
"It's at least several meters long."
Artoria made her judgment with the eyes of a knight.
Robin put down his glass and stood up.
"Could it be a sea king?"
"Impossible, Aquaman is much bigger than that."
Rangiku gritted her teeth and continued reeling in the line.
"Just an ordinary fish—but it's incredibly strong—damn it—come up here!"
With a sudden burst of strength, she pulled a huge figure out of the water, which flew through the air in an arc before crashing onto the deck.
The fish was thrashing about on the deck, its tail slapping against the wooden planks with a loud thud.
Everyone gathered around.
It was a large fish, long and slender, with scales that shimmered with a silvery-blue luster under the light. It was a full six meters long from mouth to tail, with a sharp and long mouth like a long sword.
"It's a swordfish!"
"Wow, that's huge!"
Rangiku, panting heavily, stood with her hands on her hips, a smug expression on her face.
"How about that? Impressive, right? The first one is this big!"
"Amazing!"
Robin clapped twice perfunctorily, but his eyes remained fixed on the fish, a hint of curiosity in his gaze.
"This kind of fish usually lives in the deep sea and comes to the surface at night to feed, so it's really not easy to catch one this big."
"Robin, you know about this?"
Ranju asked.
"I've only read a few books."
Robin crouched down, looked at the swordfish, and gently touched its long upper jaw.
"If someone pokes this mouth, it's no joke."
"So be careful when fishing."
Mirajah laughed and took out a wooden bucket, filled it halfway with seawater, and prepared to put the fish in.
"Let's keep it in the wooden tub; we can eat it fresh tomorrow."
Artoria's ears twitched.
The way she looked at the fish changed.
"Breakfast for tomorrow?"
"Yes, swordfish has very delicious flesh. It can be eaten raw, grilled, or made into fish balls—"
'
That's enough.
Artoria interrupted her.
"Stop talking."
"What's wrong?"
My stomach is already growling.
Kanna struggled to get down from Bai Yu's arms, ran to the swordfish, and squatted down to look at it.
"Wow, you're so big, Fishy!"
She reached out and touched the swordfish's scales; they were smooth and cool.
"Were you also hungry when you were fished out?"
The swordfish flicked its tail, slapping it against the deck and splashing water all over Kanna's face.
Kanna was startled and plopped down on the deck. She paused for a second, then burst out laughing.
"It answered me!"
"—It just doesn't want you to touch it."
"No, it said it was happy to see me!"
Kanna stuck to her own interpretation, wiped the water off her face, and leaned in again.
Yachiru's fishing rod moved.
It didn't sag violently, but rather trembled slightly, then the reel made an extremely slow click-click.
A clicking sound.
Yachiru opened her eyes, glanced down at the fishing rod, but didn't reach for it.
"Aren't you going to poop?"
Ranju asked.
"Let it eat a little longer."
Yachiru's voice was very soft and gentle, as if she were talking about something insignificant.
The reel continued to turn slowly, click-click-click, the sound neither too fast nor too slow.
About a minute later, Yachiru slowly picked up the fishing rod.
She didn't lift it forcefully, but just flicked her wrist slightly and started reeling in the line.
The movements were very light and slow, making almost no sound.
Her expression was relaxed, unlike Rangiku's gritted teeth.
But this ease made people feel very uneasy.
Because when she reeled in the line, the boat tilted slightly.
Bai Yu raised his head.
Yachiru reeled in the fishing line; the hook was empty, the bait completely gone.
"Ah, they got away."
Yachiru tilted her head, her tone tinged with regret, but her expression remained a gentle smile.
"Eat and run, how cunning!"
"What kind of fish is that?"
Robin asked.
"I don't know, but he's very strong."
Yachiru re-baited the fish and cast the line out again.
"Try again."
Robin's fishing rod also moved.
She made very little noise, only tapping the tip of the rod a few times, as if someone was knocking on the door below.
Robin put down his wine glass, gripped the fishing rod, and gently lifted it.
It feels very light.
The line was pulled up, and on the hook was a small fish about the size of a palm, its body silvery white, its scales shimmering in the light.
"So beautiful~"
Mirajane leaned closer to take a look.
The little fish wasn't big, but it was very beautiful, with a silver body and faint pink stripes. It had big, shiny black eyes, and it was staring at the air with its mouth open, looking quite aggrieved.
"What kind of fish is this?"
Rangiku came over to take a look.
"I don't know, but it's very beautiful."
"I can't bear to kill it."
Robin walked to the side of the boat, bent down, and put his hand into the water.
The little fish lingered in my palm for a second, then flicked its tail and vanished into the darkness in a flash.
Goodbye~
Robin said something to the water, then returned to his seat and reattached the bait.
Kanna was stunned.
"Sister Robin, why did you release the fish?"
"Because it's too small."
"Can't we eat small fish?"
"It's edible, but wouldn't it be better to let it grow a little bigger?"
Kanna tilted her head and thought for a moment, as if she understood, yet also as if she didn't, but finally nodded.
"Then I'll release the little fish too."
"good."
Robin reached out and patted Kanna's head.
Mirajane's fishing rod moved.
Her movements were the most professional—the rod suddenly sank, and then the reel hissed loudly as the fishing line was pulled outwards frantically.
"This...it's huge."
Mirajane's expression changed.
She gripped the rod with both hands, leaned back, and braced her feet against the deck, straining with all her might. The reel was still hissing, and the fishing line was being pulled out quite a distance.
"Do you need any help?"
Ranju asked.
"No need—I can—"
Mirajane gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, but a slight smile still lingered on his lips.
"I just—didn't expect—to be so strong—"
She started reeling in the line, one loop, two loops, three loops, and then it was pulled back two loops.
A tug-of-war is ongoing.
Kanna jumped around and cheered, clapping her little hands loudly.
"Go Mirajane! Go Mirajane!"
Artoria stood behind Mirajane, ready to take over at any moment.
Yachiru opened her eyes again at some point, tilted her head and looked at the water, her smile deeper than usual.
Robin put down his fishing rod and watched intently.
Bai Yu also walked over and stood diagonally behind Mirajane, without saying a word, just watching.
The fishing line was slowly reeled in, and the water began to churn, with the white waves growing larger and larger.
"I saw it! I saw it!"
Kanna pointed to the water.
Under the moonlight, a golden shadow swam in the water at an astonishing speed, struggling incessantly and splashing large amounts of water.
"A golden fish?"
Rangiku's eyes widened.
Robin squinted at the golden shadow.
"It's tuna."
"tuna?!"
Rangiku's voice rose an octave.
"Such a big tuna?!"
"Not small."
Mirajane continued reeling in the line, the muscles in her arms taut.
"About—a few meters or so—"
Finally, the fish was pulled out of the water.
The fish's shimmering scales glowed in the moonlight, its round and plump body exuding a sense of power, and its thick, strong tail slapping the water with a loud splash.
It was indeed a tuna, estimated to be several meters long and weighing at least several hundred kilograms.
"Oh my god————"
Rangiku's voice has changed.
"How much would such a big tuna sell for at the market?"
"You're not short of money."
Robin smiled.
"This isn't about money, it's about honor!"
Rangiku looked completely serious.
"Catching such a big tuna is every angler's dream!"
Mirajane dragged the tuna onto the deck. The fish was still throbbing violently. She took two steps back, panting heavily, with a thin layer of sweat on her forehead.
"So tired————"
She wiped away her sweat, but a satisfied smile graced her face.
"But it's worth it."
Artoria walked over to the tuna, squatted down, and reached out to press the fish's body.
"It has a thick layer of fat; it's top-quality."
She looked up at Mirajane, her eyes filled with an unusual eagerness.
"We'll eat this tomorrow."
"it is good."
Mirajane smiled.