Chapter 849

As Lu En carried the corpse of the King of the Near Sea and vanished from this stretch of ocean…

Red-Haired then took Little Lufei and began retracing their steps toward the windmill village harbor.

Because Little Lufei had eaten the Nikka fruit and had become a complete landlubber, Red-Haired had to keep him raised above his head at all times.

On the way back to the windmill village,

Red-Haired pondered deeply.

In the end—

He had already made up his mind.

Immediately,

He slowly removed the straw hat from atop his head.

Then,

He looked earnestly at Lu En and said: "Little Lufei, you want to grow stronger, don't you? Today, I'll entrust this straw hat to your care."

"It has always been extremely important to me!"

"But today, I'm willing to place it in your hands."

"One day…"

"When you truly become a great pirate who stands tall beneath heaven and earth, I'll come back to reclaim it."

"Do you have the confidence to do that?"

With those words spoken,

Little Lufei's eyes lit up.

He stared blankly at the seemingly ordinary straw hat in Red-Haired's hand.

After a pause,

He nodded firmly and took the straw hat.

Raising his head,

He locked eyes with Red-Haired, his small face serious, his voice brimming with confidence: "I can do it! Shanks, one day, I will become a great pirate who surpasses you!"

After saying this,

Little Lufei instinctively clenched the straw hat in his hands.

Under Red-Haired's gaze,

Little Lufei took a deep breath, cradling the straw hat with both hands.

Then,

He slowly placed the straw hat upon his head.

The large straw hat nearly completely obscured his entire face.

Windmill Village.

Harbor shore.

The village chief and Machino both fretted anxiously, fists clenched, faces pale, eyes filled with unease as they gazed toward the distant, boundless ocean.

"Won't something happen to Little Lufei?"

The village chief couldn't help asking.

He had watched Little Lufei grow up.

He naturally felt deep affection for him.

He naturally didn't wish to see

Little Lufei perish in this sea today.

"Chief, you don't need to worry so much."

"Little Lufei will definitely be fine."

Machino supported the old chief and quickly spoke to reassure him.

The old chief was elderly.

He couldn't endure great turmoil or shock.

She didn't want him to overexert himself or fall ill because of Little Lufei.

"Yes."

"He definitely won't be harmed!"

"So many people have set out to search for Little Lufei; they'll surely rescue him soon."

The village chief seemed to be comforting himself.

Half a quarter-hour later,

A number of villagers gradually returned from the shore.

Seeing this, the village chief and Machino's hearts sank.

"Did you find Little Lufei?"

Seeing the villagers return from the shore, the village chief hurriedly pressed.

"We're sorry, Chief—we found no trace of Little Lufei at all."

"We've disappointed you."

"Little Lufei… he may already be…"

One by one, the villagers wore expressions of despair and helplessness, their eyes filled with sorrow.

"Nonsense!"

"How could Little Lufei be in danger?"

The village chief was somewhat angry.

"Village chief, don't be angry."

Magino quickly soothed him.

As the number of returning villagers grew ever larger…

The village chief's mood sank gradually to its lowest point.

At this moment,

One villager couldn't help but mention: "A few days ago, when I went out to sea, I seemed to have accidentally encountered that demon. It has been lingering near our Windmill Village's waters and hasn't left yet!"

As soon as he finished speaking,

The entire crowd fell silent!

One by one, the villagers clenched their fists instinctively, their expressions filled with anger and fear.

The demon they spoke of…

Was naturally the Sea King class lurking near Windmill Village's waters—the King of the Near Seas!

A super-large Sea King class.

And also a Sea King class that once inflicted heavy losses upon Windmill Village.

Over these years,

The number of people who died in the King of the Near Seas' mouth and became its meal likely exceeded fifty!

This was a man-eating demon!

And also the greatest nightmare in the hearts of Windmill Village's villagers.

"You say,"

"Could Little Lufei have encountered the King of the Near Seas?"

One villager said weakly.

In an instant,

Every single villager present was deeply shaken.

"Don't talk nonsense!"

"Yeah, Little Lufei is blessed by fate—he absolutely wouldn't encounter the King of the Near Seas."

"Little Lufei will be fine."

The other villagers angrily rebuked him.