The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

Both of them performed difficult maneuvers underwater and urgently needed to climb onto the boat to rest.

After laughing for a while, Leo felt uncomfortable from the weight of the lead weight and asked Enzo:

"Is the endurance test over?"

Enzo hummed in agreement, and Leo began disassembling the lead blocks, continuing to ask:

"Is the next step the flexibility test?"

Enzo felt like laughing and crying at the same time.

Leo just acted like a sentient sea sponge underwater.

Why bother testing flexibility?

At this moment, Enzo deeply empathized with Natale.

He could swim at the age of 3, could swim back and forth on his own near the shore at the age of 5, went out to sea to fish with his father at the age of 8, and could swim in and out of 20-meter-deep waters seven times at the age of 12... When it comes to swimming skills, none of his peers in the village can compare to Enzo.

But he couldn't compete with an outsider from the city.

Moreover, this person is self-taught!

Is this what they call extraordinary talent?

Then, his headache started again...

There's not much to teach about swimming, and other sea skills can't be taught to Leo in a day or two.

What should we do?

After a moment of silence, Enzo jumped into the water again.

"I have nothing more to teach you," he said frankly.

Leo could not hide his disappointment:

"Not even a little bit?"

Enzo shook his head:

"There's nothing you can learn quickly, but I can introduce you to a friend."

"Friend?" Leo's head started spinning around Enzo's again.

"Yes, I'll introduce you to my best friend." With that, Enzo plunged down and disappeared.

"What do you mean?" Leo looked around for him.

The sea lion appeared from the northeast of the ship:

"The seabed northeast of Marzamemi is mostly sandy with gentle slopes, few reefs, and abundant seagrass beds, teeming with golden snapper, European sea bass, mussels, and scallops..."

Five minutes later, the sea lion emerged from the south side of the small boat:

"The south side is mainly composed of fine sand, with abundant plankton..."

Ten minutes later, the "Sea Lion" appeared to the west of the small boat:

"This is my favorite direction to go because there are many shipwrecks down there. I used to go exploring there a lot when I was a kid..."

Finally, "Sea Lion" leaned against the gunwale and looked due east towards Marzamemi:

"If you're looking for sea urchins, go this way. The area you mentioned with the obvious reefs doesn't have a high density of sea urchins. This direction, from 2 kilometers to 10 kilometers along the coastline, is all rocky uplifts, where you'll find not only sea urchins but also mussel beds."

Enzo wasn't bragging.

He started "hanging out" in this sea when he was 3 years old, learning about the underwater topography, water depth, and fish distribution in each area.

Now, he's sharing all of this with Leo, as if introducing him to a friend.

After an unknown amount of time, Leo, lying on the boat, asked:

"So, this sea was your best friend when you were a child?"

Enzo casually mentioned his childhood experiences of exploring the ocean with his friends, which filled Leo with longing.

The sea lion made a few "gurgling" sounds, seemingly still not giving up on studying this swimming style:

"Not just when I was a child, but now too."

Leo asked with a smile:

"Then you probably won't leave this 'friend' for the rest of your life, right?"

Leo could sense that Enzo loved the sea very much, and that he would definitely spend his whole life dealing with the sea.

There was only the sound of splashing water, and no one answered the question.

Leo sat up and saw that Enzo had swum quite a distance away, so he quickly asked:

"where did you go?"

The sea lion flapped its arms happily, saying without turning its head:

"Your boat is too small, I'll swim back."

"Come on up, I'll take you back," Leo shouted as he stood up.

Enzo rolled over and turned to Leo, saying:

"I'll wait until you buy a big boat before I ride it!"

Leo muttered, "This is insane."

However, this distance was not far for Enzo.

Enzo's voice came from afar again:

"Don't overexert yourself today, get some rest. The match against Bianchi is in the next few days!"

"Who is Bianchi?" Leo asked.

Enzo only told him that he wanted to go to Messina and compete with another candidate, but he had never heard of Bianchi before.

Enzo, who was splashing around in the sea, cursed "Damn it!" He slipped away so fast that he forgot to introduce Leo to his opponent.

He shouted like a war drum:

"Whoever he is, win! Let's go to Messina!"

But what good is knowing who your opponent is?

Everyone wants to crush him!

.......

I didn't catch many fish this morning, but I did find a 'golden treasure'.

Enzo's sharing gave Leo almost all the information about the nearby Marzamemi Sea.

In the future, whether it's fishing, catching sea urchins, or going out to sea by boat, there will be a clear direction.

Enzo's "friend" is worth a fortune!

During his lunch break, he was in a good mood and bought some ice cream, while also trying to find out who the "Bianchi" that Enzo had mentioned was.

Although I can only go to Messina by winning the challenge against him, no matter who he is, it's still better to find out more about him.

"How would I know? Go ask him yourself." Marco was still the same as always; as soon as he heard Leo asking about someone, he immediately put on a sour face.

Leo sighed helplessly.

Looking at the blazing sun overhead, he decided he didn't want to go looking for Andrei under the scorching sun.

Moreover, he bought a double scoop of ice cream today, which melts faster outside than he can eat, so it can't be wasted.

Taking advantage of Marco's distraction while washing cups, Leo cleverly seized the opportunity:

"Bianchi is a fisherman too? And not just an ordinary fisherman, right? If you don't tell me the truth, it's probably not that simple."

The operation of extracting confessions through torture was successfully launched.

Three seconds later, Marco, with his back to Leo, launched into a rapid-fire monologue, mostly consisting of meaningless rants—definitely his inner monologue at that moment:

"How many times have you asked me about the Sandro family? Three or four times? Why do you keep asking about them? Let me tell you the truth, the Sandro family is large and the relationships are complicated. It can't be explained in just a few words. Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. What's it to you?"

Ring ring ring ring—

The wind chimes by the door swayed violently as the coffee shop door was pushed open.

A burly man wearing a peaked cap walked in and coldly addressed Leo:

"Meet me at the dock at 7 a.m. tomorrow with your gear. The winner between you and Bianchi will represent Marzamemi in Messina. The rules are to hunt eleven common nearshore fish species, including bass, snapper, and goby, within 20 minutes. Whoever catches the most wins."

The man left immediately after delivering the letter, without lingering for even a second.

After he left, Leo licked his ice cream and asked a stunned Marco:

"Can you say more now? You see, I'm connected to Bianchi."

......

While Leo was asking about his opponent Bianchi, Bianchi was also asking about his opponent Leo.

On an old boat at the dock, he asked the dark-skinned middle-aged fisherman opposite him:

"You went to the fish market this morning, right? Judging from the amount of fish Leo brought, what's his fishing skill level?"