When the shark seized Morita's leg, he reacted by fighting back.
He began punching the animal.
The response was immediate and physical.
He was trying to make the shark release its grip before it could pull him farther underwater.
But the animal did not let go.
Its jaws remained attached to his leg.
The shark's strength made it difficult for Morita to control his own position.
He was not simply being bitten while floating on the surface.
He was being pulled beneath the water by a powerful predator.
That created a second threat.
Morita needed air.
A person caught underwater cannot continue fighting indefinitely.
Every second spent submerged increases the urgency of reaching the surface.
The physical struggle also consumes energy.
Punching, twisting, and resisting the movement of a large animal require effort, particularly when one leg is trapped.
Morita had to manage the immediate pain and danger of the bite while trying to avoid being dragged deeper.
The account does not establish the exact depth reached during the first descent.
Nor does it provide a precise number of seconds he remained underwater.
Those details should not be invented.
What is known is that the shark pulled him beneath the surface and that he continued resisting.
He struck the animal while trying to free himself.
The punches were not enough.
The shark maintained its grip.
For an experienced surfer, the ocean is normally a place where body position and controlled movement matter.
A surfer learns to manage balance, hold breath during wipeouts, and remain oriented when waves push the body underwater.
But this was not an ordinary wipeout.
Morita was being pulled by an animal that had bitten his leg.
He could not simply wait for a wave to pass.
He needed the shark to release him.
The first underwater struggle did not end the encounter.
The animal continued holding him.
And Morita faced another descent.
Chapter 4: The Shark Pulls Him Under Again
The second time the shark dragged Morita beneath the surface, the danger became even more severe.
He had already fought to escape once.
His punches had failed to break the animal's grip.
Now he was underwater again, with his right leg still trapped in its jaws.
Morita needed to control his breathing while continuing to resist.
His years of surfing had made him familiar with being submerged by waves, but this was a fundamentally different situation.
A wave eventually passes.