One Piece: Star Sea Legend

Chapter 3: The Moment of Decision

When Qin Ming finally managed to drag the limp, seawater-soaked Luffy and the half-dead fat man back to shore, he was completely exhausted, gasping for breath with pale lips.

Clearly, rescuing Luffy and the fat man had pushed Qin Ming to the brink of collapse.

There was no other way. When Luffy sank into the sea, they were still over a hundred meters from the shore. Normally, this distance wouldn’t have been a problem for Qin Ming—he could have swum back and forth several times without issue.

But Luffy, being completely powerless in the seawater, was essentially dead weight. Qin Ming had to carry him while swimming against the water’s resistance, which made the task incredibly taxing.

To make matters worse, just as Qin Ming was struggling to swim towards the shore with Luffy, he glanced back and saw that the fat man, who had been floating on a piece of driftwood, had also sunk into the sea.

The fat man was Qin Ming’s first friend in this world of One Piece, and his family had saved Qin Ming’s life. How could Qin Ming just stand by and watch him drown?

So, gritting his teeth, Qin Ming turned back with Luffy in tow and rescued the fat man.

In the end, Qin Ming had to drag both Luffy and the fat man to shore, using every ounce of strength he had. If it weren’t for the fact that Qin Ming had spent the past six months fishing, building up his arm strength and overall stamina, he would never have been able to pull off such a feat.

But the effort left Qin Ming utterly spent. After rescuing Luffy and the fat man, his consciousness began to fade, and he eventually passed out.

This was only natural. Qin Ming was just an ordinary person. Pushing himself to save two drowning people at once had pushed him far beyond his limits. Collapsing from exhaustion was inevitable.

When Qin Ming regained consciousness, it was already evening, and he could hear a lively commotion outside.

Looking around, he realized he had been carried back to his house. It seemed that another group of fishermen had found them unconscious on the beach and brought them back.

“Alright, let’s start the feast!”

As Qin Ming sat up in bed, shaking his groggy head, he heard a loud, energetic voice.

Then, a person wearing a red sleeveless vest and a straw hat, with a bright smile on his face, burst into Qin Ming’s room: “You’re finally awake! Come on, let’s start the feast! The main dish is the sea king we caught this morning. Its meat is delicious!”

“Damn, this guy almost drowned this morning, and now he’s acting like nothing happened, shouting about a feast. His energy is terrifying.”

Qin Ming looked at the lively Luffy with a mix of exasperation and admiration. Compared to Luffy, Qin Ming felt utterly drained.

As soon as he moved, his body ached all over. Qin Ming knew this was due to overexertion and muscle fatigue.

He had planned to rest in bed a bit longer, but Luffy dragged him out to join the feast.

“We’re setting sail tomorrow, so we have to enjoy ourselves tonight. The meat at this feast is amazing!”

Luffy was stuffing a piece of meat larger than his thigh into his mouth while talking to Qin Ming.

Qin Ming, who had been about to explain that he wouldn’t be setting sail with Luffy, was interrupted when the fat man came running over, knelt down, and hugged Qin Ming’s leg, crying: “Thank goodness you’re alive! You looked like a corpse earlier. I thought I was going to have to attend your funeral!”

“Get lost!”

Qin Ming snapped at the fat man. The village was filled with joy, with bonfires lit everywhere and villagers laughing and dancing. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits.

But the fat man’s mournful expression was a complete buzzkill, instantly ruining Qin Ming’s slightly improved mood. The fat man’s gloomy face was just too out of place.

When the villagers saw Qin Ming, they greeted him with smiles. A few young, pretty girls even blushed and invited him to dance, but he declined.

It wasn’t that Qin Ming was being pretentious—his head was still spinning, and he was worried he might accidentally stumble into a bonfire. That would be a real tragedy.

However, there was one person who was thoroughly enjoying the dancing: Luffy.

This guy was dancing with a group of girls, and at one point, he declared it wasn’t exciting enough and started doing a belly dance. The villagers burst into laughter, thoroughly entertained.

Luffy even drew a face on his belly, used his rubber body to inflate it into a round shape, stuck two chopsticks in his nose, and started singing some unknown pirate song. The villagers were in stitches.

There was no denying that Luffy’s presence made the feast far livelier than usual.

Qin Ming had attended village feasts before, and while they were lively, none had been as energetic as this one. Almost every villager was enthusiastically participating, and even Qin Ming found himself caught up in the excitement.

As Qin Ming ate and watched Luffy’s antics, he turned to the fat man beside him and asked, “You know how to swim, right? How did you end up drowning?”

As a fisherman, the fat man certainly knew how to swim. But at the time, seeing the fat man in danger, Qin Ming hadn’t thought twice before rescuing him.

This was Qin Ming’s first time eating sea king meat, and he found it incredibly delicious, leaving him wanting more.

But soon, Qin Ming lost his appetite.

The fat man explained that he had drowned because, after vomiting, he felt dizzy and accidentally inhaled some seawater. To his horror, the seawater contained traces of his own vomit, which made him vomit again.

As he was gasping for air, a small wave washed over him, sending the vomit back into his mouth. This caused him to vomit once more.

In his frantic state, he cramped up and promptly drowned.

Completely unaware that his story had ruined Qin Ming’s appetite, the fat man continued to recount his tragic experience in vivid detail. Qin Ming, barely holding back the urge to vomit, finally snapped and punched the fat man, knocking him out.

“Damn it all! Some things are just too much to bear!”

Looking at the unconscious fat man, Qin Ming felt a wave of relief, and his earlier discomfort vanished.

“Are you a Devil Fruit user?”

The village chief, seeing Luffy stretch his arm to grab a piece of meat from a nearby plate, asked with curiosity.

“Yeah, I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit. I’m a rubber man.”

Luffy, with meat in both hands, kept stuffing his face. He even shamelessly stretched his arm to snatch the meat from Qin Ming’s hand.

Qin Ming, who had just adjusted his mood and was about to enjoy the delicious sea king meat, was left dumbfounded as his food disappeared.

“Damn you, you glutton! You’ve already eaten two-thirds of that sea king!”

Qin Ming, annoyed, picked up another piece of meat, but before he could take a bite, it too flew into Luffy’s mouth.

Left with no other option, Qin Ming resorted to eating the foods Luffy had no interest in—mainly vegetables.

“By the way, our village also has a Devil Fruit.”

The elderly village chief glanced at Qin Ming, then turned to Luffy, who was devouring meat. “You want to invite him to set sail with you, don’t you?”

“Yeah, he’s a reliable guy. I can tell. We get along well.”

Luffy swallowed the meat in his mouth, his neck bulging comically.

“You’re Monkey D. Luffy, right?”

The village chief stroked his long white beard. Though hunched and wrinkled, his eyes gleamed with a sharp intensity.

“What about my name?”

Luffy, oblivious to the chief’s piercing gaze, asked, “Oh, by the way, what’s his name?”

Before the chief could answer, Luffy stretched his arm, grabbed a pole, and swung over to Qin Ming.

Qin Ming, who was in the middle of eating, was startled by Luffy’s sudden appearance and accidentally sprayed vegetable bits all over Luffy’s face.

“What’s your name?”

Luffy shook his head, sending some of the vegetable bits flying onto the meat in his hand. He took a bite and exclaimed, “Hey, this actually tastes better with this stuff on it!”

Hearing this, Qin Ming’s stomach churned again. He barely managed to suppress the urge to vomit on Luffy and told him his name.

“Qin Ming?”

Luffy pondered for a moment, then said, “That’s a really weird name.”

“Damn it, your names are the weird ones, all long and convoluted!”

Qin Ming grumbled internally. He was about to discuss something with Luffy when the village chief spoke up.

“Qin Ming, come with me. There’s something I need to tell you.”

Following the hunched figure of the village chief to a quiet, secluded spot, Qin Ming wondered what the chief wanted to discuss.

“Over a year ago, someone left a Devil Fruit in our village. They said that if we found a suitable person, we should give it to them.”

The chief’s words sent a shiver down Qin Ming’s spine. “Could this Devil Fruit be the one Silvers Rayleigh left here after saving the fat man a year ago?”

“Or was Rayleigh’s visit to the East Blue a year ago related to this Devil Fruit?”

Qin Ming’s mind raced with possibilities. When he snapped out of his thoughts, the chief continued, “If you truly wish to set sail with that man, I can give you the Devil Fruit.”

The chief’s eyes bore into Qin Ming as he added, “I can see that, deep down, you yearn for adventure on the seas.”

At this, the chief’s small eyes gleamed even brighter, and his voice carried a hint of grandeur: “This world is vast. As a man, it’s only natural to be drawn to the boundless, mysterious ocean. Besides, you don’t truly belong here. If you set sail, you might just find what you’re searching for. Whether you choose to sail with that man is your decision. I won’t force you.”

“So, what’s your answer?”

The chief smiled, as if he already knew what Qin Ming would choose.