One Piece: Star Sea Legend

Chapter 17: Let’s Fight Together!

“What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and take care of them!”

Upon hearing Qin Ming’s shout, Morgan turned his head and noticed that Qin Ming was being held by a woman with short orange hair, making it difficult for him to move. Seeing this as a perfect opportunity to deal with Qin Ming, Morgan ordered the marines to attack Luffy and Zoro while he himself headed towards Qin Ming.

“Quick, duck, Zoro!”

Luffy, noticing Morgan changing direction, realized he was going after Qin Ming. He lifted his right foot and told Zoro.

The marines, armed with swords but frozen in fear by Zoro’s intimidating presence, saw Luffy lift his foot and remembered how he had stretched his leg and kicked an entire row of marines earlier. They were instantly alarmed.

“Rubber Whip!”

As soon as Zoro crouched slightly, Luffy stretched his right leg and swung it in a wide arc.

The dozen or so marines behind Zoro didn’t even have time to react before they were swept away by Luffy’s elongated leg, as if they were nothing more than trash.

Though Zoro had seen Luffy use this move before, he was still surprised. He looked at Luffy and asked, “What exactly are you…?”

“I ate the Rubber Fruit. I’m a rubber man.”

Luffy retracted his long, elastic leg, which swayed back and forth.

“A… rubber man?”

“Captain, we’re no match for them! They’re ridiculously strong!”

“They’re way too powerful, and we can’t even beat Zoro!”

“Not to mention, many of us were already injured by that guy with the strange weapon. How can we possibly handle all three of them?”

The marines had truly lost their fighting spirit. Qin Ming alone had already beaten them badly, and now with the addition of the formidable Luffy and Zoro, they had no courage left to fight.

Morgan, who had been relentlessly attacking Qin Ming, heard the marines’ words. His swollen face darkened, and with a furious swing of his axe, he forced Qin Ming, who was still holding Nami, to retreat. He then turned around and growled, “I order you, as your captain, to stop boosting their morale and crushing our own! Anyone who disobeys will shoot themselves!”

“I don’t need weak and incompetent subordinates like you!”

Morgan’s face, already swollen from Qin Ming’s beating, looked even more terrifying as he roared at the marines, who were still stunned by his words: “Those of you who just spoke defeatist words, kill yourselves now! That’s an order!”

The marines, hearing Morgan’s command, showed expressions of anger and resentment, but none dared to defy him. After a moment of hesitation, several marines, under Morgan’s tyranny, actually raised their guns to their heads, ready to shoot themselves.

“What kind of messed-up navy is this?!”

Qin Ming finally had a moment to breathe, as the marines were too disgusted by Morgan’s order to continue attacking him. They no longer wanted to serve under Morgan.

Not only did Qin Ming find this navy absurd, but Zoro, with a sword clenched between his teeth, also muttered, “What the hell is wrong with this military?”

Koby, standing beside Zoro, was utterly shocked. He had always dreamed of joining the navy to fight for justice and protect the innocent. But now, the navy he saw was not only corrupt but also trampled on lives without a second thought.

Koby’s body trembled uncontrollably. He felt as if something inside him had shattered, causing him immense pain.

“The navy I admired shouldn’t be like this!”

At that moment, Koby’s eyes behind his thick glasses turned slightly red.

Meanwhile, Nami, who had been clinging to Qin Ming, finally let go and stepped away from him without hesitation.

“Well, goodbye. If we ever meet again, make sure to pay back the money you owe me.”

Nami’s pretty face still bore clear tear streaks, but as she spoke to Qin Ming, she wore a satisfied smile—a warm, heartwarming smile.

Before Qin Ming could react, Nami turned and ran off without looking back.

Watching Nami quickly run out of the marine base without a hint of reluctance, Qin Ming was completely baffled.

“What the hell is this woman doing? She cried so much that my clothes are now soaked, and now she’s talking about me owing her money? I don’t owe her a damn thing!”

Qin Ming felt the warmth of Nami’s tears on his chest. Her tears must have been really hot.

As Nami was about to disappear from his sight, Qin Ming suddenly remembered something and hurriedly shouted at her retreating figure: “Don’t forget to pay me back the few hundred berries you stole from me next time! Don’t try to weasel out of it!”

Nami, who had been running away feeling sentimental about possibly never seeing Qin Ming again, stumbled at his words and nearly fell face-first onto the ground.

Seeing Nami almost trip while running, Qin Ming couldn’t help but chuckle to himself: “This woman, she can’t even run without almost falling. She should learn from me—I walk steadily and never trip.”

In truth, Nami had brought up the money issue to ensure Qin Ming would remember her in the future. Little did she know that Qin Ming didn’t need any reminders—he was already fixated on the few hundred berries she owed him. It made her feel like she had misread the situation.

After all, in the vast expanse of the sea, it wasn’t uncommon for people to never meet again. That’s why Nami had acted so differently this time.

Meanwhile, Luffy had already charged at Morgan, throwing a punch: “I’m the enemy of the navy! Go ahead and sentence me to death!”

Luffy’s words were filled with anger. Clearly, Morgan’s disregard for his subordinates’ lives had infuriated him.

As Luffy and Morgan began their fight, Qin Ming noticed that Nami had run back. He happily waved at her: “Are you back to return my money?”

Nami, her face dark, ignored Qin Ming and walked past him. She bent down to pick up the nunchaku on the ground—the weapon Qin Ming had hastily made using her materials.

“You should leave that to me. You don’t know how to use it.”

Qin Ming, seeing Nami about to take the nunchaku, spoke up.

“You idiot! This is mine, mine, mine!”

Nami tightly gripped the nunchaku in her hands, her face as dark as coal. She yelled at Qin Ming, spraying him with saliva, completely different from the gentle, caring woman she had been moments ago.

The scene was eerily similar to when Qin Ming had berated Nami earlier, except now their roles were reversed.

Compared to the bright, sunny smile she had given Qin Ming earlier, Nami now looked like the embodiment of a demon, scaring Qin Ming so much that he instinctively took a defensive stance.

Qin Ming, now on high alert, stepped back from Nami. Just as he was about to say something, Nami gave him a playful yet charming smile: “On second thought, I’ll let you have this. Come and take it.”

Nami held out the nunchaku to Qin Ming, her bright eyes filled with sincerity. Qin Ming hesitated: “If I take this, you promise you won’t hurt me?”

“Of course, why would I hurt you?”

Nami’s smile widened, showing no trace of malice. Qin Ming’s guard lowered slightly, and he said, “If you swear, then I’ll believe you.”

“Fine, I swear. If I hurt you after you take this, I’ll owe you money for the rest of my life. How’s that?”

Nami didn’t hesitate to make the oath. Qin Ming, hearing this, immediately felt reassured. For a money-obsessed person like Nami, owing someone money for life was the most severe curse imaginable.

Thus, Qin Ming reached out to take the nunchaku from Nami. Just as his hand was about to touch it, Nami’s face transformed into a terrifying shark-like grin, and she delivered a powerful punch to Qin Ming’s head: “All the money is mine! How dare you ask me to pay you back? I’ll beat you up!”

“WAAAAHHHH!!!!”

Qin Ming clutched his head, letting out a earth-shattering scream, while Nami walked away without looking back.

A few marines had considered stopping Nami from leaving, but after seeing her deliver a single punch that “instantly defeated” Qin Ming—the same guy who had beaten them up earlier—they turned pale and their legs trembled. They didn’t dare to even think about stopping her.

While Qin Ming was suffering Nami’s “wrath,” Koby finally let out his pent-up frustration and dissatisfaction with the twisted navy. He shouted at Luffy, who was fighting Morgan: “Luffy, crush this rotten navy!”

Though Koby’s shout was loud, it was nothing compared to Qin Ming’s ear-piercing scream of pain.

“What’s wrong with that guy? He got lightly tapped on the head by a woman and is screaming like the world’s ending. Isn’t that embarrassing?”

Zoro, with a sword clenched between his teeth, watched Qin Ming clutching his head in pain and couldn’t understand what the fuss was about.

Poor Zoro. In the future, after experiencing Nami’s infamous “Iron Fist,” he would often look at Qin Ming with guilt, thinking, “I shouldn’t have mocked you back then.”

“That woman is really strong. She took down Qin Ming in one hit.”

Luffy, who had just punched Morgan away, had a different reaction to Qin Ming’s predicament.

Morgan, sent flying by Luffy, happened to be heading straight towards Qin Ming.

Qin Ming, still crouching on the ground and wondering if Nami had lost her mind, saw Morgan flying towards him. He leaped up and delivered a powerful kick to Morgan’s already swollen face: “I’m already annoyed! Get lost!”

BAM!

Morgan was sent crashing to the ground in front of the marines who had been ordered to shoot themselves.

“Captain Morgan… he’s completely outmatched!”

The marines, seeing Morgan lying on the ground unable to get up, were utterly stunned.

Luffy jumped onto Morgan, grabbing him by the collar: “What kind of navy is this? You’ve ruined Koby’s dream!”

BAM!

Luffy began punching Morgan’s swollen face relentlessly: “And you hurt Qin Ming too! Unforgivable!”

Qin Ming, still crouching on the ground, heard Luffy’s words and felt even more frustrated: “The injury on my back wasn’t caused by him. It was because of you that I got hurt.”

“Me?”

Luffy, while still punching Morgan, glanced at Qin Ming in confusion.

“Yeah, if you hadn’t broken that statue, I wouldn’t have been injured.”

Qin Ming rubbed his head, which was still throbbing from Nami’s punch, and explained to Luffy.

“The statue?”

Luffy continued punching Morgan, while the marines watched in horror, too scared to intervene.

Then Luffy seemed to remember something and looked at Qin Ming in shock: “Was that statue…?”

“Yes, you finally figured it out.”

Qin Ming thought Luffy had realized the truth, but Luffy’s next words were completely off: “Was that statue supposed to be you? Now that I think about it, it did look a lot like you. I’m sorry I broke it!”

“What the hell? There’s no resemblance between me and that statue of Morgan, whether in looks, demeanor, or personality. You should apologize, but for your terrible eyesight, not for breaking the statue!”

Qin Ming was driven to madness by Luffy’s words. His previously gloomy mood, caused by Nami’s departure, was completely gone. He now wanted to strangle Luffy. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he wondered, “What on earth is this guy basing his judgment on?”

Zoro, watching from a distance, also muttered, “That statue did look a lot like him. I mean, they were both injured.”

Luckily, Qin Ming didn’t hear Zoro’s comment, or he might have truly lost his mind. The statue had been broken in half, and Qin Ming had been injured on his back. Zoro’s logic was beyond comprehension.

As Luffy continued to pummel Morgan, a voice suddenly rang out: “Stop!”

Luffy ignored it and kept punching Morgan. The voice came again: “I said stop, you idiot!”

“If you want him to live, stop now, or I’ll shoot!”

Helmeppo, holding a gun to a hostage, threatened Luffy.

It was a scene all too familiar. Qin Ming was almost moved to tears.

Helmeppo, trembling, pointed his gun at Qin Ming’s head as he crouched on the ground. Qin Ming was utterly baffled. “Even though I’m crouching here motionless, and even though I’m currently the weakest member of the Straw Hat crew, you can’t just use me as a hostage to threaten people! You idiot, do you really think I’m that weak?”

Unfortunately, with Koby being watched by Zoro, Qin Ming was the only one left alone, crouching on the ground. Thus, Helmeppo had chosen him as the target.

“Helmeppo-sama…”

The marines, seeing Helmeppo point a gun at Qin Ming and use him as a hostage, were instantly terrified.

Did Helmeppo not realize that Qin Ming had already beaten Captain Morgan to a pulp? How could he possibly think Qin Ming would be so easily subdued?

“You should give up. You can’t handle Qin Ming.”

Luffy barely glanced at Helmeppo before continuing to punch Morgan.

“Hey, kid, don’t move, or I’ll shoot!”

Helmeppo threatened Qin Ming, then turned to Luffy: “I’ll really shoot! Your friend will die!”

“Then shoot!”

Luffy said nonchalantly, completely ignoring Helmeppo as he continued to punch Morgan, who was howling in pain.

“Sigh!”

Qin Ming sighed, then delivered a powerful punch to Helmeppo’s face: “You get lost too!”

Helmeppo didn’t even see Qin Ming’s punch coming before he was sent flying.

Qin Ming then jumped onto Helmeppo, who was now sprawled on the ground, and began punching him relentlessly.

“I’ll teach you to bully others with your power!”

“I’ll teach you to raise vicious dogs!”

“I’ll teach you to be a useless rich kid!”

“I’ll teach you to oppress innocent people!”

“I’ll teach you to take me hostage!”

Qin Ming vented all his frustration on Helmeppo. With each shout, he felt more justified in beating Helmeppo up, so he continued without hesitation.

The unfortunate Helmeppo became Qin Ming’s punching bag.

Some marines, seeing Helmeppo being beaten to a pulp, wanted to step in, but Zoro took a step forward, still holding a sword between his teeth. His cold gaze swept over the marines: “You’d better all stay where you are. Anyone who moves will get cut down!”

The marines, feeling as if they had been plunged into an icy abyss by Zoro’s gaze, didn’t dare to move.

And so, in the Shells Town marine base, Luffy sat on Morgan, beating up the base’s captain, while Qin Ming pummeled the captain’s son, Helmeppo.

The marines watched in stunned silence as Luffy and Qin Ming taught the arrogant, tyrannical father and son a brutal lesson. The sound of their agonized screams made the marines feel as if they were in a dream. This is a marine base! What do you think this place is…?