One Piece: Star Sea Legend

Chapter 2: First Encounters

Facing Luffy’s invitation, Qin Ming was momentarily stunned.

Judging from the current situation, Luffy was still alone, meaning he likely hadn’t even met Zoro yet.

If Qin Ming were to accept Luffy’s invitation, what kind of impact would it have on the future of Luffy’s pirate crew?

At first, Qin Ming felt a surge of excitement upon hearing Luffy’s words, but he quickly calmed down and faced a harsh reality: he was just an ordinary person.

To put it bluntly, Qin Ming was practically useless in a fight. Aside from being skilled at fishing, he had no other notable talents.

If he were to encounter even a nameless pirate, Qin Ming might muster the courage to fight, but he would undoubtedly end up being the one getting beaten.

The truth was, Qin Ming had lived a very ordinary life back on Earth. Born into an average family, he became an average student, and later, an average office worker.

Such an unremarkable person, now in the world of One Piece, facing fierce pirates—how could he possibly compete?

If joining Luffy’s crew would only make him a burden, then Qin Ming would never accept the invitation. It would be better to stay in this peaceful little village and live out his life.

After some contemplation, Qin Ming decided to decline Luffy’s offer.

“No, I like this village. I’ve grown accustomed to the life of a fisherman. Becoming a pirate would only trouble me.”

As Qin Ming spoke these words, he felt a twinge of insincerity. Deep down, he yearned to set sail with Luffy and experience the thrilling adventures.

After all, when Qin Ming used to watch One Piece, he had often fantasized about joining Luffy’s crew, supporting each other, and charging forward together. Who wouldn’t long for that kind of selfless trust among comrades?

But when fantasy meets reality, Qin Ming had to make a rational, albeit reluctant, decision. Who would want to be a burden to a team?

“Fishing?”

Luffy seemed to misunderstand Qin Ming’s refusal. His eyes lit up with excitement as he pointed at the baskets of fish on the boat. “So, you caught all those fish?”

“Well, yeah, I guess.”

Qin Ming nodded. Although the fat man had gone fishing with him, the fat man’s only job was to pack the fish Qin Ming caught into the baskets.

“I knew I wasn’t wrong about you! You’re really reliable. From now on, we’re partners. Let’s get along well!”

Luffy laughed heartily, flashing Qin Ming a bright smile.

“Get along well, my foot! Can’t you listen to what I’m saying?”

Qin Ming felt a sense of foreboding. He suddenly remembered that when Luffy invited someone to join his crew, he didn’t really care whether they agreed or not.

To put it plainly, Luffy would stubbornly drag you onto his pirate ship whether you liked it or not.

Just as Qin Ming was about to speak again, he heard a loud “gurgling” sound.

“Ugh, of course. This guy’s stomach growls with such personality.”

Qin Ming looked at Luffy, who was clutching his stomach with a hungry expression, and sighed.

“Didn’t you say you’d treat me to a big meal? Let’s hurry! After we eat, we’ll set sail.”

Seeing Qin Ming still standing there, Luffy urged him impatiently, then added, “By the way, what’s the specialty of your village? It must be some delicious meat!”

“Damn it, you already answered your own question. Why even ask me?”

Qin Ming rolled his eyes and simply told Luffy that the village’s specialty was fish. Then, he prepared to head back.

Glancing at the fat man, who was still unconscious, Qin Ming slapped him over a dozen times, swelling his face, but the fat man showed no reaction.

Under Luffy’s constant urging, Qin Ming had no choice but to row the small fishing boat back himself.

As he rowed, Qin Ming noticed something strange. Despite rowing for over a minute, the boat wasn’t moving forward—it was actually drifting backward.

The sea was calm, so this shouldn’t be happening.

Puzzled, Qin Ming turned around and saw Luffy, standing on the other side of the boat, stretching his arm to grab the giant sea king floating in the water. At the same time, Luffy was using his other hand to row the boat with an oar.

“Damn it, I shouldn’t have asked him to help row. He’s making things worse!”

At that moment, Qin Ming realized that Luffy wasn’t just a glutton—he was also a walking disaster. “What are you doing?”

“I want to bring it back. It’ll be perfect for a feast. It’s definitely delicious!”

Luffy grinned, looking at the sea king he was holding with his stretched arm, drooling uncontrollably.

“Do you really think we can row back while dragging something that huge?”

Qin Ming was on the verge of losing his patience with Luffy’s single-mindedness. The sea king was over twenty times the size of their small boat. There was no way the boat could pull it.

“Is that so? I thought you were just slacking off and not rowing hard enough. My bad, hahaha!”

Luffy didn’t seem to realize he was the one causing the problem. His carefree attitude made Qin Ming’s heart race.

“If I really set sail with him, I might end up getting killed by his antics before we even meet Zoro.”

“No, I’d definitely get killed!”

The thought crossed Qin Ming’s mind.

“Well, I guess we’ll have to do this.”

Luffy muttered to himself, then put down the oar. He stretched both arms and tightly grabbed the sea king’s body.

Qin Ming was about to tell Luffy to give up on the sea king, but before he could speak, he saw Luffy lift the massive creature high into the air and hurl it forward.

The sea king was so heavy that when Luffy lifted it, the boat tilted violently and began to sink.

When Luffy threw the sea king, the combined weight of the creature and the force of Luffy’s throw caused the boat to tilt almost ninety degrees.

In other words, the small fishing boat Qin Ming and Luffy were on, nearly capsized, leaving Qin Ming’s heart racing.

“What are you even trying to do?”

This time, Qin Ming was genuinely exasperated. As a normal human, it was sometimes impossible to understand the thought process of a single-celled organism like Luffy.

“I’m bringing it back to eat, of course.”

Luffy pointed at the sea king he had thrown ahead of the boat and looked at Qin Ming as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Wasting food is bad. Don’t you know that?”

“Damn it, you just want to eat the sea king. Stop acting all noble!”

Seeing Luffy’s drooling expression, Qin Ming knew exactly what was going through the glutton’s mind.

Realizing he couldn’t convince Luffy to give up on the sea king, Qin Ming had no choice but to let Luffy continue his antics. He rowed with all his might, just wanting to get back to the village quickly, treat Luffy to a meal, and then send this walking disaster on his way.

“Just seeing Luffy in person is enough for me.”

Qin Ming truly believed that. Setting sail with Luffy on an adventure, with his ordinary combat skills, would be a death sentence.

“Why did you invite me?”

Even though Qin Ming had already decided not to set sail, he was still curious about why Luffy had invited him.

“I think you’re a good guy. Plus, you know how to fish. That way, I won’t have to worry about running out of meat to eat.”

Luffy’s answer was straightforward.

Qin Ming wasn’t surprised. Given Luffy’s simple-minded, food-obsessed nature, it wasn’t strange for him to invite someone just because they were good at fishing.

“I also want to find a cook and a musician. That way, I can listen to music and eat delicious meat every day. It’ll be amazing!”

Luffy threw the sea king forward again. By now, Qin Ming had grown somewhat accustomed to the boat’s violent rocking and didn’t react as strongly.

“If you have a cook, you won’t need me anymore. The cook will take care of your meat problem.”

Qin Ming figured that once Luffy meets Sanji, his role as a fisherman would become redundant.

“It seems my decision not to set sail with Luffy is the right one.”

Just as this thought crossed Qin Ming’s mind, he heard Luffy, who was rowing, say, “I’ve thought it over. If the cook can focus solely on making meat for me, that would be perfect. You can handle the ingredients for the meat.”

Luffy seemed to get more excited as he spoke, his eyes shining as he looked at Qin Ming. “I ate a sea king once, and its meat was delicious. If you could catch sea kings for me regularly, that would be great!”

Qin Ming felt a chill run down his spine under Luffy’s gaze. Hearing Luffy’s words, his hand slipped on the oar, and he nearly fell into the sea.

“If I could catch sea kings, would I have needed you to save me earlier?”

Qin Ming imagined what it would be like to set sail with Luffy, constantly battling giant sea kings, and felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead.

“Ah, I see land! Is that your village?”

Luffy excitedly threw down the oar, stretched his arms, and climbed onto the mast of the boat, looking ahead.

“Yeah, we’re almost there.”

Qin Ming spoke with relief. They were finally about to return safely to the village.

“Great! Watch me throw it all the way into the village. I’ve tossed it so many times, I’m really starving now.”

Luffy nimbly jumped down from the mast, stretched his arms, grabbed the sea king, lifted it high, spun around a few times on the boat, and then hurled it forward with all his might.

Perhaps because Luffy used more force this time, the boat rocked even more violently. The fat man, who had been unconscious, finally woke up from the shaking.

Still disoriented, the fat man felt his stomach churn and rushed to the side of the boat, vomiting uncontrollably.

Qin Ming realized that the fat man had likely gotten seasick from the boat’s constant rocking.

As the sea king flew over a hundred meters through the air and landed heavily on the shore, Qin Ming didn’t even have time to marvel at Luffy’s incredible strength before he heard a sharp “crack”.

“Huh? What’s that sound?”

Luffy, standing by the edge of the boat, looked puzzled.

Qin Ming followed the sound and saw that the boat’s planks near Luffy’s feet had cracked.

“Oh no, the boat’s going to sink!”

Qin Ming barely had time to shout this before the bottom of the small fishing boat completely shattered, and seawater began pouring in.

“Why did the boat break?”

Luffy looked genuinely shocked.

“It’s because you kept throwing that sea king around. The boat couldn’t handle the strain.”

Qin Ming, seeing more and more water flooding in, spoke urgently.

In fact, Qin Ming was right. Earlier, Luffy had repeatedly stood on the boat and thrown the massive sea king. Each time, he had stomped hard on the boat’s planks. Finally, during Luffy’s last throw, the small fishing boat, which had served Qin Ming faithfully for over half a year, could no longer withstand the pressure and shamefully sank.

“If that’s the case, why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

Luffy’s words left Qin Ming speechless. “I did tell you to give up on the sea king. You just didn’t listen.”

Qin Ming was about to sternly reprimand Luffy when he heard Luffy say, “I can’t swim!”

Seeing Luffy, now submerged in the seawater, quickly sink, Qin Ming suddenly remembered that Luffy, as a Devil Fruit user, was a true landlubber.

Noticing that the fat man was floating on the water, clinging to a broken piece of the boat and unlikely to be in danger, Qin Ming sighed, shook his head, and jumped into the water…