One Piece: Star Sea Legend - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: First Victory

Qin Ming stood at the edge of the boat, holding a fishing net in one hand, watching the 18-meter-long Laughing Fish leap out of the water in the distance. The fish emitted a mocking laugh and flicked its blue tail, as if taunting them. Qin Ming’s lips curled into a slight smile.

The Laughing Fish’s tail was quite distinctive. When it flicked upward, it resembled a human giving the middle finger, giving off an inexplicable sense of being mocked.

“Should I row the boat over to it?”

Luffy, full of energy, grabbed an oar and asked Qin Ming, who was standing beside him.

“Don’t interfere. It’s my prey. I can handle it alone.”

Qin Ming spoke with confidence, his face brimming with determination.

“Wow!”

Luffy exclaimed dramatically, looking at Qin Ming. “You really look like a manly man right now.”

Qin Ming chuckled. Despite his body still being fatigued, he felt capable of dealing with the Laughing Fish, which was several times larger than him. It was a fisherman’s intuition, honed over half a year of fishing.

Although Qin Ming had been an ordinary person in the past, he had become an excellent fisherman. He knew exactly which fish he could catch and which he couldn’t handle.

Thus, every time Qin Ming went out to fish, he rarely wasted effort. He would choose the right fishing spot, cast his net, and return with a full haul.

To put it bluntly, Qin Ming was a professional fisherman. While he couldn’t catch some of the larger fish due to their size, he was well aware of their weaknesses.

In fact, Qin Ming had read about nearly 80% of the fish species in the East Blue in various marine biology books, except for some deep-sea creatures.

In just half a year, Qin Ming had gone from knowing nothing about fishing to becoming an outstanding fisherman. The effort and sweat he had poured into this far exceeded that of most others.

The number of fishing-related books Qin Ming had read far surpassed that of most fishermen in his village.

“Perhaps the results of my intense training over the past few days are better than I expected.”

With this thought, Qin Ming casted the fishing net in his right hand towards a nearby barrel. Using the net, he dragged the barrel into the sea.

“Hey! That was my snack for later! Why did you throw it into the sea?”

Luffy, seeing Qin Ming toss three barrels full of meat into the water, immediately panicked and shouted at him.

“Damn, these barrels are big enough to hold a person, and you were planning to eat three of them as a snack?”

Even after spending some time with Luffy, Qin Ming was still occasionally shocked by the glutton’s enormous appetite.

“How are we supposed to lure the prey without bait?”

Qin Ming retorted, his eyes fixed on the sea ahead. The Laughing Fish loved to taunt fishermen, had immense strength, and sharp teeth capable of tearing through iron-wire fishing nets, let alone the ordinary hemp nets Qin Ming was using.

The net Luffy had been using earlier, which the Laughing Fish had torn apart, was made of iron wire. Unfortunately, they only had one of those.

After Qin Ming threw the bait and net into the sea, the Laughing Fish in the distance showed no reaction. The sea remained calm.

“It doesn’t seem to be falling for it. You threw the net so close to the boat. Is this really going to work?”

Luffy, anxious, scratched his head like a monkey.

“I think it’s about time.”

Qin Ming had indeed thrown the net and barrel very close to the boat, only about a meter away.

He had done this because he knew the Laughing Fish’s habits. When fishermen used bait to lure them, the fish would not only eat the bait but also retaliate. The closer the bait was to the boat, the angrier the Laughing Fish would become.

Yes, Qin Ming wanted to provoke the Laughing Fish by placing the bait so close.

This would also make it easier for him to catch the nearly 20-meter-long fish.

“Make sure you stand firm. Don’t fall into the sea.”

Qin Ming noticed ripples forming on the right side of the boat and knew the Laughing Fish was rapidly approaching from below. He quickly warned Luffy.

“Why…”

Before Luffy could finish, a loud “bang” echoed. Luffy, standing at the edge of the boat, stumbled and was sent flying, along with his straw hat.

However, Luffy reacted quickly. While mid-air, he grabbed his hat and stretched his arm to catch the boat’s mast, pulling himself back onto the boat.

The boat shook violently, clearly having been struck by something from below.

Bang! Bang!

Two more powerful impacts followed, causing the boat to spin 720 degrees on the water.

“This is awesome!”

Luffy, clinging to the mast with one hand and holding his hat with the other, used the boat’s spinning momentum to swing around in the air, enjoying himself. Qin Ming, however, felt a headache coming on.

“Damn, I told you not to interfere, but that doesn’t mean you should just have fun on your own!”

Still, this showed that Luffy fully believed Qin Ming could handle the fierce Laughing Fish alone. Otherwise, with the boat being tossed around, how could Luffy be having so much fun?

Feeling Luffy’s unconditional trust, Qin Ming felt a warm sensation in his heart. “This is really nice.”

At this moment, Qin Ming truly felt like a member of the future Straw Hat Pirates.

“Even if I can’t contribute much in battles in the future, I’ll do my part. I’m not sailing alone!”

Qin Ming’s eyes grew brighter, and the fatigue he had shown earlier seemed to vanish, leaving him looking refreshed.

With a “splash”, the Laughing Fish, after sending the boat spinning, leaped out of the water and swallowed the net and barrel in one gulp.

Qin Ming had anticipated this. With a shout, he threw the net in his left hand, not aiming for the fish’s head but its tail.

As the Laughing Fish was about to dive back into the sea, Qin Ming’s net caught its tail. Qin Ming tightened his grip on the net and began spinning, causing the net to tighten around the fish’s tail.

Qin Ming’s left arm bulged with veins as he exerted all his strength, gritting his teeth and holding onto the net for dear life.

The Laughing Fish, now back in the water, struggled fiercely, creating waves on the surface.

Qin Ming’s hand, gripping the rough net, began to bleed as he was dragged forward. If this continued, he would be pulled into the sea.

“Don’t underestimate me!”

Qin Ming roared, holding onto the net with all his might. He took a quick step, planted his right foot firmly, and pulled with all his strength.

Rip!

The net tore, but the Laughing Fish, caught in the powerful momentum, was yanked out of the water and flung towards the boat.

The Laughing Fish let out a piercing laugh, its mouth wide open, as it lunged at Qin Ming from the air.

Now Qin Ming could see the Laughing Fish’s face clearly. Its head resembled a snake’s, and its mouth was like a python’s, capable of swallowing things several times its size.

Facing the Laughing Fish’s attack, Qin Ming stood firm. He leaped to the side of the fish and delivered a powerful punch to its left flank. “You’ve already lost!”

Boom!

The Laughing Fish crashed onto the boat like a cannonball, causing the boat to bounce slightly.

After being struck by Qin Ming, the Laughing Fish lay motionless on the deck, knocked out cold.

Qin Ming landed back on the boat and stepped on the unconscious Laughing Fish, raising his head and letting out a triumphant roar. “I won!”

At this moment, on a small fishing boat in the vast sea, a straw-hatted boy hung from the mast, laughing heartily. His laughter mingled with Qin Ming’s triumphant roar, echoing far across the seemingly endless ocean.

Before setting sail, Qin Ming would never have been able to catch such a fierce and powerful Laughing Fish. But now, he could handle it alone.

Although the Laughing Fish couldn’t be compared to the giant sea kings, it was still a formidable opponent in the East Blue. Qin Ming’s ability to defeat it showed that his recent intense training had been incredibly effective, yielding significant results. This gave him hope for the future.

“As long as I work hard, I can change!”

Qin Ming panted heavily, his hands bleeding. His left hand was torn from the rough net, and his right hand was injured from punching the Laughing Fish’s rock-hard flesh. Blood dripped from his knuckles.

“Damn, this fish has no scales, but its flesh is as hard as stone. That hurt like hell.”

Qin Ming shook his numb right hand and began bandaging himself. Just then, Luffy, who had finished swinging around the mast, jumped down, excitedly saying, “Alright, today’s feast is here!”

And so, Qin Ming and Luffy enjoyed a hearty meal together.

After the Laughing Fish incident, another seven days passed.

Qin Ming continued his relentless training. He felt that his training was more effective than ever. It seemed that since eating the Devil Fruit, his intense workouts had allowed him to feel himself growing stronger.

“What exactly is your Devil Fruit ability? If it’s something interesting, you can put on a show during our feasts.”

Luffy, chewing on a piece of meat, approached Qin Ming with an excited expression.

“What?”

“Are you expecting me to stick chopsticks up my nose and dance like you do during feasts?”

The thought of himself, with chopsticks in his nostrils, dancing shirtless in front of everyone made Qin Ming’s corner of his mouth twitch.

“I have a way to find out if your Devil Fruit is real.”

Luffy, looking smug, said to Qin Ming.

Seeing Luffy’s expression, Qin Ming felt a sense of foreboding. With Luffy’s single-mindedness, what kind of “brilliant” idea could he possibly have?

But before Qin Ming could say anything, Luffy grinned, grabbed him, and threw him off the boat. As Qin Ming was about to hit the water, Luffy shouted, “Don’t worry! If something happens, I’ll save you! Devil Fruit users are cursed by the sea. To find out if you’re really a Devil Fruit user, just take a dip in the water.”

“I’m so smart.”

Luffy added, completely oblivious to the potential danger.

“Damn, you could’ve just had me dip my hand in the water to test it. Why throw me into the sea?”

Before Qin Ming could protest, he hit the water.

As soon as he entered the sea, Qin Ming, once a skilled swimmer, found himself completely powerless. His body grew weaker and weaker—a clear side effect of eating a Devil Fruit.

Fortunately, Luffy, seeing Qin Ming about to sink, quickly stretched his arm to pull him back.

Qin Ming breathed a sigh of relief. Despite Luffy’s recklessness, at least he had acted quickly to save him. That was something.

But then Qin Ming noticed something was wrong. Why was he spinning in circles?

More importantly, why did Luffy’s outstretched arm seem to be getting farther away?

“Why did this huge whirlpool suddenly appear?!”

Luffy, clutching his head, exclaimed in shock, watching Qin Ming being swept into the whirlpool. His face was a mix of panic and disbelief.

Yes, the whirlpool had appeared out of nowhere. One moment, the sea was calm; the next, a massive whirlpool had formed, dragging both Qin Ming and the boat into its vortex.

In other words, just as Luffy had thrown Qin Ming into the sea, the whirlpool had decided to make an appearance.

It was a tragedy.

As the whirlpool formed, Qin Ming, caught in its grip, was stunned. Luffy, also caught in the chaos, was equally dumbfounded.

They say the weather in the world of One Piece is unpredictable, and the Grand Line’s climate is even more erratic. Now Qin Ming truly believed it. As he was swept into the whirlpool, an image of a beautiful girl with orange hair flashed in his mind.

“If Nami were here, maybe I wouldn’t have fallen victim to Luffy’s antics…”