One Piece: Star Sea Legend

Chapter 8: The One Who Musters Up Courage

Qin Ming never expected his first meeting with Nami to happen under such circumstances.

There was no denying that Nami was a very beautiful girl. Her short, vibrant orange hair gave her a charming yet spirited appearance, and her delicate features were flawless.

It seemed that Nami had taken advantage of Alvida leading most of her crew to raid another ship to sneak aboard and steal Alvida’s treasures.

After slipping into the storage room on Alvida’s ship, Nami had spotted the conspicuous treasure chest and eagerly opened it, only to find a person inside.

After three seconds of staring at Qin Ming, who was lying flat inside the chest, Nami sighed softly. “So there’s no treasure in here after all.”

Then, with a “click”, she unceremoniously locked the chest again, leaving Qin Ming stunned.

Nami’s actions completely ignored Qin Ming’s presence.

“Seriously? Even if there’s no treasure, you could at least help me out! Are you really that obsessed with money?”

As darkness enveloped him again, Qin Ming felt utterly speechless.

Just as Qin Ming was about to break out of the chest, he heard a rough voice: “Who are you, woman? Trying to steal our treasure?”

“How bold! If Miss Alvida hadn’t told us to check the treasure chest, all the stuff here would’ve been stolen by her.”

“Good thing we came back in time. Otherwise, if Miss Alvida found out, her iron club would’ve smashed us to death.”

“Let’s capture this brazen woman first. She’s quite pretty. For someone so beautiful to be a thief, she needs to be taught a lesson.”

Hearing the pirates’ conversation, Qin Ming realized that his presence had caused Nami’s theft attempt to fail.

It seemed that Nami had locked the chest because she sensed someone approaching the storage room.

Clearly, Nami had seen Qin Ming’s battered state and thought he might be in danger if discovered by the pirates. She had locked the chest to protect him.

“I hate pirates the most. You think you can teach me a lesson? Don’t make me laugh!”

Nami, seeing the storage room entrance blocked, had no choice but to pull out the three-section staff strapped to her leg and prepare for a fight.

“You’re still talking tough even at death’s door? Before you taste Miss Alvida’s iron club, we’ll have some fun with you!”

After one of the pirates said this, Qin Ming, still hidden in the chest, heard several lewd laughs.

Then came the sounds of clashing and fighting. Soon after, Qin Ming clearly heard Nami let out a faint groan.

“She’s hurt.”

“Damn, if Nami dies here, how are Luffy and I supposed to navigate the seas? Just drift aimlessly like headless flies?”

“This is such a mess!”

Moreover, Nami had tried to protect him, a complete stranger, from the pirates. This showed that she had a kind heart, and Qin Ming really didn’t want her to die here.

Most importantly, the way those pirates had spoken to Nami, with their crude and insulting remarks, made Qin Ming furious.

“Damn it, Nami was one of my favorite characters when I watched One Piece. I haven’t even had a chance to talk to her yet, and these no-name pirates dare to speak to her like that right in front of me?”

“Do they think I’m invisible?”

“This is unacceptable!”

Filled with anger, Qin Ming gathered all his strength and kicked forward.

Boom!

“I’m going to knock you all out!”

Qin Ming roared as he smashed the treasure chest and leaped out, startling the pirates who were advancing towards Nami.

As Qin Ming’s foot broke through the chest, it accidentally struck one of the pirates in the groin. The pirate immediately turned pale, clutching his crotch as he collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.

In other words, Qin Ming had taken out one pirate the moment he appeared.

Behind Qin Ming, Nami was equally shocked. This seemingly frail, sickly-looking man had effortlessly destroyed the sturdy treasure chest.

If Qin Ming knew that Nami’s first impression of him was that of a sickly weakling, he might have gone mad.

After all, Qin Ming had been training relentlessly for the past month. Combined with the brutal treatment he had received from Luffy—being hit, slammed, and soaked in seawater as a Devil Fruit user—it was no wonder he looked terrible.

Coincidentally, just as Qin Ming emerged from the chest, Luffy, who had been sleeping comfortably in a barrel on the ship Alvida’s crew was attacking, woke up. He stretched lazily and cheerfully exclaimed, “That was a great nap!”

As Luffy stretched, his fist accidentally knocked out a pirate who was trying to open the barrel, leaving the other pirates nearby stunned.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Why did you jump out of that treasure chest?”

The pirates quickly surrounded Qin Ming, demanding answers.

Qin Ming glanced around the storage room, which was cluttered with scattered treasures. It didn’t seem like Alvida’s crew was particularly wealthy.

“Well, Alvida’s bounty is only 5 million berries. To put it bluntly, even some low-level bandits have higher bounties. It’s no surprise her ship isn’t overflowing with treasure.”

“Hmm, only seven pirates? This might not be enough to satisfy me.”

Qin Ming, seeing only seven pirates, felt a strange sense of disappointment.

The pirates surrounding him looked fierce, with menacing eyes and muscular builds, each wielding a longsword. Three of them wore light blue headbands.

“So these are pirates?”

Qin Ming thought to himself as he took a step forward, shielding Nami behind him.

Six months ago, when Qin Ming first arrived in this world, he had occasionally worried about pirate attacks on the village. After all, he was just an ordinary person back then, with no combat skills. If pirates attacked, he would have been in serious trouble.

But now, after setting sail with Luffy, Qin Ming had finally encountered real pirates for the first time.

Although these pirates were small-time, they were still genuine pirates. Yet, Qin Ming felt surprisingly calm, without the panic or nervousness he had imagined. He couldn’t quite understand why he was so composed.

Relaxing his clenched fists, Qin Ming decided not to waste words and immediately took action.

“You dare attack pirates? Do you think you’re a Marine?”

“Even if you were a Marine, we’d kill you! Let’s get him!”

The pirates, seeing Qin Ming attack without hesitation, became enraged and charged at him with their swords.

Clang! Clang!

Qin Ming spun around and kicked, breaking the swords of two pirates with a single strike.

Nami, watching from behind, was stunned. “What’s with this guy? He’s injured, yet he’s holding his own against these pirates.”

Before Nami could fully process what was happening, Qin Ming punched a particularly fat pirate in the stomach, sending him flying out of the storage room.

“He’s too strong! Let’s get Miss Alvida to deal with him!”

The remaining two pirates, seeing Qin Ming take out five of their comrades in under three minutes without breaking a sweat, lost all will to fight and tried to flee.

Qin Ming wasn’t about to let them escape. With a cold snort, he caught up to the fleeing pirates, grabbed their heads, and slammed them together, knocking them out.

By the time Qin Ming had dealt with the seven pirates, Alvida, on the other ship, was holding her massive iron club and shouting, “Koby, who is the most beautiful woman on the seas?”

“You… you are the fattest and ugliest old hag on the seas!”

Koby, trembling slightly, remembered what Luffy had told him. If he was determined to become the Pirate King, then he had to be ready to die for it. With newfound resolve, he shouted at the obese Alvida.

Koby’s words left the other pirates in shock. The timid, bullied boy they had known was now openly defying Alvida. It felt like a dream.

Koby, in their eyes, had always been a cowardly, foolish child. Two years ago, he had accidentally boarded a pirate ship while fishing and ended up living a life of humiliation under Alvida’s rule.

But now, Koby seemed like a completely different person, unafraid of the cruel and violent Alvida. No wonder the pirates were stunned.

Alvida, upon hearing Koby’s words, turned livid. Veins bulged on her forehead as she seethed with rage.

Koby, after saying this, couldn’t stop trembling. Beside him, Luffy burst into laughter, as if he had just heard the funniest thing.

“What did you say?!”

Alvida roared, her iron club poised to smash Koby’s head.

“I’m going to join the Marines and lock up all you pirates!”

Koby clenched his small fists and declared firmly to Alvida.

“Do you even know what you’re saying?”

As soon as Alvida asked, Koby immediately replied, “I do. I’m going to do what I truly want. I’m going to join the Marines and… and send you to prison!”

As Koby mustered the courage to speak his mind, Nami, in the storage room on Alvida’s ship, smiled at Qin Ming and said, “You seem really strong. I’m a thief who specializes in stealing from pirates. My name’s Nami. Want to team up?”