One Piece: Star Sea Legend

Chapter 12: The Right Moment to Act

After giving Luffy a good beating, Qin Ming and Nami finally felt a sense of relief. Both of them felt refreshed, as if a weight had been lifted off their shoulders, and their moods improved significantly.

As for the one who got beaten, although Luffy sincerely apologized to Qin Ming and Nami, he still couldn’t figure out when exactly he had wronged them to the point where they felt the need to beat him up to vent their anger.

Afterwards, Luffy told Qin Ming that he was helping Zoro find his swords and asked if Qin Ming had seen the three swords he was looking for.

“Roronoa Zoro, he’s a notorious pirate hunter in the East Blue. Rumors say he’s like a bloodthirsty tiger, hunting down bounty targets at sea. People call him a demon in human skin, cruel and vicious. Why are you helping him?”

Nami asked Qin Ming and Luffy with a puzzled expression.

“What are you talking about? I think he’s a good guy. And I’ll judge what kind of person he is. I don’t need your opinion.”

Luffy spoke in an unusually serious tone to Nami.

Earlier, after Luffy told Rika that Zoro had eaten the onigiri that Helmeppo had stepped on, he learned from Rika that Zoro had willingly allowed himself to be captured by the Marines to protect her and her family.

Helmeppo often walked around with an extremely vicious dog, which he adored and spoiled.

Together, they took advantage of the Marines’ protection to cause trouble and wreak havoc in Shells Town.

One day, as Helmeppo was walking his dog as usual, little Rika was nearly mauled to death by the dog. Fortunately, Zoro intervened, cutting the dog in half and saving Rika.

But this angered Helmeppo.

Helmeppo couldn’t do anything to Zoro directly, so he resorted to threatening Rika’s family. He told Zoro that if Zoro didn’t comply, he would have the Marines execute Rika’s family after Zoro leaves Shells Town.

So Zoro made a deal with Helmeppo: if he could survive being tied up in the Marines’ base square without food or water for a month, Helmeppo would leave Rika’s family alone and settle their feud.

However, Luffy later discovered that after three weeks of Zoro being tied up, Helmeppo, seeing that Zoro was still alive, had no intention of honoring their agreement. He planned to publicly execute Zoro in two days to make an example of him and further intimidate the townspeople into submission.

Helmeppo even bragged in the streets, calling Zoro a “stupid beast,” which infuriated Luffy.

Luffy thought about how Zoro, unaware of Helmeppo’s betrayal, was still enduring, believing that if he could just hold out for another week, the feud would be resolved.

Finally, Luffy couldn’t take it anymore. He rushed over and punched Helmeppo, who was proudly discussing his despicable plan, sending him flying. As Helmeppo fled, he threatened to make Luffy regret his actions and prepare to die.

Luffy, however, ignored Helmeppo’s threats, thinking that such a cowardly and despicable person wasn’t worth another punch.

But when little Rika said she enjoyed seeing Helmeppo get beaten, Luffy immediately regretted not punching him a few more times.

When Luffy punched Helmeppo, the townspeople nearby were all kneeling on the ground, cowering under Helmeppo’s tyranny.

It was clear how much Helmeppo abused his power, relying on his father’s position as the base captain.

After learning the full story of why Zoro was imprisoned, Luffy decided to invite Zoro to join his crew, which was why he sneaked into the Marine base to find Zoro’s three swords.

“Stop arguing. I support him too. Sometimes rumors aren’t always true.”

Qin Ming glanced at Luffy and then said to Nami.

“I knew you wouldn’t object.”

Luffy grinned at Qin Ming.

“Whatever, it’s none of my business.”

Nami snorted, pushing Qin Ming and Luffy aside and walking straight toward the large safe.

“What are you doing? Trying to open that thing?”

Luffy watched Nami curiously as she examined the safe, clearly intrigued.

“Of course. It’s quite challenging. You definitely can’t do it, so don’t bother me.”

Nami said dismissively to Luffy.

“What? Something this simple? Of course I can do it.”

Luffy, being the simple-minded person he was, looked unconvinced. He swung his arm and punched the safe.

BANG!

The safe was completely destroyed by Luffy’s punch.

Nami stared in shock at the shattered safe.

“Damn it, with such a loud noise, unless the Marines are all deaf, someone’s definitely going to come investigate.”

Qin Ming thought to himself, regretting that he hadn’t stopped Luffy in time.

“See? I wasn’t bragging. I opened it just like that.”

Luffy laughed heartily, clearly proud of himself, completely oblivious to Nami’s increasingly dark expression.

“You idiot! What if the navigational chart inside was damaged?”

Nami didn’t hesitate to punch Luffy, who was still laughing happily, knocking him to the ground.

“Quick, take whatever’s inside. We need to get out of here.”

Qin Ming, keeping an eye on the door, urged Nami. If they had more time, he would’ve loved to beat Luffy up again.

“But we still need to find Zoro’s swords. Why are we in such a hurry to leave?”

As soon as Luffy said this, several Marines burst into the room, spotting Qin Ming and the others. They immediately shouted, “Who are you? Thieves sneaking in here?”

“Daring to steal from a Marine base? You’ve got some nerve!”

Three Marines charged in, while one ran off, presumably to alert others.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not a thief. Listen, I’m going to be the—”

Before Luffy could finish, Qin Ming rushed at the three Marines and quickly knocked them out.

“Now’s not the time to chat with them!”

Qin Ming said to Luffy, “Aren’t we supposed to find Zoro’s swords? Let’s hurry. If we’re late, things might get complicated.”

“You’re really impatient. Fine, I’ll go. Let’s meet up at the open square outside.”

Luffy adjusted his straw hat and dashed out of the room, disappearing from Qin Ming’s sight in an instant.

Qin Ming was speechless. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t go with you. Why are you running so fast? Who’s the impatient one here?”

“Why are you just standing there? We need to leave quickly.”

Qin Ming heard some commotion upstairs. Seeing Nami standing still, he walked over to check.

“The navigational chart is mine now. Buggy, gracefully accepted.”

Qin Ming saw the words written at the top of the chart Nami was holding. Below the words was a large skull emblem with a prominent red nose in the middle.

“This isn’t the navigational chart. This emblem is…”

Nami stared at the paper in her hand, muttering, “Captain Buggy, the man known as the Immortal Buggy!”

As she said this, Nami clenched the paper tightly, her expression serious. Her bright eyes showed determination, as if she had made up her mind about something.

“Damn it, that red-nosed guy must’ve sent his men to steal the navigational chart hidden here.”

Qin Ming cursed inwardly. Judging from Nami’s expression, it seemed she was planning to go after Buggy alone to retrieve the chart.

“Let’s go.”

Nami said to Qin Ming as she hurried towards the door.

Qin Ming had no choice but to follow quickly. Along the way, they encountered about a dozen Marines, but Qin Ming’s current skills were more than enough to handle them.

When Qin Ming and Nami finally made it out of the Marine base and reached the open square, any Marines who tried to stop them were quickly dealt with by Qin Ming.

However, to Qin Ming’s surprise, as soon as they stepped out of the base, the sky seemed to darken. Looking up, they saw a massive half-statue falling towards them.

“What is that?”

Nami was instantly terrified.

“Move!”

Qin Ming grabbed Nami, who was still in shock, and dodged to the right. He recognized the falling object as the giant stone statue of Captain Morgan, which had been split in half. Clearly, Luffy was responsible for this.

Qin Ming also heard Morgan’s furious roar from above: “Capture him! I’ll personally execute that straw-hat brat! How dare he destroy the statue I spent years creating! I won’t let him get away with this!”

BOOM!

The massive half-statue crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces.

Qin Ming, holding Nami, fell to the ground as debris from the statue shot out like bullets, heading straight for them.

Although Qin Ming reacted quickly, saving Nami from the falling statue, he couldn’t move far while carrying someone. Surviving was already a miracle.

Qin Ming rolled over, shielding Nami with his body as the debris rained down on his back.

“Damn, I didn’t expect those small stones to hurt so much.”

Qin Ming didn’t realize that some of the debris was sharp, and the force of the statue hitting the ground gave the fragments bullet-like speed.

Such powerful impacts on Qin Ming’s unprotected back would hurt anyone, even if they weren’t made of iron.

Meanwhile, Nami, who was pinned under Qin Ming, was unusually quiet. She lowered her head slightly, hiding in Qin Ming’s arms, her face slightly red, her heart racing. She wasn’t stupid; she knew Qin Ming had acted purely to protect her.

For some reason, Nami’s hand unconsciously reached up to touch Qin Ming’s back.

Qin Ming, noticing Nami’s action, wasn’t sure what she was doing. Given their current position, things were already awkward enough. Just as he was about to get up, Nami’s hand touched his back, sending a strange sensation through him.

Looking at Nami’s slightly red, shy face, Qin Ming’s eyes widened, and his breathing became a little rushed. He looked as if he had seen a ghost.

“What the hell? Is she planning to take advantage of me?”

“Probably not. I’m not that handsome or charming, and my skills are still mediocre. There’s no way she’d be interested in me. I must be overthinking this.”

At that moment, Qin Ming’s mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts. Then, Nami spoke in an unusually gentle voice, whispering, “Since you saved me just now, I’ll let you owe me an extra 200 million Berries.”

“What?!”

“So it’s not what I thought earlier, but now I owe her more money for saving her? What kind of logic is that?”

In that instant, Qin Ming’s mind went completely blank. He couldn’t understand what Nami was thinking.

“Why are you wet?”

Nami suddenly changed her expression, her earlier shy demeanor completely gone, making Qin Ming seriously doubt if he had imagined it.

“I’m perfectly normal. I haven’t even gotten excited yet. If anyone’s wet, it should be you.”

As Qin Ming thought this, Nami continued, “Your back seems to be bleeding.”

Hearing this, Qin Ming immediately felt a burning pain on his back. He reached back and felt something wet and sticky.

Looking at his hand, it was covered in red.

“Damn, I really am wet. My back seems to be bleeding a lot.”

Qin Ming felt that moving even slightly caused intense pain. His injuries were worse than he thought.

Just then, Qin Ming heard Morgan’s muffled voice: “How dare you cause trouble on my turf! What, you pirate hunter, are you planning a coup with that straw-hat brat?”

“I always fight alone. I’m not like you, hiding behind your soldiers and flaunting your power!”

Zoro, tied to a wooden post, looked at Morgan and his men, speaking word by word.

“Roronoa Zoro, don’t underestimate me. Your strength is nothing compared to my authority.”

Morgan touched the giant axe embedded in his right arm, then ordered his Marines, “Ready!”

Zoro stared at the black gun barrels aimed at him.

“I… I can’t die here!”

Zoro suddenly remembered a 13 or 14-year-old girl with excellent swordsmanship, a heroic spirit, and beautiful blue hair saying to him, “You haven’t improved much, Zoro!”

Behind the giant statue, Qin Ming saw that Zoro was about to be executed. Koby, who had been shot in the right shoulder, was bleeding heavily and didn’t dare move.

With Luffy nowhere to be seen, Qin Ming grew anxious. Without thinking, he picked up a small stone and threw it at Morgan’s head.

Whoosh!

The stone Qin Ming threw hit the tall Captain Morgan right on the head, leaving a small bump.

“Who dares throw stones at me?!”

Morgan, hit by the stone, flew into a rage. A Marine spotted Qin Ming and immediately reported, “Captain, there are two people hiding behind the statue.”

“What did you say?”

Morgan looked in the direction the Marine pointed and indeed saw a man and a woman hiding behind his broken statue. He roared, “Traitors keep showing up! I’ll kill them all!”

“Call your useless men to catch me, you fool! A petty Marine captain thinking he’s the king of the world? What a joke!”

Qin Ming spat rudely, taunting Morgan with disdain.

Clearly, Qin Ming’s words enraged Morgan, who valued his authority highly and considered himself exceptional. He glared furiously and ordered his Marines, “Capture that brat! I’ll chop him into pieces with this axe!”

“Are you an idiot? You’re already injured, and now you’re drawing the Marines’ attention to us.”

Nami, seeing the Marines charging towards them and Morgan slowly approaching, said anxiously to Qin Ming.

“Shut up. I’ll handle this. You stay back.”

Qin Ming pushed Nami away, wanting her to get to safety. If he hadn’t thrown that stone at Morgan, Zoro would’ve been done for.

“Luffy, where the hell are you? Why are you nowhere to be seen at a time like this!”

As Qin Ming fought the Marines, Zoro, tied to the post, asked Koby, “Who is that man? Why is he saving me?”

“I think he’s the other companion Luffy mentioned. This is the first time I’ve seen him.”

Koby, clutching his wounded shoulder, glanced at Qin Ming and replied.

“Oh?”

Zoro stared intently at Qin Ming: “He’s already injured, and it looks serious. Yet he still dares to provoke the Marines. He’s got guts.”