One Piece: Star Sea Legend

Chapter 20: Two Problems

East Blue, a certain sea area, on a small wooden boat drifting with the wind.

“509, 510, 511…”

Qin Ming, drenched in sweat, was doing one-handed push-ups on the small wooden boat while counting aloud.

Seven days had passed since they left Shells Town. During these seven days, Qin Ming had returned to his relentless, day-and-night training routine on the small boat.

Qin Ming’s fierce determination to train non-stop even impressed Zoro, a training fanatic himself, and sparked a competitive spirit in him. As a result, Zoro also began practicing his swordsmanship on the boat.

However, on Zoro’s first day of training, he nearly split the small boat in half with his sword. Seeing that Zoro couldn’t control his strength, Qin Ming and Luffy had no choice but to beat him up to make him behave and give up the idea of practicing swordsmanship on the fragile boat.

While Qin Ming was busy with his grueling training, Luffy and Zoro, having nothing better to do, sat on the boat chatting.

“You said you wanted to go to the Grand Line, but you don’t know anything about navigation. Isn’t that ridiculous?” Zoro said to Luffy. After joining Luffy and Qin Ming on the small boat, he had discovered a tragic truth.

Although there were three people on the boat, no one was willing to row. They simply let the boat drift with the wind. At this rate, it would take a miracle to reach their destination.

Luffy had no intention of rowing, and Qin Ming was too focused on his training. After training, he was too exhausted to even think about rowing. As for Zoro, since he couldn’t train on the small boat, he preferred to sleep rather than pick up an oar.

Most importantly, even if they were willing to row, they had no idea which direction to go in the vast, endless sea. It was better to save their energy.

So, despite having three people on the boat, no one rowed. The poor oar lay lonely on the small boat, gathering dust.

“What’s so funny? Qin Ming and I have always relied on drifting. We’ll eventually reach an island,” Luffy said to Zoro. “Weren’t you a bounty hunter who drifted around the seas?”

“I don’t remember being a bounty hunter for a living,” Zoro said lazily, resting his hand on the side of the boat. “I set out to sea to find someone, but I got lost and couldn’t find my way back. I had no choice but to target pirate ships to make a living. That’s all.”

After listening carefully to Zoro’s explanation, Luffy concluded, “So, you’re just lost.”

“You, who know nothing about navigation, have no right to say that!” Zoro retorted, clearly annoyed by Luffy’s comment.

“Seriously, how can you be a pirate without knowing navigation? It’s laughable. How are we supposed to get to the Grand Line like this? I think you should find a navigator soon,” Zoro suggested to Luffy.

Luffy immediately expanded on the idea: “And a cook, and a musician…”

“We’ll worry about those people later!” Zoro shouted, frustrated that Luffy didn’t seem to grasp the seriousness of their situation.

“I’m so hungry,” Luffy and Zoro lay weakly on the small boat, looking like they were on the brink of starvation.

“Qin Ming, we’re hungry!” Luffy shouted at Qin Ming, who was still doing one-handed push-ups.

“Didn’t we just eat a few hours ago?” Qin Ming paused after completing 600 one-handed push-ups, panting heavily as he spoke to Luffy and Zoro. “Listen, I feel like something’s off with my body.”

“What? You still look human to me,” Luffy sat up, glanced at Qin Ming, and said something that made Qin Ming want to punch him.

“Damn it, if I didn’t look human, would I even be here talking to you?”

Suppressing the urge to beat Luffy up, Qin Ming said, “I feel like I’m growing too fast. I don’t know why. If it’s because of a Devil Fruit power, I don’t even know when I used it.”

In fact, Qin Ming had initially been pleased with his rapid growth. Just two days ago, he could barely manage 400 one-handed push-ups, but today he had completed 600 with relative ease.

Despite his intense training over the past week, his progress was unnaturally fast—so fast that it was hard for him to accept.

“What’s so strange about that? It doesn’t have to be because of a Devil Fruit. Maybe you’re just a genius, and that’s why your training is so effective,” Zoro said. As soon as the words left his mouth, Luffy chimed in, “Exactly. If you don’t think you’ve used a Devil Fruit power, then that must be it.”

“I didn’t know you were a genius, Qin Ming. You’re amazing,” Luffy’s words filled Qin Ming with pride, making him feel a bit smug.

“I didn’t expect it either. Turns out I’m naturally gifted. What a surprise,” Qin Ming laughed arrogantly, no longer concerned about the reason for his rapid progress.

“But both of you are Devil Fruit users. If you both fall into the sea at the same time, I don’t know how I’d save you,” Zoro said, stroking his chin as he suddenly realized the dilemma. If Luffy and Qin Ming fell into the sea and were far apart, he wouldn’t know how to rescue them.

“What are you talking about? Qin Ming and I are reliable people. There’s no way we’d both fall into the sea and cause you trouble. That would never happen,” Luffy said confidently, patting his chest.

“Exactly. We’re trustworthy. The chances of what you’re describing happening are lower than you finding your way home on your own,” Qin Ming said, making Luffy laugh. “Well said! After all, Zoro’s the one who gets lost all the time. Hahaha!”

“Shut up, both of you!” Zoro snapped, clearly irritated by their teasing.

“Alright, Qin Ming, we’re hungry. Go catch us something to eat,” Luffy said, feeling even hungrier after laughing.

“Maybe your stomach should be filled with stones. You get hungry too easily,” Qin Ming said as he grabbed a fishing net, ready to catch some fish.

“Wait, I don’t want fish today. Catch something else,” Luffy stopped Qin Ming just as he was about to cast the net. Luffy pointed at a large bird flying overhead, drooling as he said, “I want to eat that.”

“I’m a fisherman, not a bird catcher,” Qin Ming looked up at the bird, which had a wingspan of at least 13 meters when fully spread.

“Give it a try. Maybe someday you’ll be able to catch anything from the sky or the ground. Then you’ll be the world’s greatest hunter,” Luffy’s words struck a chord with Qin Ming.

“The world’s greatest hunter? That sounds amazing,” Qin Ming’s eyes lit up, and he made up his mind. “Alright, I’ll show you the skills of the future world’s greatest hunter.”

“Wow, go for it, world’s greatest hunter!” Luffy cheered, clapping his hands. His words filled Qin Ming with pride, making him feel on top of the world.

After observing the bird’s flight pattern for nearly ten minutes, Qin Ming finally figured out its habits. Every three minutes, the bird would fly low for about 25 seconds. That was the perfect opportunity to catch it.

“Here it comes!”

Qin Ming saw the bird descending, and when it was about ten meters above him, he threw the net with all his might.

The net, about 13 meters long, spread out perfectly and actually caught the bird as it flew about ten meters above him.

“Hahahaha! Did you see that? It’s my prey now. This is the power of the future world’s greatest hunter. There’s nothing I can’t catch!” Qin Ming was both excited and thrilled. Catching a bird wasn’t as hard as he thought. He turned to Luffy and Zoro to boast.

But as Qin Ming turned to look at Luffy and Zoro, he heard the bird he had caught let out a strange cry. Before he could react, he noticed that Luffy and Zoro seemed to be getting shorter.

“Wait, they’re not getting shorter. I’m flying away from the boat!”

When Qin Ming realized what was happening, he saw that the bird he had caught had called two other birds. Together, they grabbed the net and carried Qin Ming away.

Now Qin Ming was truly embarrassed. He had set out to catch a bird, but instead, he had been caught by the birds. How could he face anyone after this?

Qin Ming, clutching the net tightly, was now being carried away by three large birds. He flew through the air, looking down at the sea below. As a Devil Fruit user, he couldn’t afford to let go.

“Oh no, Qin Ming’s been captured by those birds!” Luffy, finally snapping out of his daze, panicked and shouted. He tried to stretch his arms to grab Qin Ming, but the three birds had already flown far away with him.

“What kind of world’s greatest hunter is this?!” Zoro watched Qin Ming being carried further away, his face filled with worry. He grabbed an oar and started rowing furiously to chase after them.

Meanwhile, Luffy looked up at the birds and shouted, “I’ve got an idea! If I ride one of those birds, I can catch up to Qin Ming and save him!”

“Gomu Gomu no Rocket!” Luffy stretched his arms, grabbed the mast of the small boat, and used his rubber elasticity to launch himself into the air, heading straight for the birds.

“Interesting. He’s actually reliable in a crisis,” Zoro muttered as he watched Luffy soar towards the birds. If Luffy could ride one of them to catch up to Qin Ming, that would be perfect.

But after a moment, Zoro noticed something was wrong. Instead of riding the bird, Luffy seemed to have been caught by its beak!

Up in the air, Luffy was in shock. He hadn’t expected to be caught by the bird’s beak the moment he got close.

“Ahhh! Help me!” Luffy screamed at the top of his lungs as the bird carried him away, still biting his head.

The bird, now carrying both Luffy and Qin Ming, flew further away. But with Luffy struggling to free himself, there was no way he could save Qin Ming.

Qin Ming, still clutching the net, saw Luffy being carried alongside him. He asked Luffy why he was still screaming for help, as if it wasn’t embarrassing enough.

Luffy explained that since they were both Devil Fruit users, falling into the sea would be disastrous. Their only hope was to call for Zoro’s help.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Qin Ming joined Luffy in shouting for Zoro’s help.

“Zoro, come save us!”

“I’m going to be the Pirate King! I can’t be defeated by a bird! Zoro, think of something!”

And so, Qin Ming and Luffy continued to shout for help, their voices echoing across the vast sea.

“Shut up, you idiots!” Zoro rowed furiously, chasing after Qin Ming and Luffy, who were now far in the distance. His eyes widened in panic as he shouted at them.

Poor Zoro. He never could have imagined that his two companions, who had just confidently assured him of their reliability, would disappear from the boat in a matter of seconds.

Qin Ming, who had claimed to be the world’s greatest hunter, had been captured by birds while trying to catch one. And Luffy, the captain, had gone to rescue his companion only to be caught by a bird himself.

“If they fall into the sea now, how am I supposed to save them?!”

Zoro rowed with all his might, watching Qin Ming swinging from the net and Luffy being carried by the bird. He couldn’t help but think, “What kind of pirate crew did I join? These two are completely unreliable…”