Chapter 4: A World for Two in a Barrel
The Lord of the Coast's massive body broke through the water surface, charging straight at them with a fishy gust of wind. Its spear-like snout glinted coldly under the sunlight, about to collide with the small boat.
"Lufia! To the right!" Ralph's heart leaped to his throat as he shouted at the top of his lungs.
Instead of dodging, Luffy let out an excited "Wow!" and stood directly on the bow of the boat. She pulled her left leg back while sharply retracting her right fist.
"Gomu Gomu—!"
Ralph watched wide-eyed as her arm stretched like a rubber band, extending so far it nearly vanished from sight.
"Pistol!"
"Bang!"
The retracting arm created a sonic boom as her fist shot out like a cannonball, striking the Lord of the Coast squarely on the forehead.
"Roar—!"
With a pained howl, the colossal sea beast was sent flying backward, crashing into the distant sea with a loud "splash" that sent enormous waves into the air. It then floated motionless on the water's surface.
Ralph stood gaping, staring dumbfounded at the scene.
Manga was one thing, but witnessing this exaggerated Gomu Gomu no Pistol in person was an entirely different experience.
The sheer power was absolutely staggering.
Amid his astonishment, a practical question surfaced in his mind.
"Is it... dead?" he asked, pointing at the massive creature floating in the distance.
Luffy retracted her arm, proudly clapped her hands, and grinned to reveal a row of white teeth. "Whether it's dead or not doesn't matter! What matters is that I've become strong—strong enough to defeat it! Heehee!"
The Lord of the Coast that had once bitten off Shanks' arm had been sent flying by her punch!
Sunlight illuminated her face, her smile pure and dazzling.
Ralph felt he could somewhat understand Lufia's feelings, but manga was manga, and reality was reality.
Luffy's way of thinking remained as... simple as ever.
Frowning, he considered a more practical issue.
"Lufia, the Lord of the Coast's presence threatens the safety of everyone in Foosha Village, right? Plus, if we eliminate it, the fishermen might have better catches in the future. I think it's better to confirm whether it's truly dead."
What if this thing was just knocked out and returned to wreak havoc on Foosha Village after recovering in a few days?
If he didn't make any changes in this world, wouldn't his transmigration be in vain?
Luffy tilted her head in thought. "You're right! Let's go check!"
They rowed the boat over to the Lord of the Coast. Sure enough, the giant creature was merely unconscious, still breathing weakly. Ralph pulled out a prepared dagger from his luggage and stabbed it several times in its vulnerable eye area. After convulsing for a moment, the Lord of the Coast fell completely silent.
"Done." Ralph sighed in relief, rinsed the dagger in seawater, and put it away.
"Yay! We get to eat meat!" Luffy cheered, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at the enormous "ingredient."
The problem was, how would they eat it? The creature was so massive it wouldn't fit in their small boat.
Luffy snatched the dagger from Ralph, stretched her arm, and carved out several large chunks of the best meat from the Lord of the Coast, tossing them onto the boat. The surrounding seawater instantly turned crimson with blood.
"Heehee, the Lord of the Coast that ate Shanks' arm is now going to be eaten by me!"
While Luffy's smile still lingered, Ralph sensed something amiss.
Unnoticed, over a dozen triangular dorsal fins had emerged on the surrounding sea surface, swiftly closing in on them—and the blood-red waters.
Shark swarm! Attracted by the scent of blood!
"This is bad!" Ralph felt his scalp tingle. This small boat couldn't withstand shark attacks!
"Row quickly!" He grabbed the oar and paddled desperately. Luffy also reacted, using her Gomu Gomu arms to grip the oar like a propeller, churning the water wildly.
The boat suddenly accelerated, charging away from the shark swarm.
But the sharks were faster! A larger shark had already caught up to the stern, opening its mouth full of sharp teeth to bite down!
Luffy turned around to throw a punch: "Gomu Gomu—!"
"Don't waste your energy!" Ralph urgently stopped her. "There are many of them underwater—you can't hit them all. Better to keep rowing!"
Luffy reluctantly withdrew her hand and continued using her Gomu Gomu no Propeller. Through their desperate efforts, they finally temporarily shook off the shark swarm.
Before they could catch their breath, Ralph spotted a dangerous large whirlpool ahead on the sea surface!
Was this fate?
"Ahead! Whirlpool!" he shouted.
Ralph felt panicked, but he saw Luffy actually still smiling.
"Hehe, so thrilling! Even though I can't swim, swimming skills are useless now!"
Watching Luffy remain so cheerful in the face of disaster, Ralph suddenly felt emotional: Even though she's a girl, the protagonist is still the protagonist—such remarkable composure. To become a man worthy of her, he still had a long way to go.
No time to hesitate! The whirlpool was already right before them!
Ralph used all his strength to activate [Soru] again. His figure flashed as he leaped beside the barrel, forcefully opened the lid, and scrambled inside. Luffy stretched her arms to grab the barrel and nimbly jumped over as well.
As soon as they squeezed into the barrel and secured the lid, they felt the barrel being swept into the whirlpool by a tremendous force, spinning wildly.
The space inside the barrel was extremely cramped.
Luffy, being a rubber human, could deform and squeeze her body freely. She was almost entirely pressed against Ralph, her soft limbs inevitably wrapping around him as she sought space. The warm body heat of the young girl, the incredibly elastic texture, and the tickling sensation of her short hair brushing against his neck...
Ralph was squeezed to the point of being unable to move. The discomfort was real, but mixed with it was an indescribable pleasure.
Too close... so close he could clearly smell the scent of sunshine and seawater on Luffy.
The barrel spun wildly in the whirlpool, and the oxygen gradually decreased.
An absurd thought even crossed Ralph's mind: If... if they suffocated from lack of oxygen, would Luffy still give him artificial respiration like she did when they first met?
As soon as this thought emerged, he felt his heartbeat quicken, his breathing grow rapid, and his oxygen consumption increase again.
In the darkness and turbulence, it was impossible to tell how much time had passed. Maybe minutes, maybe hours.
Finally, the frantic spinning stopped. The barrel seemed to have drifted into calm waters, and then came a dull "thud" from the bottom, as if it had run aground on a beach.
Vague human voices could be heard outside.
"...This barrel looks good, let's take it back..."
"...Maybe there's wine inside..."
Then, the barrel was pushed and rolled along the sandy ground.
The two inside exchanged glances.
Luffy whispered, "We've reached shore?"
Ralph nodded, signaling her to get ready.
The next second, Luffy kicked the barrel lid open with a mighty thrust!
Fresh air instantly flooded in. The blinding sunlight made both of them squint.
They crawled out of the wooden barrel and stood on solid ground, breathing deeply. Ralph stretched his numb limbs while Luffy curiously glanced around.
Then, they noticed several people surrounding them.
Among them was a chubby boy with ill-fitting clothes, pink hair, and round glasses, who was holding a pile of miscellaneous items. He stared dumbfounded at the two who had burst out of the broken barrel, so startled that he dropped everything in his hands.
Ralph looked at this familiar face and felt a sudden jolt in his heart.
Well, isn't this the future renowned Marine officer, the legendary... King of Deserters, Koby?
At this point in time, he should still be working as an errand boy for the Alvida Pirates.