Facing Monkey D. Luffy's invitation, Hata Akira went still.
From the look of things, Luffy was still on his own he hadn't even met Zoro yet.
If Akira accepted, what kind of ripple would that create for Luffy's future crew?
At first, joy punched through him; then reality settled in. He was just a normal guy.
To be blunt, Akira's combat power was trash. Aside from being good at fishing, he had no specialty at all.
Back on Earth he'd been ordinary in every way ordinary family, ordinary student, ordinary office drone.
Drop a man like that into this world and set him against cutthroat pirates how was he supposed to fight?
If joining Luffy's crew would only make him dead weight, then no thanks. Better to live out his life quietly in this village.
After a moment's thought, Akira made up his mind to refuse.
"No. I like this village, and I've gotten used to fishing. Becoming a pirate would just… complicate things for me."
He didn't entirely believe his own words. Who wouldn't want to sail with Luffy and dive into wonder after wonder?
He had dreamed of being part of Luffy's crew shoulder to shoulder, voices raised, that trust without conditions.
But dreams weren't armor. Given what he was, he chose the answer that hurt least: don't be the burden.
"Fishing?" Luffy blinked, as if he hadn't heard the refusal. Then his eyes lit. He pointed at the baskets on the boat. "So all those fish you caught them?"
"More or less."
The chubby man had come along, sure, but Akira was the one who hauled the nets.
"Knew it! You're reliable. From now on we're crewmates. I'm counting on you."
Dude, listen to words when people say them.
Akira had a bad feeling. If Luffy invited you aboard, consent wasn't really part of the process.
His stomach answered for him GURGLE GURGLE.
Figures. Even his hunger had personality.
"You said you'd treat me to a feast, right? Let's go! Once we're full, we set sail." Luffy leaned forward eagerly. "By the way, what's your village's specialty? It's gotta be delicious meat!"
You ask and answer in one breath. Amazing.
Akira rolled his eyes and said the village specialty was fish. He turned the boat for home.
He slapped the chubby man a dozen times to wake him puffed his cheeks up nicely and still got nothing.
Under Luffy's prodding, Akira started rowing by himself.
A minute later something felt off. He was pulling hard, yet the boat barely moved and was that… backward?
The sea was calm. It made no sense.
He glanced back.
Luffy had stretched one arm to snag the drifting Sea King and was cheerfully paddling with the other.
Yeah. That would do it.
"What are you doing?"
"I want to bring it back and use it for the banquet. It's gotta be delicious."
"With that dead weight, you think this boat is going anywhere?"
The Sea King was twenty times their size if not more. The skiff couldn't drag it an inch.
"Oh? I thought you were slacking and not rowing hard. My bad! Hahaha!"
He had no idea he was the problem and even after realizing it, he laughed like it was nothing. Akira's scalp prickled.
If I set sail with him before he meets Zoro and the others, I'll die without even knowing how.
No definitely die.
"Guess we'll do it this way."
Luffy dropped the oar, stretched both arms, and clamped onto the Sea King.
Akira opened his mouth to tell him to forget it, but Luffy hoisted the monster high and heaved it forward.
The boat bucked wild. It started to sink from the weight shift.
When the Sea King left his hands, the combined weight and recoil tipped the boat to nearly ninety degrees.
They almost capsized. Akira's heart rocketed into his throat.
"What are you trying to do?"
"Bring it back and eat it." Luffy pointed at the Sea King he'd flung ahead and looked perfectly serious. "Waste is bad. Didn't you know?"
You just want to eat it. Don't make it sound noble.
Knowing he couldn't talk Luffy down, Akira kept rowing. Feed him. See him off. Call it a day.
Meeting Luffy in person was already enough.
"Why invite me?"
Akira had decided not to go, but curiosity won.
"You're a good guy, and you can fish. With you around, I don't have to worry about running out of meat."
That tracked. With Luffy, the logic of an adorable, bottomless stomach ruled.
"I also want a cook and a musician. Then I can eat delicious meat while listening to songs every day. That'd be perfect."
Luffy flung the Sea King again. By now Akira had learned to ride out the boat's violent sway.
"If you'll have a cook, you won't need me. He can solve your meat problem."
Akira figured they'd meet Sanji sooner or later. A guy who only fished would just be redundant.
"Thought about that, too! If the cook focuses on making meat, even better. You handle the ingredients."
Luffy's eyes gleamed. "I ate a Sea King once. It was amazing. If you could catch them for me all the time, that'd be great."
Akira's hands slipped on the oar. The image of daily Sea King hunts drained the heat from his body.
If I could catch Sea Kings, you wouldn't have needed to save me!
"Ah land! Is that your village?"
Luffy tossed the oar aside, stretched up the mast, and climbed to look ahead.
"Yeah. Almost there."
"Good! I'll chuck it straight into the village in one go. After throwing it so many times, I'm starving."
He hopped down, stretched, gripped the Sea King, spun in place, and launched it.
Maybe he used more force this time; the skiff lurched even harder.
The chubby man finally woke just in time to stagger to the rail and puke his guts out.
The Sea King sailed a hundred meters and SLAMMED into the shore.
Before Akira could marvel at Luffy's strength, an awful CRACK split the air.
"Huh? What's that sound?"
Akira looked down. A fracture zigzagged across the planks by Luffy's feet.
"Not good the boat's going under!"
The bottom gave way. Seawater surged through the hull.
"Why did the boat turn out like this?"
"Because you kept throwing the Sea King! The boat couldn't take the stress."
He wasn't wrong. Every toss had driven Luffy's feet into the boards like pile drivers. The last one finished the poor skiff that had served Akira for half a year.
"If that's true, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Akira had no words. He had told him Luffy just didn't listen.
"I can't swim!"
Luffy bobbed once and dropped like a stone.
Right Devil Fruit user. Certified land duck.
The chubby man clung to a broken plank and floated fine.
Akira let out a breath, pinched the bridge of his nose, and dove into the sea.