Chapter 11 – The First Blood & Island Heroes
Ding Li listened to Black Rat's venomous rant with only the faintest frown. He wasn't angry—just amused at how predictable it all was.
"Too much talking," he murmured.
Then he stood up from the wheelchair.
The motion was effortless, fluid, like a predator uncoiling. No trace of the "cripple" they'd mocked. He stood tall, radiating quiet, overwhelming pressure that made the air itself feel heavier.
"I never said I was disabled," Ding Li said calmly. "Who decided wheelchairs are only for cripples?"
His voice wasn't loud, but every word cut through the noise like a blade.
Black Rat's bravado cracked for a split second under that piercing stare, but he forced a snarl and charged again, tail whipping, claws extended.
In Ding Li's eyes, the attack crawled.
He sidestepped lazily. Then drove one foot into Black Rat's gut.
BOOM!
The Zoan captain flew backward again—same crater, same hole in the ship, deeper this time. Wood splintered. Black Rat vanished into the wreckage.
"Nice shot," Ding Li muttered to himself.
He shook his head, disappointed. "That's your Devil Fruit power? Pathetic. And you thought you'd make it big on the Grand Line?"
Black Rat crawled out once more, blood dripping, fury twisting his rat-like features. He lashed his tail like a whip.
Ding Li didn't even blink. Another casual dodge. Another kick.
The crew watched in frozen horror as their captain was ragdolled again and again.
Ding Li's breaths were growing shorter. Vitality 10 couldn't sustain 440 Physique for long. He needed to end this—fast.
Silently: "System, add all points to Vitality."
Warmth flooded him. The crushing exhaustion eased. He could breathe again.
Black Rat staggered out one last time, broken but defiant.
Then he saw Ding Li's eyes.
Cold. Merciless.
The captain dropped to his knees in the sand, legs sinking, tail limp.
"Bro… I was wrong! I'm blind! Just let me go like a fart in the wind—please!"
Ding Li didn't respond. His gaze shifted to one of the trembling crewmen.
"You. Come here."
The pirate stumbled forward, legs shaking.
Ding Li drew the man's own cutlass from his belt. The pirate dropped to his knees, kowtowing frantically. "Grandpa! Mercy! Mercy!"
Ding Li ignored him. He stepped forward, raised the blade, and brought it down in one clean arc.
Black Rat's head rolled across the sand.
A fountain of blood sprayed. The beach fell utterly silent.
The remaining 22 pirates dropped like puppets with cut strings, wailing for mercy.
Ding Li's first kill.
No shaking hands. No nausea. Only a strange, dark thrill that made him pause and wonder if something in him had always been waiting for this.
He shook off the thought and turned to the survivors, voice ice.
"Blame yourselves. You insulted my Koya. I don't care what you do to others—but touch what's mine, and you die."
He glanced at the groveling pirates. "Tie each other up. You have ten seconds. Or you join your captain."
They scrambled. Ropes, knots—frantic, terrified cooperation.
Ding Li turned to Koya. "Get the others. Lock them in the ship's storage hold."
She nodded and ran.
Minutes later, the island's twelve women (mostly middle-aged widows) arrived, staring at Ding Li with open awe. Koya had already explained everything on the way.
Aunt Kri laughed, eyes twinkling. "If you weren't already taken by Koya, I'd throw my Elmu at you in a heartbeat!"
Elmu blushed scarlet. "Mom!"
Another aunt teased, "What's one more wife? This is the East Blue. Koya might not mind~"
Laughter rippled. Ding Li coughed awkwardly, clearing his throat. "Alright, enough. Let's get them secured before dark. Tie them tight."
The women moved with surprising efficiency. The pirates were herded aboard their own ship and crammed into a storage room. Ropes, chains, improvised locks—nothing was left to chance.
By nightfall the pirates were secured. The islanders built a quick bonfire camp on the beach—simple tents, roasted fish, rum.
Ding Li collapsed back into the wheelchair, utterly spent. Koya fussed over him, feeding him bite after bite, covering him with a blanket when he started to shiver.
The villagers gathered around the fire, talking, laughing, toasting their savior. Every glance toward Ding Li was filled with gratitude and quiet reverence.
Koya sat beside him, head on his shoulder, watching the flames dance.
In the distance, from the dark hold of the captured ship, came muffled, terrified whispers.
"Shut up! You want them to send us to join the captain?!"
One gruff aunt's voice cut through. The pirates fell silent.
Ding Li closed his eyes, listening to the waves and Koya's soft breathing.
For the first time since arriving in this world… He felt like he belonged.
==============================================================
Support me and be 100 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/inkshield