Trapped in the rapidly spinning whirlpool, Tom felt its powerful tearing force as if trying to rip his body apart. It was excruciating.
Soaked in seawater, weak and limp, facing a whirlpool no human could resist, Tom was truly helpless.
The only silver lining was that being caught in the whirlpool kept him from sinking. He just kept spinning around in circles, making him dizzy and disoriented.
On the fishing boat, Luffy was frantic. He tried stretching his arms to pull Tom up several times, but Tom was spinning too fast within the vortex. He couldn't grab him.
If this continued, not only would Tom be finished, but Luffy would be too. Luffy understood this clearly.
"Why is this happening? The weather was so nice today. On such a clear, sunny day, who would've thought we'd run into such a big whirlpool, and Tom would be in danger? I'm really surprised."
Seeing he couldn't rescue Tom immediately, Luffy forced himself to calm down. Stroking his chin, he muttered to himself while thinking of a way out.
Surprised, my foot! If you hadn't thrown me into the sea, we wouldn't be in this mess!
Spinning around in the whirlpool, Tom wished he could slap Luffy. What kind of time is this for sighing in emotion?
"Even if I wanted to call for help, there's no one around."
Luffy looked around. The sea was empty except for them. He sighed. "If the boat sinks and Tom and I die here, there's nothing to be done. And I can't swim."
Hearing this, Tom thought, This guy really puts his life on the line, facing this so calmly. You have to give him that.
But Tom felt himself sinking deeper into the vortex. He accidentally swallowed several mouthfuls of seawater, feeling even worse. He truly didn't have the strength to shout anymore.
Did me sailing with Luffy change the original course of One Piece history, leading to us dying here?
As soon as the thought crossed Tom's mind, Luffy, sitting on the boat deep in thought, seemed to have a flash of inspiration. "Right! In this situation, whether you can swim or not makes no difference at all!"
"Tommy! Hold on! We'll be rescued soon!"
Luffy shouted while quickly stretching an arm to grab the large treasure chest full of gold from the corner of the boat. Without hesitation, he dumped all the gold from the chest into the whirlpool.
Hearing Luffy, Tom felt a surge of hope, thinking Luffy had really thought of a good plan. But then—THWACK!—his head suddenly hurt, as if hit by many hard objects, nearly knocking him out.
He soon realized the things hitting his head were shiny, familiar-looking pieces of gold.
What the—? Isn't that the gold from our treasure chest?
Did Luffy throw away all the gold... and it just happened to hit my head?
Tom was right. Though both were caught in the whirlpool, Tom was positioned lower. When Luffy threw the gold, some inconveniently struck Tom's head.
Tom understood Luffy's reasoning instantly: not willing to throw away the meat. He'd rather discard priceless gold than risk losing their meat—classic super glutton behavior.
But did you have to hit my head with it?!
For a moment, Tom was filled with resentment toward Luffy, feeling even rolling him over a hundred times wouldn't be enough.
But soon, Tom discovered that when Luffy tries to help, the unexpected outcomes you can imagine—there's no worst, only worse.
"Gum-Gum... Rocket!"
On the boat, after tossing the now-empty treasure chest, Luffy stretched both arms far back, then snapped them forward at incredible speed, striking the large chest.
WHOOSH!
The chest shot toward Tom like lightning.
BOOM!
The empty chest struck the water right beside Tom. The powerful impact created a significant wave within the massive whirlpool, launching Tom out of the vortex.
Before Tom could react, Luffy quickly stretched an arm, grabbed the airborne Tom, and stuffed him into the large treasure chest.
As Tom was forced into the chest, his head unfortunately banged against the hard lid several more times.
Suffering this treatment, combined with the whirlpool's tearing force and the residual impact of Luffy's Gum-Gum Rocket, Tom felt as if every bone in his body had been taken apart.
Unable to withstand the waves of intense pain, Tom finally blacked out the moment the chest lid slammed shut. His last thought before losing consciousness: I'm going to kill him!
After this, Tom finally understood why even a tough guy like Zoro sometimes threatened to kill Luffy.
It's not that we're evil. It's that Luffy is just too troublesome!
Most importantly, after surviving the whirlpool crisis, Tom finally realized something: to embark on adventures with Luffy, the first thing you need is the tenacious vitality of a cockroach that never dies.
Things like strength? Those are floating clouds!
After Tom was forcefully stuffed into the chest, Luffy hurriedly found a large barrel full of meat, stuffed as much as he could into his mouth while cramming himself inside.
Soon after, the small fishing boat Tom and Luffy had sailed on for nearly a month was destroyed in the massive whirlpool.
Time passed. Tom woke from unconsciousness, his head groggy. He barely opened his eyes. It was dark and cramped around him, making movement very difficult.
Shaking his head, he remembered: the whirlpool, Luffy's terrible plan, being stuffed into a treasure chest.
I'm alive. We must have been rescued. But where am I?
Every part of him ached as if he'd been punched hundreds of times. He worried that if he were still drifting at sea, he'd be done for.
The keyhole in the chest provided some air, but water had seeped in. If this continued, it would sink.
But after a moment, Tom realized something felt off. The chest felt steady, not at all like floating on the sea.
What's going on?
Was I fished out by someone?
As he wondered, he heard a deep, gloomy voice. "Koby, what is the most beautiful thing on the sea?"
"It... it's you, of course, Miss Alvida! Hehehehe..."
A voice tinged with fear and flattery reached Tom inside the chest. Now he knew where he was.
Alvida? That female pirate with the giant iron club, the round hat, face full of freckles, fat body, ugly appearance, cruel personality?
Damn. This short, fat brute fished me up, probably thinking the chest held treasure.
If she finds me inside in my current state, she might just club me to death. I'd better stay put and see what happens.
Tom knew Alvida was a female pirate with a five-million-berry bounty—pathetically low, but still more than his half-dead self could handle.
If I were at full strength, I might actually be able to knock this fat hag flying.
He felt the chest being lifted. Alvida, carrying her large club, pointed at several underlings. "You lot, take this inside. We're going hunting first. We'll check what treasures are inside when we get back."
"A fine catch, beautiful Miss Alvida," a middle-aged pirate with a flat-top haircut said.
"Right! We're taking that ship! You'd better work hard!" Alvida laughed sinisterly with her grating voice.
From their conversation, Tom gathered Alvida was targeting a luxury cruise ship. Luffy was probably on that ship. If Alvida ran into him, she'd be in for a tragic end.
After some slight shaking, Tom, hidden in the chest, was carried into a storage room.
The sounds of cannon fire and pirate shouts echoed nearby. After about ten minutes, the noises gradually faded. Tom figured most pirates had gone to plunder the other ship. This was a good chance to escape.
If I can find Luffy, things should be fine.
Tom decided to make his move.
Just as he was about to act, he heard a male pirate's voice. "Who are you? I don't think I've seen you before?"
A few seconds later, a THUD! The pirate who spoke fell silent.
"Pirates really are idiots. Let's see what treasures are in here."
A very pleasant girl's voice reached Tom's ears.
Click. Light flooded in. The treasure chest was opened. Tom, lying sprawled inside, found himself staring into the lively eyes of a pretty girl with short orange hair.
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T/N :
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