One Piece: Starting by Refusing Shanks's Invitation

He finished the last mouthful of soup, wiped his mouth, and replied, "More or less."

"More or less?" Luo paused and touched the sword on his back. "Did you come to Drum Island alone?"

"Yeah." Lin Mo stood up to leave.

Luo got up and hurried after him. "I'm alone too. I use a sword, and I know medicine. We're alike in a few ways."

Lin Mo: "..."

Luo went on, "What's your name?"

Lin Mo ignored him.

Unbothered by his coldness, Luo continued, "I started a pirate crew, and I need crew members. If you're on your own, how about joining my ship? I'll make you Vice Captain."

In Lin Mo's memory, Luo was supposed to be calculating, aloof, calm, and fiercely independent.

So what was going on now?

The guy didn't even know his name, yet he'd already invited him aboard?

"I refuse," Lin Mo said flatly.

Luo blinked. "Think it over. I'm serious about inviting you."

Lin Mo's answer didn't change. "I'm a traveler. I'm not interested in pirates."

"A traveler?" Luo frowned. "If you're going to brush me off, can't you come up with something more convincing? What kind of answer is 'traveler'?"

Lin Mo shot him a cool glance. "Brush you off? Why would I need to?"

With a cold laugh, Lin Mo kept walking.

At the same time, a system notification sounded in his mind.

Beep! Rejected Surgeon of Death Luo's invitation to join his ship. Sign-in progress +20%. Current total progress: 30%. Reward: mastery-level Mystical Palm Technique.

In an instant, more advanced knowledge of the Mystical Palm Technique flowed into Lin Mo's mind.

He paused, then stopped walking.

Just then, Luo's stomach growled again.

Lin Mo looked back at him.

Luo turned away, his face red. "What are you looking at? Don't join, then. It's not like I need you in my pirate crew."

Lin Mo chuckled. He slipped a hand into his pocket, took a pouch full of Beli from the System Space, and tossed it to Luo.

Luo caught it by reflex.

He looked down at it, his frown deepening. "What's this supposed to mean? You think I need your pity?"

"You won't take money handed to you for free? Are you sure you want to be a pirate?"

Lin Mo gave a cold laugh, turned, and continued toward the exit of the ramen shop.

Lin Mo had given Luo the money for two reasons. First, Luo had helped him advance his sign-in progress, so he wanted to give him a little something. Second, he didn't want Luo hounding him the way Zoro and Rooster Head had. The guy was hungry, so leaving him at the ramen shop was perfect.

By the time he left the ramen shop, it was completely dark.

Snow fell on Drum Island year-round, and the ground outside was blanketed in it. Rather than spend the night out in the wind and snow, he might as well return to the inn and rest.

So Lin Mo didn't linger in town. Passing a convenience store, he bought all the bottles of wine on its shelves in one go, then headed straight back to the inn.

Over the next two days, Lin Mo spent most of his time at the inn, going out only for meals.

On his third day on Drum Island, he'd had enough rest.

Lin Mo left the inn early that morning and headed toward the island's landmarks: several tall mountains shaped like drums.

Wind and snow battered him along the way.

Lin Mo trudged forward, one step at a time.

He was going to find Chopper.

Based on his previous sign-in experience, Drum Island's sign-in task had to have something to do with Chopper.

Chopper was a little reindeer. At this point, he should have been five years old.

Born with a blue nose, Chopper had always been an oddity among the reindeer and was often bullied. Later, he accidentally ate the Human-Human Fruit and was driven from the herd.

Little Chopper wanted companions, so he used the fruit's power to take human form and tried to fit in with people.

But he didn't look entirely human. His nose was still blue, and people treated him like a Snowman, a monster. Like the reindeer, they chased him away. Some even shot at him.

Chopper didn't know what he'd done wrong or whom he should hate. He only wanted companions, yet everyone called him a monster.

No longer a reindeer, but not human either, he spent each day alone until he met Doctor Hiriluk.

Hiriluk was a quack who devoted the latter half of his life to researching the Cherry Blossom Miracle. He never charged anyone for treatment. Even though Drum Kingdom's order to expel doctors had left the town with no doctors to treat its residents, nobody wanted Hiriluk's help.

That was because none of Hiriluk's miracle medicines cured anyone. Instead, they made their illnesses worse.

At this point, Chopper probably hadn't met Hiriluk yet.

Lin Mo kept walking.

Suddenly, a creature sprang from the snow-covered woods beside him. It was pure white, with a bear's body and a rabbit's head. A Lapahn. It charged straight at him with startling speed.

Lapahns were fierce carnivores native to Drum Island. They lived in packs and never took kindly to people.

The lone Lapahn's sharp claws were about to reach Lin Mo.

Before he could react, a dark figure appeared. Steel flashed, and the Lapahn collapsed less than a meter behind him.

"Lin Mo, are you all right?" Luo asked, panting.

Lin Mo stopped and looked back at him.

He was fairly sure he hadn't told the guy his name...

Seeing his confusion, Luo said, "The owner of your inn told me."

Lin Mo had registered under his name when he checked in, so the innkeeper knew it.

What a big mouth...

Oh well. He knows, he knows.

Lin Mo ignored Luo and kept walking.

Luo immediately followed. "What the townspeople said that day—about you using some strange art to heal people—was it true?"

Lin Mo ignored him.

Luo pressed on. "I came to Drum Island to learn more advanced medicine. I'm interested in that art of yours. Can you teach me?"

"No." Lin Mo finally spoke, rejecting him outright.

Luo paused, then stubbornly kept pace beside him. "I know you have no reason to teach me medicine. But I have a reason I must learn more advanced medicine."

Luo put a hand over his heart, his face solemn. "I won't let someone important die in front of me again. If I'd been a good enough doctor back then, maybe Corazon wouldn't have died..."

As he spoke, Luo began to tremble. Every time he remembered Corazon dying before his eyes, grief overwhelmed him. Already thin, he looked even more alone in the snow-laden wind.

It seemed a stronger gust might knock him over.

Lin Mo didn't respond.

He had nothing to say.

Even if he wanted to teach Luo medicine, it would be useless.

The Mystical Palm Technique was Ninjutsu that required Chakra. People in the pirate world had no Chakra in their bodies.

Luo would never be able to learn the Mystical Palm Technique.

Lin Mo continued forward.

Luo stared silently at his back. After a moment, he hurried after him again. "Lin Mo, you really won't teach me medicine?"

"That's right!" Lin Mo said, exasperated.

Luo frowned slightly. "Why?"

As soon as Luo asked, a chorus of howls rose from the surrounding woods.

Agile shapes darted between the trees. In a few swift bounds, a pack of vicious-looking Lapahns surrounded Lin Mo and Luo.

Lapahns were pack animals fiercely protective of their own.

Clearly, this pack had come to avenge the Lapahn Luo had knocked down.

Luo stared grimly at the Lapahns around them. They looked ready to tear the two of them apart at any moment.

"Lin Mo, I'll protect you." Luo tightened his grip on his sword.

He was confident he could handle a few Lapahns.

A whole pack, though, was another matter.

"Good chance to test the power I've been working on." Luo freed one hand. "ROOM!"

A transparent hemispherical space appeared, enclosing every nearby Lapahn along with Lin Mo.

Luo gripped his sword and darted through the ROOM, slashing at the Lapahns around him.

The Lapahns moved together to evade him.

Inside the ROOM, Luo could move at nearly the speed of teleportation, far faster than the Lapahns. But he couldn't match their strength.

"Shambles!" Luo gritted his teeth and slashed at the nearest Lapahn, easily severing one of its arms.

The severed arm fell to the ground without spilling a drop of blood.

The cut on the Lapahn's body was perfectly smooth, and no blood came from it either.

Shambles was an ability that let Luo cut objects or living creatures into pieces and rearrange them within the area he controlled. Creatures cut apart this way did not die, feel pain, or bleed.

It was a formidable ability.

But only if Luo could land a hit.

After a brief moment of confusion, the one-armed Lapahn roared and attacked Luo again.

Having seen Luo's strange power, the other Lapahns wised up. Just as he was about to sever the wounded Lapahn's other arm, several appeared behind him and knocked him flying with a flurry of blows.

"Damn it!" Luo spat out a mouthful of ice and scrambled up from the snow, ready to fight again.

Several Lapahns had set their sights on Lin Mo. They leaped from every direction and pounced on him at once.

"Watch out!" Luo shouted.

Lin Mo looked up at the Lapahns descending on him, unimpressed. He drew Sandai Kitetsu and used Flash Step. His figure blurred, and in an instant, every Lapahn that had tried to attack him went flying.

The remaining Lapahns saw their companions fall in a flash. Baring sharp claws and fangs, they roared and charged Lin Mo together.

Lin Mo snorted. As they closed in, he swung his blade once more, right in front of Luo. Every Lapahn stopped dead.

Lin Mo slowly slid Sandai Kitetsu into its sheath. The moment it clicked fully into place, a single thud rang out as all the Lapahns still standing collapsed together.

Luo stared at him. "That... that was incredible..."

Lin Mo calmly walked past the fallen Lapahns and continued on his way.

Luo swallowed, quickly dismissed the ROOM, and hurried after Lin Mo without another word.

For the rest of the journey, Luo followed Lin Mo without bothering him again.

He badly wanted to ask where Lin Mo was going.

But he knew Lin Mo wouldn't answer. Better to follow him and see where he went and what he did.