Pirates: Invincible from the Start

No one knew what methods Kuina had used to make the fellow come running over the next day with a swollen, bruised face, crying and begging him to let him board the ship.

What a tragedy.

Seeing how sincere the fellow was, he could only reluctantly agree.

However, Ahua would never know that Kuta had intentionally or unintentionally hinted to Kuina that he wanted to invite him to go out to sea.

As he thought about it, a smug smile appeared on his face.

As for

A-Luo, no one knew what he had been through these past few years to turn him into a shamate youth.

Perhaps it was for love!

Not long ago, the fellow had been preparing to follow his family's arrangements and get married.

But after hearing that Kuta was going out to sea, he hurriedly dragged A-Tao, who was preparing to inherit his family's shipyard and become a sea king, to find Koshiro.

When Koshiro found Kuta, he was trying to figure out where to find a ship.

Well, wasn't this perfect? Here it came, just in time!

He agreed on the spot.

They had all grown up together. It certainly wasn't because A-Tao was a shipwright, or because his family was offering him a ship at a dirt-cheap price!

Next, he spent all the savings he and Kuina had accumulated over the years. He even borrowed several million Beli from Koshiro before he could pay for the ship's construction.

And that was with A-Tao's family charging only the cost of the materials.

He was a dignified transmigrator, yet he actually had to borrow money to build a ship.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help apologizing inwardly to all the senior transmigrators.

He had truly disgraced transmigrators everywhere.

The ship was a fast sailing vessel with a triangular sail on the aft mast, a central rudder at the stern, and a sheep's head at the bow.

As for why it had a sheep's head, of course it was modeled after the Merry!

After all, anyone who had watched One Piece would want a ship like the Merry, wouldn't they?

Not only did it have a sheep's head, he had also had an orchard installed on the ship, though he had replaced the orange trees with lemon trees.

Above the deck, the rear cabin had two levels. The first was the kitchen, while the second was for steering and resting.

The bedrooms, storage room, and toilet were all beneath the deck.

Like the Merry, his ship had no wheel. It turned by operating the tiller from side to side, moving the stern's rudderboard.

As for cannons, he felt they were useless at close range and could not hit anything at long range. Their range was even shorter than that of his slashes. Thus, he had installed only one large cannon in the front cabin and none on either side.

This saved space and reduced the weight, making the ship lighter and faster on the water.

Apart from that single cannon, the forward cabin also held the anchor winch and some essential supplies for use at sea.

Kuta's gaze swept across the entire ship as he lowered his head in thought.

A-Luo was the lookout, A-Tao handled the helm and repairs, and Ahua was the cook.

As for the navigator, he himself was the navigator. Over the past ten-odd years, he had read countless books about navigation. Those books had not been read for nothing.

Although he could not reach Nami's level, he was still quite confident when it came to ordinary natural disasters.

Moreover, his spatial domain could now extend twenty meters in every direction, which was enough for him to carry the ship through the air.

Hmm! What was still missing?

Then his eyes lit up, and he revealed an expression of sudden realization.

He was still missing a doctor!

Chapter 11: A Promise

On the deck of the forward cabin of the Fake Merry.

Kuta was staring blankly at the place where the distant sky met the sea.

It was currently the warmest and most dazzling time of day. The deep blue stretching above and below possessed an indescribable clarity.

Every now and then, a few mischievous great fish could be seen leaping forcefully from the surface of the sea.

The splashing water intertwined with the sunlight shining through the hazy morning mist, glittering with a cool radiance like transparent blue gemstones.

Yet even the beautiful scenery could no longer attract Kuta's attention.

Creak!

Creak!

Creak!

The sound of planks being compressed came from the ladder.

Kuta set down the cup in his hand and turned to look at Kuina walking up the stairs. A flicker of astonishment passed through his eyes.

After finishing her morning training and taking a shower, Kuina's dark-blue hair, gleaming with a cold radiance, looked as smooth and bright as the sea.

Kuina walked up to Kuta and handed him a comb, speaking gently. "Kuta, comb my hair for me."

Seeing the affection for her in Kuta's eyes, she knew all her efforts had been worth it.

Ever since she learned that Kuta liked kimonos, she had worn nothing but kimonos.

After learning that Kuta liked long hair, she had kept her hair long.

Even though kimonos and long hair were inconvenient for fighting, she had never wavered, because she loved Kuta so deeply.

Everything about her had become the way Kuta liked it.

Kuta took the comb. Looking at her back as she crouched before him, he picked it up and gently ran it through her smooth, silky hair.

Of course Kuta knew how Kuina had changed. He could only repay this affection with his entire life.

After smoothing her hair, he picked up the red ribbon resting nearby and tied Kuina's hair into a ponytail. Then he held her head and looked it over with satisfaction.

Hmm! His technique was pretty good.

"All done, Kuina."

Kuina stood up and turned around. Meeting Kuta's infatuated gaze, she happily spun in a circle before him, like a pink butterfly wantonly displaying its beauty.

Looking at the woman before him, who was willing to show her charm and tenderness only to him,

Kuta pulled her over and let her lie against him.

Holding her soft, delicate body and inhaling the clean fragrance of body wash and the unique scent of a young woman lingering on her after her bath, he spoke with deep emotion.

"Kuina, when you turn eighteen in two more years, let's get married!"

Hearing Kuta's voice, Kuina suddenly raised her head and stared incredulously at his gentle face so close to hers. Tears welled up like a spring, falling one drop at a time onto Kuta's chest.

She had thought this fellow would wait for her to confess before responding to her feelings!

Kuta smiled at Kuina. His smile was like ripples on a clear spring, spilling from the little dimples at the corners of his mouth and spreading across his whole face.

He reached out with his right hand to wipe away her tears and teased, "What? You don't want to?"

Kuina hurriedly nodded. "I do. I do."

How could she possibly not want to?

"Hahahahaha..."

Seeing Kuina's adorable appearance, Kuta could not hold back his laughter. It burst continuously from his mouth.

In his previous life, he had not even had a girlfriend. In this life, he had a fiancée at seventeen.

What a satisfying feeling.

Wasn't it?

Listening to Kuta's laughter, Kuina buried her head in his embrace, her face flushed with embarrassment as she lightly pounded him a few times.

Her face burning, she quietly listened to Kuta's strong heartbeat.

At that moment, she felt more at ease than ever before.

Kuta's face was full of smiles, and his eyes were tender as he looked at Kuina. They had spent so many years together. In the beginning, he truly had regarded Kuina as a younger sister.

But as this

younger sister gradually grew up and became more and more dependent on him, eventually even falling in love with him and being willing to change so much for his sake,

it was impossible for him to remain unmoved.

Faced with such a beautiful girl, he refused to believe that anyone could not fall in love with her.

That needed one explanation: he was absolutely not a lolicon playing at raising a girl!

Stroking Kuina's long hair, as smooth and silky as satin, Kuta looked up at the sky, unprecedented determination in his eyes.

This promise made him more mature and stronger.

Sure enough, sailing was not a simple matter.

They had been at sea for three days. The first two days had been fairly exciting, and everything had seemed new to them.

However, no matter how beautiful the scenery was, after looking at it for two days, all that remained was boredom.

Looking as far as the eye could see, there was not even a ghost on the sea. There was nothing but sea.

No wonder pirates all liked holding parties. They were simply bored stiff.

Because out on the ocean, aside from training, all you could do was lie around like a salted fish.

Kuta, who was fishing at the bow, stared blankly at the surface of the sea. In the manga, wasn't it possible to catch fish casually?

How had it become that there was nothing at all once it was his turn?

Sure enough, everything in manga was a lie.

"Ugh!"

At that moment, Kuina came over carrying two cups of cola. Hearing his sigh, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"How come it's been three days and we still haven't seen another ship?"

Wasn't this the Great Pirate Era?

Weren't pirates as common as oxen and horses?

How had he still not encountered any once it was his turn?

Was East Blue simply too vast, or were those other pirate ships just too lucky?

With a dejected expression, he accepted the cola Kuina handed him.

He shook it a few times.

Ding ding ding—!!!

The ice struck the cup, ringing out with a pleasant, crisp sound.

He raised the cup, tilted back his head, opened his mouth, and took a large gulp.

The cold cola flowed straight down his esophagus into his stomach. He burped first, then exhaled a cloud of white vapor.

"Refreshing!"

Kuina looked at Kuta and smiled softly.

Her smile drifted past the corners of her lips like a faint glow of rosy sunset.

She reached out, took the cup from Kuta's hand, and placed it on the tea table nearby.

"No need to rush. It's only been three days. We should reach Baratie today."

She paused, stuck out her tongue, and licked her lips before continuing, "I heard Baratie is a restaurant built on the sea, and it has the best chefs in all of East Blue."

"What a little glutton."