By the time Luffy hurled the Sea King away, he had been standing on the opposite end of the boat. The combined weight of the Sea King and the force Luffy exerted caused the small fishing boat to tilt nearly ninety degrees.
In other words, the boat that Alex and Luffy were on nearly capsized, leaving Alex's heart pounding with fear.
"What exactly are you trying to do?!"
This time, Alex completely lost it. As a rational human being, there were times he truly couldn't understand the logic of this one-track-minded creature.
"I'm bringing it back to eat," Luffy said casually, pointing at the Sea King he had tossed to the front of the boat. "Wasting food is wrong—didn't you know that?"
Seriously? You just want to eat it! Stop acting like it's some noble cause!
Looking at Luffy's drooling expression, Alex had no doubt what was really going through that glutton's head.
Knowing there was no convincing Luffy to give up on the Sea King, Alex resigned himself to the madness. He focused on rowing furiously, praying they could just make it back to the village quickly. Once Luffy had his big feast, Alex could finally send this walking disaster on his way.
Meeting Luffy in person was already more than enough of a dream fulfilled.
Alex truly believed that. As a normal human with zero combat strength, joining Luffy on an ocean adventure would be suicide. He wouldn't survive ten minutes.
"Why did you even invite me?"
Even though Alex had made up his mind not to sail with Luffy, he was still curious about why he'd been invited in the first place.
"I think you're a good guy. Plus, you know how to fish. That way, I don't have to worry about running out of meat!"
Luffy said this with complete honesty.
Alex wasn't surprised. With Luffy's one-dimensional, food-obsessed brain, inviting someone good at fishing made total sense.
"I still need a cook and a musician. That way I can eat delicious meat while listening to music every day. That would be awesome!"
Luffy flung the Sea King forward again. By now, Alex had gotten used to the wild swaying of the fishing boat and no longer reacted much.
"If you're getting a cook, then you don't need me, right? A cook can handle your meat cravings."
Alex figured that Luffy would eventually meet Sanji. Compared to someone who only knew how to fish, a real chef made him pretty redundant.
It seemed like not joining Luffy was definitely the smart move.
Just as that thought formed in his head, Luffy, still rowing, suddenly said, "I thought about that. If the cook focuses just on preparing meat, then someone needs to provide the meat. That'll be your job."
Luffy's eyes lit up with excitement as he looked at Alex. "I once ate a Sea King before—it was amazing! If you could catch them for me all the time, that would be perfect!"
Alex's blood ran cold under Luffy's gaze. His hands trembled on the oar, and he nearly fell out of the boat.
If I could hunt Sea Kings, would I have needed you to save me?!
The image of battling Sea Kings daily after joining Luffy made his scalp tingle, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"Ah! Land ahead! Is that your village?"
Luffy tossed his oar aside in excitement, then stretched his arms and climbed the ship's mast, peering into the distance.
"Yeah, we're almost there."
Alex was genuinely relieved. They were finally going to make it back safely.
"Great! Watch this—I'm going to toss it right into the village. I'm starving after throwing it so many times."
Luffy jumped down from the mast, stretched his arms again, and grabbed the Sea King in front of them. He raised it high over his head, spun around a few times, and launched it forward with full force.
Maybe he used more strength this time, because the boat rocked harder than ever. The previously unconscious fat guy finally stirred and woke up.
Still groggy, he had no idea what was going on. His stomach churned violently. He rushed to the side of the boat and began vomiting like crazy.
Alex guessed the guy had gotten severely seasick from all the wild shaking earlier.
He watched the Sea King fly over a hundred meters through the air and crash heavily onto land. Just as Alex was about to marvel at Luffy's insane strength, a harsh cracking noise rang out.
"Huh? What's that sound?"
Luffy looked down at the deck, puzzled.
Alex followed the sound—and saw the wooden planks beneath Luffy's feet starting to splinter.
"Oh no! The boat's going to sink!"
He shouted the warning just as the bottom of the little fishing boat cracked wide open. Within moments, seawater began flooding in.
"Why did the boat end up like this?"
Luffy looked completely shocked.
"What do you think?! You've been hurling around a giant Sea King this whole time—the boat couldn't handle the pressure!"
Alex shouted, panicking as more seawater seeped in.
He wasn't wrong. After being stomped on repeatedly during Luffy's acrobatic Sea King throws, the boat—Alex's trusty companion for over half a year—finally gave in to the repeated abuse. With one last heave, it cracked apart and began to sink.
"Then why didn't you say something earlier?"
Luffy's question left Alex speechless.
I told you to leave the Sea King alone ages ago—you're the one who didn't listen!
Alex opened his mouth to deliver a scathing rebuke, but Luffy beat him to it with something that made his blood run cold.
"I can't swim!"
Seeing Luffy quickly sink into the sea, Alex remembered all too well: Luffy was a Devil Fruit user—completely incapable of swimming.
Glancing at the fat guy still clinging to a piece of wreckage floating on the surface, Alex figured he'd be fine.
With a sigh, Alex shook his head—then dove straight into the water…