Chapter 18: Home at Last
After a day and a half of sailing, Luo Lin and the three sisters finally reached the border between the Calm Belt and the Grand Line.
The Hancock sisters finally relaxed a little. There were two big reasons they'd been on edge:
Navy patrol ships could appear at any moment on the open sea.
Their tiny boat was practically overloaded—one decent wave and they were sinking.
Three out of four people on board were Devil Fruit users. If the boat went down, it was basically game over.
The only reason they weren't fully relaxed was because the Calm Belt was Sea King territory—death could still come at any second.
Luo Lin, meanwhile, didn't worry about any of that. Ever since the girls agreed to row, he'd turned into a complete slacker. Zero gentleman points.
His excuse? "I need to conserve energy for emergencies! What if the Navy shows up? What if a storm hits? I'll be the one handling it!"
Marigold and Sandersonia thought that made perfect sense—rowing was no big deal.
Hancock suspected ulterior motives, but then Luo Lin added: "If I keep exercising, I'll burn through all the food before we get there."
That shut her up. Fine. Let the lazy bum be lazy.
As they entered the Calm Belt proper, Luo Lin finally stopped lazing around and got serious—he was ready for Sea Kings that could pop up anytime.
If he were alone, he wouldn't care. Worst case, he'd slice his way out of a stomach. But with three Devil Fruit users on board, he had to make sure nothing went wrong.
Also… he really wanted to catch a Sea King to pull the boat. Free horsepower—why waste it?
Yet half a day passed with zero Sea Kings.
Luo Lin went from excited to bored out of his mind.
"Hey Hancock! How come your elders aren't here to pick you up yet? Did they forget? …Are you three adopted or something?"
Hancock's face instantly went black.
Marigold and Sandersonia hurriedly explained:
"No, no, Luo Lin-san! We're not there yet! It takes at least a week to sail from Amazon Lily to Mary Geoise. Even if Granny left at the same time, it would still take three days without going off course!"
"Oh? Then why didn't she leave earlier? So you really are—"
Hancock's face turned pitch-black.
Fists clenched. I'm gonna kill this bastard.
The sisters quickly calmed her down and explained:
"Granny was planning to meet us at the edge of the Calm Belt, but she thought you'd be at Fish-Man Island for days, and no one expected things to calm down so fast!"
"Oh, got it."
He was just teasing—he knew they weren't adopted. Otherwise they'd never become emperors of Amazon Lily.
Luo Lin sighed dramatically.
"What's wrong, Luo Lin-san?"
"How come no Sea Kings yet?"
"…Please don't jinx it! They're super dangerous! And the ones here are all huge!"
Marigold said, trembling.
"You wouldn't understand."
Luo Lin closed his eyes again, leaving the girls confused.
That night they stopped rowing. No lights on the boat—just faint moonlight. Everyone lay back and stared at the stars.
The Hancock sisters were probably thinking about their future.
Luo Lin was remembering his past life.
"Eleven years already… Wonder if Mom and Dad can see these same stars. Same moon, same sun… Sorry I couldn't take over the family business and take care of you in your old age."
May we live long and share the beauty of the moon though thousands of miles apart.
His nose stung. He rubbed his face hard.
The girls didn't know why, but they could feel his sadness.
Suddenly—every hair on his body stood up. Observation Haki screamed danger.
He shot upright, aura sharp as a blade. The sisters' hearts skipped a beat.
Then the killing intent vanished, replaced by pure excitement.
This was the Calm Belt. Only one thing could trigger that feeling.
"Luo Lin-san, what's wrong?!"
"You'll see. Good news!"
Right after he spoke—the calm sea bulged upward.
Their tiny boat sat in the center of a rising water dome.
Then two gigantic jaws opened on either side—like a rice grain in a bowl.
"SEAAAA KIIING!!!"
The sisters screamed, clinging to each other.
"See? I told you—good news!"
"How is this good news?! We're gonna get eaten! After everything we just escaped, we're gonna die in a fish's stomach?!"
Marigold and Sandersonia were crying.
Hancock gritted her teeth, glaring at the massive maw.
"Relax! Watch me discipline it!"
Luo Lin Geppo'd outside the mouth.
Only now was the creature fully visible—a gigantic frog-faced Sea King with a fish tail.
He coated his leg in Haki and kicked one of its biggest teeth—CRACK!
The tooth shattered. The entire Sea King lurched sideways from the impact.
"GRRRROOOOAAAR!!!"
The jaws that were about to close snapped back open in agony. The roar was deafening—the sisters covered their ears in pain.
"That size difference… impossible…"
Hancock, the strongest-willed of the three, stared in shock.
While her sisters had already closed their eyes waiting for death, she watched everything:
Luo Lin—one kick—sent a Lord of the Calm Belt reeling.
She'd been too panicked during their escape to really register his strength.
Now? Pure awe.
"I'll become that strong someday… no—stronger! So I can protect myself and my sisters!"
Unknown to Luo Lin, he'd just planted the seed of ambition in the future Pirate Empress's heart.
He was too busy trying to tame free transportation.
BOOM!
The Sea King slammed sideways into the water, sending waves everywhere. The tiny boat rode it out perfectly.
"We're saved!"
The sisters exhaled.
Luo Lin landed back on the boat.
"See? Told you not to worry. One kick fixes everything. If one doesn't work—two will!"
Surprisingly, Hancock actually nodded in agreement this time.
Luo Lin leaped back onto the Sea King's head.
He drew Shinrai and carved several shallow cross-shaped cuts into its scalp—just enough to hurt.
Then unleashed a burst of Conqueror's Haki.
"I know you understand me. Sea Kings are as smart as humans.
Two choices:
I kill you right now and eat you.
You pull my boat. When we arrive, you're free.
Move your tail once for option 1. Do nothing for option 2—I'll just kill you.
Three… two—"
Before he reached "one," the frog-fish tail thrashed wildly.
"Good boy! No funny business. Try diving and I'll still kill you."
To prove his point, he slashed the sea itself—splitting the water over a thousand meters. It took ages to close.
The Sea King trembled in terror.
Luo Lin sheathed his sword, satisfied.
"Girls! Come on! Free ride delivered!"
"…Oh. Okay!"
The sisters were completely dumbfounded.
You can… do that?!
Make a Sea King pull your boat?!
Nobody in history had ever even thought of it!
How were they supposed to know Luo Lin was a transmigrator with manga knowledge?
Luffy made moo-beasts pull ships. Shirahoshi commanded an entire fleet of Sea Kings.
Why couldn't he?
…
With a Sea King pulling, the remaining journey that should've taken over a day was cut to hours.
"YAHOO!!! I AM THE WIND!!!"
Luo Lin stood triumphantly on the frog's head, boat upside-down like a hat, one foot planted dramatically, left hand on his sword, right hand shading his eyes like a lookout.
The Hancock sisters stared at him like he was an idiot.
He kept the pose for over an hour.
Because it looked cool, damn it.
Eventually, a tiny black dot appeared on the horizon.
"Ship spotted! That's your ride!"
…
Far away, Elder Nyon (Gloriosa) sailed alone on Amazon Lily's signature giant snake pirate ship.
As a former empress, borrowing a ship for a few days was easy.
Only Hancock was ever rude to her.
The snake ships were immune to Sea King attacks and didn't need steering—she could handle it solo.
She hadn't told anyone about picking up the girls. Xia Qi had filled her in on their trauma—no need for extra people.
But now she was panicking.
A gigantic Sea King was charging straight at her, head above water, moving at terrifying speed.
"SEA KING! TURN!!"
She commanded the snakes to veer hard.
The Sea King veered too—still coming right for her.
"Impossible! They're attacking Lily ships now?! The island will be in danger from now on!"
She closed her eyes, preparing for death, thinking only of the girls' future.
Then—the Sea King stopped.
A young man's voice called from above:
"Granny Nyon!"
She looked up.
A teenage boy grinned down from the Sea King's head, three crying girls waving frantically beside him.
(She was too short to have seen him earlier.)
"You kids! You nearly gave me a heart attack! So you're the Luo Lin who brought them home?"
"Yep! Delivery complete! Girls, hop off—welcome home!"
The sisters leaped down, tears streaming.
"We'll take them from here! Thank you so much, Luo Lin!"
"No biggie—just along the way! My job's done, gotta get home to my wife!"
He turned to leave.
"Luo Lin-san!"
He looked back.
The three sisters stood in perfect line on the deck.
"Thank you for everything! We will never forget your kindness!"
They bowed deeply—three times in unison.
Even Hancock joined without hesitation.
"Ah—uh—no need to be so formal! Just live well, okay? And Granny—take care of them. You know what they've been through. No discrimination, alright?"
"YAHOO!! Stupid frog—new course! HOME!"
The massive Sea King shot away, shrinking into a distant black dot.
Only then did Nyon turn back.
"That boy is something else… taming a Sea King as a ride?"
"Yeah! He flipped it with one kick!"
"I'll surpass him one day!"
"Yes, yes, big sis!"
"Let's go home, girls!"
…
Two days later East Blue – near Cocoyasi Village
The water was too shallow for the Sea King.
"We're here already? I was gonna cook you for Robin if you slacked off, but you worked hard. Go on, get lost."
The Sea King vanished like its life depended on it—which it did.
Luo Lin rowed the last stretch to the pier, grabbed his two massive souvenir bags, and sprinted home like a man possessed.
"ROBIN, BABY! I'M HOME!!!"
He kicked open the front gate.
Robin was sitting on the swing reading.book. Hearing his voice, she shot to her feet.
The moment she saw him, her face bloomed into the softest, happiest smile.
"Luo Lin! Welcome home!"
==============================================================
Support me and be 100 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/inkshield