One Piece: Legend of the Star Sea

Alex never thought of himself as a noble person. Even now, standing at death's door, his heart was still uneasy.

But if he were to abandon his comrades here and save himself—then even if Zoro somehow survived, how could he have the face to remain on the same ship as Luffy and the others? How could he call himself a member of the Straw Hat Pirates?

If Zoro weren't tied up right now—if he could fight back properly—Alex might've actually run. After all, Zoro's strength guaranteed he'd be fine. Alex could've just gone off somewhere to heal.

Unfortunately, Zoro was tightly bound to that damn log post. In that state, even a weakling could kill him. There was no way Alex could leave him behind.

And most importantly—where the hell had Luffy gone?!

Alex didn't have time to think about that now. With a burst of energy, he charged straight into the group of Marines, throwing punches with all his might. Every strike was aimed to take someone down in one blow.

"He's gone mad!"

A Marine holding a saber was so shaken by Alex's ferocity and disregard for death that his legs went weak. As soon as the words left his mouth, Alex punched him straight in the face, launching him backwards and knocking over several Marines behind him.

"I'm ready to die here! So if you want to take my head, you'd better be ready to be sent flying first!"

Snatching the saber from that Marine, Alex swung it hard toward Axe-Hand Morgan.

CLANG!

Morgan raised his massive axe-arm and shattered Alex's sword with ease. But when he looked into Alex's eyes—sharp as blades and filled with chilling resolve—he unconsciously stepped back.

"Why are you still standing?! Why haven't you fallen yet?!"

Raising his heavy axe-arm, Morgan bellowed and brought it crashing down toward Alex.

BOOM!

The axe struck the ground like a thousand-pound boulder, splitting it open with sheer force.

Alex leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding the blow. He clenched his right fist and slammed it into the right side of Morgan's face.

"I left everything behind to go out to sea! You, relying on nothing but your authority—how could you ever defeat me?!"

BANG!

Morgan flew backward like a cannonball, a few yellowed teeth flying out of his mouth. He landed with a crash more than twenty meters away, raising clouds of dust.

"Risking everything…"

Koby stared blankly at Alex's back. He remembered Luffy saying something similar—that he'd gladly risk his life to become the Pirate King.

"So… he and Luffy are cut from the same cloth. No wonder they're crewmates."

Koby muttered to himself. Tied to the pillar nearby, Zoro overheard him.

"Too bad he's not a swordsman. Thank god he's not a swordsman…"

Zoro muttered something strange as he glanced toward Alex.

"He… he knocked out Captain Morgan!"

"Terrifying… he looks like he's on the brink of death, and yet he still has that kind of strength!"

The surrounding Marines watched Alex's swaying, battered body in awe. No one dared step forward. Instead, they all took three steps back.

"What are you doing?! Without my orders, how dare you retreat?!"

A chilling voice rang out just as the Marines around Alex tried to back away.

Morgan, kneeling on the ground, spat out more blood and stood back up, one step at a time, walking toward Alex. His face was covered in blood, making him look even more menacing.

"I'll admit, that punch hurt like hell. But this is where you fall. In this world, only the strong survive!"

Despite the blow, Morgan was still standing. The Marines around him didn't cheer—instead, their expressions grew darker.

"If that's the case, let me give you another punch. Then maybe you'll figure out who's the real loser."

Alex chuckled, staggering, breathing heavily. His body was beyond exhausted. He was truly at his limit.

"Shut up!!"

Morgan roared, his eyes bulging with rage. Blood vessels burst in his eyes as he raised his giant axe-arm and swung it down toward Alex again.

At that moment, a silhouette dashed forward and tackled Alex to the ground—just in time to save him from the killing blow.

Morgan struck nothing but air. When he saw the orange-haired girl pinning Alex down, he sneered.

"Oh, it's you? You could've just stayed hidden and survived, but you ran out here to die?"

Nami ignored Morgan. Seeing Alex seemingly unconscious, she frantically slapped him across the face.

"Wake up, you idiot!"

Smack! Smack! Smack!

What the hell—who's slapping me?! And why just the face? Jealous of my good looks or something?

Alex quickly regained consciousness. His head was spinning and his face stung. Before he even opened his eyes, he caught a familiar scent.

"Nami? Is that you? Why are you here?"

"You idiot! Why are you pushing yourself so hard? Don't you know I'd worry about you?"

Nami saw his mind was still fuzzy, so she raised her hand to slap him again.

Alex's heart skipped a beat at her words. Suddenly, his strength began to return. The pain in his back seemed to ease.

He opened his eyes wide—just in time to see Nami's hand swinging at him again.

Oh, come on! One more slap and I'll actually look like a pig's head!

Alex grabbed her wrist. Her skin was smooth as silk, like polished jade.

Whoa, why is her skin so soft?

Nami bit her lip and stared at him, her eyes brimming with tears.

A single tear rolled down her cheek and landed on Alex's face.

He couldn't tell if it was warm or cold—but one thing was certain: when he saw her tears, his heart clenched. And yet, it also felt strangely warm.

Instinctively, Alex reached out and wiped the tear from her cheek. Just as he was about to say something, he saw Morgan raising his axe again.

You son of a—how dare you interrupt a perfect moment!

Alex pushed Nami aside—but by doing so, he couldn't avoid the axe himself.

Just as Morgan's axe was about to hit, it stopped—completely.

"He… he caught the axe with his feet?!"

Nearby Marines were dumbfounded. Alex, lying on the ground, had caught Morgan's giant axe-blade between his feet, stopping it cold.

Even Zoro stared at him with his mouth slightly open, speechless.

Nami, who had been sure Alex was about to die, was stunned silent when she saw him stop the axe.

"Get the hell off me!!"

With a twist of his legs, Alex flung the axe—and Morgan—off to the side.

THUD!

Morgan was slammed to the ground once again. Another huge cloud of dust filled the air.

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