OPTC Chapter 320 - Seems Like Kizaru Said the Same Thing Back Then
The massive bridge collapsed, with large sections crashing into the sea, sending waves surging high into the air. Though the pirates panicked, they still remembered to take a deep breath before plunging in, preparing to hold it as they swam for their lives.
But when the bridge struck the water, many were still injured by the debris, dragged under by the violent waves, and forced to struggle desperately upward for air.
Shark Chili plunged down too, clutching Tom tightly. The moment they hit the water, he thought his body would shatter apart—he even imagined he could hear the sound of porcelain breaking.
A second later, he realized it wasn't an illusion. Looking up, he saw Tom broken into more than a dozen pieces floating on the surface before slowly sinking.
Panicking, Shark Chili scrambled to gather each fragment, confirming nothing was missing before surfacing again. He swam to the nearby shark giant, urged it to dive, and started piecing Tom back together on its head like a puzzle.
Above, the others felt the tremor beneath their feet. They turned to see an entire section of the bridge collapsing into the sea. Fortunately, the part they stood on held firm, though now completely separated from the main structure, left as a floating, isolated platform.
Zhang Da Ye, seeing Shark Chili and Tom fall, panicked. Drawing his sword, he hacked through the pirates blocking his path with swift, clean strikes until he reached the edge of the bridge.
The pirates who weren't in his way tried to flee, but before they could, Zhang Da Ye had already flashed past them, stopping at the ledge. Activating Tekkai, he called out, "Shark Chili! Tom! Are you alright?!"
He was mainly worried about Shark Chili. With so many chunks of stone and wood falling, one wrong hit could crush him. Tom wouldn't die, but Shark Chili could easily be totaled.
Just as Shark Chili finished piecing Tom back together, he shouted back, "I'm fine! But Tom's not looking too good…"
Before he finished speaking, Tom sat up groggily, adjusted his nose—which had been slightly off—and blinked around.
Shark Chili froze, then corrected himself, "Uh… never mind, he's fine. We're coming back up!"
"Good." Zhang Da Ye sighed in relief—only to feel blades clang against his back and head a moment later.
"Thunder Half-Moon Slash!" He spun, releasing a golden crescent slash of magic with raw force.
The pirates struck by it collapsed instantly. Zhang Da Ye looked down at them and said, "A wound on the back is a swordsman's shame, you know? And stop hitting my back—these clothes are expensive!"
The pirates could only cry internally. They'd thought he was just a strong guy—but he was a monster who couldn't even be cut! Was there a single normal person in this group?
After Shark Chili and Tom knocked out the pirates still floating on the waves, they had the shark giant toss them back onto the bridge again.
This time, no mishaps. Shark Chili landed perfectly, slamming a "Water Strike" into the ground that knocked down a dozen men nearby. Then he began using Fishman Karate's "Straight Punch" techniques to strike at enemies from afar.
Zhang Da Ye, Artoria, Rui Meng Meng, and Brook fought steadily with their swords, while Ye Yan swung his monk staff with renewed confidence in his martial strength. Wendy unleashed one attack spell after another.
By now, the pirates had completely lost their will to fight. Not only were their enemies overwhelmingly powerful, but their own captain, Krieg, had been kneeling on the ground since the start and hadn't stood up once.
Seeing everyone else too capable to need help, Perona, bored, discovered a mischievous new "MMO behavior" — corpse camping. Controlling her Negative Ghosts, she lined them up to torment Krieg in turns. Tom crouched nearby, watching with fascination and bursting into laughter whenever Krieg said something ridiculous.
With every officer defeated and the captain groveling, the pirates were broken. Even those who wanted to flee couldn't—Artoria blocked one end, the other was cut off by the collapsed section, and none of them dared to jump dozens of meters into the sea below.
After some more cleanup, not a single pirate was left standing.
"Finally done." Zhang Da Ye unfolded a folding chair and used it to knock out Krieg, who was still being tormented by Perona. Ignoring her protest, he muttered, "If only I had Conqueror's Haki. Just one glare and the small fry would all drop. Unlike Ye Yan's soul gong—what a pain."
Of course, he knew better. Being able to learn Armament and Observation Haki was already a blessing. Conqueror's? Forget it. A lazy guy like him had no ambition for that sort of thing.
"You really never miss a chance to take a jab at me, huh?" Ye Yan walked over, pulled a small booklet from his robe, and tossed it to him. "Here's the roster you wanted. Sui feng er got it, though I doubt it's of any use now."
"Yeah, probably not." Zhang Da Ye flipped through it—it listed the workers' numbers, names, and backgrounds. Many of the first names were crossed out, meaning they'd already died.
"From the moment Krieg gave them a choice, I decided—those who joined him, I'll treat as pirates. Those who didn't, even if they were pirates before, I'll give them one more chance."
It might seem unfair to some. Many of them had only joined Krieg's crew to escape oppression.
But when Krieg ordered them to attack, they hadn't hesitated. They'd adapted to their pirate roles all too quickly. In that case, there was nothing more to say. Everyone had to bear the weight of their own choices.
Zhang Da Ye tore up the roster in front of the workers and shouted, "Listen up! We're bounty hunters. We're not here to 'liberate' you, got it?
"But after fighting over two thousand pirates, we're exhausted. We'll need at least half a day to rest. By then, the Navy should arrive to take custody of these pirates. Until then, not a single pirate leaves! If one escapes, we'll drag them back ourselves!
"Also, those manacle keys the pirates tossed here, plus the food stores, charts, and compasses on the ships—they're all intact. So whatever you do, don't unlock your chains and sneak off with those fifteen ships while we're resting, understand?"
Leaving those words hanging, Zhang Da Ye's crew dragged Krieg and Gin—the only ones with real bounties—back to the Amber, leaving their flag demons behind to secretly monitor the area.
Once they were gone, silence lingered among the workers. Then whispers spread, growing louder. With their overseers dead and the pirates defeated, wasn't this their perfect chance to escape?
"But didn't those scary people just tell us not to run?" someone asked. Out of nearly two thousand workers, there were bound to be a few 'geniuses'.
Luckily, not everyone's intelligence had collapsed.
"They meant we should grab the keys, unlock ourselves, and take the pirate ships to leave."
"And they said the ships are stocked with food and maps. They want us gone before the Navy arrives."
"So… they're actually our benefactors?"
"No, they just don't want to be involved. We're escaping while they 'rest'. Just remember this favor."
"Right. We'll honor their wishes—and never become pirates."
Looking at the unconscious Krieg Pirates strewn across the bridge, the workers swallowed hard. No one dared become a pirate after seeing that. Those bounty hunters were terrifying.
Finally understanding Zhang Da Ye's true meaning, the workers acted fast. They unlocked their chains and prepared to board the ships.
Though the scaffolding on one side was cut down by Artoria, cranes still remained—enough to get down safely.
Following the route Shark Chili had marked on the charts, the workers set sail.
Fifteen ships slowly pulled away, forming a messy line as they headed north. Two hours later, they all turned east in unison.
When no one followed, the workers began to laugh and cry as they ate freshly cooked food—finally free.
By sunset, the Navy arrived—a mid-to-large warship led by a man with a lilac topknot and a green scarf.
"I am Marine Captain Blingbling of the 77th Branch. Are you the Amber Travel Group?" he asked with a distinct, theatrical tone, like an opera singer speaking lines.
"That's us," Zhang Da Ye said. "Here are Krieg, captain of the Krieg Pirates, and Gin, his combat commander. Over a thousand pirates and over a thousand forced laborers—roughly two thousand in total. All accounted for."
Captain Blingbling looked at Krieg and Gin lying unconscious on the deck, then at the destroyed section of the bridge. His jaw slackened. "I already heard a bit over the transponder snail, but… could you please repeat what happened?"
"Of course," Zhang Da Ye said calmly. "We arrived at Tequila Wolf yesterday. After hearing it was a seven-hundred-year construction project, we decided to take a look. We were warmly received by the overseers after explaining we were travelers."
Blingbling nodded. He'd heard this group was journeying around the world—taking interest in famous landmarks made sense.
"Then, today, Krieg's pirates suddenly attacked, killed the overseers, and tried to recruit the workers."
Cold sweat beaded on Blingbling's forehead. With over three thousand workers, if Krieg had succeeded, he'd have commanded a crew of four to five thousand—a force no East Blue base could handle.
"About a thousand workers joined him. We were about to leave, but after seeing such brazen cruelty, we decided to intervene. Unfortunately, by the time we joined, the overseers were all dead. Still, after a hard battle, we defeated all two thousand pirates."
"Ten… against two thousand?" Blingbling swallowed hard, struggling to process it. "How… how did you manage that?"
His soldiers were all wide-eyed. That couldn't possibly be true, right?
"It's simple tactics," Zhang Da Ye replied with a straight face. "When you're outnumbered, you just need each person to take out about two hundred enemies."
"I see… tactics…" Blingbling nodded instinctively, then roared along with his men, "WHAT KIND OF TACTICS IS THAT?!"
"Ahem. My apologies. Too shocked," Blingbling said, straightening. "As for the laborers who didn't become pirates…"
"Unfortunately," Zhang Da Ye said smoothly, "after the battle, while we were resting, they escaped using the pirate ships. We couldn't stop them. And about the bridge—there was nothing we could do."
He wasn't lying. He truly had no idea how Tom managed to destroy an entire bridge that size.
"Don't worry about that," Blingbling said, nodding respectfully. "You've done more than enough. To defeat two thousand pirates with ten people—remarkable. It's no wonder you're on friendly terms with high-ranking officers at Marine Headquarters."
"I'm glad you understand," Zhang Da Ye said. "So, what will you do with them? Your warship can't carry all these people."
"I only need to take Krieg and Gin," Blingbling replied. "The rest will be handled by a World Government department."
That made sense. The small fry weren't important enough for Impel Down. Even if the Navy hauled them away, they'd probably just get sent back eventually. Better to let the Government deal with them—it wasn't much of a loss.
"Did you notice which direction the laborers went?" Blingbling asked.
"They headed north," Zhang Da Ye said truthfully. By now, they would've turned east already. If the Navy chased north, they'd find nothing.
Blingbling nodded. One ship against fifteen pirate ships? He wasn't that brave.
"Go collect the bounty. The rest of you, haul up the pirates floating at sea with the cranes."
Once his orders were given, Blingbling handed Zhang Da Ye the bounty money. Krieg and Gin's total was only about ten million—pathetic.
Still, those fifteen ships were worth a fortune. Too bad they had to let them go to free those workers. Painful, yes, but worth it.
"Oh, and since it's getting late," Blingbling added with a smile, "why not join us aboard for dinner? It's a small gesture of thanks—our ship's chef is quite good."
Artoria's eyes lit up, her little ahoge bouncing with excitement. She remembered that Navy rations weren't half bad—and there was always plenty to eat.
Zhang Da Ye blinked. The line sounded familiar. Wait—wasn't that exactly what Kizaru said back then?
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