OPTC Chapter 323 - Yee-Ha!
"What a shame," Hack sighed, trying once more to persuade Zhang Da Ye. Whether he spoke of ideals or dreams, nothing could sway him.
The others followed Zhang Da Ye's lead without question, leaving Hack with no room to negotiate. In the end, he finally accepted that although Zhang Da Ye was a good man and didn't care much for the World Government, he wasn't the type to join the Revolutionary Army either.
It was unfortunate, but Hack had no choice but to give up. Any further insistence would only make him annoying. At least, he thought, they had parted as friends.
"Sorry you made the trip for nothing," Zhang Da Ye said. "Is the Revolutionary Army short on people right now?"
Hack nodded. "Of course. Compared to the Navy, we're still a small and fragile organization."
They were short of everything—strong fighters, regular soldiers, skilled specialists—but most of all, trustworthy people.
That's why they had been raising orphans, training them from a young age. Hack taught them martial arts, Inazuma taught culture and literacy, and Sabo—who had been taken away by Dragon six months ago—was one of them.
But it would take years before those children became capable warriors. The army needed other ways to expand. That was why, after assessing Zhang Da Ye and his crew's strength and character, Hack had come all this way to meet them personally.
"In that case," Zhang Da Ye said, "let me recommend two potential sources of recruits."
"Sources?" Hack looked puzzled.
"The first one is Shimotsuki Village in the East Blue. From what I can tell, the group of escaped laborers we encountered likely ended up there." Zhang Da Ye reasoned that those thousand or so workers probably hated the World Government to the core—many might even sympathize with the Revolutionary cause.
Besides, months ago, Dragon had rescued the refugees from Goa Kingdom's Trash Mountain during the fire and stopped by Shimotsuki Village for supplies before returning to the Grand Line. That village was remote and quiet—it wouldn't be surprising if it already had ties to the Revolutionaries.
"Shimotsuki Village? I'll report that to the Commander," Hack said thoughtfully. "And the second?"
"The illegal district in the Sabaody Archipelago."
"Sabaody…" Hack's expression grew complex. Every fish-man had strong feelings about that place—some saw it as a dream, others as a nightmare.
"Yeah. There's an employment bureau there and countless human trafficking shops filled with slaves. When we left, those shops had already been destroyed by unknown forces, but by now, they might have crawled back from the ashes."
As long as the Celestial Dragons demanded slaves, there would always be nobles imitating them and scum doing their dirty work. Even if old shops were smashed, new ones would always rise.
Hack gave a wry smile. "Rescuing people from Sabaody's slave traders would be a good idea—but right now, it's not possible."
"Oh? Why not?" Zhang Da Ye frowned. Was the Navy cracking down harder now? That didn't seem likely.
"That story starts about three months ago," Hack said, recalling the reports. "The mysterious group that destroyed those shops was called 'Angel Saviors' The slavers called them 'Nightmare.'"
Zhang Da Ye froze. That cringe-worthy codename… whose idea had that been again?
Unaware of his reaction, Hack continued, "After the employment bureau and the slave shops were destroyed, things went quiet for a while. But soon after, new establishments appeared—casinos, bars, entertainment houses. The former employment bureau even became the biggest casino on the entire island."
"Casinos? That's strange. Don't tell me Gild Tesoro's investing there?" Zhang Da Ye muttered.
Hack shook his head. "No. Officially, they were casinos, but underground, they continued the slave trade. Maybe they thought 'Angel Saviors' wouldn't notice. Their business thrived—until about two weeks ago."
Hack's voice dropped. "All those underground trading sites were flattened overnight. Every single one. The slaves vanished without a trace."
"Who did it?" Zhang Da Ye frowned. Whoever it was, they were even more ruthless than he had been.
"No idea," Hack admitted with an apologetic shrug. "Honestly, before this, we thought you and your crew were 'Angel Saviors.' After all, they appeared while you were there and disappeared right after you left…"
Zhang Da Ye gave an awkward laugh. Well… he wasn't wrong.
Whoever took the blame afterward must've been a big shot—or maybe they just wanted the credit. Either way, Zhang Da Ye didn't care. He had never sought fame. If someone wanted to cover for them, all the better.
Still, curiosity lingered.
"So how exactly were those shops destroyed? Bombs? Sword strikes?"
"Neither. Witnesses said it looked like the ground suddenly collapsed—each shop left behind only a massive crater."
"The Sabaody Archipelago is made of trees. How could there be a collapse like that…" Zhang Da Ye trailed off, a realization dawning. Could it have been Issho's ability? That gravity effect matched perfectly.
And if Issho wanted to help the slaves escape, that would explain how they disappeared so quickly.
The timeline fit too. They had parted ways with Issho around late November—plenty of time for him to handle his business on Crown Island and then head to Sabaody. And if the slavers were disguising their shops as casinos…
Zhang Da Ye could almost picture it now: casino dealers and gamblers mocking the blind man—only to be crushed seconds later by his gravity field.
He exchanged a glance with Artoria. She nodded—they were thinking the same thing.
Wendy and Carla looked confused. Didn't Sister Meng Meng say they were the 'Angel Saviors'? So who was pretending to be them this time?
Shark Chili looked like he wanted to say something but held back. The matter had been declared top secret—it was better left unsaid. He finally muttered, "Whoever did it… that's one impressive person."
Hack nodded solemnly. "Indeed. If only we could find the 'Angel Saviors,' I'm sure they'd understand our cause."
Oh, we understand just fine, Zhang Da Ye thought. We just don't want to join.
"In that case, you'll have to find other ways to recruit," Zhang Da Ye said. "But you could always follow Fisher Tiger's example—storm Mariejois and free the Celestial Dragons' slaves directly."
Hack sucked in a sharp breath. This man really dared to say anything. He noticed that Zhang Da Ye spoke of the Celestial Dragons without a shred of fear or reverence—as casually as if mentioning an ordinary person.
Even among the Revolutionaries, the mere mention of "Celestial Dragons" made people tense. This boy, though… he was a born revolutionary! Hack was tempted to invite him again.
But after a moment's hesitation, he decided against it. Instead, he said, "That's not something easily done. After Tiger's incident, Mariejois became far more secure. To attempt it again would be tantamount to war. Even if the entire Revolutionary Army sacrificed themselves, I doubt we'd have even a ten percent chance of success."
"True. That's unfortunate," Zhang Da Ye said, though the certainty in Hack's tone made him suspect the Revolutionaries had already scouted the place.
"Well, that's all I needed to say," Hack said, standing up. "Sorry I couldn't convince you, but it's been a fruitful meeting nonetheless."
Shark Chili protested, "You're leaving already? We haven't even treated you properly yet. I still wanted to discuss Fish-Man Karate techniques!"
Hack laughed. "Next time, then! You're the most talented fish-man—er, robot—I've ever met. You'll surpass me in no time!"
With a graceful dive, Hack plunged into the sea. "Forgive me for not revealing our headquarters' location. If fate allows, let's share a drink someday!"
Zhang Da Ye waved. "The pleasure's ours. You're always welcome aboard."
As Hack vanished beneath the waves, Wendy leaned over the railing, resting her chin on it. "Fish-men sure have it easy—they don't even need ships."
"But that convenience also brings trouble," Shark Chili said. "They're often discriminated against or hunted. That's why being a robot is better—especially one modeled after a shark like me!"
Many fish-men struggled with self-esteem over their race, but Shark Chili was proud to be part of the B-series robots.
Carla folded her tiny arms. "So mermaids are part of the same species? That's… less exciting than I thought."
"Beautiful mermaids are still beautiful," Zhang Da Ye said with a chuckle. "You'll see when we reach Fish-Man Island. They're not all like him. Remember Aquarius, the Celestial Spirit? Young mermaids are similar to her."
Wendy and Carla both made a face. "That big sister was scary…"
"Did that fish-man uncle leave already? What was he here for, anyway? To fight Shark Chili?" Perona's ghostly form drifted down from the lookout. She was still slacking off despite being caught earlier.
Zhang Da Ye put on a menacing grin. "He asked if we had any naughty kids on board. Wanted to buy one and cook them. I told him we happened to have a lazy, delicate one—perfect for stew. But Wendy wouldn't let him have you, so he left."
"I don't believe you! But you're right—Wendy would miss me!" Perona wrapped her arms around Wendy's neck, sticking her tongue out at Zhang Da Ye.
"Da Ye, that was mean," Wendy whispered. "Perona's not that bad…" She instinctively tried to support Perona's weight, forgetting she was a ghost and completely weightless.
Perona suddenly realized what he'd said. "Wait—who are you calling lazy?!"
"Well, if you're not lazy, tell me what work you've done these days?"
"I… I was on lookout today!" she said, eyes darting away. She had fallen asleep her first day on duty.
"Oh, right," Zhang Da Ye said casually. "By the way, you drooled in your sleep earlier. Didn't wipe it off."
"Ah!" Perona squealed and vanished back into the lookout in a flash.
…
"Commander, this is Hack," he reported, sitting on a reef, holding two Den Den Mushi in his hands.
One was pure white, dull-looking—anti-surveillance. The other had red checkered markings identical to Dragon's facial tattoo.
"I see," Dragon's deep voice came through. "Then don't bother them for now. Once they've traveled longer and seen more of the world, they may come to understand us. We can try again then."
"And what about Shimotsuki Village?" Hack asked.
"Investigate it," Dragon replied. "If it's true they went there, I'll send someone to make contact. Every bit of strength counts."
"Understood." Hack closed the call, packed away the snails, and swam toward Shimotsuki Village.
Meanwhile, Dragon stood by the shore, gazing out over the East Blue—a habit of his when deep in thought.
"A boy unafraid of the Celestial Dragons… a name that echoes the Pirate King's… and a crew of unknown origin. People like them will one day stir the world."
Suddenly, he sidestepped a rusty pipe swung at his head and slammed his fist into the attacker, knocking him flat.
From the shadows emerged a flamboyant figure with wild purple curls, heavy eye makeup, and lipstick—the one and only King of the Okama, Emporio Ivankov.
"So scary~ I thought the Commander was about to be defeated!" Ivankov gasped dramatically, then flipped expression in an instant. "Just kidding! Yee-ha!"
"You tricked me again!" the others around them laughed uncontrollably.
Ivankov grabbed the dazed boy by the collar. "Boy! You're a hundred years too early to take on the Commander!"
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