After pulling alongside the pirate ship, Zhang Da Ye took off his jacket to dry Tom's fur.
Even though Tom was a miraculous cat, he could still catch a cold if he got chilled—strange, but true.
Zhang Da Ye and Rui Mengmeng climbed up the rope ladder, while the tired Tom sprawled lazily on the Da Ye's lift platform.
"This deck is filthy and falling apart." Zhang Da Ye frowned as the planks creaked under his feet.
Wooden decks needed regular cleaning, or they would rot quickly. Clearly, this crew hadn't cared for their vessel—the whole ship looked abused beyond repair.
Rui Mengmeng busied herself tying up the two men Artoria had knocked out while curiously glancing around.
"There's no one else aboard," Artoria announced after standing still for a moment. She already felt confident she knew how to handle this type of ship.
"Alright, I'll call the Navy to collect them. Too many for us to transport." Zhang Da Ye pulled out his transponder snail and dialed the number he'd saved during his last bounty exchange.
The line clicked open, a flat voice answering: "Naval Base, Grove 66, Sabaody Archipelago. State your business."
"This is Grove 58, east shore. We've subdued a group of pirates—thirty-four in total. We can't escort them. Can you send someone to take custody?" Then, to make sure they came, he added, "Their captain claimed a bounty of seventy-six million, though I don't recognize him."
"Please contain them as best you can. We'll dispatch reinforcements immediately!" The operator's tone shifted, alarmed. A pirate worth over seventy million was no small matter for a local branch.
After ending the call, Zhang Da Ye wandered the ship, curious for any spoils.
But the moment he entered the cabins, a stench nearly floored him.
Not every pirate crew was as tidy as the Straw Hats. Even Bartolomeo, their number-one fan, had gum stuck all over his decks. But this ship was far worse.
Tom wrinkled his nose, jumped down, and refused to go inside.
The sleeping quarters were crammed, eight to ten bunks per room, each one a mess of filth. Only the captain had a single cabin, though it wasn't much better.
Inside were a single bed, a desk, a chair, a crude chart, and a log pose.
The log pose looked like a wristwatch, with a hollow glass orb and a compass needle dangling inside. The red tip pointed downward—toward Fishman Island, most likely.
The sea chart was simplistic, without scales or coordinates—just a rough path drawn from the Red Line. Zhang Da Ye pocketed both for later study.
The rest of the ship yielded only a few hundred thousand Beli. No gold, no treasures. Pathetic.
He left the reeking cabin disappointed, inhaling deeply once he reached the deck to reclaim his sense of smell.
Tom marched up in perfect step, saluted crisply in a blue sailor's uniform, white cap on his head, his face deadly serious.
Zhang Da Ye returned the salute, amused, and Tom resumed pacing the deck like a patrolling officer.
"Da Ye, come listen too." Artoria waved him over. She was explaining to Rui Mengmeng how to steer, furl sails, and weigh anchor.
Zhang Da Ye joined them, intrigued. Better to learn more skills, after all. Under Artoria's instruction, he and Rui Mengmeng even practiced hoisting and lowering sails.
Even the way you tied the ropes mattered.
Tom didn't join. He already knew all this. He was, after all, a cat who had once worked as a sailor—though on a cruise ship, not an old-fashioned vessel like this. Still, he just knew.
"Beeeep!"
Suddenly, Tom's whistle sounded from the lookout post above. He signaled the others that something was approaching.
Artoria's little sailing class paused.
"It's the Navy," Zhang Da Ye confirmed through Tom's binoculars, spotting a squad of marines running in formation. "Let's head ashore."
Leading them was a tall officer, easily two meters, wielding a massive sword longer than Artoria's height. His black curls draped over his shoulders, and though his face was frightening, his voice boomed with a strange sense of reliability:
"I am Marine Headquarters Lieutenant Commander T-Bone, here to take custody of these pirates!"
"Hello, I'm the owner of a tavern in Grove 59. We were out buying supplies when we ran into them. They've already been subdued." Zhang Da Ye recognized him vaguely—people called him the Ship-Slasher.
"Failure to notice these pirates sooner is my deepest shame!" T-Bone bent in a full right-angle bow.
"Lieutenant Commander, apologizing to us civilians?!" The marines burst into tears. "It should be our fault for failing patrol duty!"
"Nonsense! My subordinates' failures are my responsibility!"
"T-Bone Lieutenant Commander!"
The emotional scene left Zhang Da Ye speechless.
Then T-Bone noticed his hand. "Sir, that blood on your hand—what happened?"
"Oh?" Zhang Da Ye glanced down, spotting a faint smear. "Must've been from the pirates, when I grabbed them."
"To let a civilian's hands be stained with blood… unforgivable negligence on our part!" T-Bone tore a strip from his white cloak and offered it. "If you don't mind, please use this to clean it."
"T-Bone Lieutenant Commander!" The marines wept harder.
Zhang Da Ye accepted the cloth in a daze. These people were… too much.
T-Bone and his men then went to verify the pirates.
One vice-officer, drying his tears, leaned close: "Please forgive us. Commander T-Bone is the most honorable man among us. He cannot tolerate harm to civilians or comrades. He often says: 'When you bleed, it wounds my heart…'"
His voice cracked, and fresh tears spilled again.
Zhang Da Ye: "…"
Were these guys for real? Overly dramatic—but… kind of endearing?
Soon after, a marine ran over, saluting sharply: "Apologies! There's been a mistake with the identification of the captured pirate."
"What? They aren't pirates?" Zhang Da Ye froze. Had he attacked the wrong people? They'd claimed themselves as pirates!
"They are indeed pirates," the marine corrected quickly, "but their captain is not a seventy-six million bounty criminal. He's actually Dimar Black, known as 'Smooth Talker,' with a bounty of sixteen million."
A/N:
Dimar Black—the name gave it away. Not the real Luffy, just another imposter.
Smooth Talker, also nicknamed 'Triple Tongue,' a fraud and poseur.
And T-Bone—whose name literally meant "bone"—the righteous swordsman with his Right-Angle Sword Style.