OPTC Chapter 197 - Uncle Brook? Grandpa Brook?
Rui Meng Meng patted her chest nervously. "I think it's better if we clean the deck slowly."
"Uh, sorry, my bad," Ma Lao Wu apologized immediately. He had just suggested using the hose to wash the deck clean so they wouldn't have to scrub later. Who knew that as soon as Rui Meng Meng pointed the nozzle downward, the recoil launched her into the air? If she hadn't crashed into the mast, no one would know where she'd have ended up.
"Lord Absalom!" The zombies gasped in panic as they saw their commander blasted away.
If even their commander was gone, should the little grunts really keep fighting?
The zombies hesitated. Their orders had been to capture everyone on board and steal everything from the ship. But now, seeing how things were going, it seemed unlikely they could even get away safely if they stayed.
"So the enemy's commander was dealt with already? Miss Meng Meng is really impressive. Then I can't afford to fall behind, even if all I have left are these old bones—ah, quite literally just bones. Yohohoho!" Brook, laughing and crying at the same time, charged back into the zombie crowd.
But before he could do much, a fine stream of water swept across the deck. The pressure slammed the zombies against the castle walls. Rui Meng Meng and Ma Lao Wu had stabilized the hose and joined in.
Unfortunately, Brook got caught up in it too. As a Devil Fruit user, the seawater immediately drained his strength. He collapsed on his back, shadows flying into the air as the stolen ones returned to their owners. "Ah… I thought I was going to drown on land…"
"I'm so sorry, Brook… Uncle!" Rui Meng Meng blurted out, panicked. She hesitated but settled on "uncle," remembering Brook had said he was nearly forty when he died.
"Please don't call me uncle." To Brook, being called that by a young girl was not flattering at all.
"Uh… then should I call you Grandpa?" Rui Meng Meng tilted her head, thinking it through. "You died at almost forty, then another forty years passed after you were revived… nearly eighty now, so 'uncle' doesn't sound right."
Brook clutched his chest. "Please… don't say it like that. Even without a heart, it still hurts…"
…
Zhang Da Ye lay on the ground, eyes cracked open just slightly. He watched as Ye Yan, still cloaked in invisibility, and the disguised Flag Demons knocked out one potential witness after another.
They were halfway through when the situation shifted. About a dozen zombies suddenly burst out of the forest, led by a centaur dragging a carriage behind him.
The centaur quickly surveyed the scene, then asked the Flag Demons, who looked like "allies," "What's going on here? Have you seen Hilton?"
Hilton was the bat-headed zombie who Ye Yan had knocked out earlier with a single hammer strike. He had been trying to lure Zhang Da Ye's group into the castle. This new squad must have been the pickup team, running the same trick they'd done countless times before.
But when they didn't see Hilton anywhere, they followed the trail into the forest.
The quick-witted Sui Feng Er jumped in. "Hilton was captured by these people! They've also stolen many shadows. Lord Moria ordered us to knock them out and bring them back. Since you're here looking for Hilton, you should help us!"
"What?!" The centaur's face hardened. He quickly stripped off the harness and reins from the carriage. "Everyone, attack! Save Hilton!"
The dozen strong zombies charged in, instantly boosting efficiency. They were all trained for this—knockouts, not kills. Killing meant fewer shadows to harvest, and that would get them punished.
From the ground, Zhang Da Ye gave Sui Feng Er a thumbs-up. As expected of one of Ye Yan's Flag Demons, his ability to bluff was top-notch.
As the fight went on, shadows suddenly rained down from the sky, returning to their original owners. Dozens of people froze in shock.
Zhang Da Ye and his group immediately understood. This must be from Rui Meng Meng's side, defeating zombies aboard the Amber ship.
Sui Feng Er reacted instantly, shouting with righteous fury, "They're butchering more of our comrades! If this continues, we'll be next. Finish them off now!"
His voice dripped with sorrow and outrage, enough to stir the zombies' emotions.
"Kill them!" they roared back.
The battle dragged on for another half hour. Eventually, every member of the Victims Association lay unconscious on the ground. The six Flag Demons grinned and stepped forward. "Thanks to you, everything went so smoothly!"
The centaur and his men, smiling, replied, "Of course, of course. Now, could you help us find Hi—"
"Friendly Face Punch!"
"Justice Stomp!"
"Ahhh!"
The Flag Demons launched a merciless backstab. The zombies never even understood why their supposed allies suddenly turned on them, even as their shadows were stripped away.
Zhang Da Ye stood up, brushing dust off his back. "I'll leave the rest to you, Ye Yan."
"Three hundred-plus people, ten hammer strikes each… whose stupid plan was this?" Ye Yan grumbled.
"The plan was mine," Zhang Da Ye admitted, "but the details? Those were yours."
Ye Yan had no comeback. He picked up two bricks and started swinging, delivering precise knockout-timers to each target. By the time he'd done hundreds of strikes, he swore he'd upgrade his technique someday—half-day hammers, full-day hammers, anything to save his arms.
Artoria and Shark Chili stood nearby, watching. None of them could help—Ye Yan was the only one who could precisely control how long someone stayed unconscious.
The Flag Demons wisely slipped back into the Flag, not daring to loiter while their master was hard at work. Who knew if they might be "disciplined" too?
Zhang Da Ye glanced around, feeling like something was missing. Then he looked down and noticed Tom still lying flat on the ground, snoring softly.
He poked Tom's cheek. The cat suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, face twisted in terror, four paws running in place as though trapped in a nightmare.
Curious, Zhang Da Ye patted Tom's head gently to wake him. Suddenly, a small vision appeared above Tom: in it, he was being chased by Moria, who wielded a giant pair of scissors. Each time Moria snipped, Tom leapt frantically, again and again.
Zhang Da Ye hesitated, then reached toward the vision, slapping down on Moria. Shockingly, his hand didn't shrink with the dream's scale—it descended like the Palm of Buddha, smashing Moria into the ground.
The noise jolted Tom awake. Seeing Zhang Da Ye beyond the dream, he jumped into his arms, clinging tightly.
"…Did I just accidentally increase Tom's affection level?"
…
Meanwhile, Moria, who had just finished dinner and taken a nap, woke with a startle. How strange. Usually his dreams were about leading his zombie army to defeat Kaido and becoming Pirate King. Why was he suddenly having nightmares tonight?
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