OPTC Chapter 207: Boss Ye, Add an Hour
As Moria fell, countless shadows burst free from the zombies' bodies and shot into the sky. Some drifted into the forest to return to unconscious people, while others flew off to distant lands.
Zhang Da Ye watched the shadows scatter. "This time we didn't just free innocent people. We also helped plenty of scum."
Most of the shadows Moria had stolen came from pirates. Even among the so-called Victims' Association lying around the forest, half were pirates. Giving such people another chance under the sun felt like creating more trouble.
"After going through something like this, some of them might actually turn over a new leaf. We can't refuse to save the good ones just because some bad ones are mixed in," Shark Chili said. He himself had gone through a redemption of sorts, so he leaned toward giving others that same chance. They had lived in fear without shadows for so long—that alone was punishment enough.
"Maybe so. Either way, what's done is done. Time to move on," Zhang Da Ye said. No point agonizing now. He'd just catch a few more pirates later to ease his conscience—or maybe screen the ones leaving Thriller Bark tomorrow.
Just then, Lu Dashan drifted over in his smoky flag-spirit form. Seeing Ye Yan covered in dust, he asked, "Master, are you alright? Did those idiots slack off?"
"I'm fine. But why are you here? Didn't I tell you to guard the ship?" Ye Yan asked.
Lu Dashan explained, "Nothing was happening over there, but we saw the commotion here from the deck and got worried. So I came to check."
"I come out and the first thing I hear is Lu Dashan badmouthing us!" Sui Feng Er pushed aside a stone and climbed out from beneath the collapsed main mast. In one hand he carried the black blade Shusui, in the other he dragged Hogback along.
"I did my task perfectly. Found her, though she was already unconscious when I did," Jin Erpeng followed behind, a pink-haired girl slung over his shoulder.
The other four flag spirits each hugged a treasure chest. "Master, congratulations on your fortune!"
After splitting off, Sui Feng Er had returned to Hogback's operating room once he secured Shusui. Years of intel work told him important figures usually hid secret passages. He found nothing before the castle collapsed.
Jin Erpeng, meanwhile, had no trouble finding Perona's bedroom. His sharp eyesight spotted a suspicious wall. Behind it was her hiding chamber—but before he could celebrate, the castle collapsed. He grabbed her and sprinted, only stopping once they reached the lower levels safely.
As for the other four? Somehow they wandered straight into Moria's treasure vault. They only emerged with the treasure chests once the tremors ended.
They opened the chests proudly, revealing piles of gold, jewels, and stacks of cash.
"Nice work!" Ye Yan's eyes lit up. He was broke, after all. Even after sharing, a portion of this treasure would clear his hospital debts, pay the rent, cover food, and fund his performance art projects. Perfect.
"What about this little girl?" Jin Erpeng asked. If she'd been an adult, he'd have dealt with her himself—an enemy could just be cut down. But a child barely in her teens? From what he knew of human society, kids at this age usually got sent back to their guardians for discipline.
Only, it seemed her guardian was… no longer around.
Ye Yan scratched his head. "Uh… so, is there a juvenile hall in this world?"
"No such thing," Zhang Da Ye said flatly. He'd never heard of one. This was a world where even the Sun God had to wait until seventeen to sail as a pirate.
Here, when kids messed up, they usually got beaten. If they still didn't get it, they got beaten again. Whether those beatings turned them into a pirate crew's second division commander, a revolutionary officer, or even the Pirate King—that was fate's decision.
Juvenile hall? Didn't exist.
"Then what do we do? We can't just leave her. Should we hand her over to prison?" Ye Yan asked.
"No way," Zhang Da Ye shot down the idea. "She's a kid—and a devil fruit user. Send her to prison and within a few years CP will have a new elite agent."
"She's still just a child. The only reason she did bad things was because she followed Moria. With proper guidance, she could be saved," Shark Chili said. He had a soft spot for children, having spent much of his youth around them.
"The problem is—who's going to guide her? Us?" Zhang Da Ye wasn't hostile toward Perona, but bringing her along sounded like a hassle. Besides, he'd just taken down Moria. No way she'd want to stick with them.
If they had to entrust her to someone, Vice Admiral Tsuru came to mind. High rank, reliable, and far more dependable than Garp when it came to raising kids.
Another option was Princess Otohime on Fishman Island. With her kind of presence, she wouldn't be affected by negative ghosts—maybe she'd even influence Perona for the better.
"Seems like the only real choice is to take her with us. Anywhere else, she'd spill what happened here, and you said yourself, if word gets out, it'll be trouble," Ye Yan said, pointing at Moria's corpse.
"...You're right," Zhang Da Ye admitted. Either they cut Perona down now or take her along. If news of Moria's death spread, they'd never have peace again.
"Bring her," Artoria said firmly. "She's young and needs proper guidance. Once she wakes, we'll speak with her properly. For now, we still have important matters to finish."
"Alright then. Decision made," Zhang Da Ye nodded. "Boss Ye, add an hour."
"Stop making my timed hammer sound so cheap!" Ye Yan grumbled, but he tapped Perona with his Soul Hammer, extending her sleep by several hours to make sure she wouldn't wake until the next day. "Jin Erpeng, take her back to the ship. The rest of you, help me out."
They piled the treasure chests in the center, laid Moria, Absalom, and Hogback together, arranging them to look like they'd killed each other.
Lastly, they dragged over a Victims' Association member, shoved a camera in his hands, and snapped a few photos.
With that done, they carried the treasure back to the ship, enjoyed a late-night meal, then returned to the forest to lie back down in their original "unconscious" spots.
By morning, the Victims' Association began waking one by one, startled cries echoing through the woods.
"My shadow! It's back!"
"Mine too!"
"I've got my shadow again!"
As the majority stirred, Zhang Da Ye sat up, rubbing his head and asking with a puzzled look, "What happened?"
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