OPTC Chapter 242 Double Edged Ability
How many abilities could be activated without body movements? Zhang Da Ye wasn't sure, and he was curious what would happen if they faced a Logia.
Even if it worked against a Logia, it would probably only bother someone like Smoker. Against an Admiral, the effect would be much weaker. After all, barely ten seconds had passed and Diamante was already moving again.
Ye Yan's strength was still far behind Diamante's. At the level of an Admiral, the Soul Drum's effect would shrink even more, unless Ye Yan's power suddenly skyrocketed—like entering that Dominion form he himself had no idea how to trigger.
"Finally able to move again. Buffalo, let's get out of here!" Diamante clutched his chest. His steel cape and half-trained Armament Haki had just barely kept him on his feet.
Buffalo, however, was in worse shape. The Soul Drum hit him harder, and his recovery was much slower. "Mr. Diamante, I still can't move!"
"Tch—" Diamante shot a wary glance at the drum in Ye Yan's hands, then pressed both palms to the ground. "Army Flag!"
Under the power of the Flutter-Flutter Fruit, the ground rippled and shook like a flag in the wind.
Without waiting to see if it worked, Diamante grabbed Buffalo by one leg and bolted. That drum ability was still a mystery—if he got frozen again, he was done for. Better to run while his enemies were off balance.
But he was overthinking it. Shaking the ground was good enough to trip up a crippled soldier like Kyros, but someone like Artoria quickly adapted and charged after him despite the tremors.
Zhang Da Ye staggered and asked, "Ye Yan, want to hit the drum again?"
"No, don't! I'll help instead!" Perona had fallen flat on her backside and wanted to just stay down, but the moment she heard Zhang Da Ye's suggestion she leapt up in protest. She never wanted to hear that drum again. "Negative Ghosts!"
"Fine by me. I don't want to use it either. The Soul Drum affects me too. The only reason I resisted it once is because Watchmen have natural resistance to disorientation and shock. But if I use it a second time in quick succession, it'll hit me too," Ye Yan explained while trying to steady himself.
"Seriously? What kind of garbage ability is that? It hurts your teammates and yourself? Is this the legendary 'when I go all out, I hit myself too' skill?" Zhang Da Ye complained.
Ye Yan nodded seriously. "Exactly. When a fight drags on, pounding the Soul Drum nonstop is still a strategy—leaning on my resistance and seeing who breaks first. So yeah, it's the kind of ability where going all out means beating myself too."
The group fell silent. Being a Watchman was rough.
Meanwhile, Perona's ghosts floated behind Diamante. He swung his sword at them. "Ghosts? Another strange ability?"
The blade passed through harmlessly. The ghosts phased right into Diamante and Buffalo.
Diamante dropped to his knees. "I… I'm not a genius at all!"
Buffalo, still struggling to move, began confessing too. "I'm a total piece of trash… I borrowed money from Baby-5 and never paid her back…"
Diamante's Haki wasn't strong enough to cancel out abilities. He recovered quickly, panting. "Why do they have so many bizarre powers?"
But before he could think further, Artoria's blade came down. Diamante raised his own to block. "Snake Sword!"
The moment the blades met, his sword softened and twisted like a snake, lunging for her face.
Artoria tilted her head slightly. Her instincts told her the strike posed no threat.
"Ahhh!!!"
Sure enough, Diamante screamed as he clutched his backside and leapt five meters into the air. The move collapsed on its own.
Tom, dressed like a tribal chief, proudly pulled back his spear and let out a triumphant cry. "Ah-oo-oo-oo!"
From the sound of Diamante's scream, Zhang Da Ye dubbed the move "O Eat Spear."
"Mr. Diamante!" Buffalo finally regained mobility, spinning up into the air to catch him.
Tom squinted with one eye, leaned back, and hurled his spear with all his strength.
The spear grazed Buffalo's cheek and somehow jammed in his spinning propellers.
Buffalo never understood why that crude wooden spear, with a stone tied to it, didn't shatter in his blades. But he understood plenty as he screamed and crashed down.
The rest was simple. Diamante and Buffalo each took another wound and lost all strength to resist. Zhang Da Ye clamped Sea Prism cuffs on them.
Diamante, lying on the ground, asked bitterly, "That cat… what's the deal with it? How did it get over here?"
"Tom, how did you get there?" Truthfully, Zhang Da Ye hadn't noticed when Tom slipped across the field. Last he checked, the cat was wandering along the beach.
Tom raced back with his spear, eager to show off his "stealth." First he looked side to side to make sure no one was watching, then he dropped flat on the ground, hugged his spear, and inched forward. If you looked closely, you could see the trail he left in the sand.
Diamante's heart sank. How had he missed such clumsy sneaking? Was his Observation Haki fake?
"Don't be so shocked. He's actually a Zoan user—Cat-Cat Fruit, Mythical Model, Nine-Lives Demon Cat. Of course he has special powers," Zhang Da Ye said with a straight face.
"A Mythical Zoan, rarer than a Logia…" Diamante bought it instantly. Explaining the impossible with a Mythical Zoan always made perfect sense.
Hearing that, Zhang Da Ye nearly laughed. In Wano, Mythical and Ancient Zoans were everywhere. Poor Chopper—suddenly his "rare" Zoan didn't feel rare at all.
"Have you called Rear Admiral Tsuru yet?" Zhang Da Ye asked.
Rui Meng Meng nodded. "I called secretly. Rear Admiral Tsuru said she'd arrive within five hours. She told us to hold on, and if possible, escape."
Zhang Da Ye pointed at Diamante. "Was that advice for us or for them?"
"She was worried we might be surrounded by the whole Donquixote Family," Rui Meng Meng admitted. At the time of the call, she hadn't known it was only Diamante and Buffalo.
"Wait a second." Ye Yan frowned. "That doesn't add up. We sailed forever to get here, but she can arrive in five hours? Is her ship nearby?"
"She said she's at Marineford right now," Rui Meng Meng answered.
Zhang Da Ye thought for a moment. "Then she'll probably go through the Gates of Justice, ride the special currents to Enies Lobby, and from there take the Sea Train straight to us. Fast and efficient."
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