OPTC Chapter 244 Not Surprising at All
"Thanks for your help this time." Vice Admiral Gion ordered her subordinates to escort Diamante and Buffalo away.
Zhang Da Ye waved his hand. "No need to be so polite. We know each other well enough by now. Just don't short us on the bounty, and we'll call it even."
"What? Wasn't this voluntary help?" Gion's face showed surprise and a hint of grievance. "I even gave you two rare seastone handcuffs."
Seeing her act, Zhang Da Ye immediately caught on and said, "Oh right, thanks for reminding me. Be sure to return those handcuffs."
Gion placed her hands on her hips and scolded playfully, "Da Ye-chan, you're still as unadorable as ever."
"You don't bother to maintain any authority in front of your subordinates?"
"Why bother? Isn't this fine?" Gion winked at the female soldiers she brought along.
"It's great!" A few nearby women laughed and blew her kisses in return.
Zhang Da Ye was baffled. Was it really okay for a vice admiral to act so cutesy in front of her troops? But then he thought about Garp and let it go.
As long as they fought seriously when it mattered, everything else didn't matter. Not everyone had to be like Lord Buggy, radiating authority before their followers.
"By the way, it looks like you've picked up some new faces. Not going to introduce them?" Gion hadn't seen Ye Yan, Brook, or Perona at the tavern before.
She had already noticed the little girl playing with Tom was an fruit user. The skeleton clearly wasn't normal, and that boy with the teardrop mole gave off a mysterious vibe too.
A simple introduction wouldn't hurt, though some details couldn't be revealed. "This is Ye Yan, the night watchman. He's responsible for keeping watch on the ship."
"Hello." Ye Yan greeted briefly. He thought to himself about making a navy uniform, since the cloak looked pretty cool. Unsure, he asked, "Excuse me, can I wear a navy uniform?"
"You like navy uniforms? Then just join the navy." Finally, someone seemed interested. Still, Gion doubted this would go smoothly.
"No, actually I'm into performance art. I just thought of an idea—'The Sorrowful Sentinel.' I think it could be really good."
What was this kid even thinking? Gion could only stop him: "Please don't impersonate a marine in public."
So, it was fine if not in public? Ye Yan made an OK gesture to show he understood.
Zhang Da Ye continued, "This is Brook, a wandering musician. We're just giving him a lift."
"Yohohoho~ Good afternoon, beautiful Miss Gion. May I see your—" Before Brook could finish, Zhang Da Ye smacked him with a Friendship Fist, forcing him to correct himself, "—your face?"
"Are you suicidal? You dare flirt with a vice admiral?" Zhang Da Ye locked Brook in a headlock, pounding on his skull. "Don't mind him, Vice Admiral Gion. We're still educating this idiot."
Gion was stunned at first, then laughed. She wasn't the type to blush or get angry over such things. Instead, she winked back at Brook. "If Mr. Brook joins the navy, I might consider it."
"Yohohoho~ What a shame. I still have an important promise to fulfill." Brook straightened his posture as best he could despite being strangled.
"That one playing with Tom is Perona, a homeless child." Zhang Da Ye saw her fumbling with sand, producing nothing but dirt mounds. In contrast, Tom's sandcastles looked like true works of art.
"Homeless?" Gion glanced thoughtfully at Perona.
"Big sis, don't tell me you're thinking of poaching again?"
"So stingy." Gion ignored him and chatted briefly with Artoria. Soon, her subordinates returned with Diamante's bounty and the seastone cuffs. She prepared to leave.
"Oh, right, Da Ye-chan. You must've passed through the Florian Triangle. Did you happen to see former Warlord Moria?" Gion asked suddenly.
"Gecko Moria?" Zhang Da Ye had his excuse ready. "The paper said he died from infighting. Lucky for us—otherwise we might not have passed through safely."
"I feel like you're pretending to be clueless."
"Impossible. Fortune tellers say my greatest flaw is that I can't act clueless."
"Heh…" Gion chuckled, waved, and left with her troops. Before boarding, she added one last remark: "That girl Perona would look great with a different hairstyle and fashion style. She should try it. She can always change it back later."
…
Woooo—
The sea train let out a loud whistle, smoke billowing from its chimney as it carried Gion and her troops away from Saint Prutt.
"Did she figure it out?" Zhang Da Ye frowned, recalling her last words. He glanced at Perona. "No way. Maybe Absalom and Hogback had government files, but Perona? She's too young."
"Not necessarily about records," Ye Yan suggested. "Remember, when we left, lots of treasure hunters were still on the island. Some might've been government agents. They could've seen her powers firsthand."
Shark Chili agreed. "Possible. But judging from her words, Vice Admiral Gion doesn't plan to pursue it. Probably just a warning for us to stay low-key."
Rui Meng Meng asked, "So… should we give Perona a new hairstyle?"
Zhang Da Ye nodded. "Yeah. Since the Vice Admiral said so, we should respect it. Try a few styles until she finds one she likes. Meng Meng, you can handle it, right?"
Rui Meng Meng looked embarrassed. "I… only know how to make ponytails."
"That's fine. Artoria can probably do it. Her own hairstyle is complicated enough." He realized he had never actually seen Artoria fix her hair.
Ye Yan suddenly raised his hand. "Actually, I know a lot of hairstyles."
Everyone stared at him strangely.
"Don't look at me like that. As a performance artist, crossdressing isn't unusual. Of course I picked up a few tricks."
Zhang Da Ye thought it over. Ye Yan was the kind of maniac who would put on a maid outfit and work in a café. Knowing hairstyles was hardly surprising. "Not surprising at all."
"Then it's settled." Zhang Da Ye hefted the chest filled with 99 million berries. "We've got plenty of funds. Next stop, Saint White Poplar!"
"Boss, the sea train was taken by Gion's group." Rui Meng Meng reminded him.
"…We should've hitched a ride earlier." Zhang Da Ye coughed awkwardly. "Anyway, I realized we were too busy dealing with Diamante to properly explore Saint Prutt. Let's stay another day before moving on."
…
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