OPTC Chapter 259: Wrong Way to Respond
By this point, Vice Admiral Gion suggested that Zhang Da Ye and his crew should escape as soon as possible and leave the rest to the Navy.
But Zhang Da Ye refused. Leaving secretly before being discovered was one thing, but trying to flee now would only make it easier for the Golden Lion to intercept them halfway. That was far too dangerous—after all, the sky was his domain.
After a brief discussion, the group decided to leave the ship and stall for time. If they could drag things out until nightfall when reinforcements arrived, that would count as a victory. There were only a few hours left anyway.
And if they couldn't? Then they'd fight. A real battle, blades and fists. An opponent of this level wasn't going to be easy to take down quickly. By the time the fight reached its peak, Kizaru and Aokiji should have arrived.
"That's settled then. Vice Admiral Gion, make sure to tell Aokiji to pedal faster when he's biking over here, yeah? None of that lazy nonsense!"
"I'll inform them. You all be careful." Gion sighed helplessly. How could he still be joking at a time like this? It almost felt like he understood the Navy's admirals better than she did.
As they prepared to move out, Ye Yan reported, "Ma Lao Wu sent a message. Several transponder snails have changed direction—they're coming straight toward us. Dozens of the exploration team members dropped the animals they were catching and are heading here. Also, Wind Ear reported that more than a hundred people just left the Golden Lion's palace—they're probably coming for us too."
"Quick response. But do I really look important enough to warrant this kind of commotion?" Zhang Da Ye muttered. Still, he was relieved that the Golden Lion wasn't personally coming. At least this boss played by the rules, unlike those twisted criminals he'd dealt with before.
Of course, Indiego's caution made sense. Capturing animals could wait; capturing people couldn't. If they delayed, the intruders might leak information.
To Indiego, the people on the rare-beast island were just unlucky bystanders swept up into the sky. They might not even realize they were caught in the Golden Lion's territory. But he couldn't take that risk. As the Golden Lion's right-hand man, he had to eliminate every potential leak before it started.
The only thing he didn't do was bother the Golden Lion himself. Indiego knew his captain well—someone like that wouldn't waste effort on small fry.
Just like when the Golden Lion first met the Straw Hats: "Weaklings like you aren't even worth killing."
Zhang Da Ye turned to Zeolle. "We'll be running around out there soon, and we won't be able to look after you. When things get rough, hide in the Qilin Lion's cave. Better than wandering alone."
"I understand. Thank you for helping the animals." Zeolle bowed deeply. He knew he was just an ordinary person. Tagging along would only hold them back, so he didn't argue.
Rui Meng Meng raised her hand. "I have a question. I remember the Golden Lion's main island is pretty far from ours. How are those reinforcements even getting here?"
"Good question," Zhang Da Ye said. "Ye Yan, keep the Wind Ear focused on that. We might need that info soon."
"Got it." Ye Yan flashed an OK sign, then remembered something and smacked the unconscious transponder snail ten more times for good measure.
"Alright, everyone ready? Let's go."
"Ready." Rui Meng Meng, Shark Chili, Ye Yan, and Brook answered together.
Only Perona still looked terrified. Brook, on the other hand, was fearless—the kind of guy who'd be terrified of the Four Emperors one moment and charge at them headfirst the next. Nerves of steel when it mattered.
As for Tom and Artoria…
"Stop drooling, you two. We'll eat real snails later—the edible kind. Our poor transponder snail is about to cry."
Zhang Da Ye grabbed Tom by the scruff of the neck and pulled Artoria along. The two food lovers looked mournful, as if they'd been robbed of a feast. Tom even had all the ingredients laid out already.
---
Peeking through a slit in the camouflage net, Zhang Da Ye found himself staring right into the eyes of a giant snail.
"…." He paused, then reached out and pushed the transponder snail's head to the side.
The snail's gaze shifted—and locked onto Tom instead. Tom silently drew a knife and fork, raising a brow at it.
The snail flinched and slowly turned its head back to Zhang Da Ye.
"You forced me into this," Zhang Da Ye muttered, pulling out a small pouch labeled "Salt."
He tore it open and sprinkled salt around the snail in a circle. The creature immediately recoiled into its shell, trembling violently.
The others crawled out from under the net.
"So transponder snails are afraid of salt?" Perona asked curiously.
Ye Yan sighed. "Don't copy him. That's the wrong way to handle it. It's fine since we're already exposed, but if you see one in the future, kick it away before it reacts."
Tom cupped a paw to his ear, nodding thoughtfully while Ye Yan talked. Kicking things was second nature to him after running a bar in the Sabaody Archipelago.
Spotting another snail crawling nearby, he crept up behind it, twisted his ankle a few times to build up momentum, and kicked the shell with all his might.
"Yow—Aoww!" Tom hopped around in pain, his right foot swelling and throbbing.
The kicked snail flew through the air, shell-first, and smacked an unsuspecting scout on the head, knocking him out cold.
"What happened!?"
"Enemy attack!"
"It's an image transponder snail—over there, move!"
The scouts charged toward where the snail had flown, leaving behind the dazed snail, which slowly poked its head out again and faithfully broadcasted the scene of its unconscious handler back to the monitoring room.
When the squad arrived, they found Zhang Da Ye wrapping Tom's injured foot with bandages.
"That's what you get for being reckless. Hurts now, doesn't it?"
Tom covered his eyes and wailed each time Zhang Da Ye touched his leg. Once the wrapping was done, he peeked through his fingers at the neatly bandaged paw—and instantly stopped crying.
Zhang Da Ye placed him on his shoulder. "There. All better."
Then he turned to the scouts with a cheerful smile. "Hey there. We're just lost tourists. Can we put the weapons down and talk this out? I could even cook you guys a meal."
"There's more than one of them! Seven in total! We've got the numbers—attack!"
Either the squad leader didn't count Tom or Brook as people… or he just wasn't great with math.
At his command, the scouts raised their beast-hunting weapons and aimed at the group.
"Perona!"
"Negative Hollows!"
All the scouts immediately dropped to their knees.
"In my next life, I want to be a flea…"
"Trash like me doesn't deserve to breathe this air…"
"Walking on the same ground as everyone else is such a disgrace…"
"Let's go," Zhang Da Ye said, waving for his companions to move. They ran past the hopeless soldiers, heading toward Melview.
Perona pouted. "Those guys weren't even your match. Why'd you make me handle them?"
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