OPTC Chapter 293: So This Is the Navy's Hero
Zhang Da Ye spent the entire afternoon being chased and beaten by Garp, yet he didn't even manage to touch the corner of the old man's coat.
Later, when Ace and Luffy had almost finished resting, Garp casually included them in his attacks too.
So the three of them formed a temporary alliance, like the Three Heroes fighting Lü Bu—except in reality, it was just taking turns getting beaten up instead of fighting together.
The situation didn't improve at all after the two kids joined in. To Garp, all three of them were just one-punch knockouts.
The only difference was that Ace and Luffy would scream and run away after getting hit, only to be dragged back by Garp's fists a moment later. Meanwhile, Zhang Da Ye braced himself and followed Garp's instructions, trying to sense the power of Haki through his fists and body—using his fists when attacking and his body when taking hits.
Since Garp kept increasing his strength based on how he felt, Zhang Da Ye gradually went from just feeling pain to actually getting injured.
One time, Garp punched him square in the face, and Zhang Da Ye felt his mind go blank. His head buzzed, his vision doubled, and he panicked, thinking he might have a concussion, so he immediately ran to Wendy for healing.
When Garp saw the blue-green glow in Wendy's hands again, he slammed Ace and Luffy into the ground with two punches, then bent down toward Wendy with a "kind" smile.
"Little girl, how about joining the Navy?" Garp asked, assuming Wendy's healing ability came from a Devil Fruit.
He had already seen her heal Luffy, Ace, and Zhang Da Ye in turn, and the effect looked powerful enough to save countless soldiers. He couldn't help but ask.
Wendy, startled by his huge face suddenly so close, froze mid-healing. She had just learned that the brighter Garp smiled, the harder he hit. Now he was smiling at her—was he going to attack next?
What do I do? Even Brother Da Ye got beaten like this. What should I do? She tried to keep the healing spell going as tears welled up in her eyes. "I... I..."
Zhang Da Ye, lying on the ground before her, suddenly sat up, swung a punch straight at Garp's head, and shouted, "You're scaring Wendy, old man!"
Garp was absurdly strong in battle, but in daily life, he was a complete scatterbrain—otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten injured by Captain Morgan back then.
Still, Zhang Da Ye never expected that he'd achieve something similar—his punch actually landed squarely on the back of Garp's head, driving the man face-first into the ground, half his body buried in the dirt.
"Brother Da Ye, you're okay again?" Wendy said in surprise.
"Much better. Thanks, Wendy." Zhang Da Ye patted her little head, staring at Garp sticking out of the ground like a tree, then looked at his own fist in awe. Maybe this was the peak of his life.
He secretly smirked to himself. So this is the Navy's hero? Doesn't seem so great after all.
Although truth be told, that punch made his hand ache like hell—Garp's skull was really hard.
"Ace! That guy just knocked Grandpa down!" Luffy shouted, jaw dropped to the floor.
"He probably did something dumb again," Ace guessed, not having seen the full story. After all, Garp had fallen into the holes they dug before, so it wasn't impossible.
Garp's legs twitched a few times before he somehow popped himself free of the ground with an effortless motion.
He didn't seem angry at all. Dusting himself off, he asked, "Hey kid, why are you so worked up?"
Zhang Da Ye stood protectively in front of Wendy. "I'm her guardian now. I don't agree to you taking her away. What if you corrupt her?"
"How could that be? I guarantee this little girl will become an outstanding marine!"
Zhang Da Ye looked at him with disdain. "Convince your two grandsons first. If you can get them to join the Navy, I'll take Wendy to Marine Headquarters for a visit."
Yes—just a visit. After all, he had already received an open-ended invitation from them.
Garp laughed confidently. "That's easy! Ace and Luffy are bound to become marines! You—"
"No!" Luffy interrupted immediately.
Ace followed, "We're going to be pirates!"
"You two!" Garp's forehead veins bulged as he charged at them with raised fists. "Seems like you still haven't had enough discipline!"
"Waaah!!" *2*
With a thunderous crash, the ground split, and Ace and Luffy screamed as they flew off, trying to run. But how could they escape Garp? In the end, they were trapped in a small circle and thoroughly pummeled.
Zhang Da Ye watched for a moment, braced himself, and jumped back into the fight. Free training was still training, after all.
So the afternoon passed like that—trading blows with Garp, getting punched in the face, jabbed in the chest, kicked in the stomach...
Whenever the pain became unbearable, he'd go to Wendy for healing. He used to think he'd never need this kind of treatment, but now he realized Artoria had just been too gentle with him before.
The cycle of injury and healing repeated. During the last round, as Wendy healed him again, Carla poked Zhang Da Ye's cheek with her tiny paw, annoyed. "Wendy has already used healing magic so many times today. If she keeps this up, her magic and body will collapse!"
Wendy wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled softly. "It's okay, Carla. This is my job."
Zhang Da Ye sat up and rubbed his head. He had been too focused on training to notice how tired Wendy looked. She seemed exhausted now, and a wave of guilt hit him—it felt like child labor.
"It's fine, Wendy. That's enough for today. I'll be fine after a good night's sleep," he said, standing up. The moment he moved, his body screamed in pain.
Tom and Perona couldn't resist poking at his sore spots—Tom out of curiosity, Perona just to mess with him and get back at the guy who'd "bullied" her before.
"Enough, you two!" Zhang Da Ye grabbed Perona by the collar and dropped her aside, then threw Tom at her face.
Perona, hit square in the face by the divine weapon Tom, lost her balance and fell on her butt, hugging the cat and laughing like a little devil.
Wendy still wanted to keep healing, but Artoria stepped in and said, "Pain is part of Da Ye's training. Let's stop here. Continue once your magic recovers."
Wendy nodded obediently, silently resolving to train harder and learn more magic.
After that, the group said goodbye to Garp and his grandsons, taking a spruce tree back with them.
Getting beaten half to death turned out not to be a total loss—Zhang Da Ye finally mastered Soru and even grasped some basics of Tekkai.
He could feel Armament Haki stirring inside him too, though whenever he tried to use that energy, it mixed with Artoria's magic instead. At the same time, another mysterious power seemed to be awakening within him.
Zhang Da Ye was momentarily confused. Which energy had Garp beaten out of him—Rui Meng Meng's dark energy or Ye Yan's true qi?
Sometimes, knowing too much really was a headache... but he couldn't help grinning to himself anyway, his smile stretching nearly to his ears.
[Powerstones plz...
patreon.com/GuessMyName33 for 50 chapters ahead
If you like this novel, check out my other novels in my profile!]