OPTC Chapter 296: Treasure Clue
Garp couldn't really be relied on, but at least Zhang Da Ye had confirmed through him that he'd mastered Armament Haki—that was enough for now.
As for the other power, he planned to confirm it by comparing notes with Rui Meng Meng and Ye Yan back on the ship. Since Zhang Da Ye was in a hurry to test it, young Luffy luckily avoided being used as a guinea pig.
When Zhang Da Ye returned to the ship, before he could even speak, Shark Chili greeted him with some good news.
Zhang Da Ye blinked. "You found a clue to the treasure map?"
"Yes," Shark Chili said, placing a photo of the treasure map, several nautical charts, and a book on the table. He pushed them toward Zhang Da Ye. "I found the lead in this book, 'Legends of the Sea.' When I compared the treasure map with charts of the East Blue, this map seemed very likely to be real."
Zhang Da Ye had looked through both the treasure map and the charts countless times before but never found anything special. The book, *Legends of the Sea*, was one he had bought when they first arrived in the Goa Kingdom, though he hadn't yet found time to read it.
Flipping through the table of contents, Zhang Da Ye saw many "impossible" tales recorded there—an island floating ten thousand meters in the sky, a Fishman Island deep beneath the ocean, the legendary ALL-BLUE that gathered every kind of fish in the world, and the demon Oz who conquered nations by moving them himself.
To the people of East Blue, such stories were too absurd to believe—mere bedtime tales or barroom chatter.
But Zhang Da Ye knew better. Many of these stories were real, though the descriptions were exaggerated. There was always some truth at their core. So if Shark Chili had found a lead here, it might actually be credible.
"The story of the Golden Pirate Wunan…" Zhang Da Ye read aloud as the others leaned in curiously. "Decades ago, a great pirate named Wunan set sail from a small island in East Blue, vowing to find all the world's gold and treasure.
Wealth and fame—he obtained it all. Legends say he even built a mountain made entirely of gold. Before his death, he left all his treasures on an island of gold, where one-third of the world's gold is said to be hidden. But no one knows where this island lies."
"One-third of the world's gold?" Perona's soul almost flew out of her body as she drifted above Zhang Da Ye to peek at the page.
Tom's eyes gleamed with the image of a mountain of gold. He scrambled onto the table and pressed his face to the book.
"Wow!" Wendy gasped, holding Perona's limp body upright.
"Yohohoho~ I've heard of the Golden Pirate before. So he was from East Blue?" Brook said. Considering their ages, Wunan must have lived around the same time as him. Brook had heard his name back when he was in the West Blue.
Ye Yan, skeptical at first, suddenly brightened. "So there really was a mountain of gold?"
"Too bad it's not a cookbook," Artoria muttered, drooping in disappointment—her ahoge even wilted.
"Don't get too excited," Zhang Da Ye warned, pointing to the bounty poster included in the book. "His bounty was only sixty million. If he really had a mountain of gold, how would he not have been killed already?"
"That's true," Shark Chili said. "Even if bounties were lower decades ago, a pirate with that kind of fame should've been worth more than sixty million. Still, I did find an island that matches the treasure map."
He laid out three versions of a nautical chart of the same region. The oldest one clearly marked an unnamed island; the newer one showed only a faint dot; and the latest didn't mention it at all.
"This island might be the Golden Island," Shark Chili explained. "But over time, it seems people stopped caring about it—maybe because there were no inhabitants or valuable resources."
"The bounty poster's strange too," Ye Yan added. "Wunan looks too young in that photo. Maybe it's just an early picture, taken when he'd just made a name for himself. His final bounty might have been much higher." Of course, he wanted that to be true—if they found the mountain of gold, they'd be rich overnight!
Zhang Da Ye still wasn't convinced. One-third of the world's gold? That sounded ridiculous. Was Wunan some kind of previous Gold-Gold Fruit user—one even stronger than Tesoro?
But that was during the Rocks Era. With that much gold, he'd have been killed long ago.
"Whether it's true or not, we'll find out once we go," Zhang Da Ye said. "We're traveling anyway—might as well make it an adventure."
Then he turned to comfort Artoria. "It's fine if it's not a cookbook. If we find gold, we can buy plenty of food. And you just bought a bunch of cookbooks the other day—we can test recipes for weeks."
"Mm-hmm!" Artoria's ahoge perked up again as her eyes sparkled.
"When do we set sail?" Shark Chili asked.
"Tomorrow," Zhang Da Ye replied. "I'll say goodbye to Vice Admiral Garp first. Does anyone else want to do something before we leave?"
Everyone shook their heads. The capital of the Goa Kingdom wasn't large, and after all these days, they'd seen everything—including the royal palace, which Wind Ear had secretly snuck into to snap photos despite the ban.
To be honest, the palace wasn't nearly as grand as Ryugu Castle. Strangely, the king and prince were rather plain-looking, while the young princess seemed to have potential to grow into a beauty.
With their plans settled, Zhang Da Ye remembered something. "Oh right. Meng Meng, Ye Yan—help me check out this new power I've learned. It might be related to yours."
Rui Meng Meng perked up. "Boss, you got a power like mine too? Is it strong?"
"Not sure yet," Zhang Da Ye said. "But since I just got it, it's probably not as strong as yours."
Ye Yan asked, "So how do we test it?"
Zhang Da Ye looked at him. "Each of you let me punch you once?"
"Get lost!" Ye Yan snapped. "Why don't we each punch you instead?"
"Sure," Zhang Da Ye shrugged. His new ability was unreliable at times, but their punches would hurt less than Garp's anyway.
"You're serious?" Ye Yan said in disbelief.
Zhang Da Ye folded his arms. "Come on. You've wanted to hit me for ages. I won't dodge."
"You said it," Ye Yan grinned darkly, cracking his knuckles. He'd been waiting for this. Without artifacts, he couldn't normally beat Zhang Da Ye—but now he could hit him fair and square.
"Don't hold back," Zhang Da Ye said with a smile.
"You're disgusting… take this!" Ye Yan's punch landed square on Zhang Da Ye's face—because hitting someone in the face just *felt* more satisfying.
But Zhang Da Ye didn't even flinch. His expression didn't change at all.
Ye Yan's grin faded as he grabbed his aching fist. "Damn it! What the hell—how hard is your face?!"
Zhang Da Ye grinned. "Told you I learned Iron Body. My face is super tough now."
"Dark sorcery!" Ye Yan grumbled, storming off to train. One day, he'd have skin that thick too.
Rui Meng Meng asked, "So, boss, did you figure it out?"
"More or less," Zhang Da Ye said. "It's not qi—it's your dark energy. Want to punch me so I can feel it?"
"Okay!"
A second later, Zhang Da Ye was airborne—launched from the deck all the way to the dock.
While flying, he actually felt relieved he'd taken off at the right angle and hadn't smashed into the railing.
Then Rui Meng Meng jumped down after him, panicked. "Boss! I'm sorry! I usually use my sword—I didn't control my strength! Are you okay? I'll get Wendy!"
"I'm fine," Zhang Da Ye said, rubbing his chest. That punch really packed a punch. Garp had hit him with about that much force the past few days. If he hadn't learned Iron Body yet, he'd probably be coughing blood.
Still, it wasn't for nothing. When Rui Meng Meng's invisible dark energy had struck him, he'd recognized the same sensation from before.
So this was dark energy—her power. Destructive, but impressive. Even if she'd never reach planet-splitting levels, mountains or islands might not be safe.
And based on Garp's reaction earlier, even normal Armament Haki might not block it.
Two soldiers on duty came running over. "Mr. Zhang Da Ye, are you alright? Were you attacked?"
Zhang Da Ye had handed over a number of thieves to them these past days. Small cases, but frequent enough to earn them bonuses. Naturally, they were concerned.
"No, no—it's fine. Just messing around with a crewmate," Zhang Da Ye said, brushing off the dirt. He motioned for Rui Meng Meng to return to the ship.
The two soldiers exchanged confused looks. "Messing around"? Who plays like that? Was this domestic violence? Then again, this was the Grand Line—maybe that was normal.
Having confirmed his new ability, Zhang Da Ye felt much more confident. He'd just have to learn more from Rui Meng Meng. She might have figured things out through trial and error, but she had more experience with it than he did.
…
The next day, Zhang Da Ye went to say goodbye to Garp. Only Tom and Artoria came with him.
"You're leaving today?" Garp asked.
"Yes. Thank you for your guidance these past few days. These are donuts made by Tom—Fishman Island style. Please don't mind the taste."
Zhang Da Ye handed him a gift box. Artoria didn't stare too much this time since Tom had made plenty, and most had already gone into her stomach.
"Donuts? From Fishman Island? I won't say no to that!" Garp said happily, taking the box. "So, did you figure out that power?"
"It's called dark energy," Zhang Da Ye said. "Pretty destructive. Don't ask me how it works."
Garp scratched his nose, clearly more interested in the donuts than the explanation.
"Well then, we won't keep you from teaching your grandsons," Zhang Da Ye said. "Hope they give up on becoming pirates soon."
"Hey!" Ace shouted seriously. "Listen up! I will become a pirate! You're a bounty hunter—next time we meet, we'll be enemies! And I'll definitely beat you!"
"Good luck with that," Zhang Da Ye said, amused. Ace was only ten. By the time he went to sea at seventeen, Zhang Da Ye would probably have stacked up so many buffs he could knock him out in one move.
"Vice Admiral Garp," Zhang Da Ye added, "if your grandsons still refuse to give up, maybe take them to see what pirates actually do—to witness how they ruin lives?"
Garp considered it but didn't seem convinced. "I'll think about it," he said. Maybe later, if nothing else worked.
Little Luffy, meanwhile, hadn't said a word. His eyes were glued to the donut box, and just as Garp turned to wave goodbye—*chomp.*
"LUFFY!!!"
As Zhang Da Ye and his companions left the forest, they could still hear Garp yelling. No doubt chaos followed. Zhang Da Ye shook his head and smiled as they walked back.
At the Gray Terminal, the air still reeked of smoke and rot. Zhang Da Ye noticed the man who'd been driven out of the city days ago. He looked thinner now, hollow-eyed, scavenging through the trash with the others—trying to build himself a makeshift shelter.
Watching them struggle to survive, Zhang Da Ye said to Artoria, "Wait here."
He turned and walked back into the woods. Moments later, he returned dragging a massive bear in one hand and a giant boar in the other. He dropped them onto an empty patch of ground.
Tom's face lit up—extra meal? But then he grimaced, pinching his nose. "You're not planning to eat *here*, are you?"
Zhang Da Ye patted his head and smiled. "Not for us. I just wanted to do something."
The two beasts easily weighed thousands of pounds—enough meat to feed everyone here for days, maybe until it spoiled.
Tom reluctantly followed as Zhang Da Ye and Artoria walked back toward the city.
Behind them, a group of people immediately swarmed the carcasses—and began fighting.
Hearing the shouts and screams, Zhang Da Ye paused and turned around to see chaos erupting.
"There's enough for everyone," he sighed. "Do you really need to be that greedy?"
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