OPTC Chapter 335 - Where's the Cute Little One with a Starting Bid of One Million?
With its riding-skill boost, the Amber had always been one of the fastest sailing ships around—but for Zhang Da Ye, it still wasn't fast enough. He could already see the flag on the ship by the shore—it was Arlong's crew. If they didn't hurry, he'd have to watch another tragedy unfold right before his eyes.
"Wendy!"
"Got it!" Wendy rushed to the stern, puffed her cheeks, and shouted, "Dragon's Roar!"
Zhang Da Ye, Rui Meng Meng, Ye Yan, and Brook quickly pulled in the sails in perfect sync, and the Amber soared into the air.
"What's that?" The Fishmen guarding the shore spotted the ship, but didn't recognize it.
"A ship? Probably a merchant one. Looks like we'll make a fortune."
"But Arlong and the officers aren't here."
"So what? They're just humans. We can handle them. Besides, Moo Moo's still here."
"Good point."
Thinking back to the human pirate crews they'd met in the East Blue—and to the weak villagers of Cocoyashi Village—the Fishmen grew confident again. "Moo Moo, time to work!"
The sea cow Moo Moo poked his head out of the water, locked eyes on the Amber, and started swimming fast.
Onshore, the villagers panicked when they saw him.
"That monster again? We already paid them!"
"No… wait, it's not coming for us—it's heading for that… flying ship?"
"Did that ship just bounce off the water?"
The villagers exchanged stunned looks. First Fishmen, then monsters, now flying ships. Their sense of reality was long gone.
The Fishmen themselves were confused too, but figured the ship must have some kind of fancy device. If they could capture it, all the better. Moo Moo was already on the move, and in naval combat, Fishmen were unbeatable—no matter what weapons humans used.
"There's a huge sea cow approaching! Enormous!" Perona, floating in ghost form above, reported quickly. "And ten or so Fishmen diving underwater!"
At the mention of "huge sea cow," Tom took out a knife and fork, Artoria swallowed secretly, and Zhang Da Ye could feel the Amber picking up even more speed.
"Dragon's Roar!" Wendy used her magic again, propelling the Amber forward with another burst, the coast now in sight.
"The Fishmen underwater are mine," said Shark Chili, diving overboard with a splash. He was curious—how skilled were these Fishmen? He'd heard Arlong had once been on par with Jinbe himself, so his underlings shouldn't be weak.
"I'll take the sea cow. One punch should do it—and it'll give the villagers some confidence." Zhang Da Ye sounded sure of himself. Creatures like Moo Moo might seem fearsome in the East Blue, but in the Grand Line, they were at the bottom of the food chain.
"Moo—rooar!" Moo Moo bellowed, rising from the sea with half his body exposed, rows of sharp teeth gleaming.
Zhang Da Ye wasn't intimidated. He jumped off the ship's bow—right from Tom's carved statue—and gathered energy. Mana charged, dark power pulsed, Armament Haki wrapped around his right fist. A perfect combo—Moo Moo should feel honored.
In an instant, he was right in front of Moo Moo, arm cocked back, ready to strike.
Moo Moo stared with his big, round eyes, lifted his head, opened his mouth—and closed it.
Everything went black for Zhang Da Ye—both physically and mentally.
Feeling the slimy tongue wrapping around him, pulling him into its mouth, Zhang Da Ye's soul almost left his body. Why was showing off so hard? Shouldn't have stepped on Tom's statue, maybe? Too late to regret.
Life was full of setbacks—but he still had to keep moving. He'd planned to smash Moo Moo's skull anyway. Whether he punched it from outside or from inside didn't really matter. If Sun Wukong could dive into a demon's belly, so could he. Small problem.
He quickly gathered himself and threw a punch.
Up above, the crew on the Amber fell silent for a heartbeat, then chaos erupted.
"WHAT is that idiot doing?!" Perona screamed, her ghost face twisting with panic.
"Yohohoho! Mr. Da Ye!" Brook's usual laugh died halfway through, terror showing even on his skull face. "I'll come save you right now!"
"Boss!" Rui Meng Meng drew her greatsword and leapt into the sea.
Tom's eyes bulged out of his head as he sprinted back and forth, finally grabbing a surfboard before launching himself after them.
"Charla, let's go too!" Wendy shouted, and the cat swept her up into the air.
Ye Yan, who'd just pulled out his soul drum, paused mid-strike as everyone dove in. "Almost hit a teammate again…"
Shark Chili was still underwater, unaware of the madness above. Artoria, steering the ship, stayed calm—she could sense Zhang Da Ye was fine and already preparing his counterattack. "Don't hit the head," she warned quickly. "We might damage the meat."
A second later, Moo Moo spewed Zhang Da Ye out, his teeth shattered by a single punch. At that exact moment, Perona's Negative Ghosts and her Giant Ghost Bomb exploded against his gut, Brook slashed with Arrowtail Cut, Wendy hit him with Dragon's Fang, Rui Meng Meng added a dark-energy strike, and Tom stood on his head smacking him repeatedly with a surfboard.
In all of East Blue, no creature had ever been "honored" with such a beating. Moo Moo was the first—and definitely didn't feel privileged.
He didn't even finish his cry. "Moo—" was all he managed before his stomach burst under layered explosions, slashes, wind claws, and dark energy shocks. Blood gushed as he flipped belly-up and crashed backward through the sea.
Ironically, Zhang Da Ye's broken-tooth punch was the least of his injuries. Tom was still pounding Moo Moo's skull until it looked like a bumpy red mountain.
Artoria sighed in mild regret. "Such a shame… the meat on its belly looked tender."
Once everyone confirmed Zhang Da Ye was fine, they collectively realized… they might have overreacted.
Brook sprinted across the water back to the ship. Wendy and Charla flew back, while Rui Meng Meng and Zhang Da Ye swam toward shore. Perona hovered beside Zhang Da Ye, scolding him with "idiot, idiot," even though she couldn't actually hit him as a ghost.
Zhang Da Ye ignored her, scanning for Tom. He'd seen the cat on Moo Moo's head earlier—but now Tom was nowhere to be found.
Moo Moo, meanwhile, skipped across the sea like a stone and crashed onto the shore, startling the villagers again—but thankfully, it didn't get back up.
"That's the same monster as before!"
"They took it down in one hit?! Who are these people?"
"If they're not pirates… maybe we're saved?"
They hadn't seen the fight clearly—just someone leap from the ship, and the monster go flying. To them, Zhang Da Ye's grand entrance was a perfect success.
Then something strange happened: from under Moo Moo's enormous body, a cat tail poked out—followed by a rear end and two legs. The stretchy cat struggled, then with a *pop*, the rest of it shot free—holding the surfboard.
Momentum sent Tom flipping backward several times before he crashed into the ground, his board sticking upright beside him like a tombstone.
The villagers stared in silence. What just flew by? A cat? Should they… help dig it out?
They didn't have to. Tom sat up, shook off the sand, and, thoroughly offended, grabbed his surfboard again to whack the unconscious Moo Moo on the head once more.
Now Moo Moo had a lump bigger than Tom himself. The villagers wisely stepped back—they wanted no part of that cat.
While Zhang Da Ye and the others dealt with Moo Moo, Shark Chili had already found the Fishmen underwater.
At first, the Fishmen were startled. Shark Chili looked like one of them, but they didn't recognize him. Their leader swam closer to ask—but Shark Chili slapped him so hard he spun several times before fainting.
The others surrounded him angrily. "Why attack your own kind?!"
Shark Chili didn't even blink. "Own kind? You're pirates. And weak ones at that. I'm not a Fishman. You coming together or what? I'm in a hurry."
"You dare insult the great Fishmen race?!" They were all brainwashed by Arlong's "Fishmen supremacy," and Shark Chili's words enraged them. They charged.
The villagers then witnessed yet another impossible sight—"flying fishmen." One by one, Fishmen shot out of the sea, landing on shore or crashing into Moo Moo's body.
They were speechless. They'd seen Fishmen display their incredible strength before—ten times a human's arm power, easily demolishing houses. But now? Were these really the same terrifying creatures?
And that group—they weren't flying a pirate flag. Maybe there was hope after all.
"We're here to capture Arlong. Where is he?" Zhang Da Ye shouted as soon as he landed.
Tom dropped his surfboard and clung to his neck, purring against him.
The villagers instinctively pointed toward Bell-mère's house, just as Zhang Da Ye took off running. "Ye Yan, Perona—guard the ship. Wendy, Charla—check on the injured, then catch up!"
"Why do I have to stay behind with him?!" Perona protested.
"Because you two are slow~" Zhang Da Ye's voice trailed away as he sprinted off, his figure vanishing down the road. "Speed Demon Da Ye" wasn't a nickname for nothing.
Perona stomped her foot and swore—for the third time—that she'd start training with Wendy.
Ye Yan didn't comment, just released his flag spirits to search for Arlong's ship in case anyone tried to escape.
Wendy and Charla ran to the old doctor tending to the wounded. Seeing the chaos, they jumped right in to help.
"You, little girl—" The doctor was about to tell Wendy to hide when he saw the green light glowing in her hands and froze in awe.
"It's okay, Grandpa. They'll be fine," Wendy said with her usual gentle smile as she healed the villagers.
Dr. Nako, Cocoyashi Village's physician—expert in tattoos, tattoo removal, and suturing—had never seen anything like this. "Is that… a Devil Fruit power?"
"Something like that," Perona said lazily. "Now hush and let her work."
…
Elsewhere, Zhang Da Ye arrived just in time to see Bell-mère kneeling, bleeding, clutching Nami and Nojiko.
"According to your rule, ten thousand Berries for each life—take it, and spare my daughters," she begged.
"Bell-mère! No! Don't die!" The girls were crying hysterically. They knew this meant Bell-mère was trading her life for theirs.
Genzo raised his gun, ready to fight to the end, as Bell-mère whispered her final words.
"Even if it's just words… I really wanted to be your m—"
Zhang Da Ye didn't wait for her to finish. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Yo~ I heard there's a cute little Fishman here starting at one million Berries! Where is he? Let me see if he's worth the price!"
He didn't particularly hate Fishmen—but he knew how to grab their attention. And with Tom perched on his shoulder making faces, Zhang Da Ye's taunt skill hit maximum.
As expected, every single Fishman, including Arlong himself, froze mid-laugh. They'd been ready to enjoy the tragic spectacle of a human family's despair—but now their eyes turned blood-red with rage. They completely forgot about Bell-mère and her daughters.
All they wanted now was to kill that annoying man and his damn cat.
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