OPTC Chapter 337 - Kill Me! Alright.
"He caught that blade with his bare hands?" Ah Jian exclaimed from inside the Shark Giant's cockpit. "Is that guy even human?"
"That's... not an easy question to answer. Maybe?" Shark Chili replied uncertainly. He honestly wasn't sure what Zhang Da Ye counted as anymore, but definitely not a normal human.
Arlong's eyes were full of disbelief as he poured all his strength into the strike, yet Zhang Da Ye's arm remained completely unharmed. Bit by bit, he even pushed the sawblade away.
"You call yourself a Fishman and can't even swing properly?" Zhang Da Ye said with ease, feeling pleased that all his training and Haki practice had paid off.
"You bastard!" Sweat trickled down Arlong's forehead. A bad premonition hit him—he'd seen power like this before. And those who had it... were never people he could afford to offend.
He saw two ways out: run, or beg for mercy.
But with Arlong's pride, begging was impossible. He'd rather die than lower his head to a human. As for running...
"Ah!"
With a flash of Brook's sword, the last Fishman soldier fell, blood splattering from his wounds. Only Arlong remained standing.
When everyone else gathered around, Arlong realized there was nowhere to run. Even if he could, he had no intention of leaving.
"My brothers…" Arlong's voice trembled. His people were everything to him. If he had to die here, he'd at least take one of his enemies down with him.
"Zanpaku: Frenzy!" Arlong's massive serrated blade slashed wildly toward Zhang Da Ye. Among everyone here, the human looked the most "approachable" target—at least at first glance.
Clang! Clang! Crack!
Zhang Da Ye blocked two swings with his forearms before finally countering with a punch. The blade snapped cleanly in half, a shard grazing Arlong's cheek and leaving a thin cut.
Arlong's weapon was poorly made—Luffy could crush it barehanded, so a Haki-infused punch was more than enough.
"Soru!" In a blink, Zhang Da Ye vanished and reappeared behind Arlong, delivering a brutal spinning kick to the back of his head. He had learned the stance from Jinbe's 7000 Tile Roundhouse Kick, but his version relied more on emotion than technique.
"You've been kicked by light speed—ah, never mind." Zhang Da Ye caught himself, remembering that this guy really *had* been kicked by Kizaru once.
Still reeling from his broken blade, Arlong didn't even register what hit him before he went flying, crashing into the Shark Giant's leg with a loud clang. Blood ran down his forehead.
"Da Ye!" Wendy, carried by Carla, landed gracefully beside him. "Is anyone hurt?"
"You're here," Zhang Da Ye said. "Forget these ones. There's an injured man inside the Shark Giant. How's it over there?"
"The heavily injured by the shore are stable now," Wendy replied after surveying the scene. Compared to the chaos against the Krieg Pirates, this battle was small-scale. She was calm.
"That's good. How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine!" she said brightly. "I'll go check that patient now."
Zhang Da Ye glanced at Carla, who nodded. "Don't worry, Wendy's gotten much stronger."
"Alright then," he said. "This is mostly wrapped up anyway."
As they flew toward the Shark Giant's hatch, Arlong suddenly sprang up, roaring, "SHARK ON DARTS!"
Using his hard nose as a weapon, he shot forward like a torpedo—aimed straight at the airborne Wendy.
"Now you'll feel the pain of losing your kin, human!" Arlong howled madly.
He knew he couldn't beat that man, but killing a little girl? That he could do.
The answer was no.
Wendy wasn't just any little girl. If it were Perona, maybe she'd be caught off guard. But Wendy had sharp battle instincts. In an instant, she cast three spells: "Burner, Arms, Armor!"
Speed, strength, and defense—all boosted at once. She and Carla moved as one, twisting in midair to dodge the attack.
"What—?!" Arlong missed completely, his momentum sending him upward. Shock spread across his face. He hadn't expected a flying cat to be this quick... wait, weren't cats always fast?
Before he could react, a sharp wind formed around Wendy's leg. She spun and kicked—"Talon of the Sky Dragon!"
"Gah—!" The invisible blades tore through his chest, blood spraying as he plummeted. His eyes went dull. "Why… why is even a little girl this strong…"
"Strong my ass!" Zhang Da Ye snarled, grabbing a folding stool and a frying pan before laying into him with both hands. "Sneak attacking a kid? You scum!"
If he had no shame, he didn't need a face. Blow after blow, Zhang Da Ye smashed Arlong's teeth and shattered his nose until his face was swollen beyond recognition.
Arlong's head looked like a balloon, his nose crooked. Yet somehow, his teeth regenerated as he gurgled, "Kill me, human! Show my people your brutality! The rage of the Fishmen will never die! Kill me!"
"Alright," Zhang Da Ye said simply. He picked up a sword and thrust it through Arlong's throat, then pulled it out. Blood spurted. Arlong's eyes widened as if to speak, but no words came. He twitched a few times, then went still.
Zhang Da Ye tossed the sword aside. "I don't know about the Fishmen's rage, but I was angry a moment ago—and now I'm calm."
Rui Meng Meng looked uneasy. "Boss, isn't that... a bit too much?"
"It's fine. He asked me to kill him. And besides, the standard for self-defense changed," Zhang Da Ye said. "Even if he stopped attacking for now, he still had the intent and potential to cause harm. So technically, this counts as self-defense."
"I... see?" Rui Meng Meng didn't understand legal jargon, but if the boss said so, it must be true. Did this world even have a self-defense law? And was he just going off-topic? She wasn't sure anymore.
Zhang Da Ye confirmed, "Yes. Tom can testify. We were terrified."
Tom nodded earnestly. That was the scariest shark he'd ever seen—especially those regenerating teeth.
They'd taken down over a hundred Fishmen, most heavily injured, some fatally. But honestly, that was fine. A guy like Arlong—an extreme Fishman supremacist—was better off gone.
Still, it might make things awkward with Jinbe. Not because of right or wrong, but because Jinbe had helped them a lot before. Killing his former subordinate wasn't exactly polite, even if Arlong had asked for it.
He'd explain next time. Hopefully Jinbe would understand.
The Shark Giant was packed up, and Shark Chili, Wendy, and Carla carried the injured back to shore. Wendy's hands glowed green-blue as she healed Belle-Mère's wounds.
Nojiko and Nami watched in awe, itching to touch the glowing light but afraid to interfere.
"Sorry," Zhang Da Ye told Shark Chili. "This might make things complicated for you with Jinbe."
"But you didn't do anything wrong, Boss," Shark Chili said. "Arlong and Jinbe were totally different people. If you explain clearly, Jinbe will understand."
In Shark Chili's opinion, Arlong's only redeeming feature was his fast-growing teeth—something he admittedly found enviable.
"Let's hope so," Zhang Da Ye said. "Worst case, Jinbe and I settle it one-on-one. He probably won't kill me."
Shark Chili fell silent. He doubted it was a matter of "won't"—more like "can't." His boss still didn't seem fully aware of how tough he'd become.
Ah Jian, after watching Wendy heal Belle-Mère for a while, walked up to Zhang Da Ye and bowed deeply. "Thank you, truly. If not for your help, the village would've been finished."
Nojiko and Nami ran over, chiming in together, "Thank you for saving Belle-Mère!"
"No need to thank me," Zhang Da Ye waved it off. "Ah Jian, could you find some rope? We'll tie these guys up just in case, then haul them to the coast for the Marines."
"Yes! I'll get the villagers right away. Oh, and... there's a big monster near the shore—"
"That's my prey. For lunch," Artoria declared, stepping forward possessively.
"P-prey? You're eating that thing?" Ah Jian blinked. Did she mix up her words?
Artoria thought for a moment. "If there's going to be a feast, I'll share half."
"You mean... it's already defeated?" Ah Jian asked, thrilled. When she nodded, he said quickly, "I'll have the villagers prepare a banquet! We'll celebrate tonight!"
"Yay!" Nojiko and Nami jumped with joy.
They were poor—so poor that Nami had never owned new clothes. Each year, she wore Nojiko's hand-me-downs. Dinner was often just enough for two, and Belle-Mère would eat a few oranges, claiming it was for her skin. But Nami noticed her mother's hands turning yellow.
She had even wondered, sometimes, if Belle-Mère's life would've been easier without her and Nojiko.
After this battle, she finally understood—Belle-Mère truly saw them as her daughters. The idea of running away vanished from her heart.
Now, Belle-Mère was safe, the village was free, and there'd be a feast tonight. That was all the happiness they needed.
"All done," Wendy said softly as the green light faded from her hands. "Just keep it clean, and rest a few days."
"Thank you, Wendy. That's an amazing power," Belle-Mère said with a smile.
Wendy flushed. "You're welcome, really…"
"Ah, Belle-Mère…" Brook tipped his hat, bowing politely. "May I see your panties?"
Belle-Mère smiled sweetly at first—then her face twisted in fury. "What did you just say, you pervert?!"
Wham! She punched Brook straight into the ground.
"Eek!" Wendy squeaked. Was this the same gentle woman from a second ago?
Tom hid behind Zhang Da Ye, trembling. "She's scary…"
"Yohohoho~ Miss Belle-Mère is quite... passionate," Brook wheezed from the dirt, a bump rising on his skull.
Zhang Da Ye nodded approvingly. "Ah, so that's where Nami got it from. Runs in the family."
Belle-Mère blinked, realizing she'd just hit one of their rescuers. She awkwardly turned to Zhang Da Ye. "Sorry, that was rude of me. Thank you for saving us—but that request…"
"It's fine," Zhang Da Ye said. "When it comes to perverts, feel free to hit first. If you don't, I will."
Soon, Ah Jian and the villagers arrived with carts and ropes.
"It's true! Just five people took down a hundred Fishmen!"
"As expected from the Amber Travel Crew!"
The villagers, having learned who they were, helped tie up the Fishmen. Old Doctor Nako frowned at the injured captives. "Shouldn't we treat their wounds?"
"No need to waste medicine," Zhang Da Ye said. "They're Fishmen—'superior beings,' right? If they die from these scratches, they don't deserve the title."
"You call that a scratch?" one Fishman muttered faintly before fainting again.
Doctor Nako said nothing. He'd only asked out of habit. He didn't care much for these monsters either.
Since Fishmen were said to have ten times human strength, the villagers used plenty of rope, wrapping each captive layer by layer. One crab seller, skilled at tying crustaceans, took special pride in binding Hatchan—an eight-armed job worthy of his craft.
Seeing Zhang Da Ye's raised brow, Ah Jian explained, "He's a crab vendor. Good with knots. Octopus, crab—it's all the same idea, right?"
While everyone prepared for the feast, Ah Jian contacted the local Marine base, reporting that the Arlong Pirates had been captured by bounty hunters and asking them to come collect the prisoners—and the bounty.
The Marine on the other end accused him of joking. They'd already mobilized the whole base to fight the Fishmen to the death, and now he was saying bounty hunters did it?
But once Ah Jian mentioned the Amber Travel Crew, the line went quiet. After a long pause, the Marine said they'd come *after lunch.*
Ah Jian quickly invited them to join the banquet, but the officer refused firmly, saying the base had just finished an anti-corruption campaign and couldn't risk "temptation." They'd arrive only once the party was over.
Ah Jian stared at the silent phone snail, dumbfounded.
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