OPTC Chapter 340 - Garp: I Want a Vacation
Watching Zhang Da Ye speak so confidently, the Fishmen suddenly felt the world was unbearably dark. A bounty hunter working together with a Marine admiral—was there any justice left in this world? Where could common pirates like them even complain about their unfair treatment?
They cursed all the way as the marines escorted them off one by one. But when the cell door shut behind them, it hit them for real—Brother Arlong truly died for nothing. Words like fairness and justice had never belonged to their kind.
After Colonel Hickstein exchanged the bounty for Zhang Da Ye, he quickly departed Cocoa Village with the captured Arlong Pirates and their ship—terrified that Zhang Da Ye might invite him to dinner. As an upright and disciplined Marine, his swift retreat was almost admirable.
Meanwhile, in his office, Colonel Hickstein was already reporting to Marine Headquarters.
"Confirming again—these were indeed remnants of the Sun Pirates?"
"Yes, sir. Their leader Arlong was killed in the battle," Hickstein reported truthfully.
The report soon landed on Fleet Admiral Sengoku's desk.
Sengoku sighed. The Amber Travel Group's efficiency in capturing pirates was absurdly high. In just a few months, they'd caught more pirates than many Marine officers managed in a year. But their talent for causing trouble was just as impressive—first Moriah "dying from infighting," then the workers of the Bridge Kingdom escaping during exhaustion shifts…
After the Golden Lion incident, Sengoku no longer believed in coincidences. If not for lack of solid evidence—and the fact they hadn't caused any major harm—he'd have reclassified them from "Amber Travel Group" to "Amber Pirates" already.
Still, from the government's perspective, their actions—though irregular—were oddly beneficial. Sengoku never liked the idea of the Seven Warlords anyway; legal plunder was absurd. And letting laborers in the Bridge Kingdom go free, replacing them with pirates? Well, better the pirates suffer than ordinary folk.
Judging from their consistent attitude toward both Marines and pirates, Sengoku didn't want to investigate further. In fact, he even preferred to quietly cover things up for them. After hearing Garp talk about a girl named Wendy and her rare ability, Sengoku's curiosity toward the travel group had only grown.
But this latest incident was tricky. They defeated Arlong and protected the villagers—fine. But killing Arlong? That was a problem.
Jinbe had only recently become a Warlord, and now someone had killed his former subordinate. Sengoku had to consider the political fallout.
The Marines were already short-handed, struggling to contain New World chaos. Sengoku had even denied Garp's vacation request twice. The last thing they needed was a Warlord getting agitated.
He stuffed a few papers into the small goat's mouth beside him, rubbing his temples. Just as he was about to mutter "never a peaceful day," the office door burst open with a bang—and in came the last man he wanted to see.
"Oi, Sengoku!" Garp slapped the desk cheerfully. "I just sank seven pirate ships! Can I take my vacation now?"
"Knock before you enter!" Sengoku barked. "And your vacation request—denied again!"
"Why not?" Garp protested. "I haven't seen my adorable grandsons in ages! They must miss me terribly!"
"Then bring them here," Sengoku said flatly. "I'll have Zephyr train them personally."
Garp shook his head furiously. "No way! I've got a perfect training plan myself. I can make them the strongest Marines in history! You just have to approve my leave."
"Absolutely not," Sengoku said. "We can't spare you right now."
"Oh." Garp stopped arguing. If Sengoku said he was needed, then he probably was.
He dug at his nose with his pinky. "Then hand over those rice crackers you're hiding. I'm taking a short rest."
Sengoku opened a drawer and hurled a bag of crackers at his face. "Fine. Rest. But I've got a mission for you."
Garp caught the crackers and flicked his freshly mined booger at Sengoku. "And the tea leaves. I saw those too. Top quality!"
Dark-faced, Sengoku dodged the attack, then tossed a bag of tea at Garp's head before explaining the mission details.
Watching Garp casually brew tea with *his* teapot, lounging on the sofa while munching away, Sengoku felt an ache in his spine. He hadn't even had time to stretch his own back all day. For a moment, he questioned if being promoted to admiral had been a mistake.
No—upholding justice was his lifelong duty. He couldn't waver over something like this.
Still, seeing Garp sipping tea, belly full and eyes half-closed in contentment, Sengoku's blood pressure spiked. He grabbed a stack of papers, coating them in Armament Haki.
With a flick, the stack hardened like steel and slammed straight into Garp's face with a loud *bang*.
Garp's nose bubble had barely formed before his head snapped back, crashing through the wall.
In the next room, the marines barely glanced up. One calmly fetched a repair kit. "Another wall this month, huh?"
Garp pulled his head free, scratching his scalp in confusion. "Huh? You done talking?"
Sengoku exhaled deeply. "The mission details are in that file. Now get out."
As Garp strolled away, Vice Admiral Aokiji happened to pass by and blinked. "Vice Admiral Garp, your face is really red."
"Bwahahaha! Just woke up from a great nap! Feeling refreshed!"
…
Meanwhile, in Mary Geoise, the Five Elders had received the same report.
An insignificant 20-million bounty like Arlong's wouldn't normally matter—but with Jinbe being a Warlord and the Amber Travel Group involved, it became noteworthy.
"Those people again?"
"They've been quite active lately."
"They refuse both Marine and government invitations, and with that kind of strength—what's their goal? Are they really just traveling?"
"Perhaps we should invite them to become Warlords. There's still one vacancy."
"Their reputation isn't loud enough yet. And they're not actually pirates. I doubt they'd care for the privileges."
"Killing Arlong—will Jinbe retaliate? The Marines can't afford a Warlord turning rogue right now."
"Tell CP to keep an eye on the situation. If needed, stage a 'Fishman escape.' They're all small fry anyway."
"Agreed. Keep them monitored."
To the Five Elders, pirates were as numerous as grains of sand. Whether a hundred Fishmen pirates were jailed or freed made no difference. They had only three priorities: stability, stability, and more damn stability.
Even if their decisions caused small towns to suffer—it didn't matter. People got robbed by pirates every day anyway. And without pirates, how else would the commoners justify paying the Heavenly Tribute for "protection"?
…
"I… I don't want to," Nami said, shaking her head.
"Why not?" Perona asked. "Didn't you say you wanted to travel the world and draw a map of the entire sea? That's exactly what we're doing! Wouldn't it be great to come with us?"
Perona had grown bored of watching Zhang Da Ye trade bounties for cash, so she and Wendy had taken Nami and Nojiko aboard the Amber to hang out.
From the deck to the restaurant, the mini bar, the library, and the girls' cozy rooms—the Amber's interior was unlike any other ship. To Nojiko and Nami, it was eye-opening. They never knew life at sea could be this comfortable.
Neither Perona nor Wendy corrected that misconception, since their own sense of "normal" life at sea was just as skewed.
The Amber's living and leisure areas left the sisters amazed, but what truly dazzled them were the girls' rooms—filled with stuffed toys and wardrobes of beautiful dresses. Nami couldn't stop staring.
Wendy smiled. "Ours aren't even that fancy. When we visited Syrup Village, Kaya's room was way more extravagant…"
Perona stayed silent. Her old room had been even more lavish than Kaya's—just darker in tone, and thanks to Absalom's terrible fashion sense, most of her clothes were the wrong type anyway.
Even so, it was enough to make the sisters envious. Nojiko only got a new dress once in a while; Nami wore clothes refitted from her sister's old ones—"Bell-mère brand fashion," as they jokingly called it.
In the past, Nami might've felt embarrassed, fiddling with her worn dress. But after what they'd lived through, she'd learned to cherish it. Wearing Bell-mère's clothes was a blessing.
Wendy, noticing their gazes, said gently, "If you like, I can give you a few of mine."
"Oh, that's not right…"
"Really?!" Nami's eyes sparkled. She loved Bell-mère's dresses, but new clothes were new clothes—and Wendy's were so cute!
"Nami!" Nojiko scolded, hands on her hips. "You can't just take gifts like that!"
"What's wrong with that? Friends can give gifts!" Nami argued. "We'll give her oranges in return, right, Wendy?"
Wendy smiled kindly. "That sounds great. Your oranges look delicious."
Charla nodded thoughtfully. Anything edible would be appreciated aboard this ship.
"These are all ones I haven't worn yet, so take your pick, Nami." Wendy pulled out a pile of dresses. She got plenty of pocket money and bought new ones on nearly every island—most barely worn, if at all.
"Wendy! You're the best!" Nami squealed, throwing her arms around Wendy's neck, rubbing her cheek against hers.
Wendy looked flustered but secretly thrilled to be called "big sister."
Nojiko sighed helplessly. There was no stopping Nami.
When the excitement of dress-trying finally faded, Perona declared she'd show them the ship's "most boring yet most terrifying place"—the library.
It was packed with books she didn't care for, and to her, filled with unpleasant memories.
But for Nami, it was heaven.
Books on oceanography, meteorology, cartography—all the things she'd only ever glimpsed in the tiny village bookstore were here in abundance.
Her heart raced. She wanted them all. She actually thought about stealing some—and instantly scolded herself for it. Wendy had just given her clothes, and now she was thinking about stealing? Shameful! But still… she wanted them so badly.
"Can I trade the clothes for books instead?" Nami asked shyly. "One dress for one book—no, all of them for just one book would be fine!"
"Nami!" Nojiko was furious. "She gave you those as a friend! You can't just turn around and barter them away—for her own things, no less!"
Nami's face turned bright red. She knew it sounded wrong, but those books were tied to her dream…
Perona's jaw dropped. She'd never heard of a kid willing to trade pretty dresses for reading material. She wanted to cry—what kind of child loves studying this much? She called Nami a sister, and the girl turned out to be a bookworm!
Perona didn't know that Kaya, whom she also saw as a "sister," was off studying medicine with the same determination.
"You like reading, Nami?" Wendy asked curiously. She didn't find it strange at all—her guild had someone just like that, a girl named Levy. Older, but not that much older. They were good friends.
"Mhm!" Nami nodded eagerly, then told them her dream—to travel the world and draw a map of the entire ocean.
"That's an amazing dream!" Wendy, Charla, and Perona said in unison.
But then came the awkward pause. They all knew the books were collected by Zhang Da Ye from countless islands—Sabaody, Water 7, Goa Kingdom, and more. Everyone on board used them for study. They couldn't just give them away.
So clever Perona made a bold suggestion. "Then Nami should come with us!"
"Eh?" Nami froze.
"Yeah! If you join us, you can read these books anytime you want! And if we don't have something, Da Ye will buy it for you! You'll get tons of new clothes and food too! Tom's cooking is amazing! So? Wanna come?"
Perona went all in, trying to tempt Nami into joining them. She even avoided calling Zhang Da Ye "the stingy boss," afraid the phrase might scare the girl off.
But Nami looked at Nojiko, and the memory of Bell-mère's bloodied face surrounded by Fishmen flashed before her eyes. She shook her head.
Nojiko bit her lip. After seeing Arlong's terror firsthand, she knew how dangerous the world was. If Nami missed this chance, chasing her dream later would be nearly impossible.
Yet if she were in Nami's place, she wouldn't be able to leave either. Not her home. Not Bell-mère's memory.
Between dreams and family… how do you choose?
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