OPTC Chapter 345: My Fans Look More and More Pleasing to the Eye
The battle at the docks ended quickly. Twenty pirate crews might sound like a lot, but taking them down only required each person to handle two or three, and not every crew had many people staying behind anyway.
A few pirates who had gone out heard the commotion and hurried back in anger to help their comrades—only to be beaten down as well, saving everyone some effort.
After the fight, Zhang Da Ye's clothes were torn to shreds, and Tom had lost a lot of fur. Fortunately, Tom's fur could be stuck back on. Zhang Da Ye's clothes, on the other hand, couldn't fix themselves. A tragic loss, really.
"Anyone want to stay behind and wait for any stragglers?" Zhang Da Ye asked, folding his chair.
Artoria was immediately excluded—her body might be on the ship, but her mind had long since drifted off toward the smell of food. Perona couldn't sit still either; if she went out, she'd drag Wendy and Carla with her. That trio was out of the question.
Shark Chili spoke up. "I'm afraid I can't stay. I need to find some proper shipwrights to help with a full inspection. I don't want anything going wrong when we climb Reverse Mountain."
Ye Yan sighed in boredom. "Then I'll stay, I guess. You're not letting me perform anyway."
"I didn't say that," Zhang Da Ye protested. "But performing as Gol D. Roger on the execution platform? That's a bit much, don't you think?"
"Great art is always misunderstood and even despised by the masses," Ye Yan said dramatically, shaking his head like a misunderstood genius.
"Young man." Zhang Da Ye patted his shoulder with a solemn expression. "When you publicly humiliate the Navy, the World Government, and the people all at once, you're not pursuing art—you're asking to get punched."
He added, "Seriously though, if you really want a beating, I can do it for free."
For the sake of his teammates, Ye Yan reluctantly set aside his "brilliant" idea—for now. He'd revisit it once he became strong enough to do whatever he wanted.
"I'll stay behind too. There are a few songs I still need to practice," Brook said, gazing at Reverse Mountain. Just thinking about reuniting with Laboon made him uneasy, so he busied himself to stay calm.
"I'll stay and help too," Rui Meng Meng offered. "The shopping can wait. If too many pirates come at once and the Amber takes a few cannon hits, that'll hurt."
"Then it's settled," Zhang Da Ye said. He figured the remaining strength on board was enough. "Let's move out!"
"Boss, what do we do with these pirates?" Rui Meng Meng asked.
"Leave them for now," Zhang Da Ye said with a wave. "There are still some out there. Once we've got them all, we'll call the Navy to collect them. A family should stay together, right?"
He wasn't planning to bother the Navy too much today anyway. He still had plenty of "gifts" from Arlong and other pirates—more than enough to spend freely in Loguetown. Besides, the Navy cooks here weren't that great; big portions, sure, but nothing compared to the food on Kizaru's ship.
So he decided to splurge a little—let everyone enjoy themselves for once. They worked (supposedly) hard for their money, after all.
Unexpectedly, the Navy in Loguetown was far more proactive than he was. By the time they disembarked, the Marines had already dispersed the crowd of onlookers at the docks.
The patrol squad's captain saluted them sharply. "Hello, I'm Major Kyle of the Loguetown Naval Branch. Do you require assistance?"
This major was rather handsome—almost too handsome—but Zhang Da Ye didn't recognize him. Probably not an important character.
Still, something about the man's words felt off. Shouldn't the Navy be the ones catching pirates while civilians assist them? Why did it feel reversed?
He didn't call it out. "You came just in time. The pirates on board have all been defeated—you can take them whenever. As for the rest, we'll grab them later."
"Just in time," Kyle repeated, face reddening slightly. It sounded like the Navy was being accused of freeloading… which, in this case, wasn't far from the truth. Their small branch had no chance against twenty pirate crews on its own.
Usually, as long as the pirates didn't cause trouble in town, the Navy wouldn't intervene. But now that someone else had done the job for them, they could step in confidently.
"Thank you for your contribution to the capture of these pirates," Major Kyle said stiffly.
Zhang Da Ye replied politely and sent the major off to handle the transfer with Ye Yan. He suspected this guy hadn't been in the Navy long—so nervous over just a few pirates. His superior, Rust, could take down an entire thousand-man crew like Krieg's without breaking a sweat.
…
While the Marines busied themselves hauling away prisoners, Zhang Da Ye's group left the docks.
Shark Chili went off alone to find shipwrights, while Zhang Da Ye, Tom, Perona, Wendy, and Carla followed Artoria through the streets, guided by her impeccable nose.
Soon, Loguetown's food district descended into joyous chaos. If something smelled good, it sold out instantly. Every shopkeeper loved it—except when they ran out of ingredients or stamina. A happy kind of pain.
Not every dish pleased Artoria, though—especially takoyaki or grilled squid.
"This takoyaki's not bad," Zhang Da Ye said. "You really don't want to try one? I heard there's a secret takoyaki recipe hidden somewhere underwater. Maybe we could find it someday."
He was talking about the one that Hatchan had accidentally discovered—the same recipe that even Sanji admired. But Hatchan had been rescued by Rayleigh years early, so who knew if that recipe still existed in this timeline.
"No need, Da Ye," Artoria said with rare distaste.
It probably went back to the Fourth Holy Grail War, when she'd fought a tentacled sea monster. She'd slain it in the end, but ever since then, anything resembling tentacles—octopus, squid, cuttlefish—made her lose her appetite. Eating them could send her into an existential crisis.
That left the vendors heartbroken. They thought they'd scored a massive customer, only for the biggest eater to walk away without a bite. Only three people and two cats tried their food, while the legendary bottomless pit of a knight barely glanced at it. Some shop reputations even took a hit. The owners wanted to cry.
"I'm so full," Wendy said, wiping crumbs from her lips. She looked at Artoria with envy. According to Zhang Da Ye's nonsense, the more you ate, the stronger you became. By that logic, she was still weak.
"Me too," Perona said. She hadn't eaten nearly as much as Wendy, then added, "Though I could still go for a cup of hot cocoa."
"I kind of envy Tom right now," Carla said, glancing at his round belly. She imagined herself stuffed like that, then shook her head. "On second thought, no. Not really."
"We'll probably be here a while," Zhang Da Ye said, eyeing the length of the food street. "You all want to go off and play?"
"I was waiting for that!" Perona said instantly, holding out her hand. "Money, please."
Zhang Da Ye handed over a stack of cash without argument, and Perona happily dragged Wendy away.
"Sigh… Fine. Carla, keep an eye on them, will you?" Zhang Da Ye said, handing Wendy's share to her. "Don't worry about fights—just make sure no weird old guys try to trick them."
"Got it," Carla said, spreading her wings to follow. She thought, Wendy might need watching, but Perona? You've pranked her too many times. Her scam radar's top-tier.
An hour later, the great Knight King had conquered another island—culinarily speaking.
Artoria walked away smiling, holding a bucket of popcorn. "Where to next, Da Ye?"
"Let's visit that famous spot," he said. "Then we'll pick up what Meng Meng asked for on the way back." He mentally tallied the cost of the day's food tour. About equal to the combined bounties of Buggy, Kuro, Krieg, Arlong, and maybe a couple pirate ships.
Not bad—not broke yet. Turns out, if you're strong enough to wipe out all the top East Blue pirates, keeping a certain gluttonous King fed wasn't so hard… probably.
After asking for directions, they made their way to Loguetown Square. The area was packed with people—some rushing by, others stopping to stare at the massive structure dominating the plaza: the execution platform.
It wasn't anything special structurally, just a steel frame with wooden boards on top. Age had left it rusted and weathered.
But this was the spot where the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, had been executed. Shanks, Doflamingo, Crocodile, Mihawk—all had stood here that day.
Now, Zhang Da Ye stood in the same square, looking up at the platform. "So this is… huh."
Artoria tossed popcorn into her mouth one piece at a time, occasionally feeding Tom a kernel.
"Meow!" Tom's belly was round, but that didn't stop him from eating more.
Watching the two of them, Zhang Da Ye was speechless. This sightseeing trip was a waste. Good thing no teacher was going to make him write a reflection essay.
"Forget it. Let's go. No matter who died here, it's just a rusty old platform. We'll take a few photos and call it a day," he said.
"Not bad! Truly worthy of the great Amber Crew's Zhang Da Ye!"
"To think you'd show such disdain for the Pirate King himself!"
Two young men with swords on their backs suddenly jumped out from behind him, eyes shining with admiration.
Zhang Da Ye blinked. They looked oddly familiar. "And you two are…?"
The boys struck a pose they thought looked cool.
"I'm Johnny!"
"And I'm Joseph!"
"Together, we're the bounty hunter duo about to make our debut after two years of intense training!"
A gust of wind blew past, carrying a few leaves. The two teenagers looked comically serious in the fading light.
*Crunch, crunch…* Artoria's popcorn filled the awkward silence.
Zhang Da Ye stared, realizing who they were—Johnny and Joseph, the famous bounty hunter pair who even Mihawk once spared. They looked about fifteen or sixteen now.
Honestly, with their level of skill, fishing might suit them better than bounty hunting.
"So why do you two want to be bounty hunters?" Zhang Da Ye asked, hoping to dissuade them from getting themselves killed.
Joseph answered eagerly, "Because bounty hunters are cool—and it pays well! You're the best example! You became famous across the East Blue in just a few months!"
Zhang Da Ye's expression froze. So this was his fault now? Then again, his crew of ten had basically steamrolled through East Blue. They had made quite the impression. Who knew how many hot-blooded teens would get inspired and follow in his footsteps? That wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Johnny, noticing his partner's blunder, smacked him on the head. "Don't say it like that! That's not our real reason!"
"Ah, right," Joseph said, quickly correcting himself. "Sorry. Actually, our hometown was often attacked by mountain bandits. Then one day, a bounty hunter wiped them out—protected the village—and earned a good reward. We decided we wanted to be like him: capturing criminals and protecting ordinary people!"
"Exactly!" Johnny added. "And after hearing the Amber Crew's stories, we were even more inspired! Ten people against two thousand—and you not only won, you took down Krieg himself! That's the kind of strength we dream of! The Amber Crew is our lifelong idol!"
Zhang Da Ye stared for a few seconds before realizing what that meant.
He had fans now. Actual fans.
And the more he looked at them—their clean-cut faces, their earnest expressions—the more pleasing they looked.
Not bad at all.
[Powerstones plz...
patreon.com/GuessMyName33 for 50 chapters ahead
If you like this novel, check out my other novels in my profile!]