OPTC Chapter 299: Iron Body Is Such a Terrible Skill
The so-called "Spoon" was a technique Kuro only used when he had no other choice. In essence, it was a series of continuous, uninterrupted Soru movements while attacking at the same time.
Because of the extreme speed, Kuro's reaction couldn't keep up, making it impossible for him to control his strikes precisely. Whenever he used this move, even he himself didn't know what or who he was cutting.
Normally, when faced with a difficult opponent, Kuro would personally rush onto the enemy's ship, unleash this move, and cut down everyone on board so that he wouldn't have to worry about friendly fire.
Now that all his own men had been completely defeated and were no longer able to help, Kuro didn't care about hitting his allies anymore. The only thing that mattered was surviving.
To the average person, this move looked incredibly powerful. But to Zhang Da Ye, it wasn't anything special. "So it's basically a silent version of 'Soru-soru-soru-soru-soru,' huh," he muttered.
In Zhang Da Ye's eyes, Kuro looked like a crazed husky tearing up the place. Out of ten slashes, eight landed on the ship itself, and the remaining two were just overkill on bodies that were already down.
Within moments, the area near the stern was full of slash marks, the deck nearly destroyed. The worst part was that many pirates who had only been knocked unconscious by Tom earlier were now bleeding heavily from Kuro's indiscriminate attacks.
Zhang Da Ye tracked Kuro's movement path, stepped aside slightly, and watched as five claw-like gashes appeared on the deck where he had just stood.
Then Zhang Da Ye used Soru, shadowing Kuro closely from behind.
Hearing the sound of rapid footsteps behind him, Kuro assumed Zhang Da Ye was trying to flee and said confidently, "It's useless. Standing still gives you a lower chance of getting hit, but once you start running, you'll die even faster!"
Zhang Da Ye ignored him, instead watching curiously, studying the movement of Kuro's feet to figure out how he managed to move so quickly without making a sound.
Minutes passed. Kuro finally stopped, breathing hard as he pushed up his glasses and looked around. As expected, no one was left standing.
But Zhang Da Ye was right behind him, asking eagerly, "You're done already?"
Don't stop now—he hadn't learned the trick yet.
Kuro froze. Had he just stopped right in front of his enemy?
He immediately moved forward to create distance. But when he saw that Zhang Da Ye was completely unhurt, he was stunned. "How did you do that?"
"Just lucky, I guess. I stayed perfectly still the whole time, so you never hit me," Zhang Da Ye replied thoughtfully. Remaining relatively motionless in sync with Kuro's movements counted as being still, right?
Kuro didn't believe him, but couldn't think of another explanation. Could Zhang Da Ye be faster than his Spoon technique? No, it must have been luck—if they did it again, he'd find out for sure.
He glanced toward the Amber, their ship, which was close enough now that the crew could have joined the fight—but they hadn't. Did they really think he could handle this alone?
Fine. This time, he'd go easier, then take Zhang Da Ye hostage. "Spoon!"
Once again, Kuro started tearing through the ship at high speed. Zhang Da Ye quietly activated Tekkai and continued studying his movements.
Slash! A cut landed on Zhang Da Ye's chest, tearing his shirt but leaving no blood. He didn't react—just looked down at Kuro's footwork.
Slash! Another blow hit his side, slicing open his clothes again but still drawing no blood. Zhang Da Ye ignored it, still focused on Kuro's steps.
Slash after slash followed. Zhang Da Ye nodded to himself, feeling like he was starting to grasp the pattern. "Do it two more times," he said thoughtfully.
Kuro was speechless. He wanted to curse. Using Spoon for this long was exhausting, and this guy hadn't taken a single injury despite being hit dozens of times. Was he a monster?
"You… are you a Devil Fruit user?" Kuro finally asked.
Zhang Da Ye shook his head and encouraged him, "Nope. I'm just naturally tough. I think if you hit me two more times I might actually die, so don't give up—come on, you're a pirate, right? Keep attacking!"
Kuro fell silent. His subordinates might have been dumb enough to fall for that, but not him. He wasn't stupid—this man's clothes were in tatters, yet he was unharmed. Clearly, this was some kind of ability.
The opponent had overwhelming strength and was toying with him for a reason. "What will it take for you to let me go?" Kuro asked quietly.
Zhang Da Ye raised a brow, surprised. He wanted to negotiate?
"Teach me your silent step technique," Zhang Da Ye said. Of course, he had no intention of letting Kuro go afterward. At worst, he could just have Ye Yan capture him again later—Ye Yan had no shame anyway.
Kuro looked at him suspiciously, then sighed. Finally, he took off his cat claw blades and dropped them on the deck with a clatter. "My fate is already sealed. Do as you wish."
Man, could he not give up like that? Zhang Da Ye was genuinely speechless. At least put up a fight or something.
It was the first time he'd met such a defeatist pirate. He didn't even know what to do with him.
Just then, a few pirates peeked out from below deck—they'd been carrying cannonballs earlier, but after hearing the sounds of battle, they'd hidden. Now that things were quiet, they came out to check.
They were shocked. Even Vice Captain Zango had been defeated, and it looked like only one enemy remained. The man seemed to be hurt, too—maybe this was their chance to redeem themselves.
They exchanged glances. If they took this guy down, they'd definitely get rewarded! They grabbed their weapons and crept up behind Zhang Da Ye.
But Zhang Da Ye had already sensed them. He was about to move when one of them accidentally stepped on a cat's tail.
"YAAOOW!!" Tom, who had been sleeping, shot straight up into the air three meters high. He paused midair just long enough to angrily yank his tail free from under the pirate's foot, then continued his leap upward.
The unlucky pirate was sent flipping through the air and crashed to the deck, dazed.
Zhang Da Ye sighed—no more pretending now. He turned, caught Tom midair, and gently rubbed his tail to comfort him.
"You idiot! Look what you've done!" the other pirates shouted angrily and charged forward. Five against one—they thought they could win.
They couldn't. Not even close. Zhang Da Ye defeated them all in a single move each.
One of the pirates—the unlucky one who stepped on Tom's tail—caught Zhang Da Ye's attention. Before he passed out, Zhang Da Ye asked, "What's your name?"
"M-my name's Nujianu, sir! I'm the ship's carpenter! Do you need a carpenter? You won't find a better craftsman in all of East Blue!" he said desperately, trying to sell himself.
"Oh?" Zhang Da Ye said, then knocked him out with a punch. He wasn't interested in such a weak craftsman. The only reason he'd asked was because the man looked a bit like Kuro. He was probably the unlucky fool who, in the original story, got captured and executed in Kuro's place. No wonder his luck was awful.
Tom, still rubbing his sore tail, looked pitiful.
Zhang Da Ye patted his head comfortingly. Once Tom calmed down, he said, "Now that you're awake, find some rope and help tie them all up."
Tom nodded and got to work. He was surprisingly skilled at tying people up.
Zhang Da Ye grabbed another length of rope to tie up Kuro, who seemed to have gone completely catatonic after surrendering. Even while Zhang Da Ye beat up his subordinates, Kuro hadn't moved to attack. Just to be safe, Zhang Da Ye still bound him tightly. Couldn't risk losing several million in bounty money.
When Zhang Da Ye grabbed Kuro's left wrist, Kuro suddenly lunged—his right hand holding a dagger aimed straight for Zhang Da Ye's eye.
He hadn't given up after all. If he couldn't win head-on, he'd attack a weak point like the eyes. That was how survivors thought.
His surrender earlier had just been a trick to lower Zhang Da Ye's guard. When those other pirates appeared, Kuro had cursed their interference—but it had bought him the time he needed.
Kuro was a smart man compared to other pirates, but his vision was limited—and his strength, too weak.
Zhang Da Ye easily caught his wrist and squeezed.
Kuro let out a stifled groan of pain, sweat pouring down his forehead as the dagger clattered to the deck.
That wasn't the end. Just as Kuro tried to fight back again, Zhang Da Ye kneed him hard in the stomach, nearly making him vomit blood.
Then, without hesitation, Zhang Da Ye gave him the full Hulk-vs-Loki treatment—smashing him over and over until he couldn't move—before finally tying him up securely.
"Trying to stab my eye? Tch." Zhang Da Ye spat aside. His skin could take blades, sure—but he hadn't tested if his eyelids could. He wasn't planning on becoming a one-eyed swordsman anytime soon.
Once he and Tom had everyone tied up, Zhang Da Ye searched the cabin for valuables.
As expected of a cunning pirate, Kuro hadn't squandered his money like most. He had saved nearly ten million—easy profit for Zhang Da Ye.
All that was left now was to call the Marines and wait for the bounty payout. Zhang Da Ye returned to his ship to change clothes—his current outfit was in shreds.
While changing, he reflected on his behavior. Ever since he learned Tekkai, he'd started getting reckless. He could justify taking hits from Ye Yan or Rui Meng Meng since they were allies—but standing there letting Kuro slash him? That wasn't like him at all. Yeah, this skill was definitely cursed. Best to use it less in the future.
When he got to the dining room, the hotpot was still going. That was a relief. Though judging by the look of it, they'd replaced the ingredients several times already. Rui Meng Meng was even refilling the broth with a kettle of hot water. It probably wasn't the first refill either.
"Brother Da Ye, are you hurt?" Wendy asked, concerned.
"I'm fine," Zhang Da Ye said. "Actually, I got something fun—we'll test it later."
Perona and Wendy, being light eaters, had already finished. Only Artoria and the newly returned Tom were still going strong.
Rui Meng Meng refilled the kettle and sat back down to rejoin the feast.
Tom ate impatiently—grabbing thin slices of meat or fish, dipping them in the boiling soup for just a second before tossing them into his mouth. Zhang Da Ye wondered if they were even cooked.
Rui Meng Meng preferred to dump everything in, wait for it all to cook through, then fish it out and mix it with sauce before eating.
Artoria, however, cooked each type of food separately, timing them perfectly. She'd drop them in, stare intently, then at exactly the right second—swiftly scoop them out, dip, and eat, all in one smooth motion.
She swayed slightly as she ate, clearly enjoying every bite. At the same time, she tracked the next item's timing like a machine.
Zhang Da Ye watched her for a while—half melted by how cute she was, half convinced she'd learned Ye Yan's time-calculation trick to perfectly time her bites.
"Ye Yan, help me calculate the timings," Zhang Da Ye said, deciding to try her method. Maybe it really did make the food taste better.
Ye Yan blinked. "You're seriously using time-sense skills for hotpot? That's not what I taught you that for!"
"Your family's rules never said I couldn't, right? You promised to teach me your professional skills—now's the time to show them off," Zhang Da Ye said, eyes fixed on the bubbling pot, already forgetting what he'd put in or when.
"…I'll just tell you the trick later. You can practice on your own. Goodbye, and good luck," Ye Yan muttered, walking away. He'd used his skills for plenty of dumb things himself—but this? This was new.
Zhang Da Ye failed miserably at the "precise" eating style and eventually devolved into Rui Meng Meng's chaotic style—just mix everything and eat. When you're hungry, who cares about refinement?
Then a mischievous thought crossed his mind. What if he "accidentally" picked up Artoria's food?
Artoria's ahoge immediately pointed in his direction, her gaze sharp. "Da Ye, are you planning something dangerous?"
Zhang Da Ye swallowed nervously. "No, no. I just thought those two shrimp looked delicious."
It seemed risky—but with how close they were now, surely she wouldn't actually hit him with her sword, right?
Artoria nodded in agreement. "They do look good. Just five more seconds… 3, 2, 1!"
As Zhang Da Ye reached out his chopsticks, both shrimp were already in her bowl.
"…Forget it," he sighed. "Better stick to my own food. Fighting a lion over prey isn't worth it."
Artoria picked up one shrimp, hesitated, then placed it into his bowl instead. Da Ye seemed hopeless—he couldn't even cook shrimp properly.
[Powerstones plz...
patreon.com/GuessMyName33 for 50 chapters ahead
If you like this novel, check out my other novels in my profile!]