OPTC Chapter 324: Am I Just as Useless as the Blackhearted Boss?
"Put me down!" The young boy struggled free from Ivankov's grip, landing on solid ground before adjusting the black hat with goggles dangling from it. He picked up a metal pipe and slung it over his back with a mechanism only he understood.
This wasn't his first time ambushing Dragon—just the latest in a long line of failed attempts. His reason was simple: Dragon was the strongest, and to become strong, he had to challenge the strongest. He didn't even remember why he wanted to be strong—he just knew he had to be.
Among all the children in the base, none were his match anymore. Even the adults found it difficult to beat him. So the only ones left to challenge were the commander himself and that strange person whose gender no one could quite determine.
Well—there was also that bear-like man who could beat him easily, but that guy appeared and disappeared like a ghost.
"Damn it, lost again." The boy dusted himself off and turned away to resume training. The other children were diligently practicing their punches and kicks, but he thought those drills were too basic. He preferred to train in his own way.
"Sabo," Dragon called out, stopping him. "If you're bored, how about coming to sea with me?"
"To sea?" Sabo stopped in his tracks. For some reason, that word stirred something deep in his chest. "Where to?"
Dragon pulled his hood over his head and started walking toward the Revolutionary Army's ship. "To the island of Fultiat. We're picking up a child about your age—or perhaps it's more accurate to call her 'the bridge between humans and Fishmen.'"
"Eh?" Sabo didn't understand what that meant, but he still ran to catch up.
…
"Heavenly Dragon's Roar!"
Hovering in the air with Carla's help, Wendy puffed her cheeks and unleashed a gust of wind. This time, her magic was softer, more controlled than before.
The wind spiraled forward and struck precisely at the Amber's sails.
Under Wendy's careful control, the ship itself wasn't damaged—only the sails billowed full, propelling the ship forward at a sudden burst of speed.
"Perfect! That's it!" The fierce wind whipped Zhang Da Ye's hair wildly, filling his coat until it flapped noisily. One hand gripped the railing while the other shielded his face from the gale.
Tom, who had been perched curiously on the railing, was blown backward, yowling. Just before he could fly off the deck, he grabbed onto Zhang Da Ye's leg and clung tight. His fur stood on end, spiking back in the wind.
To keep himself from being blown away, the clever cat tied his own limbs together like a knot, fastening himself securely to Zhang Da Ye's leg.
Unfortunately, Tom's fishing rod, stool, and bucket were not as fortunate. The wind sent them tumbling across the deck, though thankfully, the raised cabin between the fore and aft decks stopped them from rolling into complete chaos.
A moment later, Wendy and Carla descended back onto the ship. Seeing the mess, Wendy bowed apologetically. "Sorry… I think I overdid it."
"Don't worry about it," Zhang Da Ye said. "It's my fault for not planning better. We'll clean it up. After all, this was my experiment. How many times can you use that spell in a row?"
Wendy tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Continuously? I've never tried… Maybe ten times?"
Carla frowned. "Hey, you're not thinking of making Wendy the Amber's power source, are you?"
"Of course not," Zhang Da Ye said quickly. "I was just thinking—if we ever run into danger and need to make a fast escape, or if we accidentally end up in the Calm Belt, this could be a way to move quickly."
Carla crossed her arms. "But if we escape like that, you'd leave Wendy and me behind."
"Exactly. So this is just for travel speed. Besides, it'd be exhausting for you to fly that long. Might as well have Shark Chili tow the ship instead." Zhang Da Ye sighed. "Alright, never mind that. Let's tidy up first and try the next test."
He lifted his leg—and realized it felt unusually heavy. Looking down, he saw Tom still hanging onto him. "The wind's stopped. You can let go now."
Tom wriggled and struggled but soon gave an awkward grin, gesturing that his limbs were tied too tight to untangle.
"…Of course they are." Zhang Da Ye crouched to help untie the cat.
Three minutes later, Wendy blinked at the sight before her. "Brother Da Ye?"
Zhang Da Ye looked up stiffly, face twisted in despair. "My fingers got tied to Tom's paws…"
Carla sighed and put a paw to her forehead, while Wendy let out a helpless little laugh and went to help.
"Ahem… well…" Zhang Da Ye cleared his throat, still embarrassed long after they'd sorted it out. Making a fool of himself in front of his little sister figure wasn't new—but it never got easier.
Trying to move on, he said, "Next, let's try directing the breath at the sea behind us. Maybe we can push the ship forward—or even lift it into the air. I'll go lower the sails first."
Carla eyed him doubtfully. "Lift the ship? That's impossible."
Wendy looked intrigued. "If we reverse the force of the roar… maybe it could work!"
"Wendy?" Carla gave her a betrayed look. "Don't let him corrupt you!"
Wendy just smiled. "It's fine. No harm in trying."
"Alright, everything's ready!" Zhang Da Ye called. With Brook's help, the sails were quickly tied down. Wendy climbed over the railing, gripping it from behind, pressing her body against the hull.
She took a deep breath. "Heavenly Dragon's—"
Tom's ears perked up. Realizing what was coming, he bolted. A wise cat doesn't fall for the same trick twice!
"—Roar!" This time, Wendy used her full strength.
A roaring gale exploded from her lungs, churning the sea into huge waves. The Amber shot forward, its hull lifting briefly above the water before skipping twice across the waves like a stone.
Tom, who had been running, tumbled backward and once again slammed into Zhang Da Ye's leg, clinging on instinctively like a trained acrobat.
"Ah—!" Wendy gasped as the ship lurched. She lost her footing and nearly fell overboard.
Zhang Da Ye caught her wrist and pulled her back up. "You okay? Did you get hurt?"
He wasn't sure how much recoil that kind of magic might have caused.
"I'm fine," Wendy said, flexing her hands and feet. "Completely fine."
"This doesn't make sense!" Ye Yan popped his head out. "Force is mutual—Newton said so! Wendy shouldn't be able to handle the recoil of throwing an entire ship!"
Perona leapt down from the lookout tower, landing lightly with her parasol. She ran over with Carla to check Wendy for injuries, then glared at Zhang Da Ye for coming up with such a reckless idea.
"But… I didn't feel much force," Wendy said honestly.
"If you say that, you'll make Sir Newton cry," Ye Yan muttered. "I should wear an apple suit tomorrow in his honor."
"I don't think this has anything to do with Newton," Zhang Da Ye said. "She used magic. Why would physics apply? Remember when the Merry could fly using Coup de Burst before the Sunny was even built? Why can't Wendy make the Amber fly?"
Everyone blinked. When he put it that way, it almost made sense. Magic, after all, didn't follow science.
"Alright then—Wendy's now our ship's doctor, weather specialist, and emergency escape officer. So many roles! Maybe I should quadruple her allowance." Zhang Da Ye grinned sheepishly, realizing it did sound a bit like child labor.
"Yohohoho! Wendy's amazing!" Brook cheered, and the others joined in enthusiastically.
"It's… it's not that amazing," Wendy said, blushing.
Perona, however, had zeroed in on one word. She looked up at Zhang Da Ye. "I want a position too! And a raise!"
"What position? Mascot?" he teased—though the word made him feel oddly self-conscious. If he wasn't captain, he might fit that role himself.
"Who wants to be a mascot!" Perona huffed. "I can be… hmm…" She thought hard. Navigator? No. Helmsman? Nope. Musician and doctor? Taken.
Night watch? Impossible—she'd fallen asleep even during lookout duty earlier. Cooking? She could make sandwiches, but Tom and Rui Meng Meng were much better.
Cleaning? The Flag Spirits usually handled that, or everyone did it together. Fighting? Everyone could fight.
Uh-oh. A sinking feeling hit her—was she actually useless? Just like that stingy boss? He at least had storage powers and could act as a transport leader.
Perona frowned. If she had no special skill… how had she even ended up on this ship? Oh right—she'd been captured. That… didn't help.
Her imagination spiraled. She pictured Zhang Da Ye tossing her off the ship in disgust, leaving her to drift helplessly across the sea until some giant sea beast swallowed her whole. Terrified, she grabbed Zhang Da Ye's coat, her big eyes shimmering with tears.
"???" Zhang Da Ye blinked. "What—what's happening? Did I say something wrong?"
"Don't cry! Uh…" He stammered, glancing around for help.
Artoria crossed her arms. "Da Ye bullied her."
Brook sighed. "Too cruel, Da Ye-san."
Carla shook her head. "How awful."
Even Tom loosened his grip on Zhang Da Ye's leg long enough to give him a judgmental stare.
Zhang Da Ye grabbed Tom's face and squished it. "Don't you start too! Come on, help me out here—Perona, what's wrong?"
Perona sniffled. "I feel like I can't do anything. I'm useless… and I'm just a prisoner here. Am I really just the mascot?"
Rui Meng Meng crouched down beside her, gently wiping her tears. "Don't be silly. You're not a prisoner anymore. And who said you're useless? Your ability's perfect for scouting—remember the Devil's Triangle? You saved us more than once."
Shark Chili, Brook, and Zhang Da Ye—who'd all been hit by her ghosts before—looked away awkwardly. Tom, who'd long forgotten his own humiliation, looked unaffected.
Perona's eyes lit up. Scouting… yes, that made sense. She'd doubted her powers ever since Ye Yan countered her so easily and the Golden Lion knocked her out cold. But maybe it wasn't her fault—she'd just met the wrong opponents.
Seeing her reaction, Zhang Da Ye nodded decisively. "Alright then. From now on, you're the Amber's official scout. No—'scout' sounds too plain. Let's call it… Swift Scout."
"Pfft." Ye Yan snorted, trying not to laugh. He used to play an online game with that exact title while pretending to be a monster hunter.
Perona wiped her tears and smiled again—until she saw Ye Yan smirking and kicked Zhang Da Ye's shin. "You're mocking my height, aren't you? I'm still growing, you know!"
At the mention of height, Wendy froze, hugging her knees with a small sigh. She hadn't grown taller in ages… what if she never did?
Carla watched helplessly. She understood Wendy's pain, but what could she do? She couldn't exactly teach her giant magic.
"Perona," Zhang Da Ye asked suspiciously, "you didn't use your Negative Ghosts on Wendy again, did you?"
"How could I!" Perona protested, rushing to Wendy's side. The two girls began whispering together.
The melancholy didn't last long. Life aboard the Amber returned to its usual mix of chaos and calm—sometimes noisy, sometimes peaceful.
From that day on, Perona took her new role seriously. She frequently sent her little ghosts to scout the area—or projected her spirit out herself.
Once, when she returned to her body, she found Tom drawing circles on her face with a pen. She chased him around the ship for seven or eight laps, sending the deck into complete pandemonium.
Tom finally dove into the sea, and Perona jumped in right after him—only to remember halfway down that she was a Devil Fruit user. Before she could sink too deep, Shark Chili hauled her out.
Bad news: she caught a cold. Good news: the ink washed off.
Tom later prepared hot soup, cocoa, and her favorite desserts to apologize, even raising a paw to swear he'd never prank her again.
Whether anyone believed that, though… Zhang Da Ye certainly didn't.
…
"Land ahead!" Rui Meng Meng's voice echoed from the loudspeaker. "Looks familiar somehow."
[Powerstones plz...
patreon.com/GuessMyName33 for 50 chapters ahead
If you like this novel, check out my other novels in my profile!]