When it came to afros, Zhang Da Ye's first thought was Brook. After all, he was nothing but a skeleton when he was revived. Getting organs from black market dealers would make sense… except, no, that's nonsense.
That ridiculous perverted skeleton wouldn't do such a thing. Besides, he should still be drifting in the Devil's Triangle at this point.
Then there was the current navy admiral, the future fleet admiral Sengoku. He had an afro too. When he transformed, it even turned golden.
But it was even more impossible for him to come all the way just to try and kill Zhang Da Ye.
Finally, there was the great god Usopp. If he took off his bandana, he was technically an afro too. But right now he was only about ten years old, probably still at home playing pirate games.
As for the rest, Zhang Da Ye couldn't remember any major afro-wearing figures. Maybe it wasn't anyone important. So he asked again, "Were there any other distinctive traits?"
"Besides wearing sunglasses, nothing else stood out. He came alone when he approached us to make the deal—no companions." The burly man spoke frankly, laying out the whole story.
Their crew had originally been working around Island No. 3, doing their "business." With the lawless zone in chaos lately, they had hoped to profit from it.
Then yesterday, this afro guy appeared. He said he had his eyes on the organs of a small tavern owner. The promised reward was generous, though he hadn't even paid a deposit.
They weren't worried about losing money. Once they caught the target, selling him wouldn't be a problem.
They did a quick investigation of the tavern and learned: the tavern's guard could fight ten men alone, the tavern owner was weak, the tavern's cat was unusually smart, and the waitress looked easy to bully.
What was there to be afraid of? A guard who could take on ten people? They could all do that too.
After more digging, they discovered that "Running Da Ye," also nicknamed "Folding Chair Da Ye," had a very regular lifestyle. He jogged around the island every morning. Setting up an ambush would be child's play.
And that led to what happened today.
Zhang Da Ye pressed further: "So where did you agree to make the trade?"
"At your tavern."
"Huh?" Zhang Da Ye dug at his ear. "I must've misheard. Where did you say?"
"You heard right. The deal was to happen at your tavern," the man explained. "If we successfully captured you, we were to burn the tavern as the signal. On the third night after setting the fire, the trade would be completed in front of the tavern's ruins."
"…What the hell." Zhang Da Ye was speechless. This was downright cruel.
Even if he wanted to disguise himself as one of them to complete the deal, this method made it far too risky.
Even if he gritted his teeth, torched his own tavern, and rebuilt later, he'd still have to figure out where to hide for three days—and whether he'd be exposed.
Worst of all, what if this so-called employer wasn't even after organs, but simply wanted to destroy the tavern? That was the most disgusting possibility.
"Why is it that every enemy I meet has this kind of twisted logic? Can't someone just step up and face me head-on?" Zhang Da Ye felt exhausted.
The big man lying on the ground muttered inwardly. Facing you head-on? Look at what just happened to us—that's the price. If I had known how strong you guys were, I wouldn't dare face you directly either.
Zhang Da Ye kicked him. "Why do I feel like your eyes are filled with malice? Tell me—are you hiding something?"
Tom picked up a dagger and ran over, adding his own feline brand of intimidation.
"I swear, that's really everything! I've said all I know! Hey, keep your cat away from me—it's dangerous!" The man knew his chances were slim, but dying at the paws of a cat was something he really wanted to avoid.
"So how much bounty is on your heads?" Zhang Da Ye decided. If he couldn't get to the employer through them, he'd at least cash them in. Organ traffickers were no better than slavers anyway.
The big man answered, "None of us have bounties. Not a single one of the twelve."
"Impossible. A criminal group with your level of ability, and no bounty?" Zhang Da Ye didn't buy it.
Even the weaker Pittman gang had bounties. These guys were far stronger—how could they have none? Unless this was somehow their very first crime?
At that, the man's expression grew solemn. "Please don't insult us professionals with that kind of suspicion.
"In my eyes, a truly successful criminal is one who completes his crimes cleverly and secretly, leaving no evidence for the enforcers. Even in death, he should vanish without a sound.
"It's because we've upheld this principle that we can commit countless crimes yet still walk openly, blending into crowds without fear of recognition, even when tailing a target.
"I always teach them—when a criminal becomes notorious, hunted everywhere, that means he's already failed. Even the Pirate King is no exception."
His words rang with conviction, like he was declaring his life's creed.
Rui Meng Meng timidly raised her hand. "Boss, why does what he said sound kind of… reasonable?"
"…I think so too," Zhang Da Ye admitted silently to himself. This guy was actually some kind of philosopher among criminals. But still—
"What's there for a criminal to be so proud about?!" Zhang Da Ye smashed the hilt of his sword against the man's head, knocking him out.
"Don't let him sway you. People like this are best erased as soon as possible. In some ways, he's more dangerous than the notorious ones."
"Oh, oh." Rui Meng Meng nodded. "So, Boss, what do we do now? If we don't find the mastermind, won't we keep running into ambushes?"
"Yeah, I'm worried about that too…" Zhang Da Ye sighed. "What am I supposed to do, actually burn down the tavern just to lure them out?"
"I doubt that would work," Artoria said. "If someone clever enough to plan the tavern-burning signal is behind this, then they probably have other ways to confirm whether the job was done."
"So we just wait until they move again?" Zhang Da Ye groaned. "But what if, like this time, we get almost no clues?"
Artoria replied, "It's also possible that this group was only a test. Next time, the employer may appear personally."
"No helping it then. We'll wait. But everyone has to be extra cautious when going out." Zhang Da Ye thought the style of this mastermind had a real business-like sharpness. Maybe the guy he sent really did have an afro?
"Then… Boss, what do we do with these people?" Rui Meng Meng pointed at the unconscious traffickers littering the ground.
Tom was poking them with a stick, one by one—clearly a bad habit picked up from spending time with Camie.
"He said they've committed countless crimes yet left no evidence for the authorities. Fine. We'll grant their wish and let them die silently, without a name. I didn't even bother asking what their names were."