OPTC Chapter 217 Tom Hurts Himself First, Then the Enemy
Boom, bang!
Explosions rang out one after another as the cannon fire continued. Zhang Da Ye could no longer stay in the watchtower just giving commands.
Although the enemy helmsman was rather clumsy, their gunners were competent. From time to time, cannonballs would come flying that Zhang Da Ye had to block using a lamp post like a club.
It wasn't that he didn't want to use his folding chair, but he was worried that if he smashed it against a cannonball and it exploded right then, he might get injured—or at least covered in soot. The lamp post had better reach anyway, making it more reliable.
Rui Meng Meng was far bolder than him in this regard. She actually dared to slice cannonballs with her sword, cutting them in half midair and forcing them to explode in the sky. The blast waves whipped her clothes and hair, giving her a strikingly heroic appearance.
Artoria focused intently on steering, reducing the number of cannonballs they needed to face in the first place.
Everyone was playing their part to get used to naval combat, each showing off their abilities, but still within the realm of reason.
As for Tom, his firing rate was very low—because every time before he fired, he somehow managed to injure himself first. For example, dropping a cannonball on his own foot, or getting hit on the head by a cannon barrel flipping over.
Watching from the side, little Perona covered her mouth with tears welling up in her eyes. "Such an unlucky little kitty… It must have been so hard to survive until today! Tom, hang in there! Something good will surely happen for you!"
Encouraged in such a baffling way, Tom's motivation rose by one level.
Zhang Da Ye, however, thought Tom was just building up rage. Once his anger bar was full, the enemy would really be in trouble—because every time Tom actually did fire, he managed to achieve results.
Once, a small cannonball he fired hit one of the enemy's larger cannonballs, pushing it back toward them. It was like using their own spear against their own shield, grinding the laws of physics into the dirt.
Another time, one of his cannonballs went straight into the enemy's cannon barrel, causing it to explode. It wasn't enough to detonate their magazine, but several enemy gunners ended up charred black and collapsed, coughing out smoke.
The funniest moment came when a cannonball hit the enemy's sail, didn't penetrate, didn't explode, but instead rolled smoothly down the sail—heading straight for Foxy. Pirates on deck screamed and scrambled out of the way as Foxy dodged frantically among them.
But the cannonball seemed to have eyes, following him until he was cornered at the ship's railing. Just then, its fuse burned out, releasing a puff of black smoke—then nothing.
"A dud…? A dud cannonball?" Snot dripped from one of Foxy's nostrils as he stood frozen in disbelief.
He had run all over the ship to escape it, causing many of his men to fall overboard or get trampled in the chaos—only to now learn it was a dud?
"Bastards, how dare you mock me!" Foxy kicked the cannonball—and boom!
The pirates panicked. "Captain!"
Foxy staggered, shook his head, and patted the soot off his body. The damage wasn't much, but the humiliation was extreme. Furious, he shouted, "Open fire! Sink those bastards!"
"But Captain! Our firepower is completely suppressed!"
"What are you saying? Our cannons should be at least twice as many as theirs!" Foxy's expression twisted in disbelief. Falling behind at the start was one thing, but being suppressed this long? It made no sense.
"In terms of numbers, yes. But their ship is far too agile. They must have a very skilled helmsman."
"Damn it, why won't they just play Davy-Back Fight with us? I really want to win that helmsman over!" Foxy fumed.
"They're not pirates, Captain. We can't force them. Should we retreat?"
"Retreat? No! Even if we lose in cannon fire, we still have Capote and Pickles Panda. As long as we sink their ship, we win. Hold the line!" Foxy put his hopes on his two fishmen.
He noticed someone from the enemy ship had jumped into the sea as well, but that small fry couldn't possibly defeat Capote and Pickles Panda.
Yet just as that thought crossed his mind, Capote—the sailfish fishman—was launched out of the water, clearly beaten.
"Why do you also know Fishman Karate? And at a higher level than me?!" Capote clutched his chest after landing back in the water, shocked by the overwhelming strength of that dark-skinned opponent.
Shark Chili surfaced. He hadn't even activated his super transformation. With pride, he declared, "I'm the most destructive of the B-series robots. If I couldn't even handle someone like you, I'd be letting down the doctor's work—and Master Jinbei's teachings!"
"Damn it! You were taught by Boss Jinbei?!" Capote didn't know who this doctor was, but he had personally been beaten by Jinbei in his reckless youth. He knew the weight that name carried. But what really caught his attention was something else. "Wait—you said you're a robot? Then… could it be that you have robot blood in your ancestry?"
"…" Shark Chili didn't want to bother with him. Back on Fishman Island, people had asked him the same annoying question plenty of times. As Zhang Da Ye always said, an enemy like this was best beaten down first—talking could wait.
Capote braced himself. "Even if you had Jinbei's guidance, he isn't here now! Take this—Fishman Karate, Thousand Tile True Punch!"
"Fishman Karate, Three Thousand Tile… Palm Strike!"
In this form, Shark Chili couldn't easily clench a fist, so he simply used his palm.
The slap landed square on Capote's face, sending him spinning through the air, teeth flying out before he crashed into the sea, floating lifelessly.
The pirates gawked, jaws dropping. "Capote actually lost! He's never lost before!"
Foxy forced himself to stay calm. "N-no problem… We still have Pickles Panda. With the strength of a giant, he can't lose!"
The massive Pickles Panda rose from the sea, swinging his fist at Shark Chili.
Shark Chili dodged with ease and tried a knife-hand strike at his wrist. "Hm? Doesn't seem effective."
"Puh-shi~ puh-shishi! I'm an eel fish giant! My slippery skin and mucus make attacks like yours useless!" Pickles Panda laughed proudly. He couldn't fully negate blunt force, but it did weaken most of it.
"Looks like my training still isn't enough. If it were Master Jinbei, he could probably use this slime against you instead." Shark Chili glanced at his hand, unsatisfied with his own current level of water manipulation.
"Also… this must be one of those idiots Boss Zhang mentioned, the kind who explains all their abilities to their enemies mid-battle."
Shark Chili sidestepped another punch and shouted, "Super Shark Giant!"
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