OPTC Chapter 307: Captain Buggy Appears!
The Flag Demons were lucky to survive.
After Zhang Da Ye had beaten them up twice, his anger finally subsided. It wasn't like they didn't prank each other all the time anyway.
The little snowman on the deck didn't last long before melting into a shapeless lump, which Perona and Wendy cleaned up with teary faces.
Thanks to the cold weather, the carrot used as its nose hadn't gone bad yet. Not wanting to waste food, Tom grabbed it and stir-fried it on the spot.
That night, the two little girls ate an extra bowl of rice each, eyes still red.
…
Shark Chili's estimate had been right—they reached the sea around Golden Island in just two days.
He laid out the treasure map and the sea chart, explaining, "First, we head to this island—Samplace. There's a cliff near the shore. If we sail half a day in the direction it points, we'll reach Golden Island."
Samplace Island was the homeland of the great pirate Uunan, so using its terrain as a reference point for his treasure map made perfect sense.
But midway there, Artoria suddenly ordered a course change, saying, "I smell something delicious."
"What could there possibly be out here that smells good? Did Zeff move his restaurant to this area?" Zhang Da Ye was skeptical, but he agreed. It wasn't a big deal—at worst, it'd cost him a bit more money.
Tom eagerly climbed up to the ship's figurehead, scanning the horizon, but saw no restaurant or island in sight.
Wendy sniffed the air, her little nose twitching. As a Dragon Slayer, her sense of smell was also keen.
Still, after sailing for almost half an hour, she finally caught it. "There really is a smell! You're amazing—you could smell it from so far away!"
Zhang Da Ye stared at Artoria, who looked calm and collected, wondering if it was really her sense of smell or just pure intuition.
Tom shut his eyes and sniffed deeply too, but sadly, no aroma of roasted fish or grilled meat reached his nose.
After a while, the source of the scent finally came into view. It wasn't a floating restaurant—just a small boat.
The boat was only about five or six meters long, with two paddle wheels on its sides and a little roofed stall above. Hanging from the stall was a flag—or rather, a banner—with white characters that read "Oden."
Even though this world didn't have Kanto, apparently it did have Oden—fair enough.
"A sea vendor boat?" Shark Chili said. "Never seen one before."
A sea vendor boat was basically a tiny floating shop—a miniature version of a sea restaurant. Even Hachi's takoyaki stall was one of these.
Zhang Da Ye asked, "That's what you smelled?"
Artoria nodded with an eager look. "Yes. That one."
"Alright then. Let's check it out."
The Amber docked beside the vendor boat, towering over it several times in size.
Artoria and Tom couldn't hold back and hopped down first. Zhang Da Ye and Wendy followed curiously.
Perona wrinkled her nose at the humble stall and decided to stay aboard with Carla. The others stayed too, mostly because the stall was too small to fit everyone.
Inside, there were only three stools in front of the counter. Behind it were several divided metal pots simmering with different ingredients in hot broth.
"Welcome," said the owner—a middle-aged man wearing a blue polka-dot bandana. He was busy preparing food but quickly set out three plates and pairs of chopsticks when customers arrived.
Tom, to make room for Zhang Da Ye, crouched on the counter itself. The owner probably thought he was just a normal cat and didn't mind.
"Could you please bring another set of utensils for my cat?" Zhang Da Ye asked.
"A cat?" The man blinked, then complied. "But I heard cats shouldn't eat food with salt, and their tongues are very sensitive to heat. Please be careful feeding him."
"Is that so?" Zhang Da Ye looked puzzled.
He'd had over six months of "experience" owning cats—two of them now—but honestly knew nothing about caring for them.
Not that it was his fault. Even Tom looked confused. So cats couldn't eat salt? And they were supposed to fear heat?
Wendy's eyes widened in shock. "But Carla eats the same food as me! Is she going to get sick?!"
Seeing her near tears, Zhang Da Ye quickly reassured her. "Don't worry, Tom and Carla aren't ordinary cats."
Technically, Carla wasn't a cat—she was a transcendent being. As for Tom… well, he could probably eat lava and be fine.
Two cat owners who were constantly being taken care of *by* their cats nodded to each other in silent agreement: yes, their cats were definitely not normal.
While they were talking, Artoria's plate had already been emptied several times.
After pondering for a few minutes about whether he could eat salty food, Tom decided to just eat first and worry later.
Wendy bit into a fish ball and gasped, "It's so good!"
It really was. One look at how fast Artoria was eating, and Zhang Da Ye already knew it'd be amazing. When he tried some himself, the flavor was leagues above anything he'd ever had before.
The imitation oden he'd eaten in his previous world didn't even compare—it was basically just mild hotpot.
"Boss, I'll buy out everything you've got on this boat!" Zhang Da Ye declared boldly.
The boat couldn't hold much, so it would probably only be enough for one group meal anyway.
"All of it? But wasting food isn't good," the owner said, concerned.
"Don't worry. We've got more crewmates on our ship. It'd be a crime not to share something this good."
"I see! In that case, I'll get everything ready right away!" The man smiled wide, happier about the praise than the profit.
Perona, after watching the others eat, hesitated before trying some. "I… I didn't expect something from such a shabby stall to taste this good."
"Yohohoho! Delicious indeed! Between this and the sea restaurant, could it be that East Blue is actually home to the world's best chefs?" Brook said, confidently wrong as ever.
In no time, everything on the boat had been devoured. The owner started tallying up the total with a wooden abacus—yes, an actual abacus.
As the beads clicked, he murmured to himself, "Fried tofu, 725 pieces; kelp, 765; fish balls, 1510; radish, 510; plus konjac, fish cakes, eggs…"
Zhang Da Ye braced himself for the total, ready to open his wallet.
Finally, the man looked up and said, "That'll be 55 Berries."
"Alright," Zhang Da Ye said, opening his inventory—then froze. "Wait… how much?"
"55 Berries," the man confirmed.
"You're sure it's fifty-five, not fifty-five *thousand*?"
The man nodded solemnly. "Yes. And no haggling."
"Haggle? I wouldn't dare!" Zhang Da Ye muttered. "This cheap? For all that food? Seriously?"
He handed over a hundred Berry coin and waved off the change, too bewildered to argue. Was Zeff overcharging him this whole time?
He'd think about that later. For now, while the man cleaned the dishes, he asked, "By the way, do you know this Island?"
"Of course. You're heading there? There's only a poor village and some wild beasts—not much else worth seeing."
They had already told him earlier that they were travelers.
"That's fine. We're just passing by. The beasts might actually be useful for hunting."
"Then keep sailing that way. It's close."
"Thanks."
The direction he pointed matched the route on Shark Chili's map. Everything lined up.
Before long, the Amber reached Samplace Island and docked. It was nearly sunset, so they saw a few fishing boats but no fishermen.
There was a small village near the shore, and some low hills beyond. The scenery was green and calm—nice enough, though not remarkable.
Just as the man had said, there wasn't much to do there.
Zhang Da Ye said, "Carla, you and Jin Peng go scout around. See if there's a cliff that matches Shark Chili's description."
"Got it." Carla spread her wings and flew off.
Zhang Da Ye released the Flag Demon Jin Peng to help. The others without wings were left to guard the ship.
"Rui Meng Meng, let's head to the village to restock. Anyone else want to come?" Food came first, especially before treasure hunting.
Everyone did. After so long at sea, they all wanted to walk on land again.
They split up: Shark Chili, Brook, Perona, Wendy, and Rui Meng Meng went hunting; Zhang Da Ye, Tom, Artoria, and Rui Meng Meng went shopping.
Wendy didn't go with Zhang Da Ye only because she'd promised to keep Perona company—who, apparently, wanted to find a pet bear.
Just as they were about to head off, Zhang Da Ye suddenly stopped. He'd just received a message from Jin Peng: "A ship is approaching. It's a pirate ship."
"Where?" he asked. "Can you see the flag?"
"On the west side of the island. At their current speed, they'll land in half an hour. The flag has a skull with two black vertical stripes over its eyes and a big red nose."
"Huh?" Zhang Da Ye's eyes lit up. "Red nose? You don't mean…?"
Shark Chili nodded. "That's the Buggy Pirates. Captain Buggy the Clown—bounty, ten million Berries. That's considered high in East Blue."
"Perfect," Zhang Da Ye said. "You guys go hunt. We'll handle the pirates. I've been curious about this Buggy guy."
"Alright." Shark Chili and the others didn't argue. Buggy wasn't exactly top-tier prey.
Only Wendy murmured softly, "Be careful, Brother Da Ye."
"I will," he replied cheerfully.
As they walked, Rui Meng Meng asked, "Boss, what's so special about this Buggy?"
"He ate the Chop-Chop Fruit. His body can split into pieces—can't be cut by blades. They say he's a swordsman's worst nightmare. And since all four of us count as swordsmen…" Zhang Da Ye grinned wickedly. "Let's test it."
He rummaged behind Tom and pulled out a swordsman's outfit, dressing the cat in it. Four swordsmen, ready for battle.
"Sounds fun," Rui Meng Meng said, hand on her sword.
"Interesting," Artoria agreed, her eyes gleaming.
Tom, holding a rapier, sighed silently. His master was at it again. Why use swords against someone who can't be cut? Wouldn't guns make more sense?
Zhang Da Ye didn't notice. He just smiled and said, "Poor Buggy. He doesn't know what's coming."
Meanwhile, aboard the *Big Top*—
A blue-haired clown captain sat on his chair, flanked by Mohji the tamer on his lion to the left and Cabaji the acrobat on his unicycle to the right.
His crew all wore circus-like outfits, and even the ship itself looked like a carnival attraction—with painted targets and a cannon shaped like an elephant.
A crewman ran up. "Captain Buggy! The round island ahead is Samplace Island!"
It was a normal report—but the word "round" set Buggy off.
"What did you say about *round* noses?!" he screeched, face twisting.
The crewman froze. "C-Captain Buggy…"
Buggy got up and shoved his face close. "You think my nose looks stupid, don't you? Huh?!"
"N-no, sir! You misunderstand!"
"Oh, so now you're saying my nose is *too big and round*, huh?!"
The other crewmen started sweating. "It's happening again! The demon's power!"
Buggy raised a hand, and suddenly the poor man was lifted into the air, choking and kicking as invisible fingers squeezed his throat.
Buggy smiled sweetly. "Now, who am I?"
"B-Buggy… Captain…" the man gasped.
"And what happens when you disobey me?"
"A g-glorious death! I'm sorry! I'll never speak out of turn again!"
Buggy released him with a huff. "Fine. I'll forgive you this once. But next time, die gloriously!"
The man coughed and stammered out thanks.
Buggy turned grandly to his crew, raising a fist. "Men! The treasure of the great pirate Uunan will soon belong to *me*, Captain Buggy! Ahahahaha!"
"Captain Buggy!"
"Captain Buggy!"
Their cheers echoed in rhythm, as if nothing had happened.
Once the noise died down, Buggy grinned. "Before we land, let's test the new prototype Buggy Bomb. Our target—those people on the shore!"
"Captain Buggy!"
"Captain Buggy!"
The men didn't even ask who he was targeting. Their job was just to cheer.
"Ahahahaha! Bring out the cannon!" Buggy ordered.
Two crewmen rolled out a cannon, and another hefted a red cannonball painted with the Buggy Pirates' emblem, loading it in.
Buggy pointed dramatically. "Fire!"
And just like that, the cannon roared—its target, a man, two women, and a cat standing on the shore.
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