ã€ŠAdventure Of Tomorrowã€‹


 Chapter 1 - -Prologue: A new beginning

    Prologue.

    Many people believe in the theory of the multiverse even with no evidence supporting such a claim. And while many others disagree with them, even going so far to say that any person who believes in that theory is stupid, they couldn''t be anymore wrong.

    There indeed exist many worlds from multiple different universes out there. With the earth being one of them. And it being the sole planet with living beings from its home universe as such making it extremely weak if compared with other worlds.

    A person can never leave his universe, some even find it hard to leave their planets much less the universe. And even in the off chance that some being originating from a high tier planet can break the boundaries, he would step into the void separating the universes and die.

    Of course such a thing would never happen, as the universe itself will send the being to the Sp¨ªti universe -The very first universe in existence and also the strongest- where there are higher beings who will propose for him/her to join them.

    Even for such beings, to travel through the void easily, there exist no way.

    But there exist a an exception to travel through the void. Being strong enough to withstand the pressure trying to tear every cell of your entire being apart.

    Very few can do so, among them there is the oldest and also the strongest being that currently exist. It being called by the rest as o sof¨®s''the wise.

    It has no home but the void. It roams the space as if in search of something, for millions of years, often presented a question by higher beings from the Sp¨ªti universe when they are looking for ancient knowledge. As such how it got its name.

    In this particular time, o sof¨®s''the wise who is in the shape of a blue gaseous cloud could be seen in the absolutely black void floating meaninglessly and leisurely. Occasionally, it passed by many dark grey clouds that are much bigger than it, each representing a universe.

    It knows that the grey clouds surround the universe as a sort of protection against the void, while underneath it lies what it always was and still is amazed to see, the true marvelous view of a universe.

    On its journey this time. When it had reached a small universe apparent by the cloud size, it stopped and curiously stared at a bright sphere of light near it.

    With its immense knowledge it knew that it was a soul. But even in its near infinite wisdom it was perplexed as to how a soul can survive in the void very much like itself. It neared it with a curious thought, and reached with its powers to see what makes it unique. Once near, it first identified it as an anthropoeid¨ªs race, and with a probe on its mind, knew it to be a male from a species called humans.

    And as it continued reading ''his'' mind, it soon knew of his whole life and a planet named earth that it saw was very weak, and only focused on the technology side, and even at that it didn''t reach a very high level like some universes it knew of.

    Even after probing for information, the being was still left wondering for its unanswered questions.

    But as wise as it is, it could very easily reach a conclusion.

    O sof¨®s''the wise knew that the souls all enter into the reincarnation cycle in the very universe they originated from by means it didn''t know of, but always wondered about.

    As such this lost soul too was perhaps going to enter the cycle but somehow it ended up here in the void.

    For the reason of why the human soul can survive in the void, it surmised it as a reason attributed to the many good deeds the human male had done while alive resulting in the bright sphere protecting it. As for why it didn''t enter the reincarnation cycle it probed the soul further to confirm its guess.

    And as it did so it turned out to be quite shocking for it.

    It had noticed how this ''Human'' was not linked to this universe reincarnation cycle, but rather at a universe it rather knew too well. It was also probably the reason why the soul was stuck here. It had no way to travel through the void safely.

    As o sof¨®s''the wise, thought of this, it noticed how the soul, had reacted to its presence and looked at it interestedly. The soul had inched closer to it and the white light surrounding the sphere extended to touch itself and tried to absorb the cloud substance.

    With interest in the soul, o sof¨®s did not stop it and let it take how much it wanted to. But as if the soul knew its limit it took only an extremely small amount and separated from the being. A small amount for someone with it''s strength however, but not for the rest...

    Thinking no more of this strange event, o sof¨®s turned back to its earlier thoughts and considered whether or not to help the soul.

    As it already knew of the human male soul being good it decided to take it to its destination.

    It did not see such strange happenings all the time after all, and who knows for how long the soul has been in here.

    As o sof¨®s''the wise was extremely strong it had no trouble reaching the soul''s destined universe easily in a fracture of a second.

    The being mused that the human could be said to be in a situation of fortune in misfortune. As while he died young and was trapped in the void, such exposure was guaranteed to make him gain special abilities. Ones he will need where he was going to.

    And he had even interacted with o sof¨®s''s energy, which can be considered as a blessing for him.

    O sof¨®s''the wise watched as the soul entered the universe that it itself entered to, to live a short life of few millennials in from time to time.

    It was perhaps the most mysterious universe in existence, and the only one named. It was different than others in that its planets were products of imagination. It was not that they were fake, they were very much real. But rather it was an ever expanding universe that added planets that were only considered dreams of higher beings and lower beings all the same.

    As such every time o sof¨®s''the wise thought of a new world in its mind, for the simple reason to quell it''s boredom, it came to check it out in this universe. Named ¨¢peiro''¨®neiro, or infinite dream in the tongue of the human male soul that he had newly learned.

    With a last look at the soul that had by now entered already into the universe reincarnation circle, O sof¨®s continued on its aimless journey through the void once again.

 Chapter 2 - -The start of a new journey

    Ian Louis, was a very smart child raised on an island of which so far he still doesn''t know its name.

    He did not remember how he got to this island as he was just a baby at the time. But as he grew up he did come to remember memories that indicated that he was not a person from this world. And that he had died on his previous life. But he didn''t know how he lived nor how he died, he did remember however that he was an orphan, just like in this life. As he was alone in both lives he always wondered on what it''s like to have a family.

    He also knew that this world was only a product of fiction in his old one, and how it was his dream to live in it after dying. His wish had been achieved and he was happy about it.

    Thankfully, a person from the village, adopted him. He was one of the strongest people of the village and also single. And he always talked about how Ian would someday leave this island whether he liked it or not. As such he forced Ian, once he reached an appropriate age, to do a training regime that Ian still consider as being worse than hell. Not that he knew how hell is.

    Of course he was thankful to him, as he was at the present time pretty strong for a 15 years old young man and when comparing that with his knowledge of this world, he was very strong for his age group.

    He along his stay had noticed how this island was strange than the rest. On his training he of course visited many islands with his father. He had even gone hunting with him on some days. Not that the island did not have enough beasts to hunt. It was just that some nearby islands had a specific type of food that his father would like to eat occasionally.

    At those times he noticed how the island is surrounded by a fog that hid it from the surroundings. His father explained that the fog is a sort of protection that had always been there, since hundreds of years ago according to the village history.

    He even explained how every time the people tried getting out of the island they would find the islands nearby have changed. With time they have thought of a possibility and that is that the island is always moving.

    Ian of course thought it was cool and amazing, he was always a fan of such weird islands as shown on the manga in his original world.

    Once Ian was 15, his father brought him to two graves and spoke to him about them. Saying they were his parents, and how he had found them injured in a nearby island at the time and how they entrusted Ian to him. And he also spoke to him of what his parents did while still alive, their dreams, and their personalities.

    Ian had cried himself to sleep that day even with how big he was, after all they were his parents in his new life but he couldn''t even meet them. They gave birth to him, but were not able to love him as he grew up, even if he had memories of another life, he was still born in this world, as such he was affected badly. But the next day he was determined to let his parents dream continue through him as he shared the same dream even when he was still alive in the other world. and he also came to remember that he had his adopted father there for him.

    Once he spoke to his adopted father about it, he only laughed and asked him why he thinks he had trained him so far? He had even said that he would in the future leave this island.

    But he had asked him to stay at least another 2 or 3 years so that he can train him to be strong enough to sail alone. He told him that he would take him to a place with much stronger beasts than here or any of the islands they went to before to train him well. They would be using a vivre card of a friend who stays there alone considering the islands strange circ.u.mstances.

    As he was educated by his father he knew a lot about the sea and knows the basics of navigating which would be enough at first but he would need to be much stronger to sail alone and so he took his father''s words to heart and promised to train hard.

    Which leads us to this day, when Ian reached 18 Years old. The day he would set sail.

    He was currently looking at a ring belonging to his adopted father that he had given him along with a sword that belonged to his real parents apparently. His father knew the swords name as he had seen it before, and that it would rank among the 50 skillful grade swords.

    Its grade did not matter for him as he was not well versed into swordsmanship, although it couldn''t be said that he was weak at it as he could use a flying slash attack by swinging the sword with sufficient force and speed, which creates a powerful pressure in the form of a compressed air blade, allowing him to cut at a long distance, but even so it was not his main fighting style.

    He would treasure it along with the ring. His father named Geo was at the side standing smiling gently at him.

    "Ian, this ring is special, you need to drip a bit of blood on it so that you can see its true worth, go ahead try it" Geo spoke his voice powerful yet also gentle.

    Geo was man of a hight reaching 197cm. he had broad shoulders, heavy musculed body with long arms and legs. his overall look will give you the image of a gallant warrior that fears nothing. But he was, by no means average looking, Rather he was quite the charming person with his light golden brown hair and green eyes that added to his hadnsomness.

    His hair was tied in a ponytail, while his beard was trimmed nicely, giving the impression of someone that take good care of his looks.

    Although puzzled and confused, Ian did as he asked of him. And watched with amazement the ring turn from an ordinary sliver color to a golden shiny ring with beautiful engravings.

    But what surprised him was how there appeared a bunch of information in his mind telling him what is the ring for.

    He had had a guess that the ring was an Inter-spatial Ring but he dismissed it as impossible in the one piece world. But it turned out to be real. And rather than question how was it possible only to find no answer, he directly tried to use it by storing the sword.

    It was with just a thought and the sword was gone.

    His father at the side seeing his dumbfounded expression laughed lightly.

    "You should know, that this ring is an artifact that you can''t find even if you search for it for your whole life. I only got it by chance and so far i have seen no second one like it" Geo said, and there was a nostalgic expression on his face along with a faint smile as he stroked his beard with his left hand.

    "Father, this too precious I cannot take it" Ian said and tried to give it back but his father refused.

    "It''s yours now." Geo said it with a tone of finality.

    And Ian couldn''t say or do anything about it except watch as his father put the ring on his left middle finger.

    "As far as it''s space size ha-ha you would find out that you can even store a battleship inside with plenty of space left, don''t ask me how even I don''t know. Also I have left some things you would need on your journey inside" Geo said.

    "Now follow me, I ,and the villagers, have built a small caravel for you to start your journey with, you should thank them before you go." He said with small grin.

    And so Ian followed him to the place where his new ship is placed.

    He had already made his mind to start his journey, and even as he felt sad to part with his father, he was excited to start his dream. When they reached there he saw how the villagers were waiting and smiling gently at him while some of them held crates by their feets..

    Looking at them he felt warm, they were all nice people who took care of him growing up.

    He thanked them all, and followed his father so that he can give him a tour, and reexplain some basic things about sailing.

    Once done he hugged his father, and hugged the villagers, one by one and afterwards watched watched them load various types of food including meat, which was his favorite although not as much as the MC of this world luffy. Once they did so they helped him get the ship ready.

    Then he took off to the sea waving and smiling at his father and thanking him and the villagers for all their troubles these years, and soon he had passed the fog surrounding the island.

 Chapter 3 - -Strange abilities:

    Soon Ian wasn''t able to see the island at all, it was like it had vanished from existence in an instant. If it was not for the vivre card at his hands pointing at its place, he knew that he could never reach it alone.

    after almost an hour of sorting through the storage and placing the food in the fridge, and setting the bed for his room... He sat back on a deck chair and enjoyed the sea breeze and started drifting into his thoughts abuot the future.

    Now that he started on his journey he started to think of his training, and his abilities that he was born with. Since he was young he was aware that he possessed information in his mind about how to use one of his abilities.

    ''I do not know how it is that I got these abilities, but it would be extremely helpful for my journey and training. Since I could remember I knew how to use Telekinesis or kinetic energy, now using it I don''t even need to unfurl the sails.'' Ian thought to himself, as he was using a very small effort to push the ship with his power in the direction on the compass.

    Since he was three years old he got to know about telekinesis, and since his mind was that of a grown up, he found it easy to use it but also within limitation of his body at the time.

    As it was related to the mind, and he by some unknown reason to him, has one strong mind, so much that he had awakened conqueror haki by the time he reached 8 years old.

    It was also that same day that his father had started training him seriously. Not as serious as the training that followed after he took him to his parent''s grave, but nonetheless a serious training that prepared him for every possible situation he would face.

    As for his second ability, he didn''t know about it at first but only after he started his training.

    He and his father had noticed how every time after a serious workout, he would be fine the next day after a good sleep, instead of resting for three to four days to let the muscles relax.

    It was so intriguing at the time that he did something stupid. Something his father scolded him harshly about.

    He had took a knife and slashed a cut at his leg. And even if the result ended up surprising them both, it was still a stupid thing to do. His injury in his leg had healed with at a visible rate to the n.a.k.e.d eye.

    And in almost three minutes it was gone. Granted it had been just a small wound and not a very deep one.

    Since that incident he was made to promise to never inflict wounds upon himself to experiment about his abilities.

    He had only come to know about it more when he fell from a mountain he was made to climb as part of his training. He had broken his right leg, and had many small wounds and scratches, but all healed in a fast way except his broken leg that took two days to be fixed.

    Once Ian remembered his injury, he laughed for a bit and looked at his leg that was now as good as new with no sign of an injury.

    He had an accelerated regeneration time and could use telekinesis. But regeneration was not his second ability but rather just a part of it.

    He had only known about that, once he reached 16 years old by a bunch of information that was unlocked in his mind. His second ability was that his body was special, capable of reaching heights even ''Kaido'' the strongest creature in this world could not dream of.

    ''If this was a game, I would have the perks ''Evolving Body with no limitation'' in addition to ''telekinesis'''' Ian mused to himself.

    He could also feel a weird energy in his body that not only would heal him when hurt, but according to the new information he got, it would also refine every bloodline he chose to add to his body effectively making him stronger, but still human.

    Which he deduced means, that he would stay human and refine the bloodline into some sort of energy that would strengthen his body.

    ''Right now I should be stronger than a vice admiral but not even close so as to defeat an admiral, according to my estimation. Of course this is excluding Luffy''s grandpa, vice admiral Garp.'' Ian thought to himself.

    In his training, he was drilled on the basics needed to sail when he was young before he could train his body. But after he was ready, he followed his father''s practise in order to strengthen his body for the next stage of training. Which was the six marine skills.

    Of course he was shocked at that time that his father owned a manual for the Six Powers, much less how he was able to use them perfectly. But his father had told him that he was teaching it to him to make him ready for something much better and stronger.

    Which Ian knew it was haki, but had to keep it hidden that he knew. He was excited nonetheless.

    By 15 years old he had mastered both the six powers, and the basics of Haki. And by 18 he knew he had mastered armament Haki to the limits shown in the manga, even if he felt it was not the end line for it. As for observation Haki he still can''t see the future yet.

    Katakuri being able to see the future by three seconds is one proof that it is the advanced form of observation Haki. But so far he didn''t see anybody in the manga use any advanced form of armament Haki. And even his father didn''t know.

    But he had assured him once he reached 18 years old, and after a serious spar with him that his armament haki would be considered one of the strongest in the world. He even expressed how it was ridiculous for him to reach such heights so quickly.

    But Ian didn''t agree, as he had seen that Luffy the MC of this world almost reach the top of the world after only two years of training his haki. But he also conveniently forgot that the rest of the people can''t do the same in just that short period of time. His armament Haki was the reason he thought he was stronger than vice admiral level.

    He had been pushing the ship with his powers at a modestly fast pace, but he still didn''t see any island nearby which was understandable as he had just set sail about one or two hours ago. As for using observation haki to sense if there is any island nearby, it was impossible, even Enel could barely cover Skypiea using his Mantra in addition to the help of his Devil fruit.

    As he didn''t see anything nearby he decided to enter the ship and head to the kitchen and make something to eat while upping the speed of the ship a bit.

 Chapter 4 - -Free 9 million berries

    The ship itself, was amazing even if a bit small, but although it was smaller than the going merry, it suited his needs at this time.

    He would of course get a new ship even if he doesn''t need it, due to his powers. As he could essentially fly using telekinesis, and with barely any effort at that, but still flying long distances would be tiring for him at this time, therefore he would need a ship, not to mention if he got any companions in the future. He wasn''t sure if he would join the straw hats after all. But he had time to think until he meets them so there was no reason to be hasty, after all Luffy has not even been known yet so maybe he hasn''t even set sail.

    His dream was to go on adventures, with them, it was guaranteed, but he could also go alone, maybe with few companions or so. But if he doesn''t join them he would settle for being a bounty hunter. He would not become a pirate even if his parents were ones. He could seek adventures just like they were all the same and he was also not ready to be feared as a pirate.

    When the villagers and his father built the ship, they had just wanted to help him somehow on his journey. Even his father said that they had built it for him to start his journey. Start being the key word.

    It consisted of a main cannon deck and anchor room, two rooms on the bottom, one small and one big, with Ian taking the smaller one, in case he got any companions they would share the bigger one. It of course had a bathroom, a storage room, and a cannon Deck that had a small cannon on each side.

    Not that Ian would use them anyways, he has much better methods of sinking sh.i.p.s.

    And there of course exists a kitchen that could serve as meeting room or just a place to relax.

    Ian was currently there cooking something to eat. Although he would not be considered the best cook, his food would definitely taste good.

    It was as he finished making the food and serving it on a plate then got back up to eat on the deck, that he spotted a ship in the distance speeding in his direction. As such he stopped the ship and waited to see. He couldn''t see from that far away if they are pirates or marines, and for his observation Haki to detect how many people are there they would have to get close to him unless he used it with conjunction with telekinesis, at that time his range would double. But it would tire him, which was something he would not want to do in this dangerous sea.

    He took out binoculars from his ring and used it, and saw that it was a pirate flag, but he didn''t recognize this pirate crew from the manga, which was understandable as it couldn''t have covered all the crews in this world.

    Usually another person would have fired at them by now, but he let them near him, but instead of letting them board his ship, he put the binoculars aside and took a jump at their ship.

    He didn''t use his ability, but could still reach them easily.

    The crew that was excited at first at the prospect of an easy prey were now cautious as to how can a person jump such a distance.

    After they took a good look at him they noticed how he had good features and a handsome face and he was taller than their captain with a height of around 180cm or 5''11 feet, wearing black shorts reaching just a bit past his knees, and a white shirt reaching his elbows that had three buttons above his chest which he left unbuttoned. As such they could see he was a robust young man with well-toned stacked muscles, but his face which had the features of a young man gave them back their courage.

    Their captain took his sword out, and started laughing as he spoke to him.

    "It''s good that you came and surrendered on your own. It''s your honor to be captured by me captain Stram of the treasure seeking pirates with a bounty of 9 million berry. Boys go board the ship, take all that is valuab¡­" he was still speaking when he noticed that the young man had done something that resulted in his crew now fainting and lying unconscious on the deck.

    "w-what happened, what did you d-do?" the captain took a step back in fear and fell on his lower back.

    Ian who jut standing there with one hand in his pocket, finally decided to speak.

    "Hey, you said you are worth 9 million berries? That is a lot for such a weak crew. But then again, this is the weakest of the seas, east blue." Ian said more to himself then to the pirate.

    "Y-yes its t-true" the captain spoke as he took a bounty poster and gave it to him in the hope that he wouldn''t kill him.

    Once Ian confirmed it, he blasted him with a small amount of conqueror Haki, as it was the sole reason he didn''t do so in the first place. Once the captain fainted he grabbed him by the collar and jumped to his ship.

    He took him to the storage room and tied him using a rope very tightly. He then jumped back to the pirate ship and looked for any valuables, only to find nothing. It was not that he expected anything anyways.

    He then got back to his sh.i.p.s deck and started pushing the ship and once he was a distance away from the pirate''s ship he focused his telekinesis Energy on the ship and crushed it with the sheer pressure.

    Resulting in the crew falling to the sea, but only some were lucky to wake up and hang on to the debris.

    Well it couldn''t be said that they were lucky as they will be stuck there only to die.

    He then got back to his dish only to find it had become cold, and entered to reheat it up. By his estimations he would be reaching Loguetown by tomorrow morning if he kept at this speed but since he has to sleep, he would only reach it by tomorrow evening.

    Every time he used his ability he was left amazed even after years of training with it. Although this was the first time he wrecked a ship. Which he felt was absolutely satisfying.

    The main strength of this ability of his, is that it allows him to levitate and manipulate objects, including living organisms, around him with his mind. It also gives him the ability to push the air around him as if it were a pressurized cannon, which send invisible shockwaves towards the opponents.

    But with training, and instead of pushing the air, he coats his hands in his energy then punch the air releasing a very fast shockwave, very much how like the strongest person in the world breaks the air with a punch resulting in a powerful shockwave. Although his version wouldn''t reach the same as whitebeard in power and range. Not yet at least.

 Chapter 5 - Loguetown and buying swords:

    Loguetown is a city on the Polestar Islands, in East Blue, covering nearly the entire island it is on, save for a few steep hills. The town is also known as "The town of the beginning and the end", because the former Pirate King Gol D. Roger was born and executed here. It is the main setting of the Loguetown Arc.

    Almost all East Blue sh.i.p.s, especially pirate sh.i.p.s, pass through to stock up on supplies for the Grand Line, since Loguetown is in a convenient location very close to Reverse Mountain, just out of sight of the Red Line.

    Just like he had guessed, he had reached Loguetown in the evening, and now he could see it in the distance.

    Although Ian also came here to see the execution platform, where the Pirate King Gol D. Roger was executed that is located in the center of the town, it was not his main reason.

    He rather wanted to stay here until, Luffy would come and then he would leave with them, either if he joined them, or not, he would still hitch a ride. And once they enter the Grand line, he would separate from them to do his own plans, even if he had become a crew mate.

    He also wanted to buy a few swords, as he of course would not be using the sword his parents left him. As it would break, and he did not want that. Therefore he would get a couple swords here. But not the ones zoro would end up picking. He would just get some good swords to use for the time being until he finds a better one. But he was not in a rush as it was not his main fighting style, but he could still use it when he doesn''t need to dirty his hands.

    He also would not need to stock for food for now, as his father and the villagers had loaded his ship and ring with huge amounts of food. The ship alone had food that could suffice for a month, but he put it in the ring along with the rest as the time in the ring was on stasis.

    ...¡­

    Ian who had already grabbed the captain of those stupid name crew jumped to the docks once the sh.i.p.s was near and stored it in his ring. And once he stepped on the ground he ignored some of the people nearby that were shocked by how he suddenly appeared from the sky carrying a person by his collar, and went to a nearby marine to ask him a question.

    "Hey, can you tell me where can I find the marine base in here?" Ian asked.

    The marine looked up at him and gave a small smile as he replied.

    "Sure. Are you a bounty hunter? I can lead you there too if you want" the marine had guessed that the person he was carrying was a pirate.

    "Then please do, and yes this is a pirate I caught" Ian gave a smile too, as he started following the soldier.

    Although he has a lot of money left for him by his father, he doesn''t mind getting more. After all you could never tell when you might need them.

    Soon they reached it, and after a short thanks to the soldier he entered inside, and once again asked for directions as to where can he hand the pirate and get his money. He was led by a soldier to a bureau, where a beautiful girl was sitting sorting through some doc.u.ments. While the pirate was taken to their prison.

    "Can you can give me a second? I just need to finish these up?" The girl spoke after giving him an apologetic smile, to which he gave a nod, and took a seat to wait. While the marine soldier kept standing there.

    After almost ten minutes. The girl apologized again, and Ian said it''s fine.

    Then the soldier reported to her, and left.

    She looked at Ian to which he gave a nod, she then told him to wait for a bit, and went out.

    After a while she came back with the money. And Ian took it and left.

    He didn''t meet neither Smoker nor Tashigi. But he had guessed so as such a bounty was very small.

    Now done with that, he first booked a room for a month in a hotel, after which he went out to get some of the food in this city before he goes to buy some weapons.

    He soon found out that Loguetown specialize in no particular food, but he still tried several dishes from a restaurant. After which he went to seek out that weapon shop that Zoro had got his swords from.

    After getting direction from a nearby person he soon found himself standing in front of it.

    According to what he knew from the manga, this Arms Shop is a family business owned by Ipponmatsu. The shop has been in business for over 200 years. The shop sells antique swords, new swords, and new swords in fashion. It also sells clubs, axes, flintlocks, rifles, armor, daggers, spears, etc. The shop also takes polishing jobs. It used to have a lot of customers until captain Smoker was put in charge of the town.

    The best sword that the shop should currently have is Yubashiri which would be later given to zoro for free.

    Once Ian was inside, the owner greeted him.

    "Hello, can I ask what you are looking for?" the owner asked.

    Ian gave a nod.

    "I want to buy some good quality swords that can help me until I find one that could accompany me along my journey." Ian said and looked around at the nearby sword.

    "Sure then, let me bring some for you to see." The owner said.

    And after a few minutes of standing there, the owner came back and gave him seven swords. Six of them were katanas while, the last was a longsword.

    Ian checked the all six katanas and found them to be good enough.

    "How is it? Do you like them? They are among the best of the ungraded swords" the owner smiled and spoke.

    Ian too gave a smile, and nodded his head.

    "How much then for these six?" Ian pointed at the six he liked.

    "Hmm, each is priced at 100 thousand berries and for six it would be 600 thousand, but I''ll sum it up for you at 500 thousand berries. Is that good?" the owner took a few seconds then replied.

    Ian had a lot of money, but even so he was pleased at the owner and gave him the money, while faking that he got it from his pocket. The owner then gave him some sheaths and tied the swords together for him to carry them easily.

    Once Ian said his goodbyes, and left the store he untied the small rope, and put them in his inventory except one which he put on his left waist and tightened his belt around.

 Chapter 6 - Calm belt, and sea kings:

    Now as he finished getting his weapon, he thought that things would get a bit easier for him.

    After all if he could fight with a sword, nobody would know about his abilities, especially since he could still swim in the sea, and so he could not even claim it is a devil fruit. As such using a sword would make things easy for him.

    Ian, was pretty strong. His father had trained him so hard that he was so strong right now he could tie with an admiral.

    He never knew how strong his father is, but he had a guess that his father would be among the strongest in this world. But even after this training he knew he was still weak, therefore he would use everything he had to get much more stronger. He was seeking adventure after all, and that means living in danger all the time.

    He was already an anomaly in this world, and practically a cheat with his ability to strengthen his body with no limits.

    However in this world where there exist people like Kaido, Whitebeard, Garp, and devil fruits with mysterious abilities, his powers would be normal.

    He only reached his current power, by training hard. As for his abilities, he had a hunch that he earned them. He didn''t know how he could explain it, but he knew he had done something in his past life to earn them.

    As for joining the straw hats, he guessed that being with them would be much better than sailing alone. And so he made his mind to join them.

    Now was the first time that he will test his second ability. As far as he could tell, he needs to acquire blood from a person, beast, then he would inject it in his bloodstream. And the mysterious energy in his body would do something effectively making his body stronger.

    Of course he didn''t know if his body would be changed somehow or not, but it was a risk he was willing to take, considering the future opponents the straw hats would be facing.

    Now more determined than before, he went to the docks, and jumped to the sea but didn''t use ''Moon steps'' to stay floating, rather he used telekinesis.

    He would be flying to the calm belt, seeking a very powerful sea king there with a strong body. After which he will get back to wait for Luffy and the rest. He had already seen Luffy''s bounty poster at the marine base, and although he didn''t know the exact time he would reach here, he knew it was near, and so he was going to get this done with as soon as possible.

    It was never known how long it would take to reach the calm belt from Loguetown, however Ian would be flying anyways so he didn''t care. His speed was very fast.

    If anybody was to hear about this, then they would probably faint from shock. After all the calm belt, which are two areas that are just north and south of the Grand Line, almost never have ocean currents or winds blowing, and are also nesting grounds for Sea Kings. They are very effective barriers for those trying to enter the Grand Line.

    However Ian here, was seeking it all on his own.

    He used his power to launch himself in the direction of the calm belt at a very fast speed while hiding his self using observation Haki. He had no trouble flying at such a speed, thanks to his strong willpower.

    And after almost 2 hours of flying, he soon came to a stop and noticed how there was no wind, and the sea was absolutely calm. It was actually very nice in his opinion.

    He lowered his altitude a bit, and then continued flying but this time much slower than before.

    He was hiding using his Haki because he didn''t want to fight with weak sea kings in here. As for the strong ones they would be able to notice him.

    And not even ten minutes later he noticed that something big is coming his way. Once it got out, even as strong and confident in himself, he was a bit intimidated by its size and fierce looking face.

    It did not look one bit funny like the one piece manga, rather it had a face similar to a dinosaur with a very long serpentine body and its skin was colored dark blue.

    But he soon got his bearings back.

    So as to not let the other beasts surface and aid it, he attacked with a strong attack directly as he took his sword and coted it with Haki, and slashed at its neck.

    It all happened in an instant, leaving no room for the sea king to do anything but watch as the flying slash took its life.

    Unlike what Ian thought, he didn''t completely sever its neck as the slash went only hallway through. And that was a testament to its size and sturdiness. But it was not what he was searching for.

    He took off his shirt, and put it in his ring.

    Afterwards he flew straight into the sea, and used his power to swim very fast while releasing a bit of his conqueror Haki to scare the weaker monsters.

    After diving pretty deep, and through the monsters scared of him, he found a very big monster looking at him as if it was waiting for him not bother at all with his conqueror Haki. Granted he was not using it at its full power. It had a long neck and two pectoral fins and a very long tail. It had red eyes and very sharp teeth.

    Since he could still use his powers he didn''t panic, but attacked it just like before with a sword slash, that had a reduced power output in the water. But it still served its purpose. Which is to piss it off.

    Then he took off upwards to fight it outside the sea.

    As he was very fast he reached it almost instantly. But as soon as he got out of he had a premonition to dodge which he did. Resulting in him dodging a very powerful bite that clamped on where he was just a second ago.

    It appeared that this beast was pretty strong and fast which was what he needed to test his ability.

    He used his sword to once again send a slash, only this time it was at its full power, and very close at that. But he was shocked when he saw that it did the monster nothing but a scratch.

    He immediately sheathed his sword, and used a ''Shave" while in the sky thanks to his telekinesis power, to both dodge the tail it sneakily attacked with from under water, and attack it at the same time aiming his hand coated Haki with conjecture of his telekinesis at its head which resulted in a shockwave the moment his hands touched the monster.

    It was thrown to the sea very aggressively but it took just a moment to once again come attacking at him.

    He knew that his attack did the monster some damage, but it appeared that it was very resilient.

    He used ''Shave'' to get some distance from it, after which he coated both his arms in Haki and his telekinesis, and started punching the air in a very fast speed that led to shockwaves attacking the monster.

    He kept bombarding it from afar until he felt a bit tired. Looking at the beast he notice that even though it was hurt with blood flowing from multiple wounds in its body, it was still capable of fighting just fine.

    He used his power to hold it in place but he noticed that he can only hold it for one second before it got free due o it''s huge size, then he took his sword and used ''shave'' to appear near its throat which is a weak spot, and slashed it clean with one hit.

    He hurriedly took out a bottle and filled it with its blood, before he took off flying back to Loguetown direction. As he sensed many sea kings coming upwards. Probably to feast on the monster he just killed.

 Chapter 7 - Getting stronger, and Realization:

    Once Ian was far from the calm belt, he took his ship out and landed on the deck. He wanted to absorb the blood while still far from Loguetown.

    He sat there on the ground with legs crossed, then took the bottle he got along with a syringe, then he filled it, and took a deep breath before injecting the blood into his left arm.

    Unlike what he thought, the blood didn''t make him feel pain straight away, rather it had fused with his blood, and was spreading to the rest of his body. And just sat there calmly awaiting some change.

    After about 20 minutes of waiting, the mysterious energy in his body finally started doing something. It went into any place the blood was in, then it turned that to energy that immediately started changing his body.

    It strengthened his meridians, bones, flesh, and skin. It increased his toughness to a height that was comparable to a resilient beast. His bones became like fine steel, and his regenerative abilities were increased. Of course as his body was changing fundamentally, he was feeling extreme pain in all his body. But he didn''t yell out, and only grit his teeth.

    After about 30 minutes of being like this, it finally ended. But he was so tired that he just lost consciousness, while lying on his back on the deck.

    Getting robbed was the least of his troubles now. He exhausted and he let the sleep claim him for now.

    .........

    It was only two hours later that he woke up.

    ''This power¡­ this feeling is amazing, but what is this smell?'' Ian thought excitedly inside his mind as instead of feeling tired, he felt immense power coursing through his body. But first he needed to take a bath as he saw that his skin released something that was smelly. He guessed that his body must have disposed of toxins or something like that.

    He went inside to the bathroom, and took a bath, before he wore his clothes back and stepped to the deck to see what is different about his body.

    As he thought about so, once again information poured into his mind.

    He found out that he now can hold his breath for almost an hour underwater. The average person in one piece world can hold their breath between 5~10 minutes as they are inherently stronger than the usual.

    But he before could barely pass 12 minutes. But now he could hold his breath for an hour. He was ecstatic about it but it was not the end yet.

    From the new information he got he now knew that there''s a scaling for physical strength. At least for him, as others in this world may not know of it.

    It started with the Elementary realm. Which he now knew that it was the realm that he previously was in.

    Then it was followed by the Earth realm, Emperor realm, and finally Saint realm.

    Each realm except the first one, had something special about it. Since he reached the earth realm, he knew that it focused on his toughness and strength, with a minor increase on his mind power. And the Emperor realm focused on his mind strengthening his willpower mainly with his body secondly. But he didn''t know anything about the last realm. The Saint realm.

    However even if the Emperor realm focused on his willpower, the ''small'' increase it gives the physical strength would still be much bigger than the Earth realm.

    As far as he knew he was previously at the peak of the Elementary realm, and with the strengthening using the blood of the sea king he had broken through the next realm. Now he would need to do the same and refine a lot of powerful bloodlines to reach the next stage. Or he could train his body naturally but like that it would take a lot of time to reach it.

    He would of course take the better option in this, as it had no drawbacks, and it apparently gives other things besides the physical strength. As it increased his underwater breathing limit, perhaps the next time or the one after it he would be able to breath underwater.

    He stood from the deck then flew above the ship, and searched for any nearby rock then when he found one he stored the ship and flew at it.

    He had before journeying off in his training punched big rocks with Haki to strengthen it to the maximum.

    But now, he punched it with his bare hands, and watched with amazement as he took a part of the rock easily. And he didn''t even feel any pain whatsoever. Rather it felt like he punched something soft. He was once again elated. He had become stronger so easily, and as most of his abilities were centered on his physical power, he was much stronger than before.

    Perhaps among the admirals only Akaino can equal his physical strength. Of course there are many who are stronger physically then him, but at the least he was now closer to the top.

    He once again took a deep breath, and continued using his abilities. He first projected a blast of telekinetic energy and released it at the rock from before. It was destroyed completely with nothing left.

    The rock was almost 10 meter high and 6 wide. He would previously have to use one of his punches using Haki and telekinesis. But now it was just with his telekinesis alone. And one shot at that. Ian was getting more excited by the second. He tried all the rest of his abilities that required telekinesis, except those that needed another person, and found out that all of them were much stronger now.

    He then used the six powers and noticed how all of them were strengthened too. He guessed his speed now using ''shave'' would be the same as Kizaru.

    He thought about going back to the calm belt and do this again, but he knew from the new information that he got, that he would need a period of time between each refining that he does.

    Now he had to stabilize and adapt to his body, as soon as possible.

    And now that he thought about it, his previous idea about journeying with the straw hats didn''t appear as exciting as before. Considering how strong he is, all of their earlier adventures are extremely easy to him. And by the time they get strong, he would have become even stronger.

    He started flying in the direction of the island, while musing to himself.

    ''It appears that I must search for my own adventure. It was stupid now that I think about it¡­ since I already know what they are going to do¡­ It''s decided then, I will be going alone. However since this world''s protagonist is Luffy then I should have a close relationship with him. I''ll try to save him sometimes.'' Ian mused to himself then finally reached a conclusion.

    He will seek his own adventures. This world contains many mysteries. And they are all ready for him to discover them.

 Chapter 8 - Next stop determined:

    Now Ian was thinking hard whether to just go ahead and enter the Grand line, or wait and meet Luffy, save him from the execution platform then enter with them.

    Since he wanted to at least be considered a friend to them, he wanted to save their captain now, but he also thought it to be a pain in the ass. Since he could just enter from the Grand line directly.

    There are many ways he could do so.

    Either through Reverse Mountain. Or using the snakes the Kuja pirates had used to cross the calm belt. They are named Yuda, which literally means "Traveling Snake" they are a ferocious and poisonous type of sea serpent. They live in the Calm Belt and are so dangerous that they are one of the few creatures that Sea Kings will not attack, though the Kuja people apparently were able to domesticate them. The Kuja Pirates ship, the Perfume Yuda, is drawn by these creatures, a newly added method of navigating through the Calm Belt. They resemble ''Snake Weapons'' but are much larger and have hair on their head that also runs along their backs and around their necks, as well as having slit eyes while snake weapons have dotted eyes.

    Ian could very easily search for one or two and have them pull his ship. Or he could just hide himself using his telekinesis energy and observation Haki. Effectively hiding his presence then he would fly through it straight. Admittedly he was not so stupid as to not guess that there might be a strong sea king capable of detecting him. But this was what adventure was about.

    Ian was cut of his train of thought as he saw he was nearing Loguetown. He slowed down and looked around if there is anyone nearby, once he saw it was clear he landed on the docks, and went to his hotel room.

    Once inside he cooked himself some food as he was very hungry after that whole ordeal. Then he took his plate and relaxed on a sofa and started to think about what to do.

    ''In a way, Dragon had come here to witness the start of his son''s journey. Therefore I should not step in his way¡­ since he will be saved anyways, I should just go ahead of them and if we met in the future then I''ll help them somehow, it is not that important anyways¡­ but it would be awesome if I could meet people who are considered only fictional in real life, especially the straw hats¡­'' Ian mused to himself while eating the stonefish slices he cooked. He had already seen smoker on the streets patrolling.

    He is a muscular, white-haired and brown-eyed man, with a distinct trait of always being seen smoking two cigars at once. He wears a large thick white and blue specialist marine jacket which he keeps open, with greenish fur lining the neck, wrists, and hem. The jacket bears the word for "justice" written on the back of it as far as he could remember. Many cigars are strapped to this jacket. He carries a Seastone-tipped jitte as his weapon. Ian even if stronger by miles than him, admits that Smoker has a cool air about him.

    He finally made his mind about this problem, and decided to leave first come morning as it was already late today. His next stop would be little garden, so that he can get the blood of giants and any fearsome beast there. However he would need a log pose for that and then he would go to whiskey peak and wait for it to reset and point to the next island.

    Due to his father, he had several eternal log poses and normal ones in his ring. It happened that he had one for an island named Nanimonai, and one for Alabasta. But if he went to Nanimonai his log pose would point to Alabasta after charging. But he needed the blood of the giants.

    So he decided to just go from Reverse Mountain and abandoned the thought of crossing the calm belt and using an eternal log pose. He would just go to whiskey peak and then wait for the log to reset before going to little garden and from there he would directly go to Alabasta using the eternal pose.

    Since Luffy got his bounty when he defeated Arlong on Cocoyashi Island, which is just before logue town, he guessed they would reach it in two or three days.

    So with this thought, he went to the bedroom and decided to sleep early. After all he will be leaving very early the next day. However he will not be meeting the straw hats, as he would be reaching Whiskey peak very fast since he would be flying, and it took the log pose as far as he could remember from the manga, less than 24 hours. As they partied until night, with zoro fighting the bounty hunters, and when the morning came they went on their way to little garden. Then from whiskey peak to little garden he would be flying too. And only once he is done there would he start sailing using a ship to enjoy the journey.

    As for flying being impossible he didn''t think so, as it was stated that Mihawk or Kuzan, usually cross the grand line easily. One with a small boat and the other with a bicycle on frozen water. All he needed is the log pose.

    Once he reached Alabasta, he would once again have to think deeply whether to interfere or directly continue his journey. As he wanted to be part of the operation of rescuing Robin. He had his reasons of why...

    ...¡­

    Once the morning came, Ian woke up. And went to the dock to start his next journey.

    His next stop was to acquire the blood of giants.

 Chapter 9 - Little Garden:

    Jumping off the docks, Ian started flying in the direction of the Reverse Mountain.

    The thing with telekinesis powers as far as he could tell, is that it grows strong as long as his body is strengthened.

    He had noticed this in the very beginning when he had just learned how to use it. As he was still young he ended up using an amount of energy his young mind could not take. And so he ended up injured with blood flowing from his mouth and eyes.

    And each time he became stronger he had more energy to use. And so with this increase in strength he got, he could use greater energy then before, which resulted in his flying speed doubling with almost no effort.

    As such he didn''t take very much to reach Reverse Mountain. It was barely an hour and the mountain was in his view. Once he reached it he was able to see the water gates that one would usually pass with a ship, still he flew straight along it, and was amazed with such a weird phenomenon.

    The water was going upwards on a mountain all the way to the top. It was absolutely breathtaking.

    Once he reached the end, he went to the left side way, which is the one that will lead to the Grand line. And also the only pathway that leads down. As all the other four will lead you to the top.

    At the end of the pathway, he noticed the so called ''laboon''. It is an extremely large whale, comparable in size to most of the Calm Belt''s Sea Kings at 400 m; his eye alone is several times larger than the Going Merry. His skin is black (blue in the anime), coupled with short fins and a fluked tail. Much of his head is crisscrossed with scars, from his many years of tackling Reverse Mountain. He thought about taking it''s blood, but then stopped, thinking that it is already sick what with His interior that contains a complex network of metal chambers and tunnels, installed by Crocus to deal with his habit of swallowing sh.i.p.s that challenge or annoy him. And so he hid his presence and flew above it.

    Once he was down, he took his log pose and strapped it to his arm. In this crazy sea, he would have to constantly check it lest he ends up flying randomly.

    Not even 40 minutes later Ian reached the so called Cactus Island where the city whiskey peak is located. The crazy ever changing weather of the Grand line proved no trouble against his telekinesis as he flew surrounding himself in a dome of energy functioning as a shield.

    Since he didn''t want to bother with the bounty hunters in this town, he just flew at a higher altitude than before while hiding his presence. As he did so he got a glimpse of the island.

    On Cactus Island there are several rock mountains with multiple graves on top. The shape of the mountains along with the graves give the mountains the appearance of giant cacti.

    There is a river flowing through the island allowing sh.i.p.s to dock inland.

    Ian found a tree to sit at while waiting for the log pose to reset.

    ...........

    His stay there, was peaceful, and soon the next day had come with him only training his observation Haki with conjuncture of his telekinesis. He had found out that he could now reach a very good distance and detect all things around him.

    But now, the Log pose had reset, and was now pointing to the next island. As such he took off in the direction it was pointing at.

    He flew while thinking of a method to get the blood. He could ask, or he could take it by force.

    Of course he would not be able to physically overpower a giant, but he was still more powerful than them. However due to their size it was possible they would not even be able to feel him when he takes their blood using a needle. Well he had many options.

    He would see what to do once he reaches there.

    Normally with a ship it would probably take two days or three, but since he was flying, at most it would be 6 or 7 hours of continuous flying.

    Along this small trip, he encountered many sea kings even if it was ''paradise'' and not the ''calm belt''. He didn''t remember if he saw in the manga something similar, but he concluded that it is possible.

    Soon he spotted the island.

    Little Garden is supposedly a Prehistoric Island and as such is still in the age of the Dinosaurs. He didn''t know much about Little Garden, other than it seems to develop very slowly. Due to the extreme climate and dangers of the dinosaurs and the duels between Dorry and Brogy the two giants he came for, no human has been able to stay there the entire year for the Log Pose to reset without dying. But since Ian already had an Eternal pose for Alabasta he was not concerned at this.

    Since he was flying really high he could see that the island is in a circular shape. On each end of the island are 2 identical mountains that are really the skulls of two Sea Kings. Many of the trees and plants are fauna from a Prehistoric Era. The island also houses many volcanoes.

    Because the Grand Line can have so many climates, Little Garden''s climate is one of dense jungle. This has led it to be behind the average island in the Grand Line by millions of years. The climate is unbearable for many humans that plan to stay long, as well as providing ideal conditions for fatal illnesses to survive, some thought previous extinct. Which is why Ian covered himself in a layer of energy to protect himself, even if he was confident in his regeneration.

    Seeing the two skulls with a size of mountain from afar he was exited, and not scared. As this means that such huge sea kings does exist in this world. Which could only be good to him.

    He lowered himself and then went into the jungle.

 Chapter 10 - Dorry the Blue Ogre

    The island eater. Ian can remember it very well. As although in the anime it was shown that it was weak dying with one attack, he didn''t believe it to be weak rather he believed that the attack of the giants was overpowered. After all it was a massive golden fish sea king. Island Eater''s massive size allowed it to easily consume sh.i.p.s or even entire islands, producing feces large enough to be known as Nanimonai Island. This alone was a testament to the huge power it has.

    And even if Ian was much stronger then the two giants, he admits that he could not kill the sea king in one attack by using his sword or his energy infused shockwaves, such attacks in front of its massive size would only leave small scratches. Of course if he blasted it with his Haki he was sure he would easily beat it. Or otherwise use a move of his involving telekinesis he doesn''t like to do.

    The One piece anime has a habit to make strong people look weak then switch to strong. These two giants as far as he knows are from Elbaf, a kingdom inhabited by giants, and is considered to be the strongest country in the world due to its army famed for its strength. And in the anime they said that the attack they used on the island was the strongest of their tribe. And even if the two were on the weaker side from their tribes they had easily disposed of the sea king in one attack, unlike their low bounty would suggest.

    Specifically they said, ''Behold the strongest spears of the giant warrior tribe of Elbaf''.

    Since he was not at Mihawk''s level of swordsmanship at best his flying slash could reach at best 15 to 20 m in size, which on the massive fish can do nothing, as for his shockwaves, they too would not kill it easily. He would have to use it continuously on its weak point in a prolonged battle.

    ........

    Ian headed directly to the huge mountain or skull of the sea king, as each one is the camp of the two giants. Luckily for him it appeared that they were just resting now and not fighting.

    He only needed blood from one of them.

    In exchange he had some sea kings corpses he hunted. Soon he reached where the giant Dorry the Blue Ogre and one of the two former captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates was sitting and eating a big piece of meat.

    He made his presence known and went in Dorry''s direction.

    Dorry raised his head still biting the meat and laid eyes on Ian. He then asked him.

    "Hey there, little human friend, are you lost?"

    "No I came here due to my log pose pointing to this island." Ian replied with a smile and stood right next to him. He is a well-built giant with a long beard. He was dressed in a Viking attire with a helmet that goes over his eyes. He is so large that Ian can fit in the palm of his hand.

    "Hmm, little human friend what is your name?" Dorry.

    "Ian Louis, how about you?" Ian said.

    "I, and I alone, am Elbaf''s Mightiest warrior, Dorry!" he ended his words with a boisterous laugh. And Ian somehow ended up smiling too.

    "Oh that''s right, how about you eat with me." He said and passed a huge piece of meat that had a bone in the middle.

    Ian took it and held it easily then started devouring it, after all he liked meat a lot. Not to mention the beasts in this world have a special type of meat that was very tasty. And this meat was probably from a dinosaur as this island was stuck in a pre-historique era, it was a new type of meat for him to taste.

    "Oh then tell me, why are you here alone?" Ian asked. Even when he knew the answer already. He didn''t mind the talk anyways. And due to how easily Dorry trusted people he replied like it was nothing important.

    "I of course have a reason. I come from a village of Giants on the Grand line, named Elbaf. It''s a village of warriors, and it had rules of its own. One of the laws is, that if two giants got in a dispute, they would settle it by fighting a duel in an island other than Elbaf and accept the judgment of our god. Only one would live then return to the village victorious." Dorry said.

    "So you mean there''s another giant in here? And you two are fighting a duel?" Ian said.

    "That''s right little friend. However we have fought for over 100 years and still can''t decide a winner between us haha." He ended his sentence with a laugh as usual. But then added when he saw Ian still looking calm.

    "Oh you are not surprised?" Dorry asked.

    "I happen to know a bit about how long giants live haha, actually I have a favor to ask of you in that regard" Ian said.

    "Hmm do you need something?" Dorry asked.

    "Yes you see I research stuff around the world. And this is the first time I saw a giant. If it is possible, I want to take a blood sample from you. I can give you meat from sea kings in return. You must be tired of eating only dinosaurs right?" Ian said, and waited for Dorry''s answer.

    If possible he didn''t want to do this forcefully, but for his quest, he would have to if Dorry refused.

    Dorry had a serious expression on his face and took a deep look into Ian''s eyes.

    And after a while he just laughed and said.

    "Sure go ahead, I can tell you''re not a bad guy. Also I could brag about the meat to my rival later hahah¡­" He said.

    Ian took a small needle for taking blood then jumped to Dorry''s outstretched hands and took the blood from one of his fingers.

    "Thank you. Here let''s cook some sea kings haha" Ian laughed as he took out 4 corpses from his ring that were enough for Dorry to eat.

    Dorry joined him at laughing and soon they were eating the cooked meat, before Ian asked a question.

    "I heard that the Giants have a very strong attack they are known for can you use it too?" Ian.

    "Hmm indeed I can. By putting all my strength into it, I can create a compressed air beam that will slice through everything in its way. This special attack of us Giants has never been stopped by a living being." Dorry said in pride.

    And then Ian having got what he wanted told Dorry, that he will be going to hunt some beasts to stock on meat before he set sail, then bid him farewell. But Dorry called for him to wait and said.

    "You can''t set sail little friend Ian. The log pose in this island would need one year to reset" Dorry said to Ian in a grave voice. Ian just told him he had an eternal pose for the next island, to which Dorry laughed and said for him to take care in that case.

    Once a distance away, Ian finally let the excitement he was holding show on his face.

    He searched for a place to hide while he absorbs the energy and strengthen his body. He couldn''t ask Dorry as it would be awkward. Then he found a small cave and entered it and closed it with some rocks from the inside then sat down.

 Chapter 11 - Set sail: Alabasta

    Ian, while siting cross legged began the process by injecting the blood. Then meditated and waited for the effects to start.

    One could say that Ian is extremely strong willed, to be able to repeat the same process that ended up in him feeling excruciating pain the last time.

    When the process began, Ian didn''t feel extreme pain like the last time. Possibly because at that time he ended up breaking through the elementary realm, but now he was still at the beginnings of the earth realm. And while it was not like the last time he still lost his consciousness. It was like it was part of the process.

    While unconscious, his body that had already reached a state most perfect for him, didn''t change much.

    But appearances can be deceiving.

    His muscles even though didn''t enlarge grew more compact and brimmed with strength. His bones once again strengthened to almost double of before. But his skin was what went through the most upgrade.

    As even though it still looked the same, its defense was now comparable to when he was using Armament Haki. One could say, that Ian ended up strengthening his defenses more than the rest. Not that he would unwelcome it if he was conscious.

    His face that was already very handsome, due to the process, became even more so. His black hair became even fairer and grew until it reached past his shoulders. His light brown eyes became even more brighter than before.

    But even after the process finished Ian was still unconscious, it would take a while for him to wake up.

    Meanwhile, outside of the cave, huge shockwaves were released every few seconds resulting in the earth quaking in some places. It appeared like two huge beasts were fighting¡­ it was only later when an explosion sounded that the shockwaves stopped.

    ........

    Once Ian regained his conscience, the first thing he noticed was how his hair had grown to reach his shoulders and was now messily hanging from his eyes. He brushed it aside with his hands, and then noticed that he was covered in dust and rocks. Of course since he had a shield of his energy covering him all he did was push the dust away and he was clean again.

    He was perplexed as to the reason though, but still got up before getting out of the cave. Once outside he noticed how the trees were broken, some beasts were dead. It then clicked for him that the giants must have fought while he was unconscious.

    Checking his body he noticed how he didn''t change much. But he could feel however that he had become at least two times more powerful than before. He could also tell that his defense which was a sort of a weak point previously for him had now became one of his strong ones.

    It was a weak point for him before because he knew he could not compete in endurance with some of the people of this world. But now even his body alone was comparable to when he had his armament on.

    He tightened his muscles then swung his palm to the side and was shocked to see that it had released a wave of air in the direction he swung his hand.

    Although it was weak, however it should be said that it was just a wave from his part too.

    Getting excited he closed his right hand, then punched more strongly than before in the direction of a tree that was only 4 m away from him. It released a small shockwave that uprooted the tree.

    However it was weak in Ian''s eyes. But to be this strong only physically, he was excited.

    This meant for him, who likes to fight in close quarters that each punch of his if it connects with a person''s body it will release shockwaves dealing internal damage. And that too while not using Haki to further power his strikes.

    Ian was happy to reach a new height once again, and that too so soon.

    But now that he was done, he will be starting his journey for real. Using a ship to sail even if he will use his powers to move it, and then he will see if anybody would like to join him on his adventures.

    So far meeting a real giant was amazing to him. After all he could fit in the palm of one. It was a 22m Giant, of course he would be amazed when he see it in real life.

    But what excited him the most was how there were giants like Oars and Sanjuan Wolf out there.

    The mere thought excited him. As where others would be scared of them, he was happy and eager to meet them and see their huge size with his own eyes.

    Getting back to now, Ian took a scissor from his ring and a mirror, then cut his hair letting it only reach his neck.

    Now he had to see where that island eater is so that he can get its blood. He would not kill it of course, he didn''t want to mess things up already. He went to the sea then dove straight down and released his observation Haki and searched for it. He knew that it was near this island as it was waiting if there was a ship getting out of the island so that it can eat it.

    He soon found it just swimming leisurely. He released his conqueror Haki concentrated at it resulting in it cowering in its place and came near it easily, then he used his sword to wound it a bit and took t''s blood. And went on his way up.

    Once on the sea he took his ship out and brought the eternal pose for Alabasta. Then he took a cloak with that could reach till his knees and wore it atop his shirt. His new destination set, Ian moved the ship using his power.

 Chapter 12 - Increasing the Gravity:

    The ship if left as is while Ian is using his power, would break from the waves since he was sailing at a very fast speed. Therefore he used his powers to make a shield around it.

    Since he was sailing to enjoy the journey, he thought about getting a new ship once again, and also when will he have some companions on this journey.

    He was sitting on the deck chair sipping on a glass of wine and enjoying the wind, while thinking about stuff.

    First it was to get a new ship. Getting a huge sized ship didn''t matter for him, all that mattered was that it had enough space and was sturdy enough.

    Second on his thoughts was how his abilities work. As after his strengthening, he received new information or memories this time in his mind.

    It was some memories of him in very a dark space all around. He got the feeling that he was trapped in that place for a very long time. And it apparently was the reason for his mind powers. It strengthened his mind and will. But someday there happened a change. A mysterious entity gave a bit of its energy which blended with his soul, then it led him to here.

    Leading to him getting his second power.

    It was about evolution. That energy in him was set with the purpose to better his body and bloodline. It didn''t need to be blood he added, it could also be a Hair. Granted he would stick with blood what with it being the easiest and less disgusting then the rest and all. Especially since the blood get turned to energy which is then used for the betterment of his body.

    What he was thinking about though. Was the source of said energy, its owner was after all the one responsible for his reincarnation, and this power he has. Since it brought him to this world it must be extremely strong. But it did not give him any purpose or mission to do, to which he was thankful as he didn''t want anybody to control him.

    Shaking the thoughts out of his mind, he got up and took his shirt off. Then started training his abilities.

    After all they were now all more powerful.

    The one he found up ended up becoming more stronger than the rest was, how he could now increase the gravity around a place instead of just increasing the pressure around it like he could do before. But it was limited of course to his current powers.

    However once he used it on himself, he could feel his muscles straining while just standing there. He grinned as this meant that he could train under it until he could adapt to it and then when he get stronger and by effect the gravity would too, he could train again.

    It was also a good means of attack.

    Since his body was already stronger than normal, lifting weights would be extremely easy for him, even if the weights were made of a special metal from his father''s island.

    But under this gravity it would do the job. Which is to bring him to his top condition.

    ........

    Days went along and now it was a week since he departed little garden. Along the way he finally knew the reason why a navigator like Nami was needed in a ship. Huge unpredictable cyclones would suddenly appear forcing him to use his powers to change direction. Of course he would not need one due to his powers. he could easily just move the ship away.

    And now he was already attuned to his new strength. And the gravity right now would feel easy for him. But when not under it he would feel lighter and feel much faster.

    He had already been as fast as Kizaru when using ''shave'', but now he knew that he was physically near being as fast as he is. If he used shave now he should be faster. He would have to wait and see. However he had a guess that Kizaru had awakened his fruit. Meaning he could probably reach the speed of light. Something Ian was still very far from reaching. But his observation Haki which was strengthened too could serve to counter that.

    In the distance Ian could see the Sandy Island. Where the

    Alabasta Kingdom- A desert Kingdom- was located. Alabasta is an established kingdom with a long history and is one of the twenty founding countries of the World Government, and Sandy Island is a Summer Island.

    Its history predates 500 hundred years before the void century. As supplied by Robin.

    Of course he didn''t come here to search for Pluton or anything. He was just enjoying his journey. And he will not interfere in the story too much. Not now at least.

    Since most of Alabasta was now in poor condition, he opted to just go to rain base directly by flying along the river. of course while hiding his presence.

 Chapter 13 - Devil child Nico Robin

    Ian mostly wanted to go to Alabasta so that he can see Robin. You can''t blame the guy, as he was always one of her fans and admirers.

    But also to find out if there was any strong beasts in here unlike shown in the anime or manga. It was possible as the manga could not cover every inch of this world.

    Take the Bananawani for example. Who are giant crocodiles with banana-shaped growths on their heads. They are so fierce that they even prey on Sea Kings and are to date the Sea Kings only known natural predator. But Sanji easily beat them. And their size as shown so far would not let them be able to compete with even the smallest of sea kings. But they are named as such, therefore he guessed that there must some of them that are big enough to prey on the sea kings.

    Which is why his next destination was, after meeting robin, to explore the Sandora River. The most likely place for the bigger beasts to be.

    Since a week had past, and Ian was already adapted to his new strength, he could already undergo the process once again. However, he will wait before going through the process again using the island eater''s bloodline.

    Not until he set sail at the least. At any rate his stay in Alabasta would not even be for more than a day. There was literally nothing for him to do in a dying country. Even finding a companion here would be just a dream due to the country''s state.

    .....

    Ian has been flying for a while now, and he finally could see the city due to how high he was in the sky.

    He stopped a bit away from it, then came walking, while wearing his cloak.

    When he entered he went to a restaurant to eat something. Since this was the most prosperous city in here, it had things in stock even if the rest of the country is in a crisis.

    After eating he went to the casino that crocodile runs. It was after all the only place he could see Robin in.

    He played there, won some, lost some, until he was able to see her. Robin before the time skip was already 28, therefore certain assets of her were already at their peak. Unlike Nami who could still grow at this time.

    ''Nico Robin, also known by her epithet ''Devil Child" and the ''Light of the Revolution", hmm even if the chance for her to join me on my journey is low, I could still ask.'' Ian mused to himself.

    Robin was one of the few characters he knew a lot about. But now that he could see her face to face he was absolutely amazed by her beauty. She is a tall and slender young woman with shoulder-length black hair and eyes that has dark, wide pupils and she also has a long, thin and defined nose. In the anime, Robin''s skin tone is a slightly darker tan unlike in reality where he could see now that it is lighter.

    She wore a revealing cowgirl outfit consisting of a purple cleavage-exposing corset and matching miniskirt, both with white ornaments hanging from them, and a white fur-lined coat paired with a white cowboy hat and white high-heeled boots. Ian thought that she must be fond of wearing revealing clothes just like a certain thief.

    Since he was staring at her for a very long while Robin took notice of him and came to sit beside him.

    "What is a handsome man like you doing in here, and also do you not know that staring at people is rude?" Robin said with a smile.

    And Ian who got out of his dazed state when she spoke could tell her smile was fake.

    Smiling in return he said.

    "What do you expect me to do when I see such a beautiful girl like you in front of me? And I''m here just passing by waiting for my log pose to reset." Ian said with a smile that was genuine.

    "Hoh what a charmer you are" she said while inside she was trying to figure out what a young man like him is doing here. After all she felt a different air about him then the rest of the people she has met so far. Like he was brimming with confidence.

    Which was something Ian did without knowing.

    "So tell me can we go to someplace more quite to talk more?" Ian said.

    Robin gained a cautious look in her eyes but still nodded yes, and got up with Ian following her.

    She took him to small dinning place she usually comes to.

    It was almost empty except a few people here and there.

    "So what did you want to talk about Mr.?" Robin said.

    Ian who had finished looking around the place, using his observation Haki of course, turned to look at her and replied.

    "My name is Ian Louis. You can call me Ian. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to join me on my trip" Ian said. And didn''t bother asking her name as she will just say something fake.

    "Mr. Louis I''m sorry to say but I can''t join you as I have a prior commitment. Not to mention we have only just met you know" Robin said still with a smile on her face. But the cautious look in her eyes was still there.

    "Call me Ian. And I would go straight to the point. I know who you are, and I want you to join me. I can protect you and even train you if you like." Ian said with as honest of a tone as he could manage.

    ''This guy¡­ he is serious, but I don''t sense anything from him¡­''Robin thought to herself, but then she felt an absolute sense of being powerless when she met Ian''s eyes but she still replied in a shaky voice.

    "I-I don''t know what you mean by that Mr. Louis" Robin said.

    "Alright, suit yourself, but just to say my offer still stands in the future. And sorry for scaring you. It was just to prove that I can protect you and myself." Ian was truly sorry as he had released a bit of his conqueror''s Haki on her to prove his power.

    He then got up after leaving some money on the table and leaned to whisper to her.

    "It was nice seeing you in person, Nico Robin. Also don''t think too much I just wanted to ask for you to be my companion on my journey" Ian said in a voice only she would hear.

    Then he went on his way to finish his business in Alabasta.

    The reason he didn''t try to convince Robin more was because he already expected it. After all she was here putting herself in danger all so that she can read the Poneglyph that is here in Alabasta.

    Meanwhile robin inside was entering into a panicked mode.

    ''H-he knows me¡­ maybe he''ll give my location to the marines¡­ but I can''t leave now especially since I''m already close¡­''

    But she then calmed down due to how experienced and mature she had become.

    ''If he wanted to do anything like that he would have already done so¡­ not to mention that the power I felt from him is even more then my current ''boss''¡­ I couldn''t even move¡­ well I''ll just wait and see what happens¡­'' she then got up and left to return to her ''duties''.

 Chapter 14 - Anticipation

    Ian once he was out of the city hid himself and flew straight to the river. Then dove in it.

    Swimming using his powers is extremely easy, and unlike before he could now hold his breath for almost an impossible duration of time, one hour. But such was the norm in this world of one piece.

    Swimming deeper and deeper until he reached the river floor, then he spread his much more powerful than before observation Haki so that he can locate what he is looking for. It certainly felt like he was going around the world collecting Pok¨¦mon.

    He needed to collect various DNA so that he can turn the bloodlines they contain into energy and further improve his body. He wanted to reach the most position of the strongest of this world.

    Some would say that he had no purpose to do so, but he wanted to have the power to speak his mind. To do what he wants. Because in this world or any world at that, you would need a certain level of ''power'', whether in the literal meaning or in the figurative one, to live freely and be unshackled.

    He could reach the top of this world only with hard work and time, but it would take forever for him to do so. Therefore his only option is to take advantage of his gifts and climb the ladder to the top.

    So far, apart from Kaido, all the residents alive in this world should only be at the top of the earth realm.

    But Kaido could possibly be in the Emperor Realm, along with Whitebeard in his prime or roger if he was alive. Perhaps even Garp. At any case Ian knew that the top of this world centers around these people.

    The reason he guessed that about Kaido is that reaching the emperor''s realm would practically make you undying to anyone below that realm. Which is why possibly nobody could kill Kaido.

    And perhaps it is also why he searches for someone to kill him as he had grown bored of the world. But maybe the only person capable of killing him is Whitebeard but he is sick so he can''t bring his full power against him.

    While he was thinking he had moved very far from the starting point, and was now looking at what he came for. The huge stupid named alligator that can feast and prey on sea kings. Only with one look at it he was disappointed.

    He was now able to tell the realm of a person with just a few seconds of looking. But this alligator who had a fierce looking face and deadly razor sharp teeth''s, was only at the elementary realm.

    Which would prove pointless for him to kill. So he just gave it a glare and continued on his way.

    The alligator was already scared of this predator in front of it so when he glared at it just entered its cave as fast as it could.

    Ian even if he could see to a certain extent underwater, he still could not see as clear as daytime. Therefore when he searched for almost a whole hour and was starting to feel the need for air, he just abandoned the thought and started swimming to the outside of the river.

    He would be leaving Alabasta.

    Once outside he continued flying after taking a deep breath, to the port city so that he can set sail. His log pose of course didn''t reset. But he had an eternal pose for the next island, and even others if he wanted to sail directly to them.

    From the sky atop the river he could see how this ''Sandora'' river divides Alabasta to two. He had some theories that this river would help to move Pluton. Especially since it was said that it is slumbering under Alabasta.

    After flying for a while he reached the port and took his ship out. Then he switched to an eternal pose for Jaya Island. He would need one of those South birds to guide him to where the knock up stream would be. After all even if he could fly there he will not be able to know where it is in the sky if he just flew randomly. Therefore he would fly along the stream to be in the right direction.

    The reason he wanted to go there was to get his hands on the DNA of Nola The giant Python who lives there. It had a very powerful corrosive venom. If he could get it then perhaps his body would gain a minor immunity to poison.

    Granted his body''s regeneration would be able to neutralize almost all poisons, but depending on how strong it is the time it takes would differ. And so he wanted to take every countermeasure possible.

    ...........

    But now that he was away from the Sandy Island for a good distance, he sat on his room in the ship, and took the blood from the Island eater.

    He would not be so stupid as to think that Enel would not try anything funny against him. And since his observation Haki is possibly the most strongest in the series so far, of course when using the help of his fruit, he would be able to locate him. Therefore Ian opted to strengthen himself as much as possible even if he was confident of defeating him.

    He would not go in stupidly then underestimate him. No. he would go prepared and not count on the plot armor of Luffy. After all he only won since he was his natural counter. Otherwise ''Enel'' would need nothing short of an admiral to be taken down.

    Ian was brimming with anticipation.

 Chapter 15 - Breathing underwater

    Once Ian infused the island eater bloodline into his blood stream, he noticed how the mysterious energy that fused with his soul, belonging to that being, had started moving and refined it turning it to energy which in turn spread around his body enforcing it once again.

    He was already so strong, and could definitely beat Enel. However he could still reach new heights, and also he still had some time until he reached Jaya island where the south birds are.

    In fact he had enough time to even train and adapt to his new coming strength.

    After a while, and just like usual, he lost consciousness.

    Meanwhile his body once again was getting strengthened. His physical strength and speed was doubled and his muscles became more denser and compact, his skin increased in its toughness his bones became even harder to break, and his hair, which he recently had cut grew again. It was like it was a part of the procedure.

    What was different this time, was how even while unconscious he was still surrounded by an invisible shield in a dome shape.

    ...........

    After two hours. Ian''s eyes stirred awake, and he tried standing up. Then he felt that amazing thrilling sensation he felt every time he undergoes the process.

    He felt the power brimming in his muscles. He felt light. He felt that he was the strongest ever in this moment. But a part of him knew it just an after effect to the process and it will go within a few minutes.

    It was granted that his body would be the thing most strengthened with his telekinesis in second, as this was the Earth realm. It was supposed to focus on physical strength. He could not wait to reach the Emperor realm. Perhaps at that time his observation Haki would be able to detect whole islands.

    But the most thing he was excited about and knew from the information in his mind, was that now he could breathe underwater easily. He had already guessed about since before but now that it happened he was finally convinced 100 percent of visiting the great Python Nola.

    Not waiting at all he jumped as is into the water to try his new ability.

    Once in the water he noticed how now he could feel how each time he takes water into his mouth it passes through a thin transparent membrane. He could tell that there was another thin membrane responsible for his throat.

    And as the water passes over this thin membrane, it dissolves oxygen. And then the dissolved oxygen moves into the blood and travels directly to his cells.

    It was incredible. And he enjoyed playing around and swimming with no limitation.

    But after a while he got up, and went to train, or rather adapt to his new found strength. After all he had an unavoidable fight coming soon.

    ...........

    The days past, and he soon reached Jaya Island. Jaya is a forest-covered spring island in Paradise that was once shaped like a skull and much larger than it is now but over half of it was shot up the knock up stream.

    He directly stored his ship and flew to the forest. Not even 20 minutes later he had caught the bird. It had an extremely colorful plumage, chiefly in alternating patterns of purple and green. Its heads - particularly bills - is markedly long and narrow, akin to those of toucans. Like most birds, this specie is also tetradactyl, with three forward-facing toes and one backward-facing.

    But he did not force it, as it surprisingly came on its own. And he didn''t care much to find out why.

    It was said that the knock up stream erupted five times a month. He was just hoping it would be near as he didn''t want to wait for too long.

    And so he flew in the sea in the direction of the south where the bird was pointing. Even if it didn''t erupt today.

    It was after two days that finally the stream erupted. He had been praying for it to show up/

    But as if answering his calls he came to witness how a column of sea water shot up into the sky. He quickly spoke to the bird.

    "You should go back to the forest, otherwise you''ll end up going with me. And where I''m going there''ll be many dangers." Ian said while looking at it.

    It got the hint, and flew from his shoulder back to its forest.

    While Ian flew along the sea water column. He was excited for the coming fight.

    After a while of flying, he ended up in the so called sea clouds. Also called Ocean Clouds, which are large water-like clouds. They form seas in the sky. One can almost sail on it as if it were water except that Sea Clouds are slightly less dense than water, and as such, things that are drop into it will sink faster than in normal water. And there is also no sea floor.

    These clouds form two known seas: the White Sea and the White-White Sea.

    The White Sea is the lower part of Sky Ocean, located 7000 meters above the Blue Sea, comprised of Sea Cloud. It also had strange, rubbery clouds that bounce objects off of them and can be used as trampolines for those who are creative, as seen in the anime. And apparently there are different ways to get to it from the blue sea. The only way that has been shown so far is the unorthodox and dangerous way in which the sailors have to take a Knock up Stream. He did remember that Gan fall mentioned anther way called High West but he said it was dangerous.

    Then there is also the White-White Sea in the upper part of Sky Ocean. It is located 10,000 meters above the Blue Sea. Skypiea is located here. And it is also the place from which Kaido attempted one of his suicides.

 Chapter 16 - A God? (1/2)

    Ian didn''t pay them attention, and directly flew to find the city.

    Enel would be at upper yard. And could detect him even if he tried hiding using his Haki.

    He would try to reason with the man, if not then he would kick his ass. Soon he flew off the milky road, and as soon as he stepped on the cloud floor, he was aware that Enel had detected him.

    And soon he noticed how a massive lightning beam strike was heading his way. Ian didn''t care for it much though and just continued flying to where he knew Enel is. Though even if his calm face was on, he was angry at this guy.

    And while he was still on his way the lighting strike reached him, but was stopped and dispersed by an invisible shield surrounding Ian.

    He was already forcing himself to calm down, because of this making him remember some actions in the past, so that he does not change the story too much, but this action of Enel right now got on his nerves.

    He decided to give him a good beating he will remember, if he didn''t agree to his conditions.

    As soon as he located him, he practically teleported to there.

    "So the Rat comes here by itself" Enel spoke calmly, but with a tone of superiority and arrogance. He was sitting on his throne like couch on God shrine.

    Enel is a pale-skinned man with a well-toned yet somewhat wiry build, and is very tall at 266 cm (8''9"). He has a slim face, with a relaxed, half-lidded expression accentuated by a calm, confident smile. He has blond hair that is set in a large perm, tucked under a close-fitting, white skullcap. His eyebrows, contrastively, are black, rather thick, and top grayish-blue eyes with prominent bottom lashes. His nose is slim with a marked, flat bridge that has several lines run horizontally across it. Very distinctly, Enel''s earlobes stretch all the way to his chest being weighed down by gold earrings with diamond-shaped pendants.

    Upon his back, stuck centrally into his shoulder blades, is a large, gray ring and attached to it four wooden ''shime-daiko'' drums set next to and above his head, each with cream-colored drum skin depicting a black ''mitsudomoe'' on the front and back. Probably fond of gold he dons several rigid bracelets made of it.

    Enel''s only garments are on the legs ,a pant colored purple and orange and a flowing, indigo sash encircles his waist, bow-knotted at his right hip, one end of which is short while the other hangs to near-ground level.

    Meanwhile Ian didn''t have any visible reaction to his words whatsoever.

    However he was getting even angrier by the second. Nobody would like to be belittled and called a rat, much less one possessing conqueror Haki.

    "Fake God''. You have attacked me with no reason, and insulted me too. But it matters not. I have something to do on this island. And I will do it whether you like it or not. I just came to inform you of that. If you interfere I''ll make sure you stay bedridden for at least a while." Ian said, with an even more condescending tone towards Enel. He was practically guiding him to attack him.

    And it worked too.

    "You come here to my place illegally, and then you insult me a god. I''ll take your life for this mongrel" Enel pointed his right hand at Ian while speaking, and even if his tone was angry, he still didn''t even get up from his sitting posture.

    It was another irritating reason for Ian to beat him up well.

    So when the lightning strike came at him he just slapped it away with a hand wrapped in energy.

    "Do you really believe you are god? The normal people I get because of their ignorance. But you are smart enough no?" Ian said.

    And Enel this time got up and stood his full height which is almost one meter towering over Ian. But he didn''t care for it one bit.

    Enel turned more serious possibly for how he easily swatted his attack aside. And possibly with him insulting his intelligence.

    "I am a divine and immortal being. I am an invincible God. I can do, take, or destroy everything as I please. You have annoyed me, Rat, as such I''ll enjoy killing you" Enel said as he reached to the back of his couch and took his Bo staff and rushed at Ian to attack.

    Ian once heard Enel talk could not believe it. He even felt pity for the guy. As he had a god complex. Even though he knew it from before. Seeing it was another thing. It appeared that Enel had an unshakable belief of being supreme characterized by consistently inflated feelings of personal ability, privilege, or infallibility¡­

    He effortlessly dodged his attempts to attack him as even if Enel was attacking it appeared he was not serious. He was possibly using the Bo staff to break him slowly.

    Ian dodged another attack and kicked at his stomach with his leg coated in Haki.

    ''What I can see his attack coming¡­ but I can''t move my body'' Enel panicked inside his head, and tried changing to lightening but was still hit all the same.

    Enel didn''t notice from the shock of being touched the black foot that hit him. He had thought to this day that he was untouchable. He was thrown a few meters backwards and raised a cloud of dust.

    "Can you feel pain?" Enel who took a hit to the stomach and was trying to get up narrowed his eyes at Ian. "Does your body get tired?" Enel''s facial features were getting ugly by the second. "Do you feel the need to sleep? If yes then how is it you are a god, when all I described is normal for humans." Ian finished with a mocking smile on his face.

    "You ignorant Rat, I''ll make sure to kill you as painful as possible. Ahhhhh" Enel spoke enraged at what Ian said, but still calm enough to fight rationally. And then charged while changing his Bo staff to a trident using his devil fruit.

 Chapter 17 - (Title at the end) (2/2)

    {A/N: This chapter contains, violence, torture¡­ if you do not like to read such graphic content, then you better stop just after the flash back in this chapter, and even if I''m not very good at writing such things, many people are easily triggered. So I have warned you now}

    This time Enel came even faster than before. And even if Ian was still faster he would still have to get serious.

    As Enel''s speed now, coupled with his observation Haki, would enable him to dodge well in time.

    Ian''s guess about being near as fast as Kizaru physically was wrong. He had gotten arrogant and underestimated him. Perhaps using shave he could reach the same speed as him unlike before when he thought it would be faster, but now that he met Enel he knew that Kizaru was a very fast individual. It was either that or Enel was a fast guy too. But that was impossible.

    After all Enel was beaten by Luffy pre gear. He could not dodge, because Luffy''s punch was faster than he can react.

    Ian still did not use any weapon, and kept dodging, while punching at him occasionally. He wanted to make him suffer a bit, and that is by making him frustrated. He was using the most basic type of Haki, which doesn''t change his hands to black, but at the same time is the weakest and can barely bypass the Logia Devil fruits ability.

    "Hoh I didn''t know that gods are so easy to anger. Haha." Ian said with a mocking smile on his face. He then continued, "why can''t you touch me, I thought god''s judgment can reach you wherever you are, no?"

    "You''ll pay for this," Enel said then he jumped to the back a bit creating a bit of distance.

    With his golden staff, Enel who was angry at Ian taps the top two drums he wears on his back. A giant dragon shaped blast of lightning emerged from the two drums much stronger than the lightening blasts he was releasing earlier. He then shouted "Thunder Dragon"

    But Ian this time added another layer to his force shield, and just smirked at Enel.

    He was confident in his body''s defense, but that was against physical attacks, not elemental. After all no matter how tough your skin was it could not resist Magma. And when the dragon hit, it didn''t do anything. Making Enel pursue and increase his output.

    "100.000.000 Volt ''Electrical Discharge".

    Ian saw this but didn''t do anything as he thought the shield would hold its own.

    Unlike what he thought though, the shield broke but the attack dissipated too. That was the best he could do in regards to force shields. It was a testament to how violent electricity is.

    Enel who saw this was frustrated but at the same time saw a chance for winning. All his attacks were shrugged off easily, whether long distance ones or close range ones.

    When he fought with his trident, he was unable to touch Ian at all. And he even got hit multiple times, which he thought was supposed to be impossible, but he thought that Ian ate a devil fruit just like him. He didn''t know how he was doing it. And for his Lightening attacks they were all blocked by some invisible shield he could not see.

    But now he knew that his more powerful attacks could bypass that shield of Ian.

    So he focused and started changing into his strongest form of attack.

    "Max 200,000,000 Volt Thunder God" Enel said.

    "How dare you. I''ll show you what a god can do."

    Ian was shocked at this. He did not think that he will transform so soon. Of course he was not scared of him, but rather this form of Enel was actually cool. Even if he was a fatty.

    He had transformed to into a gigantic Raijin-looking thunder god made of pure electricity with his hair spiked up. Ian knew that his shields will not be able to block Enel''s attacks now. But he was not the least troubled by it. But what Enel said next made him remember something from his past. A memory that was until now locked.

    "You dared to harm a god, and now you and any who is related to you will face heaven''s judgement. I will keep you alive until I hunt them down, then kill them in front of you. Because I have the power to control life. For I am God Hahaha" Enel spoke with an even more arrogant voice then before.

    But Ian was unresponsive.

    He remembered, how he died in his past life. which he didn''t know why he could not remember until now.

    He had been walking with his fianc¨¦ returning from a dinner they had enjoyed, shortly after it had gotten dark. They encountered on their way back to their home two thugs, who were drunk and wanted to mug them. Of course at that time since he didn''t see any weapons on them he just attacked them, after all he was a man. But the results was devastating¡­

    .....

    "That was a lovely dinner don''t you think honey?" Ian asked his fianc¨¦ named Marie.

    She was a beautiful woman with a lovely personality. She had shoulder length brown hair and very light blue eyes. she a very nice body figure with all the right curves.

    "Yes I enjoyed it. We should come back to this place some other day" Marie said.

    But while they were walking two rough looking men, who were apparently drunk from their posture, got in their ways.

    Ian brought Marie behind him defensively as he spoke.

    "What do you want?" Ian said.

    "G-Give us all your money and then you c-can go¡­ Or else¡­" The first man spoke with a drunken voice.

    Ian seeing this sprung to action and hit him with a punch to the nose breaking it and he then kicked him in the legs sideways making him fall. They were already drunk so it was easy.

    But when he turned to the second one, he was met with a gun.

    Before he could even react he felt himself dropping to the ground. He used his hands to touch his chest and saw blood on it. He then turned his eyes back to the man still conscious, and saw him panic. But then he turned to Marie who had fallen backwards from shock, and shot her straight at the head. He then shot Ian again. And brought his friend with him and ran away.

    Ian last thought was one of endless regret. He could not even protect the one person he loved. He vowed that if he ever had a second chance he would never allow anyone to hurt his close people.

    .....

    Ian was hit with trident at his chest and was launched like a rocket to the back.

    "You dare ignore me!!" Enel spoke with an angry voice as he was asking Ian if he regretted messing with him, but he didn''t respond. He then brought his right hand in Ian''s direction and released a very powerful lightning beam. And followed it by two more others.

    Raising a cloud of dust from the room he had crashed into.

    But after a few seconds, Ian came out covering all of his body in armament Haki.

    He had woken up in time to cover himself in Haki. He could not be bothered to hide it anymore.

    He was pissed off at this fake god now. And he didn''t want anything other than to kill him. Enel was the embodiment of everything he ever hated in life.

    He didn''t like being ordered around nor people who enjoyed abusing their authority, he wanted people to be free to do what they wanted. Throughout his past life, he hated every person who used their authority to harm innocents.

    And Enel with his planet sized Ego, thought he had a right to order people and control their lives.

    Enel then had the audacity to threaten him with killing anyone Ian considered close to him. And made him remember his mistake and inability to protect his lover.

    All Ian wanted to do was to take some of Nola''s blood, but this Enel attacked him. So he only wanted to teach him a lesson. But right now he made a decision. Enel if left alive would do nothing but harm. He was not a saint. He did not believe in good or bad. But he knew one thing that applied to all the worlds. An innocent person should never be harmed. It was the constant thing in the concept of good and bad. All people were innocents at one point in their lives.

    In his book if you harm, a thief, rapist, killer, and the sorts, then that does not make you evil. If you harm someone who schemed against you, that does not make you evil. But if you harmed an innocent soul just because you can, then evil would not be enough to describe you.

    And Enel was a person who did what he wanted, killed for fun, and tried destroying a whole island of people because he can. Luffy should have killed him. But he was too na?ve.

    And Ian right now stopped caring for changing the plot or not. This was his adventure. He was the MC of his own life.

    Ian''s eyes released a massive amount of killing intent that made Enel turn cautious in a second.

    "W-what is that black stuff? And what''s with those eyes, how dare an insect look at me like that." He tried charging his lightening but was shocked as he saw Ian one second was at the broken room, and next he disappeared.

    Ian using a shave appeared on his left side. And with his left hand took his sword out of its sheath and coated it in Haki then swung in toward Enel''s arm holding the trident. It was lopped off easily from the shoulder, making Enel yell in pain and revert back to his human form. "Ahh-Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

    Enel used his lightening to close the wound off. And glared at him hatefully.

    "Y-you bastard, I''ll k-kill you¡­ Ahhhhh" He ended his sentence when Ian came near him and kicked him in the side of his head, this time even stronger than before, but not his full power. He wanted to make him feel pain. He didn''t not ever in his past life do something as violent as this, but he steeled himself to make Enel pay for everything he did until now.

    He went near him using a shave. He then took off Sea stone hand cuffs from his ring and closed it around his left arm. So that he can use his telekinesis on him.

    He then used telekinesis to twist Enel''s arm and break it. Making him yell out again.

    Ian always wondered, if he can heal other people using the energy inside his body. He grabbed Enel''s left hand and willed his energy to mend it. And he saw how it was fixed after only 5 minutes.

    He then tried to see, if he can use it to regrow his chopped off arm. And to his delight, it did, but he felt that he could only do it perhaps two times before his energy gets depleted.

    Well it was a shame, as he had wanted to use it to maim him multiple times.

    During this Enel''s four followers, Satori, Shura, Ohm, and Gedatsu, came and wanted to help but Ian directly used his telekinesis to damage their nervous system, and make them paralyzed. He then made them watch their fake god getting tortured.

    He once again took his sword making Enel panic and beg.

    "H-hey, there is no need to g-go this far right?" Enel spoke with a stutter but saw no change to Ian, "w-we can just s-stop and forget about this what do you s-say?" Once again Ian stayed the same. "P-please just please stop t-this¡­" Then Enel broke off his strong fa?ade and started begging.

    "Look, your master is begging. Heh a ''god'' begging haha. Not so tough now ah. You said you''ll kill anyone I know in front of me right, then try it now? Oh wait you can''t because you are just a weak person who ate a Logia fruit and thought of himself as an invincible god. You can do nothing but bully the weak. And now that the strong is here, you result to the begging. I am sure many people had begged you before right? But you killed them all the same no?" Ian spoke toward the four priests, before he turned his eyes full of killing intent back towards Enel.

    Ian swung his sword down and chopped off his arm once again. He then allowed Enel to yell until his voice became hoarse. Afterwards he made sure to regrow it.

    And since he could not use the energy for now he sheathed his sword, then continued using his telekinesis.

    He twisted both his arms. Then followed by his legs. Then he attacked his mind directly. Just like he did with his lackeys, effectively making him paralyzed.

    He then said, "How does it feel to be unable to even move your head without feeling pain? But since you are a god I''m sure you''ll heal yourself right? Right?" Ian spoke sarcastically.

    "No?" Ian hen continued on his own, since Enel was only repeating the word please over and over, with tears coming from his eyes.

    "I think this is enough." He said, to which Enel''s eyes brightened but then he was filled with despair as he heard Ian''s next words.

    "It''s time for you to meet a real god. If there is one of course." He took his sword out and took his head in one clean swing. He then used telekinesis to put pressure on the four priests, and crush their brains, killing them instantly.

    After which he took a fruit from his ring, and stood there near Enel''s dead body, waiting to see if the fruit will change to the rumble-rumble fruit.

    After 10 minutes of standing there, and when Ian was getting impatient, the fruit started changing.

    He had took an orange fruit from his ring, but now it started changing.

    It first grew in size to double then started twisting around and took a pear shape with a blue color while swirls started surrounding it until they finished.

    "Now I have two devil fruits I own¡­" Ian said quietly.

    The first one is a devil fruit his father left for him. He had said at that time that he got it along with the ring by risking his life. It was still unknown what its effects are.

    And now he got his hands on the Rumble-Rumble fruit. One of the most powerful devil fruits out there.

    He stored it and got on his way to find the Great python.

    {Title: The End Of a ''God''}

 Chapter 18 - Water 7

    He did not feel the need to eat a devil fruit for now. But he still entered the place of Enel because he had gold stored that was mined from the city. He stored all of it in his ring. He estimated it to be around 1 billion berry. It was not much considering that Luffy had got 300 million berries but he didn''t care anyways, as his father left him an enormous amount of money in the ring.

    Once done, he went inside one of the rooms, and Laid down on the bed, then started remembering Marie. His fianc¨¦. And the only woman he felt was perfect for him. Now that the tense air of the fight was done, he had time to mourn her death.

    After all for some reason, he only remembered it when Enel threatened to kill anyone closely related to him. But it was the memory of his death. So once he remembered his mind was messed up. As he felt that he just died by the thugs then suddenly was fighting with Enel who was threatening him. But fortunately he got his bearings back. And his messed up mind and memories was fixed.

    After a while of him just lying there and remembering all the memories of him and Marie, he finally focused and got up to continue ahead. She was almost similar to him. They even joked about this situation he was in now multiple times. The only thing different was how she was with him. But nonetheless he knew how she would never have liked it for him to just sit around feeling sad. He wondered if she had reincarnated like him in some world¡­ or if she went to heaven.

    ...........

    Afterwards he went on his way to Nola the great python. He wanted to leave as quickly as possible. There was nothing for him to do here.

    The ark maxim might be needed in the future. But so far he did not care for it, nor for the city of gold. As it was just ruins right now.

    The python was located in the forests of upper yard.

    It is bigger than most buildings and is long enough to reach out to the sky well above the trees of Skypiea (which alone are massive themselves). He knew that it is supposedly much bigger than its ancestors from the Anime.

    Its head alone is large enough that people may dance on top of it, and its insides are so large they form a tunnel big enough for people to walk side by side down with no room restrictions. As shown when Luffy was lost inside¡­

    It is blue in color with a single row of white hair on both sides, along the body. It has small, yellow eyes, and two long barbels hanging from the spot above her mouth, like a mustache. It also has dark blue wavy lines across the top of its body. It is the second oldest living creature in One Piece, being more than 400 years old. The longest living creature being Zunesha, the elephant carrying the island of Zou.

    The snake was practically oozing with savageness the moment he laid eyes on it. But a Haki infused glare made it cower and intimidated.

    "Relax, I won''t do anything to you. I just need something¡­ Done!" Ian said as came closer and took a syringe and filled it.

    The snake then slithered away in a very great speed almost like it is running from a demon. Ian had a strange look on his face.

    He then started flying to reach the cloud End.

    His next destination being water seven. There were many islands in between, however he didn''t plan to visit them.

    He wanted a new ship, and afterwards, to enter the new world, as this sea held no adventures for him.

    Soon he reached the gate and took out a wooden board from his ring. Then grinned. And jumped on the Milky Way. Today he was going to break records for the highest skydive ever. Both in this world and his last one. Kaido had not jumped in this world yet after all.

    Of course, with no parachute as with one there will be other people who jumped higher than him. Soon he reached the point on the milky road where it turns sharp, he then took off to the sky and started free falling. He didn''t use any of his energies. Either to fly or to protect his body against the wind. His body was strong enough. And he wanted to experience free falling like Kaido had done.

    It was an exhilarating feeling. He heard the loud rush of wind, smelt the fresh air, felt the cold air on his skin.

    Freedom. Bliss. Focus. Confidence¡­ a multitude of emotions passed through his mind. He was yelling at the top of his voice with a smile on his face.

    ...........

    Days past and Ian was now seen sitting on the crow''s nest.

    He had undergo the process using Nola''s Bloodline and as he had guessed, he gained a certain level of resistance to poisons. But coupled with his regeneration he could practically be called immune to poisons. Of course. The stronger the poison the longest the duration for him to recover from it. So far he was sure most poisons won''t work for him, except a small decrease in his speed for the duration that the regeneration will take. But he was wary of the more stronger poisons like the armored stonefish poison.

    Even Luffy almost died because of that. And he was someone who fought with a poison devil fruit eater and survived.

    As for his body. It too was strengthened but not to a very high degree. As raw strength or willpower, were not the snake''s strongest points.

    Still it was a plus for him. One thing that always annoyed him, was how his hair each time he went through the process keeps getting longer and longer. So he had to cut it each time.

    Ian was enjoying the wind blowing against his skin. He could finally see the island near. He was finally here. Water seven. The city in Paradise known for its shipwrights.

    From afar Ian could see that the city resembles a giant fountain in a volcano shape because of the tiered system of building houses. All the roofs are of red color and texture, the houses are tiered to allow for more houses to take up room.

    There are water-ways and canals that are used for transportation almost like roads, often surrounded by sidewalks on the canals. He knew from the anime that many citizens use Bulls which are Sea Horse like creatures that are attached to boats to move around the city. And he also knew that some shops rent bulls of various sizes, although they rarely rent King Bulls as they are gigantic in size. The other two smaller sizes bulls are used for transport. The reason why the bulls are good to use is because they can go up ramps of water and move about the city. Ian was dazed looking at this beautiful city. He wondered if he''ll get a companion anytime soon, so that he can enjoy this with them.

 Chapter 19 - Shadow empress Elene (1/2)

    New world. Unknown Island.

    Two women were walking on a road while the surrounding men ogled at them and the females envied them wishing they had their figures and beauty. But if you payed attention, you''ll notice there was a hint of fear in deep in their eyes.

    It was only natural that the men would look at them with l.u.s.t. As they were absolutely stunning.

    The first one, stood at 5'' 7"/170cm tall, this pale skinned woman has a sweet and innocent feel about her. Her eyes contained boundless warmth.

    She has a round face with a cleft chin, a large nose, and puffy lips. Her light green eyes are large and she has fine eyebrows.

    She has shoulder-length, thick, medium dark green hair which is un-styled. But it did not diminish any of her beauty. She was wearing green leather shorts and black small heeled boots and a black crop top which exposed her navel showing a silver piercing in it. Above all she was wearing a black sleeved open coat.

    She has weak arms and small hands, a short torso with defined muscles, angular h.i.p.s, toned legs, and average-sized feet.

    She has a realistic tattoo of a dragon on her right forearm. She carried a sheathed dagger on each side of her waist.

    Crazy eyes. Stella.

    This was the name this woman was known by.

    While the woman next to her was even taller than her.

    Standing at 5'' 9"/ 175cm tall, this pale skinned woman has a cold air of indifference about her.

    She has a round face with a rounded jaw, a small nose, puffy lips, and her light blue eyes are round.

    Her sunflower blonde hair, streaked with shades of slate, is mid-back length, fine and is neatly braided.

    She has arms that appeared stronger than her companion, very large b.r.e.a.s.ts, with a narrow waist, strong legs, and average-sized feet.

    Unlike her friend, she was wearing decent clothes, a white long sleeved shirt with no defining feature, black pants, and similar to her friend, white short heeled boots.

    She had a gun tucked in its holster on her right thigh. While she was carrying an unknown long object covered with a cloth on her shoulder.

    She was known as Shadow empress. Elene. But it was not her real name.

    The two of them along with a third person, were known bounty hunters in the new world. They had frequently hunted pirates with large bounties reaching 500-600 million berry.

    They all had teamed up to hunt pirates. And only the other two knows of Elene''s real name.

    ''We should go meet Bert soon. Sigh if only the humans in here are not so racist¡­ I''m glad I got to know Stella'' Elene thought to herself while glancing at her close friend.

    Feeling her stare, Stella turned to look at her.

    "What is it Elene?" she curiously asked her friend.

    "Nothing I''m just glad someone like you exist in this world." Elene said with a smile.

    And hearing this Stella jumped at her friend hugging her while letting a cute giggle escape her lips.

    "Ehehe I''m glad I got to meet you too" she rubbed her cheeks on Elene''s and had a smile on her face.

    Elene slapped the back of her friend''s head and admonished her, but she had a fond smile on her face.

    "What are you doing, can''t you notice these creepy guys already ogling us due to how thin your clothes are, you want to give them more?" Elene said.

    "Ah, I''m pretty sure they are staring due to how beautiful you are." Stella once rubbed the pain off her head spoke with a hand on her shin like a detective.

    "Cut it out we should not make Bert wait any longer." Elene said raising her hand threateningly. To which Stella hurriedly nodded her head and started leading the way.

    Soon they reached a part on the island that was far from the city. It was full of trees, and had a house built in it. It was a house they had built to stay in. it had been two months since they started staying here.

    Stella and Bert didn''t know why, only that Elene said she was waiting for someone to come to the new world. This island was in the begging of the new world. So that person''s news was bound to reach here. After which they will go find him.

    Once they came near, Elene turned to look at the trees. Stella also looked but she could not see anything special. She only felt a very faint feeling of a presence.

    "As expected of you Elene." Bert said as he jumped from a tree.

    ''There was no one there just now¡­ no matter how many times I see it, it still surprises me¡­ and people think they are above this race? Hah what stupidity¡­'' Stella thought inside her mind. She and Bert were close friends, but not as close as she was to Elene. And similarly Bert was more close to Elene than to her. After all Elene had saved them when they were in their weakest moments¡­

    Standing 7'' 6"/ 229cm tall, Bert had a respectful feel about him. A particularly notable feature is his lazy eyes and his body covered in fur, and he has a large burn mark on his neck which he always avoids telling the story for. This place is the sole place on his body to which no fur grows.

    He was a lion mink. From the mink tribe.

    His body was muscular but not burly. A trait different than the usual lion mink types. He had a short sword strapped to his left waist.

    He was wearing boots reaching to his knees and a baggy pants in white color that went into the boots. On the top he was wearing a white shirt that was a bit bigger than his size. He preferred it that way, as if it was sticking to his body it will be hotter for him, which is something all minks dislike.

    Bert usually stayed in the house, or when Stella and Elene went out in the forest hiding his presence and guarding the house.

    It was for the reason why Elene said that people in here were racist. The minks were treated in here as Slaves.

    "How is it, is there any news?" he asked to Elene in a respectful tone.

    "No¡­" Elene sighed. She was getting a bit frustrated about this.

    "Then we will keep waiting in here." Bert noticed this but still replied and went inside the house. He was going to cook them some of their favorite food to eat and cheer them up. Despite his look, he was a very good cook.

    "How confident are you that he will come?" Stella had a serious look and asked her friend. She too was getting frustrated. After all it was two months now.

    "I don''t know¡­ but I have a strong feeling that he will come soon." Elene replied and after a while she got her bearings back and gave a smile to her friend and then headed inside too.

    ''I''m glad to see you have not lost your confidence¡­ I don''t want to see you sad¡­'' Stella thought inside her head and smiled gently before following inside too.

 Chapter 20 - Shadow empress Elene (2/2)

    Elene and both her friends were as close as family members. She grew up along with Bert as they became friends when she was 11 years old and she had saved him, which is the reason why he was closer to her than Stella.

    As for Stella it was not even a full three years that they met. She was 17 years old at that time. But Elene liked her as a little sister all the same. Both Stella and Bert had ended up being saved by her at a point in time which is why they were much closer to each other. Especially Bert, as she had saved him when he was still young. So he grew up indebted to her. Something she was trying to make him get pass and treat her like a family member to this day but he won''t shake about it.

    Bert was 21 years old, and to this day he still was a bit over respectful to Elene, and as the oldest of them he trained really hard to be able to protect the both of them, sadly he was still not as strong as Elene¡­ while Stella was 17, and since the incident, she was much more cheerful than before.

    Now they can be seen inside the house, with Bert in his room meditating, while Stella and Elene were in the sofa in the living room just lazing around. They did not hunt any pirate since they came to this island.

    Elene had a special secret.

    She was not a person from this world. Although she was born and grew up in this world, her soul came from a place called earth. She had died on that planet due to an unforeseen accident. And the next thing she knew, was waking up in this world in the body of a five years old girl. She did not have any family.

    But on the island she woke up on, there was a middle aged couple and their daughter who took all orphans under there roof. She too ended up raised by them.

    From the news that circled the island she was able to tell that she was in the one piece world. And in the new world at that. But in her last life this world was supposed to be a work of fiction. She and her fianc¨¦ had been avid readers of this manga. She liked it as much as he did.

    But both of them died, and she ended up reborn in this world.

    It was not until she reached 10 years old, that she noticed how every night she wanted to sleep she would feel a special connection with someone from this world. At first she did not know what that was all about.

    But soon, she began to understand this feeling. She was feeling her lover. Which meant he too was reborn in this world with her. Her only fear, even to this day, was him not having his memories of his past life.

    When she understood that other part of her connection was him, she was determined to help him as much as she can on his path. Even if he did not remember her.

    So she began to train herself. Subsequently discovering a weird power she had¡­

    And with each year that came, she felt the connection with him strengthening, so much that she was able to feel his excitement and anticipation for setting off.

    When she was 18 years old, she set off to the sea along with Bert and Stella, who she had met before.

    But it was not until reaching twenty years old that she knew he had set off, from the connection.

    It had perplexed her to this day. As it meant two things as far as she could tell. First he had waited until reaching twenty to set off. Which she thought was very unlikely. Second is that he was younger than her by two years. For some reason she believed it was the second option that is correct.

    But it did not change how she felt about him at all.

    She was now 20 years old, and for the last two years, she had been going around getting famous along with Bert and Stella. Bert usually covered himself with a cloak, so not many knew his real identity. He was nicknamed ''swift Bert''.

    It was not until recently that she knew her lover is coming. Which is why she decided to wait for his news in this island before going to meet him.

    But it had been two months now, and she was getting crazy from waiting. She did not know if he will recognize her, which is why she was anxious so much.

    Meanwhile, Stella knew that Elene was overthinking things. Although she did not know what Elene had on her mind exactly, she knew that she just had to relax a bit.

    "Elene, can you tell me who is this person we are waiting for?" Stella asked Elene. She asked the same question a million time before always getting the same answer¡­ perhaps today it will be different.

    "You will see him when he comes to the new world." Elene replied with a smile.

    "Sigh¡­" Stella sighed. It appears it was still the same answer.

    "Is he really important to you? You know we could be hunting evil guys, and racking in money. Perhaps we could finally get a new ship and get rid of that scarp wood thing we use." Stella said.

    "You little girl, do you think we don''t have enough money to buy or make a ship with all the hunting we did?" Elene said with funny smile on her face. After all they had brought dudes to the marines worth hundreds of million berries¡­ but after a while of consideration she thought it will be fine to tell her about her lover. As he will soon be here.

    "As for if he is important to me, you could say we are destined for each other in this world. Apart from him, I would love no other." Elene said. Making the sitting Stella stand up from shock.

    One could not blame her. As Elene had never told them anything about this person before. It was the first time Stella heard something about him.

    Elene took Stella''s hands and pulled her making her sit again.

    She then added.

    "No need to be shocked this much okay, look Bert has brought us food. Ah I can''t wait to taste this amazing food¡­" Elene said.

    And Stella too had stars in her eyes the moment the food was brought in by Bert.

 Chapter 21 - Encounter

    Paradise. On the sea.

    Ian was seen in his ship, eating in the kitchen.

    He was thinking about things.

    Days ago, he had reached water seven. Once he made his way in, he directly went to the shipwrights company. Galley-La. He had rented the bulls that were used to move around in water seven.

    Galley-La was probably the most prestigious firm of shipwrights in water seven. Being led by iceberg. Who himself is one of the legendary shipwright Tom apprentices.

    He had made a deal with them to make him a ship. He left them a simple sketch of how he wanted it to be.

    As its size is not overly large, it was said by the men there that it will take them only three days to make it.

    He couldn''t wait to see how it will turn out. Since he could use his energy to both protect and steer it, he did not see any reason to make it using treasure tree Adam even if he had some. After all it would only bring him troubles. Nor did he see any reasons to load it with different weapons. Considering he can both attack and defend all on his own.

    Also since he did not understand much about sh.i.p.s, he made it to be a Carrack just like the straw hats sunny go. With some differences of course. He did not know if he will be getting any companions any soon, however, so he just designed it simply.

    But the reason why he was now on the sea, with his ship sailing at an almost monstrous speed, is that he planned to get his business in this part of the sea. Soon.

    Which will be by getting to the Florian triangle.

    He had thought things through. Getting Oars DNA will not be overly important to him as exploring the mysterious ever dark Florian triangle. However he will not waste the chance if he met the island-ship coincidentally.

    He had sailed for a whole day, and when he got out of kitchen and went to the deck he found out that there was no light in the surroundings. He knew he was now in the Florian triangle.

    .....

    Ian was flying through the dark fog that surrounded the place. It was a fog so thick it covered the sunlight.

    It was said that many pirate and commercial sh.i.p.s mysteriously went missing every year and, sometimes, a ship will be found sailing without any people onboard. It has also been said that there are many haunted sh.i.p.s with dead bodies sailing across the sea¡­ but he knew the later to be due to Brook.

    In the manga it was said that many sh.i.p.s went missing, but some of them were due to Gecko Moria schemes. But the rest it had later been said that they were gone missing even before the warlord had made this place his base¡­

    Which was the reason why Ian was here now. Especially since there were many theories of mysterious monsters in this place.

    But this fog unlike what he thought before, prevented his observation Haki from spreading far.

    He was finding it hard to look around¡­

    Suddenly while he was flying he heard a voice speak to him, directly in his mind. But as it sounded he felt a splitting headache along with it as he clutched at his head. Fortunately he was still able to listen.

    "Come¡­ meet me¡­ down¡­"

    Ian could tell that the entity behind that voice was extremely strong, if not only from the fact that its voice caused him headaches, then from the feeling of power that suddenly descended on him.

    He knew that he had no choice in the matter. He would have to dive in the water. Otherwise he would die.

    His instincts screamed at him that if he only made a move to run he will die as quickly as the thought made itself known.

    He stood there for a while thinking of what to do, before sighing.

    He nodded and dived down.

    He did not want to die so soon after all. He could only hope for it to not kill him.

    Perhaps it was the entity that made his second life possible. If so he would at least have to thank it, and if it had any requests for him, if it is not against his ideals and morals he will have to fulfill them.

    After a while of swimming down he finally reached the place where the voice wanted him to meet it. It was absolutely dark in there that he could not see anything.

    But soon a giant figure was seen in his eyes. It easily dwarfed him. So much that its eyes were bigger than him.

    It was a in the shape of an alligator covered in full with scales, meanwhile all along its body there were lines glowing in a faint yellow light. But he could not tell the specific details about it as even with faint light it was too dark to spot anything.

    It opened its eyes and spoke in his mind again.

    "I''m not¡­ an enemy¡­ "The huge monster said.

    For some reason the headache hurt more when the voice talked. He could discern no emotions nor tone from the voice. So after recovering from the shock of seeing the entity''s yellow eyes, he said in his mind.

    "Who are you? And why can''t I hear you well?" Ian.

    "Hmm¡­ not time for¡­ it then¡­ no matter¡­ child¡­ I have been¡­ waiting¡­ for you¡­ the child not from¡­ this world¡­ but it is¡­ not¡­ time yet¡­ there is¡­ a great¡­ danger¡­ reaching¡­ for¡­ this world¡­ and none seems¡­ to notice it yet¡­" the mysterious monster said.

    Ian was shocked. He wondered how this entity knew he was not from this world.

    "A great danger you said, then is it related to the one piece treasure? And how do you know I''m not from this world?" Ian asked.

    "¡­ No it¡­ is not¡­ this however¡­ is related to the destruction¡­ of the world¡­ I can¡­ tell¡­ you are¡­ not from¡­ this world¡­ because¡­ I can¡­ see your¡­ soul is different¡­ than this¡­ world''s people¡­ ''we'' have been¡­ waiting¡­ for you for¡­ a long time" the monster said as it closed its eyes as if in contemplation.

    "Seek¡­ That¡­ brat¡­ Whitebeard¡­ he will¡­ explain¡­ to you¡­ my time¡­ is running¡­ tell him¡­ the¡­ di¨¢voloi¡­ are awakening¡­" it said.

    "I''m sorry¡­ I could not¡­ meet you yet¡­ when the¡­ time comes¡­ I''ll contact you¡­ it was fortunate¡­ you met¡­ one of ''ours''¡­ enabling¡­ us to link¡­"

    "It¡­ will give¡­ you something¡­ to help you¡­ do not be¡­ afraid¡­ just¡­ seek¡­ that brat¡­ Farwell¡­ until¡­ we meet¡­ again¡­"

    After this there was no more words coming to his mind. He stopped clutching his head and looked at the beast in front of him.

    Its eyes turned red from yellow and the faint lines around its body disappeared.

    It appeared that this was not the entity that was talking to him. But it said that it was one of theirs whoever they were. It had used it to link the both of them.

    He suddenly saw a light condense in front of it, leaving a beautiful blue shining crystal. It was then guided in front of him. And he noticed how the moment it came near him it tried merging with him but he stored it inside his ring. He then turned to the monster and bowed his head a bit.

    He understood that this is the thing helpful for him that the entity said the beast will leave him. The monster gave a low roar and went swimming ahead leaving a very powerful current in its way.

 Chapter 22 - Special ability

    Ian then after talking with the entity, swam upwards to get out of the sea. He was not able to see due to how dark the sea was, and he didn''t want to fight any monster underwater. His plan originally was to lure a strong one upwards where he can use 100%.

    Once he got out from the water he flew outside the fog with a ''Shave'', and left the Florian triangle as fast as he could. He wanted some time to think.

    Then, when he was a good distance away, he took his ship out from the ring, and landed on it. Before briskly heading inside to his quarters. He had a lot on his mind he wanted to think about.

    His bedroom didn''t have much to see. It was normal with an average sized bed ¨Che would soon be replacing- and a wardrobe for his clothes on the side. With a desk and a chair in case he wanted to write something or read a book. he thought back on what the entity said.

    ''First of all. Would be that it is not the one responsible for my reincarnation. Otherwise it would not have said it had been waiting for me along its friends or something? It said ''we'' meaning there are more like it. It knowing that I''m not from this world is a problem however I can''t do anything about even if I wanted to¡­'' he was tapping his index finger on the desk.

    ''Second would be, the danger it warned about. I''m pretty sure there was no such thing in the original world¡­ perhaps this world is different than the one I read about, or maybe my existence messed things up?''

    Once he reached this train of thoughts he stood up from the chair and started pacing around absentmindedly.

    ''A danger so great it will destroy the world¡­ Di¨¢voloi awakening¡­ seeking Whitebeard¡­ who are the di¨¢voloi and how are they related to Whitebeard?''

    ''At the very least, I should meet him.'' Ian reached a conclusion in regards to this.

    ''For now let''s see what the crystal I got is all about¡­''

    He then sighed and went to the deck and took the crystal from his ring but used his telekinesis to suspend it in front of him as the moment it was out it tried to reach to him.

    Its size was even bigger than him by three times. He didn''t know what it was, but he knew one thing. He could either keep storing it away, and take the safe choice, or believe in the mysterious entity and let it merge with him like it did first when the monster released it, thereby choosing the more risky choice. After a while of pondering, he finally made his mind on what to do.

    Using the crystal was a risk. But he made his mind to believe in the entity, and take this risk.

    So with determined eyes, he let go of it and watched how it came near him instantly then vaporized into gas surrounding him, which went through the pores of his body moments later.

    He was expecting pain, excruciating pain, but rather than that, he felt a warm feeling all over his body. So he sat cross legged, closed his eyes and enjoyed this feeling.

    After a while though, the mysterious energy that was already in his body got involved, which suddenly brought the expectant pain.

    He fainted once again. Meanwhile a layer of invisible energy had surrounded his body in a dome shape to protect him.

    ........

    Two hours later.

    Ian''s eyes stirred open.

    ''This is my ship¡­''

    He looked around him to see where he was, noticing he was on the deck of the ship, before his eyes turned settling on his body after recollecting what happened to him.

    ''That''s right the energy interrupted what the crystal was doing to my body and made me faint''

    He stood up and released a sigh.

    "Each time the energy does something I always feel pain, before fainting¡­ and now I have to cut my hair again¡­ sigh" he murmured annoyed and finished with a sigh as he noticed his hair reaching until his back once again.

    "Well, no use dwelling on it. Let''s see what is different than before, I hope something good came out of this" He wanted to know what that crystal''s effect was. And also what his energy did or what it changed than before.

    After a while of checking his body, he found out that the energy was supposed to make his body stronger. Like a power up.

    Perhaps the entity thought that he was quite weak so it told the monstrous giant beast, that he thought was an alligator but couldn''t be sure as it was too dark, to give him a blessing that resulted in his body becoming much stronger than before, effectively reaching past the middle of the earth realm.

    Just as he finished checking his body, he felt a headache as new information was pouring into his mind.

    ''Not this again¡­'' Ian thought.

    But this was where things changed from what the entity had intended. It had wanted to make him more powerful physically. As this was the one piece world, almost all relied on the power of the body. But the mysterious energy that he got upon reincarnating changed things.

    The energy in his body, took control of his body at the time and used the crystal, to give him something else other than the body boost.

    It gave him a special ability.

    ''Let''s try it¡­ it says I should just revolve the energy around my body once¡­''

    He channeled his energy through his body, and watched with amazement as his unblemished glistening skin changed to a scaly pattern like it was a skin of a dragon almost instantly. The color stayed the same as his usual skin though so it was not obvious much to the n.a.k.e.d eye.

    His nails too had lengthened and became a grey color and more powerful akin to dragon claws. But he found out that he could turn his hands back to normal if he liked it. He tried it a few times and noticed that the change was instantaneous just like the scales pattern.

    ''This form of attack is good for me, at least until I get my hands on a good enough weapon'' of course a good enough weapon in his eyes, will be nothing short of the Supreme Grade Swords. But for now this would do. He could even send force blades using them.

    Ian could feel that now his defense with the scaly skin, was through the roof. Of course he would not be able to give an accurate guess, but based on the feeling he has, he knew it was a very strong defense.

    He gave a grin.

    ''This is amazing. There''s nothing better than this feeling of power.'' Ian thought.

 Chapter 23 - A bit of training

    Since he did not know from which direction he had went when he used ''shave'' to fly out of the Florian triangle, he shook his head and took the eternal pose for water 7 to see the direction where he has to go.

    In this chaotic ever changing sea, sailing without a log pose, is considered beyond suicide, even if it was someone as strong as Ian.

    He would be using the eternal pose to get back to water 7, but since he is not in a hurry he will be sailing normally or rather at a normal speed. The reason why is so that he can get used to his new update in strength, and also so that he can reach the island the very same day his ship would be finished by the builders there.

    ''Now I have to once again adapt to my new power, otherwise if I even walk normally I''ll end up sent flying.'' Ian thought in his mind with a smile on his face, as he looked at the direction the pose pointed.

    ''This is the opposite direction¡­'' he shook his head once he found himself sailing in the opposite direction. He used his power to change the direction of the ship to the correct one leading to water 7, then he took out a small desk from his ring which had a place for the log pose to be fixed on.

    After an increase in his strength he always has to learn to control it so that he will not end up destroying things accidentally or even hurt someone. Therefore he has to adapt to it quickly, and for fear of breaking the eternal pose, he had it put there, so that once in a while he will check on it to see if the ship changed directions.

    For getting adapted to his new strength, he had training weights to help him get used to it. The more he trained with them the more used he got to his strength.

    They were made in the island he grew up on, using some sort of metal that was unknown to the rest of the world, but extremely heavy. Even he did not know from where his father had got them, but he was thankful nonetheless.

    Of course they on their own would not be enough. As since the upgrade the last time, the weights were already light in his eyes. Not to mention now that he was on the middle of the earth realm. The realm supposed to boost your physical strength.

    But he had thought of a solution for that.

    ''Although the weights no longer works for me as they became lighter and lighter, if I''m under the gravity effect, it should be enough not to mention that the pressure of the gravity would much stronger now after the power up¡­'' Ian thought inside his mind.

    Since before he was already able to influence gravity using telekinesis. So he would be using it now as it should be much more stronger than before.

    Of course since his training could potentially destroy the ship, he usually covered it with his energy, thereby protecting it with a layer of invisible shield.

    Taking out the training weights, he increased the pressure only on his body.

    The first time he had got the ability, he could not pinpoint it at only a specific point accurately, but now he had reached such a degree of mastery to do it with ease.

    While he felt the effect of the pressure this time, it was not that much that he will feel it hard to walk r train with the weights.

    ''It appears I''m getting stronger and stronger¡­'' the gravity did not affect him much, which was the reason he shook his head.

    ''I want to test if my new defense can nullify the gravity¡­'' Ian thought as he channeled his energy through his body. Once his body had turned to its defensive mode, he tried feeling how the effect of the gravity will differ.

    And he did so he was a bit shocked as he felt that he could walk normally. But he still felt the gravity was there. Meaning this form could withstand gravity to a point, but when it was increased further, it will affect it too.

    Shaking his head out of his stupor. He turned the defensive form off, then he started thinking of what to do so that he can start his training.

    Suddenly he thought of an idea, and started action on it.

    He brought one of the hand Dumbbells and focused the pressure on it as much as he could, while still leaving the one on his body there.

    When he was done, he tried lifting it up, and noticed how it was extremely heavy even to him.

    He put it down, and went next to the Barbells and did the same. Only this time he only managed to lift it up a bit before he let go due to how heavy it was. It fell on the ship with such force that shield covering the deck cracked a bit on the point of impact. Ian was a bit shocked.

    As the one who control the shields he knew how strong they were¡­ but even so it was broken a bit. But after a few minutes of thinking, he felt that that was to be expected as all the weight plates he had were inserted on the barbell.

    But then another thought appeared in his mind.

    ''If I add pressure on the barbell first, then on each plate alone and stack them up, wouldn''t it be just like continuously adding more weight?'' Ian thought.

    When he increased the pressure, he did it on the barbell as a whole. But when he thought of increasing it on each plate on its own¡­ it gave him shivers. {A/N: for those who do not understand, picture a barbell for example charged with 50KG, adding the pressure would make it 500KG, then when you add more plates each with increased pressure the weight will only keep growing.}

    With the new found training method, Ian started his training, while occasionally checking the pose so that he would not change direction.

    "Let''s get this started" Ian said with a grin. He was always a fan of working out.

    ...........

    2 days later. Ian was seen in water seven heading to the shipyard to get his new ship.

    He had already trained his body strength, to a point where he will not break even a cup when holding it.

    Now he was getting his expectations raised due to his ship that he was told was finished, by one of the workers he had met in the city.

 Chapter 24 - New ship

    Usually a carrack type of ship relies heavily on the skills of its navigator. But Ian could bypass that necessity due to his special abilities.

    He could steer the ship almost on a subconscious level now. It was only when he needs to sail at a very fast speed would he need to focus his mind on the task as it requires more attention.

    He couldn''t wait to see the ship.

    ''Although it does not have the many gimmicks like the thousand sunny, I still want to see the ship I''ll be sailing on'' Ian thought in his mind. Such effects like the ones the sunny had, were just child play for him. After all apart from flying the ship he could probably do anything else, from maneuvering the ship, protecting it, attacking other sh.i.p.s¡­

    Soon he had reached the place where the dock 1 was. He had been walking a bit faster and only realized it now that he reached it.

    ''This is exciting'' He thought.

    When he stepped inside, he spoke with one of the workers who then took him to see the one in charge.

    And since he had already payed the money-240 million berries- his ship was all ready to be taken out. Or rather launched out into the sea.

    But he first has to check it out.

    ''Let''s see if they made it as I told them¡­'' He thought.

    The one in charge they brought him to was Paulie. The last time he did not meet him as he was not here. He started walking towards him, as he was working.

    ''Maybe he was not here at that time¡­ still this guy is the most closest to iceberg, if I can remember correctly¡­'' Ian thought as he looked at him before he suddenly remembered something important. Still he quickly calmed down and focused on the ship for now. The rest he can think about later.

    Paulie was one of the five Dock One foremen of Water 7, specializing in rigging, knots, and masts. He was recently promoted to vice president of the Galley-La Company.

    Ian knew that he had later became an ally of the Straw Hat Pirates during the end of the Water 7 Arc and at the beginning of the Enies Lobby Arc.

    Paulie was seen with a cigar in his mouth. His denim jacket has a flame detail, many of his cigars strapped to it (in a similar fashion to Smoker who he had already met during Logue town), and a big "1" printed on its back, most likely referring to Dock 1.

    His hair is blond and slicked back on his head while wearing a pair of orange goggles on top.

    He is quite muscular, and his attire is completed by a yellow T-shirt, with white concentric circles in the middle of it, a belt around his waist with a little bag attached to it, and a pair of loose trousers tucked inside his boots.

    When Ian came near him, he turned around and noticed him then smiled and said.

    "I didn''t get to meet you before sir, my name is Paulie, and it''s a pleasure to meet you" Paulie respectfully said as he brought his hand for a handshake. He had always been a forthright person. For customers like Ian who pay their due, he was respectful. For those who tries to sneak around he will let them see his other face.

    "Names is Ian, nice to meet you too" Ian shook his hands with him too while feeling amused. He knew that Paulie had troubles with gambling, and thereby his attitude towards him, since he had already paid.

    "Your ship is already done, do you want to see it now?" Paulie said to Ian.

    "Sure, lead the way" Ian said, trying to contain his excitement.

    After a bit of walking, they reached the place from where they launch the sh.i.p.s. His ship was already mounted on.

    Paulie stepped forward and ordered a few workers to get the covers off the ship.

    Once they did, Ian was able to see the ship in all its glory.

    The ship has a lawn on its deck just like the straw hats thousands sunny, but instead of a swing it was just normal stairs, it had as well an observation tower for a crow''s nest. The huge masts give the ship extreme maneuverability. Like the sunny, the figurehead is an animal''s head, or rather a monster''s head. Specifically a western dragon with two menacing horns but it lacked the crossbones, as he had said it himself to them. It was made using metal. A metal he provided for them. It too had come from his father. Many parts of the ship too had the same metal. And it was lighter than normal too, thus making the ship even easier to sail with.

    Now that he thought about it, his father had made things much easier for him. He shook his head, and continued looking at the ship.

    Paulie brought him inside to tour the ship.

    The sh.i.p.s helm is located at the front of the ship. Unlike the conventional steering wheels found on traditional sailing sh.i.p.s, the position of the sh.i.p.s steering wheel resembles those found on modern sh.i.p.s. Again it was something he requested of the workers.

    Ian was content with what he has seen so far.

    The anchors are positioned at each side of the front of the ship. The ropes used to raise and lower them are stored inside the metal ring positioned behind the figurehead.

    The ship holds 14 cannons: seven traditional cannons on each side of the ship.

    Once he stepped inside, Paulie led the way.

    The directly went to the first floor, which was the lowest floor.

    This one had the rooms of the men, if any will join in the future. But Ian made sure to at least include two individual rooms, and a third one, the biggest of the three, in case there were many men, it will be shared. Also every room was already furnished. The floor also had a storage room, and a bathroom.

    Meanwhile the second floor had the same layout, with two individuals'' rooms, and one big enough for some girls to share it. But there was not a storage room here. Instead there was a much bigger bathroom, then the one on the first floor, in addition to a small kitchen.

    For the last floor, and the one leading directly to the deck, it had the kitchen with a separate food storage, and the dining room next to it. On the other side of the deck, it had an empty room that was left alone. And another storage room.

    On the deck there were three doors, one for the kitchen, one for the dining room, and one for the empty room. As for the storage, one had to climb the stairs on the deck, then they would find a hatch to open, then climb down the stairs.

    Once Ian was done with touring the ship, he was absolutely happy about it. The only thing left was to get some companions to join him. And even if they did not like something, small modifications could always be made.

 Chapter 25 - The straw hats reach water 7

    Once Ian ended his tour of the new ship along with Paulie, who had been sporting a proud smile on his face all this time, he jumped off it. With the blond guy following him soon after noticing his actions.

    Once they landed on the ground, Paulie looked at the ship for a while, before he turned back to Ian and addressed him.

    "Do you like it Mr. Ian? We have done our best as we were building it. Although it is not the very best we have built on this dock, it is still one of our top sh.i.p.s" Paulie said with pride practically oozing off him.

    "Of course I like it. It''s exactly what I need. In the first place I requested only a normal ship" Ian replied with a smile. He knew that what Paulie said was true, as many much better sh.i.p.s were constructed in this dock. But he was content with the new ship he had.

    And also, he had no need for the various gimmicks Franky''s ship, the thousand sunny, had. All he needed was a good ship. The rest of the things he could do it himself, and a good ship was what he got.

    "Then I''m glad you find it good. Tell me Mr. Ian when will you be sailing with it? So that I can get things ready" Paulie asked after giving Ian a smile.

    He had to know this so that he can get his men to launch the ship to the sea. It was already loaded on the platform responsible for that. All they needed was for Ian to tell them when he needed it to be ready to sail.

    Once the ship was launched it will go through a sea route that will get it to the piers of Water 7, from which it will be easy to sail off with it.

    "Let me think for a bit." Ian replied to Paulie.

    He had to think on this.

    As first of all, the thing he remembered earlier before meeting Paulie, was that this is the exact time for the Enies lobby arc in the original story.

    Well he was not absolutely sure, but he could guess so by the timeline. As far as he knows, the straw hats had spent almost a month and a week to reach water seven from the start of their journey.

    And he had spent a month and 4 days so far since he left the island he grew up on. So it should be the time for the day Robin will be saved and join the straw hats to be a part of their crew officially.

    Once Ian thought of that he couldn''t help but smile bitterly, and think inside his mind.

    ''Robin is important to the story, being the only one alive capable of reading the Poneglyphs¡­ perhaps it was fated for her to join the pirate king crew since she was born¡­''

    But even so, this did not mean that he will just sit by during that time. There were some places and some events he will have to be part of in this world. Saving Robin, was one of them.

    There was an easy way to check if this is the time for it though. And that was to see if Smoker''s news of saving Alabasta is circulating or not. Of course it was not smoker who saved the country but rather Luffy but since the marines will never admit of a pirate saving a country to the public, it was announced as smoker''s deed. And this was precisely what will enable Ian to know whether it is time for the Enies lobby incident or not yet.

    So he had to check as soon as possible on the newspapers. Then if it turned out right, then he would have to stay here on water 7 until he help''s Robin. Even if they did not know each other well, he was a close fan of her, therefore he absolutely wanted to be part of this.

    As such he could not sail yet. However the ship can be launched to the sea all the same. As it will not affect anything either ways. And once it is ready, he would store it in his ring. He did not want his new ship to be destroyed by the oncoming Aqua Laguna after all. And the reason he did not do it now, was just to not expose the existence of the ring yet. But once it was in the piers, he could sneak around and do it.

    So having made his mind, Ian replies to Paulie with a smile.

    "I think the sooner you can do it, the better. Also I want to ask you, do you have a newspaper?" Ian.

    "Alright then, I''ll tell the men. We already have the name of the hotel you are staying on, as such when it is ready, I''ll have someone go and find you." Paulie said before he went away for a bit and returned with a newspaper that he gave to Ian.

    Ian took it and started reading.

    While Paulie stood there and thought of his next words, before finally speaking.

    "If you want to leave, you better do it the next 2 days. As the annual aqua Laguna is near. And when it comes it will be hard to leave then." He said.

    Ian had seen in the newspaper the news of saving smoker saving Alabasta from the former Warlord crocodile.

    As such he returned the newspaper to Paulie.

    "I already know about it, don''t worry. And thank you for your consideration" Ian replied with a smile as he thanked him. He knew that Luffy and his crew will possibly be here in the next two days. And on the third day it will be the aqua Laguna event.

    Then after Ian bid Paulie goodbye, he went to where he was staying, and cooked something to eat, before finally entering his bedroom to sleep as he was tired. And it was evening already.

    ........

    Two days later, the straw hats finally entered water 7, and Ian who had been idling about, with nothing to do other than trying new foods, took notice of them.

 Chapter 26 - A memory

    A young boy around 12 years old could be seen running around the town he grew up in.

    It was Ian. And he had started running since almost 3 hours, and had finished the last lap of the morning regime. On his legs, arms and torso visible weights could be seen. They were a weighted vest, along with well-fitting wrists and ankles weights.

    One could also notice a few bruises here and there on his well-built physique.

    Now he returned to his and his father''s house panting, with groggy legs and weak knees.

    "Father, I have finished." He spoke tiredly as he sat on the ground. After all this day was the last day he was going to train by running.

    His father, Geo, only grinned at him as he said.

    "Today, train harder than yesterday. You understand that right Ian?" Geo said.

    Ian, sat upright when he heard this and gave a determined nod.

    At first, when he started the training with his father, he like most starters, wanted to quit. But he had shook such thoughts almost instantly and took his father''s moto as his ever since. The things he wanted to do in this world needs strength. Sufficient strength.

    His training as his father explained, was to get him ready to use some unique abilities this world had. Which were the ''six powers'', a special superhuman martial arts style. Who in turn will serve as the base and foundations to acquire the other two types of Haki he still did not have currently.

    Since he was 10 years old he had been strengthening his foundations. His father taught him nothing at this time on fighting or Haki. He only explained what each training he was doing will enable him to do in the future.

    There was a time when he asked his father if training at an early age will stunt his growth, but his father had said, that the appropriate age for one to train the six powers is 7 or 8 years old.

    He ran and ran daily, wearing weights on his body. Weights that each time were increased. The weights on his legs will help him with the three skills from the ''six powers'' revolving on the leg usage. Namely, Moonwalk, shave, and lastly Tempest Kick. As for the weights on his upper body, they were there so that his whole body strength will be balanced. This was what his father had said.

    As he was running each morning, his father attacked him from unknown locations, with pebbles, that when hit will leave painful bruises. And he could do nothing but get hit at first.

    His father explained, that this will help him with acquiring Iron body, and Paper art, along with making him gain the basic observation and armament Haki. Of course that will be only after he had mastered Paper art and Iron body.

    The whole morning revolved on this training. But come the afternoon, and after a hearty and healthy lunch filled with nutrients made by his father, he would train between an hour and two to acquire, Finger pistol, along with its flying variant.

    However now after two years of this training, it was finally time for something new.

    "Now my son, you have mastered the six powers." Geo said with pride, like it was something he did himself.

    "But I still get hit by you while running" Ian murmured annoyed. Even when he master Paper art and Iron body, he still can get hurt by his father''s seemingly normal pebbles.

    "That has nothing to do with you, my son. The six powers are already mastered by you. That much I can guarantee." Geo said with certainty.

    Ian even if he stayed silent, couldn''t hide the smile from his face.

    "And now since you reached this state, we would train for the next year on a special technique more stronger than the skills you have now, that could only be trained when the six powers are mastered by a person. It is an extremely useful one too" Geo said, with a grin.

    And Ian even while his excitement grew from knowing the technique his father was talking about as he knew it from the manga, he still faked a question.

    "Stronger than the six powers?" Ian asked.

    ........

    Ian who was half-asleep half-awake as he was dozing off on the couch that was in his hotel room, stirred awake.

    "A dream?" Ian murmured to himself. He had remembered his training with his father as he was young while sleeping.

    He shook his head and went to cook something for himself.

    The straw hats had finally entered water 7 the previous day.

    And Ian who had been idling about at the time, with nothing to do other than trying new foods all around Water 7, took notice of them. However he did not go meet them at that time. He had seen Sanji buying food around a place he was eating in, that was how he knew they were here.

    However he had to wait things out.

    Interfering then, would leave a bad taste in his mouth. As this was Luffy''s battle to get Robin back.

    And even though he did not care for changing the plot anymore, such battles that correlated to the improvement of the main characters was something he would have to let be.

    Otherwise they would not grow strong. Of course, if someone got on his nerve he would not give it much thought before he kicks his ass.

    Just like what happened with Enel. If that egoistic garbage had not provoked Ian''s wrath, he would have still served his purpose of improving Luffy. Plus Luffy would know that he is immune to electricity. Something Ian doubted he knew now.

    As to why it would leave a bad taste in his mouth. It is because, Luffy is coming to save his crew member. It would not do to come in when the captain is trying to show he cares about his friends.

    Therefore, Ian made the decision to show Robin that he would be there for her. Otherwise he would leave the straw-hats to their battles, and keep watching. Only interfering if something went wrong.

    Of course the possibility for such unknown variants is extremely high, as this world is a bit different than the one he knew about.

    However, even if he said he would not interfere much, it is only in consideration to the battles themselves. As to where the battles will happen, he would not be letting it happen like in before.

    The moment they shoot the flag, he will get Robin by his side. The rest he will see what will happen.

    This was what he decided the day the straw hats reached water 7.

    Now it was the day the Aqua Laguna will strike. And also the day Robin is taken to Enies Lobby, after the whole assassination attempt on Icebergs life.

    While he was eating, he closed his eyes, and tried to see using one of the basic abilities of observation Haki, which is presence sensing.

    In the first place he was not that far away from where Icebergs lives. However even so, his observation Haki now can see very large distances if used with his telekinesis.

    Once he did so, he saw how Luffy and his friends had just boarded the sea train. And were taking off to Enies lobby.

    He finished eating in almost 5 minutes then, changed his clothes, and wore black pants tucked in his boot, along with a black and white themed fitting shirt. Then he wore atop it, a black single shoulder royal cape which had a white dragon sewn on the back. The cape was held together with a chain and clasp.

    The clothes along with his handsome visage brought a sort of king''s presence that could be felt around Ian.

    He gave a grin, before jumping through the window, and flying in the direction of Enies Lobby.

 Chapter 27 - I am stupid enough

    (Note: I tried to fix this chapter today. And this is the end results. 2000 words)

    When Ian first flew off he headed to the train, and flew directly above it overtaking it easily in only a few seconds. The weather was absolutely chaotic at that time. The wind was howling while the Aqua Laguna could be seen coming in fiercely toward the island.

    He did not provide the straw hats any assistance however, not that they needed it at that point.

    After which he directly flew off to Enies Lobby getting there ahead of them.

    Then he waited for them to come. He had to come beforehand to make sure nothing happens to Robin. After all even if he knew the future events, not everything was guaranteed to happen like the original world. He already noticed something different about the crew the moment they stepped onto water 7.

    Now at the present time the others had finally caught up with him.

    They were currently standing atop the courthouse, showing their resolve to help Robin. And Ian who had already been waiting for them, was watching this from atop in the sky as he hid his presence for the time being. He turned his eyes to observe the straw hats crew.

    There was Nami, who is a slim young woman of average height with orange hair and brown eyes. She was the type of girl that most people will consider to be very attractive and beautiful. But to Ian she looked way better after the two years'' time skip. She was wearing black high-heeled gladiator sandals, a brown cleavage-revealing blouse that exposes her abdomen with cream-colored liners and a pale blue, pleated mini-skirt.

    Standing next to Nami, was Roronoa Zoro. He is a muscular man of average height with lightly tanned skin. He always carries his three swords along with him, bundled up with a green haramaki over his right hip, allowing him to easily draw them with his left hand. A noticeable thing about him is his cropped up green hair along with a scar stretching from his left shoulder to his right hip. He also wears three identical gold earrings on his left earlobe. He is wearing an unzipped, bright yellow jacket with a closed pocket flap on each side, along with black trousers tucked into black boots. With his trademark bandana tied around his left biceps.

    Next to him was the captain of the crew. Luffy has black shaggy hair, round black eyes, and a slim muscular build. His trademark straw hat could be seen on his head. He wears short, blue trousers with cuffs, sandals, and a sleeveless red vest. Luffy also has a scar with two stitches underneath his left eye.

    Next was Usopp. Who was wearing a gold colored sun-like mask over his goggles and a red cape on top of brown overalls with a white sash and no shirt underneath. He also carries with him a yellow satchel, which he stores all his tools and gadgets in. bandages could be seen on his arms and legs.

    Then there was Sanji. A slim, yet muscular, long-legged man with blond hair which he keeps brushed over the left side of his face. Among his physical traits are his distinctive eyebrows. Both form a spiral but at different ends. He was wearing a black, double-b.r.e.a.s.ted suit with golden buttons and a tie together with a long-sleeved buttoned up blue shirt. A cigarette could be seen lighted up in his mouth.

    Chopper who was next to him, was already in his Heavy Point or human form. This form could be mistaken as a gorilla. He was wearing a red leather jacket and shorts.

    Then the final crew member, who Ian had been referring to as the first change he noticed about the straw hats of this world. It was an average-sized young woman with light blue hair and tanned skin. Her right arm and chest are heavily tattooed. She is seen wearing a beige sleeveless shirt, blue trousers and purple sandals. Furthermore, she appears to wear pink lip gloss. On her shoulder, she held a rifle with an extra-long barrel. It was Nami''s sister, Nojiko. She had joined the crew too.

    As the CP9 members and Straw Hats face each other, Robin''s past is finally revealed, as well as her final reason for being unwilling to return to the crew.

    Robin having been betrayed so many times in the past, she''s terrified that one day her new friends will see her as a burden, and also betray her like usually happened. She screams with teary eyes that she would prefer death to that. The other Straw Hats quietly acknowledged the reason Robin had.

    And Ian felt sorry for her, as he saw how she grew up.

    Then the garbage walking Spandam burst out laughing, saying she''s absolutely accurate, and nobody would be dumb enough to think she wasn''t a burden after traveling with her. Spandam pointed at the flag on top of the Tower of Justice, and told Luffy that the organization after Robin is over 170 affiliated nations. Only a stupid enough man will think of opposing them.

    At that point, a new voice was heard all around. Making everybody turn around and look at the direction from where the voice had come.

    "I am stupid enough."

    Atop the courthouse and standing now besides Nami, was another person that wasn''t there before. He stood at 184cm tall, with a lean muscular build obvious through his well fitted shirt, with black hair reaching until his neck, he had a handsome face, well defined, with a sharp jaw and angular cheekbones. The complexion of his skin going well with his light brown eyes. the combination of his features and his royal cape resulted in a sort of kingly visage, that could awe many young maidens. He had a sword held on his waist. It was Ian. who had decided it was time to interfere.

    Nami the closest to him jumped out from fright. And zoro put his hands on his swords ready to fight.

    But Ian ignored them and spoke.

    "I suppose these guys count too." He said.

    And Luffy gave a nod.

    "That''s right, that''s right" Luffy said.

    His crew face palmed. After all someone unknown had just appeared next to them with none of them noticing but he acted like nothing happened. Even Ian was surprised a bit. Seeing something is different than just knowing it after all.

    "Who in the hell are you? Do you have a death wish?" asked Spandam, his eyes containing many emotions ranging from fear, panic, cautiousness and anger. Even the CP9 next to him were alerted. They did not notice Ian at all.

    Spandam is a pale man of slim stature with wavy, wild lavender hair in a layered style that is roughly shoulder-length and parted in the middle. He has black markings around his large eyes, and his narrow nose is a dark red. He is fond of leather, and wears a brown studded leather mask which covers the bridge of his nose and scars on his moderately high forehead just above his eyebrows, he was wearing as well, long brown leather gloves and a black high-collared leather vest with matching pants separated by a studded belt. He has white shoes with brown tassels extending from their heels, and wears a long-sleeved light gray shirt decorated with a diagonal squiggle pattern below his vest with the collar turned up.

    Ian ignored him and looked toward Robin who had a shocked look on her face.

    "It''s you¡­?" Robin said.

    "Yo, Robin, it''s been a long time since we last met" Ian replied with a grin.

    Franky who was next to Robin wore a red Hawaiian shirt, with lime green palm trees decorating it. A swim briefs, and an open loud Hawaiian "Aloha" shirt with a large golden chain necklace around his neck. His forearms are relatively enormous while his biceps are comparably small. His chest is well-toned with large abs and pectoral muscles. He has brightly-colored blue hair and blue star tattoos on his forearms.

    Luffy turned to Ian and asked him.

    "You know Robin?"

    "Hmm. I asked her before to join me but she refused. But I guess that she now joined your crew." Ian replied.

    "What are you talking about, Robin is our friend, but she did not join our crew." Luffy said.

    "What? Is that true?" Ian asked as he turned to look at Robin.

    She gave a nod.

    Ian smiled happily as he thought she did not join Luffy because she wanted to join him. He then said.

    "So you decided to be my companion then? Is that why you didn''t join his crew?"

    She shook her head. Making Ian feel disappointed. Before she spoke and destroyed his dreams.

    "To be honest, I actually forgot about you, until now" she said as she averted her eyes from Ian.

    And Ian dropped to the ground comically.

    Luffy laughed loudly while the crew had smiles on.

    In truth, Robin does remember him. after all the aura she felt from him at that time, she only felt a similar one from Admiral Aokiji. so he had been in her mind, especially since he did not go back on his words. as that time he said that he only wanted her to join him, and he didn''t report her after.

    Spandam who had been perplexed with these strange happening finally snapped out and yelled.

    "Are you guys insane? You would defy the world government for a girl?" Spandam said.

    "I would" Ian replied. As he reached with his right hand to the inside of his cape.

    "We would" the straw hats too yelled. With Luffy soon adding, "Sogeking, shoot that flag"

    But while he was attacking, Ian too brought out a gun from his cape, which he actually took from the ring, and shot at the flag a total of five shots, each one went through a circles, before Usopp''s firebird star burned the flag in the middle.

    Everybody around stood there shocked. From the normal marines to the CP9 agents.

    Spandam finally yelled.

    "You bunch of people are really crazy. You just declared war against the world government. Do you think you can make it out alive now with the entire world on your back?"

    "Bring it on." Both Ian and Luffy said.

    Then Luffy turned to Robin and spoke.

    "I still need to hear it from you, Robin!" he yelled. Then added, "Say you want to live!!!"

    Robin had tears on her eyes, as she remembered all the time people betrayed her, and thought of her as a burden. her emotions were in turmoil. she was happy, that they cared for her. scared, that they would one day leave her... but in the end she settled for being happy as she realized that these people would be there for her. they even made the world government their enemy for her.

    ''No one ever acknowledged me'' Robin thought inside her mind.

    ''I thought I could not even wish for it¡­ I had reached the point where I wanted to just die¡­''

    ''But with friends like these¡­''

    She turned to look at the straw hats then finally at Ian, who had a gentle look in his eyes. He gave her an encouraging nod.

    ''At that time if i took his offer...''

    After thinking this far, she finally yelled as loud as she could. These people cared for her, acknowledged her, wanted her to live with them...

    "I-I want to live. Please take me with you" Robin yelled out. she wanted to live, she wanted to have friends like these...

    All of the crew had smiles on their faces at that moment. Even Ian had a grin as he pointed with his thumb at her.

    Before he used his telekinesis to bring her along with Franky on their side.

    Shocking everybody that was there.

    But soon Spandam recovered and ordered the CP9 agents to retrieve her.

    Lucci, jumped up using moonwalk and tried to take her back as she landed on Ian''s arms. But Ian put her down, before he kicked the ground and reached him in the sky and c.o.c.ked his arm back, punching him and sending him flying through the building the CP9 were standing on.

    Ian then turned his gaze past the other agents and spoke in a certain direction, meanwhile the others could not see who he was talking to.

    "I am quite strong you know, guys like this one would not even make me get half serious, so you had better stop hiding and get out right now"

 Chapter 28 - Master Rey

    Everybody that was on the place were astonished, even the marines that were trying to stop the straw hats earlier. A random guy that came from out of nowhere had just kicked the strongest person of CP9 away. Quite easily at that. Spandam specifically had his eyes wide open in fright and panic. As his chief he knew how strong Lucci was. He was a genius of his own right, he couldn''t possibly be beaten this easily.

    Even the other members of CP9 were shocked silly. They could not wrap their heads about it. That strong Rob Lucci, the most powerful member in their organization''s history, had been beaten with a single punch.

    The straw hats too were surprised.

    ''This guy¡­ is strong'' Zoro and Sanji both had this thought inside their mind. They could not even see him when he moved. Which only meant that he was much stronger than them¡­

    But none of the people there knew who this mysterious person was talking to. Where he was with his eyes looking there was nobody.

    Robin too was surprised. Not of Ian''s strength, but rather of how she was now safe in between her friends.

    "Hey, you are a strong person. However that guy is mine, I still owe him from last time" Luffy spoke to Ian as he was impressed with him. The last time he had got his ass kicked by rob Lucci, therefore he understood that he was strong. But he still had to kick his ass back.

    "Suit yourself" Ian replied while still not taking his eyes from the direction he was looking at. He felt the voice of a powerful person coming from there. One powerful enough to give him a good fight.

    He then spoke again.

    "Since you don''t want to come out already. I''ll make you" he pointed with his gun shooting a few times which led to a person jumping to dodge the bullets, from the shadows of the building he was looking at.

    "How did you know I was there? Not even that brat Lucci noticed me. At first I thought you were just using this tactic to bluff, and see if anybody is hiding nearby. But it appears I was wrong¡­" The now identified male person spoke. He had quite effortlessly dodged the bullets.

    Standing 209cm tall, this fair skinned man has an unenthusiastic feel about him. A particularly notable feature is his long nails, and he has a long cut on his left forearm. He has an angular face with a square jaw, a straight nose, and large lips. His red eyes are small and he has neat eyebrows.

    His brown hair, is long and contains few silver strands indicating his growing age, and he has an impressive long grown beard.

    He has slanted shoulders, strong arms, a muscular torso, angular h.i.p.s, and long legs. At the moment he was wearing black pants with combat boots, white gloves and a black opened jacket with nothing underneath showing his impressive muscles and abs.

    He was taller than Ian, but also shorter than Rob Lucci.

    This was the person Ian had felt earlier when he appeared.

    "So you finally came out" Ian smiled and completely ignored the question asked.

    "That brat Lucci? You two close or something?" then Ian asked his own question.

    The person raised his eyebrows, but then replied after a bit.

    "My name is Rey, these brats call me Master Rey. I trained them for a time" he said.

    "Hoh, then you must be quite strong. nice to meet you, my name is Ian Louis" Ian replied. While internally he was furrowing his brows. There was no such person as far as he knew in the original anime. Unknown things just keeps on piling up¡­

    Spandam who saw Rey was happy. Even if he hated him a bit for being the most insolent one from CP9 towards him. He had even refused to train him¡­ he turned towards him and spoke.

    "Rey, go get me Robin back. This is an important task we cannot fail" Spandam spoke with his arrogance now back in full. He knew how strong this person was. And this mission was important for him. As he thought that Robin is evil and intent on world destruction, and him by capturing her could be seen as the world''s hero.

    Master Rey, glanced at him with furrowed brows. Such a disrespecting trash person was looking down on him. Ordering him around¡­ but rank was rank, and this person was higher in the ladder than him¡­ he even had some pull with highest authority of the world government.

    "Roger that sir trash" but there was no way that he would take an insult lying down.

    After that he promptly ignored the now enraged screams and flying spit of Spandam, and looked towards Ian. With Ian doing the same.

    "There is no need for us to fight, I already have what I want, plus I guarantee you''ll regret anything you do from this moment upwards." Ian spoke first breaking the staring contest between them.

    "No, even if you got Devil child Robin, you still have to get her cuffs off. But they are made of Sea-Prism Stone, a substance which is as strong as diamond, you know? Plus you will not be able to get them off of her as they nullify devil fruit powers" Master Rey replied to Ian while shaking his head.

    "Is that so?" Ian replied. He knew from this that this master Rey had thought of his ability as a Devil fruit. Which was convenient for him as he did not want them to know the truth this early. But then he would not be able to open the locks in front of them using his telekinesis. Well actually he could, as shown by Mr. 3 when he opened Ace''s cuffs. However, Ian wanted the straw hats to fight their battles, and what better than to give them some motivation.

    "And where are the keys then?" he asked.

    "I don''t know, I was only sent to make sure everything goes smoothly, from the shadows" Master Rey replied. He turned and looked at the other agents of CP9.

    From them Kaku stepped up and spoke.

    "Master we have the key." He respectfully addressed him, a huge contrast to their chief Spandam.

    He then turned to the straw hats and Ian.

    "Each one of us has a key, so in order to get the correct one you would have to fight us, and get them all." Kaku spoke.

    But Master Rey spoke immediately after.

    "No this guy alone can beat all of you including Lucci. However your strategy is good. You want to divide them. Alright then, I''ll make sure to get back our target while you brats take care of the rest of them" Master Rey spoke as he got in a stance to fight. the agents then scattered inside the building.

    Meanwhile the straw hats and Franky having heard what was said got ready to fight the agents.

    With Luffy launching himself like a rocket towards where Rob Lucci had crashed through. The rest of the crew shook their heads, but consulted between themselves and Franky then promised that each will win their fights even at the cost of their lives, then they will join Luffy and help him if he needed so.

    But they had a problem on how to reach the other side. Unlike in the original world there was no rocket train coming, so Ian spoke to them.

    "Just jump, I have made a path for you" he said.

    They looked at him with wariness, but Zoro jumped after a few seconds, with Sanji and Franky following him soon.

    Once they did they found themselves standing on a solid invisible platform. They looked at Ian with respect before nodding their heads to their crew and running ahead. The rest followed soon.

    Then Ian once he saw they were gone, just opened Robin''s cuffs using his powers, shocking not only her but even Master Rey.

    Robin yelled at him soon after recovering from her shock.

    "If you could do this from the beginning then why make them go through all the trouble?" She knew she shouldn''t yell at him as he had saved her, but her friend''s life was in danger, meanwhile it could have been avoided if he just took the handcuffs off of her.

    Ian looked at her but still explained patiently.

    "First of all, the captain would have jumped even if he knew I could release you. Second, is that they are a pirate crew. One that is weak if I may add. No offense though. But since they are still growing stronger, and the battles coming their way will only get harder and harder, they have to fight their own battles and win them to improve. Most likely that green headed guy and the one with the eyebrows knows this, another reason why they jumped first. If I was not here, the crew would have fought, and emerged stronger than before. I did them a favor by giving them a motivating reason to fight, and relax, they are all within my range in case something unexpected happens" Ian said. He also noticed from the corner of his eyes how Master Rey was just waiting for him at the side. It appeared he was a good person.

    Once Robin heard this, she thought it over in her mind, soon realizing that everything he said is correct. She tried apologizing once she reached that conclusion, but Ian was faster as he spoke.

    "There''s no need to apologize, I know you are just worried about your friends." Ian said with a smile.

    He then turned to his opponent and spoke.

    "Thank you for your patience. You are a good person, if it could be avoided I would rather not fight you, but I feel like you will not be able to" Ian said.

    "Robin, go to the side, you are free to watch, but do not interfere." Ian spoke towards Robin. she gave a nod.

    "I indeed cannot just sit by. I have to get Devil child Robin back" Master Rey spoke.

    After which he let Robin take a bit of distance, before he used ''shave'' to get near Ian. On the place where he was standing. This was originally the place where Luffy fought Blueno.

    Ian gave a nod. Before he used ''shave'' too and engaged in close quarters combat with, Master Rey.

    He had already decided that in this fight he would only be using the six powers of the marines, as the person himself was one of the masters teaching it to the marines.

    Even without using observation Haki, he could still effortlessly dodge each attack coming towards him, while at the same time delivering attacks of his own. Master Rey would punch at him, and Ian would respond with two. But Ian was restraining his strength, otherwise one punch, if it connects, would be enough to beat him.

    Still Ian could not help but admire how Master Rey fought. His muscles were not there for show. They enabled him to attack successively, with each attack holding the same amount of strength.

    Robin watching from the side, saw how the fight was going. She saw that Ian was mostly guarding, but his attacks were having effects, unlike the ones from Master Rey.

    Master Rey, tried punching Ian in his stomach, but Ian dodged to the left, and released a kick of his own that master Rey thought of avoiding, but found it to be too fast, so he used one arm close to his chest to guard, then used the momentum from this to continue attacking with his left-hand, using finger gun.

    But once again Ian dodged it, and used ''shave'' to gain a bit of distance, and swung his arms three times releasing three sharp compressed air crossed blades at Master Rey. But he dodged them easily, and sent his own tempest kick air blades. He first attacked from where he was standing, then used ''shave'' and attacked with another blade and kept doing this until he had Ian in the middle of a circle of coming tempest kicks.

    Ian gave a grin and tightened his muscles as he used Iron body to take the attacks. He purposefully did so, even if he could dodge easily.

    The attacks landed raising with them a cloud of dust, but once it settled down, Ian could be seen there, unharmed.

    "Flying Finger Gun: ''Barrage''" Master Rey who was using Moonwalk to stay in the sky, yelled as he released multiple flying finger guns in succession. He didn''t want to give Ian any time to rest. From him tanking all his attacks, he knew Ian was stronger than him in his current form. Not to mention that he felt Ian was fighting leisurely.

    But Ian didn''t even wait for him to finish as he used ''shave'' to appear on top of him, and swung his leg kicking him down towards the lower floors of the courthouse they were standing on.

    He then landed on the ground and walked closer to robin as he waited for him to comeback.

    He could feel that master Rey was still holding back too. In fact he could even feel his aura getting stronger right now. He guessed that he too had ate a devil fruit like the rest of the CP9 agents.

    Robin thinking it was over spoke towards Ian.

    "Did you already beat him? You''re quite strong, I have never seen such amazing powers like the two of you used" She said, her tone filled with admiration.

    "No he is not down yet. And that was just a warm up. The real fight is coming next." Ian replied with a grin, as he was looking at the hole he sent master Rey through. He could feel his aura climbing in at a very high speed.

    "Those technique are, the Six Styles or the Six Powers. The Six powers are a special, superhuman martial arts style. One would need to hone their body for years to be able to use them. It is a secret martial art style that the world government relies on" Ian then answered Robin about the techniques she saw.

    She took a few seconds to think before she said.

    "Superhuman martial arts style?"

    "Indeed. One that had mastered the six powers, will have the strength of a 100 man. And the stronger your physical body, the stronger your techniques will be. That guy Rob Lucci had mastered them, which is why I have let the captain of the pirate crew that came to save you, fight him. So that he can rise above him, and win to reach new heights." Ian said.

    But Robin could not speak again, as Master Rey was back. But when she focused on him she was shocked, as she saw he had become different than before. But Ian did not become surprised, rather he was excited to see the new form master Rey had took. This will make the fight much more enjoyable and exciting.

 Chapter 29 - Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit

    The new form was a tiger form. Specifically the extinct feline known as the Sabertooth Tiger. Ian deduced that Master Rey had eaten an ancient Zoan devil fruit. Probably the Cat-Cat Fruit: Sabertooth Tiger Model.

    The new form that master Rey emerged with was scary and intimidating to say the least. And although Ian was unaffected by this, the same could not be said about Robin at the side. She was shivering a bit and had took a step back unconsciously.

    His height increased reaching 3 m. it was the hybrid form between a human and a Sabertooth tiger. He stood there with even broader shoulders than before, strong arms with huge deadly claws and even stronger legs resembling the lower back of a tiger. But now, golden fur was adorning all his body. Additionally he had two sharp scary fangs, protruding through his mouth. His previously red eyes, turned yellowish, but were unfocused like the person was unconscious.

    The reason why he could be considered scary, is that Master Rey was releasing massive amounts of killing intent, quite randomly at that. Ian had already known that the carnivorous Zoan devil fruits, increases bloodthirstiness and the animalistic instincts, which made it hard for one to control any form they have transformed into. With the hardest to reign in being the full transformed form.

    However soon Master Rey had regained his mind, and calmed his breathing while trying to reign in his killing intent. With him succeeding only after a few seconds, and his eyes regained their focus. He most likely had a high degree of familiarity with his devil fruit forms. Perhaps a result of training with it for a long time.

    Through all of this, Ian did not try to interfere, rather he had just let it happen. If he fought, in his opinion, it was best against a master rather than a mindless beast.

    In truth, the mindless form of a transformed person, might in fact be even stronger than one with his full awareness. However the drawback would be huge, being that the person could not utilize this strength and just attack randomly which could be exploited by any competent person.

    Once master Rey finished and took full control of his transformed form, he spoke thankfully towards Ian.

    "You are an honorable man. I thank you for your act. And in addition, I apologize for the events of this time. But I must get the woman behind you back. She is a danger to this world. If it was up to me, I would even increase her bounty higher than an emperor of the sea." Master Rey spoke towards Ian. He thanked him, but he had a complicated expression on his face after, before finally apologizing and getting ready to attack.

    "There is no need for you to apologize Master Rey. If I was on the same side as you I would have agreed with the decision to increase Robin''s bounty regardless of whether she was innocent or not. Her specialty is what is dangerous to the world government. However, I am not on your side. And I am not a pirate too. But I''m sure the world government would brand me as such after today''s event. But regardless, no person should be convicted for seeking the true history, as that is not what justice is about." Ian said.

    Robin at the side agreed with Ian. She was happy that he took her side. She always thought that seeking information, no matter its history should not be punished.

    Master Rey gave a nod.

    "I understand that the best. However I must get her back, if only to stop the chaos that is guaranteed to happen in the future if she stays at large." Master Rey had a determined look in his eyes.

    "Once I catch you, I would try asking for my superiors if they can let you join the marines. Besides your views, you would be a great marine." Master Rey added after a few seconds of silence.

    Robin who heard this was a bit scared. But when she looked at Ian''s back she noticed how he was still standing there proudly brimming with confidence. She could finally relax.

    "No offense to you Master Rey but you would not be able to catch me. No one can." Ian spoke with a thin smile on his face.

    Master Rey saw this smile but he knew it was not one of arrogance and belittling. Rather it was one of confidence, like what he had just said was the absolute truth.

    "Then I could only try" even if he felt that Ian was exaggerating he did not want to insult him. Not to say the least, he was the teacher that taught a special secret unit of assassins working for the world government. His strength was on par if not even better than most vice admirals.

    But as far as he knew about Ian, he was strong but he didn''t think that he was as strong as him. He too was confident in his strength.

    He kicked the ground using ''shave'' appearing instantly in front of Ian. Then swung his enlarged claws targeting his chest rather than taking an arm or a leg. His speed was much faster than before, which can be expected.

    But Ian quite easily saw through the attack, as he dodged to the left. But something he didn''t expect was the Tail that attacked him from the blind spot resulting of his dodging. But he calmly used Iron body, to take the hit. Unlike what he thought though, the hit was quite strong as it pushed him quite a distance back, but other than that it did no damage.

    He now had to pay attention to the tail. As he was stopping himself from using observation Haki, he had to anticipate the attack normally. As far as hand to hand combat, you could say Ian was a master. He had trained on it the most with his father, before he finally allowed him to choose a weapon to specials in. he had trained to use many weapons to a proficient degree, but only mastered one.

    Now if you add the superhuman skills to the mastery of close quarter combat? You would get a monster.

    Just as he released his Iron body, Master Rey was already onto him, using his claws to send even sharper and compressed air blades at Ian.

    Ian dodged them. He had to. Not because they could cut through his defense, something quite impossible right now, but rather, he did not want to let all of his secrets on his first public fight. But by dodging he would establish the idea that the attack was capable of hurting him. Giving Master Rey a bit of confidence, and at the same time getting him to lower his cautiousness.

    Just as he dodged, master Rey was already onto him pursuing him. His attacks this time were only getting faster and faster, to the point that Ian was finding it getting harder to dodge if he still limited his strength.

    But even so he did not try to use Haki, rather he just enjoyed this fight.

    His clothes now were getting shredded from the wind resulted from the attack. But it was not to say that master Rey was any better. His jacket had already been torn and rid of. And even though there was no sign of outside injury, he was quite hurt internally. As Ian''s punches packed quite a bit of strength.

    Ian used ''shave'' to approach him, then he tightened all his muscles on his body and focused his physical strength to attack in a fast way with a punch, but instead of connecting the punch to his chest, he opened his hands at the last second only a few inches away from his chest, resulting in a very powerful shockwave that blasted master Rey quite a distance away, but not before he had crossed his arms on his chest and used Iron body.

    This was the technique his father had taught him once he had mastered the six powers.

    But Master Rey got back near soon. But he had a bit of blood dripping from his mouth. And he had a look of absolute shock on his face. One could tell that this attack had caught him off guard.

    "You, that¡­that is the ''six king gun'' skill, how is it possible for you to use this? Even in the world government not many could use it. It is an absolute secret technique. It shouldn''t be possible for you to know it much less even use it" Master Rey spoke quite emotionally. What was even more shocking to him, was how Ian had used it with his palm and quite smoothly at that. Meanwhile it would take even him, who was considered one of the few who was adept at it, a few seconds to release it. And even then it will still be tiring for him. But he could not see how Ian was tired in any way.

    He promptly made the decision to change forms, to the form that grants him the most strength.

    It was still a hybrid form, but now his height had increased past 3m and his chest and arms became even bigger than before. The only drawback was that now his speed would be quite slow if compared to before. But this was the form that he could use the ''six king gun'' skill in.

    He made the choice to attack, and used ''shave'', while his claws reddened as if they were heated with fire. Ian raised his brows at this. He wondered if he too could do that¡­

    Once he reached Ian he swung his claws in an arc, and released a flaming air compressed blade straight at Ian. To which he dodged it again easily, but he found Master Rey had anticipated that and tried grabbing him with his arm.

    Ian dodged again, but as he was avoiding his two swung claws, the sneaky tail, came in to attack once again. But as Ian took the hit in using Iron body, he was launched a huge distance away, by the shockwave that was released, and even as the shockwave passed him it still continued and blasted through the wall of the courthouse.

    He had let down his guard bit, and master Rey took advantage of that to use the ''six king gun'' on him using his tail.

    Master Rey was now breathing a bit heavily. Using the skill with his tail, will both tire him faster, and make him feel pain in his tail. But by no way was he thinking that Ian has fallen down.

    And just like he thought Ian came back soon.

    His shirt had a hole in his chest area, but the skin showing through it was unscathed. The only damage he sustained was an internal one, but due to his high regeneration it had already healed.

    He gave a grin as he spoke.

    "I honestly didn''t think you could use it through your tail. Truly, you deserve the Master title" Ian praised.

 Chapter 30 - 15 steps!

    Ian looked at his now wrecked shirt but did not take it off. That was so that he would not expose another secret of his in front of master Rey¡­All things considered he was trying to stay low-key, while at the same time giving a bit of respect to Master Rey. Using the six powers is already enough.

    And he did not want his strength to be found out this early by the marines and world government. Besides he could not imagine the shock that would result when they announce that this "new" pirate, is as strong as admirals from the very first fight he has. In case he had got some companions, he did not want them to live in the threat of always running from an admiral. And he could not protect them forever.

    Through the actions this time, Ian found Master Rey to be an honorable person. As such he did not want to disrespect such a person by instantly KO''ing him in one move. Rather he had chosen to fight him in the area he specializes in. The marines'' six skills.

    After patting the dust away from his self, he used ''shave'' and started the fight again, but this time he was the one on the offensive with Master Rey was only keeping his guard up to defend.

    All of the techniques they had mastered were flying about. From flying finger gun, tempest kicks, paper art, iron body, moonwalk, six king gun, and shave. Only the difference is, that the power they used them with was one so huge it left shockwaves and destroyed buildings in its wake.

    They have now been fighting for 20min with Ian enjoying the fight, and Master Rey, getting increasingly frustrated. He had been trying to beat Ian, with no success. And what made him even more frustrated is that Ian had the same look about him ever since he started the fight, he was not even breathing heavily. Besides the tearing marks, and the big hole in his shirt''s chest area, there was no sign of injuries, or even shallow scratches on his skin.

    And Master Rey was sure he had landed quite the amount of hits on him. But they all did nothing. Meanwhile he had quite the number of injuries, mostly internal, due to the ease with which Ian used ''six king gun'', and most importantly his stamina was getting consumed by the minute. And even more when he uses the ''six king gun'' skill himself. By now he was already breathing heavily. And his speed was starting to decrease. He had no trump card to play. The one he had, Ian proved to be a better master of it than him. Asides from playing dirty and targeting Robin sneakily, there was nothing he could do.

    ''However, even if things are dire, I am not that low of a person. I refuse to do it. Such a thing is no better than the low class pirates'' Master Rey thought inside his mind. He had always been a rightful person. Such cheap tricks were not befitting of someone like him.

    ''It appears that I was the one who underestimated this young man by thinking I was stronger'' master Rey thought bitterly inside his head. He thought that with his strength he could bring him down, and perhaps get him to join the government after. He even had the thought that with time he may be able to reach a much higher position than him¡­ Alas this young man was stronger than him, and apparently by a huge difference¡­ as along the fight, no matter how hard he tried by attacking Ian, he could not get him to be more serious.

    But soon a huge explosion sound, brought Master Rey out from his erratic thoughts.

    When all three of them that were there on the courthouse turned to look, they found a massive giant arm protruding from a building. And the one getting hit by this enormous punch was none other than Rob Lucci who was in his transformed Leopard form. He had his eyes rolled out to the back of his head, and from his body one could see that he was injured badly.

    ''It appears Luffy is close to finish his fight'' Ian thought, as he knew whose arm was that. Still seeing it in reality, was an amazing thing.

    Ian then turned back towards Master Rey and said, after thinking things through.

    "Looks like the other fights are almost done too. It''s a shame, I wanted to enjoy the fight a bit more. But now I have to be a bit more serious and end this quickly." Ian said, as he looked at master Rey regretfully.

    He was enjoying this fight that revolved around physical strength, speed, and close quarters combat. It was a good experience for him, as he only ever fought against his father. But since the other fights were getting finished already, he had to get it done too. He did not count Enel as he had practically destroyed him easily.

    So when Ian used ''Shave'' this time he kicked the ground 15 times, which is higher than normal. Much higher.

    10 steps, were generally the number of steps almost all people of this world were capable of, with the exception of very few people. Ian was one of them. Even Master Rey was only capable of 10 steps. Each step after the tenth would generally be extremely painful and would hurt your legs. As such not many pursed this path. But Ian had his high regeneration, which made it possible for him to reach even the 15 step while he was still in the island, but now after many body upgrades, he was sure he could pass 20 steps easily.

    The speed that Ian launched with was almost triple that of before. Master Rey could not even see him move before he was punched to the gut, releasing all the air he held in his lungs, and shortly thereafter he lost consciousness before his form reverted to his human one. Ian was able to see the shock on master Rey''s face before his eyes closed.

    It appeared that he did not believe in what had just happened or more like could not accept it. Which was understandable.

    His form granted him an unmatchable speed normally, and adding to it the mastery of ''shave''¡­ one could understand why he was shocked when he could not even see Ian move.

    Ian held his body to prevent him from falling to the ground and put him to the ground gently. Then he searched his body, and found what he was looking for. Seastone handcuffs. He bound master Rey''s hands with it. Internally, he had a bit of anticipation for the bounty that will be issued about him. After all getting bounties is perhaps the dream of every one piece fan.

    Now that only him and Robin that were there, he didn''t have to keep hiding stuff. After all he was not afraid of showing his strength and abilities, it was just that he wanted to be in control of what information was known about him.

    He then took his shirt off, leaving only his pants on.

    Robin unlike what he thought as he started changing, only gave a small smile as she looked him up openly she found that he had a good robust figure, not burly, but lean, with extremely chiseled muscles and an 8 pack abs. She gave him a thumps up as she said.

    "You must have worked out a lot, to get such a good form" she said.

    Ian gave a nod and took a shirt from his ring before he wore it. It was similar to the last one he was wearing. He had many of them made in his home island. And many other shirts he bought along his journey through the islands. Besides her eyebrows raising a bit, Robin had no other change. She probably thought now was not the time to ask him questions.

    Once he did so, he took his royal cape back from Robin and fixed it on.

    Robin who has been waiting for him to finish, finally spoke.

    "How are they now? Are they hurt?" she said. Even if it was not believable to anyone, that a person could sense things from such a distance away, to Robin, she had chosen to trust in his words. After all so far he did not lie to her ever.

    Ian closed his eyes, and took his surroundings for a few seconds.

    He noticed that all of the fights were now done and all the crew were making their way out of the building, except Luffy who could not move even an inch.

    "All of them are fine, except the captain. He is extremely hurt, so much that he can''t even move. However on the other side he had won, and won against an opponent so strong above him, I would have believed it if he even got killed by him. But it appears that he is a miracles maker" Ian said with a hint of admiration in his tone. And he was not faking it. Normally one would be certain of Luffy''s defeat. But he was extremely tenacious and wouldn''t stay down no matter what. It was worthy of admiration.

    Robin gave a nod. But her eyes held a gentle light to them. She was truly grateful to all of them. The dangers they had went to for her were enough for her to see them as her family, there was no way she wouldn''t be scared and ask if they are okay.

 Chapter 31 - All the fights are over

    The fights the straw hats had happened just like in the anime, with one exception being Nami fighting with Nojiko against their opponent. Even while Ian was fighting, he was still able to check occasionally on how the other''s fights were going.

    Sanji fought and won against Jabra the third strongest member of CP9, who ate the Inu-Inu no Mi, Model: Wolf, a Zoan-class Devil Fruit which gives him the power to change into a full wolf form and a human-wolf hybrid that resembles a werewolf. Chopper also fought and won against Kumadori, who although didn''t eat a devil fruit, was still powerful as a master of the Six powers, and ''Life Return''. Albeit he only won as he lost control and transformed into his monster point.

    Zoro fought against Kaku who ate the Ushi-Ushi no Mi, Model: Giraffe, a Zoan class Devil Fruit given by his boss, Spandam, which allows him to transform into a giraffe-human hybrid and a full giraffe. And even if he had only recently ate the fruit, apparently he still proved a hard opponent for Zoro. Franky''s fight against Fukurou went just like in the anime too.

    Meanwhile Nami and her sister Nojiko both fought against Kalifa who ate the Awa-Awa no Mi, which is a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allows her to generate bubbles to "clean" the strength off her opponents. She can also shield herself from attacks by condensing these bubbles into a giant bar of "soap armor". However, the effect of the devil fruit can be washed away with water. Nami and her sister proved to be good at fighting together, with one attacking with the staff and the other providing backup in the form of a gun''s bullets. Although the fight was a bit hard for them, it proved to be easier than in the anime.

    Ian as he looked at Robin, noticed how she had her eyes closed. He knew what must be on her mind. As such he did not bother her for now. Even if he wanted to ask her to join him once again he still knew what time to choose.

    After a while, the straw hats, except their captain, all got back to the top of the tower, and Ian made a platform for them with his telekinesis to help them cross back to the courthouse. When they all did so they came closer with Nami and Nojiko presenting the keys to the Seastone handcuffs, before they all noticed that robin was already free.

    Nami stepped forward and asked.

    "Robin, did you already find a similar key? Was there nor just one key to open the cuffs?" she asked in a confused way.

    "Truthfully, Ian was capable of opening the cuffs at the very beginning. He just did not did so." Robin said.

    All of them had various degrees of injuries, with chopper being unable to move.

    Therefore when they heard this they all glared at Ian.

    "Why? Just why did you make us go through all of that then?" Nami, Usopp, and chopper all yelled at the same time.

    But Ian only turned to look at towards Robin.

    As such she added, with a sigh.

    "He did it for your sake. He did not want to interfere in your fights, to let you grow even stronger, or so he said. Along your journey you would go through many more fights, ones even harder than this one. Therefore he told me that he had to give you some motivation for you to go fight. Plus Luffy was set on fighting Rob Lucci. If he was not here you would still get through these fights on your own right?" Robin asked them.

    They all gave a nod. However Nami still wanted to say something, but Sanji spoke first.

    "Nami, she is right. This is our fight. And as much as I want to disagree, with no motivation, like to save Robin, we would not fight our all. Not to mention, our captain would have fought anyways¡­" Sanji said.

    "That''s right, just like Eyebrows said." Zoro gave a nod, but didn''t forget to throw a jab at Sanji.

    "What was that moss-head? Want to fight?" Sanji immediately fumed and rushed at Zoro with a kick that he guarded with the sheath of his swords. But the rest only ignored them as they thought about what robin said.

    The rest of the crew finally settled down and breathed a sigh.

    Then Ian, used his telekinesis to bring Luffy through the hole in the wall made by Ian punching Rob Lucci at the beginning.

    When he set him down, the crew threw thankful looks at him but he only shook his head indicating that it was fine. While this was happening suddenly, cannon balls rounds were heard by the people there.

    Ian suddenly spoke.

    "There are around five people as strong as this guy, and a fleet of ten sh.i.p.s ready to open fire on this island." He said as he pointed at Master Rey who he took down.

    Robin, knew that Spandam had a golden Den-Den mushi, that was capable of initiating, The Buster Call. It is the ultimate form of military attack used by the Marines. It is a result of the Marine doctrine of Absolute Justice. It was said that a Buster Call is equal to an entire nation''s military.

    As such when she heard that she was shocked, and scared.

    "T-That''s the buster call. It must have been triggered by Spandam¡­" Robin muttered while her eyes were unfocused.

    Nami asked her what this buster call is.

    "What is that Robin, can you explain?" Nami said.

    "It''s a call that calls forth five vice admirals, and a fleet of ten sh.i.p.s, to bombard a location, only leaving ashes behind. That was what the marines did to my home island. Now nothing remains from it." Robin said weakly, with tears in her eyes. She was feeling scared as she remembered what happened to her island. And even more so as she thought her friends were implicated because of her.

    Nami moved to hug her, as she said.

    "Can''t it be cancelled? After all this island is full of marine soldiers'' right?" Nami said.

    But Robin shook her head.

    "It can''t. Once initiated, it will not stop until it turns this island to ashes and dust."

    Ian gave a nod.

    "Indeed. However there is no need to fret about it this so much Robin. Apparently a friend of yours has come to help you all." Ian said with a smile contrary to the pale faces of the straw hats.

    When they all looked at him perplexed suddenly all of them heard a voice speak to them.

    Ian pointed below at the sea, and they saw it there. The ship that accompanied them on their journey but was unable to do so anymore. It came on its own to save them. They had thought that it was destroyed.

    It had developed a Klabautermann which is said to be a water spirit (or fairy) that dwells on sh.i.p.s and is basically an incarnation of a ship that has been well cared for. It is a merry and diligent creature that is said to warn sailors when a ship''s in danger and help in bigger ways sometimes. They are normally considered to be only a legend among seafarers, but Ian was surprised as much as he was surprised in the anime when he first saw it.

    He watched as the crew smiled between each other''s with teary eyes.

    Before they gave each other a nod and jumped to the sea with Zoro carrying Luffy. Including Robin, and Franky. They all boarded the ship. So Ian made a decision and jumped with them too.

    And soon the warsh.i.p.s of the buster call, started releasing fire. Making all the crew members capable of fighting get ready to defend. But Ian at this time spoke.

    "You guys, you are injured you should just rest, and leave this to me." He said, as he made his way to the back of the ship and stood waiting.

    They shared a look between each other and looked at Robin who gave a nod. Before finally they chose to trust him.

    When the cannon balls were about to hit the ship, they were suddenly stopped and suspended in the air, before changing directions back to the marines. Once the gate of justice closed, due to Sanji, and the ship ran a distance away, Nami told Franky to use something. Which led to him standing at the rear.

    "You might want to hold on to something you guys. ''Coup de vent''" Franky connects his arms with a T-shaped pipe and sends a powerful blast of concentrated air out that propelled the ship in the air at a massive speed, making the marines that were looking think the ship is flying. Ian helped the ship to go a bit of distance away than it was supposed to, and was also prepared to soften the blow for when it lands.

 Chapter 32 - Kuzan

    Time passed and the straw hats were joined by another ship belonging to iceburg. The crew were now saying their goodbyes to the merry go as it had reached a point of no coming back. Even Robin appeared sad even though she did not spend as much time as the rest on the ship.

    Ian was standing on the ship belonging to the galley-la company. He could do nothing but watch as the ship was burned by Luffy as he cried while the crew too were shedding tears. Ian''s powers were not in relation to souls and spirits. Otherwise he wouldn''t mind helping them, or at least do something to save the newly birthed spirit of the merry go. Sadly there was nothing he could do in this situation besides watch in this situation.

    The rest of the guys gave them the time they needed for the Farwell, before finally heading back to water 7 once they were finished with that.

    Ian had his plans sorted out from now onwards. As he was sitting on the yard of the main mast, he started to ponder on his plans from now on.

    He would bid the straw hats and Robin goodbye first, of course only after tasting Sanji''s cooking. There was no way he would be going without tasting it, he liked eating as evidenced by him eating in every stall on the islands he visited. He would of course ask Robin to join him once again later when they land, however he had the thought that she would refuse his offer so that she can join the straw hats.

    Then after that he would be going to Sabaody archipelago as the next stop. Only to meet the legendary pirate Rayleigh, who is nicknamed the dark king, face to face and introduce himself. But more importantly to also ask if he is aware of what the di¨¢voloi are. Rayleigh was and is still one of the strongest people in this world. He had to know something about them, even if only a little bit of information.

    This subject had been on his mind ever since he had that encounter with the strong entity. From the original timeline, he knew that nothing was set to happen immediately as Luffy had trained for two years with no such weird happenings. But he had to ask Rayleigh, and if he does not know, than perhaps directly visit the old man Whitebeard.

    And after Ian asks about that topic from Rayleigh, his next stop would be to just enter the new world, either traditionally by coating his ship and visiting the Fishmen Island on the way like every pirate crew does, or the alternative option available to him which is directly flying over the red line separating the two parts of the seas. Personally Ian was more inclined to directly fly over the red line to enter the new world even faster. As first of all, he did not want to visit the Fishmen Island on his own. If he did visit it had to be along some friends, so that they all can appreciate the mysteries and beautiful sceneries the island had to offer.

    And secondly, was the much more important reason for why he will fly over the red line instead of coating his ship. It was due to a feeling he has, ever since he had started sailing. He felt that he must enter the new world. And now that he was ever so close to that point, the feeling was even getting stronger. He did not know what was waiting for him there, but the one thing he knew and was sure of, was that it was not harmful to him.

    As such he had to go to the new world soon. He even made the decision of not staying the night here.

    And while looking at the ship now sailing back, Ian couldn''t help but think back on the fight he had against master Rey. He had reached such a high level of combat and strength that he could take a vice admiral level person out in one punch. And it was only with his training that got him to this stage.

    One could only wonder. He used ''shave'' to its mastery level and ended the fight. If he had used a bit more of his strength, maybe master Rey would have turned into a bloody pulp. This was the reason why he was trying to control his strength after every increase he has.

    At that fight he had limited his power, and skills only to that of the six powers. If perhaps he had used his telekinesis he may have finished the fight as soon as it started.

    ...

    Back on Enies lobby, master Rey and the rest of the CP9 agents were now resting on a warship, belonging to one of the five vice admirals that responded to the buster call. Furthermore on the ship, there was also Admiral Kuzan or better known as Aokiji, present.

    Kuzan is an incredibly tall, slim, yet muscular man. At 298 cm tall He has black, curly hair cut to chin length that fans out at the tips, tanned skin, and an altogether lean, long build. His standard outfit consists of a white buttoned-up vest with standing collar over a long-sleeved navy blue shirt, with matching white trousers and black dress shoes. He also wears a yellow tie divided geometrically by black lines and a sleep mask on his forehead

    The admiral had already ordered the fleet and the rest of the marines to stop pursuing the straw hats and concluded that this time it was totally their loss.

    Aokiji who was now on the warship looked at how badly injured master Rey was.

    "I didn''t expect even you to be taken down. Master Rey?" Aokiji said. He knew this guy from the world government. And he knew how strong he was. For him to be taken down was a testament to the strength of who did so.

    "I had hugely underestimated the enemy this time. Perhaps only you three admirals or the stronger vice admirals could take him down." Master Ray said the first part clearly but whispered the last part towards Aokiji alone.

    "Seriously? he is that strong? or perhaps he made you lower your guard and then sneak attacked you?" Aokiji said.

    Master Ray shook his head.

    "We had a fight at the beginning, and then after a while I knew I was not his match as I was not able to make him get serious. And even after a while of fighting, he didn''t appear to be tired at all. But at the end when he noticed that the other fights were ending, he had attacked with a speed so fast I had lost consciousness immediately after." Master Ray said.

    "This guy is a formidable enemy for us. For me to not even be able to see him move while in my Zoan form¡­ very few people are capable of the same feat. I would need to report this as soon as possible." Master Ray said.

    "So such a strong person, managed to stay unknown until this time..." Aokiji muttered.

 Chapter 33 - I think I do

    Paradise. Water 7.

    Ian could be seen standing on his new ship on the docks of water 7. He was preparing to leave the island right about now. It was already the afternoon of the next day. Once he readied his ship, he made it back to the house the straw hats and Robin were waiting on.

    He had decided to give them time to rest before he gives his Farwell. Which is the reason why he waited until now. He had even ate his fill from Sanji''s food, and truthfully said, any food that guy made, was made tastier than anything he ever ate.

    He and straw hats had already introduced themselves properly once they were a bit more rested.

    The whole town was under construction. Every broken house or building was fixed. All people able to help was doing so with a smile on their faces, even the guys who are injured from galley-la Company were helping too, making the people of the island thank them repeatedly. Every bit of distance Ian walked he could see people working, the atmosphere was extremely lively in this island.

    Once he reached the house, he was a bit perplexed as he saw many marines standing guard outside. He did not remember anything like this from what he already knows of the anime.

    He hid his presence and entered the house, only to see Garp holding Luffy by his shirt and his left fist in the air threatening to give him hell. Comically however they both were asleep in that weird position. He finally remembered this part from the marines. He was a bit on guard, as he still did not know how strong Garp was.

    But as soon as he entered the house, Garp''s eyes snapped open and looked at his direction.

    Granted Ian only hid his presence normally so any well versed master of observation Haki would be able to detect him. But he had other means to completely hide his presence he just did not use them this time.

    When Garp looked at Ian all the others turned to see where he was looking, only to find Ian. He was very close to them standing like a shield between them and Garp. Ready to help.

    "Since when were you here?" Sanji asked. As he was not able to sense him at all.

    "I was coming to say goodbye, but I saw marines standing outside so I came to help¡­ only to find this weird situation?" Ian said. He did not take his eyes off Garp just like Garp did the same.

    Ian was able to feel, the strength Garp had. Although he could not be accurate, however, Garp definitely deserved his reputation of fighting Roger repeatedly. Ian felt that if he didn''t go all out against this old man, his chances of winning would be null. At least with his current strength.

    Sanji gave a thankful nod towards Ian. He had helped them plenty already, but now he was here again to help. Such a person, was worthy of being friends with. The two of them and Zoro had already talked and became sort of friends very quickly.

    Luffy woke up too, and as he noticed where everybody was looking he spoke.

    "It''s you" he said with a grin before he added, "Hey don''t try fighting with my grandpa, he is very strong, he would leave you half dead"

    "Grandpa?" Ian muttered. He had to play the clueless part on this. After all him and the straw hats have not even introduced each other so far.

    Garp who was still looking sharply at Ian finally spoke as he heard Luffy.

    "I wonder about that¡­" he muttered. All the others including the marines were alerted. Was he hinting that he would not be able to beat Ian¡­?

    Suddenly they heard the sound of fighting from outside. A marine reported to Garp that it was Zoro the pirate hunter wreaking havoc.

    Garp laughed and ordered the marines to take him down. Luffy too went outside to stop Zoro but was kicked instead.

    Meanwhile Garp got outside to see what was happening with the fight. And he came to notice how Both Zoro and Luffy had dominated their opponent. He laughed at them and left Luffy and his friends to talk. Before he ordered the marines to fix the wall he had apparently broke himself. And in the end ended up helping himself.

    Then while he was fixing a wooden board, he turned to Luffy who was now sitting there with his crew, and casually talked about who his father was. Resulting in everybody except Luffy getting shocked.

    Then once they were done with that, Garp gave a sidelong glance at Ian, before he asked.

    "Is he also one of your crew?" Garp said. He thought that maybe Ian had a hidden agenda if he was on his grandson''s crew.

    And Luffy shook his head no.

    "He is not." He said. Before he turned to Ian and asked him to join.

    "You are strong. Do you want to be on my crew?" he said.

    "No. I do not want to be a pirate. Although most likely this fake government would have already branded me as such." Ian shook his head. And said something that made all there shocked.

    And Garp even after he heard this didn''t show any sign that he was angry. He just ignored what Ian said.

    "What are you doing here?" he asked Ian. And although to the others it was a simple question. To Ian it was said in the form of, what is someone as strong as you doing here? Playing in this weak part of the sea.

    Ian took a few seconds to think.

    "Would you believe me if I said I had come to save her?" Ian after contemplating a bit finally said as he pointed at Robin.

    Garp looked at robin before turning back to Ian.

    "You like her?" Garp asked.

    "I do. But not romantically. But as a friend. In truth I had asked her to join me much earlier than your grandson had met her. But she did not agree to join me at that time. I am still hoping she would though as small as a chance that might be" Ian said.

    "You would go to such lengths for a friend? Remarkable." Garp said with a hint of admiration. He knew how strong this guy was. And for such a guy to do this for a friend, he didn''t mind being friend with guys like these.

    "If she had gone with you at that time, than nobody would have bothered her anymore with your strength." Garp said with a short boisterous laugh. He had mainly said as such for Robin to hear.

    Ian gave a nod.

    "Of course, I would have done my best to protect her." He said.

    Robin the girl in question only smiled, and said nothing. She had already made her mind about what to do from now on.

    Ian then turned to straw hats and spoke.

    "Well it had been a pleasure getting to know you, but it is time for me to leave." He said.

    And each of the crew gave him a hug and bid him farewell.

    When it came to Robin''s turn, he asked her.

    "I have already said so before but do you want to join me on my journey?" he asked. In truth Ian already guessed that she will be staying and joining the straw hats.

    Robin though, looked at each of her friends face, and saw how they gave her an encouraging smile. She finally reached Luffy who gave her a thumbs up when he saw her looking at him.

    She finally turned back to Ian and said.

    "I think I do"

 Chapter 34 - It feels nice to be cared for

    Ian when he heard that, his mind sort of short-circuited, due to the shock he had.

    The others only had smiles present, and only Garp kept on fixing the wooden board he was working on since they sat down to listen to who Luffy''s father was.

    As of this moment Ian was changing the future events completely. And he knew that he was doing so. Robin not joining Luffy will affect how Luffy''s journey from now on would go. As she was important for the crew to be able to read the Poneglyphs and know where Raftel is.

    ''This, I was actually believing she would join Luffy¡­ but I guess anything could happens in the real world.'' Ian thought inside his mind.

    Ian already knew that this world was trying to get Luffy to become the pirate king. It was like fate was guiding him ever since he was young. As such for Robin, who had an essential role in helping him along his journey, to not be able to go with him, this will be like changing the future. Changing her fate.

    Ian finally recovered after a while and smiled a sincere smile. He was genuinely happy.

    "Eh, seriously? That''s good news. Finally, I have someone to journey with." He said, and all there were able to feel the genuine emotions contained in his voice.

    They all except Garp had the same thought in their minds. Such a strong person was looking for a friend to join him on his journey? Strong people had weird minds and even stranger thoughts¡­

    Only Garp gave an understanding nod towards Ian. Such a strong young man, he should have been training his whole life alone¡­ it is understandable for one like that to feel lonely and desire a companion. At a time I too was just like him¡­

    ''Good for you young man¡­'' Garp thought.

    If only Garp could know how accurate he was¡­ Ian had been desiring for a friend ever since he started on his journey. He had been visiting strange and mysterious places all on his own which limited the enjoyment. And while to many it would sound stupid, every person has a longing for companionship. Not to say Ian who had been only training since he was a boy.

    Robin smiled at him. Of them, she was the one who would understand him best. As she was even older than him, and had been alone since she was 8 years old. She had been back stabbed by people she thought were her friends, she had been betrayed, never did she find a true friend, so much that she started to doubt their existence. It was only now that she had found them.

    She turned and looked at Luffy and the others. Then she looked at Ian. The foolish guy who had come from who knows where for the sole purpose to save her. She smiled gently at that thought. He had even been waiting for her to join the straw hats, as such he would practically be saving her for nothing.

    ''It feels nice to be cared for'' Robin thought inside her mind.

    Suddenly Ian adopted a conflicted look on his face. If she was going to join him, then they had to leave now. And she barely had spent some time with the straw hats who had come to save her. And now he didn''t know what to say to her.

    Robin noticed and asked out of concern.

    "What''s wrong?" Robin said.

    Ian finally gave a sigh and said.

    "Well it does not sound right for us to leave water 7 now, as it wouldn''t be fair to straw hats who had just started resting after coming to save you." He said.

    And she gave a nod as she understood that.

    "Do we absolutely have to leave now? Do you have something important to do?" she asked.

    Ian nodded.

    "I need to meet someone to talk about something important." He replied, but did not mention the feeling about entering the new world he has.

    The straw hats, all expressed their opinions by saying that they didn''t mind at all. And finally Robin said that it was fine too. It was only then that Ian relaxed.

    "Meet someone? Who is it?" she asked with interest.

    Ian hesitated for a bit, considering who is around him right now, before finally sighing and speaking.

    "I need to talk about something with the strongest man alive, ''Whitebeard''" he said. Then all the others had their eyes widening. After all everybody knew about the old man, his reputation was as vast as the sea.

    Even Garp raised a brow at the mention of the name.

    "You want to meet an Emperor of the sea?" he asked.

    "That''s right. I need to speak about something important with him. If possible I would like it if you do not inform the marines'' headquarters about this." Ian said. He wanted to know more about Garp''s character. Even if he knew a few things from the anime. And at any case this information is not important for him to disclose. But the topic of the discussion between him and whitebeard is¡­

    Garp gave a snort but kept quiet. He would try to keep it hidden, but the marines had their source of information, they were likely to know on their own. Even Ian knew this before. However knowing about it only when he visits whitebeard, and knowing it now when he still has not even left the island and entered the new world are vastly different.

    Still Garp was a bit interested about what Ian wanted to say to that old man.

    As such he asked.

    Ian took a few seconds, and looked at Garp.

    ''That''s right, this guy, fought against Roger repeatedly¡­ perhaps he too would know something¡­ however, the entity said to talk to whitebeard. Talking about this with anyone else is just plain stupid. Even with Rayleigh I only planned to ask about information indirectly.'' Ian thought inside his mind.

    He finally thought things through.

    "I''m sorry but I cannot disclose this without Whitebeard knowing who am i talking to." He gave an apologetic smile to Garp who only snorted and focused back on fixing the wall again.

    Ian then once again said his farewells to the straw hats, and watched as Robin did too before she went to get her things ready.

 Chapter 35 - What if I refuse?

    After Robin came back, she had a suit with in her arms, most likely containing her stuff from clothes and books... She turned to the straw hats, and once again gave each one of them a hug. Tears were gathering on the corners of her eyes, but on her face she still had a happy smile present.

    After hugging each one of them, she finally said.

    "I''m sorry I have to leave you guys. I really wanted to spend more time with you¡­" she said. At that time she refused Ian. She didn''t want to make the same mistake again. She had a feeling that her life would be much better if she went with Ian.

    Nami then came forward and gave her a hug as she shook her head.

    "There is no need to apologize Robin, I''m sure we will meet again in the future, isn''t that right?" she said at first towards Robin, before she then turned and gave a glare towards Ian in an attempt to be intimidating. She didn''t want to part with Robin too, but there was nothing she could do about this, as such she made for the second best option, which is for them to meet from time to time.

    But Ian''s response was just a smile and a nod. While internally he was thinking ''Heh, just a cute little girl¡­ how can that be intimidating'' he was laughing inside his mind while shaking his head. Still he gave her a nod, because they will be meeting again in the future for sure¡­

    "Then that''s good" Nami said, tears were starting to gather at the corners of her eyes.

    They had now already gotten out of the house, meanwhile Garp was still there fixing the wall he had broken with a punch. They were now standing outside and bidding their goodbyes to Robin.

    Sanji, zoro, Usopp, all had smiles on their faces. Nojiko and Nami had tears on their eyes but they kept their smiles on. Meanwhile Chopper was outright crying while clinging to Robin''s leg.

    She picked him up and hugged him.

    "Don''t worry, I''m sure we will meet again. Besides men shouldn''t cry isn''t that right?" She said trying to calm him up. Ian from the side gave her a candy to give it to him. And when she gave it to him, the little guy stopped crying and had smiles on his face as he kept nodding about how men shouldn''t cry.

    "That''s right, that''s right" Chopper said as he was trying to unwrap the candy.

    The crew were shaking their heads with smiles on. ''Didn''t you just stop crying because of the candy? What does it have to do with being a man?''¡­

    She then put him down, before she finally started walking away with Ian.

    "I hope to see you guys later alright?" Luffy yelled when they had reached a distance away.

    Ian without turning waved back towards them.

    After a while they had already went a bit further away, through the roads of Water 7, and once they were near the docks, Ian was suddenly alerted, as he had felt a strong presence nearby.

    He gestured towards Robin to stop with his hands, before he put his hands on his sword.

    "Whoever you are, get out now or I won''t be polite" Ian spoke. He was looking at the roof of a house that had a part of it hidden by a tall tree. The person was precisely using that tree to hide.

    "I mean you no harm, Ian Louis. I just hope to talk to Nico Robin for a bit." The hidden person said.

    "Aokiji?" Robin muttered. She was starting to panic.

    Ian finally at this moment remembered what this is.

    He was so happy right now that he ended up forgetting stuff on this day. Stuff that he absolutely knew were important. First it was about Garp. And now He forgot about¡­ Aokiji.

    ''It is too soon for me to fight an admiral¡­ how in the hell did I forget something this important¡­?'' Ian thought in his mind. He was angry about himself for forgetting something like this. And it was not that he wasn''t able to fight an admiral, in fact the presence he felt from him was much weaker than Garp. He just did not wish to fight one so soon, it will only bring troubles afterwards.

    But apparently he may have to. He quickly thought things through in his mind, before finally deciding that he will interfere if he tries to hurt her.

    "What if I refuse?" Ian said, as he released a portion of his Conqueror Haki and focused it only on Aokiji who was still hidden by the tree on the roof. Creaking sounds were heard from the roof, like it was straining and almost broke apart.

    Aokiji who felt the pressure, was shocked. Sweat was starting to appear on his forehead. Just from the pressure alone, he managed to make a conclusion about Ian. Which was to not mess with this guy.

    It was not to mean that he was scared of Ian, or that Ian was stronger. Rather, he knew that Ian was strong, and the fight between them would result in this island getting destroyed, he had only felt this pressure from his fellow admirals who he spared against¡­ if only he knew that Ian would be able to beat him up quite easily.

    Ian when he first left the island, his father had already told him that his armament Haki would put him among the strongest in the world. His observation Haki used in conjunction with his telekinesis was further enhanced than usual. And his close combat mastery enabled him to beat even his father¡­ at that time he was already confident in tying up against an admiral who had awakened his fruit.

    And then if he added his telekinesis to the mix, with its overpowered abilities, then he would easily beat his opponents. But now, his body was further strengthened multiple times. Resulting in all of his abilities getting even more overpowered. As such the possibly weakest admiral in the marines, would not prove any trouble to him at the current time.

    But at this time Robin who had calmed down a bit, grabbed his hands, to which he turned to look at her.

    "At a time, he had saved me when I had no way out left. As such I would like to at least hear him up. I owe him that much" She said.

    And Ian knew that he couldn''t argue against that. And it was not even his problem. And so he nodded.

    And finally the sounds of creaking of the wooden roof stopped.

    She then went near the house and leaned on the wall. She knew that since he did not show his face till now, then Aokiji did not want her to see him.

    Meanwhile Aokiji finally composed himself. And thought of the words to say towards robin.

    Ian took a bit of distance away from the duo, to let them have some privacy. But he did not let down his guard. He was prepared to use his telekinesis to stop Aokiji at a split second of time. Aokiji not doing anything in the anime, did not mean that he will not do so at this time.

    Back to Robin.

    Aokiji was originally meaning to ask her why she didn''t run away like she usually did, as if she had acted on her own it was quite possible for her to run from CP9. He had wanted to confirm his guess but it was obvious now that he reflected about it. She had started to care about the crew, and she couldn''t let them die.

    The silence had been going for a few minutes now, before Aokiji finally talked. When he spoke, one could hear the conflicted feelings he had from his voice.

    "You might not know this, but your friend, Jaguar D. Saul, that I was forced to kill in Ohara, was my friend too." He said.

    And Robin was shocked as she didn''t know this. She was there when Aokiji had frozen him, when Saul had been trying to show him that what the marines had been doing at that time was not true justice.

    "At that day, although I carried out my duty as a marine, I also honored his wishes by sparing you and helping you escape." He spoke. And after that said, "However, after that I still felt responsible for your life. But when 20 years had passed and you still have not found a place to call home, I started thinking if Saul and I had made a mistake. In the end, even I had decided that you were too dangerous to keep living."

    Robin closed her eyes as she listened. She understood what he was trying to say.

    "At this time, I thought everything was going to finish once and for all. Of course I did not anticipate how things have happened now." he said.

    And after a few seconds of silence he added.

    "So have you finally found the place where you belong? Nico Robin?" Aokiji asked.

    Robin, thought about the straw hats, then about Ian. These were the friends and family she always dreamed of. And they accepted her out rightly. As such she nodded towards him.

    "Yes." Robin said.

    "In the end, I don''t know if Saul was right, and I don''t know if what I did was wrong or not either. So from now on, I want you to show me the answer." Aokiji said.

    And Robin nodded.

    "I will" she said.

    "Then live your life full of courage, and prove to the world that Ohara is still alive." Aokiji said as he jumped off the house to the back and started walking off.

    When Robin saw this, she yelled at him to stop. And he did for a few seconds.

    Then Robin said.

    "Thank you." She said. And Aokiji didn''t need her to say it to know what she is thankful about. He had a small smile on his face.

    "That guy, Ian Louis. He extremely strong, but he also appears to be trust worthy." He said before he continued walking off.

    When he was a distance away, he used ''shave'' to disappear.

    Then Robin turned back walking towards Ian and gave a smile as they started going to their ship. Ian did not ask her about what they talked about, it was personnel for Robin.

 Chapter 36 - Dead or Alive

    On their way back, Ian who was holding Robin''s stuff, didn''t know what to say or what to talk about after their encounter with Aokiji, so he just started talking about the new ship he had built here in water 7. He described it to Robin thoroughly, he talked about how good looking it was, and about how many rooms it had¡­ baths¡­ cannons and so on. By the time he finished they were already standing beside it at the docks.

    And Robin once laid eyes on it she was impressed. The combination of the colors (brown, black, and blue), the shape, the size, and most importantly the figure head, which was modeled to look like a western dragon''s head, gave the ship an impressing look. It looked intimidating and at the same time made you want to board it and sail on it across the seas.

    "How about you give me a tour of this lovely ship?" she asked as she gestured with her hands up ahead.

    Ian nodded and did as she said. And even if he had already talked about it before he still introduced each room they passed on their tour again.

    After a while, Ian started making his way up to the deck of the ship and was preparing to set sail. He had showed Robin her room, and left her there to sort her stuff. As for him he had already put everything where it belongs in his room the moment he had gotten the ship. He had even upgraded his previously annoying and uncomfortable bed to a good one. In fact he did so for all the rooms. Except the one on his room was more expensive.

    Once he stepped on the deck though and after the ship was a bit away from the docks due to him using his powers to steer it, he found that all the straw hat crew were running towards them from afar when he looked back. As such and even though he was perplexed, he slowed down the ship a bit and went inside towards Robin''s room and reached it shortly thereafter. He knocked on the room. And waited until she opened it up. She had a book on her hands that apparently she had been reading once she sorted her stuff.

    As to where the book came from. Ian when he first got the ship and started filling it up with all the needed stuff, he had made it a point to fill all the rooms including the shared ones, with a 6 shelfed bookcase. Then he filled them all with some books he bought from different islands. And Robin must have liked the bookcase on her room and started browsing through it.

    "What is it Ian?" She asked curiously, as she closed the book she was holding. She noticed that they had already started sailing, as such she didn''t expect him to come towards her right now.

    Ian just smiled as he pointed upwards with his thump.

    "Let''s go to the deck, then you''ll see." He said, before he started going upwards to the deck.

    Robin''s curiosity was ignited even more, as she turned back towards the room and put the book on her nightstand near the bed, and only then did she start following Ian back to the deck.

    Once she did she found all her friends, the straw hats crew standing on the docks and waiving them goodbye.

    "Our friends are here to say goodbye once again haha" Ian said and laughed lightly as he waived back. Robin too started waiving towards them.

    "These guys¡­" she muttered as she smiled gently.

    Nami yelled from afar.

    "Robin, Take care of yourself" she had tears on her eyes.

    She was followed by Nojiko as she too told her that she was sure they will meet again in the future. The three of them were girls as such they all had been quite close.

    Meanwhile from the guys, Sanji yelled that the next time he will surely make a heavenly dish befitting of her status as a goddess that will leave her utterly satisfied.

    Then after that Luffy yelled.

    "Hey Ian, make sure to take her of her alright? And Robin, our promise, I would not forget it, so you can rest easy" he said as he finished with a grin. Before the ship was finally too far away for their words to reach.

    ........

    "Those guys sure are funny and amusing" Ian muttered as he thought about the straw hats.

    Robin gave a nod with a smile on her face. She had spent a while with them so she knew that they were a bunch of funny guys.

    She then noticed that the ship was sailing apparently with nobody on the helm. She turned towards Ian with an inquisitive look. Her eyes were asking the question of how is this possible.

    Ian chuckled as he replied.

    "This is my ability. Remember how I rescued you that time?" he asked.

    "Yes I felt some sort of energy grab a hold of me. So that is your power? I didn''t know that you too had eaten a devil fruit." Robin replied.

    "No I was born with this ability." Ian shook his head as he replied.

    "Born with it? Such a strange thing. I have never heard of something like this before" robin had a hint of amazement in her voice. As for whether Ian was lying or not Robin didn''t even have the thought, as she knew he didn''t have any reason to lie. Such a thing could be easily verified if Ian fell into the sea. As such he would only be setting himself up if he lied.

    "In this world, there are still many unexplained things and powers you will get to know in the future. Let me show you something" Ian said. Before he used telekinesis to levitate.

    Robin looked shocked.

    "You can fly using your power?" she asked. She had thought that when he saved her, his ability consisted of pulling or pushing something, but this was amazing.

    "I can. And I can even make you fly". He replied with a grin. As he made her fly next to him. Robin got out of her stupor and enjoyed the feeling for now.

    After a while they landed. And Ian made the ship sail at a very fast speed. But since he was coating it with a layer of his energy, no apparent discomfort was brought to them due to the high speed.

    The reason he sped up, is to reach The Island Rayleigh was on. Sabaody archipelago.

    Then Ian told Robin to relax on the deck, while he goes and make them a light snack in the kitchen.

    Robin nodded, but first went to her room to get that book again. Then she unfolded a deck chair and sat on it. And after a while, and while she was engrossed at her book, a news coo was passing near, and she waved at it. When it landed it gave Robin a newspaper and robin gave it the money needed.

    When she started reading, a bounty paper slipped off.

    On it there was Ian who was wearing his Royal one shoulder cape above his clothes, he had his left hand on his sword.

    But what shocked Robin was how high his bounty was.

    She knew that this was the first bounty he ever had, but when she read below she noticed that the marines had said that this Ian guy had been an unknown pirate before with a low bounty only reaching 30.000.000 before he climbed his way up. And now with how strong he had become and with the events of Enies lobby, they raised his bounty as much as needed.

    Robin knew that the marines would hide this stuff from even before. So she was not overly surprised, besides such a bounty didn''t do Ian any justice, as this guy was someone even Aokiji spoke high of to her. She put the bounty poster aside and waited for Ian to come to show it to him. As he was cooking she didn''t want to interrupt him.

    Ian Louis.

    Dead or Alive.

    550.000.000 berries.

 Chapter 37 - Robins new bounty

    Ian had made a few sandwiches for Robin and him to munch on right now in the kitchen, before he will make something more filling later for dinner. And although his cooking could not be compared to that guy Sanji, his would still be pleasant for anybody that ate it.

    The sandwiches consisted of eggs, a bit of mayonnaise, slices of: bread, cheese, tomato, and ham. Plus a lettuce leaf and a tiny bit of butter spread on the bread. Then when he had cooked everything up, he cut the sandwiches diagonally to be served, along with some orange juice.

    Then he put everything on a tray and made his way back towards Robin. And noticed that she had opened up a deck chair and was reading the same book from earlier when he knocked on her room.

    He put the tray on a table, and brought it near Robin, before he went to the storage room, and got another deck chair. The one Robin was sitting on was the one he usually used on his last ship.

    Once he laid down in comfortable position, he grabbed a sandwich and sipped on his glass of juice and watched as Robin put her book down to try the sandwiches.

    "These are good, I didn''t expect you Ian to even be a good cook" Robin muttered as she tasted the food. Even if it was not the same as Sanji, she still found it to be good.

    She then remembered about the newspaper and the bounty issued.

    "That''s right, a bounty had been issued for you, here you go." She said as she passed the newspaper and bounty.

    Ian of course held the bounty first. The amount was not shocking for him. But the fact that his first ever bounty was already this high, was. He read the description bellow and raised his eyebrows in amus.e.m.e.nt.

    "This person, was a relatively unknown pirate and stayed most of the time low-key, until he took the world by surprise suddenly. The marines had already suspected him of several operations that resulted in many islands getting destroyed and many innocents dying, and only now was able to confirm that he was responsible with his latest actions of saving the devil child Nico Robin who is known for her pursuit of the world destruction. Ian Louis, is an extremely cruel and malicious person. Must be avoided at all costs." Ian read aloud.

    And Robin for a few seconds, thought that Ian might come to regret his involvement with her due to this. Her hands holding the orange juice glass froze midair.

    "Haha, this absolutely hilarious. Who would have thought my first bounty would already be this high. Hey Robin, you better watch out, I am an extremely cruel and malicious person¡­" Ian laughed hard, before at the end of his words he tried to smile an evil smile but couldn''t make it right, which resulted in Robin releasing a cute giggle.

    She was finally able to relax.

    Ian grabbed another sandwich as he put the bounty aside and reached for the newspaper to read what''s new. To his surprise though, many other bounties slipped off the paper.

    "Ah, I didn''t know there were more. Did you already check them?" Ian asked, as he held them in his hands.

    Robin shook her head.

    "I didn''t. Actually I only browsed over the newspaper, but when your bounty fell off I just put it aside and waited for you." She said, and now that she thought about she should have checked stuff out.

    Ian nodded and started checking them up. To his surprise they were the straw hats crew new bounties, and even Robin had an increase like him.

    Ian finally remembered this from the original anime, but he was sure robin''s bounty was not this high after the events of Enies lobby. But after pondering for a bit he knew the reason.

    He then showed her the bounties one by one and especially left her bounty till the end. Starting with Luffy: 300.000.000 berries.

    "Oh, Luffy made a jump with his bounty, I''m sure he will be extremely happy." She smiled just thinking about it. She then saw Zoro had a raise too. 120,000,000 berries. Sanji, 77.000.000, Usopp 30,000,000, Nami 16.000.000, Nojiko 19.000.000, Franky had a 44.000.000 bounty and chopper had 50 berries on his head.

    "Is that Sanji, why does his picture look like that? And Nami and Usopp must be freaking out right now haha. Also Franky, would have to join their crew now." Robin reacted towards each poster. Franky would have to join them now, as he would be wanted, and can''t stay in water 7.

    "Cotton candy lover Chopper haha what a fitting name." Ian said and Robin laughed with him too.

    He then finally presented her bounty.

    "Look who got a raise" He grinned at her.

    Robin was a bit surprised. She knew that such a bounty was a bit high for her. But when she remembered Ian, she was able to understand things quickly. She reached the same conclusion that Ian reached earlier. Her bounty was raised because she now had the protection of two highly wanted pirates. One with 300.000.000 berries and the other with 500.000.000 berries.

    Bounties being raised was not always due to getting more stronger, but rather sometimes, it was because the danger you represents would be higher. Just like Robin, if she was alone, her original bounty would suffice, but now that she had Ian and Luffy''s backup, she posed a new threat much higher than before.

    Nico Robin.

    165.000.000 berries.

    ........

    The next day.

    Sabaody archipelago.

    Normally one would have to pass through the Florian triangle to reach Sabaody archipelago, but since Ian had an eternal pose, he was able to go through a direction directly. Coupled with his powers driving the ship, the next day they had reached Sabaody archipelago.

    This speed was extremely fast, and Robin was amazed with this. This trip would generally take three to four days, but they had made it in one night.

    Ian had things to do that was why he didn''t hold back and sailed at his top speed. He had to meet whitebeard as soon as possible, to be able to set his mind at ease.

 Chapter 38 - The Dark king

    Sabaody archipelago is the final island in Paradise that one could reach, it was close to the Red Line. Though it is called an archipelago, it is actually a massive mangrove forest growing out from the middle of the ocean with each tree of the forest serving as an "island" on which people live.

    Due to the place being in close proximity to the part of the Red Line bordering the first half of the Grand Line and the New World, it is a highly visited rest stop for all sorts of travelers and pirates alike to prepare before entering the New World. Aside from its unique environment and it being a booming business hub, it is notable for the World Nobles who visit there and a thriving slave trade supported by them. One notable slave hunting group that Ian remembered are the Flying Fish Riders whose headquarters are several kilometers east of the area.

    The Sabaody Archipelago is, in actuality, a massive mangrove forest in the middle of the ocean made up of 79 separate trees known as Yarukiman Mangrove. Their name is a pun on the Japanese phrase, "Yaru Ki Manman", which means being pumped up or motivated. The Yarukiman Mangrove trees are the largest mangroves in the world and are strong enough to grow from the bottom of the ocean to the top. They do not sink into the ocean during high tide like other mangrove trees, and the texture on their barks has such a distinct look that they resemble large candy canes. Each tree is called a grove and serves as an island for which people live on. People can get from one grove to another via the various bridges built connecting around the many tree roots.

    The seventy-nine trees are divided into several different areas, with each one dependent on the number of the area. There was the lawless area where pirates and bounty hunters run amok. An amus.e.m.e.nt park and bubble attraction area. Then the tourist area, followed by the shipping area. Next was the local headquarters for the marines, and finally the hotel area.

    And Ian steered the ship towards the dock of area 41, where he remembered the straw hats had docked at. He also specifically went there due to it being the tourist area, filled with shops and souvenir stands.

    Even if he was a bit rushed, there was no harm in taking up a bit of time to visit some shops with Robin and buying some stuff, before visiting the old man then leaving when they are done.

    Once Ian had docked the ship, he turned towards Robin. Who was standing next to him.

    "Let''s get down, Robin." He told her, and she nodded.

    She was wearing a black outfit consisting of a cowboy hat, a cleavage-revealing sleeveless shirt, with a wide, yellow collar covered with black concentric circle motifs, matching pants reaching down to her calves, and purple high-heeled Mary Janes. She also had a string of round and yellow ornaments that hung loosely from around her waist.

    Meanwhile Ian didn''t wear his cape, and was content with wearing just a simple white shirt and black shorts reaching a bit past his knees, along with sandals. Sometimes he was all for casual, just like today.

    Once they stepped on the dock, Ian closed his eyes and attempted to feel the presences in the surroundings of this area. Once he opened his eyes, he found out that there were three shady guy keeping tabs on any ship that docked in here. Since they will interfere with his next action, he directly used ''shave'' to disappear and reappear next to them. He punched each one of them making sure they lost consciousness, before he made his way back towards Robin.

    Then he directly stored the ship in his ring, as with those three taken care of, nobody will know about the ring, except Robin.

    But she just looked on curiously at Ian, before finally settling back on the amazing view of the mangrove trees.

    ''So many secrets¡­ I hope when the time comes, you''ll share them with me.'' Robin thought to herself.

    The ring was capable of storing both of his sh.i.p.s with plenty of space left. His father had said that it will even store a warship with space still left. And a warship was close to three times the size of his new ship.

    Although Ian didn''t want to hide this from Robin, he had to for now. In any case since he had already showed the ability to store the ship to her, it was just a matter of time before he tells her. It was just that he didn''t think now was a good time.

    What followed for the next two hours and half was the both of them, going on a shopping spree.

    Robin at first was quite reserved, as she didn''t have much money, in addition to the awkwardness she felt from shopping with a guy. But after a while she just went with the flow. In any case Ian had a lot of money, so anything she liked he bought for her. And he also enjoyed the experience along with Robin.

    Sometimes a girl''s choice of clothes is better than your own. And this resulted in Ian buying some things he wouldn''t normally.

    Once they were tired form shopping and quite hungry too, Ian suggested they finish the shopping trip and just eat at some place.

    ...........

    Area 13.

    This place was the area of Sabaody archipelago clear of the marines influence. The lawless area. Ian on the way, saw many signs warning the marines to not step in here, sometimes the signs were accompanied by marines'' corpses.

    When they reached the place, Ian had already disposed of close to 10 people who either wanted to, rob, kill, or sell them¡­ he directly dealt with them in a way that they will never hurt anybody again.

    Each group had its own punishment. Some lost their legs or arms, some lost the tool that made them men¡­ and so on. And at the same time it was also seen as a warning by the rest of the shady folks hiding in the shadows.

    When they reached the place. Ian read on the signboard: Shakky''s rip-off bar.

    He laughed as he stepped inside with Robin.

    Robin didn''t care one bit about those sc.u.m that Ian disposed of. She herself was an assassin and she had done similar things multiple times.

    When she entered with Ian she saw that the bar was empty except possible the owners. An old guy and a young woman.

    The woman is a relatively slim and tall woman with short black hair, with two tufts pointing upwards and is seen smoking a cigarette. She is wearing a pink, V-neck t-shirt that exposes her stomach with a black spider on it beneath a black jacket with pink lines running down the sleeves that has a collar with wing-like cuffs. She also wears a yellow beaded necklace, pants that have a giraffe-like pattern, and a belt with a white cardigan tied around it. She also wears white shoes and has painted fingernails.

    She then moved to the other person and observed him.

    He is an elderly man of relatively tall height with a very strong and defined build. Two of his most distinguishing traits are his round glasses and facial hair, which is arranged embattled across his lower jaw. He also has a scar over his right eye. He is garbed quite simply and casually just like Ian, a plain t-shirt, shorts, and sandals. The old man''s body is surprisingly built and very well-toned from what Robin was able to tell. He was also donning a large silver headed clock.

    Robin could tell just from one look at them that they were quite strong.

    Ian knew who these two was. Shakuyaku or more known by her nickname Shakky. And the dark king silvers Rayleigh, the man who was the right hand of the late pirate king. And Ian was able to feel the strength hidden in both Rayleigh and Shakky. At that moment Ian knew that Rayleigh deserved his status of being one of the strongest in this world.

    "Welcome, what I can get for you?" Shakky shared a look with Rayleigh before she asked.

    The two of them were able to tell who they are quite easily. But the look they shared had much more meaning than that. They had recognized that Ian was quite strong. Just like Ian had guessed they were.

 Chapter 39 - I have something to ask

    Ian was unable to talk for a while. He was excited to be meeting someone this legendary. After a bit though he started walking straight to the counter and sat beside Rayleigh.

    Robin who didn''t understand anything just followed behind him shortly, and sat too.

    "The dark king Rayleigh, the right hand man of the late pirate king Roger. It''s an honor to meet someone like you" Ian turned to Rayleigh and said. His voice had a hint of admiration in it.

    "I assume from the bar''s name that your name is Shakky?" he then ignored the surprised look on their faces including Robin and proceeded to ask Shakky, even if he already knew her. She gave an affirmative nod towards his question but otherwise just stayed silent.

    ''This guy is the Dark king Rayleigh?'' Robin though to herself shocked.

    Once again Rayleigh and Shakky shared a look. Such an occurrence was not something rare. Many times when people come here they tend to recognize Rayleigh. After all he was that famous.

    "I prefer to be called the old coating, Ray now, young man. Please don''t call me by that name. I''m just an old man now. I''d like to live peacefully." Ray said after a few seconds of silence. He gave a smile and spoke simply without the arrogance contributed to someone of his status usually. He was just like Garp.

    "Haha, true. However even so, you are still dangerous Old man Ray." Ian laughed. as if he would believe that Rayleigh is weak because of age. He may be a bit rusty, but it''s nothing that a bit of workout wouldn''t fix.

    Old man Ray laughed too. But his eyes held a hint of admiration in them. Not many were able to tell such things in this world. No one not as strong as an admiral.

    He shared a look with Shakky once again. She nodded her head. And finally Ray could relax his tense muscles.

    ''Shakky is able to tell the general feeling about a person, if she said this young man is okay then he is fine'' Ray thought.

    "You yourself gained a bit of fame recently, Ian Louis. With this young lady right here. Something about destroying the world I think¡­" Ray finally said after a bit.

    Shakky who had been silent all this time just watching joined the chat.

    "I''m pretty sure that the bounty that have been issued for you is your first one ever too, unlike what they were bullshitting about." She said with a cigarette in her hands already lit.

    "Well, true. However it was just that I stayed hidden most of the time, from the world government. But the events at the time, forced me to appear." He said nonchalantly, not caring the least that he had a bounty now.

    Robin smiled gently. From interacting with Ian for a while, she started to see how he is usually. He didn''t care about most of the stuff generally and dealt with everything casually. And for such a guy to resolutely make an enemy of the world government for her¡­ she started to think that maybe he had some special feelings for her, but she thought she''ll wait and see for a while.

    "We are a bit hungry, can you cook us something, and don''t worry I have plenty of money." Ian said to Shakky as he pointed to Robin with his thumb.

    She went inside after she nodded.

    Ian then turned back towards the old man.

    Rayleigh when he saw his eyes, knew that whatever Ian said right now would be serious.

    "I have something to ask you Old man ray." Ian said. His eyes were resolute.

    Robin just stayed silent on the side.

    Rayleigh gave a nod. His eyes contained curiosity.

    "You journeyed with the pirate king Gol. D Roger." Ian said, and once Ray nodded he added, "You were his right hand man. As such you must know everything the old man Roger does." Once again Ray nodded. But internally he thought that Ian was going to ask him about Raftel or The one piece.

    "You reached the last Island of this world with him, you found the one piece. You found out the truth of this world. The truth of the void century." Ian said.

    Robin held her breath, as she looked at Ray shocked. Her whole island has been looking for this exact answer¡­

    And this time, Ray stayed a bit silent. He was thinking things through. Such information was highly dangerous. Roger especially warned him and the crew to never speak about it to anyone unless deemed worthy.

    Finally Ray nodded a yes.

    "We did." He said.

    Once he did so, Robin wanted to ask him a question. She has been patiently waiting at the side. But she was interrupted by Ray.

    "Wait young lady. Don''t be hasty. It''s better to take it one step at a time. Perhaps we, as well as the Ohara people had been too impatient. Even If I tell you everything here and now, you still wouldn''t be able to change anything. After you have taken your time to see the world, the conclusion you may reach might be different from what we found. However if you still want to hear it, I''ll tell you everything about the world right now." Ray said. He was looking at his glass of wine as he spoke, reminiscing about the past.

    Robin thought about it, before she turned towards Ian. He was only smiling gently at her. She finally made her mind.

    "I''ll wait, until I find it on our journey" She said after a while.

    Ian gave her a nod before he turned to look at ray again.

    "Then my question is¡­?" Ian was still speaking when Ray said.

    "It was none of the things mentioned before?" he thought Ian would be asking about them.

    "It''s not that. Have you ever known in the span of your journey, about somethings called the Di¨¢voloi?" Ian finally dropped the bomb on him.

    The entity had said at the time that what it wanted to talk about was not related to the one piece. Which is why Ian had said if he knew about it along their whole journey. He found it almost impossible that someone as strong as Roger would have nothing to do with them.

    Ray thought about the name, but it didn''t ring a bell. So after a while he just shook his head no.

    "However, as strong as Roger is, I don''t believe he wouldn''t have heard of it¡­ I know for a fact that whitebeard did, then how?" Ian started muttering to himself racking his brain for an answer.

    Ray who heard him had a memory return to him. It was at a time, that whitebeard came to ask for Roger''s help. Which was unprecedented as the both were rivals. Roger had come back bloodied and spoke to no one about what happened. He only said that it was taken care of.

    "There was this one time, when Whitebeard asked roger for his help. And when roger came back he was injured all over. Later we found out from the newspaper that Whitebeard was too. The marines said it was a regular duel between them, but we knew it was not. But roger refused to say anything about it. Only that it was taken care of. So you may have to visit Whitebeard, for more answers" Ray said.

    Ian who heard that, found out that it may have been a fight with the two of them partnering up against the di¨¢voloi. If it was true then Ian might have to reevaluate the level of threat they posed.

    "I was planning on it." He said. And robin by the side finally knew why Ian wanted to meet Whitebeard.

    Shakky finally came back with two steaming plates of food and placed each one in front of Ian and Robin.

    "Enjoy your food." She said.

    Of course since the kitchen was near them, she was able to hear everything they talked about, but still she just stayed silent as she had nothing to add.

 Chapter 40 - Onward to the new world

    Paradise.

    Sabaody archipelago. Shakky''s rip-off bar.

    Ian and Robin were done eating.

    The food Shakky cooked consisted of: a thick steak, olive oil, salt, pepper, butter, eggs, and finally roasted small yellow potatoes. For the presentation of the dish, she had chosen to cut the steak into smaller thin parts, then the cooked eggs were served on the side of the plate with the remaining part for the roasted potatoes she had cut into pieces.

    Ian and Robin truly enjoyed this dish, and after finishing the food, Ian took some money from his pocket -ring- and payed for it.

    "This is a lot. Let me give you back your change." Shakky saw that he gave her a lot of money meanwhile what they ate wouldn''t even amount to a tenth of the pay he gave.

    But Ian shook his hands quickly.

    "No no, its fine its fine just take it. After all Old man Ray told me some valuable information''s. Not to mention your cooking deserves no less" Ian said. It was true, as even though he was already going to meet whitebeard, he now knew about a battle that happened at that time that required the both of them joining hands.

    "It is a great dish." Robin added from the side, it was just like the cooking of Ian she had tasted from before.

    Shakky looked at the both of them for a few seconds, before she finally sighed and gave a thin smile and took the money.

    ''Flattery will get you nowhere young man, however, I''m starting to like you both''. She thought to herself. Of course since she was married the like she had for Ian was the one that people have for friends and the like.

    After a few seconds she got back to the subject she wanted to talk about.

    "So tell me, how do you plan to find Whitebeard?" Shakky asked.

    Ian when he heard what she said, he was suddenly stunned. ''That''s right, even if I go to his territory how am I supposed to find where his ship is roaming¡­''he thought inside his mind. At the worst case he would search for a few days, but the time was tight, and he had to meet him before they start the war¡­ he estimated that at most he had about twenty days before the start of the war.

    ''Since we have rushed here, it has only been a day. This means that the sunny go, the straw hats new ship, will only be built tomorrow. Then they would need about a week for the events of thriller bark. A few days to a week later they will reach Sabaody, where they will be scattered by Kuma. When Luffy comes to, he will have Boa Hanc.o.c.k help him enter impel down. And from Amazon Lily it would take about five days to reach the prison. So all in all, 20 days.'' He thought to himself. It was good that he had a good memory from his past life, otherwise he wouldn''t remember important things like these.

    ''But I need to meet Whitebeard before Luffy wakes up at Amazon Lily. As at that time the marines would have announced that they will execute Ace. When they do, whitebeard will be engrossed in the coming war preparation, not a good time to mention the possibly world destroying threat to him. Which means I have about two weeks to meet him'' Ian thought to himself completely forgetting his surroundings.

    Shakky and Ray had been silent, letting Ian think for a while. Before finally she had enough.

    "I had thought something like that. But don''t worry too much, since you''re a nice guy, and payed me so much, I''ll help you." She said while laughing softly.

    She went inside the bar, and returned after a while with a box.

    She opened it and started searching what appeared to be white papers, until she found the one she was looking for. Grabbing the paper she folded it in two and cut the two parts.

    "Here you go" She handed one of the parts to Ian. While she put the remaining one back in the box and closed it.

    When he held it in his hands she looked at him.

    "You know what it is right?" she asked him and he nodded.

    "It''s a vivre card. But who does it belong to?" Ian asked, but then he noticed the curiosity in robin''s eyes as she eyed the piece of paper. As such he explained to her without her asking.

    "Vivre Cards, or also known as the "paper of life" are a special form of paper made in the new world. It is made from part of a person''s fingernail turned into paper. It can be torn as you just saw, but it is fire and waterproof. The torn pieces will always point and move to each other no matter the distance." He said, and tried to demonstrate by releasing the paper and then it started moving on its own in a direction. Ian then grabbed it again.

    "Such a fascinating thing¡­" Robin muttered with amazement in her tone.

    "So?" Ian then looked at Shakky again as he asked.

    "It belongs to the first division commander of the whitebeard pirates, Marco. When you meet them, just mention that you are a friend of Ray. And also, Ian, since you are entering the new world, wouldn''t you need to coat your ship? Just so you know Ray here is the best coater in Sabaody." She said, and Ray gave a nod from the side. Although whitebeard and roger were rivals, it couldn''t be denied that they were best friends, as such even their respective crews were close. And those vivre cards were collected by both him and his wife Shakky due to their status from the past. You never know when you might need them.

    As for the coating, since he liked him he would do it for free.

    Ian nodded quite happy that he had the help. He appreciated what they did for him.

    "Thank you very much. But we won''t need the ship to enter the new world." He bowed his head a bit in thanks. Before he refused.

    Once Ian finished saying his thanks, he got up, moved toward Ray and put his hands on his shoulder. He had made his mind to trust these two.

    "Don''t be alarmed. It''s just an ability of mine." He said. He then channeled his energy through ray''s body. He figured since he was quite old, he may have some internal or even external injuries unsolved.

    Since his energy came from the mysterious entity that helped him reach this world, it had many uses. Just like the time, when he regrew Enel''s arm.

    Ray, had a good feeling throughout his body, it felt all over warm. He released a sigh of satisfaction. And after a few seconds when Ian released his hands, he suddenly coughed a bit of black blood.

    Shakky was alarmed, but Ray quickly held his hands up for her to relax.

    He got up and started stretching a bit, with the occasional pop heard from him.

    "The pain in my back and leg is gone, moreover I feel like my body is back to when I was still young." He said as he felt how his body had changed. He looked towards Ian with gratitude filled eyes. As although he keeps saying to people that he is retired and that he is just an old man now, he wouldn''t mind being even stronger to protect his loved ones.

    Ian then motioned for Shakky to come to their side of the bar so he could do the same. She gave a nod as she came closer. He then put his hand on her shoulder.

    Ian once again concentrated and did the same as earlier.

    And after a while, Ian was done. But Shakky didn''t cough or anything, quite possibly because she didn''t have many injuries.

    "Ian, what does this ability of yours do? I feel like my body has regressed in age?" She asked him. She felt her body had become younger. Like what Ian did had rejuvenated all her internal organs. And it was true.

    "It heals injuries, but as you can see it is a bit taxing on me. This time it is as a thanks for your help." He was breathing a bit heavily. Not like the time with Enel but he still would need a while to rest.

    "But also, because I think that ray might need it in the future." Ian then added.

    Ray gave a nod along with Shakky. They understood what he was trying to say. Perhaps in the future Ray might be needed to fight, one can never know for sure.

    Ian then noticed someone glaring at him from the side.

    It was Robin. She had a smile on her face but her eyes along with the admiration for the ability, had a hint of jealousy. She was getting quite older herself, as such it was tempting for her. But she couldn''t bring herself to speak about it as it was embarrassing, as such she settled for glaring at Ian until he gets it.

    Ian knew what she wanted but couldn''t help but smile.

    ''What are you, a little girl? Haha'' he thought to himself.

    He gave her a nod and indicated for her that he''ll do it later. Only then did robin give a nod of satisfaction.

    "Well it is time for us to leave. It''s been a pleasure meeting you guys, but I really am on a tight schedule. And once again thank you for everything" Ian said his farewell. He would have loved to stay longer. And perhaps spar against Ray or just enjoy drinks¡­ but he had to go.

    "Take care, until we meet again." Ray smiled at him. He was still in a happy mood from getting rid of his back and leg pain that was stuck to him.

    Shakky too smiled.

    "We should be the ones thanking you, Ian. Have a safe trip you too." She said.

    And Ian then went along with Robin outside the bar to start on their journey once again.

    Next stop. The new world.

 Chapter 41 - Cadena island

    New world. Cadena Island.

    Usually when one enters the new world for the first time, the road they took will be defined by their Log pose by the very island they started their journey with.

    This island, Cadena Island, was the island known with the highest percent of newbies entering the new world through it. Almost 60% of new entries, would end up passing from it. It didn''t have anything special, except that it was sort of a tourist island for newbies, to see things from the new world. It was also a place where some of them get scammed.

    On the far most end of the island, and where the thick forest provided coverage, a group of people were sitting on a log in a clearing and chatting with each other. On the side two tents were already fixed and ready.

    Two of the three people were stunning gorgeous women that will make any man''s heart beat for them. As for the last person, he was a lion mink. With a muscular but not burly physic. He was extremely tall, and even while sitting he still dwarfed the two women.

    They were Elene, Stella, and Bert.

    A week ago, Elene and co had been checking bounty posters of famous pirates as part of what they did usually on their day, when Elene had happened upon Ian''s bounty poster. At the time Elene had frozen up in spot and tears streamed in her eyes as she kept holding the poster to her chest.

    Her lone wish since waking up in this world was finally confirmed to have been granted. Ian who she loved was together in this world with her. He came with her.

    After a while of crying silently, she hid the poster after checking it for the last time, and refused to show it to her teammates/family. She told them they will see him soon with their eyes anyways, as such there was no need to spoil the surprise.

    Then she told them to pack their stuff from the house, and that they will be heading to this island they are on now. Cadena Island.

    Since it had the highest chance of him coming by from all the islands they knew.

    Now they had already reached it one day ago, made camp, and were now still waiting. Since they didn''t have time they didn''t build a house like in the last island they were on. They settled for tents.

    Bert was listening to Stella going on and on about how Elene is so unfair, when he noticed with corner of his eyes, that Elene was not attentive to her surroundings at all.

    "Are you okay?" he asked her. He wasn''t used to her acting like this.

    "Hey I was talking to you¡­" Stella got up angry at him, but he gave her a pointed stare so she looked at Elene, and found out her state was not normal, so she calmed down.

    She came closer and hugged her head to her chest and started comforting her, in hope to make her feel better.

    "What is it, you are not like this usually. Are you feeling unwell?" She asked her.

    Elene shook her head no.

    "Since this morning I had been unable to calm down. But not from worry. Rather I''m excited. I have this feeling in my chest that today is the day." She said. There was a smile of anticipation on her face. Ever since she woke up, she wasn''t able to calm down.

    Stella shared a look with Bert. Then they both smiled. If it was just this, then they didn''t need to worry about her too much.

    In fact they too had a bit of anticipation to meet this person who will supposedly be their captain in the future.

    Bert because he wanted to assert if Ian was a worthy person to serve under. And Stella because she wanted to meet the person who was able to make Elene feel like this.

    If Elene was right about him coming this day, then the meeting all three of them were anticipating is going to happen very soon.

    ...........

    Meanwhile on the other side. Just past the Red line.

    Ian had already brought robin with him over the red line by flying using telekinesis. Since he was protecting the both of them, the wind had no effect on them whatsoever.

    He was now standing on their ship along with Robin. He had took it as soon as he started descending towards the sea.

    Now on the deck he had three eternal poses on his hand, and he was trying to make a decision of where to go from now. He could of course just get Marco''s vivre card out and follow the direction it will point to, but he didn''t want the first time he ever entered the new world to be like this. He will at the very least visit the first island before using the vivre card.

    The three islands he had the eternal pose for were got from his father''s ring.

    Their names are: Suiha Island. Kilmer Island. And finally Cadena Island.

    The very feeling that urged him to enter the new world from before, was now telling him to enter through Cadena Island. He didn''t understand why, but he nonetheless made his mind to trust in this feeling.

    He took the other poses back, and strapped Cadena Island''s pose to his wrist.

    Then the ship started moving due to him.

    Robin on the side, was training her marksmanship on a couple of dummies. Ian had proposed to her from before to learn to use a gun.

    Since with it she''ll be able to take care of enemies easier that way. Of course with her ability in mind, Ian gave her six guns in total.

    She would sprout two hands in each main hand. Making her carry three guns per side. If she was able to master the gun, she would find herself more powerful.

    He had told her to train like this just because he didn''t have a lot of time now¡­

    Ian of course had plans to train her in the six skills, and Haki. But he had already made his mind to get Whitebeard business done first.

 Chapter 42 - Reunion

    Once again, Ian and Robin ended up reaching the island they were headed to far more quicker than any other means of transportation in this world. And now Ian had reached the place his feeling was pointing him towards. And the feeling became even stronger¡­

    When he reached the dock, he told Robin to stop her training for now as they had reached the island.

    If one would compare the Robin of now to the one of before, one would notice that she had become even more beautiful. Her skin became glossier and more pristine. Her looks and features turned younger as if she had regressed in age.

    The reason for this is that Ian had did the same thing he did towards ray and Shakky. Of course she was the one who told him to do so.

    "You can stop training for now, we need to visit our first island in the new world" Ian said with a grin.

    A grin that was soon shared by Robin. The both of them were excited for this. And no one can blame them. Every person had a sense of adventure in them.

    "Okay, Ian, I was getting a bit tired anyway" Robin said.

    She did as he asked. At any rate she still had a lot of training to do before she masters the gun. And she had time for that later. Now was the time to explore the island.

    When the both of them got off the ship, they noticed that there were many pirates'' sh.i.p.s on the dock, but no marine''s ones. Immediately Ian knew the reason. Or at least guessed what the most likely reason is for that.

    There was no marines here, because this was one of the few islands one will enter the new world from. When I was said like that, one would think that precisely for that reason why the marines should have a base there.

    But if they did, the combined wrath they will face from the four emperors, when they can barely deal with one, would destroy them.

    Ian turned towards his ship, and after thinking for a bit decided to store it in the ring. Of course he did it only after sensing for any presence around.

    Once he did so he resumed walking with Robin.

    At this time he was still dressing casually like before. Wearing just shorts and a shirt with sandals on his feet.

    The same was for Robin who was wearing a fit blue shirt and black jeans with short heeled shoes.

    After a bit of walking around amidst the people of this island, Ian felt something was wrong. He couldn''t get his head around it.

    The island was pretty big, so they had been walking around from store to store for a while before they reached the end of the tourist part of the place.

    Just like many islands similar to this one. This too, had a tourist part, a hotel part, a place to get food and so on¡­

    Ian still couldn''t relax even after almost two hours when they finished the trip. Robin finally noticed something wrong is going on and asked him.

    "What is it, are you not feeling good?" Robin said.

    "I just feel something is wrong about this island, that''s all." Ian said, and turned his head to look at a certain direction.

    He beckoned Robin to follow before he started walking towards there.

    Half an hour later, they had already entered into the forest and had now reached a tree clearing where a camp with tents, was apparent.

    In front of Ian''s and Robin''s eyes were three people.

    Two beautiful girls, and one lion mink person. One of the girls appears to be young around 16-17, meanwhile the other was 19-20. As for the mink person one wouldn''t be able to tell¡­

    They were, Stella, Elene, and Bert.

    What made Ian stand shocked in his place however was not the younger girl or the mink guy. But the other person. It was impossible for her to be here¡­ but he didn''t care about that now¡­

    "Marie¡­" he whispered.

    When the girl noticed him she too stood up and was shocked in her place.

    Ian vanished from his place only to appear near her. But the mink person perhaps misunderstood and stepped up to protect her. But just as he reached near them and yelled¡­

    "Hey step bac¡­" his words were cut by a kick thrown at him.

    He was not able to see it coming at all and ended up being thrown backwards to the trees violently.

    The other girl took her daggers out and got in a stance to attack but Ian just waved his hands in her direction and the girl suffered from an impact that threw her hands to the back and made her release the daggers.

    Now with no more disturbances in the way, Ian got near enough to hold one of the girls hands.

    "Are you Marie?" He asked her. One could detect how Ian''s voice trembled at the mention of the name.

    Tears were streaming on the girl''s face as she nodded her head yes.

    "Mn" she couldn''t do anything or say something else.

    Ian hugged her close and finally let tears fall down his face.

    ''At that time if I just let those guys take what they wanted and didn''t try to plat strong, none of that would have happened. I was rash. And resulted in us both dying. I don''t know if she''ll ever forgive me¡­ I know I didn''t forgive myself even now¡­'' Ian thought to his self as he continued hugging her.

    Since then, he had a reason to get strong. So that he will never be in that situation again. So that he could protect the ones he love.

    But now the reason for all this is in front of him.

    ''Is this also because of that mysterious entity? If so I thank you from all my heart.''

    The younger girl who felt her hands were numb by the impact, finally got her bearings back, and witnessed the scene of the two hugging. She finally understood that this was the one they were waiting for.

    Although she thought so at first too, but when he suddenly vanished she was alerted the same with Bert. The mink person.

    After a few seconds Bert too came back. However unlike the young girl. He was holding his left arm, and winced in pain each time he moved. Apparently that one kick had resulted in him getting inured quite badly. Which was understandable as Ian had been emotional then, and didn''t control himself. Truth be told he was quite lucky. As if Ian had used all his strength he may have died¡­

    He looked at the two people hugging and realized that he was mistaken earlier and s went and sat back on the log and tried to assess his injuries.

    "Marie¡­ it was all my fault back then, if I hadn''t¡­" his words were stopped by a finger placed on his lips by Marie.

    "Don''t blame yourself Ian, such things are destined to happen, if not then we wouldn''t be meeting now in this place don''t you think? Besides¡­ all is in the past¡­ you should think about now Ian" Marie/Elene said.

    When Ian heard that Marie doesn''t blame him, he felt that a burden was lifted off him. He gave a nod, as he closed his eyes and continued to hug her in silence.

    He never thought this will happen ever. He only ever dreamed of this moment, but now it had become real. So he just enjoyed the moment in silence.

 Chapter 43 - Discussion

    Robin while this was happening was standing to the side and not interfering, she had wanted to help when they attacked Ian, but things happened so quickly... She didn''t understand what was happening at the moment, but she still gave them some space to sort things out. They will probably ignore her anyways, or anyone else for that matter, since they were entered their own world the moment they locked eyes.

    She had seen how Ian had dominated the two people who were coming towards him. He didn''t even look at them for a second as he incapacitated them. His eyes were fixed on the girl not budging at all. Which led to Robin''s curiosity spiking.

    ''Who is this girl?'' she thought to herself internally as she checked the girl Ian was hugging. But since Ian had his back toward her the girl was hidden from her view. She just shook her head and decided she''ll do it later. There was time¡­

    She then walked closer to the young girl and the mink person who were sitting on a log by the fire. It was the first time for her to see a mink person. She didn''t even know the tribe he comes from.

    She sat on the opposite log from them, and decided to ask the girl. She didn''t want to be rude in case they have some customs.

    "Hello, my name is Robin. What''s your name?" She introduced herself. If this was in the past she would have just lied and used a different fake name, but things are different now. She isn''t as scared as before. She knew how strong Ian is. And she was also anticipating when he will train her to reach such a level too.

    The girl looked at her for a bit, before looking at the couple hugging in the distance.

    From her features Robin estimated that she was only 15 or 16 years old. Which was quite young, and quite dangerous for someone in the new world.

    "My name is Stella, and this here is Bert." After a bit the girl replied, and pointed at Bert who gave her a nod in greeting.

    "I''m sorry about this. Usually Ian is not like this. But he was agitated then, I hope you don''t hold it to him?" Robin spoke when she saw that he gave her a nod. She knew Ian to be a good person. She was sure he had a good reason for this.

    The lion mink person had a bit of surprise on his face. He wasn''t prepared for her to apologize to him, when people usually are either disgusted by him or ignore him.

    After a while he recovered and replied to her with a small smile.

    "It''s fine, actually it''s my fault as we were already waiting for you two. But in the heat of the moment I just misunderstood and thought he was attacking Elene." They had already seen their posters. And Elene had told them to just stand by. It was a bit of an overreaction from their parts. He was a man of his words, and he wouldn''t twist the truth around just so he won''t be faulted, as such he readily admitted his fault.

    Stella who saw that Robin only had curiosity in her eyes, gave a gentle smile too. Not many people liked Bert, since he was a humanoid lion mink. Many would be disgusted by him.

    Bert saw that curiosity and said to her.

    "I come from a tribe called the Mink Tribe, which is a race of humanoid people with animal features as you can see. I am a lion mink. I went to the sea at a young age, and since then I haven''t returned yet" He said.

    "The Mink tribe¡­" Robin said with a hint of wonder in her voice.

    "You are Nico Robin right? We had read how ''he'' came to save you at Enies lobby along with another pirate crew. It was actually the first time we heard about him and saw his bounty. But Elene and us had been waiting for him for a while before that. It was just that we didn''t have any way of locating him." Stella said. She didn''t mind speaking this much, after all, according to Elene they will all be joining his crew.

    Robin nodded with a smile.

    "So you already knew about Ian before?" Robin asked.

    "Well we never met him, but I guess that Elene perhaps did" Stella said as she sneaked a look towards Ian''s direction. She saw how the two of them had separated a bit and were now talking in a low voice.

    ...........

    "I missed you¡­" Ian whispered as he separated from her a bit and looked at her face.

    He stroked her cheek with his hand as he looked at her with longing.

    "Me too honey, me too" she replied. "But now we are here, united again, so there''s no need to miss me anymore and nor I you." She said with a smile that brightened the mood. Ian couldn''t help but smile himself.

    "But how is this possible, you know? Even I found it impossible to come to this world, if I hadn''t been lucky and an entity helped me, I wouldn''t be here as I had been stuck in a place" Ian said after a while.

    "So that''s it. You know I had a guess to why you didn''t set out to sea at the same time as me. How old are you Ian?" She asked him to understand things more.

    "18. Why?" He replied.

    "I knew it. You had been stuck in that place for two years. Because I''m 20 years old." She replied. And Ian nodded. He knew he had been there for a while from before. But he was still perplexed of how she managed to reach here before him. Did the entity help her too?

    Perhaps Marie knew what he was thinking of so she shook her head and said.

    "At that moment when we were shot¡­ with my last remaining consciousness I managed to see an energy come out of you and wrapped me up. When I came to next, the energy was bringing me around in a very, very dark place." She said.

    "I''m guessing that, that energy should have been responsible for delivering you. But since you gave it to me, you yourself was stuck there." She said her guess. She had tears in her eyes once again.

    Ian hugged her. He had reached the same train of thought when she explained her side of things.

    "Listen, let''s just put this aside for now. There is no use talking about. Besides I think you need to introduce me to your friends no?" Ian said.

    She nodded her head.

    "Mn" she said.

    "Do you think, ah, he''ll forgive me?" Ian said, as he pointed at Bert with his eyes.

    "Oh about before? Don''t worry, Bert Is a good person" She replied with a smile, before she grabbed his hand and started dragging him to the place where they were sitting at.

 Chapter 44 - Time to go

    (A/N: I''m back. And I decided to use this [] whenever the MC will be using a skill in the future, I hope you would like it. I thought it will make future combat scenes cooler.)

    "Oh, another thing Ian, from now on don''t call me Marie okay? Call me Elene, it is what I have been named by the couple who raised me." Elene said with a smile.

    Ian gave a nod, whatever name she wanted he didn''t mind. Then he turned his eyes to the injured person they were walking to.

    Ian was actually quite concerned about this person named Bert. He didn''t want to be remembered as someone unrestrained or something... So when he got near the logs where they were sitting, he was ready to apologize profusely and get this matter done with.

    But then, just when he opened his mouth to speak, the lion mink person beat him to the punch and apologized before him.

    "I''m sorry about earlier, I shouldn''t have overreacted like I did." Bert said as admitted his fault.

    Ian opened his eyes wide at this. He didn''t expect that the person who he had hit, would apologize to him. He didn''t know what to say¡­

    ''What is this situation¡­ sigh these mink people are overly sentimental no?'' Ian thought to himself.

    "Ahm, shouldn''t it be me apologizing you know? After all it appears that you are injured quite badly¡­" Ian said awkwardly. He felt quite bad now that he saw how much injured Bert was.

    "Look man, you don''t have to tell me how much wrong you were¡­ let''s just say that both of us were wrong and leave it at that. Do you agree with this?" Ian said straight after, not leaving Bert any time to apologize again or say something else.

    Meanwhile Bert admired how Ian was going about this. Truthfully he knew he was right. They were both wrong. But for the sake of Elene he was planning to take all the blame. He didn''t want the person she had been waiting for a while now to be blamed as soon as they met him. But since he already admitted his wrongs, then Bert could only nod a yes. What else could he do? The perfect solution to this just dropped at his doors.

    "Yes." He said. Still inside, Ian had earned some character points with him with his actions this time¡­

    "Then let me help you with your injuries." Ian said as he came close planning to heal him with his energy.

    When he was just standing next to Bert. He closed his eyes and stilled his breathing for a bit. While the rest watched on with curious eyes what Ian was trying to do.

    [Presence Sensing.]

    Ian was using ''Observation Haki: presence sensing'' to check the surroundings if anybody was spying on tem. He already did before, but it doesn''t hurt to check again.

    When Ian used it, he was able to see the aura of people in a blue light. The whole world turns dark, except the aura belonging to living beings, meaning it didn''t matter if one was hiding in a closet, house or in a bunker underground, as their aura will still appear in the dark world.

    Ian opened his eyes, as apart from the ones here, he didn''t sense anyone else spying on them or even near them.

    He let out a satisfied smile.

    "Well, we''re clear, there is no one else here apart from us." He said to the rest.

    And the others when they heard what he said finally understood that he was checking if anyone was spying on them.

    Stella and Bert thought that he was suspicious of them. They thought that he may have suspected them of trying to spy on him using another hidden person. Meanwhile Robin and Elene just watched on silently and calmly from the sidelines.

    And when Ian saw that the Mink and the young girl had displeased looks on their faces, he hurriedly spoke up to clear the misunderstanding.

    "It''s not about you, rather, I seem to have gotten quite famous lately, and someone from this island may have been spying on me. And what I''m going to show you next, is something that needs to be hidden at all costs¡­ so I had to be cautious." He said with an apologetic voice. To which they gave him a nod.

    He then grabbed Bert''s right shoulder with his hand.

    [Heal.]

    He used his energy, to heal Bert from the injuries he had sustained due to his mistake. And not even a minute past and Bert was fully healed.

    He had a shocked look on his face as he stood up and moved his previously injured arm flexibly.

    Ian moved and sat down in the log next to Elene.

    "Well allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ian Louis. I''m sorry we started on the wrong foot." Ian spoke up introducing himself.

    Bert sat back as he too introduced himself.

    "It''s fine. My name is Bert, and as you can see, I''m a lion Mink." Bert said with a small smile.

    Meanwhile Stella pouted at the side and refused to speak anything. Until Elene who was next to her, nudged her multiple times and urged her with her eyes to talk.

    She then finally reluctantly replied.

    "I''m Stella, nice to meet you." But her tone was halfhearted, leaving all the people there with awkward smiles on their faces.

    "Nice to meet you" Still even so Ian replied to her.

    He then turned to Elene and said.

    "What were your plans before meeting me?" He said. In case she had something to do, then he would have to change his plans and accompany her. He didn''t even think of leaving her alone for a second. They had been away from each other for a long time¡­

    "None. We were specifically waiting for you. Haha" she giggled as she said.

    "The three of us were bounty hunters. We hunted the worst type of guys we heard about in order to get our needed money. But when I found your bounty I decided to stop by this island and wait for you." She then added.

    "Then what would you do now?" Ian asked. He of course knew that Elene would be going with him at all costs. His question was directed to her friends.

    "They are my family. So they too will be going with us." She replied with a gentle smile. She Bert, and Stella were really close. As such they had decided to join Ian together.

    Stella gave a nod without turning her eyes to look at Ian. Meanwhile Bert nodded to show his approval.

    As such all of them except Robin and Ian, got up to get their stuff ready so that they can leave. Ian had already wasted some time playing around today. It was time to go visit the old man.

    He was ready to start his journey to get some answers¡­

 Chapter 45 - The Odyssey.

    According to Ian''s estimations, he still had about ten days before the beginning of the Great War that whitebeard fell in along with Luffy''s brother Ace.

    Ian was on the ship''s deck right now. It had been two days of sailing and they still hadn''t reached their destination yet. Of course there was the factor that whitebeard''s ship is moving, thus Marco who they have his vivre card, is moving too. But the reason for this slow speed was mainly due to his new crew.

    When he had asked the new friends he has along with Robin, whether he should boost the speed, all of them including Elene had refused. And once Ian had thought about it, he kind of liked it like this too. Even though there was not much time left, ten days was enough. Wasting two or three days to sail is not really that bad. Besides he estimated that the next day they would reach their destination anyways.

    He was right now watching his new crew that was formed.

    Each was doing something on the ship. Since the ship needed no one to steer it due to Ian, the rest just found something to do and took to it.

    Bert was in the crow nest training. He had been doing that since he boarded the ship. Asides from the time he took to coking for them.

    The crow''s nest was located on top of the foremast. It is a dome-shaped hut with several windows on its perimeter. It can be entered by climbing up the ropes surrounding the mast and then climbing a ladder up through a hole in the nest''s metal floor. It contains some advanced telescopic equipment and a microphone. The microphone is connected to a loud speaker located below the crow''s nest to the rear, enabling anyone inside to quickly relay news to the crew below. The crow''s nest can also function as a gym, containing exercising equipment such as dumbbells and giving ample room for the training, which was the reason Bert was there. The crow''s nest also features a bench around the edge.

    Robin on the side, was training a different thing now. Since she got basic proficiency at guns, Ian had her try to master one of the easiest skills from the six powers. Paper art.

    He had a plan for her. Mastering paper art would help one to awaken observation Haki. And mastering Iron body, would help to acquire armament Haki.

    Now robin was already good in using her Devil fruit. But one of the drawbacks of her ability, is that she can feel pain inflicted on any part she made. Now imagine if she had her extra arms coated in Haki. She would both gain defense and be able to touch logia fruit users. Granted using Haki on a lot of arms of her would be taxing on her, but with training she would be able to do it eventually.

    She was getting help from Stella whom had already forgiven Ian and was now treating him well. He had spared a bit with all of them, to know their levels. And deemed Stella the most appropriate to help Robin.

    She was a dagger user, and focused on speed and close combat. Bert, was a swordsmen, but due to his race he was already very fast and strong. Meanwhile Elene, was a gunner. And from all of them she had the most unique abilities. Her abilities were closely related to Shadows.

    Her two hand guns, as she said, were nurtured by her shadows since she was young, as such they changed and gained a futuristic look as far as he could see. It was still a revolver type gun. But the one on her back, which he now knew to be a rifle, she said that it could change forms. From a normal rifle to a sniper one. Ian found that cool, once he saw it. But what amazed him the most was how she didn''t need any bullets for them, she could directly use shadows to materialize them inside the guns. As such she would never run out of bullets as long as she still had enough energy. Furthermore she could make each of her bullets have negative effects on anyone shot, due to the shadows ability.

    Speaking about Elene, she was enjoying herself, Sun tanning on a deck chair close to him, along with a glass of fruit juice by her side.

    Although she was wearing a swim suit for this, Ian didn''t mind. As there was no other man here apart from Bert and him. But Bert was a mink as such his preferences went to his race.

    While he was looking, Bert came down from the crow''s nest.

    "Captain, I''m going to make us something to eat now." Bert said as he was passing by Ian to the kitchen.

    Ian gave a nod. Then turned his gaze to the sea, and was lost in thoughts.

    ''This is how life should be¡­ relaxing with your friends, enjoying every second¡­'' He let out a smile of contentment.

    After a while, Bert called them in to the dining room where he had already set everything ready.

    All of them went inside and sat around the table. Then helped themselves to the food.

    Ian saw this exact moment fit to speak about something he had on his mind since before.

    "Hey, everybody, I wanted to speak to you about something. You know since we got the ship, I have been waiting until I and Robin can get a few others to join us before naming the ship. But since this has already happened, I think it is time for that." Ian said to the rest.

    Stella jumped up and stood up from excitement. She was the type to be energetic about stuff like this.

    "Let''s do it, let''s do it right now." She said.

    Bert gave a nod of approval.

    And Elene said.

    "I think the name of the ship should be about something all of us like or want to do." She said, helping everybody on their thinking.

    "I like going on adventures, and being free." Ian said.

    "Me too." Stella said.

    "I like that too, ever since I was young." Bert said.

    Elene nodded too. And Ian who knew her since before was sure she was just like him, after all they shared their ideas and dreams when they were still in earth.

    All was left was Robin, but in the end she nodded too.

    "I would like to uncover the secrets of the history. But I also like how fun the journey to that will be." She said.

    "Then the theme of the ship''s name should be around fun, and adventure." Ian said.

    Then they spent another twenty minutes thinking about this while eating before Robin thought of a name that made them all shut up.

    "The Odyssey. Although the name mainly centers on the journey, but the journey itself will be filled with adventures and fun times." Robin said.

    Then the rest thought it over before they all agreed. As such the name of the ship was decided.

    The Odyssey.

 Chapter 46 - The strongest man alive

    New World.

    Whitebeard''s territory.

    A ship could be seen stopped a distance away from another ship that is notably much bigger. The smaller ship was barely 50m high, meanwhile the bigger one was three times its size. 160m.

    It was Ian''s ship the odyssey, and the Moby d.i.c.k belonging to the whitebeard pirates. The ship of the strongest man alive in this world.

    The Moby D.i.c.k was a large battleship with a cachalot figurehead or rather s.p.e.r.m whale, and as the name suggests, the whale figurehead was white.

    Ian had finally reached his destination. He was on the deck along with the rest of the crew. ''How should I go about this¡­ if I do it forcefully like red haired shanks did, it would be disrespectful to the old man¡­ but I also can''t just be too easygoing¡­ hmm'' Ian thought to himself.

    By now the whitebeard pirates have already known about them.

    "Hey guys, listen. I want you to stay here while I go discuss things with the old man okay?" Ian said.

    "Roger that captain." Bert said with a smile. He and Ian had gotten real close. But he still won''t stop calling Ian with the captain title. Something Ian was working on still.

    He of course had gotten closer to Stella too, but since Ian and Bert were males they bonded much easier and faster. Meanwhile Stella and Elene had gotten closer more to Robin. They now treated her as their elder sister, what with her being the oldest.

    On their journey, to pass time Ian showed them all how to train to use ''shave''. And among them all, Bert was the only one who managed to use it in such a short amount of time, possibly due to enhanced body from his race.

    Stella gave a nod of acknowledgement. She was eying the ship belonging to whitebeard with admiration. After all not many would get the honor to see the legendary figure that is Whitebeard, much less talk to him like Ian was planning to.

    Elene though, she just giggled at Ian. Being someone who knew him, she was sure Ian was super excited for this, as just about now he would be meeting, possibly the greatest character he liked in the anime. Of course she wouldn''t blame him for that, as she too had a certain female person she wanted to meet and would probably be as much excited, if not more, as him.

    Ian knew what her laugh meant, so he just shook his head with a smile as he took off flying to the Moby d.i.c.k.

    The crew keeping watch over them were alerted and grabbed their guns, swords and other weapons as they prepared for this intruding person.

    From them Ian was able to know only two people. The rest he thought that they were just regular commanders. But he didn''t remember all the commanders so he was not sure.

    The first one he presumed to be Jozu. Who is a big, very muscular, broad-chested, heavily-armored and dark-skinned man, called a giant by Crocodile. Even when standing in a hunched position, he is roughly twice Crocodile''s height. He has a long face with black stripe-like patterns for a beard and hairstyle. His legs are relatively thin in comparison to his muscular arms. He appears battle-hardened and has a perpetual scowl on his face. The dark armor he wears and his hair style are very similar to that of an Aztec warrior, with grey-bolted dark shoulder pads. On his chest he has a rusty red cuirass, whose front and back portions are connected by metal straps that go over both his collarbones. Around his waist there is a big, elaborated golden belt, worn over what looks like a green skirt similar to the ones worn by Aztecs, with golden decorations near the edge. He also wears what look like studded, black and gold large-buckled shoes or boots and matching black studded pants.

    The other person he saw, was one he wouldn''t mistake at all. Marco the phoenix. He even remembered that he was the first commander of the whitebeard pirates.

    Marco is a tall, lean, muscular, blonde-haired man with a rather sleepy look on his face and some stubble around his chin. He wears an open purple jacket and a light blue sash adorned with an elaborate golden-yellow belt around his waist. He has dark gray knee-long pants and black sandals, and on his left leg he wears what appears to be some sort of straw decoration, in a similar fashion to Arlong. While his chest was bare, he has the cross and crescent moon mustache symbol that resembles a black silhouette of Whitebeard''s Jolly Roger tattooed on it.

    Ian stopped a bit of distance from them in the sky and showed the vivre card to Marco, so that he would know he was not here for trouble. As nobody Marco had given his vivre card would come bearing ill.

    "Can I come into the ship?" Ian said towards Marco. He didn''t want to be an asshole and just step in. even Red hair shanks sent a messenger before he boarded the ship.

    Marco saw the vivre card and relaxed a bit. He looked at his pops for a bit before he waved his hands to his family/crewmates and said.

    "Alright guys, lower your weapons and ease up." He said and they all did as he said.

    Ian took that as a yes to his request and slowly floated near him.

    "Thanks." Ian said to Marco even as he looked to the center of the ship where a huge man was sitting and looking back at him.

    While Marco just smiled, and prepared to launch the barrage of questions he had for him. It was true that they were a bunch of easy going people but still they had to know at least a few things.

    But as he was about to start Ian interrupted him.

    "It''s an honor meeting you Marco the phoenix. I got this vivre card from the Old man Ray. I have something urgent to say to your captain." Ian turned back to Marco from looking ahead, stated everything in one full sentence. He was not the type to bullshit about. He liked this person too from the time back in the old world.

    As he finished he started walking towards the old man.

    Since Ian had made quite a disturbance since he came onto the ship, all the people on the deck were looking at him. When they heard what he said and saw him walking ahead all of them were a bit angry at him.

    Few of the regular people of the crew yelled at Ian as he came to stand in his way.

    "Hey you bastard, show some respect¡­" They was still going on, when a deep voice full of authority spoke up.

    "You guys, step aside. This guy if he was disrespectful he would have knocked you out directly. All of you combined wouldn''t have made a difference to him. This man is strong"

    All the crew including the division commanders were shocked by this. They knew their father won''t joke about something like this. Instantly they all looked on warily towards Ian.

    Ian who had a smile on his face, was still looking ahead at the person he admired. Whitebeard.

    He is an abnormally large man, with a height of 666 cm (21''10"). Unlike other large-sized humans, however, he is well-proportioned. He has a long face, ploughed because of the advanced age with many wrinkles around his eyes, and many scars running along his chest, and is very muscular. Ian saw that his eye color is yellow. He wore a black bandanna around his head and adorned himself with a white captain''s coat, which hung loosely from his broad shoulders and bore his Jolly Roger symbol. He stood bare-chested, and wore light, loose pants tucked inside his large black boots, and a dark pirate sash around his waist. Ian also noticed that whitebeard is on oxygen and attached to several medical sensor machines, possibly due to health issues concerning his age.

    "So, Brat, are you here to challenge the tile of the strongest? You''re still 100 years too early for that" Whitebeard said with his deep voice.

 Chapter 47 - The message

    New world. Whitebeard territory.

    On the Moby d.i.c.k.

    The old man had asked Ian if he wanted to challenge him. Challenge him for the title of the strongest person in the world.

    Afterwards there was only silence after the old man spoke with his deep rumbling voice echoing around.

    All the people around were waiting what would Ian''s response be. Such words spoken had made them tense. If he was here to challenge their pops title of the strongest man in the world, coupled with how he had said Ian was strong¡­ it truly made them nervous of what is to come. One could not blame them however, as each one of them was absolutely strong in their own rights, but for their pops to say he could beat them combined, C-O-M-B-I-N-E-D, that was really enough to make even them nervous.

    Meanwhile with Ian, he just stood there rooted to his spot with a happy smile on his face like a small child who got his candy or rather in this world a humanoid reindeer who got his candy? Anyways Ian really couldn''t fathom this moment. The character he most liked from the one piece series from his last life was standing in front him right now, or rather sitting. Even so, as he was sitting, his height was still more than that of Ian. If he stood up, he would be three times Ian''s size. That was a bit intimidating for Ian even as strong as he was.

    He turned and looked at the people around him like they are nothing but dumb chicken.

    ''Heh, challenge the title of the strongest man in the world. Challenge one of the four emperors of the sea that rule the new world, and also the strongest person among them. Challenge Edward Newgate. The "Man Closest to One Piece" after Gol D. Roger''s death, and the man known as being roger''s rival and equal. Yeah right!!!'' he snickered to himself. Although Ian was pretty confident in his strength to be able to be beat him, he was not confident enough to do so without heavy losses on his part. The old man was in possession of a devil fruit capable of destroying the world after all. Its abilities were heaven defying. And he was not confident his defenses could take it on.

    ''Just wow¡­ this strength¡­ it is practically oozing out of him¡­'' Ian thought to himself. He could feel that the level of the old man was no joke. He did not gain his titles randomly after all.

    Even as sick as he was, Ian could tell ''HE'' would be classified as peak ''earth realm''. Meaning he most likely was at the ''emperor realm'' before. And Ian right now was still far from the peak of the ''earth realm''. Of course, he could use his defense mode, which increases his strength to the peak, but then they would only be equals in both physical strength and abilities. Whitebeard with his Quake powers and Ian with his Telekinesis.

    Ian shook his head and got back to the subject.

    "Ahm, first of all, I think introductions should be in order. I, go by the name Ian Louis, I''m pleased to meet someone of your status, Whitebeard. Cough, and also that''s not why I''m here. I was actually sent to meet you by someone." Ian finally replied to him. ''Or something¡­'' he added in his mind as he was not yet sure about the voice''s origins.

    Ian couldn''t help the tinge of admiration latched to his voice from being heard resulting in him coughing to change the subject while he was still speaking.

    "Sent to meet me? By whom?" Whitebeard had a glint of curiosity in his eyes. The strength Ian had been feeling rescinded now that it was clear he wasn''t here for a fight. Clearly the old man too had been on guard the same as his sons, even if he didn''t show it.

    Furthermore Ian could notice a sense of fatigue on the old man''s visage. And once he thought of that, he noticed that all the members of the crew shared that same look. He surmised it as them being worried about Ace who by now was already caught by the marines. Still Ian knew that his execution wouldn''t be announced until a week later or so.

    "Well I don''t really know who myself¡­" Ian trailed off on his words as he thought to himself, what type of being the voice who talked to him could belong to. "I was actually hoping YOU would provide me that answer once we finish our discussion." He then spoke after a bit of silence.

    Immediately after he spoke the atmosphere became heavy and oppressive. Though Ian still stood their nonchalantly as if everything was the same like before and nothing had changed.

    "Brat, are you playing games with me?" Whitebeard spoke gravely as he thought that the brat in front of him was playing games with him, and even in front of his crew at that. Not to mention he was worried about his son, Ace who was caught by the marines.

    "No. I was tasked to seek you and deliver a message." Ian said as he replied to the old man before he added after. "I don''t even know who the one who tasked me to deliver the message is, in fact I''m not even sure if it was a person... But I know that the message is extremely important. Are you sure you want to hear it in front of your crew?" Ian then asked him at the end.

    He had spoken as such impulsively, but after thinking about it for a while, he realized that he had just put the old man in a really tight spot. As if the old man said no then his crew and family would be disappointed a bit that he doesn''t trust them enough to share this with them.

    But whitebeard just snorted dismissively as he spoke soon after.

    "Brat just speak already. I don''t have all day for this." He was starting to get irritated from this conversation. Even the wine in the large bottle he was drinking from was starting to taste bad.

    "The di¨¢voloi are awakening" Ian said each word at a time. By the time he had finished whitebeard stood up from his seat hastily with a look of pure shock plastered all over his face.

    "This was the message I was tasked to deliver." Ian added.

    After a few minutes of silence whitebeard finally recovered. He then turned after taking the medical equipment off, and started walking to interior of the ship.

    "Follow me! Marco, Jozu, you come too." He said before he disappeared inside.

    "Can I get my friends to board the ship?" Ian quickly said before the old man disappeared inside.

    And was met with a silent nod, before Ian went to the side of the ship, and raised his hands.

    [Pull].

    Which resulted in his ship moving towards him. He used his power to bring the odyssey towards the ship quickly.

    He then yelled towards them.

    "You guys, get up here, and get to know the crew of the strongest man in the world. Haha" He said and he laughed before he started following after the old man''s inside, but before he passed the door inside, he suddenly remembered something and turned and glared at the crew on the deck.

    "Don''t any of you have any weird ideas about my family¡­" He spoke threateningly. Before continuing on. Not explaining anything else to them.

    Which left behind him a perplexed yet scared crew.

 Chapter 48 - Notice 2

    I just wanted to recommend some works that i found to my liking.

    (on royal road):

    -''The Strongest Job...Gardener?'' weird name i know and the MC isn''t exactly OP but his growth rate makes him OP against whoever he faces. He is also a master manipulator that can get what he wants from commoners, kings and even ancient spirits.

    -Until death? it is one with a god that gets punished/reincarnated because he kinda caused a world war and then descended to beat the crap out of the other god, destroying humanity. He is also a guy that is super strong in magic and technology so he can make an army of super strong intergalactic battlesh.i.p.s and also fight head on with anyone.

    -''The Last King'' the guy is so OP that even gods are weaker than him. The idea of the story is that he almost gets forcefully summoned by a high level summoning magic and goes "even though i can stop this i''m "bored" and decides to help a group of kids that have some mysterious curses attached. I haven''t even seen him kneel to anyone or do any round about annoying method.

    -''The arcane emperor'' this one is personally the one i like the best. the mc is op as he has a skill that let''s him master a spell during sleep, although he starts weak, the journey is actually suspenseful and in time he would become so op he get''s a legendary class supposedly it''s first owner was the one who introduced magic to the world he was in. the plot is amazing along with well written villains.

    -''heavenly domination, a xianxia reincarnation story of an op guy who stood at the apex of the universe. this one i like too but sadly it''s been a while since the author updated.

    (on other sites)

    -''World''s apocalypse online'' i really like this one, and it has 600 chapters already. you can find it on wuxiaworld. the guys has a system to help him, and is really smart and uses his head to get out of tough spots. this is my favorite Chinese novel along with against the gods.

    -''The second coming of gluttony'' both a webtoon and novel. personally i like the novel more. it is really good, i recommend it highly. my favorite Korean novel along with dungeon hunter.

    -''i am the sorcerer king'' this is a webtoon similar to Solo leveling a bit. in case you haven''t read the webtoon of solo leveling i think you should. i even read it''s novel to the end.

    PS: for the webtoons you can read them in a good site named Mangakakalot.com

 Chapter 48 - Discussion (1/2)

    When Elene and the rest made it up to the ship by the help of the whitebeard crew, they started noticing how everybody on the deck was eying them with a scared look on their faces. But it was not overly visible, it was just that they were highly perceptive and noticed it.

    One of the crew of Whitebeard, stepped up to show them to a room they can stay in inside the ship.

    Elene and co shared a look. All of them had puzzled looks on their faces due to the weird sequences of events.

    "So this is how the strongest pirate in the world crew is?" Bert muttered to himself as he followed the rest inside. He no longer hid himself in a cloak as Ian had told him that he has no reason to hide anymore. And since he believed in his captain he did as he said, besides it didn''t feel bad for him that his captain cared about him.

    Robin was just beside him, and she too was taking a look at the whitebeard crew while staying silent.

    "But doesn''t it feel like they are scared of us, Are you sure they are under the same ''Whitebeard'' I know of?" Stella responded skeptically. After all their nervousness was pretty obvious for her.

    "Hey now, that is not a nice thing to say." Bert admonished her softly. Even if he felt things were wrong too. But he sure knew how to give respect to them, unlike Stella who spoke in a voice the other side could actually hear.

    "Bert is right Stella, you should show some respect to them even if a bit." Elene too added after him as they finally reached the room and started relaxing in it.

    "I think it has something to do with Ian." Robin said, finally entering the conversation. The way the crew were behaving suggested to her that Ian had done something perhaps. But she didn''t dwell on it much as it was not really important.

    Elene gave a short nod too.

    "Mn, most likely, Yeah" Elene said. It was due to that, that she admonished Stella earlier. Since the whitebeard crew were probably intimidated by Ian, it didn''t give her and the rest the right to look down on them for that. After all she knew how strong Ian was.

    "Hmph!" Stella just gave a short snort, as they reprimanded her. But to herself she understood what her bigger sisters were saying.

    Meanwhile the rest of whitebeard''s crew who were still on the deck finally understood Ian''s threat since all his crew except the one Mink guy were stunningly gorgeous females. They all shared the same thought.

    ''So that''s what he meant''

    *

    **

    ***

    ****

    *****

    Back to Ian.

    He was led to a room big enough to fit the massive frame of whitebeard quite easily. Since whitebeard was about to explain things up, Ian couldn''t help but tremble from anticipation.

    He had been waiting for this ever since he got to know about it. And now the one person who possibly knows about it is going to explain, he just couldn''t wait for it.

    "Brat, that name, how did you know about it?" Whitebeard after he sat nearby on the single bed in the room, turned to Ian as he asked him, going straight to business.

    "Like I told you before, I don''t know. All I know is that a voice, containing massive power and authority spoke in my head and said somethings, along with saying that I should deliver a message. I have told you what it said already." Ian replied after a few seconds of contemplation.

    "Then what else did this voice say?" The way he said the words, told Ian that he believed him and that he quite possibly knew the voice''s owner.

    Still he looked at the two other staying in the room, and wondered if he should say such things just like that.

    "If you are afraid they would spread things up then don''t be. My sons are trustworthy." He said with a tinge of pride oozing out of him. And following that his two ''sons'' puffed their chests in pride.

    After a few seconds of silence, Ian finally sighed as he spoke in details.

    "It said, that a danger high enough to destroy the world is nearing us. It told me that ''they'' had been waiting for someone like me to help them. Then when its voice was fading off, it spoke its last words to me, the exact words being to seek you for answers and deliver the message." Ian mixed in some lies as well, after all nobody needs to know that Ian is not from this world originally.

    "Hmm¡­" Whitebeard closed his eyes as thought things through in his head.

    After what felt like an hour, but was only a couple minutes in truth, whitebeard finally opened his eyes.

    "The di¨¢voloi. I''m sure you were left wondering what it is or rather what they are. I''ll tell you. But first of all, Marco, Jozu, I need you to keep what you hear here in this room to yourselves my sons." Whitebeard said to Ian before he addressed his son''s at the end.

    When they nodded he finally said.

    "I know of them as being ''three'', absolutely horrendous malevolent devils full of malice and cruelty." He finally said.

    Ian was quite surprised, although he prepared himself beforehand that the di¨¢voloi would end up being a race or some sort of evil beast, he was still surprised in the end. Especially since they didn''t exist in the original manga and anime. And three at that.

    "Back in the days, that same voice you spoke about had spoken something similar to Roger. He then came to me and told me about them and we joined hands to take care of them. We got the help of that voice and had gotten a bit stronger. So we were overly confident in ourselves. This was after all in the days when we were in our peak conditions. The prime of our strengths. But unfortunately reality proved otherwise." He spoke with a tone filled with pride before sighing bitterly at the end.

    "Each one of us went on to hunt one. And let me tell you even as I had gotten even stronger than before, it still took everything out of me to just dispose of that particular di¨¢voloi. Later when Roger and I regrouped, I found out that he went through the same process and difficulty too. As such we decided that we will not underestimate the third one, and joined hands as we searched for him until we found him. But in the end we still almost lost our lives fighting him. He was in fact some sort of leader to the other two, and with the strength we saw with our own eyes, it was quite understandable" Whitebeard spoke with hazy eyes as if he was remembering the very things he was speaking about.

    "Then, you would be wondering, why the voice said that they are awakening right?" Whitebeard addressed Ian after a bit of silence and reminiscing.

 Chapter 49 - discussion (2/2)

    When Ian nodded to signify that it was true and he was indeed wondering about that, the old man continued on with the explanation soon after.

    "At the time even I and Roger thought things were already done and over after that battle. But the voice had said to roger, that there will come a time when they will be back, when those di¨¢voloi bastards will be back. All three of them. It said that they could not die so long as the one behind them lives." He said and paused a bit thinking carefully about his next words.

    "Imagine the surprise we had. Roger and I. We killed them with our own hands you know, we saw them leaving this world with our own eyes, but both of us knew that the owner of the voice had no reason to lie to us. The other shock we had was that we also almost died by them at that time but in the end they were merely servants of their master. However even to this day, there is still no news of who this master is or where it might be." Whitebeard chuckled bitterly to himself as ended his narrative.

    "Roger that fool, even after witnessing their powers, he still went on about how he''ll kill this master¡­ but he never managed to find it much less kill it" He said before coughing a bit roughly, due to his sickness and how he overtaxed himself from talking too much. Ian knew that the old man before him was extremely sick. Even if in the anime he appeared quite strong, it was only because he made extra effort and burned the two years left in his life to gain that momentary strength he had in the war.

    His two sons panicked for a second before Marco came to support him.

    "Pops!! Jozu hurry and call the nurses" He yelled to Jozu urging him to be quick, but Whitebeard raised his hands in a stopping motion.

    "I''m fine, let''s finish our talk." He said as he addressed Ian after.

    "Then, you do not know who the owner of the voice is?" Ian asked after a bit of silence.

    Internally he was also thinking about the current events. He saw how the old man was. And if what he said was true, then Ian would be needing him to help against those bastards. But if he left things like they are now the old man would die in the upcoming war for the rescuing of Ace. But changing the events would mess things up a great deal than they already are.

    "No I don''t. And even Roger didn''t" He replied. "But I had a guess that the owner of the voice would at least be as strong as the hidden master of the three devils." He added after a bit of hesitating. He had hesitated because it was only a guess.

    "Mn. Most likely your guess is correct." Ian gave a nod. As he thought it was quite probable.

    "Alright I have decided." Ian said right after leaving them perplexed.

    "I''ll help you." He added once again, but that only added to their confusion.

    "Considering Ace''s real identity and capture, I think the marines are planning something big. I''m sure you yourselves would have thought of the possibility. And since I would need your help in dealing with the di¨¢voloi or whatever in the near coming future, I will help you." He said clearing things up.

    "Gurahahahaha" Whitebeard laughed hard. He couldn''t believe what this brat was saying not to mention, how he had known about Ace. But he let that one go.

    "Even at my peak I barely managed to win and beat one of those bastards. And now that I''m like this? You want my help? So you also know how to joke haha" He spoke finally after taking a breath from his boisterous laughing.

    "It''s not a joke and as I said, I can help you do something about that condition of yours." Once again Ian left them confused with his unspecified words.

    "Look I''m saying I can do something about your sickness. But I need the two of them out." Ian added as he pointed at Marco and Jozu.

    Contrary to what the he had thought though, the two men only looked at him for a confirmation on his words. Eyes filled with a bit of hope. He understood that they knew that their pops was nearing his limit, so they were glad for any help they got.

    "Are you serious?" Marco asked.

    And when Ian nodded they just left the room silently short after. They didn''t need to hear anything else. For the chance that their father will get healed, they are willing to do something this trivial.

    "You have good sons" Ian said shortly after they stepped out.

    To which the old man laughed proudly.

    "Then let''s get to it." Ian said as he prepared.

    "Even if you fail whatever you are planning I wouldn''t blame you. I have searched for a cure for a while with no success. Even though I had already accepted that my era was over I still wanted to grow even older and watch over my sons, but sadly there was no doctor or cure for me." Whitebeard said trying to console Ian In case he failed whatever he was planning. But his eyes though, they still contained a bit of hope.

    "Haha don''t worry when you get out from here, you would feel like you are back to your old self. And don''t give me any of that ''I''m prepared to die'' bullshit. You should think about your sons, nothing else." Ian said. He was never a fan of how Whitebeard died in the anime. Even though they said many great things about him, they still showed so little.

    [Heal].

    He started channeling his energy towards the old man right as finished talking as he grabbed his arm.

    It was hinted at that whitebeard''s sickness was cancer. As such Ian had some work to do. First he needs to confirm it. Before then deciding what to do.

    When his energy entered inside his body he was able to confirm this. Meanwhile whitebeard to the side felt the energy full of vitality inside him, it left him in a relaxed state. Even the effects of the alcohol he drunk were quickly purged from his system.

    Now, all he had to do, was to see whether his energy was capable of destroying the cancer cells.

    That was the first step. The second step would be getting rid of all the cancer cells if he can. The third step would be fixing him internally, by healing all the organs failing.

    And finally would be to invigorate his body so that it would return to being filled with vitality. And voila, whitebeard would be as good as new. And the world government bastards would get the ''whitebeard'' of his full glory instead of the weak one reaching his end.

    Now even if Ian knew he was messing things up, his feelings of excitement for it were much stronger than his anxiousness to see how the future would unfold from now on.

 Chapter 50 - Healed

    In truth Ian had already thought about this situation even from before he boarded this ship and met the old man. He had been musing about it for a while now. Whether to help him with his condition or not. And the conclusion he reached was that he would not care much for messing the timeline. It was his life to do as likes. And since he liked the old man in the anime and manga, he was not about to let him die for such a stupid reason. Besides the timeline was already messed up as far as he could see.

    Ian then started rotating his energy inside Whitebeard''s body in a cycle.

    And once his energy circulated once in the old man''s body, he knew it was capable of getting rid of the cells. So he got to it without any messing around. The first step was done. And he started the second which was to get rid of the cells. The process was a bit painful, but he noticed how the old man didn''t even grunt from the pain. Which was understandable to Ian as Whitebeard must have been in similar pain constantly from his sickness.

    After a while, Ian was done, and he felt a bit tired from the process but even so he could still go on with the next step. He started on the third step now that he already got rid of the cancer cells completely.

    This time he felt that it was quite a bit easier than getting rid of the cancer cells from earlier, but even so it was still taxing on his stamina, so he took a few minutes break every time he healed one of the injured or failing organs inside the old man''s body. He had many of them and Ian guessed it was like that because of his advanced age, as no doctor could heal him completely.

    Then finally after he was done with that task, all that was left was to circulate the energy inside his body to invigorate him and fill his body with vitality, similar to what he had done to Ray and his wife when he met them, plus Robin later after she felt a bit jealous.

    All the time since they started Whitebeard appeared to have entered some sort of trance. He was of course feeling the changes happening to him even so, and he felt himself getting healthier by the second under Ian''s hands.

    By the end when he woke up from the trance he found Ian breathing roughly as he sat on the ground. He gave him a thankful look, and vowed inside that he will forever be in debt for this favor Ian had done him. For this chance for him to stay with his family in the future. The reason being that he felt his body as healthy as it can be. In fact most of the things and techniques he wasn''t even able to use anymore due to his aging body, were now easy to execute as if he returned to being a young man at his prime.

    He let out a boisterous laugh that was heard all around the ship from the sheer happiness he felt.

    "Gurahahahahaha. WAIT FOR ME ACE. I''M COMING FOR YOU. Whitebeard is BACK" He yelled as loud as he could, as if his voice would reach across the seas to his son, Ace.

    Marco and Jozu who were by the side hurriedly entered the room and took in their surroundings before suddenly standing there in shock at what they saw. Their faces at that moment contained a mixture of emotions ranging from disbelief to happiness. Soon Tears started falling freely from their faces.

    *

    **

    ***

    ****

    Back to Ian''s crew.

    In the room in the ship that was assigned to them.

    They were just sitting around and enjoying the various food, some people had brought them earlier, and talking among each other, when they heard the loud yelling belonging to the old man reverberating around the ship.

    "What does he mean by being back?" Stella asked perplexed soon after the laughing died.

    She couldn''t understand why he would say something like that out of nowhere. Though she could understand about Ace as it was known he was being held by the marines for a while now.

    Robin and Elene were the only ones among the four who knew something about this. Robin knew from searching for various information around whitebeard when she was still a member of crocodile''s organization in the past, as it appeared that crocodile had hated the old man. But she only knew that he was suffering from a sickness no one could heal. Not the exact type of illness.

    Meanwhile Elene knew the same thing from the anime and manga, just like Ian. And she already saw Ian heal Bert so she was not extremely surprised like the rest. She was able to connect the dots quickly.

    "I had heard in the past that Whitebeard, was suffering from a sickness that prohibited him from exerting his full powers. I guess it was true. And Ian must have done something about it." Robin said as she tried to explain stuff to her family.

    "Most likely, I too heard something like that." Elene added after her.

    Bert and Stella meanwhile were astonished.

    This notorious pirate who planted terror in the hearts of all his enemies, the one who made countless territories his in this vast sea, was actually sick. They couldn''t imagine ever hearing something like this. Even sick he was still strong enough to be called the strongest man in the world. But how about now that he was probably healed?

    The two of them shared that same thought.

    "Wow" Stella exclaimed in amazement, partially to Whitebeard and what he can now do that he was healthy, but mostly to Ian and his mysterious ways who brought about this change.

    Bert too had some respect for Ian sine before, but now he had his full respect. To be able to do something like this is quite amazing after all. And he too wanted to see what the old man can do now that he was healed from the sickness that was plaguing him all this time.

 Chapter 51 - Preparations

    New world. Whitebeard territory.

    Moby d.i.c.k ship.

    One could see a number of much smaller sh.i.p.s tied with a chain to three huge whale looking vessels. Included among the smaller sh.i.p.s was Ian''s Odyssey and it was chained directly to the Moby d.i.c.k.

    A week had already passed since Ian had helped heal the old man back to his prime self using his ability. After all he felt he needed his help against those devils.

    The news of Ace''s execution were already announced a few days ago and soon it had reached whitebeard''s crew. But he didn''t panic or anything of the like, he calmly prepared for the upcoming war he will be undergoing against the marines for trying something like this against him and his son. He first recalled all the pirates under him to announce the news of the coming war. The reason he didn''t panic, was that now that he was healthy, he feared no one under the sky, just like his old self used to do.

    As for his health, he felt like he was back to being the old Edward Newgate, Rogers rival. He felt that with his strength now, he deserved that title once again. And since that was the case he was confident in stirring up the marines this time around. Not to mention that someone as strong as him or possibly even stronger was joining him in the fight. That person being Ian.

    Just thinking about this he couldn''t wait to see the look on that damn Sengoku''s face when they eat dust. It would be a priceless moment. One that he will remember for a long time.

    Ever since he was healed he started smiling more, and laughing with his children even more. The first few days after the healing the whole ship was in a festive mood, where they partied till dawn, and all the folks were down from overdrinking, except Ian of course who had no troubles consuming large amounts of alcohol due to his energy cleansing any toxins. As a result he ended up winning a lot of competitions the boys started up, and a lot of money, not that he needed it.

    Speaking of Ian he, right now, was with his crew on the deck taking a side of the ship to themselves.

    The three girls were relaxing on deck chairs, with the exception of Robin reading a book she found interesting instead of just sleeping, while Bert was a bit away from them, and was training his sword by swinging in consecutive strikes against an invisible opponent. Each strike of his was like a phantom, extremely light and difficult to trace and defend against. Such was the advantage of his race''s superior strength.

    Though Ian had told them to relax, Bert always liked to train, so Ian just left him to do what he likes.

    Ian moved towards them. He just got the plan of action from the old man on how they were going to attack. The past days was spent just like this with him just partying with the others. And sharing drinks with the old man.

    He was walking while musing to himself. The only one powerful enough to join him as he fights along the old man would be Elene. The rest would still be in danger if they participated, as such he was going to explain this to them now.

    Bert saw him coming, and greeted him.

    "Oh hey captain, are you done with your talk?" Bert said. He knew Ian was coming from his talk with Whitebeard about the coming war. Personally he wanted no part of the war, but since his captain, and figure sisters were quite possibly going to participate, he felt he had to protect them.

    "Yeah we finished, and I have something to say to you guys." Ian replied as he finally reached them. The girls sat up, and waited for what he had to say.

    "I decided that I would join the war alone for our partnership with the whitebeard pirates." He said. And noticed how Elene was going to say something so he held his hands up for her to wait.

    "But as I''m sure my dear Elene would not let that be, I decided that she would join me too. And as for you guys you would go to a safe place and wait for us to come after the war is finished. You will be taking the odyssey with you." Ian said.

    And thankfully for him, the rest knew when to back off. A war this large was not one meant for them. And they knew Elene and Ian''s strengths so they didn''t complain about that.

    And Bert, who planned to say something too, just swallowed his words back. Even if he wanted to come too, he knew his own strength in front of Elene and Ian wasn''t much, so he understood he will only be a hindrance.

    Ian who was looking at them, noticed Bert, and knew what was on his mind, but he couldn''t risk their lives in something like this, if it wasn''t that he knew Elene''s powers he wouldn''t bring her at all.

    Elene had powers that would enable her to be hidden from all the people in the war, as such she could just hide using her shadows, and snipe the opposition off. Nonetheless in the off chance she would be found, her abilities at retreating are the best. Even better than Ian.

    But what Ian didn''t notice as he was occupied with Bert, was how Robin had a frown on her face for a fleeting second before she too nodded her head in agreement.

    "Bert you would be in control while Elene and I are not with you. Considering how you are the only one with better navigation skills, I think it is only fitting. Though Robin can help you too." Ian said to which they once again nodded their heads yes.

    "But most importantly, is for you guys to exercise and train more. So that you don''t get rusty. I also want you to know that I''m not looking down on you at all. I just want you to stay safe. I wouldn''t even want Elene to come, but¡­ but you know how she is" Ian said while releasing a sight at the end, that managed to irritate Elene.

    She glared at him, to which he coughed while turning his head to the side, avoiding eye contact.

    And they all understood what he was saying to them, but they still laughed at his expense, until the glare was redirected to them so they quieted out instantly.

    "Hmph" Elene then snorted a small laugh herself.

 Chapter 52 - Robinâ€™s feelings

    New world. Whitebeard''s territory.

    Moby d.i.c.k ship. On the deck.

    Once Ian finished talking about each one''s role, he motioned to Bert to come closer to him.

    Once he did so he whispered to him so that others would not hear his words.

    "I trust you Bert. As such I give you the responsibility to protect our family in my absence." Ian said in a quiet voice he was sure the mink person would be able to pick but not the rest. He also knew how Bert was usually, as such he didn''t say anything more to convey his words. In truth he really did trust him, and after Elene, he was the strongest member of their family so he deserved that.

    Along the days they spent together, Ian stopped considering them his friends, and started calling them his family. As each of them felt a kinship with each other.

    Bert on his part was honored that Ian trusted him enough to leave things in his hands. As such he gave a heavy nod of acknowledgment to the heavy responsibility being given to him, before he turned back to training, this time with even more vigor in his eyes.

    Ian started walking back to their shared room inside the ship of whitebeard, when Elene who had been standing to the side, started walking up and joined him while grabbing his hand in hers.

    Once again Robin had a displeased look on her face, which unfortunately for her was noticed by her little sister Stella who gave her a grin, a one that practically said she was in for a hellish teasing from now on. But Robin didn''t notice any of that yet.

    ''Damn it. That vixen!! She is getting ahead of me once again'' Robin thought bitterly to herself. Although she said vixen it was just her jealousy speaking. She knew that Elene was not even aware of her feelings, so it was unreasonable for her to blame her for this. But she was growing tired of seeing them getting closer each time while she remained far behind¡­

    In truth, since a while ago, since he saved her precisely, Ian was all her mind could think about. She was perplexed as to why she couldn''t stop thinking about him for a while, but due to her high intelligence she soon understood the reason. There was only one reason why it could happen, and it was that she had started liking him.

    Ever since he had saved her up, he had already planted the seeds for her to start liking him. Adding to it that he had her join his crew, gave her the ''family'' she lacked, with brothers and sisters, not to mention, the one thing she needed considering her relation to the government. He gave her protection. Absolute protection at that.

    Then came the factors that sealed the deal. His looks, strength, and personality. He was quite the charming person with his looks. She found herself blushing every time she looked at his well sculpted body in the times he was wearing only shorts to go for a swim or just change.

    Such was Ian, he would be just sitting around, when suddenly he takes off his shirt and jumps at the sea for a swim. Sometimes he even dives deeper and comeback with a huge fish that would be stored for later cooking.

    His strength put him equal to someone as strong as whitebeard or perhaps so there was nothing more to talk about in that. And there was also the fact that she felt he was getting even stronger with time, as such Ian''s strength was not one to be questioned.

    As for his personality. She found it admirable. If he found someone in need of help he would lend it. But he was not a saint, so he would not go out of his ways to search for people in need of help. Which was another thing she liked about him. Also she had already understood he wouldn''t hesitate to kill those he found cruel or evil from how she saw him operate. She had been part of the underground world for a while so she knew the real way the world works, and she didn''t want his hesitation in killing to be his downfall.

    Everything about him seemed to her the perfect person to be with.

    But unfortunately for her. Someone named Elene was standing in her way. It took her a while to accept that she liked him, but once she did, she found out he was already taken. So she couldn''t help but frown in displeasure and a bit of jealousy each time the both of them got close just like happened today when Elene grabbed his hands.

    She shook her head for now, and returned to reading the book she had put aside when Ian had come earlier. She would think more about this later before she goes to sleep, where her mind would be more focused. That said though, even if she wanted to lay the subject to the side for now¡­

    Her little sister disagreed.

    "Big sis Robin, I couldn''t help but notice how you looked earlier when you saw Ian and Elene. Are you perhaps sick? Is that the reason you looked displeased?" Stella said with an ''innocent'' smile on her beautiful delicate face.

    "Or do you perhaps like big broth-". She continued saying with an evil grin. But two arm sprouted from her shoulders and closed her mouth in an instant. But it was futile she knew that Bert who was nearby would have heard it already what with him being a mink and all.

    Robin had a look of displeasure on her face. She knew she was in for a hell of a teasing as she gave a tired sigh. She knew that Bert would not mind what he heard much. But if Elene by chance heard Stella she wouldn''t be quick enough to hide in a hole from embarrassment as they were in the sea.

 Chapter 53 - Instinct

    New world.

    Whitebeard''s territory. Moby d.i.c.k.

    Back to Ian.

    When he along with Elene reached their shared room.

    He looked at Elene for a bit, and had a helpless smile on his face.

    "Do you really enjoy it that much?" He couldn''t help but say bitterly as he precisely knew what she was doing earlier.

    "Hehe, you should at least let me have this much fun. Besides I think that Robin needs to come to turn with her feelings for you on her own, and once she has the courage to face you, then and only then would I stop teasing her and playing dumb as if I don''t know she likes you." Elene said, with a simple smile adorning her lovely face.

    Ian gave a nod as he leaned closer to her and held her in a hug with his hands on her waist. He had already explained to her that he like robin,and since he thought she was dead he had been avoiding those feelings...

    "I understand. And then?" He asked her as he looked into her eyes.

    "I know what you really want to know from that question." She said with a small glare. "But relax, I am not cruel to have you choose between us." She added when she saw him tense up, and his arms tighten.

    Only then did he release the breath he didn''t know he was holding since she started talking.

    "Of course I won''t, as I already know you would choose me." She added with a mischievous smile.

    "Y-yes of course I would." Ian strained to smile back at her. In truth if he was met with that option of choosing, he really would choose Elene. That decision was final, and already set in stone.

    "I''m just joking, idiot. Haha. Of course I won''t put you in that situation. To be honest, I do not mind sharing with her. As I already know how much you liked her back then when this whole thing was just an anime. And since I made it my purpose to enjoy life this time around to the fullest I will not rob you of this. Your real problem will be if ''she'' will be willing to share. Also this whole world was in fact just a fantasy made for the enjoyment of its readers, as such I see no reason for us to enjoy ourselves now that we are living in it" She finally spoke seriously after a small laugh.

    Ian gave a short nod of agreement.

    "Well I will leave that problem until the day it comes." He said. Now however he had a war to prepare for, a war he was sure will go much more differently than in cannon with how much had changed things up.

    "By the way, why did you tell them to leave first? Did you forget that I could use my shadows to teleport us if we need to?" She curiously asked.

    There was a few seconds of silence. Before a dry laugh left Ian''s mouth.

    "Haha, I did" He admitted readily. This was to be his wife, he saw no reason to be embarrassed over something like this.

    "Well this changes plans a bit. We can make sure the rest are in a safe place, before we both can join the old man. As for the timing, we''ll have them call us at the right time. Right this will work." Ian mused to himself.

    "You could also finally integrate the DNA of the Mink tribe no?" Elene added from the side.

    It was no surprise that she will know about that. After all there was no one more appropriate to tell than her.

    Ian gave a nod. It certainly will come in handy. Only two days were left. And they would be enough for them to reach a safe place.

    *

    **

    ***

    ****

    *****

    The two days had already passed, and the war time was closing in. anytime now Ian was anticipating the call.

    Knowing full well that the moment he teleports he would be in the presence of armies of men, marines and pirates alike.

    He had already integrated the Mink''s DNA he got from Bert. And though the effect it had was not noticeable at first, with him and Elene taking measures to find out its effect, he eventually reached a conclusion as to it effect.

    It was as she had hid herself completely from him, in a way that no matter what he does he wouldn''t find her, she had shot her sniper rifle, with the weakest of her shots of course.

    But what happened ended up shocking them both.

    He dodged it easily by sidestepping.

    Even his observation Haki at its current state, did not allow him to do that. Of course if Ian used his observation Haki along with telekinesis he would be able to find Elene easily.

    And after a couple of tests similar to that, he concluded that it was a sort of a danger sense on an instinctual level.

    When they tried the same thing with Bert, they finally confirmed their earlier thoughts.

    Bert had not been able to dodge, but it was apparent from his fur standing on end, that he knew he was being attacked. It was only Ian''s strong reflexes and body that allowed him to dodge.

    Currently Ian was sitting in a house on an island that he deemed safe for his crew and ship to stay at. By his side there was Elene too. They had already said goodbye to Robin and co who were inside the house.

    He took deep breaths to calm his beating heart.

    Then took a look once more in his ring to make sure he had everything he needed.

    He had bought a few weapons he would need for his talent to shine it''s brightest.

    He had also finally got to buy the weapon he was the most proficient in, along with a few that would work with his telekinesis.

    He was just done with checking, when the den den mushi by his side started ringing.

    "Hey Brat, It''s time." When he grabbed it the old man''s voice was heard.

    Ian shared a look with Elene before they both grinned and vanished from there in a swirl of shadows.

 Chapter 54 - War of the best(1/?)

    Island of Marineford. In Paradise.

    Marineford is a crescent moon-shaped island that is composed completely of bricks and steel, with cannons on the outer edges. At the back of the island, standing large, tall and proud is the Marine Headquarters building that inspired fear in many pirates hearts. The building is a large multistory ancient Japanese-stylized palace, with the base bearing the kanji for "Marines", with the Marines symbol in between. Around the building''s four cardinal corners is a small mountain with a small building on top and a flag with the Marines'' symbol placed on top of the roofs each.

    Right now it was already announced that Ace will be executed, and all around the world, people voice their opinions on the execution and if the old man Whitebeard will really show up to try to save him. A few doubt his strength due to his old age and the number of the Marine forces ready to stop him. Others, who personally met Whitebeard sometime in their life and even retired from piracy just by being before his presence, think otherwise as they know his strength knows no bounds.

    Sometimes standing in front of someone who reached the peak, would make you lose your dreams and spiral into depression.

    Even children knows of Whitebeard''s raw strength and thus sing a playground song about him. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of Marineford, the city where the families of Marines reside, has been evacuated due to the coming war for their safety. On the Sabaody Archipelago, monitors have been set up to broadcast the execution to its inhabitants. The patrol sh.i.p.s sent to deal with Whitebeard''s advance forces are sunk and never heard from again. Thus, everyone in Marineford is understandably on edge as the three hours until the execution of Portgas D. Ace continues to count down.

    John Giant, who is a vice admiral from the giants'' race, rallies his forces as a staggering one hundred thousand elite troops prepare for battle. Fifty marine sh.i.p.s are stationed around the island with cannons lining the coastline. And at the front line of it all are none other than the remaining seven warlords (Kuma, Moria, Doflamingo, Mihawk and Boa Hanc.o.c.k) with the exception of Jinbei who refused to participate in the war against Whitebeard and was thrown in prison. At the rear of the island, Ace is located atop the execution stand. Watching over him while sitting in chairs at the bottom of the platform, are the three Marine admirals: Kizaru, Akainu, and Aokiji. With this, nearly every justice force imaginable is gathered waiting for Whitebeard to make his move.

    Around the world, the audience is shocked to learn that Roger had a son and that his bloodline lives on to this day from Sengoku''s mouth who had climbed to stand near Ace. Those on Marineford are rendered speechless, though those that know Luffy personally (Hanc.o.c.k, Koby, and Helmeppo) are surprised to find out that Luffy and Ace are not actually related.

    Garp meanwhile continues to think of the past, when he met with Roger in his cell before his execution. Roger explained that he was going to have a son but would not live long enough to see him and personally requested Garp to take care of him, knowing what will happen if either Rouge or Ace are found by the World Government. Garp seemed reluctant at that time to that idea but Roger believed Garp will honor his final request.

    ''In the end¡­ it still comes down to this sigh¡­'' Garp sighed tiredly to himself as vice admiral Tsuru watched him by the side.

    The order is given to prepare for battle as Sengoku looks on surprised at the fleet of pirate sh.i.p.s approaching the base, all being led by pirate captains that have achieved infamy in the New World and have come to support Ace, much to his surprise. The Marines, however, withhold from firing on them, trying to locate Whitebeard himself.

    And then it happened, having coated his ship to appear smack in the center of the bay of the island, the Moby D.i.c.k, as well as three other sh.i.p.s with 14 commanders on board, arrive from underwater, much to the Marines'' surprise. And it was at this time that Ian Appeared among them suddenly from the shadows cast by the mast that no one even remotely noticed. Meanwhile Elene stayed hidden in the shadows to gain an advantage from the start.

    All those who saw Ian, thought he was a new commander of whitebeard. Including the three admirals, Sengoku, and even Garp who knew him from before.

    Whitebeard climbs to the front of his ship as he greets Sengoku, no longer hooked to his medical equipment and ready for battle. He talks to Ace.

    "Just wait for a little bit, Ace" Whitebeard spoke with a smile on his face.

    And Ace, who had been overwhelmed with emotions from the moments the pirates came for him even though it was his fault as he defied his father figure, burst out with a cry,

    "POPS" He yelled as hard as he could.

    Meanwhile Sengoku and the rest were shocked. Not only due to Whitebeard being this close to them from the start thwarting their plans, but also due to how he looked. The old man''s figure appeared robust and filled with life unlike what they had thought from before. Their intelligence related the news that whitebeard was sick. But he sure as hell didn''t look it now that they laid eyes on him.

    As happened at the anime, Ian watched as Whitebeard bent his legs and crossed his arms, before suddenly punching out at the air, cracking it like a mirror.

    ~Crack!

    Immediately after Sengoku spoke towards his marines.

    "Military force alone will not be enough to stop Whitebeard. This man before you, has the power to destroy the world itself." He warned them with a grave voice.

    Aokiji disappeared from his place among the three admirals as he jumped high in the sky.

    "Ice age" Two thin ice lances shot from his arms towards each wave and froze it in a second.

    Ian saw that it was the same as in the anime, the responsibility of the tsunamis were left to Aokiji who fixed the problem with his ice age. Then he went on to freeze the bay along with the pirates'' sh.i.p.s. To which the marines took advantage of to bombard them with cannon fire.

    The pirate captains respond in kind by charging out onto the now frozen bay to do battle. The vice admirals quickly meet them and the fighting quickly reaches chaotic levels.

    Then as reflected in Ian''s eyes, the war of the best had started.

 Chapter 55 - War of the best (2/?)

    Island of Marinford.

    In Paradise.

    Ian calmly watched on from the sidelines as the war had started. He planned on not interfering right now.

    The plan was already worked out among him and the old man. The responsibility of saving Ace was left for him who had the great speed advantage. Meanwhile the old man would wreak havoc and show the world and the marines what it means to anger the world''s strongest man. One that is not plagued by his sickness anymore.

    Ian noticed how Mihawk made the first move among the seven warlords claiming he wants to see the difference in strength between himself and Whitebeard before unsheathing his sword and letting out a tremendous slash that heads straight for the Moby D.i.c.k. However, before it can hit it, Jozu, the third division captain of the Whitebeard Pirates who lives up to his title, runs up covering himself in diamond and intercepts it then deflect it towards the sky.

    Kizaru suddenly made his move, appearing in the air and firing down an array of light beams at Whitebeard. But this was also intercepted, this time by first division commander Marco, who is covered in blue flames after the attack. Marco states that Whitebeard cannot be taken on the first turn, prompting Kizaru to remark on how scary the Whitebeard Pirates are.

    "How fearsome" he spoke out his word slowly as was known about him.

    Though Ian was sure Kizaru was being sarcastic. Among the three admirals and fleet admiral and even Garp, Kizaru was the one he was the most wary about. Especially since Ian''s mission was to retrieve Ace. He could only hope that the guy would not be serious once again as was shown in the anime time and time again.

    Meanwhile from the shadows of the ship they were standing on. Elene was in a comfortable position to shoot her sniper rifle.

    ''As planned, I will only shoot the weaker marines for now.'' She thought to herself as she sniped another marine that was fighting a sword wielding pirate. She did not kill him, rather her shots were more of an assist to the pirate. She shot him the hand which led him to drop his sword, and then the pirate took advantage of that and punched him unconscious.

    For now she will only continue to do this according to her mission in the war.

    Ian was waiting for his chance to start things up. As for what was happening in the war he didn''t pay much attention and only focused on Akainu.

    Then when Akainu made the giant magma fist and it exploded into meteors he finally made his first move.

    He directly spread his telekinesis as far as he can and controlled each magma rock to hit near the marines instead of the pirates, it was only near them and not on them because he did not want to kill them, it was best if the deaths were fewer in this time''s war. Even the ship from whitebeard''s side that was supposed to be destroyed ended up safe.

    However no one noticed it was Ian''s timely intervention that did so. As he was just standing there the same as ever. Of course there was an exception.

    Garp, even if he did not have proof, he knew it had something to do with Ian.

    ''Brat, so you have come too¡­ regardless if you manage to save Ace¡­ you would have my thanks¡­'' His feelings were jumbled all around. He did not want Ace to die, however he also had his principles of justice¡­

    Though Ian actually left one flaming magma rock in the direction of Whitebeard¡­

    ''No way in hell I''ll miss seeing that epic moment in real life haha'' Ian laughed to himself.

    The rock neared the old man soon after to which he actually hit with his naginata then he inhaled a mouthful of air and blew on the rock turning it off in a second.

    "He lit up the place too brightly¡­" Whitebeard spoke to himself.

    "Why don''t you light up birthday cakes instead? Magma brat?" He then sarcastically addressed Akainu with a provoking smile.

    "Heh, don''t you want an illuminated funeral for your death Whitebeard?" Akainu actually smiled as he replied.

    "Hahahaha" Whitebeard laughed, before he swung his weapon and threw the rock on it in the direction of a couple of marines.

    The bombardments of the cannons once again started, and every person was trying hard to stop them. Even Ian made subtle changes in their directions making them miss.

    However One thing that really made Ian mentally tired is the drama events that he thought were just add ins in the anime were actually happening¡­

    Such as Little Oars Jr recklessly advancing to save Ace. Then Ace admonishes him because of his big size he will be an easy target. Even the old man tries to stop him but then relents to his begging. The drama in that though, was how the giant was doing this because Ace made him a hat¡­

    Regardless he had made a path for the pirates to advance. Ian could at least give him a bit of respect.

    From watching all this Ian started getting irritated for when his part will come next. He also noticed that the old man was pretty pissed off about Oars death. A pissed off man with his strength¡­ he may have to pray for the marines.

    The pirates climbed up the giant''s body to enter the bay under whitebeard''s order, meanwhile the old man knew that the marines were planning something.

    Ian saw how Garp climbed up the platform and sat near ace, as he cried for him and admonished him for not choosing the path he chose for him¡­ truly an admirable old man. Ian always liked Garp, and this was one of the moments that he liked in the show.

    "Oi, Garp, if you turn on us now, I would have no pity even for you¡­" Sengoku who felt how Garp was tried to warn him.

    "Hmph, if I was going to do something I would''ve already¡­" Garp replied with a snort as he closed his eyes and bent his head resigned.

    And it was at this moment that Ian looked at the sky. Then everything stopped as everybody turned and saw what was happening. They noticed something falling from the sky.

    After a while they saw people falling along with a broken ship.

    Ian saw the stupid MC of this world among them. Even if he knew it from beforehand it was still both funny and weird watching in real life.

    "ACEEEE" Luffy yelled as he was falling down.

 Chapter 56 - War of the best (3/?)

    Island of Marinford. In Paradise.

    Ian knew that Luffy and the Impel Down escapees were trapped atop one of the frozen tsunami waves created by Whitebeard and Aokiji''s powers.

    He also knew that Luffy will try to talk the others into pushing the boat so that it will slide down the back of the wave. Before they do, though, the Den Den Mushi on board intercepts the order, which is to just ignore the schedule and execute Ace then and there. Whilst panicking, Luffy tells the others that they need to hurry. Ivankov performs Hell Wink in hopes of shoving the battleship off of the wave, but instead of sliding down, it is knocked forward, flipping upside down and sending all of the inmates plummeting towards the sea.

    Which led to this moment as the war momentarily stopped in order to see the falling object, which turned out to be the ship with escapees from impel down on it.

    Through an act of pure fortune, that once again perplexed Ian even if he had seen it before in the anime, the battleship lands in one of the few spots of ocean that remains unfrozen. Although the impact does split the boat in two, those on board fall into the ocean unharmed. Jinbe then hurriedly dives underwater to rescue the fruit users, as the others make their way up onto the wreckage.

    Knight of the Sea, Jinbe. It was Ian''s first time seeing him in real life.

    He saw the he was a large blue whale shark fish-man. He has a stocky build similar to that of a sumo wrestler and a face that is commonly associated with various Japanese demons such as the oni. His yellow eyebrows and sideburns are distinctly shaped like those found on such demons, in addition to a bulb-like nose and an angular lower lip pointing upwards. He has a lightning-shaped scar that can be seen from his left sideburn and reaching over his left eye which he obtained sometime between Otohime''s assassinations and meeting Ace. He also possesses two tusk-like conical lower fangs associated with Oni as well; the rest of his teeth from the upper and lower rows are pretty much the same, albeit much smaller. He also has a severe under bite, which makes room for his huge fangs.

    Then Ian watched on in amazement as the events kept unfolding. With Ace and Luffy greeting each other loudly, And how everybody reacted to this sudden change of events, and Ian noted especially how Akainu had a weird glint in his eyes when he saw Luffy. Like he was determined to kill him today.

    Then Jinbe announced his resigning from the marines'' seven warlords.

    Then Crocodile made the first move finally and approached Whitebeard to attack him from behind.

    But as suddenly as he appeared, he was in a second held from his neck in Ian''s hands. Meanwhile Luffy who tried helping the old man ended up just jumping for nothing.

    "Oi, Luffy, do you think the old man needs help with this weakling or something?" Ian said as he addressed Luffy who looked back at him.

    "Ah it''s you Ian. Did you join the same crew as Ace?" Luffy turned off his gear second and laughed as he spoke. Forgetting about croco boy already.

    "Guh¡­ cough" Crocodile tried to talk but Ian tightened his hands around his neck. He couldn''t even move his fingers as Ian was holding him.

    "Hahaha, what are you doing here Luffy, it''s been a while since we met right? Where are the guys?" Ian played dumb as he redirected the talk elsewhere.

    "They, they were sent but that bear guy, once I save Ace I''ll go save them." Luffy spoke as he remembered them. But now Ace was in danger.

    "Alright." Ian gave a nod, he could see that Luffy was conflicted a bit.

    It was at this time that the old man turned to see Luffy behind him wearing a familiar hat on his head.

    "So you came to save your brother?" Whitebeard Asked.

    "That''s right." Luffy replied. And the old man gave a sidelong glance at Ian.

    Ian had informed him before about this. As such he knew what to do right now.

    "Do you know who you are against in here?" He asked him again in the hope of him understanding the situation. Being dumb and charging ahead, would not do any good. One should know their place. "A squirt like you will be dead meat" He then added as he strikes the ground with the bottom of his weapon.

    "UHh, Shut up. That''s not for you to decide." Luffy yelled.

    "I know what you are trying to do." He said. "You are trying to become the pirate king right? But I''m the one who''ll become the king of the pirates" He ended up with a yell that was heard all around.

    Which showed the old man that the short guy understood nothing about the situation right now. Still he admired his courage even if he felt he was quite stupid too.

    "How cheeky you are" He muttered.

    But he then just stopped talking, and left the responsibility of convincing him to be more aware of who he fights, to Ian.

    "Oi, Luffy, come here." Ian motioned for him to come close.

    When he did Ian started talking.

    "Luffy¡­ you understand your strength right? That bear guy you talked about earlier? He is one of the seven warlords. They are the same in strength as vice admirals you know, now look around and see how many vice admirals you see? Just one made you feel powerless and now you want to charge in between them and save Ace?" Ian said each word slowly.

    Luffy wanted to say something but then he saw the people fighting down there and just shut his mouth. He understood exactly what Ian was saying.

    "I''m not saying you are weak Luffy. It''s just you that you have just begun your journey after all, you still have time to grow even stronger. And also I''m not saying you should just sit here and watch. What I''m saying is for you to use your head for once. When you go down there, don''t run for Ace, as he is protected by the admirals, and if you just charge blindly someone will have to save you then it would disrupts our plans to save Ace. Those are extremely stronger than that Bear guy okay? When you fight just follow some commander from our side and try to help where you can. That''s all I''m saying." Ian then spoke after.

    Ian then gave him time to think.

    And after a few minutes he finally nodded after giving one last look at Ace.

    "Good Luffy, I''m glad you understand. I was even prepared to knock you unconscious. Don''t look at me like that. We have a plan and we should adhere to it by the minute detail, and if you end up wasting our sole chance to save Ace then what will we do?" Ian said. Then when he saw Luffy glare at him he explained.

    "He is right, brat. Always charging in blindly would not do you any good." Whitebeard added from the side.

    "I understand." Luffy nodded. Unlike in the anime, he appeared to be quite understanding.

    In truth the fight with Kuma had left a bit of trauma on him. When he saw his crew vanish one by one in front of him¡­ he knew that at a war with this scale he would just end up messing things up.

    "However, I think there''s something you should know." Luffy then said.

 Chapter 57 - War of the best: Making a move (4/?)

    Island of Marineford. In paradise.

    On the Moby d.i.c.k.

    All the people around were astonished with how the three on the ship appeared to be casually chatting as if equals. What was even more ridiculous was how one of them was holding crocodile by the neck effortlessly in his hands.

    Though none of them could hear what they were talking about.

    Luffy had proceeded to tell them something he had heard. It was an intercepted call from the marines, informing each other that they will forgo the execution time, and do it sooner ahead of the schedule. And Ian who knew this from before just stood there calmly and listened. He had already informed the old man, about anything he knew could happen in the form of suggestions to mask that he knew it from before. One could say he was shameless for playing the smartass role, but Ian had other thoughts¡­ he didn''t want to stumble into something quite serious because he kept all information a secret as such he did what he had to.

    He then turned his attention elsewhere, and left the old man thinking.

    "Oi, you crocodile bastard, you had hurt one mine before, namely Robin, as such I will repay you for that. I will make you engrave it in your mind to not cross Ian Louis or any of his people in the future" Ian said. Before he reached with his energy towards the bastard''s head, then he made him see an illusion with his mind powers. In the illusion he made it so that crocodile dies multiple times, sometimes being innocent and sometimes guilty, each death however was different than the other, in times he was burned, but in others he was cut to pieces slowly¡­ he had spent years of life in what was in reality just a second.

    This was an ability Ian had gotten since he was young, however he did not want to use it on anyone as it left a bad taste in his mouth, but, with people like crocodile and Enel he felt that it was fitting. Though his anger blinded him at that time with Enel, so he didn''t use it. He could also read memories if he focused enough, but he could not influence or change them. Yet.

    In the real world however Crocodile''s eyes turned white as they bled and he convulsed from the mental pain he was undergoing. After a while he lost consciousness, and Ian threw him off the ship in a random direction. He then saw that the one called MR. 1, who had been watching since the moment Ian held Crocodile, running to help him up. Ian just shook his head with a sigh.

    He then noticed how the old man was eying him up sideways.

    "What? He hurt someone from my family you know! Besides this will only teach him not to mess with me or mine" Ian said as he explained things up for him.

    Soon even Marco had joined them after flying down from the sky.

    "Pops. I heard something from the marines. They are planning to execute Ace before the schedule." Marco said as soon he had stepped near them.

    "Oi Ian, are you still not going to move?" Marco was quite agitated as he had heard about the news. And he knew that it was left to Ian to rescue Ace, as such he was urging him to start things up.

    "Calm down, Marco. Ace''s brother has just told us about that." Whitebeard spoke to calm his son as he gave credits to Luffy.

    "Luffy go ahead now. Wreak havoc on them, and you will also find that someone will be helping you. But still don''t get complacent and challenge someone you shouldn''t" Ian said to Luffy.

    "Oh" Luffy gave a nod before he run and jumped off the ship.

    When Ian said that someone will helping Luffy, he meant Elene. It was actually one of the most important missions given to her along with others too. She would be giving him help along with the commander he will be going with. At least until Ian saves Ace, then both brothers would start retreating, and she would focus elsewhere.

    As soon as Luffy hit the crowd he was joined by Jinbe and Ivankov and his people. They soon started engaging the marines strongly. Then Elene got their backs, with the occasional helping hand, or rather shots this time.

    "Marco, you don''t know this, but Ian had already told me of such a possibility of hastening Ace''s execution back when we were discussing our plans. Since it is a pirate on the execution platform, the possibility was quite high" He said.

    As Ian had already told him of what could happen in this war in the form of suggestions to mask that he knew them from before.

    Marco was a bit surprised before he quickly recovered and gave a nod of respect towards Ian.

    "We both also think that it must be part of Sengoku''s plan that we will get some leaked information." Whitebeard then said.

    "He wouldn''t let his enemy discover his plans so easily. He''s not that foolish a person" He added.

    Back in the battlefield Jozu who should have been occupied by crocodile, ended up accompanying Luffy. He then helped him up with the fighting going on. Jozu had already been informed to help straw hat with the fights.

    He then saw how Mihawk stood in their way, and how Jozu acted up against him.

    Ian once again stopped paying any attention to all the drama going on around?? he felt that if he watched anymore he just might snap and start destroying everything. His mission was to save Ace and that would start once Whitebeard gets entangled with the admirals.

    The battle continues to rage on, as the onlookers at Sabaody Archipelago watch on in horror. As the civilians begin to realize that Ace is to be executed early, Sengoku demands that the feed be cut off, so that the civilians would not lose faith in the Marines, as such a tragedy would be too much for them to witness. Sengoku justifies his actions by saying that all they needed to say to the world after the battle was over would be one word: "Victory".

    Suddenly, more battlesh.i.p.s begin to appear from behind. As the pirates note that they are not allies, Whitebeard, Luffy, Ian, and Ivankov recognize those on board: Sentomaru has arrived at the battle, backed up by an army of at least twenty Pacifista. The battle has gone on for an hour and a half, and it is about to enter its final phase.

    Both pirates and civilians look on in horror as the Pacifista arrive, as the only knowledge the pirates had was rumors that Vegapunk had been using human corpses to develop a human weapon. However, they are mystified as to why they are all Kuma.

    Sentomaru tells Kizaru that things were not going according to plan, as the pirates were meant to be all driven into the bay, instead of being scattered as they were. As the pirates hear on, they realize that Whitebeard knew that the Marines were going to pin them all into the bay, and that by telling them to split apart, he had saved their lives.

    Sengoku demands that they continue with the plan, attacking any stragglers that they could reach. Sentomaru asks Kizaru if it is okay if the Pacifista destroy some of the Marine''s battlesh.i.p.s as well, to which Kizaru simply replies that they should not destroy too many.

    Ian gave a sigh as he moved closer to the old man.

    "Although we planned things up, in the actual situation many variables changes constantly. I should make a move right now, or otherwise, this war would carry with it too many deaths." Ian spoke as he moved to the edge and jumped off the ship.

    Leaving the old man overlooking the battlefield as he gave a nod.

 Chapter 58 - War of the best: Raw power (5/?)

    Just as Ian''s feet hit the floor, he pushed at it hard, in the direction of the Pacifista, reaching it barely in a second.

    As Sentomaru commands the Pacifista to begin, a pirate tries to smash one with an enormous club; however, the club shatters on impact against the Pacifista, who retaliates by firing a laser beam from its mouth. But Ian had reached him in time, and grabbed him by the neck as he jumped with him away.

    "Such a weak stupid person, doesn''t belong here¡­'' He thought to himself, as all the Pacifista starts to fire their lasers indiscriminately.

    The marines, fearing for their reputation, started shutting down the cameras. Of course, Ian knew that of them was in the hands of the pirate clown. As such he told the old man to have someone retrieve it in order to air the rest of the war.

    Meanwhile Whitebeard, who was disgusted at the Marines'' willingness to sacrifice their own sh.i.p.s, commands his men to ignore the attacks from the rear and continue onwards to the execution platform.

    "Don''t be afraid, guys. That ''guy'' can take care of the rear." Whitebeard yelled at his men down below.

    "Let''s charge the Plaza without stopping!" He then finished with a loud voice, to which the pirates cheered as they continued their assault.

    Sengoku in return to the old man''s orders tells the Marines to draw back from the ice slowly and to keep the pirates away from the platform at any cost.

    Back to Ian.

    He threw the guy he was holding with a kick in the ass.

    "Idiot, fight someone in your league next time" He muttered as he turned his attention back to the killing machines.

    He stepped closer, and as they were charging another laser shot, Ian suddenly used his energy to catch them all and pull them closer to him, as they had already jumped into a ship full of pirates.

    Once they were close, they all started identifying him and focused on eliminating him.

    Ian sped up towards one, as he c.o.c.ked back his hand. Once near he dodged its laser by a simple head tilt as he punched with his fist in its mid-section. HE did not use his Haki, nor did he use his scaly mode which increases his strength, he only used his body''s raw power.

    He then stepped back, and watched how it became stiff for a few seconds before it suddenly exploded violently, throwing a few of the nearby units back a few meters.

    Not waiting for people to react to that, Ian starts running at the next unit. And as soon as he reached it, he unsheathed his sword in a fast speed before sheathing it back and running at another one. He had already cut it.

    He was so fast that the most people had seen was him putting his hands on his sword, before changing directions to another Pacifista.

    But soon, the original Pacifista had split into two parts as it exploded in a much more smaller scale than the first one he destroyed.

    ''I have reached such a height now, that even these killing machines, are cut like butter from my sword.'' Ian thought amused.

    "Hey you, quit destroying the Pacifista!" The fat guy that was on the marines side, whose name he had forgot, was standing in his way as Ian was heading to destroy another unit.

    He tried attacking Ian, but Ian just dodged his attacks time and time again.

    ''Such a weak guy, heh'' Ian sarcastically thought inside his head.

    He continued dodging him easily as he went around destroying all the units of Pacifista. He couldn''t pay the fat guy much attention until he destroy them all. As once he was entangled with him, the machines would start killing pirates again. And he didn''t want that. It was after all the whole reason he risked the plan for.

    As he destroyed his sixth or seventh one with Sentomaru unable to do anything to him, the admirals and Sengoku finally took notice of his strength¡­

    The old man back at the ship was thankful as he saw Ian take care of the machines. He knew that if he hadn''t done so, a lot of his sons, would end up dead. And he couldn''t do anything about it too. As if he did then all the marines'' will focus on him, including the admirals. And while he was strong the combined attack from all of them will end up tiring him in the end.

    Even now he knew that now that Ian had made his move, the marines would start paying him attention, which would make his mission to save Ace quite harder than before. Of course since he jumped people still thought nothing of him. But once he destroys everything, then even admirals would be wary of him.

    He turned to the side as he saw his son who couldn''t be contacted earlier, Squard, stepping closer to him.

    In his mind, a memory of a talk with Ian was playing. He remembered it as if it was today he had talked with Ian.

    #Flashback#

    "Old man, as much as I know you love your sons¡­ I have to say this." Ian took a deep breath as he prepared what to say.

    "You know how crafty the marines are. They will have many underhanded tactics to use against us." Ian said. "Now think about it carefully old man¡­ what is the thing that is related to you that they could use against you?"

    "Don''t answer yet. Just listen now." He said. "First there is Ace. They could use the hastening of his execution to make you panic. Second, they could use your sons against you. At the very least the ones who don''t like Ace." Ian finally finished and allowed the old man to think about it.

    And after a few minutes he finally nodded his head.

    "I understand. And I''m not so foolish to not have thought of this before. However everybody liked Ace, and I have faith in my sons. Sigh, if I didn''t, their father, then who would?" He said with a tired sigh at the end.

    "Everybody likes Ace, are you sure? Then how about someone who had a problem with Ace''s father Roger?" Ian continued on trying to make more cautious in the war.

    Someone came to mind in the old man''s mind. But he tried to trust in his son.

    "He could from time to time vanish in the battlefield and no one can contact him¡­ then suddenly he''ll come towards you¡­ all I''m saying is that you should be more cautious. The hardest blows to guard are the ones you do not expect to come after all." Ian said his final piece, as he started walking back to his room.

    Back to the present.

    When the old man thought about it, everything was going on as Ian had said it could happen.

    His son Squard had vanished when he tried to contact him, and now instead of leading the pirates below like the hot-blooded person he usually was, he was here near him.

    ''Squard, I really hope that it is just an old man being suspicious of his son, and it''s not really your fault¡­'' Whitebeard would rather take the blame of being wary of his own son, than for his son to really betray him¡­

    "Squard. I''m glad you are alright." He genuinely said.

 Chapter 59 - War of the best: Troubles ahead (6/?)

    Island of Marineford. In Paradise.

    Squard who started walking towards the old man replied.

    "Just barely." He said.

    "I see. I was calling for you a while ago. How is it in the bay head now?" Whitebeard said. He tried to get the thoughts of betrayals out of his head. But he did not lower his guard for even a second. From the moment that his son replied he knew that something was wrong with him.

    "The allies were beaten badly. I made it here because I found the way quickly." Squard thought for a few seconds before he gave his reply.

    Whitebeard gave a small nod.

    "Sengoku has no mercy. He''s using all the forces he has to defeat us." He then said.

    "Pops, did you notice what the navy was up to?" Squard asked as he nodded to his father figure.

    Once again the old man nodded.

    "I have known Sengoku for a long time." He said.

    With Squard staying silent for a bit before saying.

    "I see."

    "It''s better for us if they''re gonna attack us from the rear. I''m gonna go forward too, we gotta invade without stopping" He said to his son.

    Then with his senses active he noticed how Squard was nearing him.

    ''So it has come to this¡­'' The old man knew something was wrong, and now he was finally sure that his son was going to betray him.

    Squard continued to say that there was about 43 captains here. And how they are all in his debt. And how they risk their lives for him¡­

    Whitebeard thanked him but tried to tell him of the situations to which Squard replied that he knew that they were fighting to save a family member of Whitebeard. And how the old man would never abandon one of his family, and that everyone followed him to this hell because he was such a person. He then muttered to himself about wanting to be part of that family¡­

    Before he suddenly started to run with his now unsheathed sword. Once he was near the old man he tried to impale him in the chest with the sword.

    But to his great horror, a hand caught the sword no matter how fast the attack had been. And though the hand was bleeding a bit, the wound was not that serious.

    Suddenly these series of actions were seen all around the world by the snail in the hands of the whitebeard crew after they took it from the clown. In the battlefield, for a few seconds, utter silence permeated the surroundings.

    The old man pushed the sword away as he looked at his son. He had a look of shock all over his face. He expected it but it was still a shock once it came to be.

    Marco furiously came down from the sky as he held down Squard and pinned him from his head and questioned him for his reason.

    "Why, Why would you do that, answer me!! Squard!!" Marco yelled at him.

    Squard then stands up as Marco went to check on the old man. Squard then said that it was their fault it happened. As Whitebeard''s other subordinate crews continue to take attacks from the Pacifista, Squard claims that he knew about Whitebeard''s "deal with the Marines". He also berates Whitebeard for not telling him that Ace was the son of Gold Roger, whom he deeply loathed for the massacre of his crew by Roger''s hand. He also claims that Whitebeard sold out his subordinate crews, as his deal with Sengoku was that he, his crew, and Ace would be allowed to be set free, as long as all of the other pirate captains died. He then states that although he was lucky to manage to get an attack in on Whitebeard, he was ready for his death as punishment.

    Marco tells Squard that he was tricked, and that he should''ve trusted Whitebeard.

    "Kill me." Squard told the old man, as he was ready.

    "It''s true that Ace is Roger''s son. And they used that fact to their advantage, tricking the one man who would be most angered by that fact. Their strategy was a notch above ours" The old man finally spoke to the panting Squard.

    "You know what you have done, right, Squard?" He added as he raised his left hand.

    "You tried to hurt your father''s with a sword"

    "YOU ARE SUCH A STUPID SON" he then yelled at him at the end as he shot his hand towards Squard who shut his eyes in fright.

    But soon he found out the old man was hugging him.

    "However even if you are stupid, you are still the son I love" He said.

    Ian who was still hunting the Pacifista units couldn''t help but mutter to himself.

    "What''s with all the drama¡­" he said.

    Soon though he noticed how Sengoku told Aokiji to take care of him. He then couldn''t help but think to himself how things have become so troublesome. Though it was understandable as the machines were supposed to be a trump card for them.

    Back to Squard he tries to once again question the old man¡­ but he asks him who turned his loyal self against him.

    Squard reveals that it was Akainu, who had stated that he was opposed to the plan to spare Whitebeard, and that Squard should kill him while he had the chance. Whitebeard states that he knew how much Squard hated Roger, but that it was foolish to hold children accountable for the sins of their fathers, and that Squard and Ace, as his family, should be friends. Leaving Squard crying to himself in shame.

    He then proceeded to the front of the ship as he took position to use his signature attack as he spoke.

    "How ridiculous it is to say that I sold my sons." To dispel the wavering doubt beginning to grow within the other captains, Whitebeard shatters the frozen waves with his Devil Fruit powers, giving his subordinate crews a route to escape if they so choose. Whitebeard claims that those who call themselves pirates should choose for themselves what to believe. Witnessing the act of selflessness, the other captains'' faith in Whitebeard is instantly renewed.

    Whitebeard considers to himself that, although people may call him weak, a demon, or a monster, he is only one man with one heart, and as he cannot be the "strongest" forever, he should be allowed to raise one young life for the future.

    "Those of you who''ll follow me, be prepared to lay down your life for it" He yelled the pirates below.

    Before he suddenly starts running and jumps down the ship. Making Sengoku warn the marines about how the strongest man in the world was going to run wild now.

    "Let''s go" The old man yelled with a grin.

 Chapter 60 - War of the best: Akainu is injured (7/?)

    As Whitebeard charges into battle, all of his crew and subordinate crews follow behind and tries to open a path for him. John Giant the marine''s vice admiral, then appears on the front line, ready to stop or rather delay Whitebeard and his crew as his and Whitebeard''s weapons clash with the old man yelling at him to move from the way.

    Whitebeard then surprises the giant by causing an earthquake so massive, after letting go of his weapon and grabbing the air with two hands, that the entire island tilts to one side. As the Marines starts panicking, Doflamingo laughs about how insane Whitebeard power is, while Hanc.o.c.k continues to care only for Luffy''s safety. Whitebeard then delivers a quake-imbued punch to John Giant''s chest, defeating him.

    That single punch was so strong that it unearthed the ice on its way to the execution platform. But dust was raised and people couldn''t see anything for a few seconds.

    As onlookers wonder why the quakes are not effecting the execution platform, they see that the three admirals are somehow holding it together while holding both their hands outward, as the three of them banter about how it is each other''s fault that the wall is not up yet to trap the pirates.

    Aokiji looks to the side where Ian was and sees him continuing to destroy the Pacifista as if the old man had done nothing. Truly a warrior, he did not stop in the middle of the war to see stupid events unfolding.

    He had been ordered to go take care of him, but at the last second when Sengoku saw the old man attacking he ordered him to stay his place.

    As the pirates finally make it towards the city, dozens of walls shoot up from the ground, blocking their path. As much as the pirates try to attack it, the wall will not budge. Cannons emerge from the walls, preparing to fire. However, one wall near the front remains open; Oars'' body is blocking the wall''s path, and his blood has interfered with the system. Although the situation is not ideal, Sengoku commands Akainu to attack anyway; Akainu then uses ''Meteor Volcano'', causing a storm of flaming fists to rain down upon the pirates.

    Back to Ian. Since he noticed Aokiji was not coming, he doubled his speed, and proceeded to devastate the Pacifista completely.

    At first he still considering how much to show off of his strength at this point, but to avoid the worst he would double his efforts for now. He knew things were about to get real soon.

    With his now faster speed he continued destroying them with one slash of a sword and attacking the farther ones with flying slashes. In a minutes he cleared the same as he had done before while avoiding the fat guy, who incidentally until now was still not giving up on stopping Ian.

    He also noticed as the three admirals stopped the old man''s attack and how Aokiji looked at him.

    Now only seven were left. He proceeded to finish them off while occasionally stepping sideways and avoiding an axe attack that came suddenly.

    Once he was done, he turned to look at the guy who made him irritated.

    "Bastard, if I wasn''t pressured for time, do you think I will let you chase me around like a dog?" Ian muttered as he raised his hands and Pulled at the fat guy.

    [Pull]

    Instantly the fat guy was suspended in the sky in front of Ian with a look of horror on his face. He couldn''t move a muscle. Earlier he thought Ian was weak and kept taunting him to stop and fight¡­ only now did he know that he was the weak one.

    Ian considered making him feel some pain, but shook his head in a second. He was not a bad person like Doflamingo and Enel¡­ he didn''t deserve that much pain. And Ian was not an evil person¡­

    [Throw]

    So he just made him lose consciousness by a chop at the neck. He then threw him at the far side away from the pirates and near the marines. This way he wouldn''t die, but would be given medical care.

    He then came to witness Akainu''s ongoing godly attack.

    ''Truly the war of the best'' Ian couldn''t help but think to himself as he witnessed the sky turning red.

    A storm of flaming fists was raining down upon the pirates. It covered the whole area the pirates were standing on. And the same area the other admiral had frozen at the start of the war.

    However Ian was not going to let Akainu do as he pleases at this time.

    First he started with their secret weapon, and now he was going to stop this attack. Discreetly though.

    [Shave]

    He used ''Shave'' and stepped back on the Moby d.i.c.k. Then he sat down and started breathing roughly. Of course all of this was fake. He was going for this tactic to divert the attention, of what he was going to do next, from him.

    Then he released his Energy to the max, he even used his scaly mode to boost his power. Then he started controlling the flaming fists and directed them with slight difficulty towards the far end of the sea he could see.

    However, Akainu was still shooting the flaming fists into the sky. As such Ian closed his eyes for a second as he tried to sense for Elene''s whereabouts. Once he found her, he saw she was on the top of the mast in the crow''s nest hiding and shooting discreetly from the shadows. He gave her the signal they had agreed upon from before.

    She then nodded.

    She focused quite a bit of shadow energy into one bullet, then she aimed at Akainu''s shoulder and shot it. The bullet had the effect that it will slow down the person shot, until he losses feeling in the place it hit. Of course there was a time limit of one minute. Which is much higher for weaker people. Of course the bullet was infused with Haki in order to be able to hurt him.

    Once the shot was made, Akainu lost his focus and cancelled his attack as he tried to dodge the attack he felt but didn''t know from where would come, but it was futile as he suddenly clutched his right shoulder in pain. He even slowly started losing the feeling in it. He frantically looked around for the culprit as he stepped back wary of another shot made.

    Ian then finally channeled all the remaining Meteors towards the sea where they solidified into rocks and sank into the bottom.

    All of this happened in a few seconds, leaving none the wiser. Except the old man who knew of Ian''s ability.

    Meanwhile, Sengoku was raging around trying to find the culprit who was destroying his plans. He even considered Ian, but Aokiji stepped up and pointed at Ian who was roughly breathing at the ship. Aokiji told him that he had been keeping an eye on him and saw him as he was tired from the fight with the Pacifista. Sengoku tried looking for other suspects, but didn''t forget to tell Aokiji to deal with Ian so that he would not deal them more damage, as even the act of destroying the Pacifista should have been stopped.

    ''Ian really have done us a huge favor this time¡­'' Whitebeard thought to himself.

    ''They trapped us in these fortified walls, and were going to open fire on us with the cannons, along with the sky attack that will destroy us and leave us with no place to stand on, while simultaneously being destroyed from the back by those robots¡­ I will make sure to thank him well at the end of this'' He then promised himself that he will be an ally towards Ian from now on.

 Chapter 61 - War of the best: The hidden ship (8/?)

    Akainu stood there vigilant with his hair standing on ends. There was someone who could quite possibly kill him before he would even know. Though he couldn''t be sure as even if the shot had hurt his right shoulder, he knew it was not enough to take him out. But still if it was shot at his head¡­ he wasn''t sure he wanted to take that risk.

    ''I had thought that I had to be wary only of the old man¡­ perhaps the shooter is the same person who stopped my attack'' He thought inside his mind.

    He turned to see his fellow admirals standing on edge as they too had noticed the level of threat they were dealing with this time.

    Sengoku, ordered them all to stay alert.

    Meanwhile with Whitebeard.

    He was boiling in anger as he noticed what the marines were trying to do. He knew that if Ian was not here, his sons were going to die in huge numbers¡­ and that was exactly what made him angry. He swore that he was going to teach Sengoku a huge lesson. One that would make him never dare to mess with him ever again.

    He c.o.c.ked his right arm back as he punched the air, shooting a shockwave at the steel walls that were inclosing them.

    Though the hit was absolutely strong it did nothing but leave a dent in the wall. However the old man only laughed at this and was not discouraged.

    ''If I had been still sick, then I could do nothing about those walls, but now haha, even my weakest strike did that much damage¡­ still we have a better chance with the plan we had made earlier.'' The old man thought to himself. He was someone who was in the peak power levels of this world, if such a wall stopped him then he might as well just commit suicide¡­

    Suddenly his pupils constricted as he heard Sengoku yelling.

    "We''re going to proceed with the next part of the plan even if the plan isn''t going exactly well. We''ll now be proceeding to execute, Portgas D. Ace." Sengoku said using the snail speaker.

    The old man turned to look at Ian, who gave him a nod as he noticed.

    Ian knew that there was no crocodile to save Ace this time. That guy is still unconscious after all, so it would be left to him.

    Whitebeard understood the meaning behind that nod. It was the intent to continue with the plan and leave the rest to him.

    They had in fact discussed things happening in this way before the war. And the old man had so much trust in Ian that he didn''t even panic for Ace as he saw the two executioners getting ready.

    Behind the old man, Luffy also saw this and yelled in panic.

    "Aceeeeee" Luffy.

    The old man heard him but kept silent as he prepared his plan to move forward.

    Suddenly much to the shock of the old man, Oars who he thought had already died started standing up from the ground.

    And Kizaru who saw that started charging up a lethal shot while aiming at Oars'' head. The old man didn''t want that but he couldn''t do anything from here¡­ but his worry soon was stopped as he saw Kizaru stepping backwards hurriedly and dodging a bullet covered in a dark energy.

    If he wasn''t a devil fruit eater who ate the light-light fruit, perhaps he wouldn''t have been able to dodge.

    Sengoku who saw this yelled to continue with the execution hurriedly, as they couldn''t afford to waste time.

    But as the blades were going down, as soon as they reached a close distance to Ace they shattered as if there was a barrier stopping them in place. The two executioners were thrown from the rebound shock. They were only normal people as such they were unconscious soon after. Sengoku yelled for replacements.

    Then the old man yelled for the pirates to charge as he run with them.

    And they did. No questions asked.

    But once they reached close the wall to oars, the old man who was at the lead suddenly swung his arm downwards and released a shockwave that destroyed a part of the ice in a circular fashion.

    All the marines that were looking started wondering what he was doing.

    Ian who was ''resting'' for a while, jumped down from the Moby d.i.c.k as he too started running with the occasional ''shave'' to reach the old man faster. He knew that they were going into the plaza next as such he was boiling with excitement.

    Once he reached the other people he suddenly jumped up into the hole the old man made, from which suddenly came another coated ship that was hidden underwater all this time.

    Once the ship was close to the single wall that wasn''t up, Oars lifts the ship into the air and pulls it through the hole he created earlier as attempted to save Ace. And as the pirates prepare to storm the stage, Oars takes cannon fire, causing him to collapse once more, or so would have happened if Ian didn''t shield him from the fire.

    He then used his mind powers to make Oars sleep from tiredness before he used his energy to lift him and put him back along with their sh.i.p.s, away from the war. He would attempt to heal him later, but for now he had other important things to do.

    Whitebeard gave him a thankful but indiscernible nod, before he commands his children to stay away as he swings his weapon in a circle, knocking away all of the Marines in his path.

    This was one of his abilities. Using his quake powers on top of his weapon and swinging it releasing a shockwave, which was what had knocked the marines.

    "You guys, save Ace!! And lay waste to the marines!!" The old man raised his right hand upwards as he yelled to the sky.

    "OOUUHHHH" They all shouted back.

    And as they run ahead of him, he attempted to attack with the same attack, but Kizaru sped up to attack him first.

    And as the attack was near, suddenly Jozu interrupted it by attacking Kizaru.

    Meanwhile Aokiji made a beeline towards Ian as was ordered by Sengoku.

    Ian knew that there was no helping it so, he jumped at him too.

    Aokiji released Ice from both his hands as he attempted to trap Ian in a block of Ice, but Ian easily dodged it, and used ''shave'' to appear near him and delivered a kick to his neck. In speed, Ian was confident other than Kizaru, that none will be his match.

    Aokiji thought that he''ll just turn into ice and the kick will pass by him, but he was wrong as he was shot to the ground resulting in an explosion. The most basic form of Haki was colorless, but it still left you able to touch Logia fruit eaters.

    And when Ian made contact with the ground he used ''shave'' once again to go near Aokiji''s downed form.

    He saw how he had a bit of blood on his face. Aokiji conjured a bunch of ice arrows and released them in a bid to buy time, but Ian just waved his hands releasing a shockwave that shattered them up. His goal in pursuing him right now was to incapacitate him quickly and go save Ace. At that time he would still have either Garp or Sengoku to worry about. Or it could be both.

    Ian disappeared from Aokiji''s face and appeared behind him c.o.c.king back his left hand. Still Aokiji was not an admiral for nothing, with his observation Haki he guarded his left side with both hands as he conjured a shield.

    The battle of Marineford was getting more exciting by the second.

 Chapter 62 - Notice!

    Hey guys so i wanted to ask you something.

    since i started writing this, i have been waiting for the chance to make a p.atreon for you to help me.

    Only for those of you who can and are willing to support me. the content will still stay public, and the p.atreon will only be for support. anything i share there would be free.

    the only thing is that those of you who can spare a bit of money, can support me there by donating.

    so my question is this. Since there is currently almost 4000 collection for my novel, will any of you support me? Should i make a p.atreon? i know that many of you don''t like commenting but please give me your opinion this time. like you all know, a lot of people are tight for money and i''m not any different. i work and write, but if i can get some support from you i''ll be able to focus on writing.

 Chapter 63 - War of the best: The plan to save Ace had started (9/?)

    With Ian and Aokiji.

    Ian knew that the guy was not as strong as him. Neither in power, or in speed.

    But the stamina of an admiral was, well, one could say immense. Not to mention that their destructive ability is top notch.

    However if you can''t catch your opponent then your power doesn''t matter.

    It was this conclusion that Aokiji reached as he kept battling Ian.

    He had been shooting ice spears and arrows¡­ trying to freeze him¡­ shooting ice pillars from the ground¡­ but none of his attacks made contact, and the ones that did Ian shattered with a wave of his hand.

    The more Aokiji got engaged in the fight the more he felt like he was not suited for this fight. He felt like one of his fellow admirals would be more appropriate.

    He turned his eyes to the side briefly as he saw a dust curtain raise giving him a few seconds of breathing space.

    The problem with having one of his allies helping however is¡­ his fellow admirals were in a pinch too, just like him. If they were not having it even worse than him.

    ****

    Kizaru attempted to fire a light beam at whitebeard, but he put his weapon in the middle of the beam splitting it and blinding the surrounding momentarily. But it didn''t deter Whitebeard at all, as he immediately followed with his weapon and hit Kizaru. But he dodged at the last second by reforming a bit of distance away. But one could see a bit of blood on his left arm. It appears that he was not fast enough.

    Akainu tried to cover for his friend as he enlarged his fist made from manga and got close thinking to himself of using close combat which he was known for and battle it out. Sadly for him the moment he got close, the old man rushed at him in speeds someone not using ''shave'' shouldn''t be able to reach.

    In a second he was near him, and Akainu reacted immediately as he punched, which was preemptively pushed aside with Whitebeards weapon, then the old man followed by a punch filled with quake power that tried to hit him in the head. His fellow admiral tried helping by shooting multiple beams, but all were dodged by the very much healthier than they were expecting old man. Which resulted in the punch connecting and releasing a shockwave.

    Akainu was launched a huge distance away. And Whitebeard didn''t stay idle, he jumped at Kizaru soon after as he had a bloodthirsty smile on his face.

    ''I haven''t been able to let loose like this in years¡­'' He thought to himself.

    Sengoku who was watching from above with clenched teeth, couldn''t help but notice how with each move the old man made he was getting closer and closer to the platform.

    He wanted to get the warlords to help stop him, but with one look at them, he saw how they and the rest of the admirals were getting pressed by the commanders and pirates charging. That left only him and Garp that were able to head on take the old man¡­ but Garp was confused for now, and he had to direct the war from above.

    The old man, Whitebeard, was using Haki, which was something they expected him to not be able to use due to old age and sickness.

    Those same admirals that were known for their strength throughout the world¡­ the aces of the marines¡­ the supposedly counter that are keeping the balance with the four great pirate emperors.. Were now having such a hard time against even one of those four emperors. Granted he had the title of the strongest¡­ but still he made them stay on edge¡­ so much that if Aokiji wasn''t entangled with Ian he would go and help them up. But even then he knew that their chances are not looking good.

    For the first time in this war, Aokiji knew they f.u.c.k.i.e.d up badly.

    "Oi, Oi, what are you spacing out for in the middle of the fight?" A sudden kick to the head greeted Aokiji as he had been sort of in a trance for a while. And Ian took advantage of it as he kicked him and followed him and reached the place he was going to hit before him and kicked him again, this time to the sky.

    Ian had been increasing his strength as the fight was going on. After all he didn''t want to use all his power from the get go, and result in some gruesome death by explosion or something. Though as time went on, he knew that he was more powerful physically than Aokiji but probably only equal to Akainu.

    So it was with this kick that Aokiji finally felt the power contained in Ian. He was thrown to the sky and was falling back down. But he couldn''t move for a few seconds from the pain he felt at that moment as he coughed up some blood from his mouth.

    When he fell to the ground Ian had been waiting for him with his sword drawn as he released a powerful X shaped flying attack that pushed Aokiji in the direction of Whitebeard. But with the injuries he had sustained he had no way to follow him now that the old man will be on to him.

    "OOOHHHHH" There was a cheer from the surrounding pirates as they finally saw how strong Ian was. It gave them the courage to continue fighting.

    Ian watched that as soon as Aokiji stood up from the ground he had to dodge a strike made by the old man, his facial features changed to one of irritation. He knew that he now couldn''t afford to not pay attention to the old man for even a second or that one brief moment would be exploited.

    Ian had been assured by the old man that he can go on with the plan as discussed and this was a vital part of it.

    But the most important thing is what happens next. What he had to do in the next few moments.

    Ian inhaled a deep breath of air and exhaled, as he mentally prepared to start. He set his gaze onto Sengoku and Garp. Ian was not in the emperor realm like the old man. He was only near that. As such and even if he knew that the combined effort of the three admirals wouldn''t be able to overwhelm him, he still wouldn''t be able to injure them, and only stay dodging them. And the same could be said about facing Sengoku and Garp, the two legendary marines. But he knew that Garp would let him save Ace, just like he let Luffy in the anime.

    He activated his scaly mode, for the boost it gave, and got into position.

    In a second he used ''shave'' and kicked the ground twenty times instead of the usual 10, leaving the only people capable of seeing him being Sengoku, Garp, and the admirals.

    But Garp wasn''t really focused. And Sengoku got into position to intercept Ian.

    The admirals were pressed to fight, however, and unfortunately for Ian, the addition of Aokiji to the fight, left a certain someone able to breathe a bit easier. Meaning he could chase after Ian.

    Kizaru reformed in front of the path of Ian and tried firing in his direction, but all Ian did was smile at him as he, for the first time, went past 20 steps reaching 31 and stepping over the air, which made him pass straight through Kizaru-the only one who was able to see him even with his speed- while in the way he threw as hard as he could with his power and telekinesis his sword covered in a colorless Haki at Kizaru so that he won''t follow him.

    Kizaru even as fast as he was, was still able to be attacked in surprise. He had even stated in many times how he hated to find opponents who held up their sleeves a surprising move or a powerful trump card. He was also known to be careless in fights, which lead to Ian passing by him, and attacking him after.

    The attack hit him as he covered his hands in light conjuring a sword to guard, but the sheer power behind it left his hands open and threw him to the ground.

    Meanwhile Ian who had suddenly vanished from everyone''s eyes, appeared behind Sengoku with A c.o.c.ked arm that appeared to be black up until the shoulder.

    Ian punched Sengoku so hard in the direction of the old man, that Sengoku made a crater in the ground as he landed.

    ''The plan to save Ace had started'' Ian, whitebeard, and all the commanders thought to themselves.

    Ian exhaled a breath. As he looked at Garp who was standing there in shock apparently, as he had just noticed how everything was going wrong.

 Chapter 64 - War of the best: Vs Garp(10/?)

    Ian who had suddenly vanished from everyone''s eyes, appeared behind Sengoku with A c.o.c.ked arm that appeared to be black up until the shoulder. And Sengoku was not able to react at all.

    Ian punched Sengoku so hard in the direction of the old man Whitebeard, as discussed in their plan from before, that Sengoku made a crater in the ground as he crashed.

    All around the battlefield silence rained. Nobody was expecting this. They were left flabbergasted. The marines started panicking as their leader was attacked while the pirates rejoiced for being close to their goal of saving Ace.

    ''The plan to save Ace had started'' Ian, whitebeard, and all the commanders thought to themselves in unison the moment Sengoku was taken care of.

    Ian exhaled a breath. As he looked at Garp who was standing there in shock, apparently as he had just noticed how everything was going wrong. He had been out of focus, but it appeared that he had snapped out of it.

    But for Ian using more than 30 steps in his ''shave'' was not without consequences. His internal organs had ruptured, and for a few seconds, he was almost about to fall unconscious. Until his regeneration started taking effect and healed him.

    Things had already changed much from the anime by this time as Ian noticed. The admirals were struggling against Whitebeard, barely able to keep up. Which left the commanders against the vice admirals who were closer to their powers, unlike in the anime where they were beaten by the admirals in relative ease.

    Of course Marco and Jozu were quite stronger but they still did not reach the rank of the admirals.

    The pirates at the lead were charging and nearing the execution platform by the second. All as discussed in the plan.

    As once Ian saves Ace, they will be covering their backs as they retreat to the sh.i.p.s. That was the reason they are charging madly now and attacking in rage.

    Still Ian noticed from the corner of his eyes, how Whitebeard was having the time of his life. While the admirals were struggling against him.

    He was guarding their attacks with ease and delivering devastating blows back making them retreat a distance away, which gave the old man the chance to attack all the weak marines who only had their numbers.

    And this had dealt the marines a huge blow, as they couldn''t keep up with the attack of the pirates if Whitebeard kept taking them out.

    Originally it was not like this. As Kizaru had been there. And with three admirals, whitebeard was kept in check. Well mostly, as sometimes his attacks would still be able to take out the marines surrounding them, but it was not as bad as it was right now.

    Now Aokiji and Akainu could only hope for either him to comeback rapidly or for Sengoku to join them in the fight. And to their relief it was Kizaru who hurriedly came back to help them keep up with the old man shortly after. He had seen how Ian was close to saving Ace, but he deemed it more important to take care of the old man first and foremost. He also believed that Garp was more than enough to stop Ian.

    But what they didn''t know was, that this whole chain of events was planned by Ian and Whitebeard.

    Back to Ian and Garp. A couple of minutes had passed with the two just standing there watching each other. And though it may look silly, one was in a bit of a pinch, while the other was vigilant from any sudden moves.

    Garp finally couldn''t wait anymore and yelled at him.

    "If you want to save ace, you''ll have to do it over my dead body!" he said as he stood there waiting for Ian to move.

    But all Ian did was give a smile. Both at the old man''s resolve. And at the fact that he was finally healed completely from his injuries.

    The moment he was healed, he used ''shave'' to close in on the old man.

    But Garp was not a hero of the marines for nothing. He was able to keep up with Ian''s speed easily.

    The two met in the sky, and their punches connected to each other as they both hurriedly took them back as Ian actually felt that his arm might break if he kept pushing, while Garp felt the same way.

    Garp was a bit shocked as this was the attack he was famous for all around the world, even if he was not using Haki, but Ian was the same. All around the world he was known for his fist power. But Ian easily matched him.

    Granted Ian was using his scaly mode that boosted his strength, otherwise he would refrain from using power to combat power.

    Ian couldn''t afford to waste any more time. But he couldn''t use ''shave'' past 30 steps again, as he wouldn''t be given time to heal after. But without it they were equal in speed. And his telekinesis was not working at all. And Ian knew that it was because Garp had been coating his whole body in colorless Haki.

    Which left him with one option. Other than to attack his mind.

    And that was Gravity.

    He increased the pressure as much as he could on Garp, and then used ''shave'' to disappear in front of him and appear at his back.

    Garp was moving much slower than before, but couldn''t figure out why.

    Although a normal increase in gravity wouldn''t be able to affect him much, this time Ian had increased it as much as he could. And this increase left even him -under scaly mode- much slower than before. Not to mention Garp who was already pretty old.

    Once Ian was at his back, he c.o.c.ked both his hands at his waist, as he charged his power.

    Before suddenly throwing his hands forward and releasing a combined shockwave that sent Garp through the sky and made him crash very far away. One could even see that he threw up blood while in the sky.

    This was the secret seventh technique that far surpasses the other six primary techniques of the marines.

    The six King Gun.

    Ian turned back towards the person he was here to save as soon as he landed. And their eyes met.

 Chapter 65 - War of the best: Ace is free (11/?)

    Ian had taken care of Garp, for a short while anyway. He had used the six king gun, which was a devastating attack on its own. But coupled with the ever increasing power of Ian it would become an even deadlier attack.

    Garp was launched away from the platform to the sky, and would take a while to both recover from the attack and to come back.

    Meanwhile Ian turned his head to the side and shared a look with Ace as their eyes met.

    ****

    On the battlefield. Everybody was flabbergasted. The normal marines were shocked that Garp was that easily taken care of. Meanwhile the admirals saw a new power from Ian, the mysterious person who was giving them much trouble. They clearly noticed how he had slowed down Garp a lot. As for the six king Gun they had already read that in the report about him.

    The three of them shared a look, and nodded at the same time. They wanted to give an opportunity to Kizaru to go stop him before he does something else. But the old man started pressuring them even more than before, which left them stumped.

    But they once again gained hope, in the form of Sengoku running towards Ian with a furious look on his face. He had been launched a bit of distance away earlier by Ian, and when he recovered he was kept busy by two annoying commanders until he took care of them after a while and was coming back now as fast as he could.

    Unfortunately for him. A certain strongest person in the world didn''t agree with his decision.

    Whitebeard as soon as he saw Sengoku running, kicked the ground and arrived at his path in a shocking show of speed. He had his arm c.o.c.ked and filled with quakes power, but Sengoku was able to dodge as he was not a weak person.

    However that was exactly what the old man had been gunning for.

    He did not want to hit him with that attack. Rather he wanted to keep him busy and stop him from reaching Ian.

    The three admirals followed behind him trying to make use of the opportunity presented to them with Whitebeard leaving his guard open.

    All three of them released their attacks at him shortly after.

    "Ice Mass: Raving Pheasant Beak" Connecting to, possibly being the source of, Aokiji''s epithet Blue Pheasant, Aokiji released a massive wave of ice in the shape of a pheasant in a single blast and then launched it at the old man Whitebeard.

    "Hound Crimson Lotus" Akainu created a wave of magma shaped like a fanged dog head and launches it against the old man.

    "Yasakani Sacred Jewel" Kizaru crossed his arms in front of him and used both hands to fire a torrent of deadly light particles, causing extreme damage to whatever they hit. It was an attack that he can control the spread of, either limiting it to a single person or covering an extremely wide area. It also has great piercing properties. In this case, as obvious as it was, he limited its range only to Whitebeard.

    But the old man punched the air in front of him, shattering the ice pikes, the magma hound and the light particles and releasing a huge shockwave in the way. The Old man came out unscathed much to the annoyance of the admirals. They had been attacking like that for a while now, without any visible effect.

    Whitebeard however, had plans he had to get done with. Now that Ian had made it this far, he had to keep the admirals and Sengoku away from him. But try as he might with him keeping four people in check, one would be able to slip past him. So he made the decision to take one out now and leave him incapacitated.

    And his eyes fell on Aokiji.

    Though the admiral might not know, but whitebeard had noticed how he was making the air around him frigid in order to slow him by freezing the surrounding area. For using his mind in attacking, he had gained the old man''s recognition. But unfortunately, he had to retire from this fight, as he was essentially the weakest of the group.

    Whitebeard released with his weapon another quake imbued attack at them making them jump a bit away and separate from each other.

    Then he used the same speed as before to appear in front of Aokiji who was able to react and was about to attack too, but a sudden sniper shot caught him by surprise in the right side of his chest making it hard for him to breath for a second.

    ''Shit, I forgot about the hidden sniper¡­ I won''t be able to dodge the old man now'' Aokiji cursed as he saw the old man coming to attack him.

    And the old man took advantage of that as he used his quake power on his right hand and punched at the admirals head with so much force that the space around his head started to distort.

    The admiral was shot to the ground in a brutal way. But the old man was not done, he once again c.o.c.ked his arm back, before releasing it again, but this time at his chest. Effectively knocking out the admiral.

    And after that he stepped back from the oncoming attacks of the other admirals and Sengoku, who noticed something was wrong, but sadly for Aokiji, until it was too late.

    And just like that the old man''s plan was done. He got rid of Aokiji, and could now keep up with the remaining two admirals and Sengoku. While Ian could do what he had to do with ease.

    "Hahaha" The old man laughed from excitement. He did not have this much fun fighting since years ago.

    ****

    Back to Ian.

    He was able to see the visible shock in Ace''s eyes. But he just smiled at him as walked briskly towards him. He did not need any keys whatsoever as usual as he took his handcuffs off. He was able to unlock the locks with his telekinesis.

    Ace stood there in shock as he looked at his hands fixed in his place. Until Ian addressed him.

    "Ace, let''s go, we don''t have much time." Ian said as brought him back from his shock. He could understand what he was feeling, but this was a war, anything could happen at any given time.

    Ace gave a nod.

    "Thank you for saving me. And you''re right. Let''s go" He didn''t question Ian anymore, or even ask for his name he just started running after him, enjoying the feeling of wanting to be alive, and finally being free to rejoin his pops.

 Chapter 66 - War of the best: retreat (12/?)

    On the battlefield.

    Luffy who was battling a vice admiral with the help of Blamenco, saw how Ace was saved and was coming towards them.

    He finally smiled a little. He had been extra tired from all the events that happened today for him. And once he saw Ace, he regained a bit of vigor, and reentered the fight against the vice admiral. Granted the rank was high for the current him, but with the help of this commander he had been able to make use of his abilities to take down many marines, and this vice admiral was soon going to join them.

    ****

    With Whitebeard.

    He couldn''t help but let out a content boisterous laugh as he punched the air sideways with both arms, and broke the air releasing shockwaves that cleared the area near him, and made the admirals and Sengoku retreat a bit.

    ''Ian you¡­ have really done as you said¡­'' Whitebeard couldn''t help but remember the time when Ian told him to leave it to him.

    He started focusing again and pressuring the two admirals and Sengoku even more, so that they would not stand in Ian''s way. He even started paving the path for his sons to retreat as he took the normal marines in even more numbers. Whitebeard was not known for his strength for nothing¡­ any attack of him broke the surroundings into rubble as it knocked out a lot of marines just from the shockwaves¡­

    ****

    With Sengoku.

    ''Damn it all¡­'' He was furious. Nothing was going on right for them at this war. Ace was free, and all of them were kept on edge, if even one of them lost focus Whitebeard would take that chance and deliver a devastating attack to them. It had already happened to Akainu who had blood all over his face from one attack he took.

    If the admiral was not known for his stamina and resilience, he would already be unconscious.

    Sengoku was already in his transformed form. As he ate the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Buddha.

    The main strength of this fruit is that it allows the user to transform into a giant, living, golden Buddha, gaining an extreme boost in strength to match his size. In this form, Sengoku''s limbs grow out of proportion, giving him abnormally large arms and relatively tiny legs. His entire body takes on a solid gold hue; in addition to a full and hybrid transformation that are available to all Zoan Devil Fruit users, he can use palm thrusts to launch powerful shock waves.

    He attacked Whitebeard with the strategy of him being the defense, while the two admirals would take the offense, but Whitebeard easily kept up with his strength and even dealt blows that managed to hurt him despite his increased defense. All in all he was struggling in this fight. And any attack of them at the retreating pirates was stopped by Whitebeard. He even was furious as he punched Akainu who had been gunning for Ace, until he had troubles breathing¡­

    Sengoku wanted for Garp to join them, as that way he felt they might stand a chance, as he knew how strong Garp really was. Even if Ian had knocked him out, Sengoku knew that it was just Garp who underestimated him. But Garp had no plans to join in this fight, as he allowed the marines to take him on a stretcher.

    Which only served to annoy him even further. But he understood the reasons of why he had done so.

    And now Ace was free and all the pirates was starting to retreat. All due to that Ian. He was starting to believe that the person who had been stopping their attacks from earlier was him too. He wanted nothing but to go dispose of him right now¡­ but the circ.u.mstances didn''t allow him. He was starting to feel that they will lose this war.

    ****

    Unlike in the anime however, Ace was not so stupid as to be provoked by Akainu, as he knew that what he was yelling from afar was just stupid, as such he continued running with Ian until they joined Marco. He had been caught as he had ignored his pops words after all. He even saw how Whitebeard dealt Akainu a blow that satisfied him¡­

    Ian reached Marco, and told him to take care of Ace as he goes to help the old man.

    "Oi, Marco, make sure you keep Ace and Luffy safe as you retreat. I will go help the old man now as we buy you time" Ian said and didn''t wait for any response as he started running at the direction of the old man.

    Marco was joined by his fellow commanders as they were retreating. He gave a nod of thanks at Ian as he knew with how strong he was his help to Whitebeard was more than enough.

    Not even a minute had passed and Ian had joined the old man, and was already attacking at Akainu with his sword at hand coated in Haki as he kept releasing Sword slashes at him and the surrounding Marines trying to follow the retreating pirates.

    Sometimes he vanished only to appear attacking Kizaru from the back making dodge quickly, and sometimes he would be attacking Sengoku who was huge in size, in his legs and joints¡­ his combination attack with the old man left them no chance to breathe at all.

    Soon after the pirates surrounding Marco and Ace passed the mark where Ian and Whitebeard were fighting at. Once they did, the old man and Ian started using attacks that dealt wide area effects, like the old man using his weapon to attack in an arc filled with Quake power and Ian using his sword to release massive flying sword slashes.

    After the last attack both parties separated for a bit and Whitebeard took this chance.

    "Listen well!! Whitebeard pirates!!" He yelled in a voice that was loud enough to be heard all around.

    "This is an ORDER as your captain!!" He added after a second of silence. "Retreat into the new world right now!!" Although the majority of them were retreating behind Ace, he said his order for them all to go. And what was more was that he was saying this for them to understand that he will only join them later.

    "Don''t worry about this old man, you have my promise that I will join you later" He then c.o.c.ked his arms as he delivered an enormous quake into the city of Marineford that made it start to crumble¡­

    "Go!! You guys!!" he finally yelled.

    Some were not okay with this, including ace and Marco, but at his final yell they reluctantly followed his order as they kept running.

 Chapter 67 - War of the best: Vs The admirals and fleet admiral (13/?)

    While all the pirates including all the commanders of the 14 divisions were retreating, Ian and the old man Whitebeard had been on a spree attacking the two admirals, Akainu, Kizaru, and the fleet admiral Sengoku. And in the way keeping them suppressed.

    For Ian who had never been in a fight of this magnitude before in his life, it was quite hard to keep up with the others at first when he had just joined the fight.

    As the moment he had dodged a serious attack from one of the admirals, another one would soon be targeting his blind spot at the place he was going to dodge to, from another enemy. This was how much the admirals worked in coordination with each other, plus Sengoku who had a lifetime of experience from fighting.

    But after a while of him fighting in this way, he started to get more and more focused into the fight that it soon became natural for him to attack and dodge just like the rest.

    ****

    Akainu attempted to make an attack by transforming his fists into pure magma before expanding and throwing both fists forward akin to oversized rockets, burning whatever lies in their path. But Ian who was in its path was not bothered the least as he used his telekinesis to easily redirect the attack towards Sengoku who had been trying to attack Whitebeard off guard. He would not have been able to redirect the attack that easily if Akainu had been able to control and change the direction of his projectiles.

    Meanwhile Sengoku was made to hurriedly block with his Haki as he was caught unprepared for dodging.

    Whitebeard had been attacking Kizaru who kept reforming around and dodging all attacks while delivering his owns.

    Kizaru was using attacks that targeted a whole area in order to limit the places where the old man can dodge to, while Whitebeard was able to send devastating attacks at his direction making him constantly dodge, as if even one attack touched him he will be extremely hurt.

    The old man had noticed the coming sneak attack of Sengoku but waited to see if Ian was going to do something, and he soon did as he redirected Akain''s attack at the golden Sengoku making him defend. The old man was proud and content to have someone like Ian guarding is back.

    Ian then used ''shave'' as he finally found the number of steps he can attempt to use without needing a lot of time to heal. It was 28 steps, and when he used it left him a bit injured but it was the type of injury that was easy to heal in a few seconds. But the speed resulting from it was enough to keep up with Kizaru who was supposedly the fastest person in the world, as he ate the Glint-Glint fruit.

    This fruit was said to let the user travel at light speed. But Ian knew better than to believe that bullshit.

    Even regular pirates had caught Kizaru off guard multiple times, and he had to reform someplace nearby, while someone with light speed should be able to move as if the surroundings time had stopped. Not to mention how he wasn''t able to completely dodge Elene''s shot.

    Which lead to Ian guessing that the user of the fruit would only reach a speed close to Light speed once he awakened the fruit, but it quite possibly had huge limitations for that.

    Back to Ian, he used ''Shave'' and appeared behind Akainu as he was much slower than his fellow admirals, and attacked him with his sword covered in Haki.

    However Akainu had been waiting for this and the moment his observation Haki flared up he jumped to the back dodging the sword strike and released the magma pillar trap he had been preparing for when Ian or Whitebeard attacked him.

    He was preparing it from under the ground he was standing on, and the moment Ian stepped there he made it explode. But to his annoyance, Ian had enough speed to outrun the area of effect quite easily.

    He was then made to dodge the successive attacks of Ian and his deadly flying sword attacks that came from all directions.

    He was not able to dodge them all, and even when he coated his arms in Haki he still was sometimes injured by the stronger sword strikes. He knew that Ian''s Haki was stronger than his. But he had his pride so he just kept getting entangled with Ian, with the both of them dodging and attacking viciously.

    Ian then noticed that the pirates had passed a safe distance away and motioned for the old man to get on with their next part of the plan.

    Soon Sengoku came to Akainu''s help to which Ian switched to attacking Kizaru who was a bit of distance away and left Akainu and the golden Buddha to the old man.

    Akainu attempted to attack the old man with his hound attack as he released it in the direction of Whitebeard.

    Unfazed, Whitebeard ¨Cwho was particularly enraged at Akainu- slams both the attack and Akainu aside with an extra powered quake punch, injuring Akainu even further and in the process causing an earthquake that demolishes Marine Headquarters base and splits the plaza in half. This act separates the Marines following the retreating pirates, isolating Whitebeard and Ian with the Marines.

    Sengoku is astonished that Whitebeard still has so much power despite his age¡­ not to mention that he had been in battle for a while now, and he should be tired¡­

    Ian grinned. He was amazed at this much power as shown by the old man. Truly a deadly fruit the one the old man ate. Ian always wondered about the claim of it being able to destroy the world, but if one had awakened the fruit perhaps it would be true.

    Now that the old man separated them, it left only him and the old man in the fight.

    And Ian knew that soon Blackbeard was going to come, thinking to himself that Whitebeard was close to dying¡­ only to end up f.u.c.k.i.e.d¡­ Ian was filled with anticipation for that time.

 Chapter 68 - War of the best: Enters Blackbeard (14/?)

    It had been widely said that Whitebeard was known all around the world as the strongest person alive.

    And with today''s battle it had been proven why.

    With physical power, which is far superior to even a giant, gigantic size, and considerable speeds, enough to be able to surprise the admirals. This man did not need any fancy moves or showoff abilities, to be the strongest ever.

    Every casual move of his packed with it enormous power and untold destruction.

    And as was shown at this time, with him attacking a little bit seriously, the whole headquarters of Marinford almost crumbled to dust from the attack he made.

    This man, even at his late age, made the marines regret ever having provoked him at the first place. And once they know that everything had been broadcasted live to the journalists, who themselves will deliver the news globally soon after, the marines wouldn''t be thinking of provoking an emperor of the sea anytime soon in the coming years. This times war had started to be prove that it was a huge mistake on their part.

    Ian, from the side, watched with amazement as the old man kept up with the admirals and Sengoku with relative ease. Granted he too was doing the same, but this man before him, was releasing devastating moves that unearthed chunks of earth every time he moved his hands or weapon. There was no reason for Ian not to admire the power of the Tremor-Tremor fruit.

    He would surround his naginata, the Murakumogiri, with a quake bubble to greatly increase its striking power and range then start to successively attack with it multiple times unlike in the anime, where he was tired and old and was only able to shoot it once in a while.

    Each wave of the blade, would deal a huge shockwave in the direction it was shot. The few times the admirals had been caught up in it, had them injured badly.

    Now there was no one that was not injured in some way among them. And every time the old man was attacked from two direction, he would punch casually either sideways or at the front and the back releasing shockwaves there and stopping the attacks.

    Sengoku himself was strong and no one that knew him would dare deny that, but he was mainly a defensive person with his fruit. His attacks were limited apart from the shockwaves he was able to shoot from his hands, which against the old man Whitebeard was doing nothing for him and proving useless against him. So in this fight he was not in his element. Meanwhile someone like Garp¡­ now that would be someone more appropriate. Granted he would still find the fight hard, as unlike Garp Whitebeard had been reinvigorated to a healthy state as if he had grown younger.

    Ian knew that soon, Aokiji, and Garp too, would be back to join in the fight.

    Garp would be happy that Ace was saved. As such this time he would not be holding back. As for the warlords they did not dare join in on the big fight, if they did¡­ Ian wouldn''t just sit and watch¡­

    And then there would be Blackbeard and his crew¡­ now that was someone that the old man would be pissed off about.

    However Ian had already told him to expect him to join in this war, as such Whitebeard wouldn''t be caught off guard.

    ''When they come, Sengoku would be enraged about the prison escapees¡­ he would most likely order someone from his side to take care of them¡­ or he would be the one to take care of them¡­ but there is no need to think about it too much¡­ when the time comes I''ll make sure that whitebeard has his revenge on Blackbeard by keeping anybody off him for a while¡­ that would be the time they would see that until now I had just been playing around¡­''

    ****

    The fight went on just like that for a while until Aokiji recovered enough to rejoin the fight.

    The fight for Ian and Whitebeard did become a bit harder and would have been even more if there was not a certain ''never miss hidden sniper'' helping them from somewhere unknown.

    Not a while after, Ian noticed the event he had been waiting for as he stepped backwards a bit of distance away from the marines.

    The old man too noticed as his eyes flared up in anger, but he still made some distance between them.

    In the midst of this chaos, finally the Marines notice a shadow behind the ruined Marine Headquarters building which soon reveals itself to be a huge giant. But he was not alone; they notice more figures on the scaffold of the building. Doflamingo laughs while Sengoku is less than pleased when he saw Blackbeard and his band of pirates, which now includes a few new crewmates recruited from Level 6 of Impel Down.

    Suddenly Blackbeard laughs as he addresses Whitebeard.

    "It''s been a long time¡­ I''m happy to be here to attend your funeral¡­ pops" He said. Just like in the anime, he talked down on Whitebeard as he saw him filled with injuries and taking deep breaths from exhaustion. In his mind, he was already close to winning and getting the strongest fruit¡­

    Of course whitebeard was not really tired. And his injuries while there were small, and the result of fighting multiple opponents at the same time¡­ which Blackbeard had no way of knowing. And if he did then he would have refrained from ever coming to the war.

    Sengoku went on to ask about Impel down and its warden. To Which the Blackbeard pirates reply that it''s his problem to find out about.

    The old man Whitebeard finally had enough from waiting and attacks with his weapon sending a huge shockwave at them that they weren''t ready for and ended up injuring some of them.

    "You are the only one I refuse to call my son¡­ Teach" Whitebeard said with gritted teeth.

    And as Blackbeard starts to use his Black hole like he usually does in any attack, Ian kicks the ground, and appears in front of the rest of the Blackbeard pirates who were now at the back of Teach.

    He stood there aloofly as he declared.

    "None of you shall pass here" he said.

    Then as one of them rushed at him in rage from being belittled, Ian made his move.

    He released his conqueror Haki for the first time in this war concentrated at the crew, then he added his gravity making it hard for them to even stand.

    He then moved at his top speed, and appeared behind them in front of the Giant in a second, with the Blackbeard pirates soon falling to the ground one by one. He then stealthily took a bit of DNA from that Giant as he was close to him and none would notice what he had done.

    He had delivered a heavy blow, enough to make them lose consciousness, to each one of them at that short time.

    He then kicked the ground and once again stood in front of the admirals, Sengoku, and Garp who had just come and were looking at him shocked. As he had just took care of highly dangerous individuals, while at the same time had conqueror Haki¡­

    He once again addressed them.

    "None of you shall interrupt the former father and son from having a ''talk''" Ian said.

    ****

    One could say the three admirals were insulted.

    If you would look at their numbers, Sengoku, Garp, Aokiji, Kizaru, Akainu, they were a huge fighting force, and Ian still dared to say that none of them can pass.

    Arrogant. Extremely arrogant.

    They didn''t bother talking with him as they attacked in union. But Ian just smiled as they made them all face the top most amount of gravity he can holds while practically flooding them with his conqueror''s Haki.

    Suddenly all of them were rooted to their space feeling that it was hard to move even a finger.

    They hurriedly used Armament Haki to try to negate the effect, but it only lessened it a bit.

    They soon reached the conclusion that the gravity was not made on them but on the area around them so they tried stepping out of the zone of gravity.

    All throughout this Ian just stood there watching. His only mission was to stop their advance and give the old man the time needed for him.

    "None, of you, shall p-a-s-s" Ian said once again, this time his words carrying more power.

 Chapter 69 - i have a question?

    Considering that this novel is not very popular, what is the missing thing to make it more popular? i have seen even worse novels than mine reach the very high rankings.

    (i have changed the name and cover as suggested)

    Tomorrow i''ll release another chapter, the reason for not writing it today is that the next chapter features shanks! so it needs extra attention while i was busy today. you guys have been a great help and i hope the story gets more popular soon.

    if people could support me a bit i would be able to devote more time to writing. i''m not saying i need hundreds of dollars, like one of you said even a few bucks are still money...

 Chapter 70 - War of the best: Ill destroy them both (15/?)

    Standing there Ian felt exhilarated. He had never been into fights much. And now he was already this strong. Well it was true that he can''t really kill them even if he tried his best.

    But sadly for them his abilities worked against multiple people at the same time.

    That said, that guy Kizaru was still able to move the fastest among them and he was out of his range in a blink of an eye.

    "So troublesome¡­" Kizaru muttered as he prepared to deal with the enemy in front of him, but he was met with a shake of a head from Sengoku.

    And it was at this time that Ian decided to take care of him first before stopping the others in their places.

    ''Since he is able to move fast, he would be the first to attack and pass me easily, and if I targeted others he would be there to bother me soon after¡­ as such I have to take care of him first. His ability to materialize in different places is bothersome¡­'' Ian thought to himself.

    His gravity, worked the best when it was only focused on one point. And as seen earlier when he used it on them all, it did not slow them as much as it did when he used it against Garp.

    He was going to do the same to Kizaru, and take him out before he even notices what was happening. He knew that the reason why Sengoku stopped Kizaru from attacking was that he realized that he was their only winning card they had¡­

    From the corners of his eye he saw the old man didn''t need a lot of time to deal with Blackbeard¡­ perhaps he doesn''t need to make another move as the old man would be done soon.

    Even the retreating commanders and Ace and co had seen this and were wearing an expression full of satisfaction. Ace was holding Luffy who had fallen asleep from all the fighting he did for this day. He was lucky as this time he didn''t get another shot from Ivankov.

    ****

    Back to Whitebeard and Teach.

    They were standing a bit of distance away from Ian and Co.

    One could see the sweat dripping from Teach''s forehead. By now he had already noticed that his crew had been taken care of so easily.

    The crew that were supposedly so monstrous they had to lock them down at the level six of Impel down. But still they were so easily knocked out, Teach had to wonder if this was real, or if he was in a dream.

    He turned to look back to the old man who had been glaring at him murderously all this while.

    Truth be said¡­ he was actually scared shitless right now. But he trusted in his fruit that will be able to stop the old man. And in the end just like all the stupid folks, his greed got the best of him.

    ''If I can just get the Tremor-Tremor fruit, I would become the strongest person in the world¡­ at that time, this new person who showed up and took my crew, will pay in full¡­''

    He laughed at the old man, as he used his attack.

    "Black hole" he said as he brought his hands down and spreads his darkness over a large area. This attack was usually made to absorb anything it touches including humans, and then he would launch them back using ''Liberation''. It additionally made it hard for those standing there to move as it increased the gravity for them.

    But, and as he expected to a certain extent, the old man stood his place easily as if the attack was not even there.

    Which didn''t bother him much as he was planning to only use it as the old man becomes distracted by his other attacks when he lets down his guard.

    "Dark Star" He once again used another attack as he saw the old man standing there motionless. A huge black sphere of darkness was launched at the old man.

    Secretly he was elated. This attack of his plus the enemy near it due to gravitational force. This way he would bind the old man in place and¡­

    Suddenly his eyes widened as he saw the old man twirl his weapon with both hands before swinging it at the sphere and cutting it in two before suddenly the air around it cracked making it fragment and dissipate soon after.

    It appeared that old man was not going to give him any more time to prepare.

    He wanted to once again attack but he was stumped as he saw the old man''s huge form looming over him like a mountain to a small tree.

    ''How is that possible¡­ he should be under the effects of the ''Black Hole'''' He thought to himself.

    "You killed thatch, for such a thing¡­" The old man couldn''t help but get angry even more.

    Whitebeard swung down his right arm, as he switched his weapon to his left, and punched with a quake bubble surrounding it. But the attack was met with Teach''s own hand.

    "Black Spiral" Blackbeard said.

    Whitebeard watched with amazement as both the power of quakes and the raw strength behind his punch were nullified somehow.

    "I killed Thatch for this. The power to nullify all devil fruits. And now you can''t make any more tremors." He finally gained his courage back as he saw how his fruit worked against the old man. He then attempted to punch the old man in the stomach, but was met with a grin.

    His arm was grabbed before it hit, Whitebeard threw Blackbeard''s arm to the back as he grabbed the air with his now free arm and violently and powerfully moved it as if it was tangible, resulting in the man being thrown upwards as the old man held his weapon with both hands and focused his quake power into it as he swung at the falling man at full power.

    The attack hit him directly at the chest and broke several of his ribs and bones as he was launched a distance away from the old man.

    Blackbeard laid there on the ground coughing blood and being unable to move¡­ his eyes now contained nothing but fear and despair¡­ he regretted ever listening to that being and coming to this war¡­ in his ears the old man''s footsteps continued to sound as they became louder and louder¡­

    Once the old man reach him, he wasted no time and brought his weapon down on Blackbeard right arm and pinned him to the ground, he then stepped on his left with his left leg.

    "Teach¡­ all my life I wanted a family as I lived an orphan in the middle of chaos and backstabbing people¡­ you knew that." Whitebeard said as he put his right leg onto Teach''s chest.

    "But to have a family, you would have to create rules¡­ and the one important rule on my ship¡­ you had betrayed, from then on I refused to call you my son. And now you even came to this war harboring some scheme about me¡­ I would feel no regret about what happens next. Your actions have proved that you are inherently evil, Teach" Whitebeard added. He started to focus his quake energy to his right leg creating a bubble around it.

    "S-Stop¡­ stop-p I-I am you s-son¡­" Blackbeard started to cry as he begged for his life. He felt what the old man was doing. But the old man paid him no heed¡­ his only hope right now was in a secret he told no one about¡­ he started moving his arms frantically and one could hear bones breaking, while in reality they were just moving in order to let Blackbeard slid from the hands of whitebeard. But the old man did not budge one bit¡­

    "I know about it." Whitebeard said as noticed the hope still apparent in his eyes.

    "Although, my other sons think that you are just born different¡­ I know that that is not true." He added as he said.

    "Even now, you are probably thinking to yourself, of faking your death once I am done with you¡­ however, I know about your body¡­ I may be old but I am still strong enough to know what is wrong with you." He stomped with his right leg destroying his chest in a second as soon as he finished talking. a shockwave was then released in a brutal way.

    All his internal organs in the chest area are collapsed including his heart and lungs. But the old man was not done. He charged his quake bubble once again and stomped a bit lower this time.

    The last thing Blackbeard heard as his eyes started to lose their light was. "Your two hearts. I''ll destroy them both"

    ****

    It was just like Ian had guessed, by the time the marines finished preparing what to do to attack, the old man was already done with his business and was coming closer to him.

    "Brat. You have my thanks." Whitebeard said as Ian turned to look at him, and only giving a nod in return.

    "Though it appears we have an uninvited guest" Ian said back to the old man, who gave a hum in response.

    Kizaru who saw them converse casually wanted to take a chance and attack them while they were laying down their guards.

    But as he materialized near them he found the sword in his hands caught in a lock with another sword. He turned his eyes up and saw to who it belonged to.

    "Red-haired Shanks" Kizaru muttered.

 Chapter 71 - War of the best: Red haired Shanks (16/?)

    "Red-haired Shanks" Kizaru muttered.

    Shanks was a relatively tall man (just under two meters), well-built, tan-complexioned, and in the prime of his mid-a.d.u.l.thood. Among the Four Emperors past and present he stands out as the smallest, most normal-sized by far, the others being various degrees of inhuman proportions.

    On his face resides a secondary trademark: a triple set of vertically parallel, linear scars that pass at an angle over his left (untouched) eye. He was wearing a black cape, and under it a simple white shirt that he left half buttoned out. Additionally he was wearing pants cut at the knees.

    True to his epithet, Shanks has distinctly red hair, he had long hair, wavier and slicked back except for some few strands he lets fall down the sides of his face, pushed farther sideward.

    All around the place silence permeated.

    None on the battlefield expected this. No one thought that another sea emperor and one of the rulers of the sea would be joining this war.

    Garp who had a bit of blood dripping from his mouth, looked with an angry glare at him.

    ''Red-haired Shanks¡­ this was the one who made Luffy become a pirate¡­'' he thought to himself.

    The marines started panicking. If Shanks joined the already monstrous duo of Whitebeard and Ian, then the marines would really be destroyed for good. Not to mention that at the side stood his crew the red hair pirates.

    Well, all panicked except the fleet admiral, who only gave a tired sigh. As he knew that the arrival of Shanks signified the end of this war. He knew the role that Shanks plays in this world better than anyone here. He was just not willing to lose. Especially with such a devastating result¡­

    Kizaru stepped back a bit of distance away as he jumped.

    ''Isn''t that Blackbeard?'' Shanks thought to himself as he turned to look at the side at the dead body laid in a crater.

    Shanks sheathed his sword at his waist. In truth he never thought much about Blackbeard. But as he saw him at this war, he finally knew that something was on with that guy. Perhaps if he didn''t die in this war he would have become a huge problem in the future.

    He was the reason why shanks had that scar in his face. Though it was way before he became an emperor of the sea. He had caught him off guard with one of his abilities. But since the whitebeard crew already knew that he was different than the normal human he did not see the need to talk about it to anyone.

    His arrival here, confirmed a few of his guesses. The first being that he was after the old man''s death. Or rather the old man''s fruit. He had speculated that due to his special physique he would be able to eat 2 devil fruits unlike normally where one person could only eat one fruit or risk exploding.

    His second guess that was confirmed is that those guys had to have something to do with Blackbeard. He could feel their energy on his body moving upwards and dissipating in the sky.

    Perhaps that was how he got his special physique and abilities.

    He then turned to the retreating pirates and spotted Luffy being carried by Ace, and gave a gentle smile.

    ''I want to see you. But if I do that now¡­ that would be going against our promise right, Luffy?'' He thought to himself.

    He turned back to the both parties standing near him and started speaking.

    "I came to end this war" He said.

    "Why are you all even still fighting? This war should already be done." He added. And as he noticed the admirals starting to speak he spoke again.

    "Anymore fighting would be pointless. Ace is saved. And even all of you combined would not be able to take on the old man. At best you would injure him, but at what cost? Are you really prepared for one of you to die in order to do that? To injure him?" He said which immediately shut them up. They knew that the admirals were necessary to keep the people safe, as a sort of balance to the emperors.

    Well all except one.

    "I don''t need to hear this from a pirate" Akainu yelled as he tried to rush but one glare from Sengoku put him in his place. He stood there eyes containing anger and unwillingness. While his fists were balled up.

    Meanwhile Ian and Whitebeard didn''t mind what Shanks was saying at all. In truth anymore fighting after this is meaningless. And Ian already knew that he would come, so he let him be.

    "I''ll say it again there is no need for anymore meaningless deaths. But if you want to continue this meaningless fight, then come! I''ll take you on!" Shanks said. And there was total silence around.

    "This war should be over. Don''t you agree Sengoku?" he then addressed Sengoku

    The man in person closed his eyes painfully. But opened them a bit after and nodded as he started shrinking from his transformed form.

    There was no need to keep battling the old man, when even Ian had kept them sitting there like dogs on a leash. They couldn''t pass him as such there was no meaning to this fight anymore.

    Not to mention he didn''t want his soldiers to die anymore, and if the old man started attacking again, then they would be dying in the hundreds.

    He took a deep breath.

    And then yelled.

    "Treat the wounded as fast as possible." He stopped for a bit.

    "This war is OVER!" he then yelled in the end.

 Chapter 72 - A sneak attack

    As the whole world listens to Sengoku''s announcement of the war ending, they remains shocked in their places.

    They had wanted for him to die in this war along with his crew.

    They had wanted the blood of the infamous pirate king Gol D. roger to be extinguished. They wanted Ace to die.

    But what had they got?

    None of that. Whitebeard was still alive. Ace was saved, and the marines had suffered devastating losses.

    It was an utter failure.

    ****

    The marines started taking care of their wounded with all the capable personnel helping, while the admirals stood there just watching. Akainu especially was sporting an angry look as he looked at Shanks.

    Whitebeard shared a look with Ian, as they both nodded.

    "Red hair, It''s an honor to meet you. I would like to have a drink with you later" Ian said as he addressed Shanks who was near him.

    Shanks smiled.

    "I would like that too." He replied before he told them that he had to leave and went on his way. He had stopped them from fighting anymore, and since Sengoku gave his words then there was no point for him to stay any longer. Though if he didn''t come, perhaps the marines would have lost their admirals against the old man and Ian.

    "Let''s go back Brat, tonight we are going to have a huge party!" Whitebeard said his piece from the side as he addressed Ian. He had a huge smile on his face as he laughed boisterously.

    He then started retreating along With Ian to the Moby d.i.c.k and where the commanders were waiting.

    The both of them and Shanks had thought this was the end of this war. As both the marines and pirates had announced the end of the fight.

    Whitebeard was filled with happiness as before Ian helped him, he had even been prepared to die if it meant he was able to save Ace.

    But now not only did he do it, but he had also affirmed his status as someone not to be messed with from now on. No one would dare to attack his territories ever again for fear of his wrath¡­ and even if the marines caught one if his pirates they would release them for fear of his retaliation.

    After all just one pirate emperor did this to them. They wouldn''t dare bother him again or he might band with another emperor like Shanks and then it would be their doom.

    While Ian, since he had seen Sengoku announce something similar in the anime, he felt that the war was over.

    As such he had let down his guard.

    And it was at that exact moment, when they had reached a distance from the marines who were helping each other and tending to their injured, that someone made his move.

    Luckily for Ian before partaking in this war, he had gained the instincts of the mink people. And it probably was what had saved his life this time.

    Because as they were running back towards the ship, suddenly there appeared a human.

    He was a male with normal average facial features. His body looked skinny and his eyes bloody as if he didn''t sleep for a while now.

    He had a sword at his hands that he swung at Ian''s throat at a speed that appeared slow but made it so that Ian couldn''t dodge.

    Ian was unable to guess how this person had sneaked up on him, as even Whitebeard and the marines had shocked looks on their faces. And the old man changed directions soon after and came to help him. But in his minds they knew that it was impossible to dodge this attack.

    But to the shock of the people watching, Ian made an impossible move as he got out of his own shock. He instinctively moved out of the range of the Strike by moving his head backward making the sword miss him.

    He then crossed his hands in front of his face and braced for the impact of the shockwave from the attack.

    It was such a casual strike of the sword that anyone watching would be convinced it contained no strength.

    But the shockwave that happened after it, was one so huge that it made a gash on the earth with almost 100 m of distance.

    And at the end of this trench was Ian.

    His upper clothes were shredded while he was still in a defending position with his arms closed.

    He shook his hands to free his body from the dust, and in the way took off the wrecked shirt.

    He glared at the assailant in silent rage.

    He had let down his guard. Which already pissed him off, but what was more important is that if he hadn''t gained the instincts of the mink race, he might have died to this sneak attack. He had been able to see the attack but he knew he couldn''t dodge normally. It was only because his body moved with instinct that he was alive now.

    But he was sure that he wouldn''t be able to feel the presence of this person even if he didn''t let down his guard. After all even now he can''t hear his ''voice''¡­

    This made the thought of him dying easily sprung into his mind. All this time he had been training and evolving his body but he still almost died¡­ his conviction to grow stronger was strengthened even more now.

    When he took a more focused look on his assailant his eyes furrowed in worry.

    Standing where he was looking was a man 198 cm tall, this dark skinned man has an expressive feel about him, and he has a burn mark on his right foot.

    He has a round face with a cleft chin, a large nose, small lips, and his light red eyes are thin.

    He has shoulder length, curly, brown hair, and he has an impressive wild growing beard.

    And though he was skinny he has toned arms, a defined torso with a straight waist, and toned legs.

    He was wearing old fashioned clothes that are mostly light-colored and loose, and he wears multiple bronze bracelets on both wrists. He is usually seen wearing a cap. The sword in his hands was so normal looking Ian suspected he had just grabbed it from the ground of the battlefield.

    The reason Ian furrowed his brows is that he felt this person was so strong that he may have to go all out against him. But there was something wrong with his body, he was sure of that, but he couldn''t put his hands on it¡­

    Ian silently focused on his ring and brought out a weapon. It was the weapon he was the most proficient in, the one he trained the most on and had mastered. The Spear.

    But this spear was different than the usual, as it was a double edged spear.

    Not even the admirals and the fleet admiral made him get serious enough to bring out his weapon.

    At this point, Ian was going to fight with his all.

 Chapter 73 - Devastating attack

    Ian silently focused on the ring in his middle left finger, and brought out a weapon from the space. It was the weapon he was the most proficient in, the one he trained the most on and had already mastered. The Spear.

    But this spear was different than the usual, as it was a double edged spear. And Ian was a master in using this spear.

    Previously not even the admirals and the fleet admiral made him get serious enough to bring out his weapon. At the time he had been just fighting either to buy time, or was just defending against them. He was not trying to take them down. But now against this opponent, he felt that if he didn''t go all out, he might lose against him.

    At this point in time, Ian was going to fight with his all. This person in front of him gave him chills at his back. He knew that he had to fight as best as he can or he might die.

    He had suffered internal injuries from the sudden attack that was thrown at him, but his high regeneration had healed him already so he was ready to go at it anytime now.

    "Who are you, and why are you attacking me?" Ian coldly spoke as he addressed the other person.

    The other person simply shrugged his shoulders as he threw the sword in his hands to the ground.

    It had started to shatter on its own from how strong the attack made with it.

    "Such a weak sword¡­ Eh I need to find another" He muttered to himself completely ignoring Ian as he bent out to look for a fallen sword that is still working.

    Whitebeard met eyes with Ian and understood that Ian wanted to fight him on his own. So he stepped back a bit, and stayed alert in order to give help whenever necessary.

    ''However, why do I feel something bad is going to happen?'' Whitebeard thought to himself.

    ****

    "Isn''t that one of our marines, what is he doing there?" Sengoku muttered to himself as he watched the coming fight.

    "More importantly Sengoku, How was he able to sneak attack him when he was just a regular soldier?" Garp who was by his side addressed the more important issue they were facing.

    "Mn" Sengoku Nodded. He shared the same thought. That person who had attacked even if he wasn''t wearing the marines'' uniform right now was still one of them and he knew it. But the problem was that someone that strong was hiding among them¡­ As for the thought that that attack had been a fluke he didn''t even think about it¡­

    "How troublesome¡­" Kizaru muttered. He too thought that the war was over, and now someone from their side had started things up again.

    His fellow admiral Aokiji shared the same thoughts. But sadly the last admiral among them and the most hot-blooded of them didn''t share agree with the thought.

    "Fleet admiral, this is our chance right now, with someone like that on our side, we would be able to take at least one of the pirates. Maybe even Whitebeard after we take care of that guy Ian¡­" Akainu stepped out and came near Sengoku and Garp as his right arm was ignited in lava with smoke coming out.

    Out of the admirals he was the one most injured. He had blood all over his face, and his eyes were filled with a boundless hate and anger.

    "Sigh" Sengoku sighed.

    "As much as I would like that, Akainu, this war is over. All we have to do now is tend to our injured and retreat to our side. There is no need to take a risk right now." He then added.

    "However fleet admiral-"He yelled out but was caught out of guard when Sengoku himself yelled back.

    "That was an ORDER" he said as he glared at him.

    Akainu clenched his hands as his glare started to become murderous.

    ''I can''t waste this chance¡­ I''ll deal with the consequences later.'' He concluded in his mind as he used ''Shave'' to approach that unknown addition to the war.

    "Akainu, you!!" Sengoku yelled out as he grit his teeth. But raised his hands down when he saw the other admirals going to stop him.

    "Let him be" He whispered. He was not known for his cunningness just like that after all.

    He had yelled out to show all the other people on the field that Akainu had ignored his orders, but he himself wanted him to go and if possible take one of the pirates down, either Ian or Whitebeard. But since he already gave his words, he didn''t want to go back on them.

    Plus Akainu was known for his hot-bloodedness.

    ****

    And just like that Ian and Whitebeard heard his yell as they saw Akainu coming towards them. They understood he went against orders, but they also knew that Sengoku wanted it to happen this way.

    "Hoh, who do we have here¡­ Admiral Akainu?" The unknown person said. As he peered over the Magma user. His hands once again holding a good sword.

    "If we fight together we''ll be able to take them down easier. You are on the marines'' side right?" Akainu went straight to the point.

    "Mn" The person nodded.

    "Then let''s take care of the weaker one first" Akainu said as he looked at Ian.

    The other person snickered when he heard the term ''Weaker''. He knew that Ian was strong and possibly even stronger than Whitebeard. Granted the old man had the highest destructive force, but in a fight that was not what decides the winner. Still he thought that it was fine either way so he agreed.

    As they came to a mutual point, they kicked the ground and closed in on Ian, as fast as they could.

    Ian gave a nod for whitebeard once again, telling him to stand off.

    Ian watched with bored eyes, when Akainu was going to come near him, a sword passed through his back to his stomach as he looked with horror on his face back at the unknown person.

    It was not that Akainu had let down his guard, but it was that the person was a master of sneak attacks so he wasn''t able to react in time. One moment he was a bit of distance away and the next he was plunging his sword at him.

    "I do not like it when people try to use me" The person muttered as he took his sword out and swung it to clean from the blood.

    Akainu fell on his knees as he started losing feeling in his body.

    ''Poison'' he thought to himself before he lost consciousness.

    And just like that an admiral was down.

    The person then once again vanished, only to appear near Ian.

    But Ian was prepared. When he uses observation Haki and his telekinesis in conjecture he was able to detect the movements of this person. So as soon as the person neared him he ducked at his swing and delivered his own attack with his spear.

    The attack connected and it drew blood but the person didn''t mind as he just kicked the ground and somersaulted backwards before once again vanishing from Ian''s field of vision.

    Ian was ready for him. Without even turning his swung his spear backwards narrowly missing the person as he guarded with his sword.

    "Hoh, impressive¡­" The person muttered.

    The fact that Ian guarded the sneak attacks since the first time and was still doing it until now, unlike Akainu who was spouting about Ian being the weakest, was recorded and seen by the whole world.

    Even the marines started to reconsider about Ian, perhaps he was as strong as Whitebeard. At first they only thought of him as a strong pirate, but perhaps he was an uncrowned emperor. With strength reaching the same as the four rulers of the seas.

    Suddenly the unknown person attacked with a downward swing that Ian redirected to the side, and then Ian spun on his heel delivering an attack with the other edge of the spear.

    The attack was unpredictable as it all happened in a second. Ian redirected the sword strike with one side of the spear and leaving both hands of the person holding the sword sideways and then right after that came the other end of the spear, after Ian had turned on his heel, that went right through the person''s throat.

    Then Ian focused his energy on his spear before he thrust it at the person''s chest, going right through him and releasing a massive shockwave. Ian had used his six king gun with the spear.

    The person grabbed his throat with one hand while the other went to the hole in his chest, as he let the sword he was holding fall to the ground.

    He started gurgling blood as he looked at Ian with Hate filled eyes.

    And just like then his eyes lost their light as the figure fell to the ground slumped and stopped breathing.

    And just when everybody thought that the fight was over something happened.

    The person who should already be dead, started moving with his hands and legs moving in awkward positions as ''pop'' sounds were heard. A grey fog surrounded him as the movement continued.

    The visible silhouette showing through the fog started enlarging until it reached a height of three meters. Though the details about it were very vague.

    And then suddenly a new voice was heard all around.

    "Who would have thought that you were that strong¡­" The voice sounded inhuman, deep and grating on the ears, as if its owner was not speaking his own language¡­

    ''I knew that there was something wrong about that person''s body.'' Ian thought to himself. He was sure that he had killed the person, so he knew that this was not a Zoan form. While whitebeard finally knew why he had that bad feeling earlier.

 Chapter 74 - Abaddon

    Standing three meters tall, the humanoid devil figure was finally visible for all to see.

    The demon had a strong robust figure that screamed of boundless power. Its skin was red all over the body. On its chest it had a bone armor that only covered the chest and its abs. but he couldn''t tell if it was made out of bone as it was red in color. Much redder than the skin.

    Similarly there were two plates on its shoulder and on its knees.

    Apart from this it appeared that the rest was just like a normal human.

    Its face was also red, with two short pointy ears that reminded Ian of elves from his past life. Albeit a bit shorter. A scar went from one ear to ear through the mouth was the most obvious thing about the demon. As if someone had cut its mouth or worse had broken it by force.

    And unlike what Ian guessed, it did not have a tail. The only clothes on its body was the pants turned short it was wearing in its human form.

    ''Are these the di¨¢voloi?'' Ian thought to himself.

    He gave a look at Whitebeard, who nodded gravely. There was no need for them to speak, they understood each other well enough to know that they were thinking the same thing.

    This was a di¨¢voloi.

    None of the attacks and wounds that Ian had delivered remained on its body. As if it was reborn.

    Ian was not going to attack blindly. This was a type of race that even the weakest of them almost killed whitebeard back when he was in his prime. Ian was not that arrogant. He knew that if he fought it alone, the fight would last for days and days before he might win. And that too wouldn''t be without consequences.

    He used a ''shave'' and moved close to the old man.

    Ian was going to fight along with the old man. That was how much of the importance he gave to this coming fight.

    "Old man, do you recognize this one?" Ian asked as the old man had known all the three devils. As such he would be able to know it.

    But there was the chance that there would be more than three or they might even be changed this time since they lost the last time against Whitebeard and Roger.

    Whitebeard looked at the Devil for a long while before he finally spoke.

    "This was the one who fought with Roger. I did not fight with it but roger had shown me its corpse so I''m sure. He said its name was Abaddon" He said.

    "Stay on guard Ian. These demons, their fighting style is just them using overwhelming force and speed. And if I remember correctly then Roger had said that its main fighting style is using Bones as weapons¡­" He then added.

    ****

    Abaddon.

    This was the di¨¢voloi''s name. Ever since he and his brother and sister had awoken from the last fight where they died to Roger and Whitebeard, he had been doing nothing.

    But when the order was given to them to take care of Whitebeard as he had grown old, he volunteered for the mission.

    Taking care of Whitebeard was a necessity for their future plans as he had already stood against them once¡­ Plus it was their awaited revenge¡­ The true history of the world would expose many things and they did not want that, so ever since the great kingdom was destroyed they had been stopping anyone from reaching Laugh tale, and knowing the truth of the world. And Whitebeard knew something too as Roger had told him¡­ So they had to take care of him.

    Abaddon was the one who corrupted Blackbeard, and had him betray the old man. And then he had him capture Ace. To jumpstart the war. And he had also went in person to check on the old man and he had indeed felt him weaken with time.

    As such he felt that Whitebeard was already as good as dead. He had even came to the war and disguised himself as a marine in order to take care of things if they (the marines) proved to be inadequate.

    But when the time had come, the old man was stronger than he had guessed and felt. He was sure something has happened since the last time he had checked on him. And not only that but he felt someone even stronger on the side of Whitebeard.

    The shock however came when he felt the person''s life-force. It showed him that he was still young by the Humans age.

    This immediately got him alerted so he started fighting him. He had to, as Ian would prove an even greater threat then Whitebeard to them if he was allowed to grow. They can''t let him reach Laugh tale and know the truth of the world. And there was an even more important reason not to let anyone reach that island¡­

    But who knew that he was able to beat him that easily in his human form. He was both angered and alarmed. He knew that this person must be eliminated, even at the cost of showing his true form to the people there. So he did.

    He saw how Ian jumped near Whitebeard and nodded his hands. That was smart of him. As if he was arrogant he might have died just right then.

    Unknowingly to him, he was still underestimating Ian.

    ****

    Back to Ian and Whitebeard.

    They saw the demon readying to attack so they prepared.

    Whitebeard held his weapon in forward motion ready to intercepts any attack coming his way.

    Meanwhile Ian was going to use the first form of his spear art.

    The blistering Zero-G style.

    Ian wrapped his spear in his energy and unlike where he usually increases its weight and make it heavy. This time he tried to make it lighter. Until he reaches a point where so long as he is using his energy the spear would stay floating on its own as the effects of gravity on it would be momentarily nullified.

    He then does the same to himself though he is not able to cut off the effect of gravity on him completely unlike the sword. Still with that, his speed would be extremely fast.

    This was how strong Ian was at the moment. Truly the level of an emperor.

    However he couldn''t do the same for Whitebeard as it takes a huge energy only to do it for himself. Perhaps in the future he might be able to.

    Then as if the devil sensed this, it kicked the ground disappearing and leaving a crater in its wake.

    It appeared near Ian with five lengthened claws that were just normal earlier.

    Its right hand went directly for Ian''s throat, but Ian with his newfound speed was equally as fast so he sidestepped the attack, and delivered his own with the now extremely fast spear.

    The devil had a bit of shock on its eyes, before it receded as it casually stepped half a step back and caught the spear with its bare hand. Or more accurately claw.

    The movements were completely hidden from the onlookers'' eyes as they were extremely fast. Just like Whitebeard had said, they used extreme force and speed.

    Whitebeard then came from the side swing his weapon down, actually making the devil jump backwards and avoid the attack that shattered the earth around it.

    After all unlike Ian who might draw some blood from it, if whitebeards attack landed, it would deal the devil huge damage.

    So far Ian lacked an attack as destructive as the old man''s power.

    Ian then moved forward using ''shave'' getting faster than the devil suddenly.

    He then attacked with a downward slice that was blocked simply by instinct followed by another attack soon after leaving the devil no chance to retaliate besides defending.

    Internally the devil was starting to get annoyed. Its hands suddenly sprouted two long bones that it used to guard against Ian. It guarded with one and attacked with the other making Ian hurriedly move his weapon to guard.

    The attack hit him directly at the center of the spear launching Ian skidding backwards a huge distance away.

    The devil was still arrogant enough to not understand that Whitebeard had at one point in time killed its brother on his own. The logical choice in this fight against two as strong as it, should have been to run. But it appeared that this devil was hot-blooded much.

    And it was with that, that whitebeard managed to hit it straight at the back with an air shattering swing that actually managed to fracture the armor on its body. And as it was launched at the direction of Ian, Ian had already got his bearings back and brought the six swords he had from the ring, and made them spin with his telekinesis at such a speed that they would tear through anything. He then launched them straight at the devil. Each from an angle hard to dodge from.

    The spinning blades each targeted a point as they sped along the sky and reached the devil. Two went for its arms, two for its legs, one for its head and the last one for what makes one a male¡­

    The devil that was thrown in the sky by whitebeard had no way to dodge. But it still managed to by leaning to the right then to the left narrowly dodging the ones thrown at its arms but they still drew blood as they touched it minutely. Then it shrunk onto itself still at the sky dodging the ones thrown at its legs and Head. Leaving only one vertically targeting its manhood that it spun around at the last second dodging it with a hair width.

    When he landed he was breathing a bit heavily, while blood leaked from his lips and arms. The attack of Whitebeard had hurt it more than it was expecting.

    This was what happened when two fought against it at the same time. This was the price of being arrogant. Even it itself started to realize that it might have been hasty¡­

 Chapter 75 - Last resort

    While the devil was seething in hate and anger. Sengoku, Garp, and the other two admirals who had already taken Akainu to receive medical care earlier, run at the devil''s direction and took that moment when it was distracted to attack it.

    "Who do you think you are, to hurt one of us?" Sengoku who was already in his transformed form yelled as he thrust his palm in an attack releasing a shockwave.

    The devil had no time to think before it was embedded into the ground by the huge force coming from Sengoku''s palm.

    As soon as the devil got his bearings back he felt his hands and legs getting iced, and turned to look for the source. He found Aokiji who was using his powers to incase him in ice.

    Then when he almost froze Kizaru attacked with his light fruit trying to carve holes through his body.

    But sadly for them, the demon''s body was strong. Much stronger than they were expecting. After all, even whitebeard''s blow barely fractured his armor. And Whitebeard was known for his destructive attacks.

    The light spheres did nothing to him besides shattering the ice around him. He then slowly got up from the ground and made a move as he vanished before they could even blink.

    Suddenly from the side of Aokiji, he appeared swinging his claw at his head, in an attack that would definitely kill him. His eyes taking malicious ecstasy at killing him.

    But someone disagreed with that.

    As soon as the devil had moved Ian had followed him, and then when the attack almost hit Aokiji, Ian stopped it with his spear as he stood in front of him.

    The old man Whitebeard took his chance too as he closed in on him with his weapon swung in an arc, making the devil hurriedly dodge lest he suffers another serious injury.

    But where it dodged, Garp was ready with a black looking c.o.c.ked arm that punched it through the ground as it kept being thrown for a huge distance.

    Right now it knew that it had to run or it will die. It shouldn''t have been hasty, and it should have waited for its siblings to awaken completely before making a move. And now if it didn''t run it would die. It didn''t care about that as much as it wanted to tell its siblings about the danger that would result from Ian. But if it died it won''t be able to tell them¡­

    "AHHHH" With a yell bone spikes appeared from its back and hands. It kicked the ground as hard as it could and jumped at the weakest link of this fight.

    Aokiji. The guy was strong that was true. But only due to his fruit. When his fruit is not working he would be the weakest in the group of the admirals.

    And as they had it trapped in a ring, it wanted to make a path and escape.

    But the rest didn''t let it do as it pleased. They attacked as soon as the devil moved. With each person delivering a devastating attack from a different side.

    And just like this, attacks were made, with the devil trying to run but each time failing and taking more injuries. By the time twenty minutes had passed, the devil had lost an arm, courtesy of one Ian Louis, and was kneeling from the tiredness and injuries¡­ no energy left in it to do anything else.

    All it could do was glare at them with its red menacing eyes.

    Ian was breathing heavily as he was injured with blood leaking from his wounds. Though none was life-threatening. He was tired because of using his spear art¡­

    Whitebeard too was breathing heavily though it was obvious he had the least amount of injuries. His fruit uses his stamina, and by now he was starting to get slower.

    The marines'' side was not any better¡­ with Sengoku barely able to keep his form, Garp heaving with some shallow cuts, Aokiji having wounds all over his body and Kizaru a huge five claws wound on his chest¡­

    From the moment all ganged up on the devil, it was pointless to try to run or fight anymore. Although the demon was strong as was proven with him able to take the attacks of six people as strong as it, while at the same time injuring them in the process, it still wasn''t able to beat them.

    And now it was struggling with a decision.

    Ever since they had been created they had been but mindless beasts¡­ but he and his siblings gained awareness and with it this humanoid form¡­ what it was struggling with was to revert back to that mindless form or not.

    Although it didn''t mind dying, reviving would take years and years before it would be back. But if it reverted back to the mindless form, there was a possibility it would regain its awareness much sooner than that. And when they had awoken this time, they had been told that the coming years would be important to them. So he could not afford to die this time.

    Although this mindless form was weaker, due to its size it guaranteed its escape. He could only hope that it would run instead of acting stupid and staying here.

    With a final nod to itself, and a hate-filled glared at all its assailants, it let go.

    It let go and started to revert to its original mindless form¡­ Ian, Whitebeard, and co hurriedly jumped backward at the sudden transformation.

    "What the heck is happening?" Sengoku yelled as he started to get nervous about this.

    Ian gave him a look.

    "While you hypocrites are still protecting the corrupt and killing the innocent and yelling justice here and there, this is what lurks in the shadows of the world. This is the real threat we face. And if it wasn''t for Roger and Whitebeard who disposed of them the last time, perhaps their plans would have already worked." Ian said.

    While Whitebeard at the side just shook his head. He knew that nothing would change even if Ian had said that.

    Sengoku flared up at being called a hypocrite. But he knew who Ian meant by the corrupt, so he just ignored him as he refocused on the transforming abomination in front of him. Meanwhile, Garp just closed his eyes painfully, he himself didn''t like the so-called corrupt any more than Ian did.

    Suddenly an inhuman form appeared as the devil finally transformed completely and roared at the sky.

 Chapter 76 - Execution

    A bit of distance away from where all of them were standing and now looking at the huge shadowy form.

    Shanks had just got back to the battlefield as fast as he could when he felt a type of energy he had felt from before. It was the energy he picked up on Blackbeard''s body¡­

    It was also something he felt from a certain someone back in the years when he was younger¡­ He had felt the energy was evil, but he couldn''t do anything about it¡­ he did not know anything about them being devils, if he did, perhaps he wouldn''t have made a deal with the world government all those years ago¡­

    He was running along with his crew when he signaled them to stop, and just like the rest, he took a look at what that huge form is.

    From Its energy, he knew that his crew should stay out of this at all costs, or they might die.

    "You guys, step a huge distance from this thing and just wait for me," Shanks told them.

    And they knew from the years they spent together, that he was not looking down on them. Rather he was thinking about protecting them. So they just nodded and did as asked.

    While he stepped up near Whitebeard and Ian.

    "So you are still here Red hair?" Whitebeard asked without taking his eyes off the beast.

    "Yes! I came as fast as I could to give help" He nodded his head as he took the appearance of the beast.

    Ian too gave a nod and went back to observe the beast that was now in front of them.

    It was beyond huge. It was enormous. Like 800 meters sized.

    Its arms and legs were slender, and its skin was a really dark blue close to black. Its arms were shaped like five long and sharp claws. But besides this, there was no notable feature, as if it was just a blob of darkness shaped like a humanoid.

    Ian was stumped as he saw this. In his mind, he was like ''what the f*ck is this? How am I supposed to fight that?" Since this war, he had started to realize the importance of having huge firepower. And though he was strong, he didn''t have a finisher move as one would say.

    The marines had to begrudgingly fight once again with the pirates as they would need all the help they would need. They had seen all the beast could do in the smaller form and were not willing to see it in this form. The damage it could do to the world would be tremendous.

    So the marines talked to each other and decided they would work together.

    "Whitebeard, Red hair and¡­ Ian. Let''s work together to take care of this abomination" Sengoku asked as he swallowed his pride for this one time and bowed his head at them. Even Garp joined him.

    But the beast didn''t give them any more time to think as it tried to run past them, which with its size would not take it many steps to do so.

    So when Ian and co realized that, they agreed to Sengoku, and all of them started to take action.

    Although its size was huge, they were not known as top world powerhouses for nothing.

    The opening attack went to Aokiji who made a huge sharp mountain of Ice-that appeared even smaller than its leg- in the place it was going to move its leg into. But the mountain did not impale it as the rest of them thought. It just broke dealing some pain to the beast as it roared.

    Now changing its focus to take care of them it turned to them as if it already forgot about running.

    It swung its right claw trying to destroy anything in its way.

    But they all jumped back, with Sengoku using his huge body to jump and release a shockwave at its face. Which managed to throw its head to the back a bit.

    Next was Garp and Whitebeard as they followed after Sengoku and delivered punches at its face. As big as all three of them were, they appeared even smaller than its eyes.

    Whitebeard''s arm was coated in his quake power and in a particularly bigger bubble than the earlier times. While Garp''s arm was black straight to the shoulder with noticeable flame markings at the end. A red aura was surrounding the arm.

    Whitebeards attack broke the air around its face, while Garp''s arm was able to hit before it even touched until his arm reached its face where they finally were able to make it fall backward.

    Kizaru gathered a huge amount of light power at his hands, as he pointed at the beast and released two brightly glowing light beams. One at its right arm and one at its leg and they both penetrated through it making blood flow from the wounds. Though the beams were large the area they hit was small in comparison to the beast.

    Ian finally had a chance to witness the advanced form of armament Haki. Emission. Where the user can project their Haki flow from their body without a medium. This method allows the user to damage and/or repel their target without making direct contact or using brute force. And Garp had done just that. Most likely he knew normal attacks were not going to do much damage and he did not wish to waste the chance he got.

    Still, Ian didn''t stay idle as he changed his spear style.

    Earth-shattering style. This increases the gravity on the spear making it heavier in proportion to what Ian can carry with his raw strength. Each blow made with the spear in that state is as the name implies, earth-shattering.

    And against such a huge opponent it was necessary.

    Looking at the beast that tried to stand back up with its right hand''s help, Ian capitalized on that, by using ''Shave'' and appearing at its hands joint and attacking with a wide swing of his spear.

    And that was flowed by Shanks himself attacking with His sword coated in Haki at such a speed that proved to Ian that he was worthy of his titles. And similarly to what Garp had done earlier, there was a red aura surrounding the sword that would increase the sword''s power.

    But even as the attacks practically exploded at that point they touched, it still did not manage to sever the arm nor make the beast fall.

    And when Kizaru saw this he hurriedly materialized there and used his light sword to finish the attack, dealing a slash with tremendous force, and finally landing the final blow that made it fall, still, he only added to the wound and didn''t sever the arm.

    When it fell again, Aokiji instantly froze its hands and legs to the ground. Kizaru took advantage of that as he was the only one capable of injuring it currently. Though the old man and Garp still dealt it some internal damage.

    Kizaru jumped to the sky and released his attack.

    "Yasakani Sacred jewels" He yelled as he released a torrent of deadly light particles that incidentally destroyed the ice, but still dealt the damage it should have.

    "ROOAARRR" The beast roared in pain from the damage it took, as it thrashed with its hands making everybody dodge.

    But Aokiji who was breathing roughly once again tried to trap it in ice.

    Whitebeard and Garp jumped side by side to the sky, as they both fell on the chest of the beast.

    Whitebeard with both legs surrounded in a bubble, while Garp had both arms interlocked as he hit with them.

    The attack released a huge shockwave as the beast was thrown further into the ground making a huge crater with its chest caved in.

    All saw this chance as appropriate to take the beast down, so they used their attacks at once.

    Ian flew into the sky as he spun onto himself gaining momentum as he used six king gun to throw his spear as hard as he could onto the chest of the fallen beast. Making the spear appear as if it teleported into the chest of the beast.

    "Falling meteor" Ian muttered as he attacked.

    And when it reached, it penetrated the beast and further buried it into the ground. But that was not all as Garp jumped to the spear with his arm c.o.c.ked and he punched it making it go right through the body and penetrate the ground.

    Whitebeard similarly jumped with Kizaru at his side, as he focused as much of his energy into his hand, making a huge bubble, that started compacting and compressing for more power before he jumped at the area wounded and punched as hard as he could, with a warrior shout.

    "OUUHH" He yelled as his arm pressed on its chest. Before he finally let go and jumped back to avoid Kizaru''s attack.

    Kizaru joined his palms as he made a concentrated light particle sphere in between before he hurled it at the beast. It was like a bomb as once it touched, it brightened the area and showed everybody that the beast was missing a huge part of its chest.

    And that left only Sengoku and Aokiji.

    Sengoku used his final form which actually tripled his earlier size and power, but at the cost of him only being able to use it for a few seconds. He then used his signature attack.

    "Impact wave." This time the shockwave released was much more devastating than before. The beast could be seen visibly getting buried into the ground from the force.

    Aokiji finally used his trump card attack.

    "Ice entrapment: Execution." He shot ice from his hands forming four pillars from the ground that met at one point in the sky above the beast''s chest. And from the point, one huge sharp icicle shot out penetrating the beast straight to the ground.

    And that was the final hit needed for the beast to die. And the world was short of one Di¨¢voloi.

 Chapter 77 - A message

    Ian could finally relax after they took care of the beast. His attacks took a lot out of him as he had to keep focusing on two things at the same time.

    ''What the hell was this monster?'' He thought to himself while he was breathing roughly.

    In the original anime, there was no such thing even close to this monster. At that time, the war went badly and Whitebeard and Ace had died.

    Although Ian knew about the Di¨¢voloi, neither he nor Whitebeard knew what their purpose was. The ''voice'' had only told them to take care of them or they would bring the end of the world.

    But Ian had a guess.

    ''The only thing that changed is that the old man is alive¡­ And I was not in the original anime¡­ meaning my presence could have got them out of hiding¡­'' He thought to himself.

    In this war, the old man Whitebeard was alive and kicking and even healthier than before. And Ace did not die as planned. There was a possibility that they had existed in the past anime but they just didn''t show up as everything went according to plan in the war.

    And since things were different now, they made an appearance to fix things up, but ended up underestimating the might of the humans.

    And then there was the other option. Where they were here, for him. It was a bit farfetched but it could be possible. They may have found him a threat to whatever they were planning in the future.

    ''Either way, this world keeps on getting even more dangerous.'' He thought. If he didn''t rush to evolve his body with all those abilities, perhaps he might be dead right now. He was glad he had done so and resolved to continue as soon as possible on that path.

    He momentarily put that thought to the side as he looked around.

    Apart from Garp, Whitebeard, and Shanks, all people there were on the ground sitting from exhaustion.

    Especially Aokiji who was laying down on the ground completely. Sengoku was down on one knee trying to catch his breath which was understandable as his last attack took everything out of him, While Kizaru was just standing there looking tired to move even a bit.

    Ian turned to look at the huge downed body of the beast in front of him.

    He did not even need to think before he stored it in his ring. It was so sudden that everybody was alerted as they took positions to attack, and even Aokiji stood up.

    Ian played his part as he grabbed his spear with two hands and turned to observe the surroundings vigilantly.

    "What the hell just happened?" Sengoku yelled as he grabbed his waist with one hand and kept turning to look around him searching for the body or who had taken it.

    Ian then lowered his spear and spoke.

    "There is no one here other than us. Whatever took the Body must have already left." He said.

    And nobody could argue against him. He had proved his strength in this war. From this day onward, the whole world would know that Ian was as strong as an emperor.

    They all understood that whatever took the body and runoff was extremely strong for them to not notice it at all.

    Meanwhile, Ian knew from the looks they all were making that his plan had succeeded.

    Although he took the body, it was not without a plan. He wanted to first use its bloodline to evolve his body once again, and the most important part of his plan is to make Garp and Sengoku and the admirals here vigilant of this new threat¡­

    He knew that Garp and Sengoku would retire in a way. For Garp, it was as Ace had died to Akainu. And for Sengoku, it was the result of the world nobles covering the fact that many dangerous fugitives had runoff from the prison. While just one of them could bring a nation down to its knees¡­ And Ian had noticed earlier in the fight that the crew of the now-deceased pirate Blackbeard, had vanished.

    Although he had knocked them out, someone had possibly recovered from that attack and saved them.

    So Ian wanted to make Garp and Sengoku see the truth about the di¨¢voloi. So that he would gain an ally in them. Though he didn''t know if he''ll need their help in the future, it did not matter right now. He had heard from Whitebeard''s mouth how he and Roger teamed up and still almost lost so he was not taking any chances.

    So his plan had succeeded.

    "Old man let''s leave. There''s nothing left to do now." Ian stored his spear, as he addressed Whitebeard.

    The old man nodded.

    Shanks too started heading to his crew.

    While the admirals and the rest were approached by several doctor marines'' to tend to their wounds.

    Ian looked at Garp and Sengoku. He used his mental powers to deliver a telepathic message.

    [In the coming days you will finally see the true colors of the world government. If, and I say if, at that time you wish to know more about that beast we fought, then contact the old man for a meeting. I''m sure you already have his number. I am giving you this chance because I know you are not really corrupt.]

    Then when they turned to look at him in shock he gave a small nod, and before the eyes of the onlookers, Ian, And whitebeard were swallowed up in shadows, leaving nothing behind.

    Once again they panicked before Garp calmly spoke.

    "That brat really knows how to show off." He was looking at the Moby d.i.c.k at the distance that was now turning and starting to sail at the sea. The rest followed his gaze before they too just got back to their things.

    On its deck there appeared Ian and Whitebeard, before Ian was suddenly enveloped with a hug from Elene who had been worried ever since that unknown person had first attacked him.

    Garp just shook his head. And continued to think about what Ian had meant. The same went for Sengoku.

 Chapter 78 - This is how life should be

    Ian knew. He knew that this time''s actions would change the world too much. But he did not care at all, he would gladly embark on such an unknown future.

    One of the things changed. Is about Luffy.

    Originally he would be saved by Law. And then taken to Amazon Lily.

    But now he was actually carried by Ace who had just found out about his condition.

    As he did not want to dampen the mood of the war, he discreetly found some doctors to see about Luffy but they were helpless.

    They were now on the Moby d.i.c.k that was moving and was already a distance away from the place the war took place in. With many sh.i.p.s surrounding it. Since they had to enter the new world by coating their sh.i.p.s they had to head to Sabaody archipelago, and now they were just about to reach it. The party that they would have would be there. Pirates could party anywhere at any time.

    Ivankov was also there, and he had told Ace about the actions Luffy had done to reach the war. Even Hanc.o.c.k''s ship was by the side.

    Ace felt it was his fault as he almost teared up, but then Marco who was by the side saw Ace running around frantically searching for a doctor.

    "Oi Ace, What happened?" He asked him.

    "It''s Luffy he needs help. But the doctors can''t do anything" Ace said, almost yelling from frustration.

    "Oh is that so. Calm down Ace. Tell me do you remember Pops'' condition?" Marco said calmly while he looked at Ace.

    Ace was confused. What did that have to do with Luffy. But he still gave a nod.

    "Well, look at him now! And didn''t you think that something was wrong with the way he fought in the war?" Marco asked. He could understand if Ace didn''t pay attention, after all, he had been under a lot of stress.

    Ace saw the old man laughing as he was walking with Ian-Who had already worn his shirt- and an unknown girl to him who was actually quite good looking.

    Shanks had already left saying he has some business and would not be able to join them at the party. Though Shanks did not like how this turned out, it was still the better of the results from the war that could have happened. So he had to be content with this¡­

    But Ace focused on the condition of the old man. He was actually walking normally and appeared healthy. Now that he thought about it the old man fought and dominated everybody at the war, which should have been impossible.

    "How is that possible?" He exclaimed.

    "It was all thanks to Ian. We all owe him a big one. He healed Pops so that he can save you" Marco said with admiration.

    "He healed him? Then we really need to thank him. But wasn''t pops condition incurable?" Ace wondered as he said to Marco.

    "He just that good a doctor." Marco smiled in reply.

    "That good a doctor¡­ ah, that''s right he might be able to help Luffy." Ace said as he started running at Ian.

    When he reached he called for him. Once Ian was near, he impatiently asked for his help.

    "Can you save Luffy? I heard you are a great doctor and healed pops. Luffy is in a critical condition¡­ please save him" Ace said with worry in his voice.

    Ian gave a nod. He noticed that they had reached Sabaody archipelago already. He turned to Ace and said.

    "Sure lead the way. I''ll help him, after all, he is my friend."

    Ace smiled happily as he started leading him to a room where Luffy was sleeping on a bed.

    Elene had followed him inside and saw Luffy and also Hanc.o.c.k who didn''t want to let Luffy out of her sight¡­

    She immediately got excited as she wanted to go greet her. But she calmed down as she knew that she was worried about Luffy.

    Just like Ian, when he met Whitebeard, she was a huge fan of Hanc.o.c.k.

    Ian grabbed Luffy''s arm, and he started channeling his energy through his body.

    And after a few minutes, Luffy suddenly opened his eyes as he got up and started coughing blood from his mouth. The others panicked while Ian just went to the side and got him a towel along with a glass of water.

    When he drank the water and cleaned his mouth, he turned to look at people present.

    He first saw Ian.

    "Oh, it''s you, Ian." He was happy about this friend of him, as he had fulfilled his promise of saving Ace.

    Once he thought of that he turned around hurriedly checking.

    "Ace!!" HE saw Ace and jumped at him. The hugged for a bit before Luffy separated from him with a small laugh.

    "Hahaha" He was truly happy.

    He then saw Hanc.o.c.k by the side staying quite.

    "Oh, Hanc.o.c.k you are here too." He said to her happily.

    She gave a nod as she started blushing madly.

    Ian and Elene shared a look. And then Elene finally got the courage to go chat with her¡­

    ****

    Whitebeard knew that they would not have enough food, and drinks to have a good enough party. So had his sons take care of that.

    And since they were docked at one of the lawless areas at Sabaody archipelago they had to go a distance away to get the supplies.

    Meanwhile, the sh.i.p.s had been aligning near each other, so that anyone can move from one ship to the other. The three big sh.i.p.s including the Moby d.i.c.k were in the middle of the smaller sh.i.p.s.

    Soon the others were back and were carrying crates with supplies to the ship. They had brought enough to last them a week of partying.

    Then the musicians took their places among each ship after all music was essential to a party. They would play but would also rest to eat and drink from time to time.

    Once everything was ready.

    The old man waited for everybody to get their cups filled with booze before he began talking.

    "You guys, this is to our win!!! Let the party begin!!!!" He yelled with the rest giving a cheer back.

    "OOOouuuhhhHH" Then they all downed their drinks, and even Ian who sitting near the old man did so. And Elene who was by the side of the women along with Hanc.o.c.k too downed her drink.

    Soon everything turned to chaos.

    On every ship, you would find the pirates had made a circle and were doing something.

    On some sh.i.p.s, the girls had started dancing for the men. On some others, the men had started brawling, with the women cheering and gambling on who would win.

    The fights, of course, were not ones with either Haki or Devil fruits, they were just simple hand to hand combats.

    Then some were playing arm wrestling. Others made bets on who would catch the biggest fish, then they would jump to the sea, as it was still day.

    The party had just begun.

    Ian looked around at the cheering men and women and thought to himself.

    ''This is how life should be''

 Chapter 79 - A friendly match

    Then a while passed just like this. And Elene had at some point teleported all of Ian''s crew to the party.

    (A/N: did you think I would forget about his crew? hehe)

    Elene and Stella chatted with Hanc.o.c.k who was surprisingly drinking and chatting happily with them, not what would one expect from a cold woman like her.

    Robin had found the festive mood extremely good and was right now chatting with a library enthusiast woman like her from whitebeard''s ship. They were close to musicians and enjoyed the tunes while speaking. Though she was not very far from Elene and co. Occasionally she would steal looks at Ian, only to be found out by Elene and she would blush a bit and avert her gaze from her.

    Bert however was enjoying himself talking with the mink people from Whitebeard''s crew. He was very happy to meet them, as he had left his home at a young age. And at some point in time, his fellow kinsmen had roped him in to join the brawl of drunken men, to which he reluctantly joined at first but as he started winning he started to enjoy it.

    Meanwhile their captain, Ian was talking with the old man as the rest of the guys and gals continued to get rowdy.

    Occasionally someone would be seen flying in front of them, maybe the result of someone having kicked his butt flying.

    "Ian. I''m thankful to you. For what you''ve done." Whitebeard said as he had a huge bottle of Sake in his hand he was drinking from.

    And he truly meant it. But who was Ian? He was a fan of this guy, there was no way he would keep the guy feeling this thankful to him.

    Ian took a few seconds to think while looking at his glass of Wine. Though he liked Sake too, he was at the moment drinking Wine which was his favorite. And he would later try other types. After all, at this party every type of drink was present. Rum, Sake, Wine, Beer¡­

    "Old man, don''t mention this anymore. I have simply helped where I can. That''s all." Ian then spoke after a bit as he had simply healed him. And made some few contributions in the war. But the MVP should be Whitebeard who dominated all his fights at his old age. He truly made the marines lose all face.

    "Nonsense. If it wasn''t for you, I would be dead, and quite possibly Ace. Just shut up and listen brat. I knew my condition, and if I fought against the admirals at that state even one or two of them would have taken me down. Not to mention I was on guard of betrayal thanks to you, otherwise in that weakened state of mine, perhaps only that magma brat would have been a challenge to me, not to mention Teach who came at the end... So don''t tell me it was nothing. It was everything to me. Now look at me, I feel alive and healthy and I am still among my children instead of dying in that cold-blooded battlefield¡­" Whitebeard started saying to Ian. At one point Ian was going to object but Whitebeard told him to shut up and listen which promptly had him close his mouth.

    Ian could feel the emotions of the old man. Perhaps the alcohol started getting to him. Or perhaps he was just that emotional right now. Still, Ian was not any better. Getting repeatedly thanked by the person he enjoyed watching the most in the anime, was starting to make him embarrassed.

    His cheeks were a bit red. And he had an embarrassed smile on his face. He never dealt with something like this before. Plus the alcohol was making him more emotional too. He could of course just flush it out of his system but on this day he wanted to party like the rest.

    "So someone like you can still make that expression Hahahaha" Whitebeard laughed as he saw Ian and his condition.

    "Shut up old man." Ian snorted at him as he was annoyed.

    Suddenly someone was calling for them. As they were in the Moby d.i.c.k the Activity that they were doing while drinking was fighting and arm wrestling.

    Ace and Marco came up happily to them and started dragging them into one of the rings.

    "Pops, the guys want to see you arm wrestle," Marco said with a helpless smile. Though he couldn''t fool Ian and Whitebeard''s eyes. They knew he was excited about that too.

    Jozy was already drunk and sitting there waiting.

    Whitebeard sat too as he put the Sake down at the side.

    As Whitebeard''s arm was much bigger than his, Jozu just made his best to hold it.

    Then as Marco announced the start. Everybody started cheering and encouraging Jozu who starting to get red from the effort he was trying. Meanwhile, the old man did not budge an inch as he finally took action and brought down his arm defeating him instantly.

    "As expected of you pops" Jozu was not mad as he started laughing.

    Then soon others wrestled with old man, and he started gaining a winning streak.

    Suddenly people started calling for Ian to step up.

    "Ian, Ian, Ian, Ian" Even the girls that were far away started coming to see what was happening.

    Ian gave a nod to the cheering as he smiled and sat on a barrel in front of the table they were using.

    As his hands were even smaller than Jozu, it appeared to the onlookers as if Ian''s arm was trapped into Whitebeard''s.

    But Ian was holding his hand tightly. And as Marco gave the signal for the start. The old man started pushing him back bit by bit. But it was apparent to the rest that he was making a huge effort.

    Ian then used his scaly mode suddenly and got a boost to his strength which helped him push the old man''s arm back for a bit until the old man was able to bring his hand to the middle once again.

    The crowd was cheering at this match, while Ian was shaking his head at them internally.

    ''You all are way too drunk'' He thought to himself.

    After a minute or so, it appeared the table they were wrestling on could no longer hold to their strength as it was destroyed in a small explosion. In truth, Ian knew that whitebeard could have won, as he was stronger physically.

    The onlookers yelled at the top of their voices for a rematch, to which Both Ian and Whitebeard just refused as they got back to their place and continued to drink.

    "Old man, I have to discuss something with you," Ian said a bit seriously. Then Whitebeard gave a nod.

    "I am not so arrogant as to say to fight those devils on my own. As such I would need your help. But I''m afraid even that is not enough. So I want to include as many strong people on this. I have a feeling that in the future we would need all the help we could need." Ian added.

    He already hinted at this to Garp and Sengoku.

    And after this party, he was going to train his crew to a point where they can protect each other, as he knew that his future journey would become harder and harder.

    If things went as in the anime. Then Aokiji would be quitting the marines. At that time Ian would address this with him too. He would even offer him to join him.

    "Then when one of us finds out about the devils, he would call the others. With Elene''s powers, we would be able to gather at one place and then take care of it." Ian then said to the old man.

    Though Ian knew that he will be getting stronger even more. As such if he knew he could beat the devils with just his crew then there would be no need to gather the rest. But there was a need for them to know about the devils and their plans as they were the top most powerful people of this world.

    The old man gave a nod. He too knew that the future was unknown and anything could happen. And Ian had already told him about Garp and Sengoku. So he agreed with Ian.

    [A/N: Much thanks to ''Siddarth Ravi'' for being my first Patron and to ''Kyle von Hollen'' for being my second patron and now ''Joao Silva'' for being the third. I do not care for how much you helped with. I only care that you found my work is worth spending money on. So once again thank you, guys!! Was not going to write this chapter as I am a bit tired but since you made my day I felt the need to write another chapter.]

 Chapter 80 - The meeting

    [A/N: Much thanks to ''mrgn'' and ''arima1f'' and ''Ryu D'' for their donations!!]

    Now three days had already passed, and as some sh.i.p.s were already coated they had already started leaving.

    The rest that are still waiting for their sh.i.p.s to get coated are still partying big time.

    Each of them came to Ian at some point and thanked him heavily for healing their father. The reason they had not done it before, is that they had thought he had become one of them by joining the Whitebeard pirates. So they thought they could do it later.

    But since they had heard that Ian would be leaving soon¡­ they all came to apologize and deliver their thanks. Ian accepted them all as he chatted with them some getting to know them better.

    Now Ian was preparing with his crew to leave. Their ship had already been stored in the ring the day Elene brought the rest. She had taken the ring from Ian to do it.

    So now the only thing keeping Ian in this ship was if Garp and Sengoku may come. But this was the third day. And he resolved to leave if they didn''t call. It was not like Elene could not teleport them back after all.

    But as if things were looking out for him¡­ Someone came and informed Whitebeard about a call.

    Ian shared a look with him and nodded.

    "Let''s go, Elene," Ian said.

    And she followed after him and Whitebeard.

    When they entered a room, Whitebeard grabbed the speaker and spoke.

    "This is Whitebeard." He said.

    The snail was taking the shape of Sengoku''s face with his mustache and beard.

    The other side was silent for a bit before he replied.

    "We want to know more about that beast," The voice said. And Ian knew it was Sengoku.

    He knew that Sengoku had already resigned from the marines. As most likely the government had chosen to hide the existence of the criminals who escaped. In a bid to conserve what was left from their reputation after the war. But this finally had Sengoku fed up. He couldn''t believe they were willing to sacrifice the people they swore to protect for something as measly as reputation.

    But Ian didn''t know what happened with Garp. As in the original, he would have resigned due to Akainu killing Ace. In truth, Garp had thought about what would have happened in the war. And reached the conclusion that maybe both his grandsons would have died. While he stood there contemplating between family and duty.

    As such he reached the conclusion that he should retire before he had to make that choice. Since before, he did not want to move up the ladder of ranks like Sengoku, precisely for taking orders from those sc.u.ms above. Now he was also disgusted at them as they chose to let those criminals go free. The marines still wanted him to stay as an instructor, but he just told them that he was already old. Actually being 76 years old. Then he had his retirement processed.

    "Sure. Where are you right now?" Ian was the one who spoke this time.

    When they replied, he had Elene go and bring them to the room.

    And just a few seconds later the both of them were there.

    They had shocked looks on their faces. But they soon got back to the point.

    "We meet again, Whitebeard, Ian" Sengoku greeted. But one could detect a hint of bitterness in his voice.

    While Garp gave them a nod, as he held rice crackers in his hand.

    Both of them had time to think about the beast they fought. The marines above them had been adamant to deny its existence on the pretext that it would bring chaos to the world if their existence was confirmed, but the both of them felt something was wrong about that even if they agreed.

    Since the whole world knew about the whole war, including the devil part¡­ The marines were losing the faith of the people. And pirates were getting more brazen since Whitebeard had won¡­ Which is why Sengoku was bitter.

    So now here they were trying to gain more information on the beast and see from there what they would do.

    "Old man, since they are here, it''s obvious it''s about the Di¨¢voloi so I''ll let you tell them about them," Ian said.

    And so, Whitebeard told them of his experience and roger at that time. And the marines had records of that fight but they had thought it was one regular fight with the known rivals.

    Then when Whitebeard finished telling them about the voice, the three di¨¢voloi, and the unknown existence Ian felt it was his time to start explaining.

    So he said.

    "And then, one day when I was on the sea, that said voice the old man spoke about, contacted me," Ian said. They had just calmed down from hearing Whitebeard when Ian shocked them again.

    "And what did it say?" Garp was admittedly more composed than Sengoku.

    "It said, that the Di¨¢voloi were awakening. And that I should reach out to Whitebeard for him to explain what they were." Ian said.

    "Which is why when you asked me at the time for what I had to discuss with the old man, I couldn''t tell you." Ian then added.

    Then both of them stayed silent for a bit.

    And Ian and Whitebeard let them think for a bit.

    After a while, Sengoku spoke.

    "Then what do you gain by telling us this information?" He said.

    "Well for one, I''m pretty sure the marines would not make the news about them spread in fact they are probably going to deny them completely," Ian said. Making Garp and Sengoku grit their teeth.

    But they just nodded in the end.

    "What I want from you, is to help me and the old man in the future if we find out about the whereabouts of one of the devils. We want all the help we can. You have seen how strong that devil was. And that was possibly the weakest of the devils. With Elene''s help we can trap it and kill it" Ian said.

    He had a plan in the future to infiltrate Marijois and take a picture of ''IM'' and the five elders as ''IM'' might be the leader of the devils or even the existence controlling the devils¡­ It was necessary to show that picture to them to make sure Garp and Sengoku understand things and be on his side.

    Once again Sengoku and Garp stayed silent, contemplating before finally, they agreed. They found out that these devils are more than enough for them to let go of their differences with the pirates.

    Then the meeting was concluded. Ian and Whitebeard had gained two new allies.

    Then Elene took them back before Ian finally prepared to start sailing with his crew.

 Chapter 81 - I Love you

    (A/N: Alright this is the warning. This chapter would be my attempt at a +18 chapter. NSFW. Lemon. Smut. Or whatever other similar tags. You have been warned. Read at your caution)

    Once Ian was done with Garp and Sengoku, he was finally ready to sail. Now it was already two days since they bid Whitebeard farewell.

    His destination being his father''s island.

    Why? Because he realized that his crew has to become strong. And not since he just wanted them to¡­ but rather they were the ones who asked him for help.

    Now Ian himself was good at teaching but he was not as good as his father. Plus he had an agreement with his father to visit every once and awhile. And this was that time.

    He could still remember the day he asked for what they wanted to do.

    *Flashback*

    At that time, Ian had just started the ship sailing, when he got the crew assembled in the eating place.

    "You guys, I''m sorry, since we met we have been just rushing to get to Whitebeard. And then after came the war. But now we finally have the chance to do some adventures." Ian said a bit excited.

    And even if they didn''t overly show it, their excitement for something was still visible to Ian. He just could not know for what. but he was sure it was not for an adventure like him, at least not at the moment.

    "So what do you guys want to do?" Adventure in the one-piece world usually centered on exploring new islands, traveling to known places, and usually is filled with trouble.

    But What Ian didn''t expect is that they didn''t choose adventure. They rather all wanted the same thing.

    "I want to get stronger. So please teach me." Stella was the first to speak.

    "Same here." Bert had no shame in asking this from Ian, as Ian was a powerhouse.

    "I want to become strong too¡­" Robin too muttered.

    "Why do you suddenly want to become stronger?" Ian asked.

    Then Stella was the first to reply as usual.

    "You guys are like the family that I lost. And if I become stronger I would be able to help you protect our family" She said. Suddenly mentioning losing a family. Ian was at a loss, but a look from Elene had him not enquire anymore.

    "As for me, I just realized that if I want to stay in your crew I have to become stronger," Bert said. He knew the dangers surrounding Ian were plenty. He did not mean that Ian would kick him out if he was weak. But rather he would feel bad if he was useless in a fight.

    "I want to train to be able to achieve my dream," Robin said. Ian already knew this and he had promised to train her since they met. But what he didn''t know was that Robin had an additional goal to achieve and that is to become stronger and stand on his side¡­ seeing Elene helping him in his fights, had her feeling weak.

    And then there was Elene who even though didn''t speak, Ian was able to tell she felt the same as them. Perhaps the fight against the devil had her fire to get stronger burn once again.

    *End of flashback*

    So with no option left Ian chose his father, who he knew would be able to train his crew.

    As for where Ian was right now¡­ a certain someone has been in need of comfort ever since she saw him ambushed in the war. But with the war and the aftermath, she was left getting antsy from waiting.

    And this person was Elene.

    ***NSfW content start***

    As such, on the second day since Ian started sailing, As soon as he stepped into his room he found Elene waiting for him there.

    He was left a bit gaping at her attire.

    She was wearing a dark see-through negligee, with nothing under¡­ Ian swallowed his saliva.

    Granted this was not his first time seeing her n.a.k.e.d nor his first time having s.e.x with her, but it nonetheless always excited him.

    Ian knew that she must have been holding off for a while¡­

    She was looking at him with an abashed but still aroused look. Her eyes had a glassy sheen to them as they observed him.

    He could see all the outlines of her body from her and the sight left him mesmerized and aroused.

    Notably on his shorts, a bulge started appearing.

    Her perky but well-endowed b.r.e.a.s.ts were visible to his eyes¡­ he wanted nothing but to have a taste of them. Her shapely round bubbly butt was barely covered with the end of her negligee¡­ Her lovely pink p.u.s.s.y lips peeked through the clothes as he took its shape in his eyes¡­ It was apparent from the moister gathering there that she had been playing with herself as she was waiting for him¡­

    ''Silly girl¡­'' He thought to himself as he stepped closer to her. He knew that he had her scared at that time in the fight, but with the actions, after that, he couldn''t get any alone time with her. But he shook his head and promised to comfort her as best as he could today.

    When he reached her, he gently laid down next to her as he hugged her form. Meanwhile, his right hand sn.a.k.e.d around and tightly held onto her rather big tits.

    He kissed her lips as he felt her body temperature. She m.o.a.ned as she let him do as he wished.

    Both their hands moved as if programmed to do so. They started taking each other''s clothes off. Which in her case was easier than him since she was just wearing a negligee while he was wearing shorts and a shirt.

    But after a few minutes of turning and kissing while his hands played with her b.r.e.a.s.ts, they finally got totally n.a.k.e.d.

    Elene looked at him in longing. She took in the sight of his semi-erect c.o.c.k, and knew that its size would reach maybe 10-11 inches with a girth that promised satisfaction. If she hadn''t slept with him a lot of times already she wasn''t sure if that would fit in her¡­ but it sure did bring her the satisfaction she needed.

    His body was a treat to her eyes. She couldn''t help but wonder if his 8 pack was real as she touched them¡­

    Ian lowered his head to her neck and trailed kisses on her as he kept going down until he had her n.i.p.p.l.e in his mouth. He wanted a taste and he finally got it.

    And as he sucked a bit harder, a m.o.a.n couldn''t help but escape Elene.

    "Ahn" She softly m.o.a.ned.

    His hand went downwards caressing her body until he reached her moist slit. Soft pink flesh clearly visible. He gently caressed it as he continued feasting on her tits.

    Juices were leaking out of her beautiful shaved P.u.s.s.y. And she was m.o.a.ning and savoring the experience. After all, they usually went at it in a more¡­ intense way.

    As Ian got a taste of her tits, he started going downwards with his mouth until he reached her entrance. He inhaled the scent as it excited him even more.

    He grabbed her thighs as he practically buried his head in her p.u.s.s.y. Making her m.o.a.n just from his breath on her lower lips.

    "Ian¡­ I love you" She softly whispered as she gazed at him lovingly.

    "I love you too" He peeked at her as he replied with a gentle smile and voice.

    He placed his lips on her moist p.u.s.s.y lips and started sucking on her juices. It felt to him as if he was tasting a heavenly nectar. He flowed with his tongue as he inserted it and explored her folds.

    Once again she was unable to prevent a groan of pleasure from escaping her lips.

    "AhNN" She m.o.a.ned. As the words of love Ian uttered kept repeating in her head.

    His grip grew tighter while she tightened her thighs around his head as she gripped the sheets of the bed harder. He kept exploring and sampling her fleshy, twitching warm walls.

    Then after a while just like this¡­Elene immediately squeezed on Ian as she grabbed his head with her arms and climaxed hard onto His face and mouth.

    "Oh, Ian¡­" She whispered with labored breaths.

    She took a few deep breaths for a bit until she finally was back to normal. She then pushed Ian into the bed as she got up onto her knees.

    "It''s my turn now" She Seductively said as she licked her lips in anticipation while holding his c.o.c.k in her hand.

    Her b.r.e.a.s.ts jiggling due to the movement.

    She went on to lick each and every part of the c.o.c.k for a starting taste, as her hands gave slow but deep pumps finally getting his c.o.c.k erect. Then after she hastened the motion of her hands, as she finally took his member fully inside her mouth.

    Then her body suddenly shivered as he easily reached the base of her throat while there was still plenty left out.

    Then for a while, she continued going up and down with the movement making Shlicking sounds¡­ sometimes in a fast but deep way, others in fast motion¡­

    Until finally a grunt escaped Ian''s lips as he released all into her mouth.

    Elene felt her head buzz from the warm and milky c.u.m shooting insider her mouth. She took it all doing her best to swallow every drop before finally, she got back to cleaning his c.o.c.k from the leftovers.

    When she was done, she stepped up to his waist and sat on his stomach with his c.o.c.k slapping her butt.

    "Are you ready?" She whispered.

    His only response was a smirk.

    She then separated a bit as she positioned the c.o.c.k into her entrance. She knew Ian. If she let him take over he would easily tire her. But this day she wanted it to be more meaningful. But as she looked at his erect c.o.c.k¡­

    ''At least the first time we do it has to be¡­'' She reconsidered.

    Then she lowered herself gently, taking his c.o.c.k bit by bit, instead of what he would have done, and she would have most likely loved, he would thrust it all in one bit.

    When she reached the base, the c.o.c.k gently kissed her w.o.m.b base as if in greeting. Then after taking a deep breath, she started to move.

    Ian felt the warm and tight P.u.s.s.y as his c.o.c.k reached her base.

    It sent shivers up her spine every time she moved down making her m.o.a.n. She felt every throb every twitch of his c.o.c.k¡­

    Then they proceeded just like this for a while, with slow movements as Ian held his lover gently before he finally reached his end.

    He released inside her directly at her w.o.m.b with a final thrust of him reaching even deeper than before.

    Then after a while of her laying on his chest, she finally sighed and spoke.

    "Ian, thank you." She said as she moved to kiss his lips while they were still connected.

    "Silly girl, there is no need to thank me, in fact, I should apologize for making you worry about me. If I had taken your advice at that time maybe that whole ambush wouldn''t have happened." He knew that she was frustrated since she couldn''t sleep with him after the fight he had.

    "Yes, so I want you to later use my bloodline. And this time don''t find any excuses." Elene said. This was the advice she gave him before the war, but he said he didn''t want to take her uniqueness.

    "Sigh. Alright." He moved a bit making her m.o.a.n, as he held her waist with both hands with her still laying on top of him. He agreed finally, but he prepared a gift for her for being this awesome lover. He would later surprise her. It would also help her as she was about to start training.

    "That''s good. Now. Let''s go crazy" Elene then grinned at Ian.

    And Ian still holding her took the driving wheel, and started thrusting at her with abandon while his own face had a smirk. Each thrust with his full length.

    And then in the room, unlike the soft m.o.a.ns and grunts from earlier, Elene M.o.a.ned and yelled as hard as she could as drool left her beautiful lips while her eyes were starting to lose focus...

    It was good that Ian had already surrounded the room in a barrier of his energy, otherwise the whole ship would have heard him and Elene going at it like rabbits¡­

    (A/N: I know that the average P.e.n.i.s size is around 5.16 inches, and that 7, 8, 9 inches p.e.n.i.ses are rare, but this is the one piece world, I don''t know if I should make it even longer¡­ give me your thoughts about this if you do not find the subject awkward.)

    (PS: Crazy Guest has discovered that he is a better writer of lemons than fanfic works *Sad face*)

 Chapter 82 - A confession

    On the way to Ian''s father island, the odyssey, Ian''s ship, passed many other small and big islands in the new world. Ian was following his father''s vivre card which was pointing in the new world this time. But that didn''t surprise him as he knew the island''s circ.u.mstances.

    Sometimes Ian and co would stop on one island on the way for a bit, but for others, they would just pass them.

    And just like that, it had been a week since Ian started sailing after parting with the old man Whitebeard. One shouldn''t underestimate the size of the new world. As it was huge in the literal form of the word.

    Bert who was in the crow''s nest training, as usual, saw something that the ship was heading toward with his binoculars he kept at the side. It was an island. But he couldn''t make the details from here¡­

    So he stepped down from there with a jump and came closer to his fellow crewmembers as he landed.

    Since they were all going to start their training in the near future, Ian told them to just relax right now before they reach the intended island. Which is what they were doing right now.

    All three girls were enjoying a sunbath laying on a deck chair while drinking orange juice and chatting with each other. Truly an incredible sight for any normal male, sadly Bert preferred one of his own people.

    Each girl had a figure that would make any guy turn to ogle at them.

    Meanwhile, Ian was not on the ship at the moment. He had felt like taking a swim so he had jumped off the ship and was swimming by its side with relative ease. Sometimes he would dive under the ship and observe the sea calmly. He could breathe underwater after all.

    Bert went to the side of the ship and called for Ian to come up.

    "Captain, come up, you should see this," Bert said.

    Ian when he heard him, he immediately flew out the water as he landed next to him.

    The sight of his almost sculpted body Left two of the women there with a tint of blush. While the third girl started teasing them.

    "What''s wrong, Bert?" Ian asked. He was really enjoying the swim.

    Bert just pointed at the far end but didn''t offer the binoculars to Ian, as he knew he would not need them to see that far.

    When Ian looked he saw an island. So just like usual, he turned to the ladies and came closer. While a shirt had already appeared in his hand and he wore it soon after.

    "There''s an island ahead. But according to my information, there''s no such island between the last island we stayed at and the next one we will pass on our way. But it could be that it just was not mentioned." Ian briefed them about the situation.

    And as expected they started to get excited. One would not meet such an island often after all.

    "So what do you want to do? Do you want to pass it or should we explore it?" Ian said.

    Almost immediately everyone replied.

    "We should dock at the island and check it out," Robin said.

    "Yes, that would be awesome."

    "Mn. Let''s see if there is anything going on with this island." Elene said.

    So Ian smiled. In fact, among them, he was the one who wanted to check it out the most.

    "Alright." He said.

    So he steered the ship at the island''s direction and stood there waiting.

    Once they reached it, Ian was the first to jump down. Followed with Bert and then the girls.

    They had already worn fitting clothes unlike the swimsuits of earlier when they were sunbathing.

    Elene as usual wore covering clothes, while Stella and Robin wore more revealing ones.

    When they stood there, Ian stored the ship in his ring as usual.

    "I think we should separate into two teams, and if anything happens you should use the den-den mushi to contact the other team," Ian said as a suggestion.

    And they all gave a nod as they agreed. At one glance the island appeared quite big.

    So Ian took Robin with him, and left the other team, with the crew''s strongest members.

    When Ian and Robin started to head inside the island, Robin had a sweet happy smile on her face. She was happy to get some alone time with Ian. She considered whether she should confess her feelings to him at this moment.

    After a while of her musing and thinking, they had reached the first building of this island.

    They had been walking for almost half an hour, while she had been out of focus.

    Ian left her to her thinking and didn''t interrupt her, but as he saw the first building coming into view, he couldn''t help but stop in his place which made Robin snap out of her thinking. The building was broken with the outer walls barely still holding on.

    Ian could see other broken buildings near and he knew this must be a town of this island. He knew that there must be other towns too because the size of this island was very big.

    He flew to the sky with Robin, then he took a look, and saw that there were indeed many towns filled with broken houses, there was even a castle, well a broken one.

    "Perhaps this was a kingdom before it was abandoned or maybe even destroyed," Ian said, and he was excited for discovering this.

    "Yes." Robin too had an amazed look on her face.

    But she then got back to her earlier thinking. And while still in the sky¡­ she spoke.

    "Ian, I want to tell you something. And as much as I want to continue to explore this island, I feel this is more important." Robin said seriously.

    Making Ian turn towards her instantly.

    He gave her a nod.

    "I like you. Ever since a while ago, I started liking you." She said. She had never been one to stutter or be nervous by saying her feelings. But truthfully what Ian was going to answer still left her a bit worried.

    "But I know you and Elene are together, so I don''t know what I am supposed to do." Robin finally finished getting it all out of her chest.

    Ian lowered them back to the ground as he gave a sigh.

    "Robin¡­ first, listen to me." He told her as he spoke.

    When she nodded he resumed talking.

    "In truth. I too like you. In fact, since the first time we met I developed feeling for you." He said, which surprised her as well as made her a bit happy.

    Ian in truth liked her from his past world but he was not going to say that here.

    "But, at the time I started liking you, I had thought Elene, which was my past lover, was dead. As such I started liking you more and more, until the day where we met Elene and I found out she was still alive. My love for her was ignited once more." Ian said. This was the truth. As he had thought that Elene didn''t come with him to this world, he thought of moving on, and who better than Robin who he already liked.

    "So do you understand now? I ended up having liking you both." Ian sighed. This was truly hard for him. But he knew he had to do this. He was not going to force her, nor did he want to take advantage of her. In fact, he was going to advise her to find someone else¡­

    Robin gave a nod. She understood that he was in a sort of confused emotional situation.

    "So this is what I''m going to say, Robin. There are two options here for you. One you could stay with me knowing I like you and Elene at the same time, meaning I''ll be with you both. And second, you can forget about me, and find someone that would treat you better. I recommend you choose the second option. As I don''t want to take advantage of you." He said before he closed his eyes. And awaited her response.

    Soon however he felt two soft and smooth lips connect with his own. Unconsciously he responded to the kiss as his hands went to circle around her waist, with his tongue soon leaving to explore hers¡­

    After a bit of passionate kissing, they both separated breathing heavily.

    "Is that your answer?" Ian asked after a bit.

    "Yes. I''ll choose to share you with Elene. I don''t think I can find someone like you, Ian. Besides I was able to feel your sadness as you wanted me to look for someone else. So I know you will treat me well." She said, still within his arms, which had her sport a happy smile.

    "But, what about Elene?" Robin then remembered that even if she agreed there was still Elene.

    "Don''t worry, Elene already knows you like me. And she too was fine with sharing, as she didn''t want to hurt your feelings." Ian replied to make her feel at ease.

    So they just stood there enjoying the hug.

    Soon however an explosion of dust and dirt was seen by Ian and Robin. They shared a look before Ian had them flying at the spot of the explosion. He knew that Bert and co were most probably fighting with something.

    (A/N: If you want to see the mc and how he looked after the ambush in the war go see my p.atreon. it''s a public post so all can see it.)

 Chapter 83 - Rock golem

    When Ian and Robin reached the place where the dust originated from, they found their remaining members of the crew fighting against a giant made of rock.

    The giant was thrown to the ground and pined with chains from 6 directions, each chain was growing from the ground but if one would keep tracing them they would see the chains are connected to Stella. They were sprouting from her arms and penetrated the earth to restrain the rock giant. One at its midsection, one to its chest, and the rest each to an arm and leg.

    Dust was still surrounding the rock giant or rather a golem.

    Ian was left thinking as he watched.

    ''Another thing that is different from the original world? Or was it just not shown?'' He thought to himself. As far as he knew there was no living race of rock golems.

    He saw, that Elene was already in position in the back and using her assault rifle. Meanwhile, Bert used his sword.

    The rock giant was not overly large, Ian estimated it to be about 3m or a bit more. But it was entirely made of some type of rock that made it hard for them to attack it.

    Plus he saw that the golem destroyed its own arms and legs making the chains retreat back to Stella''s arms.

    By the looks of the annoyance on her eyes, it was apparent to Ian that there was still something more.

    And just a second later the golem started reforming under Ian''s gaze.

    By now Elene and co saw Ian and came closer.

    When they did. Ian spoke.

    "How did you encounter this golem?" Ian said.

    "We were just checking the broken buildings when it attacked us, but as you can see it''s not very strong, and it can be destroyed easily¡­ it''s just that it will get up fixed in no time once again" Elene said.

    Even Ian didn''t know how that was possible but he had a guess.

    He attacked the golem that was now fixed and running at them furiously.

    He focused his telekinesis around it in a bubble of pure pressure and started making it smaller and smaller destroying the beast until it was just a pile of rocks at the end. But it still recovered soon after.

    He contemplated for a bit and then used presence sensing. As such he knew what was wrong.

    There was a Thread of energy connecting the golem to somewhere on the island. Ian flew a bit up to get a better view before he saw the thread leading straight to that broken castle he had seen earlier. Even in the surroundings, he saw many other golems similarly connected to the castle.

    He got back down and spoke.

    "Elene. Attack its chest with a shot." Ian said.

    Elene didn''t question him, as she shot her rifle.

    When the shot reached the golem''s chest was pierced showing the inside of its body. It was then Elene and co understood what Ian wanted to do as they saw what was in its chest.

    A type of rock that was different than its other body parts. It was a glowing round rock with visible blue veins around it.

    Elene didn''t waste time and attacked it again with a shot. And it was with no surprise as he beast crumbled into a pile of rocks. But this time it didn''t get back up.

    Ian noticed how the thread connecting the golem to the castle was cut.

    "I think someone was controlling the golem. Or rather the golems¡­ anyways the connection I found is originating from a castle in the middle of the island. I think that we should head there. What do you all think?" Ian said before he asked for his crew''s opinion.

    Elene and co agreed, but Robin spoke.

    "If¡­ If there is a library I would like to see if any books on it are preserved." She said as she avoided looking into Ian''s eyes.

    Ian gave a nod. He knew why she was acting that way. She was feeling guilty about Elene. As she had kissed him.

    As such, they started on the road to the castle while occasionally meeting a few rock golems. And since they knew how to kill them the journey went on peacefully.

    That is¡­ Until they reached the castle.

    Standing there waiting for them was almost a small army of those golems lead by an even bigger one, quite possibly triple their height. Almost 9 m.

    In total Ian counted 43 golems and their leader.

    He confirmed that the big golem is in fact a human surrounded with rocks. But he felt something was wrong with this human, he just couldn''t get his hands on it¡­

    Stella chose to speak at this chance.

    "Captain, why don''t you let us take care of those pile of rocks on our own?" She said. She was excited to fight against them. And show off a bit to Ian.

    Ian gave each one of his crew a look before he nodded his head.

    "Alright," He then stepped back a bit letting them head-on. He had never seen them fight as a team before. Though he knew a bit about their abilities, he never saw their teamwork. So he considered this him getting to know more about his new family¡­

    Bert was the first to attack. He used ''Shave'' to appear in front of one of the golems and swung his sword three times, separating it into three parts. Which made the golem''s core show, as he stabbed it with his sword. He then continued to the rest.

    Ian had shown them the marine skills and had them train on them for a while. Among his crew, except Elene who already knew them, surprisingly the first to be able to use ''shave'' was Stella. Followed by Bert. While Robin was able to use ''Paper art'' and ''Tempest kick''. Giving her a new form of attack, though she still was not able to use it with her sprouted arms, as it will consume her stamina.

    Next to attack was Robin. She attacked by sprouting multiple connected arms as if a rope to restrain the golems and attack them with her ''tempest kicks''. This proved efficient as she continued going through the golems.

    And the leader seeing this started moving to take care of them when a shot hit his rock shoulder. It didn''t damage it, but it made it take a step back.

    Elene who shot it, knew that the assault rifle was not going to do any real damage so she changed back to her sniper rifle, as she used ''shave'' to appear on a tree a bit away.

    Stella though found out that her chains were able to penetrate the hard armor of the leader. So she did her best to try and hold him. But his strength was more than her so she changed strategy and instead of holding him, she started attacking the leader with the chains.

    With Elene supporting her, they managed to keep it busy until Bert and Robin had dealt with all 43 golems.

    Now it was four against it.

    Bert would target its legs with his sword leaving a gash in the rock, while Robin''s ''Tempest kick'' would take off the leg after.

    Stella''s chains would attack dealing massive damage from the force they sprung with, and with her ability to control the chains as if they were snakes, she would attack multiple times, finally cutting out a limb.

    Meanwhile, while they were doing this, Elene supported them with her shots with various effects. The reason they were able to attack it and dodge its comebacks is due to Elene''s shots making it slower. She also shot corroding shots at its joints which made it easier for the rest to take the golem down.

    Then as Elene, was the only one with observation Haki, she located the core of the golem, or rather the human body, and shot at it opening its head for the rest to attack.

    Robin shot two ''tempest kicks'' at the opened area, while Bert shot multiple air blades with his sword. Then, Stela combined all six chains into one larger and shot it at a fast speed at the weak spot. Her attack resembling an eastern dragon attacking furiously.

    The golem''s body crumbled while the human ''grey'' looking body that was inside dropped to the floor and started dissolving.

    But none of the people there felt sad or anything. They had all seen even worse things than that, and they were already accustomed to that. As for the golem, he was not overly strong which is why they managed to kill him that fast.

    But Ian still told them the truth regarding this beast.

    "That guy was already dead. You don''t have to think you killed him or anything. But I do not know how he became like this¡­" Ian said.

    He shook his head, at the once again new different thing about this world.

    He turned to look at the castle.

    "Well, whatever. Shall we explore it?" Ian turned to Elene and co and asked.

 Chapter 84 - New bounties

    Elene And co agreed with Ian. After this, they all started heading to the inside of the castle. And planning to explore it.

    Earlier on the way to the castle they didn''t find any library at all. Most likely it was one of the destroyed buildings they encountered, while the books turned to dust from the age so they were not able to guess if it was a library.

    Robin was disappointed about that, but she was kind of hoping to find some books in the castle¡­ Since it should be the most important place in the city. And also the most likely place for the books to still be intact.

    Meanwhile with Ian.

    He was alert the whole time they ventured into the castle. He did not want to be ambushed again. Or worse¡­ one of his crew would die due to his carelessness. So even as he appeared to the rest as if normal and nonchalant, he was in fact on high alert the whole time.

    Soon Ian and co stood against a golden door, the only one in fact still appearing to be in good shape¡­ They had explored the whole three floors of the castle and only found broken doors and empty rooms, and then finally reaching this intact door. That from the looks of it hid a treasure room behind.

    Ian used his energy to pry the door open and set it aside leaning on a wall, simply for the fact that it was in fact made of gold and that they would be taking it later.

    Then as he and the rest stepped inside, they found many things that made their eyes including Ian go round¡­

    "Holy shit¡­" Ian muttered.

    "So much¡­" This was heard from Stella. While the rest all just stayed silent.

    Ranging from golden Swords and shields to vases and jewelry. All of that made of gold. There were also mountains of golden coins mixed with normal ones all around¡­

    Another thing present in the room was paintings and some books. The paintings were fragile as just as Ian tried touching one it dissolved to dust. But for the books they were inside glass containers, so Ian guessed they must still be good.

    But he left that for Robin.

    He turned to the rest and saw their gobsmacked expression¡­ he laughed, "Hahaha" before he started walking around the room, and checking the paintings without touching them. Some of the paintings were about people staying around a table and preparing to eat. He guessed they must be the owners of this castle. Though he was not able to see their faces as the painting had deteriorated.

    He himself even as he had a lot of money, was still shocked, as he estimated the things here would even go for as three times what he had on him.

    This room was not overly big, but its content was rather high priced¡­

    After a while, Ian saw Robin carrying some books.

    "So? Anything on them?" He said. He sure wanted to know who this castle belonged to.

    "Well, I have never seen such a language before¡­" Robin replied as she was looking at the books. She would first need to understand the language before she can tell what the books were about. She had seven books with her. While the rest even inside the glass was not able to escape the effects of time.

    Ian Then started storing everything still intact in the room into his ring. Before he asked his crew if they should head back.

    "Should we go back? Or should we explore more?" Ian asked. He knew that they wouldn''t be able to find anything more even if they continued exploring.

    "Yes, captain." Bert agreed, he too saw no point in going any further.

    Even Robin nodded and understood that if even books in the castle were destroyed there was no hope for the buildings outside.

    Elene and Stella nodded too.

    Stella had Berries for eyes. She was still out of it, thinking of what she can buy with all that money.

    "Haha" All the crew shared a look at her expression, making her snap out of it and glare at them with reddened cheeks.

    "Hmph" She snorted in annoyance.

    ****

    The odyssey has been sailing for another three days as Ian neared his home island. The island he grew up in, and the one he still hadn''t figured out.

    Bert was making everybody a juice to drink, while Robin was trying to understand one of the books she had gotten¡­ she had a small table in front of her chair, with many books in relation to language on it.

    Elene and Stella though were playing a game with guns. Elene had her sniper rifle out and was competing with Stella to see who would be able to shoot the most amount of a flying fish they had encountered in the sea the past days.

    It was similar to a normal fish but it had small wings that allowed it to move at a fast speed and jump high as if flying.

    The fishes they shot were seen floating on the surface of the sea dead. After which they would bring them to the ship. After all, they tasted good, so they wanted even more.

    For the gold and other valuables they had gotten from that castle they had explored, Ian would leave that to Stella to sell them in the future as she was good at things like this. Of course, that would only be once she finished her training.

    Ian had already called his father before and informed him of what was happening, and that he would be coming back.

    Then as Ian was laid back on the deck enjoying the sea breeze on his face, a news coo moved above and Ian signaled it to come down. He took a newspaper and paid the bird.

    After the war, he had still not seen his bounty. Nor if his crew had gotten any.

    He searched and found them soon after.

    Starting with Robin.

    She used to have a bounty of 165,000,000 berries. But now it had increased to 500,000,000 berries.

    He was a bit surprised at that. But after a few seconds of thinking, he knew it was because she was under the protection of a person as strong as an emperor. The bounty would be high so that bounty hunters would dare stand against him.

    "Haha," He laughed at any poor bounty hunter that would cross his path in the future.

    Next was Stella. She did not have a bounty before, as she was a bounty hunter. But now she had one as high as 400,000,000 berries.

    Ian gave a nod. He felt that was appropriate.

    As for how they knew she became a pirate, the marines were always monitoring the emperors, and his visit to Whitebeard would be noticed, and at that time they would have seen his crew, and after searching for who they are they would know about their past as bounty hunters.

    Next was Bert, Who had the same bounty as Stella. Ian once again agreed. Bert was as good as Stella, but she had eaten a devil fruit while he didn''t.

    Ian finally laid eyes on his lover''s bounty.

    750,000,000 berries.

    All his crew until now had a simple description of them being in Ian''s crew. But Elene had a different description. It mentioned her as being the hidden sniper at the war. Her feats were widely known for being able to even avoid the eyes of admirals¡­

    He gave a nod. He knew they would find out about Elene sooner or later as she was well known as a bounty hunter.

    Then Ian grabbed the last bounty, the one belonging to him.

    3,000,000,000 berries.

    He grinned. He had exactly guessed this. Anyone who reached 2 billion berries would be considered as strong as an emperor. And even though he was actually worth more, the marines would start at this for every new emperor and would increase it as he would do more in the future.

    "You guys, you have gotten bounties just like you wanted. And for Robin''s case, it''s an increase.in her bounty. A big one too." Ian said.

    And they all came near him to see.

 Chapter 85 - Nicknames, and reaching the island

    Ian then after checking the bounty posters, proceeded to read what new ''info'' they added to the poster about him and his crew.

    "This person was a relatively unknown pirate and stayed most of the time low-key until he took the world by surprise suddenly. The marines had already suspected him of several operations that resulted in many islands getting destroyed and many innocents dying, and only now was able to confirm that he was the one responsible with his latest actions of saving the devil child Nico Robin who is known for her pursuit of the world destruction. Ian Louis is an extremely cruel and malicious person. Must be avoided at all costs." This was what Ian had read the last time. And it appeared to still be there.

    But what was new was this as he read.

    "He had saved the son of the former pirate king to make him succeed his father and rule the world. Ian Louis the Nightmare Lancer, is a cruel person bent on destroying the world. As evidenced by joining hands with devil child Nico Robin. His strength was proven at the war to be as high as an emperor of the sea. Which makes the drives that motivate him, even more, dangerous to the world. Must be avoided if met."

    Ian laughed as he finished reading.

    "Haha." They had given him a nickname. While usually, the nickname would be something apparent on his person, the marines had taken the initiative and named him by his weapon of mastery. With the added tag of nightmare to add evilness to his name. And at the same time signifying that he is a nightmare to anyone going against him with a spear. They had also given his crew the nickname "Nightmare pirates". With each one having a specialization.

    The rest of his crew were looking at their photos on the posters since he had called them, but they too shared a laugh as they read what Ian''s posture had said. Besides that, their posters only included them being former bounty hunters who turned pirates as they met Ian Louis.

    Elene''s pic was of her walking with her rifle on her shoulder hidden by a cloth. The picture captured her face perfectly and it appeared as if Elene was looking directly at the one who took the picture with a thin smile. Her given nickname being the "nightmare Sniper".

    Bert''s picture was also taken, but he didn''t mind that right now. He was proud to be a mink and doesn''t mind showing himself to the world. His nickname being "The nightmare swordsman".

    His picture was just him in his usual clothes with him training with his sword.

    Stella had a smile on the pic too, but her eyes were closed as she had her arm raised and her fingers in a V shape as if she too knew she was getting photographed at the time. She was nicknamed the "crazy-eyed nightmare".

    Next was Robin, but her picture just stayed the same as before. While her nickname changed to the "nightmarish Devil child". Though she had become even more beautiful and younger one could still identify her by her poster.

    Then as Ian finished looking at all his crew''s pictures, he rechecked his before grinning.

    On the pic, he appeared to have a pissed off look on his face that promised pain. Which was understandable as the pic was taken right after he was ambushed in the war by the di¨¢voloi. This particular look managed to bring out his charm and charisma in full.

    He showed the bounty poster to the rest as they all shared a laugh. They didn''t mind that they had ones now. Rather they liked that.

    ****

    It has been five days since the crew had seen their posters.

    And besides eating, playing around, and the like, they did nothing. They just enjoyed their time. After all, as soon as they reach the island they were going to start their training.

    But Ian didn''t waste the time he had¡­

    Since the process he goes through to strengthen himself needs time between each one, he wanted to first do those weaker ones and leaving the stronger ones until he reaches the island. He started this process the day he saw the bounties.

    He had on him, the blood of Sanjuan Wolf, Whitebeard, and the Di¨¢voloi.

    And so far he had used the blood of the giant, which had actually managed to bring him all the way to the peak of the second stage, or by Ian''s naming sense, the earth realm.

    There were also visible effects to that, as Ian''s height reached 201 cm. Which did make him happy, as he had always wanted to be tall. If he used his defense mode, which boosts his strength, he would be physically as strong as Whitebeard.

    Then two days later, and as he had finished adapting to his new strength, he started on the next process. Which was using the bloodline of Elene just as she had asked.

    The abilities he got from that, was the shadows teleportation, along with the various effects like slowing, corroding, and the like¡­

    And as soon as he had finished that process, he had brought Elene to a room¡­ and after a bit of ''working out,'' he presented her with a gift.

    ****

    Flashback.

    "Since you gave me your all, I have a certain gift for you," Ian said as he got up from the bed still n.a.k.e.d¡­ and he reached behind his hand and materialized the gift from his ring.

    Then under the eyes of Elene who was anticipating this, he brought out a fruit. A devil fruit.

    It was a large, round, and light purple fruit made up of many small teardrop-shaped components with swirl patterns, and green leaves sprouting from the top. Its overall shape and appearance closely resemble a pineapple or a bunch of oversized and teardrop-shaped gr.a.p.es. It was the Darkness-Darkness fruit.

    Since Elene had given him her abilities, he gave her something in exchange that will once again make her the shadows empress.

    As for how he got the fruit¡­ at the war, and the moment that Blackbeard died he had a pirate from their side bring out a couple of fruits and set them on the deck in a size, and voila, after a certain time later, the fruit was there when Ian checked. He had been planning since that time to give it to Elene. He did not believe the fruit to be as weak as Teach had made to appear in the anime. Rather he knew it was much stronger.

    And he wanted Elene to be as strong as possible.

    Elene jumped at him hugging him, also n.a.k.e.d¡­

    "Thank you, thank you¡­" Elene kept repeating as Ian spun her around. Until they fell back to the bed kissing each other and started out another workout session.

    She had wanted to get the fruit ever since she knew about her shadow abilities.

    Flashback end.

    ****

    And now they had finally reached his father''s island, as evidenced by the fog surrounding the area.

    Ian was excited to meet his father Geo once again, and show him how strong he had become. All of his crew were at his side watching the blurry shape of the island through the fog. They were all excited to reach the island where they were going to reach their whole potential.

 Chapter 86 - Reunion of a father and son

    The fog cleared showing the mountainous island in all its glory. It was dominated by the color green due to its trees. Its height appears to be quite high, with buildings apparent at the topmost of the island where the land turned a bit flat. There was a path apparent for one to take to reach where the buildings were.

    Ian''s ship docked at the island, and they were with a person standing guard and waiting for them to disembark there.

    There was a dock built at the island but it was apparent that it was used rarely.

    This person was 197 cm tall with broad shoulders and a well-muscled body with long arms and legs. He was quite handsome with his light golden brown hair and green eyes. His hair was tied in a ponytail while his beard was trimmed nicely as it was apparent he took good care of himself.

    The person waited as Ian and his crew had jumped off the ship onto the ground. Then he saw Ian store the ship and step forward looking at him with a smile.

    "Ian, do you know that person? Why is he glaring at you?" Elene asked as she saw the person glaring at them.

    Stella and the rest gave nods too as they tensed a bit. They didn''t know who this was after all.

    But Ian just laughed.

    "That guy is my father. His name is Geo" He said as he took a few steps forward.

    But then suddenly a wave of conquerors Haki came crashing at him. The source: his father.

    Ian countered with his own.

    His conquerors Haki was the strongest in this world. Ian knew that beforehand. His father had assured him. Ever since that day when he was young and had just awakened it, and ended up knocking the whole island inhabitants unconscious apart from a select few including his father.

    And Ian knew that in the original anime that would have belonged to Shanks. But Ian had spent two years trapped in that dark place which had strengthened his mind beyond any mortal could wish for. Of course, he would not be so stupid to use his Haki at its strongest.

    So it was with no surprise that when the two Haki waves clashed, the earth surrounding them started fracturing. The weather changed from a sunny one to one of storms and thunder. Then rain started pouring slightly as Ian''s father Geo glared at Ian.

    "So you remember you have a father?" Geo said as he took a step forward, disappearing instantly.

    Only to appear near Ian''s head with his kick almost making contact if not for Ian''s arm that caught it.

    "Of course I do. What are you talking about?" Ian asked puzzled at his old man.

    Taking a step back, his father once again attacked from the left side next. But it was caught again. Then Ian tried attacking this time, but his attack was not even a second into the motion before his father vanished, and reappeared at his back giving him a vicious kick.

    But Ian''s instincts prevented him from taking massive damage, as it had him turn slightly and try to guard. But he was still launched skidding on the ground.

    "Oh, so you were able to guard that." Geo was a bit surprised as he saw Ian with his arms still in the guarding position. In fact, he was more surprised with Ian''s current powers, as in the pat he never used this much power against him. Maybe his son had reached his strength right now, or he was close to it.

    "And what I''m talking about you brat, is you never calling me all this time you were out in the sea" Geo then added.

    Making the slightly confused Ian, and his crew to understand what was happening.

    Ian started sweating slightly.

    "There is a reason actually." Ian tried explaining to his Raging father.

    But Geo once again attacked. This time using a bit more power, which ended up opening Ian''s guard for his father to deliver a blow straight to his stomach and making him yelp in pain.

    "What''s this reason you are talking about?" Geo asked.

    But as Ian stayed silent gasping from the pain he added.

    "Are you going to spit out already?" he threatened.

    "Alright. I got it just give me a second." Ian said as he took a deep breath.

    Geo set him up on the ground, as the weather finally went back to normal.

    Ian then crossed his legs as he thought of what to say.

    "Truth be told I kind of forgot. Wait WAIT, there is a reason why I forgot. And it''s related to the war between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines'', as you must have already seen from the newspapers." Ian started explaining to his father. And indeed the news coo does reach their island and he stops it regularly to get the world news.

    Geo had read about the war events, as well as Ian being involved in it.

    He motioned him to continue.

    "Can we talk about this later, as you can see my crew is there waiting for me," Ian said as he turned to look bitterly at his friends.

    But unlike him, they all had huge smiles on their faces. Clearly they were taking pleasure in his misfortune.

    He glared at them with a weird glint in his eyes.

    ''You dare laugh at me¡­ just you wait I''ll make sure he trains you all ten times more worse than before¡­'' Ian thought.

    Suddenly Elene and co shuddered as they felt that something wrong was going to happen to them.

    His father sighed as he gave a nod. He couldn''t stay angry at him all this while so he gave him a hug and helped him up and started walking with him towards his crew, with his hand around Ian''s shoulder.

    When they reached them Ian started introducing them.

    "This is Bert, as you can see he is a mink person. And currently, my best friend" Ian said introducing his friend Bert.

    Bert gave a bow with his head.

    "It''s nice to meet you, Mr. Geo," Bert said.

    While Geo slapped him on the shoulder with his right hand.

    "I''m glad this brat was able to finally find a friend for himself," Geo said while laughing. Bert smiled as he said.

    "I''m glad he became my friend too" In fact, he didn''t think he would be able to find a better friend than Ian.

    Then Geo turned to look at the girls.

    "So which one of you is his girlfriend?" He asked.

    "Cough-cough." Ian coughed as he averted his head to the side. He knew his father would ask this.

    "Let''s talk about that later." Ian tried to avoid talking about that right now, as his crew still didn''t know about Robin. And he didn''t want to hurt Robin by saying only Elene is his girlfriend.

    "This is Elene. Next is Robin. And lastly, Stella" Ian introduced the rest of the girls.

    "Nice to meet you." They all greeted him, while he gave them a smile.

    Then he motioned them to follow him as he started walking the path to the top where the buildings were.

    [A/N: If you want to see Ian, check my P.atreon it''s made to be public!]

 Chapter 87 - Conversation

    The island''s buildings were soon visible as Geo lead Ian and co to his house. Which was the house Ian had grown up in.

    Ian''s eyes contained a bit of nostalgia as he observed the house.

    The house was built using stones and was a two-story building. It was situated a bit of distance from the other houses as Geo liked his silence.

    On the way, the villagers all greeted Ian, and gave him some gifts, since they already knew about his arrival. They were also glad that he was okay. As they had known about the war¡­

    When they reached the house, Ian and co were already holding many clothes, food, and the like.

    They stepped inside with Ian telling them to set things on a table nearby for now as he and his father gave the crew a tour of the house.

    There was nothing special about the house other than its size. It had two rooms on the first floor, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom.

    The second floor was exactly the same as the first floor, except that the kitchen was not there, and a library was in its place. Plus a study room for Ian''s father.

    "So, which rooms do you girls like?" Ian asked them when they finally finished the tour.

    If they each wanted a room, then he and Bert would just have to sleep in the living room, while his father takes the last room.

    "Oh, we can share a room, as they are quite spacious," Elene replied what she and the girls had already discussed since the start. And the rooms were indeed quite big.

    Ian gave a nod as he smiled. This left him and Bert with their separate rooms. He knew the underlying meaning behind this as well. Since Robin was going to be with him too, Elene couldn''t just sleep with him in the same room while she stays with Stella. That would be a bit cruel to her. But this way, each one of them could join him and spend the night in his room.

    Then as each went to set their stuff in the rooms, stuff that Ian had stored in the ring and had now taken out, Ian was left alone with his father.

    "Alright Ian, let''s go to the study room and talk," Geo said as he grabbed Ian by the shoulder and lead him forward. He was excited a bit to hear about his son''s adventures and the like.

    Ian gave a nod.

    When they reached the room, they each took a seat.

    "Well, I think I should start with the first time I used my second ability," Ian said.

    Causing his father''s eyes to go wide.

    "So that''s why you became stronger so quickly¡­ you used it¡­" Geo muttered.

    Then Ian explained about the first time he went to the calm belt and hunted for a sea king. He calmed his father''s worries about side effects and assured him there was none.

    "In fact, forget side effects, the strengthening did more than make me stronger. It actually increased the time I could hold my breath underwater." Ian said with a grin.

    His father processed that for a bit, before replying.

    "Then you started going around looking for various helpful bloodlines?" He asked.

    Ian shook his head.

    "I only wanted to go on adventures and visit places, but if there was any Strong beast that could help me then I wouldn''t mind it. And it turned out that there was an island on my path with two giants in it." Ian said with a laugh.

    He then continued to tell him about him asking Robin to join him, and her refusing. Next, he told him about hearing of a flying island, and he knew he must check it. Sadly he had to take care of someone there for good¡­ his father understood and didn''t press him about that.

    Then he got back to the point and told him that after yet another strengthening he was able to breathe underwater. Following that he headed to a place where he can get a ship built for him and any crew he would have in the future.

    "Well as I left the ship to be built, I heard rumors about a certain place called the Florian triangle. So I went to explore it." Ian said.

    At some point into the talk, Geo had gotten up and brought back two glasses of tea, with biscuits on a plate.

    Geo took a sip as he listened quietly with a thin smile on his face.

    "This is where things get troublesome. Sigh. I ended up meeting or rather talking with an existence so strong I felt it could kill me with a thought. It spoke to me about something called the Di¨¢voloi." Ian said.

    But his father was not surprised like he expected.

    "You know about them?" He asked. While his father nodded.

    "Yes. I know a bit as that same voice you heard had told me about them in the past. It only told me to be careful of them infiltrating this island though. What about you?" Geo said sincerely. This was his son there was no need to lie or anything.

    "It told me that they are awakening. And that I should seek Whitebeard to explain about them, as he had fought them. It also said that they had been waiting for me for a long time." Ian said. He too was truthful with his father.

    His father put his hand on his chin as he thought about that.

    "Well, continuing on, I had to meet Whitebeard as fast as I can, but along the way, there were many things I had to do and by the end, I had a crew following me. When we reached the old man, he explained things, but he had a problem of his own." Ian said.

    He explained everything in detail.

    "Oh, the war?" Geo asked.

    "Yes. The war. We had to save Ace. And Whitebeard was sick, so I healed him, anticipating a time where I might need his help in the future." Ian said.

    "And then after the war, when I finally could relax, my crew demanded from me to train them. They want to be stronger for various reasons but mainly to protect each other. So here we are now," Ian then said. And summed up his reason for forgetting to call his father, along with his journey so far.

    "Oh. So you want me to train them." Geo stated as if he already knew that.

    "Yes. While I can train them a bit, it would not be to the point they are gunning for. So this leaves you. The best guy I know that can train them." Ian said, sugarcoating his father a bit.

    But it was true that he was good at training people.

    "Alright, I don''t see why not to do it. It''s not like I have anything better to do." Geo laughed as he replied.

    Making Ian sigh in relief.

    "So, which one of the girls is your girlfriend?" Geo then had an evil grin spread on his face. The question caused Ian to spit the tea he was sipping.

 Chapter 88 - Training

    5 months have passed.

    In these five months a lot has happened since Ian had reached the island with his crew.

    When his had father started to train his crew, he had them take some tests to assess their physical strength and their stamina. And it was with no surprise that Bert came up the first. He was a mink, after all, thus he would have more stamina.

    Geo then for the first two months had them do basic training of the body, to increase their raw strength and stamina. The training was just like Ian did ages ago. Running with weights, climbing the steep mountains just after you finish a run and similar exercises.

    Since the crew was already quite mature they didn''t need a lot of time to be able to adapt to the training. And then after two months, came the next part of the training.

    That was the start of the official training of Elene and co, supervised by Geo, Ian''s father, which spanned three months.

    Ian''s father had a simple but effective training. Since the crew would need to learn Haki, he started them on the similar but easier basic forms among the six marine skills, just like he did for Ian.

    If one mastered Iron body, he would find it easier to master Armament Haki. Similarly if one mastered Paper art, they would find it easier to master Observation Haki. The rest of the arts though, would useful attacks and escape techniques, but it still was a choice left to them. If they didn''t want to learn them he can''t force them.

    So that was what Geo had started them on. Well apart from Elene who already had a basic mastery for them. Basic mastery because she still could not use them as she likes without tiring.

    He had her, in particular, help him in the training of the rest, which would also serve to make her more proficient at them.

    Geo had Elene spare with Robin, as both of them knew Paper art. Sparing unarmed, was the best way for one to learn Paper art, and to master it. Which was something the both of the girls needed.

    You only had to think of one thing during this training. HIT, and don''t get HIT.

    Similarly, Bert spared with Stella. One would think that the arrangement was unfair for Stella, but they would be wrong. Stella was as nimble as Bert if not even more. In their sparing she was the one who delivered the most attacks.

    Since Elene and co were fast learners, they had ended up mastering Paper art quite easily and in a short time. After which Geo started them on the next skill. Iron body.

    Likewise, it too didn''t take them much time to master before they moved to learn the rest of the techniques. And the reason why they were learning things this quick, was due to Ian.

    He had been healing their fatigue and muscle strain every time they finish training, making them ready to go back training right away.

    Now after five months of training the crew was ready to start on their next part. Haki.

    ****

    Ian was right now sitting on clearing with the rest of his crew as he observed them.

    There was not a lot of changes about them, apart from some muscle build in the case of the girls. However, they were all now masters of the six arts.

    They were sparing with each other using those very same skills right now. While Ian and Geo watched from the side.

    Ian then turned to look at his right hand. From which blue electricity was dancing between each finger.

    He too had changed in the last five months.

    He had actually gone ahead and used the blood of Whitebeard. But unlike what he thought, it did nothing for him. It had zero effects on him. And Ian had spent a while trying to think of the reason.

    Before finally reaching a conclusion. Whitebeard was a half-giant, while he had already injected the full bloodline of the giants. As such the old man was just a normal person to Ian.

    But he was not discouraged for long. He still had the bloodline of a more stronger species. The di¨¢voloi.

    He had used it at that exact time and directly reached the next stage. The third one, which he aptly named the emperor realm as he likes the name from reading Chinese novels.

    Though his height didn''t increase after that, his body practically exploded with newfound strength. The increase was so much that his earlier strength started to look overly weak in his eyes. He even started to consider himself the strongest there was and that there was no equal to him¡­

    But after a few seconds, the euphoria accompanying each strengthening went away, and along with it all his egoistic thoughts and grandeur. Though the strength remained. Plus he was able to notice something had changed about himself. He had acquired a second heart just like that devil had. A second chance at life if he ever reached that point.

    His mind reached new heights. He went straight ahead on that day and tried many skills and acts using his telekinesis. He was even able to make the ship fly. But there was a limited time for that. As after two hours of staying on the flying ship, he started getting tired mentally. All his mental abilities like mind reading, telepathy, and the like were made stronger.

    And thus due to the increase of his strength, he too had to start his training. But his was more¡­ extreme.

    He spent close to two months training underwater, apart from the time he took to sleep and eat.

    He used gravity on himself underwater while wearing weights¡­ until he finally was able to control his strength. Otherwise, a casual step of his would send him flying to the sky in a second.

    Then after that, he started thinking back to the war. He knew he didn''t have many destructive attacks like the old man whitebeard. His abilities made him more of a crowd control person. Just like what was shown in the war, against a large opponent the most he could do is launch his spear like a meteor.

    So he made the decision to eat a devil fruit. And he had two. But one was unknown, which left him with the Rumble-Rumble fruit.

    Which was actually one of the few highly destructive fruits in the world. But Ian was not about to acquire the weakness for seawater.

    He had found out a secret about the devil fruits. There was something extra in each fruit, an evil dormant energy. And Ian didn''t know what it was, but his instincts warned him about it. So he had used his energy on all the fruits in his possession and took that extra energy out. He even did the same on the ones from his crew who already ate the fruits, taking that extra whatever energy out.

    ''I still don''t know what that was¡­'' Ian thought to himself as he reached that thought.

    And after then when Ian ate his fruit, he was happy that it was just like he thought, and he didn''t lose his ability to swim nor was he affected by Stella''s sea stone daggers, and even when he asked his crew to try swimming they found out that they too could.

    After that Ian reached a conclusion. The curse of the sea and sea stones was put on that dormant energy in the fruit but not the fruit itself.

    As such after that, Ian spent the remaining time, three months, training his fruit and discovering and creating new moves. He had become a lightening human. he could move at lightning speed, and his reaction speed was also close to that. Unlike Enel who moved at lightening speed but fails to react to much much slower attacks than that.

    And now he was there sitting and anticipating what would happen tonight. He had shared a talk with Elene and Robin and talked about their relationship these past months.

    He even informed his father and crew about them.

    Somedays, he stopped his training and took the girls on dates but not both at the same time. Since there were many places on the island he liked and wanted them to see.

    And tonight finally Robin had said she would like to spend the night in his room, which practically spelled her intentions of sleeping with him.

    ''I am a man after all¡­'' He couldn''t help but get excited as Robin was someone he liked a lot. And probably the s.e.xiest one piece character to him, except that she was now real.

 Chapter 89 - Sit back and enjoy

    [As usual, this chapter is +18. If you don''t want to read then stop now.

    Another thing to note is, Robin wouldn''t be a v.i.r.g.i.n. She is 28 years old after all. She is bound to have had s.e.x at one point in her life. But it won''t be to repay a debt or with a boss or any of that bullshit. In this fanfic it would be with a guy she used to like.]

    Ian was walking back to his room. He sported a grin on his face from his overexcitement. It was already dark outside and the majority of the house residents had gone to sleep already except the few that enjoyed reading late into the night.

    When he opened his room''s door, he was greeted with a sight to behold.

    Similarly, with Elene from their various nights together, Robin was only wearing a short bathrobe that hugged her body sensually. In the chest area, she left the robe a bit loose giving Ian a bit of a magnificent view of her b.r.e.a.s.ts.

    He swallowed saliva as he took in Robin''s sight. It was truly a treat to his eyes.

    Her long legs mesmerized him as he eyed them from her lovely toes, right until their base, where her robe was barely able to hide the amazing view of her buttocks and her secret place.

    Similarly, Robin also noticed a bulge in his pants. Which had her sport a smile.

    Ian after a few seconds of silent staring at her s.e.xy form, he started walking towards her. While not forgetting to erect a barrier that will keep any¡­ inappropriate sound¡­ inside.

    When he reached her he laid next to her on the bed.

    "Robin, are you sure about this? I can wait however long you want." Ian muttered close to her ear. And she was easily able to hear his heartbeat.

    His hot breath tickled her as she shuddered a bit.

    Robin leaned closer to him and kissed his lips in response.

    Ian felt her slippery tongue invade his mouth and start to run wild. He was not one to lose and started doing the same, his tongue, however, seeking domination.

    "Mnn" She m.o.a.ned into the kiss.

    His response left Robin surprised as her eyes widened for a second as she m.o.a.ned before she just continued enjoying the kiss. Their bodies moved until Ian was on top of her suddenly.

    After a while they both separated their lips, creating a bridge of saliva between them.

    Robin stared Ian right in the eyes showing her determination.

    "I''m sure. I like you Ian and you like me, that''s all that matters" Robin said between breaths.

    Her right hand went downwards and touched the bulging area on his pants.

    "Besides I can''t leave ''you'' like this now can I?" She then seductively licked her lips as she muttered. And other than a small rosy blush on her cheeks and a smile, she was not really embarrassed much. She had never been the type to be embarrassed about things.

    Ian gave her a nod and a smile. Since she was sure he won''t be holding back anymore.

    Her hand went inside his pant and wrapped around his c.o.c.k, taking the size of it still being half erected. She then started taking his pants off, which lead to his c.o.c.k hitting her hand shortly after. She grabbed it as she muttered to herself.

    "I would like to have a taste of that¡­" Robin said in a tone of voice that sent shivers down Ian''s spine.

    Ian was starting to understand that Robin was rather straightforward about this and was not embarrassed at all.

    Robin moved from Ian''s hug and sn.a.k.e.d across the bed until she was in a better position to take a good look at his c.o.c.k.

    She let her drool leak onto her hands before she gave his c.o.c.k a few slow pumps and enjoying his throbbing member, before speeding up a bit and letting out an exclamation sigh as her eyes took his c.o.c.k that was now standing in its full glory, fully erected.

    "Oh my, can that fit inside me?" She muttered playfully in a voice she was sure Ian would hear.

    She then continued to pump his c.o.c.k with her hand, while moving her head closer and giving it a lick. As she took her first taste of the almost heavenly c.o.c.k in her eyes, she gave a satisfied sigh.

    "Ian just sit back and enjoy. I''ll make sure this will be one of the best blowjobs you are going to experience ever." Robin muttered, her words making his c.o.c.k become even harder.

    Right now she was by his side with her head near his c.o.c.k, while her legs were near his right shoulder. So he had a perfect view of her shaved cute pink p.u.s.s.y lips, along with her bubbly butt. The fact that her robe was still tightly hugging her form helped to make him even more harder too.

    "Well, I can''t let you do all the work now can I?" He muttered to her. As his hands grabbed her waist and put her on top of him.

    He could now see her everything in even more detail. His hands caressed and slapped her butt before his righty went to her lower lips and gently started drawing small circles around it.

    "MNN" Robin m.o.a.ned as she gave a look at Ian backward. Her eyes started growing hazy and her breathing picked up the pace.

    Ian''s only response was to grin as he ordered her.

    "Go on." He said. And she nodded as she turned to the meal in front of her.

    She wrapped her lovely lips around it before she started swallowing the monster of a c.o.c.k she was holding.

    When Ian felt his c.o.c.k in her mouth, with each breath of his sending shivers down his spine, he thought of trying something.

    He clenched his right hand''s fingers and left only his middle one, before caressing her lips with it. Suddenly he inserted it, surprising Robin and making her release a m.o.a.n into his d.i.c.k.

    That itself almost had them both c.u.m right there. Almost.

    Robin vengeful for that started picking up her pace. She swallowed him until it reached her throat before she pushed a bit more. Although a bit painful to her at first it would soon adjust for her to be able to do it. Her lips reached and kissed the base of his c.o.c.k.

    She started bobbing her head up and down, each time taking the full c.o.c.k in and out while her tongue moved around in her mouth caressing the c.o.c.k. And even though she had the full c.o.c.k inside, grunts of pleasure still leaked from her mouth.

    This constantly had Ian on the verge of C.u.m.m.i.n.g, and he was barely holding himself. He wanted her to c.u.m with him, and not he alone.

    He brought her butt a bit closer as he gave her a lick with his tongue. Which made her m.o.a.n again, but he had to hang on. He then went inside her exploring around. Making her almost lose feelings and strength in her legs.

    After a while, they both were at their limit until they both came at the same time. Ian jerked his h.i.p.s upwards as his c.o.c.k hit the base of her throat and released his c.u.m straight at her stomach, and making her cheeks bulge.

    While Robin''s juice sprayed on his face as he immediately lapped it all.

    Robin finally finished drinking the c.u.m all up and licked her lips at the taste. Her body finally stopped shuddering. She turned her body to take a look at Ian and found him licking his lips too for the final drops of her juice.

    He gave her a grin.

    "That was amazing!" He exclaimed.

    "But don''t think that we are done yet." He added with a glint in his eyes.

    Robin nodded with a smile too.

    He moved closer to her but she beat him in speed and already took her position.

    She stood on her arms and legs with her butt in his face.

    She wanted him to take her from behind.

    Not one to disagree Ian brought the tip of his c.o.c.k to her wet slippery P.u.s.s.y with his hands grabbing her waist and started pressing. And inch by inch, finally his c.o.c.k was deep inside the warm and sloppy tight p.u.s.s.y.

    When his c.o.c.k hit her w.o.m.b Robin experienced a jolt at her spine as she almost climaxed right there. Every Throb and twitch of the c.o.c.k almost setting her off.

    He gave her a while to adjust to his size, as if he moved right now it would only make it painful for her. Though it wasn''t her first time having s.e.x, it was her first with a c.o.c.k of this size.

    After a bit, Robin adjusted and turned to glare at Ian.

    "Will you move alrea-" She was still speaking when Ian pulled a bit and pushed back powerfully making her eyes snap wide open.

    "AHH," a loud shout of ecstasy escaped her mouth, her eyes rolling back as her p.u.s.s.y clenched around his thick unrelenting c.o.c.k.

    Then Ian set a pace of slow yet deep pounds, which made it easier for Robin to adjust. Still even that had her on edge as she kept m.o.a.ning. As his c.o.c.k was bent on destroying her p.u.s.s.y and all the natural restrictions physically placed within her body.

    "Ian! OH God!" She muttered.

    The pounds soon grew even more deeper and quicker. The sounds of him connecting with her spread along the room as both of them were starting to near their endpoint, while Robin was starting to lose her strength.

    Her legs had been bucking widely for a while now, while her m.o.a.ns already turned to shouts of pleasure as her p.u.s.s.y kept getting ''punished severely'' by Ian.

    Her p.u.s.s.y was flooding with e.r.o.t.i.c juices as the motion grew more fluent only to get pounded more roughly. And if not for Ian''s hold on her slender waist she would have already fallen to the bed causing his c.o.c.k to slip out.

    Suddenly his c.o.c.k bulged still inside of her before he made a final deep thrust releasing his c.u.m inside her w.o.m.b. Her eyes rolled out to the back once again as she felt her body climax around his c.o.c.k.

    Ian was not afraid of her getting pregnant as there was a medicine the girls do take to not get pregnant in this world.

    Ian pulled his c.o.c.k that was still hard from her lower lips, resulting in a bit mixture of white spunk and juices to leak from her p.u.s.s.y.

    He gave her a bit of time to recover, but by no means were they finished already.

    When she did she was able to talk.

    "That was amazing, I think I''m starting to get addicted to this," Robin said as she eyed Ian.

    "We are not done yet." Ian moved from the bed and stood up with his c.o.c.k saluting the heaven still fully erected.

    Robin moved towards the c.o.c.k and cleaned it with her mouth before she said.

    "Of course"

    He held her body in his arms. Her hands wrapped around his neck, while he grabbed her legs with arms so that she won''t fall, his massive strength making it easy for him to hold her in that form. He positioned her p.u.s.s.y on top of his c.o.c.k as he let her fall right to the base of his c.o.c.k.

    Which was possible in this position.

    Robin felt the c.o.c.k reach even deeper inside her. She kissed Ian as her eyes were losing focus. He started moving her body upwards right to the tip and once again dropped her weight down. And just like that, he established a pace for a while.

    Until he suddenly picked up space as he gripped her thighs harder and started pounding into her shredding her p.u.s.s.y and destroying her from the inside out. Making her shout out loudly and uncontrollably in pleasure. Each thrust of his sending shivers down her spine.

    His c.o.c.k hit spots in her body that had her release her juices all over his body. Her lips searched for his own, as she sn.a.k.e.d one of her arms around his chest and abs while keeping her balance with the other arm.

    Before finally, she reached her end, while his c.o.c.k bulged and was on the verge of erupting.

    But Robin regained a bit of clarity as she whispered.

    "I want to taste it again." She whispered. She wanted a taste of that once again.

    Ian obliged as he put her on the bed with his c.o.c.k still inside before he removed it and went to sit on top of her with his c.o.c.k on her chest. While her right hand went to her already near climaxing p.u.s.s.y and furiously rubbed at it.

    He then moved his arms ahead of her head on the bed for balance and put his c.o.c.k into her mouth. Before he once again pounded her mouth p.u.s.s.y, delivering a few strong thrusts before he reached his point and released it all inside of her throat straight to her stomach.

    She drank it all before muttering.

    "Thank you for the meal"

    Ian laid by her side, and watched as sleep claimed her before he too decided to sleep.

    [A/N: Once again Crazy Guest found his true talents lay in writing Lemons :''(]

 Chapter 90 - The painful past

    In Ian''s home island.

    At the house.

    Ian was talking with his crew. They had finished mastering all the six marine skills and were going to start to learn Haki next.

    Ian turned to look at them one by one before he started speaking.

    "I recently discovered something. Something that I can do that would make you all extremely stronger. And it is up to you to decide whether to do it or not." He said and had a small smile on his face at the excitement they showed soon after.

    Stella was apparently the most eager as she jumped to her feet from her sitting position and grabbed his hands.

    "Please-please tell me what to do," She said. The desperation hidden behind the joy in her eyes was not something he failed to notice, however. He frowned for a second before he smiled and nodded his head indicating he will.

    The rest all nodded their heads. This time even Elene joined them at being perplexed as to the method. She was usually the most informed. She curiously stared at Ian.

    "Well, all you have to know is that now I have reached a point where I can make you stronger with my abilities. It would be a bit painful, but in exchange, it would give you the strength you would need years and years to reach in a mere few hours." Ian hurriedly told them before they started getting violent¡­ He recently had found out he could help any person and make them stronger to a certain point or limit. He also chose to do this, tonight before their training with Haki starts.

    They all trusted him so they gave him a nod. Plus their excitement was visible to Ian.

    "However" He added. Which made them stop and stare at him. They knew he might need something from them.

    "However?" Stella said.

    "However I want to know your real reasons for why you want to become stronger. Not to say that I didn''t believe you about wanting to protect the crew, but I just feel like there is something more. I also want to know more about you." Ian said as he looked at Bert and Stella especially. He knew that these two had some problems in their past and he felt that for them to get closer he had to know more about them.

    Previously due to the war, he didn''t have the time to do this, but he was determined to do it now.

    He didn''t look at Elene and Robin as he already knew them well enough. As for their reasons to want to get stronger, he also knew that.

    Stella looked reluctant, before finally shaking her head.

    "Believe me Ian my reason is to protect you all." She said. Her excitement all vanishing in a second. She did not want to talk about this.

    "But why?" Ian said. He didn''t like the emotions swirling through Stella''s eyes, as she was usually a very lively person.

    However, Stella just stayed silent. With her face down and her eyes closed.

    Elene from the side signaled Robin and Bert to stand up and follow her. She knew Stella needed her space to be able to tell Ian.

    And they already knew. Bert because they had been journeying for a time now. While robin because the girls generally feel closer to each other. It was only Ian that didn''t know because he was busy most of the time.

    "I''ll pass by your rooms later and help you. By morning you should all be quite stronger already." Ian told them as he watched them leave. They nodded.

    When they all left, Ian turned back to watch Stella.

    "Just so you know, I''ll help you too. Whether you tell me or not. I just want to know you better that''s all." Ian softly said. He didn''t want her to think that he''ll leave her because she didn''t speak the truth.

    Stella raised her eyes and finally gave a small smile. She wanted to trust him. So she spoke.

    "Well, I did not lie that I want to be strongest to protect you all." She said. "You know about my devil fruit right?" when she saw him nod she continued on.

    "Well in the past, I lived in a small village on an island in the new world. I used to play by the forests nearby when I was young, until one day I found the devil fruit." She said her eyes nostalgic.

    Ian sat by listening.

    "Bandits got wind about it and attacked the village. At the time I didn''t even know about the effects of the fruit, but I had hidden it in my house. When I got back from playing, I found my house destroyed. My¡­my p-parents were d-dead¡­ they k-killed them for the fruit." Tears started leaking from her eyes. She choked as she spoke of her parents'' death.

    She could remember that day as if it had just happened.

    When she had searched her house at her young age, scared and crying. When she found her parents'' bodies lying cold in their room¡­ And then as she held them and cried even harder¡­ the sound of someone coming towards her alerting her and she became even more scared. It turned out at the time to be an ugly man holding a crude rusty sword, with his teeth all messed up. His eyes had lit up at her sight and he threatened to kill her if she didn''t give them the fruit¡­ so as scared as she was, she tried to comply and brought the fruit from where she had hidden it.

    But then the sight of her dead parents as she was coming back to the room had her stop in place. She looked at the fruit in her hand that the man was spouting bullshit about, what with it being able to give amazing powers. She thought that maybe she could take care of the bad guy with it so she ate it. And almost vomited at the taste.

    The man saw her take a bite off the fruit and came running at her enraged and slapped her face and threw her, but this had triggered her abilities¡­ a lone chain sprung from her right hand and went straight through the man''s chest.

    And if the fruit''s terrible taste didn''t make her vomit, the sight of the dead man finally did the trick.

    She just sat there crying her eyes out for a while.

    But then as she saw her dead loving parents, she became filled with anger and rage. She steeled herself and started to hunt every bandit in her village.

    She was 13 years old at the time.

    "But as I took care of the last bandit, which happened to be the bandit???s boss, I got information that it was a marine officer who bribed him to get him the fruit." Stella then said.

    Ian nodded sadly. He knew that there were as many corrupt marines as there were corrupt pirates.

    He moved closer to her and held her gently.

    She didn''t mind. She knew that Ian was just being nice to her nothing else.

    "I tried hunting for that bastard but he was strong for me at that time. This is where Elene comes in. She had saved me at that time when I attacked out of desperation all of the marines surrounding that bastard¡­ in the hopes to kill them and die in the process. But Elene saved me and even incapacitated that asshole for me, so I took care of him, and from then on I laid everything behind me." Stella said. Her eyes reflecting the pain she suffered as well as the happiness of getting to know Elene.

    "From then on I joined Elene and Bert. We became closer, but I still knew my strength was weak in comparison to this cruel world. But as we met you, I knew I had found my chance. My chance to become stronger and protect my new family. To never let the past repeat." She said with conviction at the end.

    Ian was shocked, to say the least. This was after all quite similar to him. Both of them shared the blame for getting their loved ones in danger¡­ he made a vow to himself that he would never let anyone hurt Stella or anyone of his family from this day on.

    He squeezed a bit tighter as he said.

    "I would never let anyone hurt you guys. You are my family in this life. I would protect you with my life. This I promise you" Ian promised.

    She leaned onto him with a small smile. All the events that happened in her past were already past her. It was just quite hard to remember it each time. But now her captain knew, and she was finally relieved.

    Ian released her and stood up offering her a hand.

    "Well let''s go to your room. I think you should be the first to receive the power-up" Ian said with a grin trying to brighten her mood.

    She smiled and nodded as she took his hands and stood up heading to her room.

    {A/N: Sorry for bothering you with this but I have to write this. A lot of people have been saying cultivation this, cultivation that¡­ my question is, when have I ever said this is a cultivation novel? When have you ever seen the MC meditating and gathering the natural energy to break through the realms? No this is not a cultivation shit novel. The MC''s power is about evolution by fusing bloodlines to his own. Sort of like Madara did with Hashirama''s cells. As for the names like earth realm and emperor realm, as I stated before they are names Ian (the mc) chose for the universal four stages of evolution. He likes Chinese names, meaning I like that naming sense.

    The universal four stages are sort of levels that were established along the years of the universes. When one reaches stage four they would be able to leave their planets. They have no names other than stages. Example: Stage three human. Stage four alien. Ian found the names bland. This author note would not be included in the count of the chapter. Rest easy. Also sorry for the rant}

 Chapter 91 - The burn mark

    When they reached her room, which was actually a room shared by all three girls, Ian found the room empty.

    A bit of presence sensing had Ian know that Elene and robin were sitting in the living room while Bert was in his room.

    So Ian spoke to Stella.

    "Take a seat on the bed, and relax. Do you want to know how it works?" He said with a smile on his face trying to ease Stella up. He could notice that she was nervous as much as she was excited.

    "No, I''m fine like this" She took a deep breath as she sat up on the bed.

    "Alright," He nodded.

    Then Ian grabbed a syringe and took her right hand as he injected its content into her bloodstream.

    Then following that he sat behind her cross-legged with his hand on her back.

    "I''m going to start channeling energy through your body." He told her, and when he saw her nod, he released a small amount of his energy through his hand and into her body.

    He then manipulated it to do the same thing it does to him every time he strengthens himself. He had it consume the DNA injected into her, and transform it into energy that will strengthen every part of her body.

    If he didn''t do so, and the DNA was left alone in her bloodstream it would change her body into something hideous.

    In his case, the process was automatic as the energy belonged to him, but in this case, he had to manually transform all of the energy into one that would help her, and only then could he rest. And this process was a bit painful, which was proved by the groans escaping Stella.

    It took Ian half an hour to do so as he finally took his hands off her back, and gently laid Stella who had lost consciousness into the bed.

    When the morning comes he would see what stage she had reached. His guess was that they would reach the peak of the second stage. Meaning the peak of what he had dubbed the earth realm.

    The DNA he had used belonged to the Di¨¢voloi. As such its effects would be nothing short of monstrous. He had gained a second heart from it after all, not to mention reaching the emperor realm. But even if he used that DNA on the crew, they wouldn''t gain any abilities. All he did was change its energy into one that would strengthen their bodies.

    He stood up from the bed and started leaving, taking one last look at the sleeping figure, who until now was still undergoing changes. Changes that would help her achieve her wish to protect her family.

    He stepped out of the room and closed the door.

    Then started heading into Bert''s room. And when Ian knocked he was told to come in.

    "Hey there." Ian greeted.

    "Hey, captain," Bert replied.

    "I guess you want to know more about me." Bert then sighed and said.

    When he saw Ian nod he started speaking.

    "Well, most of the things I think Elene had already told you." He spoke.

    "Yes. But I want to know why you want to be stronger. There is also the fact that you are the first mate of the ship too, and I want to know about you more. I''m sorry I wasn''t able to do this before, as you know with the war and all." Ian said. When you know what drives a person, you subsequently get to know them more. And Ian was determined to get to know more about his crew.

    What they like, what they hate, what drives them to improve, and what are their dreams.

    "Well, I''m sure you already know everting else apart from how I got this burn mark," Bert said as he lowered his shirt a bit showing the burn mark reached onto his chest and not just his neck. Bert''s eyes had a sadness in them along with a bit of pain.

    It was true that Ian knew the rest. When they were eating the girls always recounted tails of their earlier days when they had just met. But never did they speak about the burn mark. So Ian guessed it was a sore subject for Bert.

    He didn''t want to hurt him by making him remember. Rather he wanted to help him. After Bert finishes telling him, he would help him resolve it if he still didn''t already.

    "When I was still young, I had left my home in the hope of adventures and fun. But the reality was disappointing Ian. I found out that my people are nothing but slaves to the humans and world nobles." Bert shook his head. The anger was visible in his eyes.

    "But I was a bit proud of my strength at the time. So one day as I saw a marine ship with a few of my people in it, I was enraged, and infiltrated it in the hopes of saving them and punishing the marines." Bert said. "Sadly, I was caught. Quite easily at that. And as an example to the rest of the prisoners, I was made to be tortured. There were cuts, bruises, and the like, but they all heal with time. But this!" Bert pointed at his burn mark.

    "This stays forever." He spat out with anger. Though Ian felt a part of that anger was directed at himself for rashly trying to save them.

    Still, he was able to understand Bert and where he was coming from.

    "They used hot boiling oil and poured it over me. This had me out for three days, during which the ship had docked into another island. When I came to, I was being carried by a person across the ship in the night." He said painfully as he rubbed the burnt part on his neck. Before closing his eyes for a bit. When he opened them this time had had a thin smile.

    "It was as you can guess, Elene. She carried my injured form until a safe house. Then she went back out of the house, leaving me there. I lost consciousness once again. But when I came to, I found all of the prisoners on that ship sitting around me in the house. Along with Elene who was sleeping, quite possibly from the exhaustion of saving all of the mink there." He had a fond smile on his face. He would never forget what Elene had done for him and his people.

    "Later she helped us all get our revenge. Though we didn''t just kill anyone. Rather we kidnapped the torturer along with the captain of the ship and disposed of them. After which the a.d.u.l.ts'' mink that were rescued took the rest back to their home island. With me choosing to stay with Elene. And that''s one of the reasons I want to be strong Ian. I want to be able to repay Elene, and if not then at least be helpful to her. The other reason is to protect our family. Each of us has had something bad happen to them when still young, which had us bond as if a real family. I don''t want to lose that." Bert finished. He grabbed a bottle of water and poured a glass for himself.

    "I understand." Ian nodded. He was proud of Elene. She had done extremely good in his opinion. He also understood what Bert was saying. And he agreed with him. His reason for getting stronger was a good one just like all the rest of the crew. Ian was happy he got such people to be with him.

    "I will help you to get stronger. Tell me do you wish to get rid of that burn mark?" He added.

    Bert stayed silent for a while before he nodded yes.

    "Then by the next morning you will find that you have newfound strength, along with fur in your neck area," Ian said with a grin.

 Chapter 92 - Elenes dream

    Ian then proceeded to do the same process as with Stella after he spoke to Bert and asked him if he wanted to know how the process worked, to which Bert replied with a no. Ian then injected the DNA and with his energy, he purified it into a raw form that would only improve the body.

    The whole thing took a bit more than with Stella but Ian was soon done. He left an unconscious Bert behind as he headed to the living room where the girls were sitting.

    When he reached them they stopped talking.

    "Hey Ian are you done with Stella and Bert?" robin asked. Meanwhile, Elene was able to sense him using her observation Haki.

    From the crew, she was the only one with the basics of Haki already mastered. Apart from Ian of course.

    "Yes. Just now." He said.

    "Let''s go to your room. Stella is already sleeping there." He said as he beckoned with his room for them to follow.

    They nodded and followed suit after him.

    When in the room, they each sat on their bed before they looked at Ian expectantly. By the side, a sleeping Stella laid under the covers.

    Her breathing was even and her posture was cute. Ian smiled at her form before he stepped up towards Robin.

    He grabbed her hand into his as he gave her and Elene a smile.

    "I already know your dreams, Robin. And I''ll stand beside you as we achieve it." Ian said to Robin.

    She wanted to know the truth of the world, of the void century. And so did Ian. So he was determined to help her.

    She had been running all her life, and so she wanted to for once take control of her life. To be strong enough to protect herself and pursue her dreams. Another recent thing she had on her mind was to be strong enough to be worthy of Ian. To be able to stand with him.

    And Ian was going to give her that strength. She would still have to train of course for the various techniques that were available.

    She nodded.

    "Thank you." She whispered as she closed her eyes for a few seconds.

    Ian knew her thanks was about all he had done for her until now.

    He smiled at her as he shook his head.

    "There is no need to thank me, this is something I have to do," Ian said.

    Robin opened her eyes and smiled.

    "Now let me explain. As you already know about my evolution power, I need the DNA of the various species to evolve my body. What I''m going to do to you is similar. I''ll give you the DNA which will be responsible for strengthening your body. But on your own, your human genes would lose the battle, and then you''ll be changed to something unknown. This is where I come in. essentially I would do the same as what my body does to any DNA injected. I''ll give you a part of my energy that would be responsible for purifying the DNA and turning it into energy that would along the night make every part of your body stronger." Ian started his explanation.

    Both girls paid attention. He didn''t ask them Like Stella and Bert if they wanted to know, he just told them as they were his lovers. He owed them this much.

    And as he had already explained to them about all his abilities including his evolution one, they were quick to understand what was going to happen to them.

    Robin was the first.

    "Are you ready?" He asked her with a thin smile.

    She nodded calmly. While inside her excitement was at the peak.

    "Alright." He nodded as he grabbed a syringe from the ones he already had prepared beforehand.

    He injected it into her left arm before through their linked arms he circulated his energy into her body.

    The same process as Stella and Bert then followed suit, with Robin groaning in pain just like the rest, until Ian was done and she was unconscious. He tucked her into bed and covered her before he turned to Elene who was giving him a smile.

    "Finally done Ian?" She asked him gently.

    He stepped closer to her and similarly to Robin grabbed her hand, this time sitting next to her.

    "Well, my dear Elene. I don''t think I need to discuss your dreams with you anymore do I?" He laughed a bit as he said.

    ??Is it still the same as back then? When we were at earth?" He then added. This time a bit more serious.

    "Yes. Of course." She replied. Her expression turning serious.

    "You wanted to be strong enough to be able to go on adventures. Which basically means for you to be the strongest man in the world. And for me, your lover, I wanted to be the strongest woman in the world. I still do." She said.

    Her dream since the days they were still daydreaming about reincarnating into the one-piece world stayed the same. Which was for her to be the strongest woman ever.

    "To do that, you would have to beat Big Mom. You know that don''t you?" Ian asked her. He liked this part about Elene. She had a dream that would push her to improve herself. And just because she was a woman it didn''t stop her from dreaming big. And he was not about to stop her from doing what she liked.

    "Of course I do. And though I''m not her match yet, I would be by the time we come against her." She snorted at him before she gained a confident smile on her face.

    "Then do you want my help?" Ian asked her. His expression a bit cautious.

    "Relax. I know what''s going on in your mind. You think that you would upset me by offering me help. And that I want to beat her on my own." She said with rolling her eyes. She wrapped his hand on her shoulder as she snuggled closer to him.

    "I do not mind your help, Ian. I wouldn''t refuse help just because of my stubbornness. I''m not that ignorant. I''ll do anything I can to be able to one day take her on my own." She told him her honest opinion.

    Ian nodded, finally relaxing.

    "Alright then, let''s do this." He said.

    After which he repeated the same thing as with Robin leaving an unconscious Elene in her bed, and left the room heading to the kitchen to get something to eat, before heading to his own room and sleeping.

    He was excited to see what changes his family would undergo this night. He couldn''t wait for the morning to come.

 Chapter 93 - Changes

    In a clearing on Ian''s home island.

    Behind their house.

    All of Ian''s crew were there, along with Geo and Ian.

    He and his father had already observed their physical changes.

    Only Stella and Elene grew taller. Elene reached 183cm from her past 175cm. Stella grew taller from 170cm to 180cm.

    Meanwhile, Bert stayed at his 230cm and robin at her 188cm.

    Another change was how they became more beautiful in the case of the girls, while Bert''s fur grew softer. Their bodies gained more muscle, but not in a bulky way and more like a lean build.

    Ian was now sparing with them for him to be able to gauge their strength after the strengthening¡­

    He spared with each one alone and with no weapons, only physical strength. So that way he can know where they stood.

    Right now he had already spared with Stella and Bert. His current match up was Robin.

    Since no weapons or devil fruits were allowed all Ian and Robin did was close combat, but each punch from Robin was so strong it released shockwaves when it hit.

    After a bit, Ian was able to know her stage or realm.

    "Alright, this is enough," Ian said as the both of them stopped.

    "Okay," Robin said smiling. She was clenching and unclenching her right hand, enjoying the feeling of strength coursing through her body.

    Ian was able to tell she was like Bert and Stella. At the peak of the second stage. The earth realm.

    He was still amazed that they managed to reach all the way to the peak of the second stage. But he had to go on and test Elene next. So that his father can start training them in Haki already.

    "Elene, you''re next," Ian said as he beckoned for Elene to step up.

    She nodded and stepped up next to him. Though she was trying to carefully control each action and move of her.

    They both kicked the ground at the same time, and Ian was surprised that their speed was almost the same. He didn''t conclude anything for now and attempted to attack.

    He was going easy so that he can better gauge her strength.

    From the first punch she threw at him, he was able to deduce her stage. Still, he gave the fight a few more minutes before he announced the end.

    "Alright let''s stop." He said as he started heading next to his father.

    The rest all huddled next to them and sat on the ground.

    "Well?" Geo asked for Ian''s deductions.

    It was needed so that he can formulate their training better.

    "MN. Apart from Elene, all are at the peak of the second stage. While she had already entered the third stage." Ian said in response to his father. Which something he had already expected as he had used the DNA of the Di¨¢voloi.

    He had already explained the stages to them beforehand. And to give them something to compare he told them that Whitebeard was in the early third stage while before the war he had been only at the second stage. He also told them he didn''t like the name and changed it to his own. Which they liked too.

    "We are in the earth realm, the second stage?" Stella said in wonderment. By comparison to Whitebeard, they were not that much weaker than him. Just yesterday she was even weaker than his commanders and now she was probably stronger than them. Not to mention her fruit¡­ and most importantly, she would now be able to protect her family with her newfound strength¡­

    Similar thoughts went through Bert''s head as he was glad he could finally be strong enough to help Elene and the crew when in need¡­

    Robin too had been out of it since the fight had ended. She still couldn''t fully process that her strength now would require from the marines two admirals to take her down¡­

    Geo clapped his hands.

    "Alright now that we know where you stand physically in terms of power, it''s time to get your Haki training going. Ian I''m going to need your help" Geo said as he grabbed their attention.

    Ian nodded. He knew that this training would require his help. As it would be easy for Geo to train one person, but he wouldn''t be able to train them all at the same time.

    But Ian with his telekinesis can, hence the reason for asking for his help.

    "Let me first start by saying¡­ Conqueror Haki is a power that can''t be attained with training. One is born with it. As such if one of you awaken it, I''ll tell you the method of controlling it better. Geo explained.

    And once he saw them nod he continued on.

    "Our next training will be about armament Haki and Observation Haki." He said.

    "You have already mastered a basic form similar to them that would help you easily learn it. Yes, I''m talking about paper body and Iron body." He added.

    Once again they gave a nod. This was not something new, ever since they started training Geo had been saying that to them.

    "I would recommend each of you focus on attaining observation Haki first. As with the method of training I''m going to use, it would help tremendously." Geo said.

    "However, with your new strength, your fighting ability is all messed up. As you can''t control yourself better. As I witnessed in the fight with Ian. So we are going to work on that too" he finished by saying this.

    He then directed them all to Ian''s old training spot before he told Ian that he would be responsible for three and Geo would be for one.

    He took Stella leaving the rest to Ian.

    "Listen up. This is the place where I used to train Ian. As you can see this place has quite the rugged terrain and steep mountains. You are going to run around it carrying weights and climb the mountains until you have gained absolute control of your body along with Haki." Geo yelled like a drill instructor. The weights he talked about were already prepared by the side.

    The girls especially had horror looks on their faces at what he said. While Bert had a challenging look on her face. He was fired up for this training.

    "But how are running and climbing going to help us get observation Haki?" Bert who was excited for the training asked.

    "Well, we''ll just have to hit you enough times while you are running around that you''ll eventually learn to dodge," Geo said with an evil grin. The same grin was shortly after plaster on Ian''s face.

    The girls gave Bert a glare that promised pain which made him start sweating before even starting to train.

    "Now wear the weights and get on it already," Geo yelled at them.

 Chapter 94 - A spar

    A Year had passed since Elene and co had started training their Haki.

    Which added to the first five months of training the six marines skills, meant a year and a half had passed already since Ian and co had come to the island for the first time.

    In this past year, Elene and co had trained like there was no tomorrow at the insistence of Geo on their Haki.

    Geo had them master all types of Haki they had. But the way they incorporate it into their attacks was left to them.

    He had trained them for 8 months on observation and Armament Haki. The rest of the four months he told them to work on their own on the various forms of attack they could learn.

    And today he was going to have them spare with Ian. So that he can see the fruits of their works. Ian had told him that he was going to stay another five months. So based on what he sees in this fight, he will decide what he does in the remaining time for their training.

    They were all standing in a tree clearing in the forest.

    Elene and co can be seen wearing weights on their arms, legs, and torso. These were weights that had been worn since the first day their training had started. And they did not take them off even while sleeping.

    "Alright you guys, you can take those off. You have earned the right." Geo announced.

    Meanwhile, Ian who was by the side grinned at them. He was happy that they had reached this far. Though it was in huge part thanks to him, it still doesn''t take the fact that they had trained as hard as they could all this time.

    To say he was proud of them would be an understatement.

    He watched as they each excitedly got rid of the weights. Which made ''Thud'' sounds each time.

    "Finally we can get rid of these ugly things." Stella was the loudest and first to complain as she hurriedly took them off.

    She was followed by a giggle from Elene who appeared calm but nonetheless was super excited inside too.

    Robin calmly did the same while smiling a bit.

    "They weren''t that bad¡­" Bert muttered. He was the only one who did not want to take them off¡­ he had grown to like them, as they were a form of constant training. But even he knew that right now they became useless to him. He would need heavier weights. As such while still reluctant he proceeded to take them off now.

    Geo and Ian enjoyed their misery from the side both of them sharing a grin.

    "Now then. You are going to fight Ian so that I can see your progress and see what to do from now on for the remaining time you have left." Geo told them as he started walking to the side leaving Ian facing them.

    They tensed up and took battle positions.

    Meanwhile, Ian just stood there waiting for who was going to make the first move. In this fight, he was not going to use his lightning with its full power. It was just a spar after all. Though he had managed to reach as much as 500,000,000 volts, more than double that of Enel, and incidentally was half the voltage of natural lightening.

    "Start" Geo yelled the start.

    Suddenly four sharp compressed air shockwaves came at Ian from the back and sides.

    They penetrated his body passing completely through. After which the wholes on his body reformed in a show of moving lightening before Ian was as good as new. He turned to Robin who had made four arms appear around him which she used to make the first attack. Flying finger gun. He didn''t even see her cross her arms to use her ability. She was finally able to use it normally it appears. And he couldn''t detect her made parts as they had no aura.

    Though a Logia user''s body doesn''t transform into the elemental state automatically, a skilled user can train to transform on reflex rather than on reaction, thus gaining an effective protection against surprise attacks. And Ian had trained that until perfection.

    Using his fingers he fired lightening threads at the four arms sprouting nearby destroying them, and once again he was surprised as she didn''t react whatsoever. According to what she told him each pain inflected on the parts she made was transferred to her.

    Ian had at one point suggested that she may be able to turn that off. It appeared she had succeeded.

    He was not given any more time to think as Bert came closing in on him with his sword already swung six times in almost a second.

    "Swift blade: Savage strikes," Bert said as he attacked.

    Six air blades came at him but once again Ian didn''t dodge. Even though he knew the attack was imbued with Haki and could hurt him. He still had other abilities.

    A wave of telekinesis was launched in a circle around his body which destroyed the air blades along with the chains that had been nearing him stealthily from under the ground courtesy of one Stella.

    When he took a look at their position, both he and Geo from the side couldn''t help but give a nod of acknowledgment.

    Bert was their vanguard. Stella and Robin were in the middle. Leaving Elene to the back with her rifle to cover the back and attack to her comfort.

    He brought both hands forward and released two lightening shaped serpents.

    "Lightning: Serpents," Ian said.

    Each one went snaking in the air towards a target. One for Stella and one fore Robin. And even as they dodged the moment the serpents hit the ground they exploded making the girls retreat even further.

    Ian took that time to close in on Bert. After which he punched and released from his arm a huge lightning arrow at Bert, leaving him no choice but to dodge.

    "Lightning: Bolt" Ian muttered.

    Elene took this chance and attacked with her bullets infused with Haki which actually touched Ian and their effects were instantaneous. He was rooted to the spot with Elene''s slowing effects that were only enhanced with her fruit.

    Robin and Stella took advantage of that and each launched their own attacks. Robin knew Ian was about to recover his mobility so she used her ability to sprout many arms in place that would hold him for the duration of Stella''s attack.

    Stella stomped with her legs releasing six flaming chains coated in Haki underground, which traveled the distance between them and reappeared near Ian attacking him from different directions. This was an ability she had discovered when she had shot her chains in training with a huge speed her chains lit up in fire.

    "Chained path: Flaming pain" Stella muttered the name of her attack.

    But Ian used his telekinesis to fly upwards, along with his monstrous strength to get out of Robin''s arms hold. Then the flaming chains who were still following him were caught using telekinesis after which he channeled his electricity through them, but Stella cut the chains before the shock reached her.

    Then Ian using his observation Haki supplemented with his devil fruit dodged a near impossible to dodge attack made by Elene. She had shot a dark ball of energy at him, and even as he dodged it he failed to see Elene''s smirk.

    "Blackhole." She said.

    The ball exploded and started pulling everything around it towards its center. Including Ian.

    But his high strength and mind power had him control himself quickly and step away from what could only be called an artificial black hole.

    He stayed away until the effects of it were done before he hit the ground. Then leaving them no time to react he shot his hands to the sky, and made four lightning strikes descend onto each one as if heavens judgment. But they were still able to dodge, with the exception of Bert who was a bit scorched on his arm.

    His position right behind Ian as if he was sneaking up upon him.

    "Alright let''s get this done with," Ian muttered.

    But he was shocked when he saw what Robin did next. A small army of arms was sprouted behind her which she made release their attack imbued with Haki. Two consecutive attacks actually.

    "Flying finger Gun: Barrage." She said. And followed by, "Tempest slash: Slaughter".

    Which covered all of Ian''s vision as if the sky had changed color.

    Following behind it was the recovered Bert who had electricity on his sword and his legs to boost his speed. And once in a near enough position, he held his sword with both hands and focused all his energy onto the next attack and then he swung releasing a massive air blade filled with electricity.

    "Swift blade: Electrifying shock blade" Bert muttered.

    Although he knew electricity would do nothing to Ian, he was banking on Elene''s ability to nullify his fruit for a short time. Which she did as she hurriedly shot a darkness bullet that managed to overtake both of their attacks and hit a shocked Ian, effectively nullifying his fruit for a few seconds.

    Then Stella took all of her energy and made one single huge chain appear at her feet. She then made it as big as possible until it almost reached half a meter in width before she launched it like a flaming arrow at Ian.

    "Chained path: Dragon fang" She yelled her attack.

    After which there was a loud explosion and dust raised.

    Then they each heaved a deep breath from the bit of exhaustion resulting from their attacks. Though they were still able to fight and were nowhere near done just yet.

    They looked towards Ian''s place and waited for the dust to settle. They knew Ian would still be standing as he was a monster but they hoped they had at least managed to deal him some damage.

    But they were disappointed when his form showed and he was as clean and unhurt as he was from before the fight.

    A circle of dirt surrounded him with anything beyond it in a wretched state. There was a huge crater there except the circular place he was standing on. He had shielded himself from their attacks.

    He shared a look with his father before Geo gave him a nod. As if he had seen enough.

    Then Ian motioned with his right arm as if grabbing something, which had the effect of holding Elene in co in place. Then with his left arm, he swung it gently leaving an arc of lightning floating beside him. Then he made it separate into 8 parts.

    The 8 parts then each started to take shape into a spear all the while the crew watched with horror as they weren''t able to move.

    "Lightening spears: Barrage" Ian said as the spears took off in a burst of speed each two of them targeting one person. But Ian made them stop at the last second when they were inches away from their faces.

    He then released them all with the spears of lightening dissipating soon after.

    "As expected of Ian¡­" Bert muttered with the girls giving nods of their heads.

    "Alright, I have seen enough. Ad I can say proudly that you have all become so strong in such a short amount of time, you''ll be classed among the strongest in the world." Geo announced with Pride in his voice.

 Chapter 95 - An Atrocious crime

    As Geo spoke the crew broke out into grins and promptly sat at the ground. They were still breathing a bit rough but otherwise, they were fine from the earlier spar.

    Geo eyed them with pride visible in his eyes before he coughed to get their attention.

    "I''m afraid the rest of the five months left, you would have to work on your devil fruits and try to understand them more and develop more attacks. I have nothing to further teach you. Apart from some advice I can give if you need it sometimes" He said with a small smile.

    He had already taught them all the marines'' skills, and then followed that by Haki. As for the advanced forms of Haki, he had shown them their effects and it was something that has to be understood on your own.

    "As for you Bert, since you have not eaten a devil fruit obviously, I''ll have you visit someone from the village to help you with something special I planned for you for the remaining five months, so you don''t have to worry," Geo said and grinned.

    He had already thought of what Bert was going to do for the remaining time since the start of the spar against Ian. And he couldn''t wait to see the looks of surprise on the crew''s face when they see the new Bert later.

    "Yes, master Geo" The crew echoed out as one. The respect they had for Geo was so vast they were going to keep calling him a master until their deathbed. He had given them what they wanted the most in their lives. Strength. Plus his teaching methods were unrivaled as far as they knew, and he treated them kindly if a bit strictly.

    "Good. Now you can take the rest of this day off, and resume training tomorrow." Geo told them and watched as they were happy they got the day off. He shook his head with a smile.

    They all then reconvened at the house where Geo cooked them a nutritious and delicious dinner, which they all enjoyed as he was a great cook. Bert started helping him since the very first few days of training, effectively helping and learning a bit of his special cooking.

    They chatted and fought for food at the table just like a real family and enjoyed their times until they had finished.

    After that, they all hit their own rooms. While Ian late at night visited both girls at their rooms, for some nightly activities.

    ****

    The following morning had one frantic Robin stop them all from spreading out to start their training and wait a bit.

    Each of them was going to enter the forest and search for a quiet place to train their devil fruits while Bert was following Geo who now joined them in circling robin too at the commotion.

    ''Is that from that island¡­?'' Ian thought to himself as he eyed Robin in concern.

    She was obviously agitated and Ian didn''t understand what was happening until he saw the book she was holding in her hand. If he remembered correctly that was a book from that destroyed island they had visited in their voyage to his home island.

    They surrounded her and waited for her to calm down.

    "As you know I have been trying to understand the language with which the books were written in. and with master Geo''s library, I managed to find some books to learn it a bit." She said after calming down a bit and taking a deep breath.

    They gave her nods but kept silent and waiting for her to explain what was wrong.

    "Well, yesterday was the first time I was able to decipher the books. Some were about noble families and laws of that kingdom which managed to keep me interested in the duration I read before sleeping." She said.

    "But the book I chose this morning, proved less pleasant than I had expected." She said with horror in her eyes.

    Ian moved to her side and held her hand as he massaged it and tried to calm her down.

    "I''m fine, I just didn''t believe something like this could happen in the world." She said as she assured him she was fine.

    "I have managed to find out what happened to that kingdom, named, Alouira. It was just a small kingdom in the first place, in what was supposed to be just a normal day for the people there, tragedy struck them so suddenly it left them utterly destroyed.

    It was a diary entry rather than a book, which I found out as I continued reading. The person writing is a girl by the name Suiha Lawrich. She was apparently the youngest princess of the kingdom.

    One day a certain giant was made to be a guest at their place. He was found unconscious and due to his heritage, he was treated with respect, as the person in the diary said.

    But due to his huge size, they sent people to treat his injuries at the very place they found him as they were prepared to treat him as a respected guest.

    Sadly for them, he was a savage giant, and repaid them by disposing of the party that tended to his injuries and killing them." Robin said.

    In the last part she still had a disbelieving look in her eyes.

    And Ian guessed from that that there was something more to that.

    "Dispose of?" He asked her for clarification.

    "At the time according to Suiha, that was what they thought had happened to the healers'' party. They sent unit after unit to take care of the giant in retaliation to his hostility but they didn''t come back to report. Until one time where one managed to return to them and told them the truth, he had seen with his eyes.

    The giant had¡­ A-Ate them!!" She said.

    All of them gasped at the revelation. Ian was even about to question Robin if this was one of her usual jokes. She would tell scary stories with a straight face so you wouldn''t know if she was serious or just joking.

    But one look at the disgust and anger she held in her beautiful blue eyes had him know this was true.

    But as sad as that was he didn''t understand why Robin would stop them all and say it. As even if they wanted to do something they didn''t know who the giant was and most probably it would be dead for a crime like that.

    Robin took a deep breath and continued talking.

    "The royal family was enraged and accordingly attacked him with their all.

    But the giant''s size alone was enough for him to stand in the shore of the sea and his head would still be showing above the water. They easily lost against him. Furthermore, as they attempted to run with their sh.i.p.s and boats, he stood waiting for them. When they tried the other side of the island he stood there waiting once again. And so like this, he kept ''disposing'' of them each time until he actually emptied the whole kingdom." Robin muttered with a sad tone of voice. She couldn''t fathom the evil contained within such a person¡­ nor the fear of the girl writing this diary¡­

    "He ate them all?? A whole kingdom?" Stella asked horrified.

    But none answered. They were all considering what they had just heard. Even Geo appeared to be angry. And he was always calm.

    Ian resolved that if the Giant was still alive he would personally go and take care of him. But he doubted that as the kingdom appeared as if ages had passed since it was destroyed.

    Still, he asked.

    "Do you know who that giant was?" Ian said. Making the rest perk up for the answer.

    "Yes. That is why I told you all to come actually. That Giant is actually still alive to this day." Robin said shocking them.

    And they all made the same decision as Ian of taking him down. He didn''t deserve to walk the earth.

    "It''s one of the Impel down escapees. Sanjuan Wolf." Robin said much to the shock of everybody.

    But it did make sense. Sanjuan Wolf was one of the legendary criminals held in level 6 of Impel down. As his crimes were so atrocious they had to effectively be erased from history itself. It really did make sense.

    He was a cannibal that had destroyed and feasted on a whole country. Ian regretted not paying him more attention in the war... he knew about the giant from the anime, where they portrayed him as a bit childish. he now knew how evil people could be.

    "Well, he wouldn''t stay alive for too long¡­" He said.

    "But we will not leave for him until you all finish training." He won''t budge on this.

    The others nodded, glad their captain was of a similar opinion to them and agreed about finishing the training. And even Geo gave a nod at Ian''s decision.

    Sanjuan Wolf was a dead man walking.

 Chapter 96 - Permission

    [A/N: I would start this chapter with a question. Would you like the people to shout out their attacks or just use them silently?]

    Ian had been keeping in touch with the old man Whitebeard all the time by calls. So he knew about Rayleigh''s idea of training Luffy in Haki. Ray had come to the old man''s ship and spoke to Luffy about it who refused at the time stating he wanted to assemble his crew again until Rayleigh proceeded to explain to him that he and his crew needed that training if they didn''t want to repeat what happened to them.

    Eventually, Luffy agreed with Ray and then both of them left for Amazon lily on the Pirate Empress ship. And from there, however, Ian didn''t know what happened anymore as he didn''t have Ray''s number.

    When Ian had heard this news he was a bit glad. He felt like Luffy would be quite important in the future for him. So he was happy when the war and saving Ace didn''t stop him from seeing reason and informing his crew that they should meet in two years'' time at the place they originally were divided at. After all, without that training, Luffy would be just a weak idiot.

    Ian shook his head at that thought.

    He was sitting on a chair on the roof of the house enjoying a bit of wine and the cold night breeze.

    He and his crew had already finished their training completely yesterday, and in a few days the two years end of training was going to be reached and they would be on their way to hunt one.

    Originally he didn''t want to spend two years in training but when his father told him that that was the minimum he finally agreed.

    Of course, he had learned the ability to strengthen his crew easily which made it so that they had finished their training almost half a year before the schedule, but learning to use their devil fruits in new ways took time too.

    It was not that he minded or anything anyways.

    Ian turned his head to the side at the sound of footsteps nearing him.

    He spotted his father Geo coming towards him with a bottle of wine and a glass of his own in his hands.

    "Hey, brat." He greeted with a smile as he sat down next to him on another chair.

    "Hey, dad," Ian replied to his father.

    "Well, it''s almost time for you to leave once again." Geo shook his head as he said. Feeling a bit down.

    Ian just gave a nod.

    He knew his father enjoyed their company the past two years, and that he was going to miss him. But Ian also knew something else.

    "Am I going to have a little sibling anytime soon?" Ian said with a grin.

    His father spits the drink in his mouth utterly shocked that Ian knew.

    "You¡­ you knew?" Geo said in surprise.

    "Of course I would know. I was trained by you after all. All the times you sneaked out of the house and visited ''her'' did you think I wouldn''t know?" Ian said in a matter of fact manner. But he wasn''t able to hide the grin from his face. It was after all the first time he saw his father caught off guard.

    "Cough¡­ well kids are still a bit too soon to have¡­" Geo coughed. He realized that his sneaking skills had deteriorated if this brat had caught him.

    "So are you going to introduce me?" Ian then asked. He was glad his father had found someone to be with. This way he wouldn''t feel lonely.

    A nod was his answer from the part of Geo.

    "I was planning to." He said. He had wanted to introduce her to him before he left this time. Otherwise, if they had a boy or girl the next time Ian visits he would raise hell upon them.

    "What''s her name?" Ian asked as he had only once seen her face and didn''t know much about her except that she was a lone girl and her father had recently passed away.

    "Arie," Geo said. Ever since he was young he had many one-time flings, but this was the first time he felt himself fall in love.

    "I feel like the two of you are right for each other dad. Plus she would make a great mother." Ian smiled as he said.

    Geo nodded with his own smile. Glad Ian had approved of her.

    A couple of minutes passed in silence as they enjoyed their drinks.

    "Well, no more of that. I have come to talk to you about something Ian." Before Geo suddenly turned serious as he spoke.

    Ian sat upright awaiting what his father was going to say.

    "You always wondered how this island was so mysterious. What with it always moving and all." Geo said as he eyed Ian.

    And Ian nodded his yes.

    "Well, tomorrow I''m finally granting you permission to venture to the other end of the island and find out the reason," Geo said. And couldn''t hide a grin from his face as Ian abruptly stood up from his chair with a shocked look on his face.

    One couldn''t blame him after all.

    Nobody from the island was permitted to go to the other side. Apart from Geo. And Ian still didn''t know why.

    But the few who didn''t listen to that were never able to reach the other end. Plus they were all given a huge scare and were still shaken when geo was scolding them for ignoring his orders.

    Even Ian was one of those guys at one point. After all, he sought adventure and mystery. But he couldn''t see what was so special about his home island? So he tried but failed like the rest in the end. Plus he was scolded even more harshly by his father than the rest.

    He could remember the feeling as he was venturing deep inside. At one point he felt that if he had pressed inside more he would definitely die.

    Now he had this opportunity to know what the mystery is¡­ he was so excited he almost started to head there right now.

    But after a while, he calmed down.

    "Can I take my crew with me?" Ian asked as he didn''t want to leave his crew behind.

    "Yes, you can" Geo smiled and nodded.

    Ian grinned happily. And couldn''t wait for tomorrow to come.

 Chapter 97 - We meet again

    Ian can be seen with his crew walking inside the island side by side. Their clothes all changed to ones more durable for the trip.

    He had already explained what they were doing to the crew. And also explained about the mysterious island.

    To say that they were only excited at the news would be an understatement. All of them were anticipating the trip with bated breaths.

    They walked on the road of the forest while chatting among themselves. Mainly guessing what the cause for the island always moving could be. With each of them providing a guess.

    "My guess would be that someone strong had used some sort of power on it to stay always moving." This was Ian''s guess. To which Robin and Elene nodded. Someone could have in fact used some space-related power to make the island hard to find.

    "Well, I think that there is some sort of device in the water moving it around." Stella too had a solid guess. Making Robin nod again. This was highly probable too with the people who lived there originally creating some sort of device to make the island hard to find.

    Elene looked at them for a moment before she said her opinion.

    "I have a feeling that whatever we would find would not be something you would expect at all." She said. There was a playful smile on her lovely face.

    "My guess, however, would be that the island is naturally moving with no devices or powers. As in this had occurred naturally" She said her guess. The rest gave nods after a bit of thinking. There were many islands in the new world with similar weird happenings.

    Bert just stayed silent. He didn''t know how the island would be moving and didn''t want to sound stupid and say something irrelevant.

    The island was pretty big so unless had them all running, they would be spending the whole night walking and only probably reach the end the next morning.

    As such he told them to stop for a bit. They did and looked at him waiting for him to talk.

    "At this rate, we''re moving at we are going to be spending the night out. So I''m going to speed things up" Ian told them. And as they nodded he used his energy to make a platform for them to stand on before he lifted off the air and brought them all with him as he headed inside the forest in a much faster way than before. They were used to this so they didn''t panic or anything.

    Using this method to venture even deeper inside the island had them very quickly reach the usual part where all who reach it return scared. Including Ian in the past when he was still young.

    This time, however, Ian and co only felt something gaze at them very briefly before withdrawing its gaze just as fast as it swept by them.

    They had only held their breath for a few seconds, but to them, it felt like they were holding their breaths for years. They took deep breaths to calm their selves down.

    Then Ian the strongest of them recovered faster than the rest and said.

    "Well we have permission from my father so we can continue." He said. And then continued flying them forward even deeper inside.

    ****

    After a while, they had already emerged from the forest and reached the end of the island. But for a bit, they weren''t able to see anything. Until suddenly the ground started shaking as if there was an earthquake.

    They all watched nervously but still excited to see what was happening.

    Ian and Elene the calmest of them all observed as something was making its way up from the end of the island.

    Something huge. Something who''s eye alone was as big as the odyssey.

    When it emerged at whole did Ian finally know what it was?

    It was a dragon''s head. And since he and the rest were pretty high in the air they were able to see its front flippers. And with Ian taking them even higher at a sudden realization he had, they were able to see its back flippers too. Plus a tail at the very beck.

    It was a huge turtle-like creature with a long tail and neck with large, taloned flippers. Its head was that of a dragon and had a golden crest down the center.

    The energy he was able to feel from it was the highest he had ever seen so far. He finally knew what the danger that drove him from reaching the end of the island all those years before. Even now he was sure that this dragon turtle would be able to dispose of him easily.

    "Greetings¡­ son of the guardian." A voice suddenly spoke inside Ian''s head.

    Ian instinctively knew that it was the turtle island creature.

    "Guardian?" He asked. Was it talking about his father?

    "Your father is the appointed guardian of this island on my back," It said.

    "Who appointed him as such?" Ian asked.

    "I, of course." It replied in a matter of fact tone.

    He nodded. He lowered himself and rest to the ground before he eyed the creature.

    "But why does he need to protect the island?" Ian asked.

    "It''s not my place to tell you that." It replied after staying silent for a while.

    He was about to ask what that meant when he saw the turtle''s eyes change color. They were green when they suddenly became yellow. Along with new yellow lines that suddenly appeared on its head.

    Then a very familiar voice that Ian couldn''t forget spoke in his mind.

    "We meet again young Ian." The voice said.

 Chapter 98 - Discussion and a new ability

    "So it seems" Ian replied to the voice. He could feel that it was happy a bit.

    He knew who this was the minute it spoke inside his head, as it had done the same back then in the past. He had met it in the Florian triangle for the first time when it told him to swim down and meet it. Well not met but rather talked to it with the help of another ferocious beast. The same ferocious beast that gave him a power-up.

    The owner of the voice was the same existence that warned him about the di¨¢voloi in the first place. The same one that told him to find whitebeard to know more about them.

    "Unfortunately we still did not meet face to face until now not even once. And I''m afraid that still won''t happen anytime soon." The voice said. Its tone dignified and filled with power with a hint of lamentation.

    Ian noticed that this time it spoke each word and sentence easily unlike the last time they talked where it spoke chaotically and gave him headaches with each word uttered.

    But he did give a nod in response to its words. They still didn''t meet after all until now. And if the energy he felt from this Dragon turtle was already this high, he wasn''t sure he wanted to meet the voice''s owner either. At least not now when he was still much weaker than it.

    Ian then thought for a bit and was about to speak before the voice interrupted him.

    "Though the link this time is stronger than the last time, plus you yourself had become even more powerful which is amazing for such a short time, I''m afraid I still don''t have much time to chat with you. So ask only the right questions young Ian. For a start, I would answer your earlier question to Kurma. The one about your father" It said. And Ian understood why it said so. As it was talking through the turtle.

    "Oh. That is the name of the Dragon Turtle you are standing on. Your question was in concern to your father Geo. Hmm. Alright, there is no harm in answering that. Your father is protecting this island because it houses the surviving descendants of the ''D'' family. Even he himself is one too." The voice said. Much to the shock of Ian.

    "My father is from the ''D'' family?" He asked shocked. Of course, the question was in his head only. He only knew that his father''s name was Geo Balliol. He didn''t know that he was a ''D'' too. This was something he would have to talk with him about later.

    His crew had already sat on some rocks to the side since earlier and were waiting for him to continue the silent conversation he was having. While occasionally they would look in wonder toward the dragon turtle. It still fascinated them all every time they looked at it.

    "Yes, he is. And apart from a few on this island the rest are just like him." The voice said confirming the words once again.

    Ian wanted to ask more questions about that. Like how they came to hide on this island. And why they were hiding in the first place and even more questions¡­ but the voice once again spoke first.

    "I can''t tell you any more about that young Ian as it is not my place to do so." It said. As it felt there was a person more suitable to tell the tale. "Now please ask your questions."

    Ian gave a nod as he understood. He would have to ask his father for those details. Then he thought hard about this for a few seconds before finally asking a question he felt was important.

    "The di??voloi¡­ how many of them are they? And from where did they come from?" Ian asked.

    There were many things he wanted to ask, but he felt this was the thing he had to know the most. After all, they already proved that they want to kill him and would only try to more in the future. So they were his current enemies.

    "There are many of them. So your choice in gathering allies to help you in the future is correct young Ian. Unlike the time with Roger and Whitebeard, there are more than three right now. And the numbers are still growing more. Though those same three are still the strongest of all of them" The voice replied. It stayed silent for a few more seconds before speaking again.

    "As to where they came from¡­ They came from this world. But who created them did not. Do not ask about this anymore young Ian. If I answer that question this island would be discovered as soon as the words are uttered." The voice said. Suddenly more serious than before.

    Ian was shocked. He had a guess that these devils were not from this world ever since he saw them, but apparently they were. But not who created them, however that was possible. Then his shock only continued when the voice said they would be discovered at the saying of the name.

    Was it saying that any mention of that supposed ''creator'' would have it gaze at them from anywhere it was at? Ian found this to be shocking beyond imagination. Such power¡­

    He gave a nod of understanding with an equally serious look on his face.

    Then he contemplated his next question for a bit.

    "Do the devil fruits have something to do with them?" Ian asked this question. He had his suspicions ever since he felt an energy in the fruits. He was almost certain of that, he just needed confirmation¡­

    "Indeed they have something to do with them." The voice replied confirming Ian''s guess.

    "Sadly, young Ian it appears my time has run out. I don''t want to hurt Kurma even more. I can''t answer everything you want to know at this current time. But you have to reach the last island of this world. At that time, you will know who I am, who the creator of the di¨¢voloi is, and what the true history of the world is. At that time everything will make sense to you. The fate of this world is intertwined with yours. Whether you like that or not." The voice said. It was apparent it was starting to fade back.

    Ian gave a nod. He was planning on that. As that would solve the biggest mystery of the world of One-piece. And he was all for mystery¡­

    "However, this is ''my'' life and I would live it how I like. And when I feel it is time to reach the last island I would do so. Even you would not be able to force me on this." He said. He did not want to dedicate his whole life to reaching Laugh tale. No, he wanted to enjoy his journey. He was determined to do as he liked.

    "Indeed. You can do as you want, I won''t force you and I can''t anyways. I will be waiting for you there at that time. This has been a brief but enjoyable discussion we had Young Ian. Farewell until the next time we meet. Kurma will have something for you when it regains consciousness. Be sure to thank it." The voice replied than it was cut off.

    Ian was left wondering if the next time they met would be at Laugh Tale¡­ or if it would be before¡­

    The dragon turtle regained control of its body. And the yellow color on its body vanished.

    It soon got its bearing back.

    "Here you go, son of the guardian." It spoke slowly uttering each world. Before it concentrated and focused its energy into a light brown crystal that was two times the size of Ian.

    It gave him no time to react before it latched on to him and was absorbed into his body through his pores. Then the turtle lowered its head back into the water as its job was done.

    Ian only had time enough to talk to his crew and say.

    "Don''t worry this is not harmful" He said and then immediately lost consciousness. But a quick use of ''shave'' from the part of Elene had him supported and gently lowered to the ground.

    The crew was left standing there shocked and perplexed as to what happened. They even wanted to wake up Ian and ask him what the hell had just happened. After all from their point of view, Ian closed his eyes and stood there motionless while the turtle changed colors. Then suddenly Ian absorbed something and fell unconscious.

    Elene put his head on her lap. Robin came next to her and stroke his hair. Their relationship with Ian was already explained to the crew so there was no need to hide this.

    "He said there is nothing to worry about. So let''s just wait for him to wake up." Elene said. Addressing the others.

    They gave nods as they understood.

    Bert stood up and stretched a bit before he spoke.

    "Can you bring out some food for me to cook? I''m sure Ian would be famished when he wakes up. Though I''m not going to start cooking until he begins to stir in order for the food not to get cold" He said to Elene. She can use Ian''s ring to bring out food. Though anyone can do the same, it was an unsaid rule that only Elene and Robin would use the ring in case Ian was not with them or was hurt¡­ unless if he had given permission.

    "Alright." Elene nodded. She took the ring gently from Ian''s finger and used it to bring out some cooking utensils and some food. She then watched as Bert took them to the side and started doing his thing. She agreed that Ian would most likely be hungry when he woke up. Plus they all can enjoy some food at that time.

    She watched the sun getting lower and lower and calculated that Ian would wake up when the night had already come. So she addressed Stella and Robin.

    "I think we should prepare tents. We are probably going to spend the night here." She then waved her hand and released folded tents.

    Though Robin and Stella knew she was right, the fact that a smug smile was plastered all over her face was still irritating to them. Still, they got up to fix things up while muttering something along the line of ''why would we work while you just enjoy yourself there¡­''

    ****

    By the time the night had already fallen and Bert had given the girls some snacks while he waited for Ian to wake up. Ian suddenly started to stir awake.

    He opened his eyes and was met with two round shaped mountains atop of which stood a smiling face. He reached to the first mountain and squeezed it until he heard a cough from the side. When he turned he saw Robin eying him sideways from a book she was reading by the fire.

    He got up and helped Elene up while a blush adorned his cheeks¡­

    "What happened?" He asked Elene as he tried to change the awkward mood.

    "Well, you fell asleep after you absorbed some sort of crystal," Elene said. And that managed to rouse his memories.

    "Ah! that''s right" He suddenly remembered and dashed to the cliff from where the dragon turtle had peeked earlier in the day.

    He yelled as he bowed his head.

    "Thank you, kurma. And I''m sorry our earlier talk ended up hurting you" After all, he still remembered how the voice had said it didn''t want to hurt Kurma even more.

    "No harm was done, young Ian. I appreciate your concern however" Came the turtle''s voice this time heard by the whole crew. Ian could detect a pleased tone in its voice and the fact that how it addressed him changed was not lost on him too.

    He then started checking himself, ignoring the talk started among his crew about Kurma and wasn''t surprised when he intuitionally knew what was new about his body. He had reached past the middle of the third stage, The emperor realm and closer to the peak of the stage. Meaning his powers in relation to willpower were strengthened once again. Mainly his conqueror Haki and telekinesis.

    And then his Scaly mode was upgraded. He used it soon after and found out what was different.

    He still looked normal as the scales were not very noticeable but they were more powerful now. And gave more defense. What was new however was that now, not only could he sprout claws, he could also form a shell-like armor on his arms, legs, or chest by channeling his energy to the place he wants.

    This shell armor was not round like a turtles shell but rather was like a glove or gauntlet surrounding his whole arm from the fingers to the shoulder. The same was for his legs and chest. It was like just like normal armor. But he was not able to form any on his head.

    He shook his head and turned to look at his crew. He smelled the food and used ''shave'' to steal a big part of meat from what Bert was cooking then he stepped to the side and started devouring it.

    The rest shared looks and burst out laughing.

 Chapter 99 - The reason

    Ian and co spent the night out in the forest, sleeping in their tents. They had enjoyed their night as they spent it gazing at the stars littering the sky while chatting among themselves until it was time to sleep and they all slept comfortably.

    Now it was already the morning of the next day and they were on their way back, with Ian using his power to have them quickly reach the village.

    He could have done so during the night, but as they had already prepared a fire and tents he didn''t want to waste their efforts and old them to stay the night there.

    He had been explaining what happened last night to them. They already knew about the Di¨¢voloi of course and all that, so he explained everything new he learned.

    About their numbers, his father being one of the famous ''D'', and how the di¨¢voloi are indeed related to devil fruits just like he had already guessed in the past.

    "What, then what would happen to us?" Stella asked shocked. If the fruits had something to do with the di¨¢voloi then it might do something to their bodies.

    Ian only laughed at this which served to make her angry. So he hurriedly explained soon after.

    "I already took care of that problem so you can relax. When I felt something else in the fruit, or in your case robin and Stella, a dormant type of energy in your bodies, I immediately took care of it." He explained. Which finally made them stop worrying needlessly.

    "Hmph. Idiot!" Stella said under her breath. Something they all managed to pick up but pretended otherwise.

    She then settled for glaring at Ian for making her worry needlessly while the rest just shook their heads.

    Then Ian started telling them what he had managed to understand so far from the voice and icing everything together.

    "The truth about the history of this world is apparently much more important than I had thought. The voice had said that when we reach laugh tale we will know who it is. Along with who created the di¨¢voloi, and what the true history of the world is." Ian said seriously.

    And just like he thought Robin was the first to catch on to what he said.

    "What do you mean the true history of the world? Is there a one that is fake?" She asked rapidly. The subject of history was quite important to her after all.

    "That is my guess. And most likely it would be the history the marines think is the truth and is preaching it to the world." Ian shared his guess.

    "This doesn''t change the fact that we don''t know neither the truth nor the fake history." Ian shook his head wryly.

    "Does this means that we need to reach laugh tale to know the truth?" Robin stared at Ian awaiting his answer.

    He nodded.

    "We were always going to reach it regardless, however now we have a strong reason to do so. But Robin let me say this. We would not just leave everything else aside and focus on that. No. we are going to do our own thing and continue our journey until it drives us all to the last island. I don''t want to have a boring adventure like that." Ian said. His tone firm and left no room for discussion.

    He wanted to enjoy this life to the fullest. So while even he felt his curiosity tingling nonstop for that, he still shook himself out of it. He would enjoy his journey until he reaches the last island. Of course, if he had a chance to gather the road Poneglyph he won''t waste it at all.

    Robin gave a nod as she smiled. She herself shared the same view. Though she wanted to know she wouldn''t dedicate everything to it.

    Soon they had reached Ian''s house in the village. He set them down and then they started walking towards Geo.

    There was something Ian had to talk to his father about.

    Even from afar his father knew what Ian was thinking about so he just gestured for them to follow him to the study room.

    Once they were all seated Geo proceeded to speak first.

    "How was it? Did it manage to surprise you?" Geo asked with a grin on his face.

    Ian nodded smiling too. Then he shared what happened too and managed to surprise his father.

    "Oh, so you want to talk about my origins¡­" Geo said. He finally knew what Ian wanted to talk about.

    Ian couldn''t help the excitement showing on his face

    "Well, Ian as you know I''m the guardian of this island. But why I guard it¡­ simply for the reason that if it were found the marines would do their best to kill us all. Under the orders of the celestial dragons." Geo said. His tone was serious. and like that Ian''s excitement vanished as he turned serious too.

    But Ian didn''t miss out on the meaning. The keyword being they will try their ''best''. Meaning his father had his own trump cards against that. Quite possibly in relation to the strong auras, he can now feel on the island similar to his father.

    "But why¡­ there are many people bearing the ''D'' name and they don''t get any special attention," Ian asked perplexed.

    His father snorted in amus.e.m.e.nt.

    "Are you sure?" He asked. And continued talking leaving no chance for Ian to reply or question him. "They of course would pay no attention to one of us when they are along or are weak. But once some of us get a bit famous and start to gather people around¡­ then immediately either the bounty increases or they label you the most dangerous criminal. Does that ring any bells?" Geo said ad finished with a question.

    Ian immediately thought of someone.

    "Monkey D. Dragon" Ian muttered. Shocking the rest of his crew as they all suddenly reached the same conclusion as him.

    Dragon has an army with him as such they labeled him the most dangerous criminal ever. But Ian was sure that even if he was strong it would be only as strong as an emperor. So he shouldn''t be the most dangerous man alive. It is only because he is a leader of his own army. Meaning a danger to the world government.

    The more Ian thought about this the more it made sense.

    Even how in the anime they had increased Luffy''s bounty so suddenly reaching even as big as 1.5 billion when he was nowhere near that strength. It was only because he had a small army at his back following him.

    "That''s right. Now imaging with me a whole island filled with almost 50000 people all from the ''D'' family?" Geo asked gravely.

    And Ian then understood the need for a guardian.

    "As to the reason why. From what was passed through the generations, all I know is that the ''D'' had been betrayed at one point by the celestial dragons. After which they labeled us God''s enemies. And spoke of themselves as if god''s blessed. Since then they consider us the most dangerous people ever. I''m sure you can understand the meaning of that on your own." Geo said. And uttered the last word towards Ian quietly.

    Immediately, Ian, Robin, and Elene had the same thing going through their minds. Geo had all but confirmed it. If it was true then that explained the reason of Dragon''s rebellion.

    "And that''s all I know. It might sound farfetched. But I have fought more times with admirals of the past to think of that as just lies. And even before me, my father did." Geo said.

    "Grandpa did?" Ian asked shocked. He didn''t think his grandpa was that strong too. But he supposed it might be true as at the time he left the island he was still not able to detect his father''s strength much less his grandpa.

    "Alright let''s go eat something now," Geo said. He was quite hungry since he still didn''t eat his lunch. The rest were the same so they all reconvened to the dining room and awaited the delicious food while chatting among themselves.

 Chapter 100 - Bert and his trump card

    Far behind Ian''s house.

    The crew along with Geo were standing there watching what was about to happen.

    Geo had announced that Bert would like to have a spar against Ian. Mainly to show what he had done in the last five months he spent training. He was the only one that they didn''t know what he had done for his training.

    For Robin, she worked on her fruit solely and learned all the techniques of the anime, and even managed to reach beyond her limit of one thousand arms at a time.

    And Ian knew that in the anime her body strength had limited her ability. But now that she was among the top of the world in terms of power it was no longer a problem for her.

    She had managed to combine her parts and create giant limbs.

    However to control many giant arms would still require great mastery of her fruit and focus. So her limit right now was at 6 giant arms each made from one thousand arms instead of just two. She can also combine more than one thousand hands into a single giant limb.

    The difference between these giant arms however is that she is able to have them use Haki along with many dangerous skills she had learned. Like the tempest kick, Finger gun, and the like. One could say that Robin was going to be extremely dangerous in a group fight.

    For Stella, she had managed to do the same as Robin.

    Which is to combine her chains to make a chain in the shape of a hand as large as a giant''s arm. With her increase in strength, she was able to create many chains too unlike previously where she was limited. She can also use the six marine'' skills or Haki through her chains.

    Although with enough force her chains can be broken. However, their strength is proportionate to her own power which means that not many that are alive can actually destroy them.

    By Ian''s input, she also finally been able to change the material of her chains. And was actually able to change them to gold at will or diamond. However, sadly the chains that she creates and leaves unattached to her for a long period return to dust.

    She had managed to create many skills too, like wrapping chains around her hands giving the appearance of gauntlets. Which will give her an increase in strength. Or sprouting a chain with a sharp edge to use to attack as if daggers. She can also manifest a large number of moving chains in a circle around her body which will act as a defense and move to defend her or attack according to her wishes.

    That left Elene.

    And she had managed to create many attacks too.

    The idiot Blackbeard had found out about the darkness properties and had thought it was all to the fruit. When rather the fruit gave the ability to manipulate the darkness itself. There was no need to go touch the other person or anything.

    Rather Elene managed to manipulate the darkness to create hands that will catch the person and then its properties will strip him of his devil fruit. She was able to give the shadows physical substance and she can make them be as hard as diamonds or make them sharp enough to slice anything in their way.

    She can release a wave of darkness that will block out all light inside, and in which only she can see what is happening. Anyone inside would feel himself getting slower and sleepier. In that environment, she will be able to transform into the darkness element just like normal logia would be able to.

    And that was the reason why the darkness fruit was not a logia. It was because as long as there was any light the user can''t form like a logia eater.

    This was what the girls had managed to do in the remaining five months of their training. And even Ian had made many new techniques too.

    Which left Bert who was the only one who didn''t eat a devil fruit.

    As they stood apart from each other, Bert gave a grin as he threw a small pill in the sky after which it fell into his open mouth.

    Then almost instantly Ina watched with amazement as Bert''s fur changed color to white. Then his size started growing and growing until he reached a hight of almost five meters tall. There was no need to say about his broad shoulders and the muscles he developed. His tail grew larger along with his mane.

    "Sulong..." Ian muttered.

    But he noticed that Bert''s eyes were blue and focused. he had guessed that Bert would lose his control as he had never transformed and was never trained in this form as he had left his home at a young age.

    Bert in his huge form gave a deep loud laugh before he suddenly disappeared from his place and appeared swinging his claws filled with electricity at Ian.

    Ian didn''t need to dodge as he was a lightning human, but on closer looks, he hurriedly reformed a bit of distance away.

    Bert''s claws were black meaning he was using his Haki.

    Ian grinned as he praised.

    "Congrats, Bert. This is really awesome of you." Then he took a position to attack himself.

    He turned to lightning and reformed near Bert delivering a lightning kick but was surprised as he had guarded with his arms crossed and coted in Haki.

    The sulong form heightened senses but Ian thought that this was quite impressive.

    Bert focused his Haki on his hands which had them surrounded in a purple aura before he attacked once again. And Ian immediately noticed the advanced use of armament Haki: Emission.

    And so, the spar continued with the both of them exchanging moves, at times guarding, and others attacking.

    Ian was able to gauge Bert''s strength at around the early third stage which was rather impressive. And it also meant he had finally got the strength he wanted to protect his family and help Elene. He was after all in this form as strong as her.

    After a while, they stopped as Bert was exhausted and had started reverting to his original form after which he sat at the ground breathing hardly. Ian walked towards him. Along with the rest too. They had questions to ask.

 Chapter 101 - Explanation

    {A/N: I had said before that this arc is about bonding and training. but I still wrote many spars to keep the action going. I even included a couple of mysteries to be answered. such as what Sanjuan wolf did... or what the island was... or why the ''D'' are hunted when they reach a certain point... I also implied that the D was the ruling family of the great kingdom and were betrayed by the celestial dragons, although at this point Ian still isn''t one hundred percent sure so he will try to get answers from Garp and Sengoku. but apparently all this isn''t exciting to some people as they said this is boring. well, what can I do? I''m doing my best you know. I''m just a novice writer but I thought since the majority are enjoying this that I''m doing a good job. I tried to make the characters more in-depth by giving them tragic pasts and reasons to want strength... Sorry for the rant I just wanted to ask your opinion if this is good. and if not then what should I do to make it better? anyways enjoy the chapter! this author note is not included in the word count. someone also said the chapters are small I understand that as a reader myself, but it is what it is. I work and write in what limited time I have. writing is exhausting also. and soon I will be going back to study for the last year for my diploma in architecture, the best I can do is a chapter between 1000 and 2000 words}

    Ian gave him a bottle of water. Meanwhile inside he was surprised at how Bert was not in any visible pain. From what he knew from the anime when the mink people used this form they will grow extremely tired.

    But Bert was relatively fine apart from breathing a bit roughly. Which after he drunk the water managed to be regulated by him.

    ''Is it due to the strength of his body? Or the drug he took? Perhaps a combination of both.'' Ian thought to himself.

    "Alright, I know what you all are dying to know," Bert said with a small chuckle. Finally, for a change, his usual lazy eyes were filled with excitement and satisfaction.

    Ian certainly couldn''t blame and neither can the rest of them. Bert had gotten close to his wish. So he every right to be happy.

    "Wait, first let''s take care of you," Ian said as he motioned with his hands for him to stop.

    At Bert''s nod, he moved closer, and using his power he rejuvenated him and healed any injuries he might have.

    Only then did he motion for him to continue.

    "Since you all have devil fruits. You still had something to do in the last five months. Meanwhile, I didn''t. Well, at least I didn''t until master Geo made me remember something. That I can train my sulong form." He said as he told what happened so far. "The sulong form is a trump card of the mink people but before it can become quite deadly, you have to first master it as the people transformed tend to lose control over their minds. Usually, it can only be utilized on a moon night. I had thought of training to master it, but it is usually taught in our home. So I had no way to do so as I had left when I was still young." He added.

    Ian gave a nod. This much he already understood from watching the anime.

    The rest too gave nods of understanding.

    Robin especially was more attentive. She loved learning new things and she was enjoying this. Though she had a question to ask.

    "Then if you can only transform in a moon night, was yours related to the drug you ate before?" She asked him. In truth, they all were wondering the same thing.

    Bert chuckled as he gave a nod.

    "Indeed. Since I had to be at our home to train it I originally refused master Geo. Not to mention that in five months I would only be able to transform five times which will make it hard to train. But master Geo assured me that he will find me a solution." Bert said. Then he paused as he gave a bow in the direction of the standing Geo who only waved his hands.

    "We both visited the most esteemed doctor on this island who has a vast amount of knowledge in medicine and medicinal drugs. When presented with the problem he took only two and a half days to invent that drug you saw me eat. After that, it was me training to master it. As you can guess the first few times I had completely lost control until I was brought back with the help of master Geo. Until at one point I could control it well enough. Then I moved on to test my time limit in the transformed state and worked on prolonging it. And as you can see this is the result of five months of training like that." Bert said. There was a hint of pride in his voice.

    His wish to be able to protect all those he cares about and to help Elene was very much near his capabilities now. Granted that all the crew was strong themselves but at least like this, they would be able to trust him to cover their backs. He was satisfied.

    And it was all thanks to Ian and his father. He vowed to himself to never betray Ian and Geo. They had gained his absolute loyalty.

    "Hoh, I think that it is impressive that you managed to reach this state in just five months." Ian gave his assumption. One must be really talented to do that in such a small amount of time.

    "But I''m guessing you can''t just eat the drug anytime you want right? It can''t be that easy?" Ian asked.

    Bert nodded.

    "Indeed. I was told I should wait a couple of hours between each intake for the fear of my body internally breaking apart. And the limit is two pills per day. But after you healed me I feel like I can do it again right now." Bert said as he flexed his arms and looked at his hands.

    This made Ian pause to think.

    He had had an idea in mind for a while now but didn''t have time to try it. But with what he just heard, he had to try it soon. The idea was about him using his healing energy on a barrel of water or wine or some drinkable liquid, after which he will test if it will get any healing properties. If it worked that will mean that Bert would be able to transform in critical situations more than once. But even with that, he knew Bert wouldn''t be able to transform more than 4 or five times per day.

    "I might have a solution to this particular problem of yours. But let''s leave that to later. Right now I want to ask you if you know the implications of that drug." Ian spoke seriously as he eyed Bert.

    The rest took a second to think about what Ian was saying, and he was not shocked when they too reached the same conclusion.

    "I do," Bert replied. He knew what Ian was talking about. "I was actually going to ask you if we along our journey can make a stop at my home island. I have to present this drug to them. For my people''s survival" Bert then said. He was excited at the prospect. As not only would he visit the home he left all those years ago, he would also be bringing with him a mean that will make his people stronger.

    Indeed. The sulong form was the trump card of the mink people. And they were only able to use once per month. Imagine if they can now do it once or two per day. That will be one scary race at the time for sure. But Ian wouldn''t refuse to help them.

    The mink''s were among the most peaceful races that ever existed. Plus they were strong allies to have.

    "Of course that''s fine Bert. And I''m sure the rest will agree?" Ian turned and asked the girls.

    They gave nods with smiles on their faces. They too wouldn''t mind at all.

    Bert gave a short bow before Ian hurriedly helped him up and glared at him.

    "We are family so you should never do something like this again." He sternly advised. Which made Bert nod gratefully.

    "Alright, now that you are all finished let''s go celebrate your last night in this island you brats." Geo then broke the moment of silence that permeated. Indeed this was the last night the nightmare pirates were going to spend on the dragon turtle island.

 Chapter 102 - Farewells and Plans

    Once again the time for goodbyes had come.

    Ian was never good at that. So it might come at times as if he was being inconsiderate or something of the like when he just didn''t know how to express himself. But this time unlike the past he resolved to bid his father and the woman he fell in love with Arie and came with him to say farewell, properly.

    The long two years of training had finished and Ian and the rest were ready to start sailing, this time nothing on the sea would be able to threaten them.

    Right now Ian was standing on the deck of his ship along with his crew who were busily moving around each doing their own things.

    A couple of the villagers had again brought many types of food and vegetables in crates and were unloading them on the ship with the help of Bert who was providing physical force, and Elene being responsible for where to store the crates.

    Standing across of him as his father Geo and Arie. They were holding hands and smiling at Ian. Though Ian was able to detect a hint of regret on Arie''s face. He could understand why. She wanted to spend more time with him but since he was going she couldn''t.

    Arie was a good looking woman standing at 178cm. She has a round face with a round chin, a small nose, small ears, hollow cheeks, and thin lips. Her eyes were a lovely light green color.

    She has long, curly, black hair which is worn in a top knot.

    Her overall look would imply her being weak, what with her thin arms and legs, but Ian felt her strength and knew that she was a woman well trained.

    The feeling he got from her was that of a gentle and kind woman. As such he knew that his father was in good hands.

    He had already congratulated them about their relationship already but he thought he''ll do it again.

    "Once again, congratulation. And I''m sorry I couldn''t spend more time with you." Ian said as he spoke with a tone full of sincerity.

    "It''s fine Ian. No need to be sorry, this is your adventure, not mine. And you did spend two years here after all." Geo said as he shook his head with a smile.

    Arie was the same as she too said.

    "Please don''t be sorry about that. It''s not your fault. Every young man has his own adventure to live" She said as she gave him a smile too.

    Ian nodded.

    He walked closer and grabbed his father''s hand and shook it.

    But after a bit of thinking, Ian resolved to do this properly so he pulled his father into a hug.

    "I''m gonna miss you." He said to his father, letting him know that he really would.

    "Me too Ian me too." His father was the same as Ian in this regard, but he still replied emotionally.

    "Next time, I''ll make sure to do something so that you can travel these seas if you like too," Ian promised.

    And Geo understood what he meant. Since he was the guardian of this island he can''t travel as he wished. But if Ian did something about it there would many places he would want to visit.

    "Then thank you in advance." He replied.

    "It''s my duty as your son," Ian said, before finally breaking the hug.

    He gave Arie a short hug too, and then turned to his ship and headed inside.

    "Then farewell until we meet again." He spoke as he waved his hands without turning around.

    Geo and Arie shared a smile before they hopped off the ship. the crew waved goodbye too.

    Soon the villagers were done too and the ship was finally ready to sail.

    One of them addressed Ian after they hopped off the ship. He was a close neighbor of Ian''s father. Named Rob.

    "Oi, Ian, you really made us proud with the actions you did during the war." He grinned as the rest gave a chorus of ''yeah'' soon after.

    "Thank you guys for always doing this." Ian gestured at the crates of food.

    They just waved him off.

    "It''s fine, it''s fine. Now go on your way and make us proud once again." Rob replied. And it was apparent that the rest agreed with him as they all smiled.

    Ian nodded before he used his telekinesis to make the ship move.

    Not even a few minutes later the fog came up and hid the figures that were waving goodbye by the shore.

    Ian turned to his crew and saw that they each had finished their things and were waiting for him to announce their destination.

    "Alright. First of all, we have to sell all the gold we have. This process would be left to Stella as she is the expert on this." Ian said.

    Said Stella blushed but raised her chest high proudly.

    Ian gently smiled at her.

    "Then using her contacts, we''ll try to pinpoint the places the Impel down escapees are at." Ian then continued on and spoke with a bit of steel in his voice.

    Said Escapees are the ones that their crimes were vanished from history due to how heinous they were. And since they saw what one of them had done in the past, they agreed that they would hunt them all.

    Stella had worked as an assassin in the past and then as a bounty hunter, so she was the best among them in gathering information.

    "There is someone I would like to recruit if he agrees of course, but that would depend on what Stella gathers about him, so this will not be prioritized highly. Next would be to hunt the escapees, then I would have a meeting with Garp and Sengoku to discuss things up with them, and then after we''ll head to Bert''s home island." Ian added.

    "On our journey this time we''ll keep looking for any clues about the Poneglyphs. As they are what will allow us to reach the last island which will contain all the answers to the mysteries of this world." Ian said.

    Robin perked at this and heavily nodded along with the rest.

    "I already know of the place of two of the Poneglyphs and Bert had said the third is on his home island. So this leaves us just one last Poneglyph to search for, along with the regular ones." Ian said. He had already explained this to the crew back when they were training.

    But apart from Elene, the rest didn''t know where they were located except the one Bert provided.

    "And that''s all for now. So we''ll be leaving the first destination we head for, to Stella''s choosing." Ian said as he finished explaining.

    Stella gave a grin as she thought of their destination.

 Chapter 103 - Information

    [A/N: What do you think about the amount of money Ian got after selling the gold. is it a lot or is it the opposite? as well as what do you think about the fee paid to Yu for his help?]

    Ian and co had spent the last week since they started sailing, going around some islands Stella directed them towards, with Ian steering the ship as fast as he could to reach the island faster. And now according to her, this is the last island they would have to visit before they have the information they needed.

    They had already sold the gold they had on them for a rather sizable fortune. Since the volume of the gold was quite large they couldn''t sell it to just one person¡­ so they had to go through multiple places, but in the end, it had been worth it, as right now Ian had close to 15 billion berries if you add what he had on him before.

    For a small crew like Ian''s, that was a fortune, many would be happy to kill to get. Not that they would succeed at that¡­

    After that, they had been visiting some information brokers she used to know to ask about the escapees, but the information they got was incomplete. There were four guys Ian knew had gotten out of impel down''s sixth level. But from Stella''s past contacts they only managed to gather rumors about two of them. Rumors and not evidence¡­ Ian was not pleased much and neither was Stella.

    Still, Ian trusted her on this and left her to do as she liked for now. But she still assured him that the next guy is the very best at this sort of job which is why she left him to be the last.

    Now they were on an island named Roova. The contact she had in here was named Yu according to Stella.

    An odd name Ian thought as he heard her.

    "Aww, don''t look at me like that" Stella pouted. "It has been so long how am I supposed to know those guys had gotten rusty and become so bad? But this Yu guy, he was and most probably still is the best at this. If ''he'' doesn''t have anything then our targets are more troublesome then we thought."

    "Indeed." Ian gave a nod. "But relax I''m not going to blame you for something like this." He added with a small snort and a laugh to make her relax. He knew that she was a bit nervous about failing this mission.

    She gave a nod and a small smile.

    While walking on the streets, the island appeared to be quite bustling and filled with all types of people. He marked this particular point for later. For his ever-evolving body he needed various bloodlines, and he had already met some people like that, and he found some here too, so later he will sneak out and do his things.

    Generally, each island on the new world was known for something special. And this particular one was known for its seafood. They fished various types of marine life, and that gave birth to many seafood dishes.

    "We should get back later with the rest, and have a taste her, don''t you think?" Ian asked Stella. His eyes shining at the thought of tasting new food. He knew one other that would enjoy it as much as him. Their own ship''s cook, Bert.

    "Yes, I think so too." Stella giggled at him, before making a stop in front of a rather big building. The building looked normal not anything shady or half-broken like the rest of the guys they went to see.

    Ian read the sign that said, ''Library''. He had already prepared a suitcase filled with money to avoid showing his ring.

    They went inside after opening the door and were met by the view of a very quiet library. With the occasional person sitting on a table enjoying reading.

    Stella motioned him to follow as they made a beeline for the counter where a person was sitting and reading a book.

    This person was ordinary in everything apart from a couple of tattoos he had on his body.

    "Yu." Stella greeted, "It has been a while since we met. How have you been?" She said with a smile.

    The person put the book down and looked at Stella carefully.

    "Ella? Is that really you?" He asked cautiously. Ian raised a brow at the nickname for Stella but otherwise stayed silent.

    Stella leaned closer to the counter and brought her palm forward to which suddenly a chain sprouted from. The person''s cautious look changed in a second to a happy smile.

    "It really is you. You know we haven''t talked in like three years you know?" Yu said. Before his eyes drifted to Ian and prominently made him freeze in his place.

    Well, Ian was a sort of a celebrity. As while he had vanished for two years, the world didn''t forget about the fifth emperor. And right now few idiots would not recognize him.

    "You¡­ you''re Ian Louis, the fifth emperor¡­" Yu muttered shocked out of his pants.

    Ian snorted in amus.e.m.e.nt but gave a nod. He didn''t care for the fame or anything of the sort. But it was still amusing how people would change how they spoke or acted when they knew who he was.

    Yu turned to look at Stella.

    "You are part of the nightmare crew?" Yu had seen the bounties for the crew in passing but he didn''t focus much on it and it was not like anyone commissioned him to gather info about the crew. But now that Stella was in front of him he did manage to recall her nickname. The crazy-eyed nightmare.

    "Yes. I am." She confirmed with a small laugh.

    "But, let''s get down to business, Yu. We have something we need to ask of you." Stella then added.

    "Sure, sure." He nodded back. He was professional at this and he was not about to freeze up on such a high esteemed customer.

    "What do you know about the escaped prisoner of the sixth level of impel down? Speak everything you know, as for the price, you already know who my captain is so I won''t say anything about that¡­" Stella asked.

    Ian was a bit surprised. When they asked the other brokers, Stella had said their names and didn''t say they escaped from the 6 level. Not many knew such a level even existed. Coupled with how the government had hidden the fact that such escapees had broken out of prison, it was quite hard for one to know. The fact that the government hid that was why Garp and Sengoku had retired completely and were now just instructors.

    But the fact that Stella spoke directly to him meant this person was the real deal.

    Yu suddenly turned serious.

    "Follow me." He motioned with his hands as he went and climbed some stairs. Ian and Stella shared a look before they followed to the second floor.

    Then into a room that had two couches opposite the other between a table. When they all sat, Yu started talking.

    "Catarina Devon ''Crescent Moon Hunter'' known as the most dangerous woman imprisoned in impel down in the age of pirates. The keyword being imprisoned.

    Avalo Pizarro ''Corrupt King'' who was once a king of a North Blue kingdom that overthrew him for his despotic ways.

    Vasco Shot ''Heavy Drinker'' Not much is known about his crimes aside from that even his inmates considered his crimes brutal.

    Sanjuan Wolf ''Colossal Battleship'' the biggest giant known, suspected to be in part due to his devil fruit.

    These are the escapees of impel down." Yu said.

    To which Ian and Stella gave nods. Ian already knew this.

    "We don''t want to know about their abilities and the like. We want to know what they have done in the last two years, and where they are right now." Ian spoke interrupting whatever Yu was going to say.

    Yu gave a nod.

    "Alright. What I know so far is that after the war of the best, the supposed Blackbeard crew were disbanded. During the two years the revolutionary army tried to hunt all of the crew and succeeded to an extent. The only ones who were safe from that were the four prisoners. Two of them made a pirate crew. Namely being Vasco Shot and Avalo Pizarro. For these two, I have solid evidence about their whereabouts." Yu said what he knew.

    Ian managed to catch the glimpse of pride at the mention of the revolutionary army. He immediately knew this guy was either with them or helping them. But since Ian had nothing against them he didn''t mind much if this conversation was made known to Dragon.

    Yu then got up and went to the side and started rummaging through a bookshelf before he brought some pics.

    "This is Alder Island. And as you can see the crew is there." Yu said. True to his words the pics depicted the crew on a deserted island. Ian gave a nod. They would have to go for these two first as this island was quite close to them. Unless of course, the others were even closer. Stella too gave a nod to Yu.

    "The rest of the two, they are a bit troublesome. They had managed to become part of the Big Mom pirates. Sigh." Yu said as he sighed. By now he knew why Ian was asking about these questions. Which is clearly to hunt them. But the rest of the tow who are in big mom''s crew they would just have to give up on¡­

    Ian was surprised a bit. He didn''t expect that honestly. But he didn''t care either way. They all were going to die. This Ian had promised.

    Usually, information brokers were not paid much. But if the type of info was harder to get the fees were higher too.

    So even as Ian knew this information was not priced very high he still gave a generous amount to Yu. 15 million berries. He turned the opened suitcase towards Yu.

    "Thank you, Yu. I''ll make sure to ask for your help if need it in the future." Ian said as he got up and went through the door.

    Stella followed after him.

    "It was nice meeting you again Yu. I''m glad you are still the best at this." Stella grinned at him before she too got out of the room.

    Leaving a shocked Yu just sitting there. He didn''t even think they would give him one mil, not to mention fifteen¡­ he stayed there for a few minutes just surprised before he finally got up closed the suitcase and got back to work.

 Chapter 104 - Revolutionary army

    [A/N: this is the official 100th chapter!!]

    After Stella and Ian went on their way, Yu sat thinking in his chair for a while. Before finally getting up and heading to the second floor once again. This time to a different room. One where a den-den mushi for long distances was set up.

    The room had nothing but a desk where the den-den mushi was, a couch where Yu promptly headed to and sat on, then a window that was currently closed with the curtains drawn making the room appear dark.

    Yu took a deep breath before he started dialing a number.

    It took a couple of seconds, but the other side finally picked u and responded.

    "This is Yu speaking," Yu spoke first.

    "Ah Yu, it''s been a while since we spoke." The other side replied a bit happy.one can guess from the tone that the two were close. The voice appeared to be youthful, not that much older than Yu himself.

    "Yes. As you know, we can''t risk talking on this channel frequently, or someone might eavesdrop on us." Yu said.

    "More importantly. My mission was to keep eye on Ian Louis. I have some information about him to deliver." Yu added soon after not letting the other person chat about that and waste time anymore.

    The other side was surprised.

    "Seriously?" He couldn''t help but ask. Ian Louis the fifth emperor was a mystery for the last two years. No one had seen him, and no one knew anything about him. But they suddenly had information about him¡­ it left him a bit surprised.

    "Yes." Yu smiled. Before he started relaying everything he came to know about Ian. Including his crewmate Stella, and how he had paid to get information about the impel down escapees.

    ****

    The island of Baltigo. Grand line.

    The revolutionary army base.

    A certain member of the organization was writing on a paper while listening to the other side on the den-den mushi he had close to him.

    His looks were ordinary except a scar he had on his jaw. He was wearing a hat on his head, while the rest of his get-up as just normal.

    After a few minutes, he had written what the other side had to say.

    "Goodbye, Will," Yu said.

    "Well, goodbye Yu. Until we meet later. I have to get this delivered as soon as possible." He said as he cut off the call. Then got up and started heading inside the base. Heading directly to a certain person.

    When he reached the room he knocked.

    "Come in." came the youthful voice of a female.

    When Will stepped inside he was met by a slim, curvaceous girl that has a pronounced hourglass figure.

    She is seen wearing a crimson newsboy cap with gold goggles, a pink shirt with a frilly collar, a maroon short skirt, and black thigh-high stockings with brown high heeled boots.

    This was an officer of the army named Koala.

    "Koala, I have some news about what Commander Dragon asked us to keep an eye on." said.

    "Ah, it''s you, Will." Koala recognized him before she registered what he had just said.

    "For real?" She asked surprised.

    He nodded as he handed her the paper with the information.

    She read a bit of it before she got up from her seat.

    "Thank you, Will. I''ll make sure to deliver this right now." She said. Before she practically skipped on the road to the commander''s room.

    She reached a room and knocked before entering.

    Sitting there going through some doc.u.ments was the famous leader of the revolutionary army. Monkey D. Dragon.

    "Ah, Koala? Do you need anything?" Dragon asked.

    She gave a nod. Before she gave him the paper.

    He took it and spent a couple of minutes browsing it.

    "Um, this is good for us if he can Hunt those prisoners." He nodded at last after finishing.

    She too nodded. But then asked.

    "Are we going to head there to meet him?" She said.

    "Hmm." Dragon sat there thinking for a few minutes¡­

    ****

    Meanwhile, Ian and co had just finished eating out and tasting many foods this island they were on was famous for.

    He had already told the crew to head back to the ship without him as they will be sailing off once he gets back.

    Right now he was stalking a certain someone who was near them when they were dinning.

    When that person, who was clearly drunk from how he was walking unsteadily, reached an alley, Ian flashed using his shadow teleportation and brought the person inside the dark alley.

    He then promptly hit him in the neck making him lost consciousness for a short while.

    Then Ian didn''t waste any time before he took a syringe and filled it with the person''s blood.

    Ian felt a bit bad about doing this to a harmless person, so he fished a suitcase from his ring and filled it with a generous amount of money. 2 million berries. He then put the suitcase in between the arms of the person who strangely tightened his arms around t, as if he knew what it contained.

    Then Ian gave him a little slap to the face that managed to wake him up before he shadow teleported to the ship.

    The person left there was perplexed. He had a suitcase on him that he was sure he didn''t own, plus he didn''t remember falling asleep out in an alley.

    But after a bit of thinking, he thought that it could happen as he was drunk.

    When he opened the case he found a huge amount of money in there. He closed it suddenly as he was shocked. He gave a look at his surroundings before he hurriedly returned to his home, clutching tightly at the suitcase.

    One notable feature about this person is his long arms which has two joints.

    ****

    Back to Ian. He appeared on the ship suddenly startling the crew before they relaxed knowing it''s him.

    ''I already had the DNA of the long-leg tribe and three-eye tribe, and now I have the DNA of the long-arm tribe. They will all serve to further improve my body¡­ but I wouldn''t be using them right now, I''ll wait until we have sailed for a bit¡­'' Ian thought to himself.

    "Alright, guys let''s start sailing towards Alder island." Ian raised his voice as he informed his crew.

    They all gave shouts of ''OHH''.

 Chapter 105 - The voice of all things

    The Odyssey. On the way to Alder island.

    Ian was in his room on the ship sitting cross-legged on the bed. He was preparing to inject the three new bloodlines he got as he thought to himself.

    He had a reason why he went to all that trouble and hunt for them after all. All three would be able to help his body tremendously.

    But while the first two were there just to strengthen his body, the third one, would have a chance to give him the voice of all things.

    Which considered he was planning to reach Laugh tale at one point, then he will need it. Essentially his plan was the same as what big mom was planning on. She was waiting for her daughter to awaken it.

    Ian mixed all three bloodlines into one syringe. And since none of the bloodlines was stronger than the other, they were left balanced with no one coming on top.

    Then taking a deep breath, he injected himself and then set the syringe next to him as he closed his eyes and awaited the start of the process.

    Two minutes later, Ian lost consciousness, still sitting cross-legged, however.

    Changes soon started happening to his body.

    The assimilation started with strengthening his arms, especially, and also his joints. This will allow him to be even more flexible and move in unpredictable angles and ways.

    Next was his lower body. Which was strengthened even further than it was. And something that Ian will notice once he got up, would be that he had gained a few cms of height.

    But the biggest change would be how his eyes were glowing even if closed. Even his forehead was glowing in the middle as if a third eye was there and it was preparing to open. but in the end, it never did.

    This continued on for another hour before Ian finally started stirring awake. Only then did the glow starts receding, and Ian opened his eyes.

    His eyes glowed red for a second before they turned normal.

    But soon Ian clutched his head in pain as he yelled.

    "AHH¡­AHHH" He yelled loudly. He felt as if small sharp needles were drilling into his skull.

    He kept hearing a multitude of voices in his head each one speaking in a loud reverberating voice.

    He started bleeding from his nose, eyes, ears¡­

    "AHHHH" Ian tried to turn whatever this was off but he couldn''t¡­

    "There¡­ is nothing¡­ to eat¡­ here¡­"

    "Hungry¡­"

    "Drifting¡­ on the¡­ sea¡­ forever¡­"

    "I don''t¡­ think¡­ I would¡­ find¡­ better people¡­ than this¡­ crew¡­"

    "If¡­ only¡­ they¡­ knew¡­ I''m¡­ alive¡­"

    So on and so on, Ian kept hearing voices like this in his head, some speaking of food, some randomly muttering bullshit until he finally couldn''t take it anymore.

    "SHUT UPPPPPP" He yelled loudly.

    And even if he didn''t mean to, his yell was infused with Haki, which exploded in a wave surrounding him leading not seconds later to all the voices seizing their muttering.

    Ian took a deep breath¡­

    "Finally¡­" He muttered to himself.

    Now that he was calm he was able to focus on his body and find a way to turn off that ability, until such a time where he was able to control it.

    It was actually quite easy, with but a simple intention to do so. The key however being he needed to be calm to do that.

    He then moved on to finish inspecting his body and noticed how his body felt even more powerful than before. His joints were stronger, and he could move more flexibly than before, not to mention that as soon as he stood up he noticed how his height had increased and reached 209 cm from the 201 he was at.

    He surveyed his surroundings and noticed that the room was wrecked as if a hurricane had struck it.

    He was quite perplexed as to that. And his thoughts moved until he thought they were under attack or something before he tried calming down and assess the situation.

    He still did not know that his yell was unordinary.

    When he calmed down after a bit, his eyes suddenly flashed red before he saw a sort of vision.

    ****

    "Ian¡­ are you okay??? what happened?" Elene''s voice came from behind the door as she proceeded to open it and peek at him.

    Then he saw how she was breathing roughly and sweat was forming on her forehead.

    Behind her stood the rest of the girls and Bert.

    And he noticed how they too were in a similar disheveled state albeit a bit worse than Elene.

    From the gaps left through the door, he saw that the ship too was broken in some part.

    The sight of his crew and ship like that hurt him inside.

    ****

    The vision ended and Ian was left there perplexed looking at the closed door of his room.

    Until suddenly he heard Elene''s voice coming from behind.

    "Ian¡­ are you okay¡­ what happened?" Just like his vision, Elene''s voice came from behind the door as she proceeded to open it and peek at him.

    Then he saw how she was breathing roughly and sweat was forming on her forehead exactly similar to what he saw at the vision.

    And behind her stood the rest of the girls and Bert.

    Once again just like he saw in the vision, he noticed how they too were in a similar disheveled state albeit a bit worse than Elene.

    Then seeking to confirm if the rest would be the same as he saw, he turned to look at the gaps left through the door, and then he saw that the ship too was broken in some part.

    He was then convinced that he had awakened future sight.

    "What happened?" Elene asked as she came closer and held his hand.

    He squeezed her hand as he replied.

    "I started hearing loud incoherent voices in my head all of a sudden. It was so much that I felt my head was going to explode. Thankfully once I yelled at them to stop, they did." He spoke the truth.

    She immediately knew that this was the voice of all things¡­

    Elene then looked at his face trying to search for any injury before she noticed the blood still on him. It was apparent to her that he had bled from his eyes, nose, and ears.

    She hurriedly went to the side bathroom, and grabbed a towel and a bit of water, before she proceeded to clean him up. Robin grabbed him a cup of water.

    And it was not until Ian held the cup that he noticed how his throat was parched.

    He drank it greedily before he turned and asked what happened to the ship and them.

    "What happened, did something attack us? Why is the ship like that?" He said.

    They shared a look before Elene was the one to step up and explain.

    "Well¡­ Ian, your yell was not as simple as you thought¡­ it was infused with Haki¡­ which is what lead to this¡­ even we almost lost consciousness." She said.

    "Ian, It was not your fault, you were in pain. You couldn''t help it. Don''t blame yourself." She added right after and he noticed the rest nodding their heads.

    He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. He knew this was out of his hands, but he still had to apologize nonetheless, but he was not going to blame himself over it.

    Then after a few seconds, he opened them and smiled at them.

    "Thank you, guys. And I''m sorry for scaring you." Ian said as he bowed his head a bit.

    "It''s fine don''t mention it," Bert replied as he waved him off.

    Stella said the same, meanwhile, Robin and Elene just held his hands in comfort.

    "Alright guys, let''s fix the odyssey. She is one of us after all." Ian said to the rest and they all nodded and got out of the room except his girls.

    He laughed softly.

    "Relax, I''m fine." He assured them and after a bit of intense looking from their parts, they finally left the room leaving Ian thinking.

    He couldn''t blame them. This was after all the first time he had bled so much and was in obvious pain.

    The reason he said that the ship was one of them, is that among the voices he heard one that oddly felt the closest to him. The voice said it''s thoughts about how it wanted the crew to notice it, and even if Ian wasn''t sure it was the spirit of the ship talking, he was going to start treating the ship better starting now.

 Chapter 106 - Meeting Garp and Sengoku again

    [A/N: This story was written with the intention of having just two love interests. but it appears many of you don''t like that. so I''m going to post two comments. one would be for the harem. and the other would be for things to stay the same as they are. the one with the most likes would be what I''ll do. if the comments both stay unliked I would leave things the same. in the case you chose harem, the candidates would be Sanji''s sister Reiju. Hanc.o.c.k. or Oden''s daughter... not necessarily all of them...]

    Ian and the rest were not shipwrights. However, he would say they had done good enough fixing the ship, not to mention there was not a lot of damage. Bert was a bit knowledgeable in this area and he was the one telling each of them what to do.

    Still, Ian made a note to have the ship looked at properly in the near future. As soon as they meet an expert at this.

    With so many things to do now, he was hard-pressed to think of what to do first.

    He knew that Dragon would most likely meet him soon, curtesy of Yu who he suspected was working for the revolutionary army. But he didn''t want to meet him before confirming what his father had told him back at his island about the ''D'' and the celestial dragons.

    To do that he had to meet Garp and Sengoku as soon as possible. But he was sure they wouldn''t say anything to him without him doing something for them in return. So he had already planned something for that.

    Right now he was sitting on the deck of the ship and gazing at the sky, while his thoughts wandered.

    Bert was reading a book for a change. Stella was relaxing on a chair, and Robin was training with Elene.

    The two had been sparing for a while now. Though their fight was without weapons and devil fruit abilities. It was purely unarmed combat.

    A thin layer of sweat was already apparent on their bodies.

    Ian knew that they were close to reaching their destination. Alder Island. Maybe tomorrow morning at worst.

    Which he guessed would be the place where dragon would meet him. Considering it the only place he could anyways unless he risked entering big mom''s territory.

    So he resolved himself to hurriedly go and get the information he needed. And that would be exactly now.

    "Hey, guys¡­" Ian spoke a bit loudly, gathering the attention of the crew. To which they walked to him. Bert closing his book, Stella bringing her glass of juice with her, and Elene and Robin using a few towels that were nearby to wipe their sweat.

    When they all stepped closer he started speaking.

    "Things have come up. And I need to make a quick trip." He said. His tone implying he won''t change his mind.

    They stared for a bit at that. Before Elene spoke.

    "What about the prisoners we are hunting?" She like the rest assumed that Ian meant all of them would need to make the trip. Which meant they would be leaving the impel down escapees.

    "Oh. You''ll still be going there. I meant just me." He replied as he noticed the problem.

    "I need to meet Garp and Sengoku and confirm what my father had said before we meet Dragon," Ian said. He was not going to hide anything from his crew.

    "There is also the fact that I need Garp and Sengoku''s help in the future, and this would go further towards that point." Ian doing them the favor he had in mind, would have both of them quitting the marines completely.

    They gave nods as they understood.

    "Alright," Elene said with a small smile.

    "I have confidence in you, and those two can never be a threat to you, so if I don''t come back in time you are free to do the job yourselves," Ian said. Then when he mentioned the word job, he briefly looked at Bert, before he turned his gaze.

    Bert managed to understand what it meant as he gave a nod back. Disposing of them would be left to him. He and Ian had had this conversation before. And he had assured him that killing bad people was of no problem to him. Granted Stella was the same in that, but Ian would rather he does it himself, or in the case, he couldn''t, at least Bert.

    "If you meet Dragon, be sure to call me no matter what," Ian told them firmly.

    There was no proof that dragon won''t attack his crew when he sees he is not there so he reminded them to call him. Although all of this was just in the case he was late to return.

    When they gave nods, Ian stood up, gave hugs to Elene and Robin, before he stepped to the side and concentrated before he was engulfed in shadows that started from his legs until it covered his whole body. And then the shadows vanished and with them Ian.

    They just shook their heads at the display before each one of them resumed what he was doing before.

    Bert went back to his seat and started reading his book again.

    Stella put the glass at the side and felt like taking a short nap so she laid down on the deck chair.

    Meanwhile, Elene and robin were still in the mood for more training.

    "Do you want to continue?" Elene asked.

    Robin nodded.

    "Yes of course." She replied.

    "Well let''s head to the back, I can see that little girl wants to sleep¡­ and it won''t do to annoy her" Elene shook her head as she said.

    ****

    Meanwhile, Ian reemerged from the shadow of Garp.

    He appeared to be in a room with a desk, chairs, and a table. When he turned to the side he found Both Garp and Sengoku were there.

    They were both on guard until the shadows vanished and they saw it was Ian.

    "Couldn''t you give a call first?" Sengoku complained.

    Meanwhile, Garp just laughed.

    "It''s been a while, brat," He said laughing.

    Ian nodded.

    "Indeed it was." He said.

    "So, what brings you around?" Sengoku went straight to the subject. It was clear he did not like Ian.

    "What island is this?" Ian disregarded him in return, which made veins appear on top of the old man''s head.

    "Former Marinford" Was stated by Garp. Ian knew that the base was called G1 now or something. But from Garp''s reaction, it appeared he didn''t like that.

    "So what brings you here Ian?" Garp then asked as he noticed his friend was about to explode from anger. He snorted in amus.e.m.e.nt.

    "Right, well I need to confirm something from you and Sengoku" Ian replied.

    Sengoku was about to heatedly reply but Garp held his hands up for him to stop.

    "Of course, I will give you important information in return," Ian said.

    Garp gave a nod for him to continue.

    "I want to know about those with the letter ''D'' in their names," Ian said finally.

 Chapter 107 - Prepare to get shocked

    [A/N: Well the ones who want things to stay the same had won. So there would be no new love interest]

    Both Garp and Sengoku were put off by the sudden question. ''I want to know everything about the ''D''''.

    Their features in a second had turned quite serious. Whenever it concerned the ''D'' things were always quite hectic.

    They shared a look before Sengoku gave a nod to him, and Garp started speaking.

    "Why do you want to know?" He asked Ian as he eyed him with an analyzing eye. As if he would be able to glean the reason simply by watching every minor detail about him.

    Even Sengoku forgot his anger at Ian for a bit and concentrated to see if Ian was worth it to tell him the secrets they both knew¡­

    Ian thought a bit to himself. Mainly about how much he should say, before finally starting to speak.

    "I consider myself your ally. I always would come to your help if asked, for that you have my word. As such I''m going to choose to trust you with this information." Ian said first shocking both of them.

    True they both thought they were allies of sorts. But only in regards to the Di¨¢voloi''s. Or so they thought. Apparently Ian was willing to give more to them on his end.

    "So, currently I''m hunting down certain impel down escapees. I''m sure you know who they are, and what crimes they have done." Ian said.

    "Why? And what does it have to do with your earlier question?" Not being able to keep quiet any longer, Sengoku interjected hurriedly.

    Ian moved to the couch and sat down. As a sign of trust, he didn''t have any weapon on him, and his guard was down. At least it appeared to them as such. In truth, with his instincts coupled with seeing the future, he didn''t need to keep his guard up. Unless against perhaps an awakened fruit Kizaru. Meanwhile, Garp returned to his glass of tea and plate of crackers.

    "The reason I''m hunting them is that I don''t want them free to do as they like. Especially as I came across the crimes of one of them. Truthfully it was so heinous I do not want to find out about what the rest of them had done. As to what it has to do with all of this? Well, let''s say my informer has relations to a certain revolutionary army leader. As such our meeting would be inevitable." Ian replied to his questions each at a time.

    "And as I consider him a potential future ally, I have to know everything about him that could give me an advantage. Such as his goal and reasons for doing things." He then added.

    Garp thought about this for a bit. It appeared that Ian was quite a good guy. Going out of his way to do something they as marine should be ''obligated'' to do. That still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

    Just giving the order to one admiral would be enough to kill all those criminals¡­ instead, the world government tried to cover their shame of letting a rookie infiltrate and escape the prison.

    As to Ian''s second claim¡­ Dragon as an ally¡­ true he didn''t get along with him well, but he didn''t hate his son. So he was okay with that thought, not to mention that he would a powerful ally to have. Turning to the side he saw Sengoku wrinkling his eyebrows. Most likely he reached the same thoughts. But Garp noted to himself to convince him about Dragon later when they were alone.

    Ian then spoke interrupting their thoughts.

    "Just so you know, I''m not saying tell me everything from the start. What I want is a confirmation of what I already know." Ian said.

    Ian had them confused all of a sudden.

    He let his energy go out, and form an isolating barrier in the room. One that would keep sound in.

    The two old men tensed, but Ian shrugged his shoulders.

    "I want what we talk about to stay in the room." He said.

    "Were the ''D'' the ruling family of the great kingdom? And were they betrayed by the supposed twenty kingdoms at the time, whose descendants are now called celestial dragons?" Ian asked a bit more seriously than before.

    Garp and Sengoku were a bit shocked that Ian knew this much already.

    "It is indeed as you say. But if you know that already, why are you asking?" Garp couldn???t help but ask.

    "I told you I wanted confirmation. Well now that I have it. So is Dragon''s goal to make the ''D'' the ruling family again or is it nobler, for the reason to rid the world from the blight called celestial nobles?" Ian said. Grimacing at the mention of celestial nobles. He didn''t like them that''s for sure. And as soon as he meets one, he would break the tradition of never killing one of them.

    Garp gave a sigh.

    Dragon''s actions can be misinterpreted if one knew of their ancestors'' past.

    But he shook his head.

    "We don''t talk much anymore, but I know for a fact that his actions are righteous, young Ian. Since young, he always liked the concept of freedom. Growing up he came to realize that the world government which is essentially spearheaded by the world nobles, abuses their authority for their own interests. so he began to despise them" Garp said with another sigh.

    Ian nodded.

    He knew that Garp and Dragon didn''t get along much now. And that was due to their ideas of peace. While Dragon despised the world nobles as much as Garp did, he was willing to do something about it, in the form of his army. Meanwhile, Garp thought that if the worst of the pirates were rid of in the world then all the countries would leave peacefully like in the east blue.

    Sadly Ian had to take Dragon''s side on this. Unlike what Garp thinks, the world nobles aren''t the ones leading the world government. And even if they did they would still need to be taken care of for true peace to come.

    For that peace, you would have to take care of all the corruption in the world. Either marines or pirates.

    He could now see that his conversation with Dragon would go quite well.

    "Then why does the world government attempt to stop anyone from reaching the last island?" Ian then asked.

    "You probably already know, but if anyone knew of the truth of the world, the whole world would be basked in chaos. Wars would be waged left and right¡­ that has to be stopped at all costs." Sengoku this time was the one to reply.

    Ian gave a nod and didn''t continue on the subject. He knew that a war was coming regardless, but he supposed He had a point there. But there was also something else on his mind. He knew for a fact that there was a fake history weaved by someone¡­ could this be it? Or was it half-truths with the main point being emitted?

    He had to reach Laugh tale to know that. But he knew one thing. The threat of a person knowing the truth of the world, about the ''D" being the original rulers and having been betrayed, could not be the only reason the world government stops anyone from reaching the last island.

    He shook his head from the thoughts and focused on the now.

    "Well, time to pay you back for the help," Ian said as he got up from his seating position.

    "What help? We just confirmed what you already knew¡­" Garp shook his head. And even Sengoku did so, albeit with a bit of regret.

    "Well, let''s just say that you have to know what I''m about to show you." Ian started.

    "Tell me, when the world government was established. They made a vow that no one is allowed to sit on that throne, not even the Five Elders or the World Nobles, as its vacancy symbolizes that the world is not ruled by a single figure, sending a message of peace right?" Ian said soon after.

    Both Sengoku and Garp nodded their heads.

    "Indeed, it symbolizes that all royals are equal," Sengoku replied. And Garp nodded.

    "Twenty people sharing thoughts on how to rule the world is better than one person selfishly ruling it right?" Ian asked.

    To which they nodded.

    "Well, be prepared to get shocked." Ian grinned. He was about to show them the truth of their Government.

    And then he and the two old men were swallowed in shadows so suddenly they had no chance to even protest.

 Chapter 108 - Im

    The holy land Mary Geoise. The capital of the world government and the home of the world nobles.

    In Pangaea castle.

    Deep, deep inside the castle, where the seat aptly named the empty throne sat.

    A seat which was said to be located at the very center of the world they inhabited.

    Officially this seat has no occupant. Officially. And that was the exact reason Ian had brought Garp and Sengoku with him to witness.

    And just as luck would have it when Ian and co emerged from the shadows they came upon one of the meetings of the five elders and the enigmatic IM that Ian remembered from the series.

    Although Ian may have appeared to be nonchalant as he teleported them all, he was in fact alert even before getting them here.

    Garp and Sengoku immediately turned vigilant as soon as they got their bearings and turned to look at their surroundings while keeping their guards up.

    Almost immediately both of them laid eyes upon the form sitting atop the chair and the five elders kneeling to it, not daring to raise their heads at all.

    The throne itself is kept on top of a three-level red and white platform and has several swords and axes planted in the floor of the first and third levels, with the ones in the first being rusting relics of the twenty founding kingdoms.

    They almost yelled from shock when Ian put his finger on his mouth in a silencing gesture. They immediately got the hint.

    It appeared they weren''t detected so far by either the figure or the five elders, so Ian will try to get something from this.

    But even this very information was enough for Garp and Sengoku.

    The highest authority of the world government who were supposedly the five elders, whom Sengoku had met in the past for many meetings, were actually just servants to some unknown person.

    Squinting as they focused on the high throne, they noticed the person wearing a veil to cover its face, leaving only its red eyes visible.

    However one thing was apparent to them, including Ian, the figure''s posture, and body was that of a female.

    Ian unlike them was able to notice an additional detail. The woman''s skin was blue. Dark blue. Which when added to the lower lighting on that high platform made it hard for one to gleam any details.

    ''So she is one of them¡­'' Ian thought to himself. This complicated things a lot. He was only here to show Garp and Sengoku the truth of what they served before. As they were not serving the world, but rather the whims of a hidden leader. But now things just got more complicated than that¡­

    They started listening to what the elders were saying.

    One of the five elders, the one with a scar on the left side of his face who is wearing a hat over his grey deadlocks, spoke towards the figure atop.

    "Im-Sama, What are your orders?" He asked.

    The figure stayed silent for a few minutes, with the five elder''s patiently waiting.

    Meanwhile, Ian''s instincts screamed at him so suddenly to run as something dangerous was about to happen.

    He moved to catch Garp and Sengoku and teleport them but it was too late. As Im had spoken.

    "INTRUDERS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MOVE IN THIS CHAMBER" The voice was not spoken loudly at all. Rather it was layered with a tone full of authority that reverberated through the minds of all there.

    And to the horrors of Ian and co, they suddenly found their bodies incapable of moving.

    Ian was standing still his hands outstretched towards Garp and Sengoku.

    He tried his best to move but found it impossible.

    Similarly, Both Garp and Sengoku were standing there looking shocked out of their minds. No matter how much they tried they weren''t able to move.

    ''What kind of bullshit ability is this?'' He thought angrily as he did his best to break free.

    "They are?" Im spoke. This time that tone of authority was gone. As such all that were there clearly heard the feminine voice.

    Confirming the owner being female.

    Only then did the five elders turn to look to Ian and Co. clearly there leader was asking them for who the intruders were.

    This time the oldest looking of them, who was wearing glasses and had a samurai sword on him, replied.

    "Former fleet admiral Sengoku. The hero of the marines Garp. And the fifth emperor of the sea Ian Louis." The figure replied. Adding nothing more.

    Im stood up from her seat and ordered.

    "KILL THEM," She said. Her authority back in full.

    And just like this Ian was starting to regret this short trip of his.

    The oldest looking elder stood up from his kneeling position and then withdrew his sword from its sheath.

    ''It has been a while since the last time¡­'' he thought to himself as he started walking near the incapacitated three intruders.

    ''Garp, you still had your uses to us¡­ too bad. As for you Sengoku¡­ disposing of you would not have any high repercussions.'' The elder thought.

    Then his gaze went to Ian, who was glaring furiously at them all.

    ''Ian Louis. Taking care of you would make things easier for us¡­ leaving you alive can leave us many problems¡­ I shall start with you'' he thought.

    Then decided he went towards Ian.

    In the onlooker''s eyes it appeared as if the elder was just walking but a simple step of his had him right in front of Ian in a shocking show of speed, swinging his sword to behead him.

    It all appeared in slow motion in Ian''s eyes, however. He was sure he can easily kill this elder if he had his mobility.

    His rage finally reaching the point of eruption, due to thinking of leaving his loved ones, had Ian explode with conqueror Haki outwardly.

    ''That''s useless¡­'' the elder thought to himself. He knew his master''s abilities and simple conqueror''s Haki would not save him.

    But just as his sword was about to take Ian''s head, a hand caught it.

    It was Ian''s hand covered in scales as if it was inside a gauntlet.

    Ian released a high amount of electricity through his hands into the sword, making the elder stand there convulsing before he fell to the ground and lost consciousness.

    Im who was watching noticed this as she was watching, so she tried to give another command to trap Ian again.

    "THERE WILL BE NO RESISTANCE FROM INTRU-"She was still speaking when Ian released a huge amount of electricity from his body. The amount was so much that it covered the huge chamber in blue light and blocked the elders and Im''s eyesight.

    Then Ian grabbed both Sengoku who was standing there still unable to move and Garp who had attempted the same thing as Ian and surprisingly was able to move.

    Then he shadow teleported them back to where they were before he fell on the ground in exhaustion. Mental exhaustion.

    ****

    The elders woke their downed friend and went back to their kneeling position leaving Im thinking.

    "Was he a ''D'' too?" she said after a while. Mainly to herself, as the elders stayed silent.

    [A/N: Well I chose to have Im as a woman. mainly because her figure implies so. what do you think Oda-sensei would choose? male or female?]

 Chapter 109 - A secret uncovered

    Just as suddenly as they were about to die, Ian, Garp, and Sengoku were suddenly back at the room they went from. They lay there on the ground from their fall.

    "Ugh" Both Garp and Sengoku groaned in pain.

    Ian can control it more precisely than that, but no one would blame him to mess it up after what happened.

    He got up from the ground and looked at Garp and Sengoku breathing heavily.

    Before he shook his head and then went and laid down on the couch and tried to relax his tense muscles and mind.

    It may appear as if Ian was impulsive at this time, but he had in fact thought things up before doing this rather extensively. As originally he had wanted to give information and proof about Im to Garp and Sengoku in exchange for info about the ''D'' clan. And that would serve two purposes. Repaying them for their confirmation of things, first, and having them fully on his side, second.

    But the more Ian thought about Im from the original anime at the time, the more he became suspicious about him. Or her as he now came to witness earlier.

    Ian thought that Im may have been a di¨¢voloi.

    So with that suspicion in mind, he sought to strike three birds with one stone. Dealing with Garp and Sengoku''s matter and at the same time confirm or disregard the note that Im is a di¨¢voloi.

    To do that, knowing how the di¨¢voloi are extremely strong, was Ian''s sole fault this time. He had underestimated them. And went in blindly. This can be attributed to his increase in strength which lead to his arrogance taking control. He assured himself that even in the worst-case scenario he can still fight and escape. Which did in fact happen, but the repercussions behind the ability he witnessed from Im was disastrous for anyone else.

    Im was a di¨¢voloi. Of that Ian had no doubt right now. Even Garp and Sengoku had witnessed as such.

    Meaning the world government and essentially the world nobles were under the orders of a di¨¢voloi. Who according to the voice speaking through links towards Ian, is fixed on destroying the world.

    And then there was that command ability. If he didn''t explode in anger back then, there would be no more Ian Louis in this world.

    But thinking about that ability more, things began to get clear. The ''D''. The world nobles. And Im. It was all connected.

    ''Holly shit¡­'' Ian cursed in his mind as he reached a conclusion. By now he had already regained his calm from earlier.

    Garp and Sengoku finally got up from the ground as Ian eyed them up.

    They took seats before taking deep breaths to calm themselves.

    "What the hell had just happened?" Sengoku was the first to speak as he addressed Ian.

    He in no way blamed Ian. The very fact that Ian made him know that his government was not as just as he thought would offset any anger at endangering his life. The fact that there was a hidden leader leading them to her own whims disgusted him and Garp.

    Garp perked his ear waiting for the answer himself.

    "That was a di¨¢voloi," Ian replied. Saying just a simple phrase.

    But to the ears of Garp and Sengoku, it was as if thunder had struck.

    They didn''t want to believe it, but they knew he was speaking the truth.

    How did they know?

    First of all, would be the creepy looking eyes of Im. Then second, was at the time Ian discharged a lot of electricity illuminating the hall they witnessed Im''s blue skin.

    That was no human or any known race. So it could only be a di¨¢voloi.

    Their hidden leader was in fact a she-devil. He had fought one himself and knew that they were beyond evil. And this was their leader from the shadows.

    They took a few seconds to process things before Sengoku once again asked Ian.

    "Why weren''t we able to move when she spoke?" He asked.

    "And how did you and Garp break free of that?" He added. He had witnessed both events as he was the nearest to them. He had seen Ian suddenly grab the sword that was meant to kill him in one swing, and then saw Garp move one leg forward.

    Meanwhile, he was sure he couldn???t move no matter how hard he tried. Even his transformation was locked at that state.

    Ian stayed silent for a bit. He had thought about this earlier.

    "What do the world''s nobles say about themselves?" Ian asked a question in return, seemingly at random.

    "What does that have to do with this?" Garp asked this time. He had been staying silent and processing things.

    "Just answer me." Ian insisted.

    To which they relented and replied.

    "That they are god''s descendants," Sengoku replied even if he didn''t know what Ian was getting at.

    "Exactly." Ian grinned at this.

    "Then for them to be as such, there has to be a god, or at least was there one at one point?" Ian continued asking.

    But this time the gears turned in Sengoku''s head at a fast rate, making him instantly understand what Ian was getting at.

    "You don''t mean to say that this Im is a god?" he skeptically asked. The idea that a god existed was one he was not willing to even consider.

    "What?" Garp was shocked as he turned to see Ian''s answer.

    "No. she is not, of that I''m sure. However, that doesn''t mean she can''t pretend to be so¡­" Ian denied before he threw the bait at them.

    "So you mean to say that Im is playing at god with the world government?" Sengoku said. Thinking to himself he found that this was more down to earth.

    Ian nodded.

    "Indeed. I have met an arrogant son of a gun named Enel in the past ruling Skypiea. And due to his ability to pick up all sound on the sky island, he thought of himself as a god, and the rest of the weak people believed as such, simply because he was able to eavesdrop on anyone and deliver punishments. Or as he called it divine judgment" Ian spoke his past encounter to explain things more simply to them. Snickering at the words divine judgment.

    "Now, you have seen Im''s power. Do you not think that such a power would be akin to a god?" He asked.

    Both of them were beginning to understand things now.

    "Indeed," Sengoku replied, still thinking to himself.

    "But for Im to be the god the world nobles worship, she has to be quite old you know?" Garp however was the one to ask this time.

    "I know that it sounds quite impossible, but we know quite next to nothing about the di¨¢voloi and how long do they live. It can even be that the power is hereditary and the current Im is not the one that the nobles started to worship and think they are descendants of. Plus if you think more about it, it starts to make even more sense." Ian said.

    They agreed that they don''t know about them a lot.

    "What do you mean?" Sengoku asked.

    "Well, What are the ''D'' Called by the world nobles?" he asked them again a question in return.

    Garp groaned. He was getting quite irritated at Ian.

    But Sengoku thought about it as he replied.

    "God''s archenemy." He said.

    "Then, was Garp not able to get free from the binding words of ''God'' earlier? And he is a ''D'' does that not make him god''s natural enemy?" Ian said and grinned. Everything made sense to him now.

    Sengoku thought about this, and couldn''t help but agree with Ian. This was the answer to his earlier question of how both were able to get away.

    But Garp had something else to say even as he felt that what Ian said was quite correct.

    "But you too were able to get free. And you aren''t a ''D''?" he said.

    At this Ian sighed.

    It appears his father had hidden something from him when he told him about his parents in the past.

    "I would have to assume that I am, especially since I don''t know what my parents'' full name was." He said.

    They gave nods as each of them delved deep into their own thoughts.

    [A/N: And there you have it. the mystery of the ''D'' and why they are called God''s natural enemies. and why the world nobles think of themselves as god''s descendants. I hope you like what I have done with it. The will of the ''D'' would only later be explained when Ian knows the truth of the world in Laugh tale]

 Chapter 110 - Alder island

    Ian didn''t know this particular information about his parents. That they were from the ''D''. After all his father said about them were their first names and some adventures they had along with what their dreams were.

    But Ian only knew their names as Alyssa and Roan Louis. However, now it was quite possibly one of them or maybe even both of them were from the ''D'' clan. Meaning by giving birth to him, Ian was too. He didn''t know how to feel about that.

    But he took solace in the fact that this ability of Im wouldn''t work on him anymore. Last time it held him as he was caught off guard. But the next time he won''t be. He learned a lesson from this time. A lesson to never underestimate someone because of arrogance.

    He shook his head from these particular thoughts and made a point to call his father later and ask him about his parents.

    He turned his eyes towards Garp and Sengoku. Both of them were immersed in their own thought.

    Perhaps sensing him, they looked at him.

    "What was your purpose this time? Ian Louis." Sengoku asked. By now he knew that Ian had known about Im beforehand. Or at the very least knew someone hidden was leading the world from the shadows. So by showing this to them he had something he wanted from them. He was almost sure of that.

    Garp perked his ears for the answer. He similarly thought that Ian had something he wanted from them.

    "Don''t overthink it. It is simply because I feel you two are good guys and deserve to know the truth. I had a guess about Im being a di¨¢voloi from before and I wanted to prove it, while simultaneously showing you the truth. You are our allies after all." Ian said. And it was the truth as he knew they were good guys from the anime. And they were worth being his allies.

    They both gave nods. Even though Sengoku felt something else was at play.

    Still, the realization that their world government and why the world nobles are such evil beings was a result of a hidden ruler named Im was still shocking to them.

    After all, that throne was supposed to imply that there was no one ruler. Or rather no selfish ruler. But apparently it was just a decoration right now. Its purpose never fulfilled.

    Both of them looked at each other and nodded. Garp had been wanting to retire from the marines all this time so that he would never be under the world nobles. Similarly, Sengoku who was the closest to them thought the same. But now after this¡­ revelation, both were going to quit the marines.

    Not to mention they were probably going to send assassins at them because they now know something they shouldn''t¡­ although they were sure that publically they were going to be announced as just having retired, and then dying of old age¡­

    Garp chose this time to talk.

    He had been staying silent and processing things. But by no means was he stupid, like most people, were lead to believe.

    "How are the ''D'' special to be able to escape the control of Im? And is that ability of the whole di¨¢voloi or just Im?" He asked seriously. By asking these questions, he showed to Ian that he trusted his theory about Im being a god.

    But sadly even Ian didn''t know those answers. Yet.

    So he shook his head.

    "All we have right now are guesses. It could be that the ''D'' people have a special constitution or something. They are known for their willpower after all. Or it can even be that they are the di¨¢voloi''s enemy since ages past. And that would be nature''s way of balancing things¡­ I don''t really know. But I promise if I uncover the reason, I would tell you as soon as possible." Ian said. Once again all he said were guesses.

    "As to your second question, I''m lead to believe that it''s not something every di¨¢voloi is able to do. Otherwise, the one we killed could have killed most of us in that fight we had in the past. Maybe Im is their leader? And she has the most powerful ability of them? Again this just me guessing¡­" Ian shook his head and stopped talking.

    "Even though they are guessed, they are not without reason. I think you are on to something Ian." Garp said after a while of thinking. He felt like one of Ian''s guesses would come true.

    Even Sengoku had to admit so with a nod of his head.

    Ian nodded in return.

    "I''m going to try helping you, so don''t panic," Ian said.

    And when he saw them nod, he stepped closer to Garp first and put his hand on his shoulder. He did the same thing he did towards old man Ray.

    He revolved his energy in Garp''s body, healing all injuries. Internal and external. And then he rejuvenated his body to make him feel younger than before.

    After a while, the process was finished and Garp stood up and stretched a bit, shock apparent in his eyes.

    Sengoku was about to ask what happened. When Ian neared him. He chose to trust him since Garp was looking fine.

    A couple of minutes later, Sengoku shared Garp''s shocked look.

    "There still many things I don''t know, and I''m going to get to the bottom of this eventually. Until such a time, I''m going to have to bid you goodbye" Ian said finally after a few minutes of shared silence.

    "Right. Goodbye. And thank you." Garp said his goodbye. And thanked Ian for what he did for them. With the way he was feeling, he knew that Ian had done him a huge favor.

    Sengoku nodded. Still out of it from the shock.

    Then Ian was engulfed in shadows and spoke one last thing before he completely vanished.

    "Be careful from now on." He said. And then he was gone.

    Leaving both men to think deeply about this.

    ****

    When Ian reemerged he was standing on the Odyssey. His ship.

    Looking at the surroundings, he noticed that it was docked to an island. From what he could see he guessed this island to be their destination from before. Alder Island.

    Suddenly his ears twitched. He picked up the sound of fighting from the inside of the island. And guessed that it was his crew hinting down their targets.

    He stepped off the ship towards the ground and started speaking.

    "I''m going to store you inside the ring, just in case some idiot decides it is okay to hurt you to get back at us," Ian said towards the ship. He was speaking as if she was alive, and a person at that. But he knew that if he turned his voice of all things on, he would have heard her thank him. Too bad he still wasn''t confident in controlling it.

    Before he then stored it inside the ring, which his crew couldn''t as he had it with him before he started walking towards the place where the fight was going on.

 Chapter 111 - Overpowering

    On alder island.

    In a clearing.

    Standing there on one side, was the figure of three women and one guy.

    The first woman, and shortest of them all there, was 180cm tall.

    She had a sculpted figure which was twine-thin, but it was apparent that she had strong muscles on her. Her waist was tapered and she had a pale skinned complexion. A pair of arched eyebrows looked down on sweeping eyelashes and light green eyes. Her delicate ears framed a button nose. A set of dazzling, angel-white teeth gleamed as she blew gently on her carmine-red fingernails. Her dark green hair was kept in a ponytail and was moving slightly with the tiniest bit of movement.

    Her heart-shaped puffy lips pressed into a thin line as she noticed the looks she and her family, were getting from the other side. It was a look full of l.u.s.t. She could practically hear the insults going through their minds.

    "Tsk!" She clicked her tongue as she turned to her big sis.

    "Big sis, aren''t we going to beat the shit out of them already?" She addressed her as she turned back towards the group opposite them and glared maliciously at them. Her voice

    "Well, you can''t really blame them, with the type of clothes you are wearing Stella!" The big sis replied dryly. Making Stella pout as she crossed her arms and stomped her boot-wearing leg on the ground.

    It was true, however, as her clothes were skimpy. What with her wearing small black leather shorts reaching her thighs, and a black crop top exposing her navel and the silver piercing in it, as well as the obvious forming of s.e.xy abs starting to appear on her. On her waist she had two daggers sheathed.

    The big sis she was talking about was similarly a stunning beauty. Standing at 183cm, and exuding a feeling of warmth about her.

    With one look at her, and one would find themselves worshiping at her altar. Her face perfectly symmetrical with light blue eyes, a rounded jaw, and a small nose, accented with her mid-back length sunflower blonde hair, which was fine neatly braided.

    Her hot figure, although hidden with decent clothes, a grey t-shirt, and dark blue pants, was still apparent to all.

    However, she had no weapon on her, unlike the rest of her family.

    This was Elene.

    "Eh, Robin, are you going to help this time?" Elene ignored her little sister and asked the taller girl next to her.

    That was Robin. Who didn''t change much in terms of looks except that she became more beautiful!

    Her outfit now is a long salmon sari-like skirt with a partially-zipped navy blue leather vest with a V-neck and an image of her Devil Fruit or of an actual Chrysanthemum morifolium is printed on the left b.r.e.a.s.t near the shoulder that exposed her stomach, along with sunglasses, and pink high heeled pumps.

    Robin nodded.

    "Yes. We need to take care of this quickly before Ian comes back." She replied.

    Elene nodded.

    Meanwhile, the last person on their side just shook his head.

    He was quite tall reaching as much as 230cm. He was covered all over in fur, pointing to the fact that he was a mink. A lion mink.

    He was wearing black baggy pants tucked into his brown knee reaching boots, along with a dark green shirt that was a bit bigger for his size, just as he liked. On his waist, a sword was tied.

    He noticed that opposite them, the two pirate captains of their crew has finally been called and reached the place.

    Vasco Shot, and Avalo Pizarro. Along with close to 150 regular pirates under them.

    "How did you find us? And what is you purpo-"Avalo was the one to speak first, much to the annoyance of his co-captain.

    Bert didn''t give them time to react and continue, however.

    As he with his hands simply swung down his sword in a sharp movement, sending an air blade at them.

    Robin similarly took her cue to attack. Along with Stella.

    They were the ones with abilities that can affect multiple people.

    Robin attacked multiple people by having her arms sprout on them and restraint them. And make them lose consciousness.

    Another part of them was taken out by Bert''s huge Air blade. And then chains wrapped around many others and tightened until they were out.

    Just like this, a huge portion of the pirates was taken out, seemingly by a casual move by them.

    The ease with which they did it, had the remaining pirates cry in fear as they scampered to run away. Leaving only the two pirate captains and three other pirates that held themselves strongly.

    Bert shook his head as he saw one of them bravely sprint towards them and jump to the sky before trying to attack as he appeared to be transforming to something.

    Sadly for him, Robin was not in the mood, as they were not here to play.

    She made a giant one hand sprout and had it slap him as hard as it could. Which resulted in him being unable to dodge from the coming hand and being launched into the sky like a bullet.

    Even if the fall and the attack didn''t kill him, he was in for some serious pain....

    The other two pirates who stayed became nervous too after seeing this.

    "Who the hell are you people?" Avalo asked once again, this time his tone a bit fearful.

    "You should have stayed in prison." Elene snorted.

    She raised her hands and made darkness energy appear under the two remaining pirates standing along with their targets, to which they abruptly fell.

    Then the darkness disappeared, and Elene made it reappear in the sky near Bert, who seemingly took just a single step, but moved a distance of 20m leaving two bloodied unmoving bodies behind him.

    And just like that, only their two targets, who appeared to be sweating bullets, were left.

    Vasco shot was the first to react.

    "Oy, let''s get serious these guys are troublesome¡­" He spoke in a tone indicating otherwise from what he said, showing that he was quite drunk at that. But inside he was quite furious at them. And he couldn''t wait to kill them all tearing them from limb to limb.

    His fellow escapee nodded his head.

    They were about to move and do something when something happened.

    "We have no time for this," Elene said. Before she pointed her hands at them, from which shadows flowed at them.

    Mere seconds later she had them held by many tendrils of shadows that would cut off their devil fruit abilities.

    Then she nodded at Bert and co.

    Stella and Robin made a combined attack, with Robin making a giant hand even bigger than the one from before. And Stella making her chains wrap around the hand until it appeared as if the hand was covered in armor.

    And those chains were golden in color, which made them quite deadly. The hand swung down on Avalo who was unable to move or transform.

    Bert himself looked at this before he said.

    "Don''t kill him." He said. Before he jumped into action and targeted the large drunk fellow.

    In such a speed that was impossible to follow for those watching, he attacked six times from six different directions, the only sound resulting from that is electricity that he used in the attack.

    When he finished he didn''t even look behind him as Vasco shot fell trying to clutch his throat and stem the blood. All in vain.

    Bert knew that it was his responsibility to kill any enemies of the crew, and only when necessary allow the girls to do so.

    This was what Ian wanted, even if the girls were okay with such a thing, but he agreed with Ian on this.

    Still, Elene having watched this from the side was not a problem. The reason Ian didn''t want them to kill, is so that they don''t stain their hands with blood, not because they can''t.

    Bert reached Avalo who was buried into a crated and seemingly half dead.

    He jumped down the pit, and when he reached him, he said.

    "Just like Elene said. You should have stayed in prison." He whispered. Before he plunged his sword through to his heart and ending his suffering.

    He jumped back up and made his way towards the girls.

    And just as he reached them, Elene surprised them as she said.

    "You can come out now." She said looking at a tree.

    All of them turned to look to where she spoke to and waited for the person to show himself. Otherwise, they were not able to notice anything there on that tree.

 Chapter 112 - A prank

    All of them were tense and on guard. Ready to attack at a moment''s notice.

    They didn''t forget that they were most likely going to be meeting dragon, and this could very well be him, or at least someone working under him.

    Stella had her chains around her waving as they moved around her ready to protect her if needs be, or attack if it came to that.

    Robin no longer needed to cross her arms to use her ability, giving her more subtly when using her ability, but she still liked to point at the place she was about to attack. So she had her arms both in a fighting stance, ready to use her ability in a second.

    Meanwhile, Elene, who was the only one able to detect this person, was concentrating on his place¡­ trying to get more about him.

    Bert had his hand on his sword, as he turned briefly to look at Elene.

    But as he was about to ask a question, they were suddenly attacked.

    Multiple air blades were launched from where Elene had said the person was hiding. The blades were huge in size and would require from Bert, the most adept person with a sword in the crew, to concentrate a bit to be able to send even half that number. Of course if one was as strong as Ian physically, then that would be quite easy.

    The Crew hurriedly dodged the attack, as they became vigilant immediately. Apparently this person was an enemy.

    The air blades went on to leave devastating damage on the ground where they impacted.

    But Elene suddenly talked.

    "I lost him." He said frustrated a bit, as she was supposed to be the one who can hide and no one can detect her, not the opposite.

    From their backs, as they were still staring at the tree where their enemy was supposed to be, came another attack suddenly, similar to the last one, except the air blades became even larger in size.

    And just as they prepared to dodge them, another furious wave of air blades came from the other side intent on dissecting them into pieces. Followed by another from the side they were about to dodge to, and it continued to rain from every side leaving them surrounded with no place to dodge.

    ''Shit'' Bert cursed under his breath. He had realized that for a person to be able to shoot those air blades so easily, would mean this person was as strong as an emperor.

    He didn''t know if it was Dragon, however, as he was not known for using a sword. Perhaps it was Mihawk who wanted to test them or something, but Bert thought this to be farfetched as no one knew they were going to Alder Island Apart From Dragon.

    Stella seeing the predicament they were in took a deep breath before she used her ability to make huge chains appear around them. She made them appear in a circular shape with each one next to the other until they met at the sky forming a dome shape. Then she made another layer and another one before she felt a bit exhausted. After all, she had made a triple-layered dome of huge chains with a diameter of 8m.

    Then Bert who saw this hurried to instruct her just as the blades had impacted the first layer.

    "Change them to diamond now!" He yelled.

    And even if she felt a bit tired it was not something that would have her stop fighting anytime soon. So she did as asked even if she didn''t know why he wanted her to.

    But after she did as he said she understood instantly why.

    The blades had moved unhindered through the layers until they started struggling with the last layer of chains, which she turned to diamond. Before eventually failing to cut them and dissipating.

    "Elene, do you know where he is?" Bert asked Elene.

    But she just shook her head. Still feeling frustrated at not being able to detect him or her.

    And then Stella made the chains disappear as she noticed Robin ready to attack.

    From outside the dome, huge gashes on the ground surrounding the dome of chains were apparent. But the bluish chains held their own as the air blades failed to cut through. And just as the dome started falling, huge giant arms appeared in the place of the dome, each pair crisscrossed and ready to attack. Which they did as soon as the chains cleared.

    All of the pairs sent huge ''X'' shaped air blades in every direction, dissecting the trees in their ways in a circular fashion until they crossed a distance of close to four hundred meters before dissipating.

    This brought the crew a bit of breathing time, for them to prepare to fight this person seriously and at the same time to get rid of his hiding places.

    Suddenly, the sound of footsteps was heard around the new clearing of the forest made by Robin as a person stepped up for them to see.

    It was a young man of around twenty years of age. His height reaching as much as 209cm. With hair tied into a ponytail reaching his neck. A couple of strands fell on his face but failed to hide his very light brown eyes.

    His features were well defined with a sharp jaw, and angular cheekbones, and overall would place him as one handsome young man.

    He was wearing black shorts reaching past the knees, along with a normal white t-shirt. All of which failed to hide his robust and lean figure.

    Currently, he had one hand in his pocket, with the other one holding a sword and pointing downward, as he looked with a smirk at them.

    This was Ian Louis. and he had just pranked the shit out of his own crew.

    He sheathed his sword at his waist in its scabbard, before he made his way forward towards them.

    And just as he reached them they all came closer.

    "You idiot! Do you know how tense and frustrated I felt?" Elene yelled at his face as soon as she reached him. Before she grabbed his ear with her hand and started admonishing him.

    All the while Ian just laughed nervously.

    "Ahaha¡­ haha"

    Bert sheathed his sword with a small smile.

    It all made sense right now. Who but Ian can send that much air blades, and can completely hide from Elene''s senses.

    The girls giggled at what was happening before Elene finally released him and he started talking.

    "Alright. Let''s go back towards the ship. When we reach there I''ll tell you what happened before we start sailing again." He said as he led the way back to the shore of the island.

    [A/N: Alright you can check my P.atreon page for some pics of the crew I''m going to put. although they would be pictures of known various anime characters, I chose the ones that would be similar to how I picture the crew. anyways you can check them, as they might help you to better imagine the crew in your head. I don''t own those pics, credit goes to their owners :)]

 Chapter 113 - Enters Dragon

    As soon as Ian and co reached the shore, he brought the ship out from the ring, and with a gentle step, he jumped high into the sky and landed on the deck, with the rest soon following him.

    "Wait, I''ll be right back!" He said before he started walking.

    Then he went to the storage room and brought some chairs out, holding two in his hands and the rest with his telekinesis ability.

    The chairs were just regular wooden ones, but they would do the job.

    Then as they all seated themselves, Ian coughed to get their attention.

    "Alright. First of all, we won''t be sailing for a bit!" He said starting the conversation.

    Like usual it was only Robin and Elene who caught on onto something.

    "Do you want to stay here until we meet Dragon?" Elene asked in understanding. Both she and the rest were under the impression that after disposing of the escapees, which they already did, they would sail and meet Dragon on the sea.

    "Yes. That would be the best course of action!" Ian confirmed with a nod.

    She gave a nod to that. She did not disagree after all.

    "Alright, now start spilling what you are hiding!" Elene glared at him soon after.

    He chuckled as he gave a nod and started speaking.

    "Well you know I went to meet Garp and Sengoku already. So I''ll tell you what for now." He spoke.

    And then he told them everything that happened so far. Since they already knew he went to ask about the ''D'' he started with. Then he moved on to how he needed to give something in return so they will tell him what he needed. And that something was information about the hidden leader of the world government Im.

    He told them how he teleported them all to the empty throne room where they found Im and the five elders kneeling.

    It was at this moment where Elene ended up yelling from shock.

    "YOU DID WHAT?!!!" She yelled in frustration. One could not blame her. Her lover had probably stood against the most powerful entity in this world, and he was speaking nonchalantly about it.

    The rest including Robin didn''t know what was wrong so they just stayed silent with confusion obvious in their eyes.

    "Cough, yes! It was needed as an exchange-" Ian was sweating from nervousness as he tried to explain his reasons.

    But Elene cut him off.

    "You know that is just a load of crap. Spill the real reason Right ''NOW'', Ian!!" Elene spoke with a deadpan, not believing him for a second.

    "Alright, alright¡­ sigh, it was to confirm a guess of mine. Whether Im, is a di¨¢voloi or not. But I really did want Garp and Sengoku to see that so that they would be on our side completely." Ian sighed. Elene could quite be scary when she wanted to.

    She just gave a nod and thought about what he was saying.

    She then noticed the rest looking confused and supplied them with the necessary knowledge about Im she already knew. To which they finally knew why she had panicked.

    "Anyways, it turns out that Im is a woman or rather female di¨¢voloi¡­" Then Ian continued on talking and telling of the story.

    Of how they found out that ability where she can just order something and their bodies would be forced to listen much to the horrors of the crew.

    And also of how the five elders were apparently not just decorations and were actually quite strong themselves, which was something both Elene and Ian wondered about when they were still alive and watching the anime.

    And then when Elene asked how they were able to escape, he supplied her with the knowledge lest she gets angry once again.

    He told her how he managed to escape his binding and how he teleported them out of there because he most likely was a ''D'' himself. And also of how Garp was able to escape his binding too but Sengoku couldn''t. Which only proved his guess.

    Then he started speaking about the theories he had shared with the two old men, Garp and Sengoku.

    About how Im, might be the supposed god that the celestial dragons worship and call themselves descendant of.

    It was known how the great kingdom was attacked by the twenty kingdoms and destroyed. The twenty kingdoms are what is now called the world government.

    And then he told them how the two old men had confirmed what his father had said. That the great kingdom was ruled by the ''D''.

    And reaching that point, both Elene and Robin had looks of understanding on their faces.

    "So, the ''D'' Are enemies of Im?" Robin asked.

    Ian nodded.

    "The great kingdom was ruled by the ''D''. Incidentally, the ''D'' can''t be put under Im''s ability which is nothing short of godly power. And also incidentally the ''D'' are called god''s natural enemies. Ever since the great kingdom was destroyed by the Celestial Dragons who call themselves descendants of god. Doesn''t it make sense? For them to destroy the one race of people where their god''s ability doesn''t work and then brand them as the god''s enemies?" Ian said. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced it was true.

    The rest gave nods at Ian''s explanation. And since Im was a di¨¢voloi, it was quite possible for them to live that long.

    But Ian was sure that the revelation about the D and Im, was just a bit of the whole truth about the world. He just had a feeling.

    He also managed to know what the fake history was. Or rather guess what it was.

    It was most likely saying that the ''D'' was the ruling family, and then if anyone from the ''D'' reached the last island and found that they would wage a war against the whole world. But the truth should be something more than that. Ian refused to believe that that was all there was in Laugh tale. After all, he now had a guess to the existence of the di¨¢voloi back in the age where the great kingdom was still there, meaning the di¨¢voloi have something to do with the truth of the world. He just had to confirm it.

    He was brought out of his thoughts when Robin had called down a news coo and was browsing through the newspaper as a bounty fell.

    Ian grabbed the bounty, while Robin was shocked as she continued reading.

    When he saw his bounty he grinned a bit. It had increased.

    3,600,000,000 berries.

    His status was changed from Dead or alive into just Dead. He knew he had pissed Im off.

    But it was understandable as he knew something that could shake the whole world and result in a war spanning the whole world.

    In his description, something new was added.

    "Recently, after a bit of hiding, Ian Louis, had attempted to kill the highest authority in the world government, the five elders, for reasons unknown."

    He snorted at that. Before he turned towards Robin and asked.

    "Anything about Garp, and Sengoku?" He said.

    She nodded.

    "It says that they have finally reached the age of retirement and would be effectively enjoying their life hereafter." She said.

    Ian gave a nod as he chuckled at that.

    He knew what Im was doing. In order to not damage the reputation of the world government by branding Garp and Sengoku traitors, they said they retired. After which on their relaxation from now on, if any of them died it wouldn''t be their fault as they were quite old already.

    He made a mental note to warn them of possible assassins later.

    Bert who was at the side managed to see something on the side, after which he called Ian and co and told them about it.

    When Ian turned to look he immediately noticed that it was a ship. And not just any ship.

    "That is the wind Granma. Dragon''s ship." Ian announced.

    The time for their talk had come.

 Chapter 114 - Reactions to the new bounty

    Usually, the government would not increase the bounty for an emperor of the seas so soon after announcing his first bounty unless of course, he had done something extreme to warrant as such.

    And Ian Louis had done so. He had done an impossible thing and it resulted in his bounty increasing.

    So it was with no surprise that most of the world was focused on the why. Why had he attacked the highest authority of the world? Was he planning to take over the government? And why couldn''t they stop him?

    Oh, they were all, already discussing him since before. This only made them more aware of him than before. Especially since his bounty was closing on the other Emperors of the sea. Granted a bounty doesn''t reflect one''s strength only, but also the level of danger one presents.

    The name of Ian Louis already scared the sheeple shitless. What with the marines'' saying he is bent on destroying the world, and now after two years of them living scared every moment thinking he would enact the threat he was known for, he has come back gunning for the highest power of the world.

    All around people were scared. And it didn''t help that His crew was branded the nightmares pirates.

    ****

    In a rather barren island in the new world.

    Deep inside the jungle, was a simple wooden house situated in between some mountains, which made it sufficiently hidden.

    Two grown men can be seen near the house, each doing his own thing.

    The first one was a fair-skinned and muscular man with a long braided goatee and a mustache. His hair set in an afro. On his face sat black-rimmed glasses.

    While he is seen wearing a dark blue shirt with red and green zig-zag patterns, orange tie with white marine shorts.

    This was Sengoku. The former fleet admiral of the marines''.

    And right now he was meditating in the lotus position as he joined his palms together.

    Not many knew but his fruit was centered on meditation. He meditates, and the more he does so the more he masters his fruit''s ability.

    One notable thing about him is how his hair remained black, and didn''t turn to gray, like his age would suppose of him.

    It appeared as if his body had regressed in age to almost his 40-50''s. Instead of his 79 years old status.

    By his side stood Garp, shirtless, punching into the air in a trained fashion.

    Similarly to Sengoku, his hair was black. All to his beard and mustache.

    Both of them were doing their own things when the news coo came flying by.

    Garp grabbed a towel as he started drying himself up, and called it down.

    When he had paid and was done, he came near the house and sat on the steps then started reading.

    After a while, he couldn''t help but release a boisterous laugh from his mouth.

    It annoyed the shit out of Sengoku. So he came to see what was wrong.

    "Oi, Sengoku, check this out! We are now officially retired! Hahahaha!" Garp kept laughing happily.

    Sengoku took the paper from him as he started reading too.

    After a bit, he looked at Garp annoyed.

    "That is just a lie, to avoid looking bad in the eyes of the world you idiot!" Sengoku admonished.

    But he knew that Garp already knew that, it was just how he was.

    Garp only laughed.

    They both knew what this meant. The government would send assassins after them, there was no question about that.

    "There is also something about Ian in here!" Sengoku said. And instantly Garp stopped laughing and came closer to see.

    When he saw the new bounty and the reason for it, he couldn''t help but once again start laughing unrestrainedly.

    A tired sigh was heard soon after.

    ****

    East of Wano country. Onigashima Island.

    Inside Kaido''s base.

    The strongest creature alive can be seen drinking to his heart''s content.

    He was all of a sudden interrupted from his drinking by one of his underlings.

    "Lord-Kaido! We have news about that person-" The underling was still speaking when Kaido raised his hand and swatted him to the side, so strongly he threw up blood and lost consciousness.

    "So¡­ hiccup¡­ loud¡­" Kaido muttered to himself.

    From the corner of his eye, he saw a paper floating as a result of his swing.

    He caught it and saw that it was a bounty. One of Ian Louis.

    It had increased since the last time he saw it. Further on the ground, he noticed a newspaper.

    ''Is that what that fool was yelling about so early in the day?'' He thought to himself, forgetting that he himself was actually drinking so ''early'' in the day.

    When he read it and found out the reason for Ian''s increase in bounty, a grin couldn''t help but spread across his face. He brought the sake gourd as he drunk a huge gulp of sake.

    Before he laughed and spoke loudly.

    "Not bad, Brat!" He was excited to meet this Ian person.

    It had been a while before he had a good fight. He would test this Ian guy¡­ and then kill him!!

    ****

    In big mom''s territory, the news similarly had reached her, but she did not care about him one bit. She was content with eating the various delicious food she was served, while her crew stayed silent in the eyes of the world.

    However, two of her newest crew members, have something against him and were fuming, when Ian had once again proved he earned his bounty by attacking the highest authority in the world. Something they guessed even big mom wouldn''t dare do.

    They were just glad they had escaped from him the last time.

    Unfortunately for them, even joining big mom''s pirates would not protect them from him.

    ****

    On a cliff on an island on the new world.

    There sitting and drinking from a small bottle of sake, was Shanks.

    He had the newspaper of today folded and put on the ground beside him. While a bounty poster was in front him on the ground.

    He had already read about what happened. And saw the new bounty for Ian.

    Although he wouldn''t say he was a friend of Ian, he wouldn''t say they were enemies either.

    But if what was in the paper was true, then Shanks had no choice but to interfere with Ian.

    He couldn''t be allowed to mess up the balance of the world by taking the head of the world government.

    However, he knew that the news would most likely be fake. As the marines were known for that. Still, he needed to find the truth¡­

 Chapter 115 - The talk

    Alder Island. New world.

    When the crew heard Ian they all knew that the time to meet Dragon had come.

    They nervously moved about the ship, with the exception of Elene, wondering what to do in the meantime.

    Until Ian chuckled and spoke towards them.

    "Just relax you guys, the talk this time would be quite easy. Most likely Dragon wishes to ask for Robin''s help, just like we discussed the last time, so there is no need to be nervous!" Ian said. As they had already discussed this before.

    They gave nods, but they were still a bit nervous. After all, you don''t meet the most dangerous man in the world all the time. So it was not strange at all. Especially Robin who knew she was the point of discussion that was to come.

    "You can''t blame them, Ian, not all are as impassive as you!" Elene giggled as she came to their defense.

    He laughed a bit at that.

    However though they were nervous about the meeting, Ian saw the alertness in their bodies.

    They were not scared of him, as evidenced by their combat-ready state. If things go south they would not disappoint him at all.

    The brief time Ian spent conversing with the crew was all the time it took for the other ship to reach them.

    When it aligned itself nearby, Ian could finally notice its size. It was easily twice the size of his own ship. The odyssey was 49m in size. Meanwhile, he guessed Dragon''s ship would be 100m at the least.

    The ship had a distinct eastern dragon figurehead spanning the whole side of the ship along with a tail at the end. As opposed to Ian''s dragon head at the front of the ship.

    Soon Dragon stepped up and appeared in their view he gave a nod towards Ian and the rest and waited.

    Ian motioned him to come to the ship. Which he aptly did with a quick jump.

    Though no one from the ship jumped with him.

    The moment Ian noticed the ship, he had already gauged the strength of all on it. And the most powerful one of all belonged to Dragon.

    However, it was not as strong as he was guessing. Or rather guessing when he was still alive in his original world.

    But that did not mean that Dragon was weak. Far from it. He was as strong as any emperor of the sea.

    When Dragon made it the ship he stepped up to Ian and made to shake his hands in greeting.

    "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Ian Louis!" Dragon offered his hand with a small smile on his face.

    Ian shook his hand with a smile of his own.

    "I can say the same about you!" Ian replied.

    "Your reputation precedes you. Look at how my friends are nervous right now!" Ian pointed behind him at his crew.

    And when Dragon did look, he noticed a hint of nervousness in their eyes, however, their bodies were nothing but ready for war.

    Still, he gave a small laugh at that.

    He let go of Ian Hand turned serious to start their talk.

    "Can we go somewhere to talk?" He asked.

    To which Ian gave a nod.

    They then stepped to the inside of the ship and relocated to a room with opposite couches where each sat.

    Though Dragon did quirk an eyebrow at Robin when she sat with Ian.

    ''They already know what I came for¡­'' he thought to himself.

    "Well, as you most likely have guessed, I wish to ask a favor of you." Dragon started. He didn''t mind that they already knew what he wanted.

    To get Robin''s help he has to do anything in his power. After all, she was essential for him to know the real history of the world.

    Ian nodded for him to continue.

    "I want the help of your crewmate, Robin, in finding the true history of the world! Not the half-truths that the world government spouts, but the true history! The one inscribed into the Poneglyphs!" Dragon said finally.

    It wouldn''t do to beat around the bush with Ian, and it wouldn''t do for him to speak nonsense. He had already gauged Ian''s strength and was internally left gobsmacked.

    Ian gave a nod.

    "I don''t mind. But you would have to ask her yourself. If she doesn''t agree then I''m sorry, we wouldn''t be able to help you." Ian stated.

    And this not only eft Dragon perplexed but it also confused Robin.

    She was under the impression that Ian wanted her to do this. If he had told Dragon yes, she wouldn''t have refused.

    But Ian left the choice to her. This was something that made her feel butterflies in her stomach. It meant that Ian valued her opinions.

    Dragon reached the same conclusion before he gave a tiny nod of his head, and turned to look at Robin, waiting for her answer.

    "Before I reply, can I ask for your reasons?" She started speaking.

    "We already know about The ''D'' and the great kingdom. We also know that you want to rid the world of the corrupt world nobles and world government. But why search for another supposedly true history if you already know your origins?" She added after.

    At this Dragon took a few seconds debating whether to speak the truth or not. Before he looked at Ian and finally made his resolve.

    "I was told by a friend, a dear friend, that the history I knew was only composed of half-truths." Dragon started.

    "This was just as I had started the revolutionary army. So I asked that friend if what I was doing was right. And he replied to that with a yes. And further said, that one day, the world would need its help."

    "There was no reason for me to doubt my friend. His advice for me then was to follow the Poneglyphs to know the whole truth of the world. And only then would I understand what he was speaking about. So since then, I started doing so." Dragon finished.

    "If you don''t mind me asking, who is this friend of yours?" Robin asked the question that was both on her and Ian''s minds.

    Dragon gave them a serious look.

    "Gol D. Roger!!" He replied.

    "Oh. It makes sense. He had been to the last island and knows the truth of the world! Not to mention that it was said that the secret contained in that island would bring the whole world to chaos, and starts a great war spanning the whole globe! And considering that the only ones stopping people from reaching the last island are the world government, this means the secret is most likely against them. So if that secret was known, what does this mean for the revolutionary army? It means the whole world would be on your side." Ian started piecing everything together the moment Dragon had said the name Gol D. Roger.

    As for the secret being related to the world government, he was absolutely sure of it. What with the di¨¢voloi being the hidden leaders of the world and all.

    Dragon was surprised for a bit before he schooled his features quickly and gave a small nod.

    "That is true!" he replied. Not denying anything.

    For a while silence permeated the room as Robin continued thinking.

    "Give me your hand," Ian asked all of a sudden.

    Dragon was perplexed but he did reach out a hand and grabbed Ian''s own.

    But Ian had a good reason.

    He was going to use Observation Haki on Dragon. There was a variation of observation that was called emotion sensing. And before now, Ian would not be confident if a master of Haki can fool him, just like Pudding. But after he acquired the voice of all things, he was aware that no one can fool him from now on.

    "What are your goals? Why create the revolutionary army at all?" Ian asked as he started.

 Chapter 116 - Notice!

    Hey guys :) just wanted to tell you some good news.

    From tomorrow on, I''ll be able to write one chapter a day regularly for a while. unlike what I''m doing now, which is one chapter every two days.

    The reason I said for a while, would be because next month I would be going back to study for my diploma in building designs!

    However, even then I''ll try to write at least five chapters per week!

    PS: A lot of action-filled chapters are going to come soon!

    Next after Dragon, Ian would be visiting Zou and staying for a while! until the beast pirates attack. and then Luffy and co will come, and Big Mom''s arc would start! which I promise would be filled with different things and many more exciting fights!

 Chapter 117 - The talk (2/2)

    Alder Island. New world.

    The wind Granma and the Odyssey can be seen on the sea near each other.

    Besides Robin and Ian who were in the meeting with Dragon, the rest stayed outside on the deck, each doing their own things.

    Elene and Stella went to take a bath inside the ship. After all, they had just finished a fight against Ian when Dragon came. They were not smelly or anything, but it didn''t hurt to take a bath either.

    Bert had gone ahead of them and now had come out which prompted them to head inside.

    It was not that there was one bath in the ship, no. There were actually two baths in the ship. One on the first floor of the ship, which was left to the men. And there was an even bigger one on the second floor left for the women.

    The reason they waited, is that they didn''t want to leave the ship unprotected while Ian had his conversation with Dragon.

    Now that Bert was done, they took their leave.

    Which left him standing on the deck.

    ''I think I should make some refreshments for Ian and his guest!'' after a bit he thought he should make them some food and drinks and bring it to them.

    Not wasting time he immediately hit the kitchen and got to work.

    ****

    Meanwhile inside the room where Ian and Dragon were sitting in.

    "What are your goals? Why create the revolutionary army at all?" Ian''s question reverberated around the room as Dragon tried to process it.

    Ian was trying to learn about Dragon''s intentions towards the world. If it was a selfish desire of his to rule the world, or if it was nobler with him wanting to free the world of the nobles!

    Depending on the answer he would reach, it would either make Dragon his ally, or his enemy.

    In the case Dragon wanted to help the powerless people, Ian would lend his hand, even if Robin ends up refusing to help him. He would not force her to do anything, but he could still help himself.

    But, if Dragon''s desires are selfish, Ian would stand in his way.

    All of this would be possible through the use of observation Haki. Which by now, Ian was sure no one can match him in. no human at least. He was still not sure about the full extent of the abilities of the di¨¢voloi.

    As such Ian layered his full attention onto the answer Dragon would deliver.

    Besides him, Robin watched in unveiled intrigue as Ian did his thing. She knew what he was trying to do by grabbing his arm as that would make it harder for one to fake their emotions, but t herself she had a tiny doubt that Dragon may be able to fool Ian, as he was a master of Haki himself. She didn''t know that the voice of the world ability is related to observation Haki and that it had increased his observation power many times of what it was before.

    Dragon himself knew what Ian was doing, especially as he grabbed his arm. And while he can hide his true emotions from Ian using Haki, he won''t. He had made his decision.

    As such he started speaking.

    "I am a man who enjoys the concept of freedom." Dragon said.

    And with that came the emotions of happiness wistfulness and excitement¡­ Ian immediately knew this was true.

    "Liking freedom, immediately makes me hate those who strip people of such a thing. The world government!" he added.

    And this time Ian was hit by a spiral of emotions. Ranging from dislike, Hate, loathing¡­ once again he knew it was true. But until now Dragon had still not replied to his questions. But Ian would stay patient.

    "I sought to create the revolutionary army so that I can rid the world of its oppressors. Of the blight that robs people of their freedom. And I will make it happen." Dragon said. And Ian was able to feel the emotions behind such a statement. Resolve to do what was necessary¡­ anger and hate towards the government¡­

    "There can be no happiness in a world where those deemed unnecessary are weeded out and eliminated...!! One day, I will change this world... mark my words Ian Louis for that is my ultimate goal!!" and then came the strongest feeling of all that Ian felt from Dragon. Determination. Determination to make his dream come true. To one day change this world to the best.

    Ian took a moment to admire that noble goal before he gave a nod with a smile on his face.

    "Then you have no goal of making the ''D'' a royal family once again like they were years ago? You have no aspiration to be the ruler of the world?" Ian asked after.

    A snort was involuntarily released from Dragon.

    "I apologize. However, are you implying that the will of the ''D'' is that to make us the ruler of the world once again?" Dragon apologized before he asked. There was a bit of pondering tone in his voice.

    He had never thought about that before.

    And indeed. Ian was implying that. He still didn''t know what that will was supposed to be. Although he had many guesses. And this was one of them.

    There was no shame or wrong in a royal family trying to get its rightful place.

    "I don''t think so. The will of the ''D'' can never be such a vain goal. Every cell in my body and every drop of my blood is saying no and denying such a reason. I do not want to rule the world nor make the ''D'' a royal family once again!" Dragon replied heatedly after a while of thinking.

    Dislike. That was the emotion that was dominant in Dragon. He disliked the very notion that his ancestors might have wanted him to get their family to rule the world again. He was vehemently against it so much it seemed as if those ancestors themselves had heard this preposterous claim, and through his DNA, they rejected the idea completely.

    Ian nodded. Then he released his hand and got up.

    "Dragon. From this moment forward, if you are in need of my help, I wouldn''t hesitate to give it. You have my word." He once again brought his hand forward for a shake.

    Dragon was momentarily surprised before he schooled his features back to a clam look and got up himself shaking Ian''s hand.

    "Similarly, any help you might need of the revolutionary army, I would give it to you." Dragon said firmly.

    From this day forward Ian the fifth emperor of the sea and Dragon the most dangerous person in the world became allies.

    Robin was expecting such an outcome since Ian had been wanting to become allies with the revolutionary army. But she still had her own choice to make.

    If Ian trusted Dragon enough to become an ally with him, then Robin was sure he was worthy of the help they would give.

    As such she too got up and spoke.

    "I would also provide my help, in the way of giving you the information recorded on the Poneglyph. However, I have a condition. I can''t give you any information related to the ancient weapons." She said her piece.

    "That is all I ask!" He said.

    And then gave a short bow of his head in thanks. He was not interested in the weapons at all. He wanted to know the history of the world as it was related to why Roger had said the world would need the revolutionary army in the future. After all, he had created the army for his dream to change the world.

    Ian smiled at Robin before he sat down and watched them do the same.

    "Now that we got that behind us, it''s time to move on to the next subject!" Ian stated.

    Leaving Dragon feeling perplexed.

    Something he vocalized soon after.

    "I was not aware there is something else to talk about," He said.

    To which Ian just grinned.

    "Oh, there is. Believe me, there is a lot to talk about." He said. Before he suddenly turned serious.

    "Tell me, what do you know about the di¨¢voloi?" He asked.

    ****

    [A/N: when we reach zou, there will be a few relaxation chapters, lemons, and so on.]

 Chapter 118 - On the way to Zou

    Three days later!

    Somewhere in the new world.

    A ship can be seen cutting right through the rather calm sea as if it didn''t even exist. The ship remained calm and steady in its path as if it was rather flying than sailing.

    The crimson sun peeked from above on the ship and basked it in its warmth.

    The ship was not anything special as it appeared that it was built to be normal.

    A distinguishing part of this ship is the figurehead at its front. It was of a dragon roaring forward. It was as if the dragon was itself the one cutting the waves of the sea as it charged furiously to a place only it knew.

    Atop this figurehead of a western dragon sat a person cross-legged.

    This person was shirtless and only wearing simple brown shorts. Nothing was worn on his feet too. His physique was obviously a treat to a female''s eyes, what with his lean figure boasting an 8 pack and well-toned muscles.

    A towel can be seen dr.a.p.ed over his neck. If one would look closely they would notice the color red on the light blue towel. By his side, a short bucket filled with water was seen.

    The person took a deep breath, sucking in the salty air, and relishing the open sea. His hand moved to his hair as he brushed a couple of strands from his sweaty forehead.

    This person was Ian. And he was sitting on the figurehead of his ship, the odyssey.

    Three days ago he had met Dragon and shared a talk with him before he finally asked him a question. He questioned him about how much he knew of the di¨¢voloi.

    And just like Ian had guessed, Dragon was not left in the unknown. He knew about them. But his knowledge was limited. He had told Ian that Roger told him he had killed them along with Whitebeard. But then in the war, he had finally seen one with his own eyes.

    And so Ian took it upon himself to give an adequate explanation to everything they knew. After all, they were considered allies.

    He explained all that was new to Dragon.

    Starting with The hidden leader of the world being one of the Di¨¢voloi. He didn''t forget to warn Dragon of its almost godly ability.

    He told him that the five elders were strong themselves. And then he said that Garp was able to escape.

    From then on Ian told him his theories. About the ''D'' being the natural enemies of the di¨¢voloi. Of how Im''s ability made him appear as if a god. And how that would fit since the ''D'' were supposedly natural enemies of God.

    Suffice to say, Dragon left his ship with a new outlook of the world.

    Ian secretly enjoyed seeing the shock on the rather usually stoic man.

    And then after that meeting was done, it was finally time to address an issue Ian had been avoiding.

    Whether to hunt the rest of the escapees like they had planned beforehand or head out to zou just as he promised Bert.

    If they continued on their journey, they were going to clash with big mom. Which if it happened would delay their visit to zou.

    In the end, their choice was obvious.

    They all agreed to visit zou.

    Even if Ian didn''t want to let those blights survive another second, he still agreed with the rest.

    So they started their journey to zou following Bert''s vivre card.

    Usually, such a journey can take between a week and a month. As the island was moving too. Or rather the elephant carrying the island was moving.

    But¡­ with Ian steering the ship it won''t take that long.

    Ian took another deep breath. He used observation to see where each of his crew were at.

    On the first floor, Bert was moving in between the storage room and the bathroom. Probably changing supplies in the bath.

    And then on the second floor, in the shared room, all three of the girls were sitting together. Ian deduced that they were chatting with each other.

    Feeling that it was safe, Ian resumed what he was doing before, but not before taking another deep breath and closing his eyes.

    When he opened them next, a multitude of voices assaulted him at the same time.

    It was so much that his nose started bleeding.

    He was using the voice of all things once again. It was the reason why he checked where the crew was. He didn''t want them to needlessly worry about him.

    Still, he persisted and tried to focus his ability to listen only to one voice at a time.

    With minutes going by, he managed to reduce the voices talking at the same time. They were still cluttered and he couldn''t make sense of what they were saying, but he still recognized that the initial number of voices talking at the same time was reduced.

    Which to him meant that the effort he spent was worth it. When he had just started, the number of voices he heard at the same time made him almost pass out with all seven orifices bleeding.

    But right now he managed to reduce them until only his nose would start bleeding. And soon he was going to be able to freely use this ability.

    Taking the towel from his neck, he used it and the small bucket of water to clean the blood from his face.

    When he was done he used observation to check on the crew. Seeing as he was in the clear he resumed his training.

    ''Again'' he thought to himself.

    One might wonder what Ian''s reason for doing this brutal training is.

    Well, there were many actually.

    The first being the need for the ability he was training. The voice of all things. Or simply as Ian came to call it, the voice.

    Roger used this to be able to find the Poneglyphs. And Ian was planning to do the same. He knew where three of them were. But the last one, he merely had guesses. As such he was going to master this ability and use it to find the last Poneglyph.

    The second reason was simple. His ship had a Klabautermann. Or more aptly named by him, a spirit. And he wanted to be able to converse with it with ease.

    Usually, the spirit would only show to a crew that treated the ship well. But Ian''s ability allowed him to converse with it normally bypassing that limit.

    He was dead set on doing this for his ship. After all the last time when he had acquired his ability among the multitude of voices, he was clearly able to hear one that said: If only they knew I''m alive.

    For that alone, he was willing to go through this pain and master his ability.

    His third reason was simple too. He had an ability he acquired, and he was going to master it. He was not about to quit just because it is painful.

    So, taking a deep breath, Ian once again started his training.

    His ship continuing to sail towards Zou.

    If Ian had mastered his ability, he would have seen that by his side a young child perhaps 6 or 7 years old was sitting next to him and looking at him worriedly. The child was wearing a blue raincoat and brown boots. And besides its light blue eyes filled with worry, its features were obscured by fog.

 Chapter 119 - A competition

    Another two days had passed on the sea for the nightmare pirates.

    What did pirates do while on the sea?

    They partied and drunk alcohol until they were passed up.

    Ian and co were not any different. Each day they would cook up a feast, and enjoy their drinks while talking about each other. As even though they had goals, they were going to enjoy their journey while on it.

    It was very lively for them each day. They played many games to pass the time.

    A normal day for them will go like this.

    Wake up in the morning, do their daily training to keep their skills sharp. Each one of them had a different method of training, but some usually spared against each other.

    Usually, it was Robin and Elene. While Bert spared with Stella.

    But it was not normal sparing. Rather it was with certain rules needed. For example, their first spar would be one with no devil fruits and no superhuman abilities. Meaning they would spar only using hand to hand combat.

    Their next spar might only be using one of the six marines'' abilities for both sides. And so on goes the training for each one of them.

    Even Ian enjoyed meditating on the dragon figurehead each morning to hone his telekinesis and observation.

    The next part of their day would be after the training is done and taking baths. They would eat something made by Bert for their lunch. This part was also in relation to how they can cook up feasts every day besides their resupplying at the occasional island they stayed at. After all, each of them ate huge amounts of food.

    Generally, each one was free to do as they liked after lunch.

    Robin for one likes to read a book on the deck as she watches over the rest.

    Bert and Ian usually got into a competition with each other at that time. Sometimes the girls too did, but it was mostly the boys.

    Ian would suggest who can hunt the biggest prey, which is what provides the food, and then he and Bert would launch towards the sea in search.

    Sometimes the girls did too. After all, they all can swim freely now. No Seastone or whatever would be able to hurt them.

    He had taken that energy from the fruits the girls ate. And it was that energy that was effected by the sea and by the Seastone.

    Even their abilities would not be stopped by Seawater. For example, Robin can sprout arms underwater. And Stella can move her chains under the water too.

    However, after this competition is done, which generally takes the whole afternoon, Bert would make them some snacks. And they all would enter the ship and head to their dining room.

    After that, the guys and girls would chat until the night had fallen, where Bert would cook them a feast. There would be massive amounts of food layered on the table that would be vanished by the time each had slept from overdrinking.

    Sometimes after getting wasted Ian and Robin, or Elene, would end up in their room spending the whole night together doing some night ''activities''.

    It was also why the crew would have red faces the next day. Including Elene, or Robin depending on who he spent the night with. They would avoid looking at him because in his drunken haze he would forget to soundproof the room, which results in the whole ship hearing what happens in the room.

    ****

    Currently, it was the afternoon, and the crew had just enjoyed their lunch minutes before.

    The ship was stationed not moving as the crew had released the anchors.

    It was that time of the day where the crew competes against each other.

    Except for this day, it was a bit special.

    It was boys vs girls'' day.

    Elene and Stella vs Ian and Bert.

    No devil fruit and abilities. Just body strength.

    "Alright, you know the rules. Whoever brings the rarest fish of all would win the first part. To win the second part you would have to outdo what the winners of the previous round had brought. And so on goes the rest of the rounds. Understood?" Robin asked.

    She was playing referee to them as she held a book in her hand on the deck of the ship.

    Meanwhile, Ian and co were already in the water.

    Both girls were wearing two-piece swimsuits. But it wasn''t visible as they were submerged in the water.

    They gave Robin nods.

    "You can''t use anything other than body strength. Understood?" She again asked.

    And they nodded.

    "Alright then. 1¡­ 2¡­ 3¡­ and GO!!" Robin then started counting.

    And they all just suddenly launched underwater.

    Leaving a chuckling Robin to resume reading. They would be taking a while after all.

    She continued reading her book, every now and then the crew except Ian would resurface for an intake of oxygen.

    An hour later, the water stirred, revealing to Robin who came out.

    The first person to surface from the water was in fact, Stella.

    She swam closet to the ship while it was apparent she was brining something large with her.

    When she reached the ship she swung her arm towards it and released the fish. The fish was thrown upwards towards the deck of the ship.

    Only then did Robin recognize the fish. It was an Orange roughy. Which is in fact a bright red brick color, and only turn a yellowish-orange color in death.

    She couldn''t help but praise.

    "This amazing Stella!" She moved closer to the fish and circled it. The fish itself was three meters large. It was a rare type of fish and is one of the fish species that can live very long.

    Stella couldn''t help but blush at the praise with a small smile.

    Since they couldn''t use abilities which included Observation Haki, they had to rely on their luck.

    Stella sat next to Robin as she handed her a towel.

    "Thank you, big sis!" Stella cheerily said. She felt like she was going to win so she was in a good mood.

    An hour later, the second person emerged.

    Not surprisingly it was Bert.

    Once he did the same as Stella the girls took a look at the fish he brought.

    Robin recognized it immediately.

    The Atlantic halibut. It was a fish colored dark brown on the top and white on the underbelly. Its size would win over Stella, being 5m, but its rarity wouldn''t sadly.

    This type of fish was in fact plentiful if a bit hard to hunt.

    Still, she gave her praise.

    "This type of fish is a bit hard to encounter, so good work." She said.

    Since Bert was a cook, he immediately knew he lost the movement he saw Stella''s prey.

    What was he supposed to do? He kept looking underwater for two hours straight.

    He shook his head as he accepted a towel from Robin and sat at the side with a small smile. No matter what after all, tonight was going to be amazing what with all the rare dishes that were going to be cooked.

    Soon Elene came out, followed by Ian shortly after.

    He helped her by moving the fish into the ship after which he levitated them both to the deck.

    When they had just stepped up on the deck, they heard a gasp from robin.

    She first looked at Ian''s prey.

    "That''s a Bluefin tuna right?" Robin asked in astonishment. Bert too shared the sentiment.

    This type of fish was not endangered or anything. Rather many of them existed. What made them rare however is that they are extremely fast. So fast that very few are ever hunted.

    "I don''t know. All I know is that this fellow is extremely fast. Took me a few minutes to catch it after I laid eyes on it." Ian admitted. he had dived in quite deep to find this fish.

    Robin gave a nod. Only Bert knew why she was surprised.

    But when they both looked at Elene''s fish their astonishment became disbelieve.

    The fish had a striking look and color pattern consisting of dark brown and pale yellow spots.

    The reason they were shocked however was, only five of this type of prey were caught before. Five in the whole world.

    One can understand their shock.

    "It appears Elene has one the first round," Bert said. And Robin nodded.

    She explained to the rest the rarity of this fish, and only did they too, understand.

    "Alright then, let''s start the second round." Ian punched his palm as he declared.

    He suddenly ran and jumped to the sea. Followed by Bert and Stella.

    Meanwhile, Elene didn''t as she stayed next to Robin.

    This was the rule. Until someone best her, she would stay on the ship.

    "How can they not give up after hearing my explanation?" Robin muttered to herself. But Elene heard her.

    "Well, the whole point of this competition is to have fun. Besides of course tasting rare dishes." Elene replied. As she laid on her deck chair. She was going to take a short nap.

    Robin gave a nod as she understood.

    Taking one last look at the fish, she shook her head and got back to reading her book.

 Chapter 120 - Libell

    [A/N: Ths author note is not included in the world count.

    Let me explain something. the four stages are stages one has to pass to exit their world and universe. However, in each world, it prepares one differently. In the one-piece world, it toughens the body to the point they would be able to exit the world. Another example would be how in the Naruto universe the four stages would increase one''s chakra and ninjutsu ability. And prepares them to leave their world under the protection of chakra.

    Although the four stages are good to scale the power of someone it doesn''t mean a lower stage can''t kill a higher one. For example in the world of one piece where the stages grant physical strength, whitebeard would be physically weaker than Kaido, but his devil fruit would allow him to win their fight.]

    ****

    New world.

    One day later.

    Ian and co had enjoyed the last day a great deal. Bert had cooked them a feast. But the most important thing is how this feast had nothing but rare exotic food.

    In the end, Elene had won, no matter how much the rest tried to up her as they each time reentered the sea and tried to find rarer types of fish, they just couldn''t find anything rarer than Elene found.

    On the plus side, this stubbornness of theirs presented Bert with various types of rare materials to cook.

    However, towards themselves, they didn''t give up at all. Well, not until they tried the dish made from the rare fish she brought. Only then did they admit defeat. Such a taste would make anyone give up.

    The ship in all its glory can be seen sailing and cutting through the waves of the sea, under the luminance of the sun.

    This time Ian had woken up quite early this day. Three hours before anyone else would be up. This was how he did it usually. He would wake up earlier than the rest, practice for a while, then go back to bed before they wake up, and when they do, they''ll find him still in bed and would think he was not an early person and leave him sleeping, when in fact he would be recovering his mental exhaustion.

    Of course, there was a reason why he did so. He did not want the crew to notice what he was doing.

    He had sneaked from the room shirtless, leaving a sleeping Robin there. Then he grabbed a bucket and a towel and relocated to the deck. Before promptly going to the figurehead and plopping down.

    He was about to start practicing his ability. The voice of all things.

    "Sigh¡­" Ian couldn''t help but sigh in frustration.

    This ability had proven to be real trouble.

    He was not used to an ability that hurt him as he tried to master it. So he was a bit frustrated. There was also the fact that he was a fast learner. And spending this much time to learn to use the ''voice'' was a bit too much for him.

    Still, he grits his teeth and got to work.

    The last time he had managed to limit the number of voices he hears to the hundreds instead of thousands.

    He was planning on reducing that number to just one today. Effectively meaning he would be able to direct the ability perfectly.

    ''Heh.'' He snickered to himself. That was the goal, but that didn''t mean he would succeed.

    Still, he was not a quitter. He had three hours and he was not going to waste another minute. Bracing himself he used the ''voice''.

    "Ugh," The pain, as expected, came the moment he used his ability. Hundreds of voices spoke at the same time in his head, leading to his nose to start bleeding.

    Using his cheer willpower he started to reduce the number of voices he was hearing.

    5 minutes later. He took a short break.

    It was true that he was strong and his will was indomitable, however, this torture he was going through, would leave a person mentally drained no matter how strong they were.

    After he rested for a bit and cleaning his face, he got back to work once again.

    ****

    Three hours later.

    Ian stopped his ability and resigned to himself. He didn''t manage to reach his goal of the day. He was still hearing a lot of voices in his head.

    He cleaned his face with his towel and water and prepared to get up.

    Taking one last glance at the ship around him, he convinced himself to give it one more try.

    Taking a deep breath, Ian started.

    ''Alright, one more time.'' He thought before he activated his ability.

    However, something new happened this time. Energy washed over his whole body for a few seconds.

    Where before there was a bunch of voices speaking together at the same and creating unrecognizable gibberish to echo in his head with the occasional phrase he manages to pick, this time all unrelated sounds were dampened leaving him perplexed.

    There was also a new weight applied on his left knee, as he was sitting cross-legged.

    He ignored that for a bit and took a look around and noticed how nothing changed except the sound of the ship speeding through the waves was lowered to his ears.

    Finally, he turned to look at the person sitting on his left knee.

    At some point, a little girl of around 7 years old and who was wearing a raincoat had sat on his knee without him knowing.

    When his eyes met her light blue ones, he noticed the worry in them. She was looking at his nose precisely. And when he touched under his nose he noticed that there was blood.

    Using the towel he cleaned it and was surprised when it didn''t bleed again. As he was still using the ability.

    Opting to finally start talking he said.

    "Hello there! Mind telling me who you are?" with a gentle tone, he questioned the child.

    She gave a short nod.

    "I am the spirit of this ship." She replied.

    Ian was anticipating this so when she replied he grinned as he made a fist.

    "So I did it!" He had managed to use his ability and not hurt himself. As evidenced by his clean face.

    She smiled a bit at that. Happy that he cared this much to meet her.

    Ian noticed that he was not able to see through her coat and see her face.

    So he asked.

    "Why are you hiding your face?" he said.

    She promptly moved her hand and lowered the hood of her coat.

    Ian was met with the visage of the sweet little girl. In truth, he was not expecting her to be just a normal little girl.

    And it was true. As although she looked just like a normal cute child, there were differences. She had two small horns sprouting from her temples, from which two lines of scales originated until they went below her eyes but didn''t meet at her nose.

    Ian instantly knew why, however.

    She was the spirit of the ship. And the ship had a blue figurehead of a dragon. It was obvious to him.

    "A spirit of a ship can only show itself to the members of the crew that treat it as one of them!" She replied.

    Ian then moved one hand and ran it through her blue hair.

    She enjoyed his touch as she closed her eyes with a smile.

    "Can you make yourself visible to the rest?" Ian asked her.

    She shook her head.

    "Although I should be able to do that as they do care for me as if one of them, I can''t as I am still too young as a spirit!" she replied with her eyes still closed.

    Ian understood.

    As although t had been two years since they got the ship, they were not sailing on it at the time, but rather they had it docked as they were training in his father''s island.

    So he could understand.

    "Well, I for one am glad I can see you and talk with you!" Ian happily said.

    It felt like having a little sister to care for.

    She giggled at him as she heard him. She then expressed her happiness at what Ian said by jumping at him and hugging him.

    "Hey tell me, do you have a name?" Ian asked her. And when she shook her head he continued.

    "Do you want me to name you?" he asked her.

    "Yes!" she happily replied. He was essentially her family, as the ship was made for him.

    Ian took a few minutes to think. He felt that since she took on a humanoid dragon shape, that her name should be dragon related. He then remembered one name he knew originated from German in his old world and essentially meant dragonfly.

    "Libell!" He said towards the little girl.

    The little girl spoke the name a few times as if testing how it sounds before she smiled happily and gave him a kiss on the cheeks.

    "I like it!" She happily said.

    If Ian paid close attention he would have noticed that on his ring, a small dragon engraving appeared. But it will not be until later that Ian would notice that.

    Suddenly, Ian felt a massive presence nearby. Using observation Haki he was able to deduce that the energy behind this presence was monstrous.

    Turning his view forward, he was able to see, due to his good eyesight, the sight of dense fog covering everything.

    Using his telekinesis he made a wave of energy spread forward to the sky which managed to clear the fog in seconds, leaving Ian to see where they were.

    Then he saw it.

    The direct view of the 1000 years old gargantuan elephant reaching 35km in height named Zunesha.

    Ian grinned happily while still holding the spirit of the ship, Libell. It appeared they had reached Zou.

 Chapter 121 - Reaching Zou

    Ian was still hugging the blue-eyed petite girl Libell to his chest when they both had seen the elephant. As such he set her down on the ground, much to her displeasure.

    Although the spirit of the ship took the shape of a little girl, she was quite smart and knew that Ian needed to do something now as he saw they were close to reaching the ''island''.

    Still, Ian was able to see the disappointment in her eyes, so he promised her.

    "Hey, Libell, don''t worry, later I''ll play with you as much as you want, okay?" Ian lowered to her height as he said gently.

    "Mn!" She gave him a beaming smile and a nod. Quite happy at his promise.

    He then stopped using the voice of all things, but to his surprise, the figure of the little girl didn''t disappear at all as he expected she will.

    Still, the little girl herself vanished suddenly, only to appear on the sails of the ship swinging her little legs and humming to herself.

    Ian shook his head at that and started walking inside as discreetly as possible.

    Although the question of how he was able to see her now, after he had already shut down his ability, was on his mind, he still knew that he should go to sleep before his family wakes up. And he would leave that question until later.

    There was also the fact he needed a bit of rest, as even now he was suffering from a massive headache.

    ****

    A few hours later.

    All on the ship had awoken already except their lazy captain.

    Since Robin was the one to spend the night with him, she was assigned the task of waking him up.

    Usually, they would not wake him up at all, until he naturedly felt he had enough sleep and he would wake up on his own.

    But the situation was quite urgent so they sent her to wake him up.

    She made her way to the first floor where his room, and where she took a shower earlier, was.

    When she reached there she knocked on the door before entering.

    Ian immediately began stirring once he heard knocking.

    He turned to see only to find Robin there.

    "Good morning, Ian!" Robin made her way towards him as she greeted him.

    When she reached him she shared a kiss with him, before he replied.

    "Good morning!" He said.

    She smiled as she started on her purpose.

    "Everyone is already up. Earlier we had entered a foggy area with nothing in sight. The ship is already stopped since yesterday, thankfully. We are not sure there are not obstacles hidden in the fog that might damage the ship after all. And so we need your opinion on this matter, so get up sleepyhead!" Robin said. As she explained to the sleepyhead what was happening.

    Ian was in fact capable of steering the ship in his sleep. However in the world that would be nothing short of suicide. As to steer the ship one would need a log pose, and Ian would not be able to watch over the log pose if he was sleeping. The same goes for a vivre card. As such, they usually just dock the ship for the night.

    Ian stirred from the bed as he rubbed his eyes.

    "Well, we have most likely reached Zou then!" Ian said.

    Internally he felt a bit bad about lying to his crewmates. But it was better than making them worry needlessly about him.

    Robin was surprised for a second. She didn''t think they would reach Zou this quick.

    Ian got up to enter the bathroom, leaving Robin waiting.

    ****

    A short while later both Ian and Robin joined the others on the deck.

    All of them with the exception of Bert were on guard as they didn''t know what the fog would bring. However, Ian spoke up to make them stand at ease.

    "Good morning guys." He first greeted. And at their replies he said. "This fog is hiding our destination, Zou. As I''m sure Bert knows already." Ian said and pointed at Bert.

    Who only chuckled in response.

    "Anyways, since Bert refused to say anything before, I''ll tell you now," Ian said. He then did as before and sent a wave of energy that pushed the fog aside and let them see what lay before them.

    Much to the shock of the girls, they saw a living breathing giant elephant.

    Bert and Ian had refused to tell them about where Zou was, simply for making them experience it themselves.

    "This is Zunesha. A one thousand years old gargantuan elephant that wanders the new world and carries on its back the island of Zou. If you are wondering about its size then it is estimated at 35000km. Yes, you heard me right." Ian spoke up. Even he was excited to introduce such an experience to the girls.

    The girls each had their own reaction. Elene''s was excitement above all. After all, like Ian, she already knew about this. But it was another thing to see it with one''s own eyes.

    Stella was the most vocal about it. Continuously shaking Bert''s hands and muttering something between amazing, and how this was possible.

    Meanwhile, Robin was smiling. She was also a bit excited, as she admired the view. After all, not many get to see such a spectacle.

    "I don''t know much about the island itself, however, except that the Mink race lives on it," Ian said. "I think I''ll let Bert do the talking from now." He finished.

    Bert gave a nod.

    "The island of Zou is called a phantom island because it is always moving. Only a vivre card would point towards it. It is home to the Mokomo Dukedom of the Mink tribe. The dukedom itself has two rulers governing over the Minks. The ''ruler of day''. And the ''ruler of night''." Bert said.

    They gave nods. And were about to ask more, when something crashed into their captain from the sky.

    When they all turned to Ian alert, they found out that Ian had a little girl in his arms whom he was admonishing. His eyes glowing a bit red as his future sight had activated.

    "Libell, what if you had fallen and got hurt? Don''t do this again okay?" He spoke. Leaving his crew perplexed.

    The little girl gave nods of her head hurriedly. As she had jumped at him from the sail. Although she knew she wouldn''t get hurt, and she can even fly, she still enjoyed the feeling of being cared for.

    Ian then noticed that all of the crew were looking at him.

    At first, he thought they were looking at him because to them it sounded as if Ian was talking to himself. But moving the little girl from his arms and putting her down, showed the crew looking at her.

    So he asked.

    "You can see her?" He said.

    "Of course we can see her," Stella replied as she got close with the rest.

    Bert and Elene nodded their head.

    Meanwhile, Robin thought about it.

    "Do you mean to say we shouldn''t be seeing her?" She asked.

    Ian gave a nod. And turned towards Libell.

    "Didn''t you tell me that you can''t show yourself to the crew yet, as you are still young? Come to think of it even after I had shut down my ability earlier I was still able to see you¡­" Ian asked.

    Libell herself didn''t know anything. But she still wanted to help Ian so she thought hard about things.

    Meanwhile, Robin asked Ian.

    "First of all, who is she?" This was the question on the crew''s head.

    "Ah, that''s right I forgot. This is Libell, the spirit of the ship. But she wasn''t yet able to show herself to us as she is still young. But I am an exception as I saw her with the use of my ability." Ian explained.

    "Did anything change that made you able to do that now?" Ian asked Libell.

    She thought about it for a bit before replying.

    "I don''t know. The only thing I know is I feel a connection towards your ring just like I do to the ship." She spoke up. She then started to hide behind Ian as all of the crew were looking at her.

    Ian when he heard that he gave his ring a look. And immediately understood things. Because on his ring an engraving of a dragon was added. He was sure it wasn''t there before.

    He then spoke to the little girl.

    "Don''t be scared Libell, these people are my family, they won''t hurt you or anything," Ian assured her.

    She peeked at them and saw that they all wore gentle smiles on their faces.

    Elene stepped up closer to her and held her hand for her to take.

    Libell looked at the hand for a bit before looking at Ian.

    And Ian only gave an encouraging nod of his head.

    She then took the arm and Elene hugged her as she pressed her cheeks to hers.

    "Ah, such a cute little girl," Elene said. To which Libell blushed a bit. But there was a smile on her face.

    The rest of the girls came closer to them and soon they were all fussing over the little girl, with Ian and Bert chuckling to themselves from the side.

    "Alright, I''m going to start the ship up so that we can reach near Zunesha," Ian said.

    Bert gave him a nod. Meanwhile, the girls didn''t even reply to him as they took Libell inside the ship.

    Ian just shook his head muttering to himself something about how he was already forgotten and then got to work.

    Next stop, Mokomo dukedom.

 Chapter 122 - At the gates

    When the Odyssey reached close enough to zou, courtesy of Ian, he called to the rest to gather in the deck.

    Bert had gone to the first floor, where his room was, and grabbed his things, and put them in a travel bag he owned. He then rejoined Ian on the deck much earlier than Ian started to call for the rest.

    The girls had gone inside and were playing with the little spirit of the ship. Something Libell enjoyed very much if the giggling noises he heard from here were any indication.

    In truth, they had wanted to dress her up, but no one from the crew wore clothes that small to fit her. So they settled with a promise to make her some in zou, and later buy her a lot of clothes.

    When they heard Ian, they came up from the second floor and headed to the deck.

    The first one was Stella who had her arms on the back of her head as she walked with a silly smile on her face.

    Following her were the rest.

    Robin and Elene were each holding one hand of a smiling Libell as they guided her to Ian.

    "Are we there Ian?" Elene asked as she reached close to him.

    Ian looked at her for a bit before he turned to the others as he replied.

    "Yes, and I wanted to ask how would you all like to reach the top?" He said. Libell had at one point came near him and held his hand.

    At this, they each took a few seconds to think. Before finally making their minds.

    "I think I''ll do it myself," Stella said first. An excited expression on her face as she eyed the giant leg of Zunesha that the ship was stopped next to.

    Bert only gave a nod, indicating he too would do the same as Stella.

    Robin and Elene looked at each other intently before Elene leaned and whispered.

    "Alright, the first one to reach there would need to wear one of ''those'' the next time we are with Ian, how about it?" She said with a grin and a bit of blush on her cheeks.

    Robin only smiled confidently as she replied.

    "Don''t complain when you lose. Again." She said. Accepting the challenge.

    But her reply had Elene get a bit more embarrassed. She had lost the last time, and had to wear¡­ she shook her head from the thought as she mock glared at Robin and playfully slapped her on the shoulder.

    "It''s on," Elene said in reply.

    Ian seeing as everyone was already ready, spoke up.

    "Well since you are ready, then off you go. I''ll meet you at the top soon after." He had to stay until they had got off the ship so that he can store the ship. Of course, he would only store it if it does not hurt Libell.

    He watched as Bert and Stella took off to the sky using one of the six marine skills. Moon step.

    Which is the ability that allows one to actually step on the air itself. Effectively meaning one fly in the sky.

    Similarly, Robin and Elene took after them in seconds. Except that since they were in a competition, they started off quite strongly.

    They both used a variant of ''moon step'' that is combined with ''shave'' to kick off the ship at blinding speeds.

    Although such a thing would be tasking to them if they were normal, they were not and as such, they can use it easily.

    In seconds they had already passed Bert and Stella who were leisurely going at it.

    Ian shook his head sideways as he turned to look at the little girl holding his hand.

    "Hey Libell, would storing the ship make you disappear, or hurt you?" Ian asked her gently.

    She shook her head.

    "No, due to the connection in the ring, I think it won''t." She replied.

    As such Ian grabbed her and put her on top of his shoulders.

    "Well, let''s see then." He said as his body floated off the ship and when he was a bit of distance higher, he stored the ship in the ring. Prepared to bring it out in a second if it hurt her.

    And just like she said, she didn''t disappear, nor get hurt.

    "Oh. This is amazing, now you can accompany us all the time too." Ian said with a small smile of amazement.

    Libell took the kind words with a happy smile.

    Ian then told her to hold on well.

    "Be sure to grab on tight." He said. And when she nodded, he shot out to the sky flying in regular speed but still quite amazing nonetheless.

    Very soon he had already passed Bert and Stella.

    "Be sure to catch up!" Ian grinned at them as he was passing them. Which managed to irritate them and have them furiously try to pass him.

    It didn''t help them that Libell was looking at them in triumph while giggling.

    Flying was really amazing. As what would usually take hours to pass would only take a short while for Ian.

    All in all, it took them all between 40 minutes and 50 minutes to reach the top.

    With Elene and Robin being the first, as expected due to using ''Razor'' the combination of ''shave'' and ''moon step''. And then Ian and Libell second after them, followed by Bert and Stella.

    When Ian reached the top he asked.

    "So who won your bet?" He asked the two girls.

    Elene puffed her chest as she put her hands on her waist.

    While robin just winked at him, much to the ire of Elene.

    He could hear Elene admonishing Robin and saying something along, be more embarrassed damn it, after all, you''ll have to wear that¡­

    He tuned them out and checked his surroundings, while behind him Bert and Stella came up.

    He first checked the gate to the country, and then looked at the guards that were standing on the watchtower. A dog and a monkey mink people.

    They were standing vigilantly while grabbing their swords as they eyed them.

    Elene noticed Ian checking them so she said.

    "The third guard that was with them had already gone inside the forest. Most likely to call someone over." She said.

    So Ian nodded and said.

    "Then let''s just wait here until they come. We don''t want to sound rude now, do we?" Ian said as he put Libell down from his head. After which she went to hug Elene.

    The rest nodded. And even if Bert wanted to say they didn''t need to do that, he was not overly confident they would not be hostile to them just because he was with them.

    Although the mink people were loyal, he had been raised outside the country and many can argue that he had been corrupted by the outside humans.

    As such he just kept silent and stood quietly next to his family.

 Chapter 122 - The ruler of day!

    Ian and co were still standing there waiting for their escorts to come.

    When all of a sudden Ian detected new presences nearby.

    He was enjoying the talk he was having with his crew about various things when he turned to look forward as he felt them coming near him.

    Coming towards them was five mink people. Whom Ian can notice are quite tense from their postures.

    Ian knew that the rumors about the minks having a grudge with humans are quite wrong from his past life watching the anime. They were actually quite welcoming towards visitors. They even had a bell they would ring when people would visit them. Even if the visits were quite few, as zou was always moving.

    However, until now they still hadn''t rung that bell. And quite possible that was because they were pirates.

    Seeing who was leading the minks towards him, however, didn''t make it too hard to understand for Ian.

    They were wary of him. The fact that the ruler of day himself along with some of his musketeer squad were here at the gates of the country, proved it. There were also the many presences surrounding them, which were hidden, too.

    They were wary of him a lot. Ian knew that now. Perhaps the first guard had known who they were the moment they had stepped near the gates and had gone inside to deliver the info.

    And considering he was called the fifth emperor by the rest of the world, he didn''t blame them. Perhaps if it was Kaido or big mom, they might force them to be under their rule or be eradicated. He guessed that the minks had this thought about him too.

    There was also the fact that Raizo the ninja was here too, and they would want to protect him in case he was working with Kaido.

    Duke Inuarashi finally stopped when he was a bit away from Ian.

    Along with him were four people.

    Shishilian, a lion mink that Ian recognized from the anime. Concelot, a fox mink. And Giovanni a zebra mink. The fourth person was a canine woman mink. Wanda.

    The first thought on the duke''s mind is that Ian was extremely strong. He resolved himself at that moment to not be enemies with him unless forced to.

    With that in mind, he greeted Ian.

    "Welcome to the island of zou, Emperor Ian. Home to the Mokomo Kingdome of the mink tribe." The duke said in greeting.

    There was no surprise from the people nearby as they already knew such information about Ian. There were newspapers in Zou after all.

    Ian smiled a bit as he gave a nod.

    "Thank you, Mr?" Ian replied.

    "My name is Inuarashi. I am one of the rulers of this kingdom. It is only fitting I come in person to meet someone of your status!" He replied back to Ian politely. He didn''t want to upset Ian by treating him without any respect.

    "Please, none of that. I don''t care much for titles or such. You can call me Ian, or young Ian, as you are more experienced than me." Ian chuckled as he replied. Even now he still was not used to being treated like that by people older than him.

    His response however made the duke and his people widen their eyes. After all, not many who would reach Ian''s level of power would stay humble like he was at the moment.

    "Also you can relax. I''m not here for any reason other than to help a member of my family." Ian said. And it was true. This whole visit was initiated for Bert. As he had wanted to gift them with the drug he had on him. The one that can make him transform whenever he liked to his sulong form.

    Speaking of the drug. Ian had tested that theory he had in the past, where using his energy ion a barrel of water might give it healing properties. And it had worked although, the healing process after one drinks that water would not be instantaneous like with Ian it was still extremely fast.

    Then testing it with the drug proved to be compatible. As Bert would be able to transform four times per day. Although he can''t transform immediately after a transformation and would have to wait for a few minutes. As for the Poneglyphs Ian didn''t come for that, as Robin already had a deal with Luffy. Where he would copy the information on any Poneglyphs he comes across for her. And in return, she would tell him if it has the location of the last island. Meaning Ian didn''t need to ask the mink to show him as Luffy would give it to Robin anyway. Of course, if they did on their own then that was welcome too.

    "A member of your family?" The duke raised one eyebrow in surprise as his eyes looked at the people behind Ian, part for him calling them his family and another part for finally noticing that one of them was a mink.

    He was surprised when the mink felt familiar to him somehow.

    "Is that you Bert?" He muttered to himself. But all of them heard him.

    The minks with the duke too happened to recognize Bert as they eyed him more closely.

    Bert stepped up closer and smiled.

    He remembered the duke quite well.

    "Hello, Duke Inuarashi!" He greeted respectfully like he remembered his parents did when he was still young.

    "Hoho, you sure have grown. You even joined a well-known pirate crew." Duke Inuarashi smilingly said.

    Bert Grinned back as stood there filled with pride.

    "I assume he is the one you want to help, young Ian?" The duke then addressed Ian with the title he was told. Trying to gauge his reaction to it.

    Ian just nodded. His smile still in place.

    "However I think I''ll leave it to Bert to tell you his reason for why he came to visit. Apart from seeing his family of course." Ian then said.

    And yes, Bert did have living parents.

    Inuarashi turned to look at Bert as he waited for him to talk.

    But Bert embarrassedly spoke up.

    "I think¡­ I think this conversation should be held in a more appropriate place," He said.

    Only then did the day ruler notice that they were still standing there in front of the gates.

    He laughed as he apologized.

    "Forgive me, forgive me for my manners, I have completely forgotten about this." He said.

    "Then young Ian, I formally invite you to the Mokomo kingdom." The duke then said as he gestured with his hands towards the inside of the gate. H knew that if Ian wanted anything to do with them he won''t go to this much trouble. He would just attack them. Not that they would be able to stop him anyway.

    And when Ian and co, started walking and heading inside, the duke further said.

    "Ring the bell!" He said.

    And the sound was soon heard all across the kingdom.

 Chapter 123 - The Lunar pill!

    [A/N: It turns out I''m not due to classes for at least another two weeks. as such I''m back to work, which is why I am, not uploading daily. I''m sorry :( ]

    Walking on Zou was quite the thing for Ian and the rest.

    What with the surface being soft and all. However no one fell or anything, and after a bit, they all were already acclimated to this.

    At one point Ian and co were given a crocodile-boar steed to help them reach their destination early.

    Since their destination was Kurau city, which is actually the city the mink people reside in, before abandoning it in the anime when Jack destroyed it. It also served the purpose of keeping a close eye on Ian since the Inuarashi Musketeer Squad resided there as its protectors.

    Ian had no reason to disagree so he jumped on the steed with his crew following soon after.

    On their way, they had actually encountered the eruption rain.

    Which Inuarashi proceeded to explain as it is a daily occurrence, where Zunesha twice a day will suck up seawater into its trunk and spray it over its back, which results in this large blast of water pouring down from above and washing away those who do not take cover in time.

    He also explained that the water also carries sea animals, which provide them with food, and that water is later purified for drinking purposes through aqueducts.

    Ian, Bert, And the duke still had something to discuss, as such as soon as they would reach the city, and be assigned the pirate crew their quarters where they would sleep, they would try to go to a building with the duke.

    However, Ian and co were still surprised when at the first step of the city they were greeted with a warm welcome from the minks.

    Since they saw their leader with them they knew these new people were okay. And since the bell of welcoming was rung, they did their best to welcome them pleasantly.

    Many of them were holding baskets filled with food, and fruits.

    They jumped at them greeting them with their signature minkship. Meaning they hugged them and pressed their cheeks together. There were even some bites mixed in from female minks in the case of Ian¡­

    Ian noticed that the duke and his guards were standing at the side with smiles on their faces. But he just shook his head.

    From various people, a certain couple stood out to Ian. They were a male monkey and a female fox mink. They were staring at Bert in particular with both happiness and tears in their eyes.

    Ian nudged him from the side and pointed with his eyes at them. Only then did Bert noticed them.

    He mouthed to Ian a silent ''thank you'' before he made his way at them. He had been searching for them actually, but since there were a lot of people there it was quite the task.

    After a while, Bert came back with them.

    And they bowed to them as soon as they reached them.

    "Thank you for taking care of our son for all these years." They said in unison while they bowed.

    Elene stepped up and hurriedly helped them up.

    "There is no need to thank us. Bert is one of our family members, of course, we would take care of him." She said with a smile.

    Meanwhile, Bert''s parents smiled at them.

    As his mother, the fox mink turned towards Bert and said.

    "You have chosen good people to be with." She said in praise.

    While Bert was embarrassed a bit. Which was something the crew rarely saw from him, resulting in them laughing a bit.

    The two then took Bert with them and Left Ian and the rest standing there taking various food from the over welcoming people.

    But after a while, the musketeers came to help them by the order of the duke. They would take things to their rooms in one of the buildings.

    Bert soon came back with the location of his parents'' home since they had moved, and he was ready to talk with duke Inuarashi.

    Elene and co were guided to their rooms, meanwhile, Ian tried to go with them but was stopped by Bert.

    "What?" Ian curiously asked him.

    "I want you to come with me of course," Bert replied matter of fact manner.

    Ian knew what he meant. He wanted him to join him on the talks with Inuarashi.

    "But, this is between your people Bert, I''m not sure I should be included¡­" Ian trailed off at the end. As he knew it was not his place to talk about the secrets of the minks.

    But Bert was having none of it. He firmly stated.

    "If it wasn''t for you, letting me join as a member of your crew, and then letting me train at master geo''s island, I wouldn''t even be here to present my findings at all. So no, I think you really should be included, Captain." Bert said.

    Ian sighed and looked at duke Inuarashi who was calmly listening from the side. It was not like they were talking a=in hushed tones anyways.

    Upon seeing the duke nod at him, Ian smiled and gave his reply.

    "Alright, then." He said.

    And then they started walking to a rather large building, where the name, ruler of day, was engraved at the door.

    When they entered the building, and following that, a room where they all sat, the talk was finally started. From Ian''s side, there was just him and Bert, and from the duke''s side, there was Wanda, the duke himself, and Shishilian.

    "Well, the reason I wanted Captain Ian to visit zou, is so that I can deliver something that will help all the minks of this country." Bert started.

    Immediately picking their interest, as they all focused on Bert.

    "What do you mean by that?" Inuarashi asked in interest.

    "As you possibly know, Captain Ian is quite strong. As such his crew needed to be strong. And for my dream to be fulfilled I had to train myself to new points each time. As such, I and the girls all asked Captain Ian to help us train. And he did." Bert started explaining from the start so that it would be easy for them to understand. As to Ian''s strength, they would be fools not to know of it.

    Bert gave Ian a look, and Ian nodded in return. There was no need to speak between them. Ian understood that Bert was asking for his permission to speak about Kurma''s island.

    "So he took us to his father''s island. And had his father train us until the point we had reached right now." Bert said. And the rest were listening intently. Inuarashi was quite surprised as he tried to sense Bert''s strength after his proclamation. It appeared he had surpassed them already. But he chose to stay silent for now.

    Ian was not afraid they would use the information against him. After all the mink''s went through various difficulties with Jack simply for their friends. They were truly loyal people.

    "However, even after reaching a point where my training was done there was still a lot of time left for us at that island and all the rest had things to work on except me. So Master Geo, who is Ian''s father, by the way, proposed something to me." Bert said.

    Not once did any of them interrupt him. He was quite thankful for that so far.

    "He said why not to train our race''s trump card, the sulong form," Bert said to them.

    At this Shishilian was about to point something to Bert when the duke stopped him.

    "Wait, let him finish," He said to his subordinate.

    "Thank you. As I was saying, he told me to train that form. But since I can only transform only under the moon, and a few times per the time I had left to train I told him my problem. And he led me to a certain person, who then came up with the help I was talking about." Bert said, and put his hand in his pocket and retrieved a case. From which he brought out one pill. A white colored pill.

    "This is what I call the lunar pill. It is designed so that when eaten it will make someone transform whether it was a moon night or not." Bert started much to the astonishment and disbelieve of the audience listening, except Ian of course.

 Chapter 124 - Shock

    Silence.

    Silence permeated the room as soon as Bert''s statement was over.

    Ian knew what was going on through their minds. The ramifications for their people from such a drug, if it was legit, were endless.

    Their people would become stronger as a race. No longer would they have to wait for a moon night to use their trump cards in their fights.

    And it was exactly what was going on through the Duke''s head at this moment.

    He was thinking of all the possibilities presented to them with such a drug. And considering that they were currently harboring a¡­ ninja¡­ they would certainly need such a thing if they were under attack. Which he was most certain was coming.

    Granted this was all under the assumption that such a drug would work just like Bert had said.

    Inuarashi turned to look at Bert carefully his features absolutely serious as he studied the young mink.

    "This is no laughing matter young Bert! As such I ask you, are you confident about this lunar pill?" Inuarashi asked seriously.

    Thankfully Shishilian and Wanda had been keeping silent since a while ago. But their features too were quite serious.

    Bert met the duke''s eyes and didn''t flinch away at all.

    He confidently replied a second later.

    "Yes. After all, I tried it." He said with a grin.

    The duke nodded and took a few seconds to think to himself.

    Before finally speaking his mind.

    "Then, can we test it? And is this pill a rare thing? Or can it easily be made?" Inuarashi asked some important questions. After all, he was one of the leaders of the country. If the pill was hard to make, then it would limit the effects resulting from it, as it would mean only a few would be able to use it in emergencies.

    "Of course you can test it. And I wouldn''t have talked about helping our race if the pill was extremely hard to make." Bert replied again. His words making the Duke smile a bit. It was indeed as Bert had said.

    "As for the testing, I can eat one in front of you if you like," Bert added.

    The duke thought about that for a bit. And in the end, he agreed.

    "Well, how about we relocate to somewhere we can try it at?" Bert asked.

    Once again the duke agreed. And he started leading them out of the room.

    Ian followed close by Bert. He was at this point just watching silently as Bert did his sales pitch.

    ''Now that I think about it, the minks are going to be attacked by Jack of the beast pirates. And the last time the minks already had the advantage. But now after this, he was sure that Jack was in for whooping.'' Ian thought to himself. He of course would not let Jack use that poison. He was going to get rid of jack the moment the minks are done with him if they chose to let him alive of course.

    By the time Ian finished thinking this, they had reached a clearing a bit of distance away.

    And Bert stepped to the middle with the rest standing there in full attention.

    Shishilian and Wanda even had their hands on their weapons in preparation if something went wrong.

    Ian didn''t react, however, showing the absolute trust he had in Bert.

    "Alright here goes," Bert said as he flicked the pill in the air and it landed in his mouth once it started to fall.

    The moment the sound of crunching was heard, was the moment that the eyes of the three minks widened.

    Bert''s transformation had started just as he had claimed.

    His fur changed color first. It became a stunning white color. Which Ian considered being absolutely cool looking¡­

    Then Bert''s size started increasing. It started slowly at first before suddenly it increased almost instantly so that Bert can finally reach his full height of almost five meters.

    Double Ian''s size plus a bit.

    His mane and tail too became larger, and with the size of the body, the muscles were of course enlarged and became more defined. His teeth became longer and sharper, while his eyes became red slitted pupils.

    As soon as Bert finished transforming he roared to the sky as he bumped his hand to his chest and opened them wide after.

    "ROAAARRR"

    This however immediately put the three minks on edge as they thought that Bert had lost control of his sulong form.

    It did happen after all and one couldn''t really blame them for being a bit vigilant. When one transformed, his emotions would become heightened and almost animalistic in reality.

    However, what they didn''t know is that these side effects were products of transforming under the moon.

    As once you master transforming with the drug, you would be 100% under full control of your emotions.

    The three as such were surprised when Bert eyed them up and spoke.

    "It really feels amazing to transform each time!" He said his voice deep and rumbling.

    Inuarashi and the rest understood then that Bert was under control and relaxed. Still, none of them lost their amazed looks.

    After all the power they felt from him was huge. They knew at that moment that Bert was not a person to be trifled with.

    And perhaps only the combined force of both their rulers in their transformed states would be able to match him. Both their combined effort!!!

    "Alright now that I have shown you what the pill does, I''ll transform back," Bert said soon after.

    And then he started reforming to his regular state.

    When he did, he reached to his pocket and brought a small bottle of water that had a blueish hue to it and drunk a bit.

    And the effects of such a thing were immediate as instead of feeling tired Bert only felt like normal.

    He then eyed the three minks, Inuarashi, Shishilian, and Wanda, before speaking again.

    "Since you might think that something else is at play here instead of the pill, you can give one to someone who had mastered the transformation, and wouldn''t lose his mind." He said.

    Ian nodded at the suggestion.

    But Inuarashi disagreed.

    "I trust you. Not to mention I have seen this with my own two eyes." He said.

    But it was Ian who spoke this time.

    "Even if you trust him, you can still just test the drug out of curiosity," Ian said.

    To which the Duke thought for a bit, and then agreed.

    "Alright," Inuarashi said, and then turned to look at Shishilian and Wanda.

    Shishilian immediately stepped up and spoke.

    "For such a task I feel like it is my duty, as the captain of the Inuarashi Musketeer Squad, to take it." He spoke up.

    Eliciting a nod from both the duke and Wanda.

    Then Shishilian was presented with the pill by Bert.

 Chapter 125 - The strongest person in the world

    One day later.

    Ian and Bert had already finished their talks with Inuarashi yesterday.

    Shishilian had tried the transformation, which ended up shocking the Duke and Wanda again, and then he had remarked that unlike a transformation under the moon, this one doesn''t force him to lose control.

    Of course, Bert had remarked that it was as such only because Shishilian had mastered his form. If a beginner did it he would still lose control of himself.

    Regardless both the duke and Shishilian were still impressed and even went so far as to praise the drug for this effect. As they said even a master was still under the threat of losing control any second, and the fact that this drug annulled that was a plus in their books. Needless to say, Bert agreed in the end.

    They had thanked them both profusely so much both Ian and Bert''s ear hurt for a few hours after.

    Inuarashi almost knelt to Ian and Bert in fact, but both were adamant that he doesn''t and so he settled for thanking them verbally.

    What they did was give a way for the minks who were hunted and treated as a commodity, to defend themselves in the worst of cases.

    Ian could understand where he came from.

    After that, they had talked about the limitation of the lunar drug. Ian had no problem supplying them with the healing water as it was easy to make for him. But he still told them to only use it when in dire need. And so the limitation of the drug was raised to four transformations per day.

    And since Inuarashi had known about the drug, it was only natural that his co-leader would too.

    By the night time, Ian and Co had made a visit to the whale forest, precisely the Guardians Residential District where the night ruler and his guardians reside, and then officially met Nekomamushi.

    He had also requested to see the effects of the lunar pill, and both Bert and Ian knew he was just curious not that he was distrusting them. And then again one of the guardians was chosen and the effects were demonstrated.

    He had asked about the drug''s limitation too, as he mentioned that the stupid old dog only talked about its effects. And then Ian and Bert explained what had happened.

    And so that night soon after turned out to be a huge party where the minks cooked various foods for their guests. Ian could still taste that on his tongue.

    He smiled a bit.

    Right now Ian was sitting in his room. By his side stood Elene and Robin watching him intently.

    This whole building was given to them to use by the Duke himself.

    Although it was not overly huge it was quite big. With two identical floors, each with three bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, living room, and a balcony on the second floor.

    In the end, they all settled on the first floor only.

    By now the girls were accustomed to sleeping together so they chose one room for the three of them. And then Bert and Ian chose one each.

    The house itself was extremely clean, something Ian was thankful for. Its decoration implied an old fashioned style but still gave one a comfortable feeling.

    Sitting cross-legged on the rather soft bed, Ian was half-n.a.k.e.d apart from his boxers.

    In his hand, he held a syringe filled with a red liquid.

    He had thought hard about it and felt that it was necessary to strengthen himself as soon as possible as he was about to become entangled with two emperors of the sea. While on the side the di¨¢voloi remained a threat themselves.

    As such since strength was needed for him, what better choice than the very living organism that he was traveling on. Even now he could feel the massive energy contained in this elephant. He had earlier taken a blood sample and felt he was now ready.

    Robin and Elene were here as sort of guards. As even if he trusted the minks, he was not about to let his guard down only to end up regretting it.

    He looked at Elene and Robin one final time before he spoke.

    "Alright here goes." He said. And they nodded in return.

    After which he promptly injected the syringe into his bloodstream.

    A couple of minutes passed before Ian finally lost consciousness, like usual, still sitting cross-legged.

    ****

    Then two hours later Ian''s eyelids opened up slowly, after which the girls who were sitting beside him chatting with each other noticed Ian''s eyes glowing.

    Each time Ian would question how can this strengthening further improves his body. As the feeling he has of his body is that he had reached the peak physical stage.

    But then the moment the strengthening is done, he would feel that his previous state was like a child next to his new one.

    He felt absolute power coursing through his body. And the simple arm movement he made felt like it would tear this place down. He had finally reached the peak emperor stage. Now he was quite confident no human or giant was as strong as him. He literally became the strongest person in the world.

    Ian was feeling invincible. So much that he considered a certain thought he had earlier refused, to be quite good. And that thought was to go back and attack Im.

    Soon, however, he was brought out of that adrenaline high induced after every strengthening, by Robin who shook him using one of her sprouted hands.

    In his head he gave her an approving nod, as he might have hurt her if he wasn''t brought out of that state, and using her ability would be good in that case.

    "Are you okay?" she asked him.

    To which he nodded with a smile.

    But then he noticed that Robin was surprised and was looking at him weirdly.

    "What?" He said in confusion.

    "I didn''t say anything. I actually thought about asking if you were okay, Ian." Robin replied. And even Elene noticed what had happened.

    Ian had read her passive thoughts. And since he had heard them he had thought she had spoken.

    "I think I need to train me some more then." He jokingly said. But inside he meant it. He didn''t want his crew thinking he was reading their minds. So he was going to master this ability and never use it on his crew and allies.

    As for Robin and Elene and Robin, he knew that they had understood him, after all, they were in love with him as much as he was. They would always stand by his side.

    He stood up and tried to see what was different about him, but it appeared that there was no visible change. Except that he felt that his weight had increased. Or rather his bone density had.

    His height however stayed the same. Which he was content with.

    He wore his clothes that were by the side folded neatly.

    And then he looked at Elene and Robin for a bit and asked them with a small smile.

    "Would you like to have a small smile to help me see what''s new?" HE said, and they of course nodded to him happy to help.

 Chapter 126 - I refuse

    Ian right now was walking towards the gate to zou from the city inside.

    The sword that he had taken out and stored for the first day was finally out once again, hanging from his waist. Walking by his side stood his whole crew.

    Bert as ready as can be as he impatiently kept clicking his sword by closing and opening it from the sheath.

    Stella with her daggers at her side. Elene with her guns and Robin didn''t need any weapon.

    2 days had already passed and since had managed to understand his current power more with the help of his crew.

    Due to his high mind power, he was able to master his ability to read surface thoughts in a quick fashion.

    This way he was not going to be using it subconsciously at all.

    In these two days, his crew did nothing but enjoy the banquets the mink were throwing for them.

    Inuarashi and Nekomamushi both were quite busy in their respective parts of the day. They found their doctor and told him about the information about the lunar pill. It turned out he was able to make the drug quite easily.

    Just like Bert had said since the recipe was quite simple.

    The two rulers didn''t like each other, but they knew when to put their differences aside. They had even met once to discuss about Bert.

    However, they were not able to train any new mink person in these two days. As it was mainly left for the production of the drug.

    So they settled for giving the first batch of pills for the two direct forces under the rulers. The guardians and the Inuarashi musketeers. As they were the ones trained the most in their sulong form.

    Why was Ian and co-heading to the gate?

    That would be because earlier Ian had felt the presence he was waiting for to come for a while now.

    The beast pirates.

    The moment he felt them at the legs of zou, he had sought out the two rulers. Yes. The two rulers. This was one of those times they would have to work together.

    He had informed them of the presence of the beast pirates. He didn''t say they invading or anything. Except that the beast pirates under Kaido were here. Meaning trouble.

    After all, even now, the minks had still tried to hide Raizo from Ian. Unsuccessfully of course. But still, they tried.

    So he didn''t want them to know he knew about Wano and their situation.

    Anyways, he informed them individually, and they had both assembled their forces and made for the forest in front of the gates.

    They were not going to let him reach the city and destroy it or anything of the like. Unlike in Ian''s last life.

    And Ian, since he was here, he was going there right now to help. He was delayed because he had to inform his crew.

    When they reached the gates, the beast pirates had already climbed up and he didn''t manage to see how they did it.

    Still, it was not that interesting of a subject for him to keep thinking about it.

    The moment he and his crew reached the place, they casually jumped to the gate and sat there calmly watching the proceedings. Still, no one was able to detect them, courtesy of Ian.

    He casually surveyed his surroundings and noticed man details.

    First of all, the minks had hidden themselves with the exception of Inuarashi and his two guards, Shishilian and Wanda.

    Nekomamushi himself had hidden with the rest. By the look of it, however, no beast pirate including jack was able to notice them.

    Ian could detect them easily, however.

    Second of all was that Jack was not yet transformed into his elephant form. But his expression became bloodthirsty the moment he saw the minks.

    Ian knew what that look meant. He was planning to attack them and torture them regardless of anything.

    The third thing was that Ian felt Jack''s strength to be on par with either Inuarashi or Nekomamushi. So without a transformation, they wouldn''t win. Of course, neither would they lose.

    Inuarashi stepped up a few steps forward before calmly stopping as he felt he was near enough.

    His people had already discreetly warned the regular minks to be on alert. They wouldn''t use them in battle of course, but by no means were they just normal people. If it reached the point where they had to fight, they would not shy from it.

    "What do you need from this country, Jack ''the Drought''?" Inuarashi calmly questioned.

    Jack''s eyes loomed over the ruler of day.

    Ian was amused as he saw the rage contained deep within.

    ''What is it with this guy?'' he was questioning his sanity inside his head. There was no reason to be this furious all the time¡­

    "Give him to us now!" Jack spoke up.

    Perplexing everyone there.

    "Give you who?" Inuarashi too was perplexed, but he still inquired calmly.

    Jack growled in rage.

    "Don''t play stupid with me!" He yelled out. His voice spreading out in the surrounding.

    "I know you have a warrior from the land of Wano named Raizo in here! Bring him out now!" Jack continued his yelling.

    Meanwhile, Inuarashi, and the hidden Nekomamushi, narrowed their eyes from their places.

    ''A traitor¡­'' both of them had the same thought. First of all without a vivre card they wouldn''t be able to find Zou. And then the information that Raizo was at their country was only between them and Kin''emon, Kanjuro, and Momo¡­

    "Raizo you say? I don''t know anyone by that name." Inuarashi spoke up.

    "However, if you want to search the country for such a person, you are free to do so, so long as you don''t cause any destruction."

    He added.

    But Jack was a brutal destruction loving bastard. He was not about to agree to anything done peacefully.

    He refused to do such a thing as a search. Instead, he''ll torture them until they finally speak up the truth. After all, he knew for a fact that Raizo was here.

    As such with a yell he started to transform.

    And in just a few seconds, Jack was replaced with a giant mammoth immense in size and strength.

    Jack, as the mammoth, raised his trunk to the sky before he yelled:

    "I refuse" And then, with a whooshing sound, its trunk swung at Inuarashi.

 Chapter 127 - Minks vs The Beast pirates

    Ian watched with amus.e.m.e.nt as Inuarashi calmly brought his hand forward and swatted the trunk aside.

    Of course to the others that were watching including the huge number of beast pirates, it appeared as if the Duke was flattened since a cloud of dust was raised.

    He had told the two mink leaders that he can take care of this for them since he himself was an emperor and he can take the fallout against Kaido easily. However, their country would suffer if they didn''t.

    Still, they politely refused. Stating that this is their country''s problem and that the minks never back down. With the option of Ian interfering if they couldn''t take care of the problem on their own.

    And they also had said that they wouldn''t be using the lunar pill. For reasons¡­ Ian shook his head.

    He knew they wanted to keep it a hidden trump card against Kaido later. But there was no reason to keep it hidden now. After all, they can use it and then dispose of anyone who saw it.

    ''Unless¡­ they are going to spare them¡­'' Reaching that Ian released a sigh.

    He of course wouldn''t kill hundreds of people to keep a secret, but there was the option of throwing Jack somewhere far, and then when it was just them there they can safely transform and dispose of Jack.

    Of course, Ian knew it wouldn''t be that easy. Jack was not exactly weak. He was actually stronger than the two leaders. And only if they worked together would they stand a chance.

    But from what he saw that was not going to happen¡­ although they both came to defend their homes, they would not fight together.

    Turning to the side, he saw Bert still gripping his sword. His hands tightened around the grip.

    He knew he was itching to fight with his people.

    But the girls were just watching silently. Still, they were ready if anything came up. Even Libell was looking on intently from Elene''s arms.

    "Hey Bert, when the minks attack you can join them if you like, you know¡­" Ian said quietly.

    And Bert''s eyes lit up.

    He didn''t like this feeling he was having. He didn''t want his people to be fighting while he was standing by the side. He wanted to help them, after all, it was one of the reasons he started training after he left his country. He gave Ian a thankful look before he continued to watch the proceedings.

    Back with Inuarashi.

    He was starting to see that Jack can''t be reasoned with.

    "I''ll say it again, there is no one by the name of Raizo here. If you insist on fighting however we will not decline." Inuarashi stated once again.

    His fellow ruler however was starting to get impatient.

    Still, they had already discussed their strategy. So he stayed his place.

    Inuarashi and his musketeer squad would attack until they start to feel tired. And then they would let the guardians and Nekomamushi take over them in the fight while they go rest. It was a good strategy to overwhelm them.

    Except Ian knew they were going to lose what with Jack going to use poisonous gas.

    Still, he would not interfere unless they request so. He had already offered his help.

    Meanwhile, Jack who heard Inuarashi couldn''t help but wonder to himself how pathetic this do in front of him was. He couldn''t understand the simple fact that he wanted to just destroy stuff.

    He growled as he swung his trunk once again. This time with more force leading to the duke to dodge.

    And so the fight officially started.

    Moving bit by bit the duke kept retreating until they had entered the forest.

    When the pirates stepped up inside, they were suddenly met with an ambush from the musketeers.

    They actually managed to injure many of them in this first attack. Something which enraged jack greatly.

    Which lead to his power increasing a bit. This was something only he knew about. His devil fruit worked by giving him strength the more he became enraged. However, it was a double-edged sword. The more he became angered the more he would lose control.

    With this increase in power, Inuarashi was finding it harder to keep up, still, he was not going to lose the fight anytime soon.

    Soon even the minks under him were underwhelmed due to the huge numbers of the beast pirates.

    They outnumbered them with two to one.

    By the time 4 hours had passed like this, the duke suddenly ordered a retreat.

    "Retreat!!" Then he promptly delivered an electro filled sword strike to the side of Jack''s face, giving them enough time to back off.

    Soon Nekomamushi showed up to continue the fight his fellow ruler was in.

    He, however, proved to be more adept at close-quarters combat than his fellow ruler, as he flipped Jack from his trunk and threw him to the ground raising a cloud of dust.

    His paws filled with electro he introduced himself to jack as the night ruler.

    When the mammoth regained his senses and stood up he was met with another throw by Nekomamushi, this time even stronger than before.

    After a couple of blows given against him in this form, Jack noticed that the cat mink was faster than the dog one, and in this form he literally a sitting duck waiting to get hit. So he started transforming back to his human form. He would show this mink person what true hell was.

    Just like earlier the minks were having an advantage against the beast pirates using electro. But their numbers and durability ended up balancing them up so the fight was dragging up.

    Ian from his sitting position wondered in a voice only his crew would hear.

    "I wonder when they would get enough sense to finally allow us to take care of Jack¡­" He said. His tone longing.

    Elene giggled as she slapped his arm playfully. She knew he was itching for a fight ever since his strengthening. So she wanted to take his mind off it for now. Lest he gets angry and does something stupid.

    Elene leaned to him and whispered something only he, and Robin who was on his other side would pick up.

    "How about I later¡­ let you take care of me¡­" She said in a voice that had Ian shiver from anticipation. Granted she could have taken his mind off of the fighting with something else, but why not something both of them liked? so she settled for flirting...

    He gave her a l.u.s.t-filled look before he had to turn to the side or he might just take her up on that offer right now.

    ''Don''t worry¡­ I''ll take care of you later alright¡­'' He thought to himself.

    Robin only giggled. Shaking her head with a sigh¡­

    Stella from the side, still watching the fight, gave an eager nod to Ian''s statement. She too was itching for a fight.

    But Bert tried to explain things up for his captain.

    "The minks are a race of warriors. They would not let other people fight for them unless they were in a difficult situation. Plus if one was their ally, they wouldn''t want to cause them harm by having them getting entangled in their problems¡­" He said still not taking his eyes off the fight between Nekomamushi and Jack.

    Both of them had brought out their weapons and started on a heated clash of steel.

    Ian who was watching the fight, had his eyes shine at the display of spearmanship by Nekomamushi. He knew that later he would be asking for a spar against him.

    "You mean to say, they are afraid they will implicate us with their fight against Kaido?" Ian asked. Now that he thought about it, it was quite possible from what he knew of the mink.

    Ian could simply go and end this fight at this exact moment, but out of respect for the minks, and especially Bert, someone he considered family, he refrained from doing so.

    Bert''s reply was a simple nod.

    Ian sighed and continued watching the fight.

 Chapter 128 - Finally

    And so the invasion of the Mokomo kingdom by the beast pirates searching for Raizo continued on.

    With Raizo himself being kept hidden against his wishes to fight with them.

    The actual fighting had gone on for a whole day since the start.

    The Minks had used their strategy to overwhelm the intruders but it didn''t prove to be effective much against the Gifters who consumed artificial Zoan devil fruits.

    By the time they had fought and retreated six times, each battle lasting four hours, meaning a whole day, Nekomamushi retreated from the fight letting Inuarashi take over.

    He then located where Ian was and quickly went towards him.

    When Ian noticed the night ruler coming towards him, a smile couldn''t help but show on his face.

    He knew what was coming. He and his crew had been waiting for this for the whole day.

    ''Finally,'' Ian thought to himself.

    At their level of power, sleep was not necessary on a daily basis. So it was easy for them to keep watching the fight, albeit it was boring. Which was why they were brimming with anticipation right now.

    Bert although given permission to fight with them since before, chose not to after thinking for a bit.

    Since he was stronger and could take down Jack by himself, he would inevitably show up to the two rulers in front of their subjects, something he didn''t want to do.

    So he settled for watching by the side and only when someone was in danger, would he or Elene interfere. They had actually in this way save many mink people on the battlefield. Many timed attacks had saved some people from dying but they weren''t able to lactate who helped them, which left them perplexed.

    When Nekomamushi reached Ian he stopped for a bit to catch his breath before he started speaking.

    "Captain Ian, would you help us drive away the intruders?" He asked. He knew that Ian could very well choose to refuse. After all, they were the ones who chose to fight themselves¡­ as to his title for Ian,

    But Ian was not going to refuse, the sooner they were done with this farce the better.

    Still, he had questions.

    Ian turned to the side watching Inuarashi duke it out with Jack¡­

    He then turned to look at Nekomamushi.

    "Why now? I don''t see you losing or anything," He asked his question.

    And it was true, although they weren''t winning, one could say they had the advantage in this fight. After all, their squads were alternating between fighting and resting, unlike their enemies who were fighting for the whole day straight.

    Nekomamushi himself gave the battle taking place at the side a look before he shortly looked back towards Ian.

    "The battle is going nowhere like this¡­ I can feel that Jack isn''t going all out¡­ and even I and the dog, fighting together, might not be enough to take him out¡­" He muttered.

    Ian was surprised at this accurate assumption.

    Indeed, Ian knew that Jack could take them out both in a fight even when in their sulong form if Jack was fighting with his all.

    But still why not use it and test it out?

    Ian voiced this thought to Nekomamushi.

    "Why not use the lunar pill, and then your people would overwhelm the pirates. After which you can all attack Jack collectively and beat him¡­" Ian said in suggestion.

    His strategy was simple but good enough.

    But Nekomamushi shook his head.

    "This is going to be our trump card. And we want it to stay that way until we don''t have another choice." He said.

    "And since you are here, and you had wanted to fight with us with no regard to Kaido''s retaliation, you have given us another option. In another time, if you hadn''t been here, this might have been the time to use that drug¡­" He continued on.

    Ian was finally satiated enough¡­ so he gave a nod.

    "Alright. Does the Duke agree to this?" Ian asked. After all, there was another ruler.

    A nod was his confirmation.

    "Yes!" Nekomamushi said.

    "Well, in that case, how about you tell all your people to retreat?" Ian then asked.

    His statement might sound arrogant to anyone else, but when coming from an emperor it was simply the confidence that comes with that level of power.

    Nekomamushi singled his people, and then Inuarashi too.

    After a while, everyone retreated to a safe distance away.

    Jack tensed up for the coming fight, as he thought Nekomamushi was once again switching places with the duke. Although it felt it was a bit too soon¡­

    But unlike what he was thinking, nothing of that happened. The minks just stayed put in their places, leaving him perplexed.

    Meanwhile, Ian was talking with his crew.

    "Alright, since we don''t want to make the Minks feel bad about themselves by instantly defeating these pirates, we''ll just have to make it look like we are fighting someone strong¡­" Ian said to his crew.

    And they gave nods. They all knew that to them these people, except Jack, were all quite weak. But if they won their fights easily it would make the minks think they were weak, and even they didn''t want that.

    Bert gave a thankful nod towards Ian.

    "Well then, just like usual. You are going to take care of the huge numbers while you leave Jack to me. Elene would be your back support, Robin and Stella your mid-attack, and Bert your front attacker. Since you are going against many people, you have to make the fight believable as if you really are fighting hard. As for you Libell, just stay on the side and watch on alright?" Ian then instructed. Talking to Libell who was in Elene''s arms in the end.

    And seeing them all nod, he jumped from the wall he was sitting on, and with a ''shave'' he was next standing near Jack.

    "Well, hello there, Jack of the beast pirates!" Ian greeted the extremely angry person.

    Jack too just a second to recognize Ian.

    "Ian Louis, the nightmare lancer¡­ Fifth emperor of the sea¡­ what is someone like you doing here?" Jack spoke to Ian, and shocking his crew with who this person in front of them was.

    Ian chuckled at their shocked looks. Before he looked at Jack and replied.

    ???You don''t have the right to question me¡­" He said as he gave Jack a serious look.

    Jack for once started using his brain. If there was a way to resolve this without angering an emperor.

    "This is not your problem Ian Louis. Step aside. I''m sure even you wouldn''t risk a war against Lord Kaido." Jack said going straight to the subject and not playing around the bush.

    Ian seeing this just shook his head. Questioning him and then threatening him, if he was Kaido he would perhaps have killed Jack already.

    "Listen here¡­ If you don''t want to die right now¡­ YOU better leave now!" Ian started speaking quietly at first before he suddenly released his killing intent.

    All the crew under Jack started sweating. They knew at that moment they were not a match against someone like this guy.

    But their leader was not a bright person¡­

    He started fuming the moment Ian threatened him.

    He was not used to being threatened under Kaido''s banner¡­ no one does so and get away with it??? certainly not someone who was only recently dubbed an emperor by the ignorant people at that¡­

    "You''ll kill me¡­ I''ll make sure that someone like you knows his place¡­ you don''t deserve to be called an emperor¡­ only Lord Kaido deserves that title¡­" Jack started getting more heated by the second.

    "Is that so?" Ian calmly watched Jack. He was indifferent to Jack''s taunts.

    Seeing Ian staying calm had Jack growl in rage.

    Immediately Jack started transforming with a mighty yell towards the sky. But it was not a regular transformation¡­ no it was somehow different Ian could tell.

    Still, he watched what was going to happen with a bit of intrigue in his eyes.

    ''Let''s hope this would prove to be more exciting¡­'' He thought to himself.

 Chapter 128 - The fighting is over

    [A/N: I''m back!! :)]

    Ian pulled his sword from Jack''s now charred body.

    "In the end, this was not even remotely exciting¡­" Ian muttered to himself. He swung his sword one time and effectively got rid of the blood on it before he sheathed it into its place.

    He was half expecting someone strong to suddenly pop up to save Jack, but in the end, this was the real world and such a thing wasn''t very likely to happen.

    He looked at the now-dead person one more time before he clicked his tongue and turned to the side from it.

    Killing people always left a bad taste in his mouth. He didn''t enjoy it that was for sure. And if someone did, then that person would likely be crazy.

    Taking comfort in the people he disposed of being evil is the only thing that consoled him. Just like with Jack this time. He was glad Jack was quite the evil guy.

    Shaking his head at this he surveyed his surroundings.

    His eyes landed on his crew practically destroying the beast pirates before he chuckled and calmly started walking towards the mink people who were led by Nekomamushi and Inuarashi.

    ****

    On the other side, the two rulers were having mixed feelings. They were both happy and sad.

    Not about the impressive show of strength from the part of Ian, no.

    The happiness was obvious as Ian had helped their country, and they had practically won a war without many casualties, which was something they had been expecting.

    And seeing Jack''s real strength confirmed that guess of theirs. Unless of course, they had used the lunar pill.

    As for the sadness and guilt¡­ it was not about Ian showing off, not that he did it on purpose, but rather that they had hidden something from him.

    Since he fought in this with them, he had a right to know why they were being attacked. The minks were honorable as such they felt guilty about this.

    They shared a look before each of them nodded.

    They resolved to tell him their secret in the near future. Of course only after consulting with their coming friends.

    But to have Ian as an ally was reassuring, to say the least.

    When Ian reached them, they both gave him short bows in acknowledgment of his help. And soon all of their followers did the same.

    Ian looked with wide eyes for a second.

    He was not used to something like this. Still, he smiled a bit at them.

    "Captain Ian, you have the thanks of the mink tribe," Nekomamushi spoke up.

    And was followed by Inuarashi soon.

    "We''ll be indebted to you. And we''ll never forget this." Inuarashi said next after.

    Once again they bowed along with their people.

    "Alright, alright that''s enough you guys, you know there is no need for all of that¡­" Ian said in return, an embarrassed smile on his face.

    The minks who had seen him easily dispose of Jack couldn''t relate this Ian to that one.

    Still seeing him like this some of them couldn''t help but want to tease him.

    As such, they jumped at him and tackled him into a group hug, and pressing their cheeks to his in what they called minkship.

    "Lord Ian thank you for saving this country¡­"

    "You have my thanks, young man¡­"

    "Visit my store to eat all you want. Consider that my thanks for this time¡­"

    Various offers and thankful regards were thrown at Ian, to which he was left confused. But after a while of just standing there, he got his bearings back and he started responding to each one politely.

    ****

    Meanwhile with Elene and co.

    They had the moment the bet was on started on their parts.

    Bert used ''shave'' to weave through the beast pirates on one side and deliver sword strikes designed to knock out someone.

    Seeing Stella on the side he called for her.

    "Hey Stella, check this out¡­" He told her before he used electro on his legs and then abruptly vanished from the dozen of fighters that were attacking him. Then he reappeared behind them and smirked as each one of them started falling.

    Stella was impressed, she found it quite hard to keep up with him in speed. Still, she was not about to be undone.

    Just when a couple of beast pirates thought they can take her out now that she was distracted, She suddenly spun on her heels and delivered a flurry of punches and kicks throwing the pirates back onto trees, she moved between them with not one able to touch her. After that brief demolishing no one got up.

    "Hmph" She snorted at them.

    Bert laughed loudly at that before he searched for nearby pirates. And Stella soon did the same.

    Similarly to them, Elene and Robin were having fun destroying these weak guys. Of course, they were only weak to them.

    Occasionally a wolf arm would swing near one of them, but they would dodge it quite easily.

    Elene moved between 9 pirates and just kept dodging until she felt she was in the middle of the group, and then just as they celebrated and tried to strike her down, some with swords some with their devil fruits, she suddenly spread her arms wide and spun into a circle. And then she released a circular air blade, with her at the center, at the pirates.

    Suffice to say all of them fell down unconscious. She grinned triumphantly at Robin who was at her side.

    But then she noticed what Robin was doing.

    Robin was the best close quarter''s fighter of all three girls. That was a fact.

    But what she was doing was amazing even to Elene.

    She was staying in her place with various pirates attacking her from all sides. Still not one managed to lay his hands on her. In fact, anyone who attacked her ended up unconscious.

    She had taken the competition to another level.

    Where they said they can''t use devil fruits, everything else was fair play. This of course gave an advantage to Bert since he didn''t eat a devil fruit but he can use his electro.

    But Elene and Robin didn''t mind since the main competition was between the two.

    However, Robin had further restricted herself to only unarmed combat, while occasionally using Haki to knock out devil fruit users.

    Seeing that, Elene opted for her strong point of power. Gunmanship.

    Using her handguns she started to target groups of people and shoot them with non-lethal bullets made of her shadows. They were still enough to knock them back of course.

    And just like that, the competition between them continued on. They were briefly stopped when everybody watched as Ian killed Jack, but then they continued on destroying the pirates until they finally gave up and started running for their lives.

    Elene and co let them be, as the minks leaders had told them to.

    And then the fight against the beast pirates was finally done.

 Chapter 129 - Vs Jack

    Elene and co similarly used ''shave'' like Ian to get near their opponents.

    With a simple step, they were suddenly in the middle of the huge number of beast pirates.

    Most of them were only the so-called pleasures¡­ but there was a fair share of Gifters among them.

    Those were the ones giving the minks some trouble, and only due to numbers and having never seen them from before.

    Robin and Elene shared a look. Before Robin whispered to her.

    "Let''s see who can take down more¡­ rules are to not use our devil fruit abilities," Robin said.

    And after a bit, Elene agreed.

    "Alright. I agree" she said.

    Those two always ended up challenging each other. But something common about their challenges is that they always were betting about something.

    This time it was no different.

    "So what''s the wager?" Elene asked.

    And hearing her Robin started thinking seriously for a second.

    Before finally, she replied.

    "The winner gets to be the lady later... And the loser would be the maid of course." She said. And even though she didn''t explain it enough Elene would be able to understand.

    And Elene started thinking about that before she agreed with a grin.

    "Deal!" She said. Then she took out her dual handguns and was going to jump straight into the fighting¡­ but Stella came near them and said.

    "I''ll join this challenge. However, the wager is between you. I won''t take part in that." Stella said.

    Bert from the side just shook his head. Before he too said.

    "Alright, then I''ll join you too. But like Stella, the wager would be between you too." He didn''t even understand what the wager was after all.

    "Alright then." Elene gave a nod. This meant that even if perhaps Bert was the one with most takedowns if Elene had more than Robin she would win their wager.

    But all of a sudden, just when they were about to start, a loud yell that drew everybody to look.

    They then noticed Jack transforming again.

    Back to Ian. He was watching the transformation happen with patience.

    He of course can take out jack right now before he transforms¡­ but then he wouldn''t get to show Jack how weak he was even in his strongest form now, could he?

    Just thinking about that almost had Ian jump from excitement.

    Jack''s body enlarged even more than it was before. He was already 830cm tall, but now he reached past the 10m mark. His skin changed to blue and became thicker. His hair fell into two braids on each side of his face. And two long massive tusks sprouted from under a long trunk. His hands retained its fingers although they were thick-skinned too, meanwhile, his legs changed to elephant ones. And his overall body stature became even bulkier.

    At this moment, Jack, instead of taking his rather known mammoth form, had taken a more humanoid form.

    This transformation left all there shocked. Especially the two rulers. As it essentially meant that just like them Jack too had his own trump card.

    So even using the lunar pill might not have been enough.

    They were glad they had asked for Ian''s help.

    Even Ian thought it was a bit cool, to be honest.

    Jack connected his fists as he addressed Ian.

    "I''ll show you your place, Ian Louis." He with an arrogant tone as if he had already won.

    Which left Ian perplexed.

    ''How was he so confident? Didn''t he see the events of the war?'' Ian asked himself.

    Anyone who saw those events would know that Ian was not weak.

    Still, he didn''t mind it much. He was going to be enjoying destroying him in a bit after all.

    Elene and co continued on their part in the fight as soon as Jack had finished transforming. Meanwhile, all the minks Eyes were on Ian.

    Jack came rushing at Ian swinging his Shotel blades, covered in Haki since this form of his allowed him to wield them.

    His speed for someone that large was quite impressive¡­ however his opponent was Ian so it was not enough.

    Still, Ian allowed him to swing his weapon one time after the other trying in vain to hit Ian.

    Ian was dodging with ease, none of the hits came even close to touching him, much less injure him.

    And notably to all viewers, including Jack, Ian had still not taken his hands out of his pockets.

    Jack growing irritated at Ian swung both blades at Ian from different sides but Ian once again easily dodged them leaving Jack to miss hitting him and instead cleave a tree that was in the way.

    Ian himself after a bit of probing Jack, and intentionally angering him, felt it was enough for now and started his first attack.

    Jack had been following after Ian to continue attacking, but instead of dodging as he did before, Ian went inside of Jack''s guard after which he used both hands to push Jack''s Shotel wielding arms outwards leaving his mid-section open.

    And then capitalizing on that opportunity, using a small amount of force, Ian delivered a punch straight to the stomach of Jack.

    "COUGH"

    And upon contact jack coughed out blood before he was launched backward wrecking many trees on his way before he finally fell with a ''thud'' sound.

    The onlookers were shocked out of their minds.

    They couldn''t fathom how a seemingly normal punch was able to do that much damage.

    Meanwhile, the two rulers of the minks, knew what power an emperor of the sea has. Still, even they were quite surprised at the feat Ian had done.

    Just as Jack had gotten up to stand staggering on his feet, he felt danger coming and when he raised his eyes he was met with three sharp compressed air blades coming at him.

    "Swish"

    Hurriedly raising his Shotel blades to guard, Jack tried to push the attack back as soon as it hit but he was instead pushed backward.

    Then in great anger at being easily out donned by Ian, Jack used all his power to redirect the air blades towards the sky.

    "OHHHHH" And with a mighty roar, he finally succeeded in redirecting them.

    After which he stood there breathing roughly.

    He was starting to regret engaging Ian. And angering him at that¡­ the guy had after all casually punched him, and then sent air blades at him using his ''arms''¡­

    Just seemingly weak attacks, but the fact that Jack was barely standing said otherwise. Jack looked at Ian in regret, fear, but also anger.

    However the emotion of anger always wins over other emotions, and the fact that Ian was younger but still much stronger than him was pissing him off.

    And then he heard Ian speak.

    "I''m still waiting for you to show me my place¡­ or perhaps that earlier love tap of mine was too much for you?" Ian''s taunting words grated on his nerves and were the switch that had Jack overcome his feeling of regret and fear.

    With a yell, he used all he had to lunge at him both weapons ready to dissect him to pieces¡­

    If only it was that easy.

    Using speed that no one can keep up with from the viewers, Ian moved closer to Jack and delivered chops to both shoulders which lead to Jack''s knees giving in, and his hands to let go of the Shotles.

    "After all that talk you gave me¡­ you couldn''t even amount to anything¡­" Ian said as he shook his head.

    Jack still not giving up tried to stand and barely managed to do so.

    He then used his Haki to coat his right arm and swung it at Ian who was watching with amus.e.m.e.nt.

    Instead of shying from the attack raised his left arm to guard against it before he spun on his left leg to the side and with his right arm delivered a punch straight at the right elbow of Jack.

    Which, of course, had broken it immediately.

    "AHHHHHHH" Jack yelled out as he brought his hand and grabbed it with his left.

    The great pain he was in had him revert to his human form.

    His eyes were filled with terror as he finally managed to understand that he was at the mercy of his enemy.

    He looked at Ian in fear before he tried to run. Not sparing a second to say anything to his crew.

    He spun on his heels and started running from Ian foolishly leaving his back open to Ian.

    And since Ian had no intention to let him leave, he cut the short distance between them using a ''shave'' before he unsheathed his sword and abruptly plunged it straight through Jack''s back and into his chest.

    "COUGH-COUGH" Jack started coughing blood as his eyes took in the sword appearing from his chest.

    "Didn''t I tell you earlier, that if you wanted to stay alive you had better leave this island?" Ian asked him softly.

    "COUGH"

    "You can''t say I didn''t warn you. Well, I wasn''t going to let you leave even if you tried, but that''s another thing. You see, Jack, someone like you doesn''t deserve to live. You bring pain to the world simply by existing. You revel in destruction¡­ I can''t let someone like that exist. Just like how you kill innocent people, I kill people like you." Ian said. And it was true. Although he won''t go out of his way to search for these evil people. But if he met them, he wouldn''t let them live.

    And with that Ian channeled his electricity through the sword and effectively cooked all his internal organs.

    And just like that, Jack the drought, was dead.

    [A/N: I have a question. Does jack play an important role in the last one-piece episodes?]

 Chapter 129 - A long night

    [A/N: *Warning* there will be +18 content in this chapter. There will be a warning when the lemon scene starts.]

    After that whole ordeal of a fight, the minks threw the nightmare pirates a huge feast.

    And this time once again the whole country celebrated it. There was no one left not enjoying the atmosphere.

    Pirates were known for partying. But it was not something that was just for them. Even normal people liked to party all night.

    The mink people were also fond of partying. As such, they threw a huge feast with the purpose of them defeating Jack who tried to invade their country. Of course, they would have thrown a feast nonetheless even if he didn''t.

    Being the honored person of the feast, Ian and co were of course going to be there.

    And just like that, they enjoyed a whole night of partying and drinking booze until all people were wasted.

    Ian having wanted to have a spar with Nekomamushi in spearmanship did in fact manage to do so.

    He of course won, but he did get the satisfaction of sparing with another spear master like him.

    And then there was another duel. One initiated by Inuarashi towards Bert.

    The duel garnered the attention of the whole mink people. The city had a ring where they used to spar. And the fight was relocated there.

    Bert had tried to refuse but, he was hard-pressed to accept in the end.

    The mink people watching all thought their leader would win. But then Bert against all odds won. Much to their shock.

    Bert didn''t want to show that he was stronger, which is why he didn''t want to accept, but if he went with a fight, he always thought that it is not honorable to not give it your all if the opponent is doing the same. There was of course times to hold back, but this was not one of them.

    Much to the displeasure of Bert however, he was not done yet.

    Next after the fight, Nekomamushi challenged him.

    And lost!

    And then they both did so at the same time, fighting two against one, and still lost!

    The minks were left utterly shocked after that one match. And then each of them gained a profound respect for Bert. He must have worked hard to attain such strength after all.

    Two particular minks however were very proud of Bert. They were his parents.

    By this time all of Ian''s crew, including him and Bert, knew that these fights must have been planned by the two rulers. Perhaps they wanted to show that Bert was strong and worthy of their respect.

    Which brings us to now.

    Ian was walking towards their place that the minks gave them.

    He was not overly drunk even after he had outdrank the lot of them. Such was the perks that come with strength. Even his crew enjoyed the same to a certain point.

    Last he had seen, was how Bert had taken a lovely and cute cat mink woman with him.

    It appeared that Bert had known her from before and they were now ''catching'' up.

    Stella was taken by a couple of mink girls her age and had told Ian that she would sleep with them tonight.

    He shook his head.

    It appeared he and his girls had the house to themselves tonight. He grinned to himself at that as he hastened his steps.

    Upon entering the house he noticed that lights were out. Except in the living room. And so he headed there.

    *Warning- Lemon start*

    Before he had even touched the door, it was opened up. And then when Ian saw who opened it he was a bit surprised.

    Elene stood there, head bowed, wearing what appeared to him as a medieval maid costume.

    He could see her cute pout even with her head bowed.

    And then he raised his eyes and was met with another set of eyes.

    Robin was standing there smiling at him. Although he could detect the bit of l.u.s.t hidden deep inside.

    She was wearing a lovely blue strapless dress of semi-embroidered fabric which accentuated her hourglass figure and propped up her rather large bust, showing even more of her cleavage.

    A beautiful necklace that Ian remembers getting for her hung at her chest. And she had her hair done into a ponytail.

    She joined her white gloves wearing hands at her waist as she waited for Ian with a smile.

    "My Lord, I am happy for your return." Robin bowed her head as she spoke.

    Ian however raised his eyebrows at her, before he understood.

    It appeared that tonight was a role-playing night. He had in the past enjoyed such nights. But it was always with just one of them. Perhaps the girls were finally more accustomed to each other to sleep with him at the same time.

    Seeing that Robin had still not raised her head, he hurried up to get into his role. Which he presumed to be the lord.

    Robin then must be the lady then, as appeared from her clothes, which left Elene being the¡­ maid.

    He finally understood why she was pouting.

    "Raise your head, my beautiful lady. How many times have I said there no need for such formalities between us?" Ian got into his role and started spouting stuff like a real lord.

    Robin, and to a lesser extent Elene, were overjoyed at this.

    Robin did as he asked.

    "My Lord, how has been your travels this time???? She asked him.

    Ian sighed.

    "Let''s not speak about that right now. I have missed you my lady and I desire your company for this night." Ian stepped up walking slowly towards her until he reached her and with his right hand caressed her cheeks.

    She blushed at him, but still managed a small smile and a nod.

    "Of course my Lord¡­ I have after all missed your touch too¡­" Robin said, but the last part was barely audible to Ian.

    At the door, Elene had already closed it and she had moved to stand behind Robin her head still bowed.

    "Follow me, my Lord," Robin said as she stepped up to lead him towards the bedroom.

    Which was Ian''s room in fact.

    When they reached there, Robin gave Elene a look. Before Elene stepped up to undress her until she was only in her undies.

    She then neatly folded the clothes and put them to the side, before moving towards Ian.

    Who until now was still in role, and had his eyes only on Robin checking her figure, as if Elene didn''t exist at all.

    Which only served to frustrate Elene even more. And further, build her s.e.x.u.a.l drive.

    When she managed to get rid of all his clothes. She tried to move aside before Robin spoke up.

    "It is the duty of a maid to get her lord ready for his Mistress," Robin said in amus.e.m.e.nt. She was deeply enjoying this.

    Elene bowed towards her before she took off the last article of clothing from Ian. His boxers.

    He then moved to sit on a chair nearby, playing like he was a real lord.

    Elene followed him and kneeled before him.

    She took a deep breath before her hands reached for his tool.

    She gave it a few short pumps at first before she let a bit of spit on it and then resumed pumping the c.o.c.k good. This time moving on the whole length.

    Ian playing his part tried to ignore the feeling of rising pleasure as he focused on Robin.

    She had, by this point, already discard her remaining undies. And while sitting on her knees, she had one hand buried in her private place. While the second was at her b.r.e.a.s.t playing with it.

    She m.o.a.ned as she said.

    "My lord, you don''t know how much I had missed you." She said in between her m.o.a.ns.

    "Hmph! You didn''t miss me. You missed the feeling of this c.o.c.k inside of you." Ian spoke up with a snort.

    He then moved Elene''s head towards the tip of his c.o.c.k.

    To which she took the cue, and started to lick her way up from the base. Until she reached the tip. And after a few rounds of lick around it, she started to swallow it.

    Until she had reached the base. Twirling her tongue inside she started to slowly bob her head up and down in a steady rhythm.

    The only indication from Ian that he was enjoying this was a grunt.

    "Hn!"

    "You are cor¡­" Robin muttered.

    "Speak up when addressing you lord woman!" Ian ordered her.

    She then repeated herself.

    "You are right my lord! I have missed your c.o.c.k inside of me." Robin said with a l.u.s.ty expression.

    Ian was nearing his point as he responded to Robin.

    "Of course I''m right! I know all about that s.l.u.tty body of yours." He grunted as replied and then with his right hand he grabbed Elene''s head and pushed her down until her lips kissed his base. And then he came straight down her throat.

    He knew of course that Elene wouldn''t mind so, as they had confided in him from before that the taste of his spunk was somewhat delicious, which he attributed to his unique body.

    He then got up after removing Elene from him and made his way towards Robin who had climaxed on her own.

    Surprisingly his tool was still standing upright.

    "It''s time to give this s.l.u.tty body of yours another unforgettable experience." He said.

    And then he unceremoniously shoved his c.o.c.k with one thrust until his c.o.c.k had kissed her w.o.m.b.

    Robin had come up just at that as she clutched at his back.

    "Ahnnnnn" She screamed.

    He brought his hands forwards and put them on the bed by her chest after which he used one to prop himself u and the other to play with her b.r.e.a.s.t.

    And then he started to thrust in and out gently at first before he suddenly picked up speed and left Robin completely out of it from the orgasms she was having. She was m.o.a.ning and calling his name.

    After a while, he changed the position as he grabbed her legs and brought them back until her knees touched her shoulders before he resumed plunging his c.o.c.k deep inside.

    He allowed each of his thrusts to be as deep as possible as his c.o.c.k continued to kiss her w.o.m.b. But the speed he was doing so with, was not possible for any other person. He was nearly a blur as he plowed her p.u.s.s.y.

    And if it was an ordinary woman there, he would have destroyed her p.u.s.s.y.

    "YES! YES! DESTROY MY P.U.S.S.Y WITH YOUR LORDLY C.O.C.K!" Robin was screaming and panting as she came up from another orgasm.

    "Gladly!" Ian replied as he further increased his pace.

    By the side, Elene was fingering herself in envy. She wished she had won their duel, and then she would have been the one who was under Ian right now C.u.m.m.i.n.g the heel out of her brain.

    She sighed as she continued to get off.

    And then with a yell from Robin and a grunt from Ian, both of them reached their point as they climaxed together.

    Robin rubbed her belly as she smiled with a l.u.s.ty look.

    Elene sighed as she made her way forward.

    She then grabbed Ian''s c.o.c.k and put it into her mouth as she started to clean it in preparation.

    Meanwhile, her hand went into Robin''s p.u.s.s.y and started to finger her.

    The two persons however tried to ignore her as they talked.

    "I hope you are ready for round two! We are nowhere near done!" Ian spoke up he internally enjoyed Elene''s blowjob.

    Robin took a deep breath.

    "Of course my lord. You already know my s.l.u.tty body requires much more of your loving touch!" She said in a sultry voice as she winked at him.

    That did it for Ian as he moved Elene out of the way, and turned Robin over, and once again thrust his c.o.c.k inside of her roughly.

    "AHH" Robin yelled.

    He grabbed her hair and started to plow inside of her.

    She tried to keep herself supported on her hands but they suddenly failed her as she fell onto them, leaving her ass propped up.

    Which Ian generously grabbed a fistful of, and used as leverage to keep going in and out of Robin''s delicious p.u.s.s.y.

    Robin''s face contorted in pleasure as she grabbed the bedsheets as hard as she could. Her eyes were rolling over and she failed to keep her tongue inside of her mouth.

    After a while of going at it, Ian neared his point and released his second load inside of her.

    Robin relaxed and felt her sore p.u.s.s.y. She then gave Elene a look who almost had a rain cloud over her head.

    Robin then said with a grin.

    "It is a Maid''s duty to pleasure her lord with her body if his Mistress is exhausted!" Robin said.

    Elene''s eyes lit up, just as much as Ian''s did. They both grinned at each other as all three of them had the same thought.

    ''This was going to be a long night!'' but they had no doubt they were going to enjoy it plenty.

 Chapter 130 - notice

    Hey guys. i have some bad news! I tried to clean my fan because my computer was overheating and such... but when i reassembled everything the screen stayed black. i tried a lot of things to fix it, i even watched a couple videos about it but it didn''t do any good. now its two days since then :''( anyways i''m taking it to a professional maybe tomorrow, so for now i won''t be able to write. i hope you can understand guys!

 Chapter 130 - Good news!

    Well, finally my pc is working again. it has been hell these past few days :''( in the end, it was a problem that can be fixed, thankfully. Otherwise, it would have been hard to write if my pc was done for. for that I''m thankful. it didn''t cost a lot of money too. I have been saving money to buy a better pc, both for my studies in architecture and also for the occasional gaming... my current one sadly barely keeps it together. anyways I''m glad I didn''t waste a lot of my savings on it this time. (the savings are what I get from you guys on P.atreon, as for my work pay, well that goes for my livelihood)

    The good news, however, is that you guys can expect a chapter tomorrow. I''ll be working on it later but I won''t be able to finish it until tomorrow.

 Chapter 130 - Ian D. Louis

    Ian stirred awake from his sleep. He was in his room in the house given to them by the mink people!

    Last night was a pretty long and wild night for him and the girls.

    He turned to the side from his position and was met with an empty bed. He usually woke up before them and made them breakfast, but today it appeared it was different.

    As evidenced when Elene and Robin entered the room, fully clothed, each carrying food in their hands.

    Robin had a tray that held some fruits and juice, meanwhile, Elene held a tray filled with bacon, eggs, and bread.

    They on the bed near it off in the bed near Ian. All the while he just watched on curiously.

    "What brought this on?" He finally questioned once they had sat down on the bed.

    Robin and Elene shared a look before Elene stepped closer and scolded him.

    "Are you going to let the food get cold?" She said with a glare.

    The meaning behind her words obvious to Ian. Eat first, talk later.

    He gave her a nod, and without further ado, he propped himself up on the bed and started eating.

    He did offer them to eat with him, as the food was plenty enough, but they just said they had already eaten.

    After a while, Ian was already finished.

    He got up from the bed, excused himself for a bit, and went through his morning routine.

    After he was finally properly awake he stepped to the bed and sat near them as he gave them nods to speak their minds. This time it was Robin who started talking.

    "Well¡­ remember how you said you might be related to the ''D'' clan?" She asked him with a soft voice.

    Ian gave a nod and immediately knew where this was going.

    "You might think that we had forgotten, but it is apparent that you have been avoiding this subject. Even more, you didn''t even question master Geo about it." Robin continued on.

    And it was true. Even since Ian had reached that conclusion after he and Garp and Sengoku had met Im.

    He had played it as if it had merely slipped his mind, but it was in fact because he didn''t want to think about it.

    Ian sighed as he looked at his two girlfriends.

    "It''s not a big deal actually, I just wanted some time to think to myself," Ian replied after a bit of silence.

    His father had said that in the past his parents were injured on a nearby island, where he tried to save them but couldn''t help them in time. After which he took him in.

    However¡­ if they were actually from the ''D'', didn''t that mean that his father took him in just because he was from the ''D''?

    There was also the fact that Ian had asked his father if he knew who had injured his parents but he hadn''t said who. Now that he thought about it his father had told him that he didn''t know about that, but maybe he was hiding it from him?

    "Ian Louis, Ian D. Louis, another letter in your name doesn''t change anything, and don''t let something like this stand in your way!" Elene looked Ian in the eye and spoke up.

    Robin gave a nod too.

    ''Well, I have been prolonging this for a while now¡­ sigh¡­ they are right. I would eventually have to confront dad about this. Might as well be now!'' Ian started thinking to himself before he reached a conclusion.

    "Alright then." He said.

    "So will you give him a call then?" Robin asked.

    Ian shook his head.

    "This is very important to be done via a call!" Ian said as he stood up.

    ****

    In a swirl of shadows, Ian materialized near his house on the island of Kurma.

    Going such a long-distance via teleportation was actually taxing even on someone like Ian. So as he reached the island he took a few minutes to recover.

    Geo was a strong person himself, as such, there was no way he was not going to notice the new presence near his house. But soon after he realized it was Ian.

    As such he came out of the house and saw Ian just looking at the sky and standing there.

    "Ian? Why didn''t you give me a call if you were coming to visit?" He asked as he came closer to his son.

    Looking at the surroundings, he noticed that Ian was alone.

    "Where are the rest?" He asked once again.

    Ian looked at his father straight in the eyes.

    "We need to talk. It''s about my real parents." Ian said.

    And immediately Geo knew this was serious.

    As such he motioned Ian to follow him inside the house.

    Arie had come up and greeted him with a short hug, but then Ian apologized and said they can talk later.

    When he and his father reached his study, they closed the door, before Geo released a heavy sigh.

    "How did you know?" Geo asked.

    Ian started for a bit before he replied.

    "I had another meeting with a di¨¢voloi! In which I was lead to believe only a ''D'' can get away from that ability of her! And since I was able to get away too, it means my parents were from the ''D'' clan," Ian explained.

    His father thought about that for a bit.

    "What is that ability you are speaking about?" He asked.

    "She can order you to do anything, and you won''t be able to resist. Garp the Fist was able to break free from that, but Sengoku couldn''t. Similarly to Garp, I was able to resist her too!" Ian then went on to explain everything in detail about what he discussed with Garp and Sengoku.

    Even about his theory of why the ''D'' are called God''s enemies¡­

    "I have to say that this theory is quite likely to be true." Geo by the end agreed with Ian.

    Even though he was the guardian he didn''t know much himself.

    "Even if you don''t know, maybe Kurma does, right?" Ian asked his father.

    His father nodded.

    "Most likely." He said.

    At that moment another voice, one filled with power spoke up inside both of their heads.

    "I, in fact, do know. However, young Ian, I can''t tell you anything. If you really want to know, then you must reach the last island known to this world and find out for yourself!" Kurma said.

    After that was heard by both Ian and Geo, Ian tried to further ask Kurma, but it didn''t reply at all.

    Ian sighed. But after a bit, he gave his father a look. Returning to why he came here in the first place.

    "So?" Ian questioned.

    "What?" Geo asked back perplexed.

    "Are my parents from the ''D'' clan?" Ian asked again.

    His father closed his eyes for a bit.

    After a while, a sigh can be heard.

    "Yes! They are!" He replied.

    It had been apparent to Ian but it still came as a shock.

    This meant that his theory was more likely to be true.

    It also meant that his father might as well have only taken him in because he was a ''D''.

    Seemingly as if reading his mind, Geo hastily explained.

    "No! I didn''t know your parents were from the ''D'' clan at the time. When I saved you I didn''t know. It was not until I came back that my father identified them as one of our people who went venturing into the sea. By that time I had already wanted to raise you." He said seriously.

    Ian released a sigh he didn''t know he was holding.

    And then he proceeded to apologize.

    But his father stopped him saying that there was no need for that.

    Ian gave a nod. But inside he was quite happy that he was wrong.

    Arie came up and knocked on the door.

    When she entered she set a tray on the table between them with tea and some snacks before she went downstairs.

    For a while, Ian and Geo just sat there drinking their teas in silence.

 Chapter 131 - Beat my son for me!

    After a bit of silence between them, Ian finally got ready to ask his second question to his father who appeared a bit tired.

    "Why hide it from me then?" Ian asked him. A bit of accusation in his voice.

    There was no reason that Ian could think of to have his father not tell him about this.

    Geo sighed as he set his glass on the table.

    "I raised you, Ian. And when you had reached 15 I knew that you were ready to know about your parents. As such, I took you to their graves. However, had I told you their real names, you would start asking questions, that I as a father don''t want you to even think about." Geo replied as he thought for a bit.

    Ian processed that for a bit before he gave a nod.

    "You mean questions, like how they had died," Ian asked.

    And Geo nodded his head.

    "I had said in the past that I found them injured along with you. It was the truth. And they had asked me to take care of you. Which had me bring them to the island. Only after that did your grandpa identify them as a part of the ''D'' clan." Geo said.

    And then Ian then spoke up as he thought about things.

    "At the time I heard they were injured I was a bit angry, but I knew it was their adventure so I didn''t question it much. But if I knew they were from the ''D'' clan, I would have known that someone was trying to kill them because of their names." Ian reached this conclusion.

    Geo stood up and started pacing near the couch. He stayed silent for a bit before he resolutely looked at Ian.

    "If I had said anything, your life would no longer be yours. Your adventures, aspiration, perhaps even your crew wouldn''t be there. As your path would have been destined by your real parent''s death. And that path would have been one of revenge." Geo said. He still stood by his choice of that time.

    Ian took that in and closed his eyes.

    Most likely he would have indeed sought revenge until he killed everybody that was against the ''D''.

    But the ''D'' people were not about revenge. They were about freedom. He would have gone on a wrong path in life, thinking he was doing his family good.

    Ian finally understood his father''s reasons to hide this from him.

    He gave him a nod.

    "I don''t blame you, dad!" Ian replied, trying to ease his father''s worries.

    "Truth be told, my biggest fear, was that you raised me because I was related to the ''D'' and since you didn''t do that, then all is fine." Ian continued.

    His father gave a small smile as he once again sat next to Ian.

    They both took their glasses of tea and enjoyed a casual conversation.

    "So dad, when is my Lil sis or Lil bro for that, coming?" Ian said with a grin.

    Which made Geo spout the tea in his mouth in shock.

    "You brat, it''s too soon for that," Geo muttered angrily.

    But then he turned the table on Ian.

    "What about you, since you have two girls, the chances you''ll give me grandson is much higher!" Geo told him with a shit-eating grin.

    This time it was Ian''s turn to spout his tea in shock.

    "It''s you who is growing old, ''old man''" Ian spoke up and emphasized on the world old man.

    Which dealt critical damage to Geo.

    But he was not one to lose.

    "Still you young people have more energy than me, and with two girls at that, your chances are much higher," Geo said as he laughed at Ian''s expression.

    And Ian seeing his father happy started laughing with him too.

    But then he had to continue on the previous subject.

    He sighed.

    "Dad, do you know? Do you know who was after my parents?" Ian just couldn''t let this go.

    He had wanted to have a family like everybody else. But fate had it that he wouldn''t enjoy such a privilege.

    He was not going to bitch about it, however. Still, that did not mean that he would be able to sleep at night knowing the killer of his parents still lives.

    His father too gave a sigh as he nodded.

    "I didn''t see him near them, but upon investigation the surroundings his marine ship was there," Geo said.

    Ian motioned him with his head to continue.

    "It was the current commander in chief of the world government, Kong!" Geo said.

    And Ian didn''t react whatsoever except giving a small nod.

    "What will you do about him?" Geo asked. He knew Ian. And he knew that Kong was dead the moment Ian set his eyes on him.

    "For my parents, this Kong guy must die. I refuse to let him live while my parents die." Ian said resolutely.

    Geo nodded.

    "That is you right!" he said. If Ian was younger he would have become an avenger and wouldn''t stop at killing just Kong. He would kill anyone against the ''D'' as he was still young at the time. And all he would understand is that people killed them because they were from the ''D''.

    But now Ian settled at avenging his family.

    "I should head back, dad, I left the girls waiting." Ian after a while finally said.

    Geo gave a nod.

    He stood up and gave his son a hug.

    When they headed down, Arie too gave Ian a hug.

    After their farewells, Ian stepped out of the house, and just as he was about to use his shadow travel ability, his future vision triggered.

    And then he raised his hand calmly and coated it in Haki. And was met with red lightning clad leg bearing down on him. Still, the owner couldn''t do anything against Ian so he stepped back up.

    Only then did Ian take a good look at him.

    The person appeared to be quite old, perhaps in his 40-50.

    Notably, his hair and long beard were both red. As if his age had no effect on them.

    His body was well trained and defined. A testament to the strength Ian had felt on his hands.

    Meanwhile, his clothes were just casual wears.

    Geo stepped up as soon as he saw his friend.

    When their eyes met he shook his head indicating that this was not the time. And his friend sighed but gave a nod back.

    Ian watched this with curiosity.

    From the strength he was feeling from this guy, he knew he was quite strong, and possibly one of those presences he felt on the island the last time.

    Geo then turned to Ian.

    "This guy here is Howell! He is a battle-hungry idiot who searches for exciting fights. However, he is one of the people who protect this island." Geo introduced.

    Ian stepped up and raised his hand for a handshake.

    "Nice to meet you. My name is Ian Louis. Well, I guess it''s Ian D. Louis now!" Ian introduced himself. Although he was curious about the red lighting he thought that maybe he would act rudely if he asked him about it.

    Howell looked at him in intrigue. He didn''t expect him to act normally after attacking him. Still, he shook his hand and introduced himself too.

    He had wanted to spar with Ian but maybe this was not an appropriate time. So he settled to have him deliver a message.

    "I have a favor to ask of you!" Howell spoke up.

    And seeing Ian nod he continued.

    "You are definitely meeting my son sometime in the future. And when you do I want you to tell him that I''m proud of him. Of course, that would be after you beat the shit out of him! And then if he asks about me, please bring him here!" Howell said.

    Ian was amused at this. He couldn''t help but turn to give Geo a look.

    He then turned back to Howell, the person who is asking him to beat his son for him before bringing him here.

    "How am I supposed to know who your son is?" He asked.

    "Oh, you would definitely know, don''t worry about that. More importantly, next time, let''s spar alright?" He replied with a grin.

    Ian was confused and perplexed but he gave a nod nonetheless.

    Howell then started walking away leaving Ian and Geo standing there.

    "Well then dad, I''ll talk to you later," Ian said as he used his ability, and was engulfed in shadows.

 Chapter 132 - The Straw Hats

    Ian tried to shake the weird encounter off his head!

    He was not sure how he would be able to identify that guy''s son¡­ Ian couldn''t help but curse the old man. Not to mention he was somehow roped into having a spar against him next time¡­ what was with that?

    But at least he had acquired the information that he wanted from his dad.

    He now knew his real name. Never in his life had he expected to be one of the ''D'' people. In fact, he had spent 20 years living not knowing that he was.

    True at the very first moments he had gained awareness of his reincarnation he had imagined what it would be like to be from the ''D''. But since he wasn''t he just let it go.

    But now it turned out that he was from that clan after all. This added another goal to his current ones.

    What the hell was the will of ''D''? Although he was already planning to do that, it was now quite personnel.

    When Ian materialized he was back in his room on Zou.

    But the girls were not there. Which was expected somehow.

    Ian thought about what to do from now on before he reached a conclusion.

    He would talk with his crew and explain what he had learned before he would call Garp and Sengoku for information. Information about That Kong guy.

    That guy had just made top of the shit list of Ian. And Ian was not going to let him live past today.

    Stepping out of the room Ian was met with silence in the house.

    Everybody had already woken up.

    Using observation Haki Ian located where his crew was and headed towards them.

    He was actually a bit surprised. When he felt their presence, it was all the way at the gate of the kingdom.

    What could have happened for them to head there?

    This was the question going through Ian''s head.

    When he reached the gate he found out the reason why, however.

    Since it was day time, Inuarashi was the one here.

    He was standing alert against some people.

    Looking around Ian saw his crew standing next to him.

    There were all here. Even Libell was there floating near Elene''s head.

    She was actually the first to spot him as she came flying towards him.

    He caught her as she was giggling happily.

    "Big brother Ian, where were you?" She had taken to calling him that. Not that Ian minded or anything.

    When she had searched for him this morning she didn''t find him, and it was quite hard for someone to hide from her senses. Even Ian. She had then asked the girls and Bert but the girls replied that he would be back soon.

    Ian patted her head as he replied.

    "I went to visit my father for something quite important. But I''m back now." He said with a smile.

    "More importantly, what''s going on?" Ian asked as he continued walking towards the commotion.

    "Ah, this bunch of people came up but the animal people are not sure if they are friendly or like that elephant guy, so they are talking now!" Libell said the things that Elene had tried to explain to her.

    She herself had been perplexed but Elene explained in an easy way for her to understand.

    When Ian heard that, he immediately had a guess.

    It had completely slipped his mind.

    When he reached the place and everyone turned to look at him, he finally confirmed his guess.

    The straw hats were here at Zou.

    Well some of them.

    There was Sanji whom he considered a friend of his. After all, they had enjoyed chatting quite a few times back in the past.

    Chopper who he actually quite liked.

    A pretty hot girl who he knew to be Nami. Ian stated at her for a few more seconds. Not out of perverseness but rather the fact that she had changed that much. And maybe a little admiration¡­

    These were the ones he had actually met and was acquainted with.

    The ones he wasn''t, however, was a person wearing makeup and a blue gaseous cloak.

    He knew him to be Cesar clown from the anime.

    Next was a small pink dragon who was in actuality a small child wearing a pink kimono with a peach design on it. His head is done in like an ancient samurai with a top knot, and the top being shaven.

    Again from the anime, he knew this kid was time traveling from the past. And was the child of Oden, whom Ian quite liked in the anime.

    The last person was quite shocking, to say the least.

    An afro wearing, walking talking skeleton.

    Brook. That was his name from the anime.

    When Ian was spotted Inuarashi came near him as he greeted him.

    "Young Ian. I''m glad to see you are back, I was told you left for some business¡­" He said.

    And Ian nodded.

    "It''s still not done, but for now I''m back here!" Ian replied back. And Inuarashi could feel that Ian was quite angry at something.

    Elene and co came up next to Ian and stood there.

    Nami and Sanji who were standing there quite tense finally saw Ian.

    "Oh, is that you Ian?" Sanji was quite surprised. Not only at the absolute feeling of strength radiating from Ian, but also from missing him.

    He stepped up closer and this time the minks who were alert let him pass easily.

    He was thankful for that.

    When he reached Ian he shook hands with him as Ian smiled at him.

    "Sanji, you have changed so much, I almost couldn''t recognize you," Ian said in greeting.

    Sanji gave a laugh at that and said that the same could be said about him.

    For one Ian had become quite tall from the last time.

    "Oh, is that Nami and Chopper? And are the other from your crew?" Ian asked Sanji.

    Nami came up after Sanji and gave Ian a hug. She then jumped at Robin with tears of happiness in her eyes.

    Chopper too jumped at Ian greeting him happily.

    The tense mood changed suddenly to a happy one.

    Nami then introduced Brook to the group.

    "This is our musician Brook!" She said. As if that was going to explain anything.

    And the Skelton gave a short bow.

    "Haha, nice to meet you, Brook!" Ian raised his hand for a handshake. Which somewhat surprised the rest. After all, he was a skeleton. But Brook happily shook his hand back.

    "Nice to meet you too, Ian!" He replied back.

    Ian then turned his gaze to the rest at the side.

    He gave the dragon a nod, but then looked at Cesar with distaste. This guy was quite evil himself.

    Sanji explained that Cesar was captured by them as he was working with Doflamingo.

    "Oh, you fought against that guy?" Ian asked.

    And seeing Sanji nod, he gave a laugh.

    "Then Luffy must have gotten quite strong," Ian said. And his crew nodded.

    The dragon kid was ignored for now, since he was with them.

    Inuarashi then saw fit to invite the straw hats to their kingdom and had the bell of welcoming once again struck.

 Chapter 133 - To kill him!

    After that event, the straw hats were invited inside the city. They were even given a house near Ian''s own one.

    The minks were extremely welcoming to the straw hats and had even thrown a party for them both at day, and at night by Nekomamushi when he officially met them.

    Ian had asked Sanji about Luffy and the rest, but he was told that they were going to follow after them in about a week or so.

    After that Ian had shared his thoughts about this with his crew.

    And they reached the conclusion that they would follow after them towards Big Mom.

    It was the correct timing to do so. And for one they would get to take their second Road Poneglyph. Since Ian had helped the minks, acquiring the first would be easy.

    Elene was especially excited about that. As she had wanted to defeat Big Mom for a long time.

    And she was confident in her strength to do so now.

    Then Ian had gotten around to announce what he had talked with his father about.

    Shocking them. With Robin thinking that once again the ''D'' were involved in this. They always played a vital role in the world.

    Ian then told them about Kong. At the mood turned somber.

    Bert had even offered his help but Ian refused, stating that he would be doing this along.

    And this time Even Elene was not able to convince him otherwise.

    ****

    Which brought us to this day.

    Ian was in his room sitting on the desk holding the den-den mushi and watching it ring.

    He was not going to let that Kong guy live another day.

    With a guy like Ian after him, that guy may as well be considered already deceased.

    However, Ian didn''t know where he would be hiding at.

    Well, he was not hiding per se¡­ as he didn''t even know that Ian was after him.

    Anyways Ian knew just the person to ask. In fact, there were two people he could ask for this favor.

    One of them was of course Dragon. Who had a whole information network at his beck and call.

    The second was of course Sengoku. Since he was the former fleet admiral.

    But Ian had to think about this for a while before dialing the person he was calling.

    After all, Dragon knew nothing of Ian''s past. Meanwhile, Garp and Sengoku were already guessing that Ian was from the ''D'' due to their past adventure they went together on.

    The one involving Im. And them almost dying.

    With that Ian''s decision was made.

    With a click sound, the call connected.

    And the other side greeted.

    "Is that you Ian? It''s been a while,"

    ****

    On a barren island. New world.

    In a wooden house situated in a clearing in the forest.

    Sengoku sat there holding the den-den mushi in his hands.

    By his side stood Garp who was still the same guy as before, always grinning at nothing and everything.

    Sengoku watched the den-den mushi before he finally replied to the caller.

    He then greeted the caller who he knew to be Ian.

    "Is that you Ian? It''s been a while," He said. He had since then started to quite like Ian. After all, he had shown them important things and even helped them by making them stronger.

    "Indeed. How have you two been since then?" Ian asked back.

    Sengoku shared a look with Garp.

    Both of them sighed.

    "As well as you can guess," Sengoku said.

    "That bad, huh?" Ian muttered. He knew that they were probably being hunted by assassins from the world government.

    "Does it happen frequently?" Ian asked an important question.

    Garp was the one to reply this time.

    "It''s nothing to worry about, but yes. We have been changing hiding places for a while now." Garp said.

    The other side stayed silent for a bit after that.

    And then after Sengoku was almost going to ask what''s wrong, Ian replied.

    "I''ll see if I can do something about it then." He said. He would have to meet them face to face to do a small test, but if they passed it, he might be able to bring them to his father''s island.

    After all, that was the best hiding place possible in this world.

    Getting back to the subject Ian started speaking.

    "I have a favor to ask of you Sengoku! But first is this line secure?" Ian said.

    And Sengoku told him to lay it out.

    "Go ahead, young Ian! The line is indeed secure" He said. He knew that Ian didn''t mind the title for him, since he was of course younger than them. This was another thing he liked about him. As he was always respectful.

    "I need to find out where someone named Kong is at! I already know that he will be in Marijois. I want the exact room he would be in!" Ian said finally.

    And at this Sengoku hesitated a bit.

    "IS there a problem?" Ian asked.

    In fact, he knew that Garp and Sengoku respected the man from the anime.

    However, if he was going to get Back at Kong he was going to have to find the exact room he was in so that he can enter the castle and get out before alerting Im.

    He didn''t want a repeat of the last time.

    This can be considered a test of character to Sengoku and Garp. Would they help him or not?

    "Why are you looking for him?" Sengoku asked.

    "To kill him!" Ian replied truthfully.

    But this had Sengoku even more on edge.

    But he knew Ian. And he knew that he probably had an exact reason for why.

    "Why?" He asked after sharing a look with Gar, whose features had hardened a bit.

    Ian thought about it for a bit. And then saw no reason to hide things from them.

    "I have confirmed that I am indeed from the ''D''." He said shocking them.

    "While that is surprising, what does it have to do with Kong?" Sengoku asked. Having a bad feeling about this.

    Ian took a deep breath.

    "He was the one who hunted my parents and killed them!" Ian said with gritted teeth.

    Both Garp and Sengoku inhaled from the shock.

    After a while of silence, Garp took the moment to speak up.

    "I can''t say I relate to your pain young Ian, however, I must say this. Revenge is not the way to go about life!" Garp said with a heavy sigh.

    And at this Ian closed his eyes on the other side. Staying silent.

    "Indeed!" He finally gave a nod as he replied

    "You are right. However, if I had decided that revenge was the way, I wouldn''t stop at just Kong and make it everyone who slighted the name of the ''D''¡­ However, I simply just cannot live my life knowing the killer of my parents is still walking around!" Ian said.

    And Garp nodded sadly. He knew that what Ian said was true.

    "Besides that guy is not exactly a saint!" Ian said next after.

    Sengoku who had been staying silent perked at this.

    "How so?" He asked.

    "Well, why didn''t Garp advance on the ranks?" He asked them.

    And this got them thinking. Garp had stayed a vice-admiral because he didn''t want to be under the celestial sc.u.ms.

    "He didn''t want to be under those filth right? And while you advance Sengoku, you still didn''t agree with some orders given to you from above¡­ however, what is the rank of that guy?" Ian started speaking.

    Each word making the two elderly start to think deeply about this.

    Kong was the world government commander-in-chief. He was directly under the celestial nobles.

    "He can''t be exactly clean if he was directly under them right?" Ian questioned them.

    Both men couldn''t help but agree with that. However, he was still somewhat close to them...

    Sengoku sighed. He knew that Ian would be able to get the information he wanted from someone else.

    As such he knew he had to tell Ian everything.

    "Who did you recommend as fleet admiral after you?" Ian abruptly asked.

    Sengoku was brought out of his thoughts.

    "Aokiji." He replied. And just with that, he knew what Ian meant.

    Akainu was not fit to lead people. He was a mad dog to be unleashed on enemies only. His idea of justice left him to be undesirable to Sengoku for the post.

    But in the end, he was the current fleet admiral. Perhaps the world government had felt that Sengoku was too passive and had chosen him.

    "Alright young Ian, I''ll tell you what you want!" He sighed.

 Chapter 134 - A short trip through Pangaea Castle

    Marijois. Red-line.

    Very high among the sea level and within the clouds and fog, sat a European 17th-18th century styled castle.

    Surrounding the castle were various artificial forests as well as rivers.

    Deep within this castle that housed the celestial dragons, five elders, and the somewhat hidden ''Im'', was a certain bureau for a rather old man.

    This old man, however, was extremely muscular, broad-chested, tan-skinned, and strong-shouldered.

    His whitened hair and beard arranged in an array of spikes, and some fuzz on both sides of his face, similar to a lizard''s spine. He also has a stitched scar under his left eye.

    He wore a sleeveless dark shirt adorned with medals, revealing his muscular arms, dark green armbands, a light yellow scarf around his neck, and a white and dark grey Marine coat dr.a.p.ed over his shoulders. The epaulets are similar to those worn by an Admiral and Fleet Admiral, fully covered in yellow as a standard color.

    This particular brute looking man was called Kong.

    His abilities unknown, except the fact that he was in fact the fleet admiral at the time of the late pirate king''s Gol D. Roger.

    So one can deduce that he was in fact quite a strong person.

    Kong in his office sighed for the umpteenth time.

    ''Damn paperwork¡­'' He cursed.

    Since he was directly under the celestial dragons, he was quite high on the ladder.

    However unlike what one would expect¡­ this did not exempt you from doing paperwork.

    In fact, even someone like the five elders had their share of such a work.

    With exception of a certain someone.

    This person brought horror to him simply by thinking about her. Matter of fact, that same emotion can be shared by the five elders who outranked him by a lot.

    He was actually somewhat proud to be the only person in the world to know about her other than the five elders.

    Still, he was loyal to her and the world government so he was often times rewarded for his work.

    He just hoped his next reward would be getting a free pass from paperwork.

    One would ask what work he does in this office of his. Well everything the world government does, passes through him. The fleet admiral would first talk with him before doing anything himself.

    Everything passes through him, and when he can''t decide what to do or if the situation is dire, only then would he reach to those above him.

    He had just finished reading a folder containing the upcoming newbie pirates that could prove to be threats down the line.

    In the case that level of threat was high, they would be efficiently dealt with.

    When h grabbed the file over, he read from above two names that made him angry.

    Garp and Sengoku.

    He had thought that they were like him, but they turned out to be traitors to the justice he envisioned.

    He had personally wanted to hunt both of them himself.

    But as the five elders always wisely pointed out, he along with them, were the final defenses one would have to pass through to get to ''Im''.

    Suddenly, all the hairs on his body raised up from alertness as he was made aware something dangerous was heading his way.

    And it was just as he had raised his eyes forward, that he felt a cold hand wrapped around his neck and lifted him up.

    He tried in futile effort to grasp at the hand and remove it, but it was then that he noticed.

    There was no hand.

    In fact, the person responsible for holding him was just by the door. A good distance of 7-8 m between them. He understood that it was some sort of devil fruit ability immediately.

    He understood that by the fact that the person had his hand pointed at him in a choking gesture.

    He tried some more but breathing was getting harder for him, and he was about to transform as that would surely free him up, even at the cost of destroying his office.

    Still, that was something that could be explained to his superiors later.

    But before he could go through with it he was moved to be held in the hands of the person.

    This proved to be even more painful to him than before.

    Suddenly the person spoke up.

    "Shall we go on a short trip?"

    ****

    Ian had been given the information he sought by a somewhat regretful Sengoku.

    He understood the man as such he just thanked him for his help and promised him a favor.

    Garp had been staying silent at that time, but Ian knew that the old man was simply thinking hard about whether Kong was really as bad as Ian painted him.

    Ian had transported both of them to a place where he and Kong were going to fight it out.

    He wanted them to witness his corruption with their own eyes, and hear it from his own mouth. He had his way of how he was going to make him speak up.

    And so this leads to right now.

    Ian had taken a deep breath, and in one second had appeared inside the room Of Kong as supplied by Sengoku.

    It had been the exact room they had talked in when Sengoku wanted to resign.

    Thankfully, Kong was there browsing through some files.

    And Ian didn''t give him any time to react as he held him in a telekinesis chokehold. He didn''t have much time left before Im would be aware he was here. And although he was confident in his power, he was not foolish enough to repeat the mistake of fighting not knowing a person''s full abilities.

    And then just when Kong was about to do something to free himself up Ian moved fast.

    He could tell the bastard was about to do something by looking into his eyes.

    As such he moved fast and brought Kong into his hands. This time choking him for real.

    And he was not going to let him do what he wanted, so he was not done yet.

    He grinned in a malicious way, indicating he was going to enjoy whatever he was going to do next.

    "Shall we go on a short trip?" Ian uttered each word slowly so that Kong, who was having trouble staying conscious, would hear him.

    And the minute he did hear him, both of them flew up to the sky a bit from the ground, and then Ian repositioned them in a way that had Kong facing the ground with Ian behind him still holding him.

    It was like he was about to use Kong as a shield for something.

    And that he did.

    By suddenly accelerating to the ground, and pressing Kong as hard as he could destroying the floor. Making him throw out blood from the force.

    But he did not stop. No. even after destroying the whole, rather large floor, he still continued on to the rest.

    Since this office was actually contained in the structure above the huge and tall six floors of the castle, Ian estimated that Kong was going to have a very painful time right now.

    Time after time, explosion sounds resounded through the castle, until Ian had breached the other underground sixth floors and felt it was enough pain for now, and used his shadow teleport ability just as they had impacted the last floor.

    And mere seconds after that, the doors to this floor swung open, with Im herself stepping inside at such a speed, she would have rivaled Ian''s own.

    And then next to her the five elders did the same.

    They cursed in their heads when they saw the broken ground and the hole in the ceiling leading all the way to the highest floor.

    But they didn''t dare voice those cusses out. Simply for the fact that Im, their sovereign, was donning a pissed off look on her visage.

    "DAMN YOU!!!"

    And then with a yell, she released a pressure similar to conquerors Haki, that brought the five elders to their knees, all five of them sweating bullets.

 Chapter 135 - Transformation

    New world.

    On a barren island.

    The weather was good. The sun was at its peak and the sea was calm.

    Garp and Sengoku had been dropped here by an impatient Ian, who left after explaining that he was going to bring Kong here.

    The two of them had been wearing complicated expressions on their faces since then.

    This was someone they knew and considered as somewhat of a friend. But here they were about to witness his death. No one can stay emotionless during such a thing.

    Still, both of them were determined to see if Ian had said the truth. If Kong was truly as guilty as charged by Ian, then they were not going to feel any worse for him.

    It was just two minutes earlier that Ian had left. So not a lot of time had passed.

    "Sigh" Sengoku sighed in tiredness.

    By his side, Garp didn''t look as worse as him.

    In between the two, Garp was the one who believed Ian the most. And there was also the fact that he refused to advance in ranks not to be under those ugly dogs, but since Kong was directly under them, he knew that he was not exactly clean.

    Sengoku however considered him a friend of his which is why he was having a hard time.

    Garp looked at him for a bit.

    "Calm down, Sengoku. If Ian wasn''t sure that he was corrupt, he would not bother explaining it to use! He could just go ahead and kill him without us even knowing. No the fact that he told us means he wants us to know something about Kong!" Garp told his friend calmly. Many didn''t give him any credits in terms of smart but Garp was in fact quite the smart person.

    Sengoku gave a nod back. He had the same thoughts going through his mind.

    The two then just stood there waiting, enjoying the calm.

    This calm, however, was ruined when all of a sudden, shadows materialized in the sky above the both of them.

    And then all of a sudden Ian appeared holding Kong by his neck, and then he accelerated once again towards the ground.

    When they entered the trees lines, both of them lost them.

    So they shared a look before they started running towards the general direction they were falling towards.

    ****

    Ian released his hold on Kong''s neck the minute he had pushed him strongly to the ground burying him under.

    He flew up a bit higher and started to watch what was going to happen.

    When the dust settled, the damage done to the area started to become visible.

    There was a huge crater where Kong was buried. The ground was utterly destroyed.

    And Kong himself was sporting some very nasty injuries.

    All of his limbs were broken and no matter how he twitched, painfully at that, he could not move an inch.

    His neck was utterly broken along with his spinal cord. It was the area with the most damage. If left like this, he was surely going to die soon.

    "AHHHHHH"

    He was breathing haggardly as he yelled painfully.

    But Ian knew. He knew that Kong was not going to die.

    Why?

    Because he felt something about Kong was not normal. And from that feeling, he knew that Kong was hiding something.

    Soon Garp and Sengoku flashed nearby Ian. They looked at Kong and were shocked.

    That shock soon turned to anger when Sengoku saw how Kong was dying.

    "What is the meaning of this Ian? I thought you had something to show us which is why you brought us here? Did you just want to show us our friend dying?" He yelled outrageously.

    Momentarily he forgot he was talking to someone that can flatten his ass. Someone who had just nearly killed Kong by a casual move of his.

    Garp himself was shocked which left him standing there gaping.

    But Ian didn''t even turn to look at them both. He continued to stare at the yelling Kong.

    "Calm yourself! And watch him closely." Ian said calmly. He didn''t like it when people were yelling at him. Everything can be discussed calmly.

    "How do you want me to calm down? I had already betrayed my friend by telling you that information, but now you even went so far to have me watch his death?" Sengoku was beyond angered and sad. To see his friend like this. This was torture¡­

    "I said¡­ watch him closely!" Ian replied sharply. This time the politeness draining from his voice.

    Sengoku bristled at Ian''s tone, but after a bit, he did as he asked him.

    And then he came to notice.

    "Wha¡­" Sengoku was shocked.

    Even Garp joined him with having the same facial expression.

    Kong who was about to die was being surrounded by grey fog.

    Then under their eyes, his injuries started healing at a rather fast rate. And not even a few minutes later he stood there completely unharmed.

    With the fog having disappeared.

    Ian knew that he was correct about before. There was something wrong about Kong.

    Kong then looked at Ian.

    "Emperor Ian¡­ What is the meaning of this attack?" He spoke up through gritted teeth. He was ready to tear the bastard down, but he had to get the reason.

    Depending on the answer he might have to increase the torture he was going to inflict on him. If perhaps his goal was to have him rat out Im¡­ hehe¡­

    "Don''t think too much about it. You killed my parents, and now I''m going to kill you." Ian replied calmly.

    "Is that so¡­" Kong replied indifferently himself. He didn''t ask him for their names, because he was likely to not remember.

    He would deal with Ian later. For now¡­

    He turned to look at Garp and Sengoku.

    The two traitors.

    "I''m glad I had found you two. Now I can get rid of you traitors." He spoke angrily.

    Sengoku was surprised at the anger.

    "Do you not know who leads the government from the shadows?" Sengoku asked him back.

    He thought that maybe Kong didn''t know.

    Ian snorted at this. Someone as high as him was absolutely in the know.

    "I do know," Kong replied.

    "Then you too should leave the world government. There is no knowing what that devil''s goal might be." Sengoku then said.

    But at the word devil Kong became even angrier.

    "Don''t you dare talk about the sovereign like that!" He yelled out at Sengoku.

    Shocking them all there.

    Even Ian didn''t know that they called Im a sovereign.

    Then Kong started speaking again.

    "You all are going to die. But I''ll tell you anyway. The sovereign is our god. The one we worship. Her words are our justice. And she rewards us with strength. The more close a person is to her, the more power they get. Let me show you my real strength now." Kong said fanatically.

    As he then immediately started to transform.

    His body enlarged and became hairy, as he turned into a giant white-haired ape.

    His size was almost close to 30m.

    The feeling of raw power from him now had even Ian raise an eyebrow. He could feel that Kong, had reached the emperor realm with this.

    But his transformation was not done. In fact, this was just the form granted to him by eating a Zoan devil fruit.

    Since the cloths Kong had been wearing before were utterly destroyed except the upper part of his pants, it had enlarged and covered his privates at the least.

    Next, he started to grow two more arms. But these were not the same as the regular ones. Rather they were incased with a grey bone armor that reached and covered his chest and abs and shoulders.

    That same bone armor started spreading and covered the remaining two hands.

    Then two small tusks sprouted from under his mouth. Followed by spikes appearing on his bone armor.

    Then the ape, Kong, Gave a loud roar.

    "ROOOAAARRRRR"

 Chapter 136 - Vs Kong

    [A/N: first of all, if anyone wants to see a close image of Kong in his transformed state visit my p.atreon Page, it would be set to public. And even though it won''t be accurate it might help you envision the fight better]

    "RROOOAAARRRR"

    In the clearing, a loud roar resounded, courtesy of a transformed Kong.

    And as if even possible, Kong''s size grew even more. He was already near 30m but with this he became even bigger reaching 40m.

    Once again Ian was surprised when he felt his strength this time.

    This guy had just all of a sudden became stronger. Although he didn''t reach the middle of the emperor realm, he still was much stronger than earlier.

    He could understand where his confidence to take care of them all came from now.

    After all, he was in the realm that would enable you to become the strongest person in the world when you reach its peak.

    Garp and Sengoku would be outclassed by this guy in seconds. Although they had become stronger somewhat, they were never going to be a match to a di¨¢voloi.

    Yes. That was what Kong had become. He was no longer fit to be called a human. As evidenced by the grey armor on him. The di¨¢voloi''s were inherently stronger than humans. As evidenced by the two strongest people, Roger and Whitebeard, struggling to beat them.

    This ability to further transform his body must be the power given to Kong by Im he was spouting about earlier.

    When Ian focused a bit more, he could feel the aura of two hearts inside Kong.

    ''So he was like Blackbeard then?" Ian thought to himself. Perhaps as a reward, he was given the blood of a di¨¢voloi.

    Ian too had two hearts. The difference, however, is that he was still human. This was how his ability worked.

    It took whatever was beneficial to him and added it to his DNA, making it better each time. In essence, his human body was always evolving and reaching new heights.

    But Kong, on the other hand, fused with the blood, and since the di¨¢voloi''s blood can''t be suppressed by a ''normal'' human, he was effectively one of them now. Just a plain Di¨¢voloi.

    ''I see!'' Ian, once he reached this thought, understood something.

    ''Perhaps Kong was not a bad guy from the start. Maybe the blood influenced him to become like this¡­'' Ian thought to himself.

    It would explain why Garp and Sengoku were friends with him back then.

    Shaking his head from these thoughts, Ian focused back on the present.

    He would have plenty of time to think about this when he is done here. Not to mention he had to somewhat hurry, since he was not sure if the events with Sanji had already happened or not.

    Since he no longer cared about the plot of the one-piece world, and Sanji was his friend, he was going to help Sanji if he wanted him to.

    Looking sideways at Garp and Sengoku, Ian sighed.

    Both of them were shocked beyond measure. They were gaping at Kong as they watched him. They knew about his Zoan devil fruit but this was different.

    "I guess this is enough for you to let it go right?" Ian finally addressed Sengoku.

    His question was easy to understand, and Sengoku gave a nod as he closed his eyes painfully.

    Kong was no longer a human. Garp could understand as much. And the fact that Kong was preaching and shouting fanatically at them earlier about his sovereign Im, didn''t help his case.

    He opened his eyes and made contact with the white ape who by now was towering over them and watching them as if they were insects that could be squashed easily under its foot.

    Not a few seconds later Sengoku mouthed the words ''Farewell, my friend''. And then he turned to Garp.

    "Let''s step back a bit!" He said. This was Ian''s fight. And he deserved to get revenge for his parents.

    In fact, Sengoku would have done the same as Ian was doing right now. The reason he couldn''t let it go was just that he considered Kong his friend¡­

    Garp gave a nod as he too could understand that Ian had to do this on his own. He could also feel that Kong as he was now, was quite strong for them both. Even if they fought together.

    But¡­ just as they were about to step up Kong noticed this and made his move.

    "DO YOU THINK I''LL LET YOU GO" He yelled towards them. His voice booming all around.

    In a speed that shouldn''t be possible for someone of his size, he appeared in front of Garp and Sengoku, his lower arms attempting to catch them, and his upper arms joined together and trying to flatten them into a human paste.

    "Huehuehue"

    A creepy laugh was heard from him as did this.

    He couldn''t help himself. After all, the feeling of resignation on their faces as they realized they couldn''t get away in time was priceless.

    But would Ian let him do so?

    Garp and Sengoku watched in amazement as Ian seemingly materialized from lightning near them and delivered a punch to the ape''s midsection after jumping a bit into the sky.

    All of this happened in a second after which Kong was shot like a bullet as he flew straight through many huge trees until he impacted somewhere far from them and raised a cloud of dust.

    "Step back for a bit okay?" Ian instructed. And they both heavily nodded towards him as they made on their way.

    Then Ian started focusing on the ape.

    He knew that his attack had hurt the ape somewhat. But as Kong righted himself and then jumped back towards the place he was launched from, Ian could see that his punch barely had broken through his bone armor.

    And even that was mended after a few seconds.

    Regeneration. This was the ability that Kong perhaps had.

    It was the conclusion that Ian reached.

    He was going to test this out from now.

    "RRROOOAAARR"

    The ape roared once again and a bone armor started to gather around its lower left arm as if a shield.

    Next was a long poll sprouting from its lower right arm that Ian thought was going to end up being a sword or spear.

    But in the end, it became a hammer, which the ape proceeded to break off his arms with his other hand.

    Now holding both a hammer and shield, the ape charged at Ian with a mighty jump.

    Kong knew that from Ian''s one attack on him that he shouldn''t charge blindly. As such he made the shield. And then the hammer.

    "I killed your parents. And now I will be sending you to join them, Ian Louis!!" Kong yelled as he swung his hammer down.

    But Ian casually raised his hand and caught the giant hammer easily. Still, the shockwave resulting from this was devastating as it broke the ground they both were standing on.

    But Ian still stood there floating. Meanwhile, the ape jumped back.

    But Ian flew at him taking the initiative to attack.

    Kong raised his shield and prepared for Ian''s attack.

    Ian once again made a casual punch of his, but Kong at that time grinned maliciously.

    He then proceeded to have spikes protrude from the shield just as Ian was going to punch it.

    Ian only raised a brow in surprise but didn''t stop his attack.

    Upon touching the shield, it shattered completely along with the spikes, and then Kong''s whole left arm was broken after.

    "AHHH" this had him yell out in pain as he tried to retreat.

    If one would look closely at Ian''s arms, they would notice faint scale patterns on his skin. When Ian used his scaly mode, a wise person would do well to try to dodge his attacks. Otherwise what happened to Kong would happen to them.

    Thinking of trying something he had on mind, Ian used ''shave'' to gain on the retreating form of Kong, and in one motion withdrew his sword and chopped the right arm holding the hammer swiftly.

    "AHHHHHHH"

    He then watched as Kong roared in pain. He couldn''t help but feel a bit of happiness at Kong''s pain. This was the person responsible for his parent''s death after all.

 Chapter 137 - Internal Destruction!!

    Then after effectively cutting one whole arm off, Ian waited to see what will happen after taking a step back and moving a bit away to the back.

    What he wanted to try from before, was to see if Kong can regenerate limbs fully as he can. That was the reason why he chopped off his arm.

    But as he saw Kong as he was right now, still yelling hoarsely from the pain on his arm and reaching out for his wound, he was sorely disappointed.

    Kong reached for the arm laying down on the ground, and reattached it to the wound, meanwhile looking wearily at Ian just in case he took advantage of him in his current state. It took him a few minutes but the arm was fully connected and working by then.

    But Ian was not impressed even a bit from what he saw.

    It appeared that although Kong had Regeneration, it was not as strong as Ian. Something obvious now that he thought about it deeply.

    His regeneration was not normal rather it came from the mysterious energy in his body.

    Ian was capable of re-growing limbs easily now if he wanted to. And not just for himself, he could also do it for other people if he so wanted to. But Kong apparently couldn''t do so to the missing limb. He could only heal the injury by attaching the arm back and letting fuse back.

    Glaring hatefully at Ian, Kong once again formed the hammer and shield, this time reinforcing them even more, as he thought that they would be strong enough now.

    ''I''ll make them even stronger, that way, he won''t have a chance now!'' He thought to himself. After all, he was taught that the Di¨¢voloi''s abilities were unmatchable in this world.

    And even though he had already witnessed what Ian did, he still thought that Ian was not beyond his level.

    As such he charged at him intent on flattening him with one attack with his mighty hammer. His hammer, shield, and upper arms all covered in the black glow of Haki.

    "I will destroy you!!" He yelled furiously. The humiliation he suffered, acted as the drive for his rage.

    But who was he up against?

    Ian casually sidestepped the downward swing of the hammer.

    "You can try!" Ian chuckled as he heard him. He can indeed try, but he would never succeed.

    The earth the giant hammer impacted however was not so lucky.

    It was utterly destroyed, leaving a crater in the ground. Which was expected. Ian had chosen a barren island just for this case. And against someone with the size of Kong, it was obvious there would be huge aftereffects to their fight on the land.

    Kong didn''t stop, however, as he, this time created two spears of bone looking as menacing as hell and held them with his third and fourth arms. Then he coated them in Haki.

    After which he charged at Ian again.

    He started with a wide sideways swing with his hammer and as Ian dodged it again, easily at that, he would cover his midsection with his spiked shield trusting it blindly to be able to guard him, and then his two upper arms holding the spears would try to skewer Ian from above, to no avail.

    Ian weaved through the spears, appearing as if he was barely dodging them when he was masterfully doing so and effortlessly dodging them all.

    Kong kept getting frustrated and after a while, this resulted in him using a surprise attack of his that always worked, but still, was a double-edged sword as it hurt him too in the process.

    He tried the same attack on Ian from before. And Ian was dodging and going for his own attack which was a casual punch, but just as Ian was near enough, Kong all of a sudden released all the bone spikes on his body, including the shield, towards Ian.

    "Take that!" Kong yelled!

    Ian who was mid-swing was a bit surprised at this, but apart from using a layer of telekinesis as a shield, he continued on with his punch.

    What he was surprised about was that Kong was capable of releasing those spikes still imbued in Haki.

    Still, Ian was a master of combat. Doing such actions instantaneously such as dodging or counterattacking was easy for him at this point. So not a lot of people can catch him off guard. Not to mention his future sight would kick in at that.

    The menacing-looking spikes impacted Ian but they all shattered upon touching him. Dealing no damage whatsoever.

    "Impossible¡­" Kong muttered to himself shocked.

    Blood was dying the white hair of his body red.

    Since this ability he used released the bones that were part of his body, it injured him in the process.

    But it was well worth it as his attack had close to two hundred spikes, huge in size, each capable of injuring everyone they touched.

    In fact, he thought that with this Ian would absolutely be dead.

    There was no way he could survive this, so how did they shatter upon touching him?

    Just as he was starting to think about running he was hit with Ian''s punch.

    Once again his shield, reinforced of course and covered in Haki, did nothing and shattered to small bone shards. And then his arm was broken again. And even as he used his two spears, Ian weaved through them as he retreated back.

    But Kong did not care even one bit for this pain. Only one thought was going through his head.

    It was known that Ian, was a master of the six marine skills, which to now he still didn''t use, apart from shave. Next, he was known to be able to fly. And to use some invisible barrier to do many things, which he guessed was what had stopped his surprise attack.

    And then the most dangerous thing in Kong''s eyes. Spearmanship. Which until now Ian had still not even gotten his spear out to use. True he had used his sword, but it was not the weapon he was most adept at. When he thought back to Ian''s performance with a spear, terror inflicted upon him. Before he made up his mind.

    He tried to heal his broken arm as he withstood the pain, and then he made the shield again, but instead of Shielding himself with it, he instead threw it along with the hammer and the spears at Ian.

    After which he abruptly bent his legs and jumped as high as he could and as far away from Ian as possible.

    No way was he going to keep fighting with this guy, who casually dealt punches that were strong enough to break the arm of a giant animal known for his ''strength''. His full-powered jump had him hundreds of meters in the sky as he tried to run to the beach, where he could await a ship to come for him.

    When he had transformed to his Di¨¢voloi form, he knew that it would alert sovereign Im to his whereabouts and she would send reinforcement. And since this fight had been going on for a while now he knew that he was saved as long as he ran away.

    But would Ian let him?

    "I can''t let you run away¡­ You were the reason I grew up parentless in this world. I always wanted to experience that¡­ as such I can''t let you run away now!" Ian muttered to himself as he bent his legs.

    Using his teleport ability Ian appeared in the sky just above the form of the massive ape.

    He then c.o.c.ked his right arm backward coated in Haki.

    [Internal destruction]!

    Before a purple glow started to surround the fist as Ian punched at the chest of the ape who was left gaping at him, having forgotten about Ian''s ability to teleport.

    "Since you want to run, I guess this brings the fight to an end. And since you robbed me of my parents, I would make sure that your body would find no resting place in this world!" Ian told him. He wanted this person to be erased from the world completely.

    And then Kong''s eyes widened until only the white was visible before he lost consciousness.

    And then he abruptly and all of a sudden exploded from the inside out.

    Scattering body parts everywhere from the sky in a shower of blood and gore.

    Even having two hearts would not help a person from this. This was ''internal destruction''. A higher grade form of the advanced Haki technique ''Emission''.

    Even after all this, Ian was still floating there. A relieved expression on his face.

    He closed his eyes for a bit as he calmly floated there.

    ''Finally, it''s done!'' he thought to himself.

    As he stood there, no drop of blood fell on him whatsoever.

    After a while, he located Garp and Sengoku and teleported towards them.

    "I''ll bring you back!" He said.

    They both just gave him nods. No talk was necessary.

    They had seen enough to no longer pity Kong.

    They were however somewhat happy for Ian, for avenging his parents.

    Ian then took them towards the island they were staying on before.

    Then he stayed standing there for a bit. Just looking at the sky in silent thoughts.

    After a while of just standing there, Ian gave a sigh.

    ''I should go back now¡­''

    And then he used his ability to travel back towards his room in Zou.

 Chapter 138 - You coward!

    While Ian was dealing with his problems, the straw hats had been enjoying their day ever since they reached Zou.

    Sanji was taking advantage of the mink''s females, via minkship, and having the time of his life. The time that he was robbed off, on that hellish island he was thrown to.

    Meanwhile, Nami exchanged clothes with Wanda, which was a big part of their culture. The fact that the accessories on the dress were a natural treasure of the mink''s showed how much they valued their friends.

    Chopper was working with the doctors of the minks in providing help to those injured.

    Momonosuke however had not been let out of his room.

    The straw hats had been told about the failed invasion of Jack, which was stopped thanks to Ian.

    But the fact remained that the invasion was due a person from the land of samurais, as such they were glad that Momo had been in his dragon form when they met the mink''s for the first time, and since then they had been hiding him in the room. The fact that the little guy was content there helped too.

    Sanji was also responsible for making food, as the mink''s had liked it. It was by his choice of course.

    But even Bert joined him at some point and helped him up. He could use some tips from Sanji.

    But things were not destined to stay quiet this day.

    A commotion was raised among the minks as two new visitors showed up to the city.

    The first one is a mink resembling a humanoid maned lion. He is relatively tall, as he appears about one head taller than the 5''11 Sanji. He was wearing sunglasses. Despite having large paws for hands, his feet are evidently small enough to fit into the small boots he wears.

    He wears a hideous pink suit, black sunglasses, a silver earring on his left ear, a sword on his right hip, and wears black high-heeled boots with white ruffled brims. He also wears a salmon-colored dress shirt underneath his suit jacket.

    Currently, he was happily embracing two other minks with tears in his eyes.

    The second person was keeping a bit of distance to the front as he was watching the proceedings.

    He is a relatively short man with a stocky build whose appearance is somewhat similar to that of a Mafia boss. He sports an oiled-up and slicked-back hairstyle befitting that of a crime don. His facial features have a very stern look to them further accentuated by his rather sharp but hooking beak-like nose.

    He was wearing a black-and-white pinstriped attire, complete with a green scarf around his neck, with the excess tucked inside the suit. He was also wearing very expensive golden rings with precious stones mounted on them, and all his fingers have them. As for his personal effects, he has a pirate captain''s coat with red and gold trimming and a fedora hat, both of which he only seems to wear for traveling purposes. A cigar was in his mouth.

    These two were Big Mom pirates.

    The first one was named Pekoms and he was a lion mink.

    The second one was named Capon ''Gang'' Bege.

    When Pekoms had just stepped through the gates of Zou he was anxious to say the least. As surrounding him were various levels of destruction.

    Trees were toppled and the ground was unearthed as if a huge battle had taken place.

    So he rushed to the city as fast as he could, ignoring the guards telling him to stop so that they can explain.

    Since he was pursuing the straw-hats he naturally assumed it was their fault that this had happened.

    But when he reached the center of the city he was met by his people.

    And then when he asked them who attacked them he was told it was the beast pirates. And that in fact, they had helped heal their injured. Meanwhile, he was told that the one who saved them was Emperor Ian and his crew.

    This had him shocked a bit. But he rejoiced that his people were safe at the least while vowing to pay the beast pirates back.

    Meanwhile, his companion raised his brows in alarm. Knowing that an emperor was here was troublesome.

    Meanwhile, with the straw-hats, they had seen the commotion and noticed immediately that it was the Big Mom pirates that were after them.

    Sanji clicked his tongue in distaste. This had just gotten complicated. They didn''t want to implicate the Mink''s in their problems after all.

    Just when he was thinking of what to do, he saw Ian''s crewmates come out of the house near them.

    Thoughts swirled in his head for a bit, before he sighed and decided not to bother them with his crew''s problems.

    He knew that they would help absolutely if he asked. And they were strong, he knew that.

    But the fact that the emperor of the sea Big Mom was after them was enough to let him abandon that thought.

    Ian was strong, but he didn''t want him to fight an emperor for them.

    He looked at Brook and made eye contact with him.

    First, he was going to see what they wanted before he makes any decisions. If they were just after Caesar then this would go much easier than he thought.

    But if they were after them due to Luffy picking a fight with her than that was quite problematic.

    So after this, both he and Brook led the way into a distant forest where they were going to have their talk.

    When he and Brook had reached a distance sufficient enough, they stopped.

    Then after a bit of staring off, Sanji decided to speak off.

    "What do you guys want?" He asked with a glare.

    "Don''t cause any trouble here¡­ the people of this country were just in a war. If you need to talk, then talk to me first¡­ If that is not enough then I''m afraid we''ll have to take this to another place out of this country!" Sanji spoke up right after.

    "We are not going to run or hide!" He then said with conviction.

    Pekoms was already planning to thank them up for their help. Since he was told that they had provided healing for the injured.

    And the fact that Sanji was willing to do this for the minks by not implicating them in these problems, even after helping them up, was enough for Pekoms to jump at him and hug him.

    "All I can say is thank you" Pekoms muttered as he was grinding his cheek against Sanji''s face.

    This however left everybody there just shocked. Even Bege.

    "I will also make sure to thank Emperor Ian later!" Pekoms said next after he sat on the ground. Then he lowered his head and thought for a bit. When he looked back at them his features were more serious.

    "Black-Leg, By Mama''s order, we have business other than capturing Caesar! It could spell doom for your crew!" He told Sanji as he started to explain things up.

    "Doom?" Brook muttered.

    "As such I''m going to ask you this, what is your relationship with Emperor Ian?" Pekoms continued on and asked a question.

    Sanji was perplexed at this but still replied anyway.

    "We are friends!" Sanji said. And it was the truth.

    At this, both Bege and Pekoms stayed silent for a bit.

    Before Pekoms said.

    "Then we''ll consider this mission a failure! Just give us Caesar! I''ll tell Mama that we couldn''t do anything since another Emperor was here!" Pekoms said towards them.

    Shocking them all including his companion.

    "Oi, Pekoms did you lose your mind, this is Mama we are talking about!" Bege said.

    Which did make Pekoms grimace but he then turned to Bege and yelled.

    "Shut up newbie, I''ll take all the blame for this! We can''t handle it if an emperor is after us¡­" He said resolutely.

    But his companion disagreed, however.

    "You coward¡­" His eyes were clouded in anger.

    And then he abruptly raised his left hand towards the back of his unsuspecting companion, and bullets started to rain on Pekoms. And blood poured from the wounds opening on his back.

    "AHHHHH"

    This was absolutely shocking to both Sanji and Brook, that Bege would attack someone from his own crew so coldly.

 Chapter 139 - You think im lying?

    After a while of silence, they finally got their bearings back.

    They were in fact so shocked that they were rooted in their own place.

    "He shot his ally in the back!" Sanji said with anger.

    "How horrible!" Brook, the musician skeleton, shared the same view as Sanji.

    A small portal in the hands of Bege closed up!

    But Brook who saw it was not quite sure if he saw it correctly or if he was hallucinating.

    Bege spoke up at that moment.

    "You might not know it, and though he doesn''t look like it, he is a well know pirate!" He said. Talking about the now unconscious Pekoms.

    "But the moment he tried to abandon Mama''s mission, he became just a coward! There is no longer any use for him!" He said in distaste.

    Then he focused his eyes on Sanji and Brook.

    "Mama''s mission, I''ll do it on my own!" He stated.

    "Alright guys, come out!" He ordered. And then just as he finished a drawbridge opened up on his chest.

    Then after which huge numbers of people started to come out and then after passing a certain point in the sky from Bege, their small bodies regained their size, and they started to surround Sanji and Brook in an organized manner.

    The two straw hats barely blinked when they were suddenly surrounded completely with all the people around them pointing their guns at them.

    "What the hell!" Sanji muttered.

    "What kind of ability is that?" He spoke up as he eyed his surroundings warily.

    Brook was finally sure of what he saw earlier when Bege shot Pekoms.

    ''So I saw correctly earlier!'' Brook thought as he too stood there alert.

    Bege proceeded to introduce himself to them.

    "I am a castle human! As I ate the castle-castle devil fruit. I''m regarded in the same generation as your captain! So you obviously know me, right?" He spoke up with a smug grin on his face.

    Sanji glared at him.

    "Capone ''Gang Bege!" he uttered.

    "At that time when Luff punched that celestial asshole, you were there weren''t you?" Sanji questioned him.

    And Bege replied.

    "Yeah, we were forced to waste so much energy at that time thanks to you guys! We could have blown you guys up too in a big show of cannons. However, we are not gonna make a scene here. We don''t want that either!" He said addressing Brook and Sanji.

    "If the minks come here right now, they would definitely take your side. And I know of their prowess in fighting. Not to mention Emperor Ian and his crew!" Bege said.

    Sanji then yelled out.

    "We are not looking for their help in the first place!"

    "I''ll accept anyone''s challenge!" Sanji stated.

    "If you want a fight, we''ll give you one! Oi Brook, we gotta stop them here!" Sanji said, addressing Brook.

    "I agree." Brook gave him a nod.

    And just as Sanji was planning to attack, Bege started laughing.

    "I knew you would be like that!" He said.

    Before he motioned with his hands.

    And then Nami and Chopper came out being held t gunpoint by some guards.

    "Sanji, I''m sorry, we couldn''t help but be curious¡­" Nami apologized.

    "I thought there were only two enemies!" Chopper said too.

    And then Bege called out to Caesar next who fell off a tree.

    "Now that everyone is here! Let''s start." He said.

    And then he added.

    "Rather than stand here outside to talk, get inside my castle." He told them. Rather he ordered them.

    Sanji and Co felt like they were caught in a spider''s web. With no way to escape.

    But just as they were about to do as he asked with no other choice left. Another voice spoke up.

    "I think they would prefer to stay outside!" The voice said.

    And Bege, who had caught Caesar hiding earlier started sweating. This new guy was capable of hiding from him.

    When all of them searched for the owner of the voice, they found him floating in the sky.

    All the members of the Fire Tank pirates crew pointed their weapons to the sky by reflex, but then all of a sudden they started to lower their weapons and point them to the ground.

    "Don''t point those sticks at me, if you don''t want to die!" The person casually remarked.

    And although they tried to ignore his words and again point at him, they felt their weapons were unmovable.

    The person, who by now was identified by the people there as Ian, started floating to the ground until he touched it gently.

    He stood right in front of the straw hats facing Bege.

    "I just came back, and this is what I find¡­ sigh" He sighed.

    He was quite tired mentally from what he had just done and just wanted to relax for today. But he knew that the whole ordeal with big mom was soon to happen so he used his observation Haki as soon as he was back. And voila!

    Although with this, he knew that he was soon going to start on his plan against Big Mom.

    "Alright, recall your troops!" Ian then focused on Bege and ordered.

    Bege furrowed his brows.

    "This is a private matter of the big mom pirates, even someone like you shouldn''t interfere here!" Bege tried to act calmly as he said. But the sweat was apparent on his brows.

    The straw hats flinched at that. They knew it was true.

    "Don''t tell me what I can or can''t do!" Ian calmly spoke up. But this time he snapped his fingers.

    Then suddenly arms started to sprout from the necks of everybody from Bege''s side. The arms were in the motion of twisting the head off.

    "Are you going to recall them or not?" Ian asked once again.

    And was satisfied with the look of fear on Bege''s face. Who then proceeded to recall them all. Ian knew that his crew was already in here, each taking a hiding place and waiting for something to happen.

    Once it was just him standing there. Ian continued speaking.

    "Although you thought you were in control from before, in fact, you were not! Although I had come just now, you could have died any time before even if I didn''t show up!" Ian told him.

    But the snort heard from Bege implied that he was not believing him at all.

    "Oh, you think I''m lying?" Ian laughed as he asked him. Then he snapped his fingers once again.

    And this time it was followed by a very fast bullet that no one can dodge.

    Said bullet passed by Bege''s face and injured him in the cheeks.

    Leaving him sweating bullets. He now knew that he was indeed at the risk of dying anytime. The worst of it was that he didn''t know where the hidden sniper was. He then remembered that one of Ian''s crewmates was in fact a sniper. The girl was so skilled that even an admiral was unable to guard against her. And that was two years ago¡­

    Then he realized that it was foolish of him to think that Ian''s crew would not notice him.

    He looked at the unconscious Pekoms and realized that it might have been good to do as he said and just leave. Too bad there was nothing he could do now.

    Even the straw hats were shocked to know that someone was hiding in the shadows and was on their side. They understood that it would be Ian''s crew.

    In fact, they knew that Robin''s ability was the one that held those soldiers. And most likely Elene was the hidden sniper.

    They couldn''t help but be thankful, with Sanji promising to thank them well later with what he is known for best. Cooking. This was something he knew that even Ian would quite like. So he was sure the others would be satisfied.

    "Now then, what is your purpose with the straw-hats here?" Ian then questioned Bege as he directed his gaze towards him.

 Chapter 140 - Now you can f.u.c.k off!

    At hearing that question of Ian, Sanji saw fit to tell him about Pekoms and what he had said before he was shot in the back earlier.

    "Ian, that guy lying there unconscious is his crewmate. He said that their first goal was to get Caesar to Big Mom. But he also said they had another goal here. But he was willing to go back without any conflict since he knew you were here, and that we helped his people. That is until his sc.u.m of a crewmate shot him in the back! And decided to proceed!" Sanji explained.

    Ian raised a brow and looked at Pekoms for a bit. As far as he knew this guy was somewhat good, even though he was part of the big mom pirates. So he made a mental note to heal him later.

    He then looked at Bege.

    "What is this second goal of yours?" Ian questioned him.

    Bege tried to think of something to say, but in the end, just sighed and brought out an envelope.

    "I was asked to give this to Black-Leg!" He said. And then threw the invitation towards him.

    "It''s an invitation to Mama''s tea party!" He added.

    "Cut the crap! Why would I want to go to a stupid tea party?" Sanji asked annoyed.

    At this, a smug grin was plastered over Bege''s face even while knowing that Ian was here.

    "The highlight of this tea party is a wedding!" Bege said grinning.

    And when Sanji replied with "Screw it!" Bege knew he had him now.

    "The groom, in this wedding, is the third son of the Vinsmoke family, Sanji!" Bege''s statement was, met with shocks from all around. Except for Ian and Elene.

    Who already knew that.

    But for the rest, this was new to them.

    All the straw-hats, excluding Sanji, yelled out loudly in shock.

    Bege seemingly ignoring them continued on with that same smug look on his face.

    A look that Ian promised he would help him get rid of, right after he finishes.

    "The bride is the thirty-five daughter of the Charlotte Family, Pudding!" He said.

    Again the straw-hats screamed out loudly.

    They couldn''t imagine that their friend and crewmate was somehow roped into a marriage.

    But the most shocked of them all was Sanji.

    This had brought out some very unpleasant memories to his mind.

    He was so shocked that even his cigarette fell off his mouth.

    Bege was about to start gloating completely forgetting where he was when all of a sudden a chill went up his spine.

    Turning his eyes towards the source he saw Ian glaring at him, so he wisely chose to just keep his mouth shut.

    "Who the hell made the decision without even consulting me?" Sanji asked furiously.

    But nobody answered him. Still, it was obvious that he knew that answer himself.

    Ian asked him.

    "You are part of the vinsmoke family?" He asked testing the waters.

    His reply was just a nod.

    "A long time ago!" He said.

    And Ian left it at that. He didn''t press him on the matter.

    Caesar at the back had been explaining to the straw hats about the Charlotte surname. And the repercussions of Sanji marrying into them.

    But then Sanji butted in.

    "Don''t jump to conclusions!" He said.

    "I''m under no obligation to go to such a tea party!" He said in distaste.

    His wedding? Marrying a woman he doesn''t know? How ridiculous!

    He threw the invitation back at Bege.

    "And our captain is not the type that would work under someone else anyways!" Sanji said.

    "He is the person who would become the pirate king!" He declared.

    With his crewmates nodding their heads.

    Bege''s reply was just a snort.

    Meanwhile, Ian just smiled at that.

    Sanji discreetly was relieved to see Ian not getting angry at that. After all, he was also a pirate. And he might want to become the pirate king himself.

    Bege by this point had given up on taking Sanji by force but there was still one card left that he could play.

    "Black-leg. You cannot refuse this wedding. If you do, you will end up regretting it!" He yelled out. He could threaten Sanji to come willingly. That was his plan at first, although he had wanted to rough him up a bit first¡­ but Since Ian was here he settled for just threatening him.

    But then Ian looked at him and he shut up.

    "You¡­ You have delivered the invitation, now you can f.u.c.k off!" That was all he managed to hear before all of a sudden Ian appeared near him and swung his sheathed sword at him throwing him directly to the sky very¡­ very far away from Zou.

    Would he survive that? Who knows.

    Ian was already getting irritated, and this asshole still kept smiling smugly in front of him so he was getting on his nerves.

    Ian took a breath and looked at Sanji.

    "Sanji, I''ll tell you what he was going to say!" Ian assured him as he saw he was getting worried.

    "He was going to say that Big Mom would send you the head of someone close to you in a box! And yes they would know about any person close to you like that!" In the end, Ian addressed them all with that last line.

    "Don''t underestimate an emperor of the sea," Ian said.

    When Sanji started panicking about whether they knew about Zeff or not, Ian added.

    "However, you can relax," Ian spoke confidently.

    "I happen to know about Germa 66! And if I know them well enough, I can confidently say they are still going to go with this wedding. But when they hear about you being friends with me, the groom will no longer be you!" Ian confidently stated.

    "Listen Sanji, I know what is probably going through your mind. You think you should not implicate your crew in your problems, but if you leave the crew thinking you are protecting them you''ll just be making a mistake. You know your captain best, but I can confidently say that he would absolutely follow you towards Big Mom. At that time he would probably anger her and she would then do what she threatened you with, and the whole point of you acting alone would have served no purpose!" Ian told him calmly.

    "But¡­" Ian dragged his words. "You don''t have to worry about Big Mom, let''s just say that she won''t be doing anything to any of your families, in case it resulted in a clash with another emperor! It just would not be worth it! Later I''ll be giving the old man whitebeard a call to join me in warning her, so you can rest assured and don''t do anything rash! Wait for your captain first and discuss things with him!" Ian said.

    He knew that his word alone to Big Mom would just be like an insult to her since she would feel he was not yet at her level. But a call from both him and Whitebeard? Yeah, no one would dare do anything after that.

    Sanji closed his eyes for a second. Truthfully as he heard about the danger Zeff could be in, he knew that he might have to make a hard choice and leave the crew just like Ian guessed.

    He was already implicating the whole crew with his family problems, and now even Zeff¡­ but at Ian''s words, he somewhat calmed down. There was no way Big Mom would pick a fight with two emperors.

    He releases the breath he didn''t know he was holding. And then he reached for a new cigarette and lighted it up.

    "Would the old man agree?" Sanji asked after a few seconds.

    "I saved his son. Not to mention that said son is your captain''s brother!" Ian replied with a grin.

    And at that Sanji gave a smile.

    "Now just sit back and wait for your crewmates to all gather and discuss everything. At that time I''ll find you to discuss what we do from here on after!" Ian told him before he started to leave with his crew and the straw-hats following him.

    Ian knew that he had changed a lot of things with this, but at this point, he couldn''t care less.

 Chapter 141 - Intruders!

    New world.

    On Zou.

    In Ian''s room in the house, they were given by the minks.

    Ian was laying down on the bed with a happy smile on his face, with Elene and Robin on each side of him lying on his shoulders.

    They were sleeping peacefully while Ian had already woken up a while ago now.

    Nothing happened the last night, they were just sleeping cuddled with him.

    Right now he was thinking of what happened the last week that led to this day.

    That''s right, a whole week had already passed since the whole ordeal with Bege and Sanji''s revelation of his family.

    That day when they had finished their discussion, Ian had made true on his promise and gave the old man Whitebeard a call to tell him that he would be visiting.

    And then when he went there another feast was thrown for his sake.

    After which he discussed with the old man everything that happened so far.

    The two of them were regularly in contact, so the old man knew that Kong was part Di¨¢voloi, and was shocked, to say the least. Ian had also told him from before about Im. And also about Dragon''s aspirations.

    Ian also saw Ace as he was now, and he couldn''t help but be impressed.

    Whitebeard had told Ian that Ace wanted to train so that nothing like before can happen again.

    And unlike what the whole world was saying about Ace, right now, saying that he wants to become the pirate king with the help of whitebeard to succeed his father Roger, Ace didn''t want to do so at all.

    Rather he still wanted the old man to become the pirate king even with the old man himself telling him that he was already old for that.

    Still, Ian gauged his strength to be quite high right now. Which was something he had approved of, as that meant that Ace finally was worthy of the position of a commander of the whitebeard pirates.

    Then Ian had discussed with the old man about warning Big Mom. And told him that he would be making a move against her in the near future. For Elene''s dream, and for the Road Poneglyph. And also to hunt some certain people.

    Although he had said that he wouldn''t be getting out of his way to reach the last island in a fast way, when events line up like this for him he would of course take them in stride.

    And whitebeard had agreed, so they both called her and told her to not take any action on the family members of the straw-hats or the outcome would be undesirable for them all.

    Whitebeard didn''t mind doing this, after all, Linlin was one of his crewmates a long time ago and knew how strong and protective he was, and he didn''t mind doing this for Ian who helped him up so much. Not to mention that even if Big Mom was pissed off, she still wouldn''t be able to do anything to him.

    She had been furious, to say the least at them openly threatening her as she started to yell over the telephone that she would destroy them both, although both of knew that she did not mean it and that she would calm down, but Ian was not done with her, and had told her that he would be visiting her too sometime near as he had something to discuss with her.

    That was enough to calm her, as she imagined that she would at that time show him his place. And if possible even make him work for her. As he was quite strong from what she had seen.

    After that, he left the ship of the old man and got back to Zou to rejoin his crew.

    And after informing the straw-hats of what had happened, they were finally relieved and could relax.

    As even though they were still under her wrath, at least there would be no underhanded tricks targeting their families. As to them, they already accepted that their captain Luffy in his quest was going to have a lot of enemies.

    Another thing the straw-hats were relieved about was the information Ian had gotten via an invitation from Big Mom to her tea party.

    This information was that the groom for the political wedding between the Vinsmoke''s and the Charlotte family was changed.

    It now listed Vinsmoke Yonji as the groom. Which was the fourth child of the family.

    Which had lifted a huge weight off the shoulder of Sanji.

    He had since then looked at Ian with a gratitude-filled gaze.

    Another thing of major importance was that Dragon had given Ian a call, and asked him for confirmation if he really did take out Kong and killed him. Which Ian confirmed.

    He knew that Dragon had spies among the world government able to get him this info.

    Since then, nothing major happened.

    With Ian taking the girls on dates to every place he somewhat knew they would like.

    He had been enjoying his time with them, and they did too.

    Meanwhile, the straw-hats were still waiting for their crewmates, which were bound to come anytime soon now.

    Moving a bit Ian left the bed as quietly as he could, to not wake the girls up.

    And then he went to take a shower before he started to cook them some light breakfast for when they woke up.

    By the time he was close to finishing, the girls woke up and took showers, and joined him at the table while he was setting the things down.

    "Good morning!?? He spoke up with a small smile.

    "Morning!"

    "G''morning!"

    Both girls replied to him with their own smiles.

    Elene was overly excited the past few days and had been sparring with Ian and Robin regularly to prepare for her fight against big mom, which was quite near in the future.

    And Ian was quite supportive of her at the time, as he encouraged her and helped her up to come up with new techniques.

    She was happy he was there in her life. To have someone you love to support you on your dream, was something everyone wishes for, but few ever get.

    Her dream was to become the strongest woman in the world. Which granted, was quite a hard thing to do, but Ian had said she was ready.

    Even when she questioned herself if she was worthy of that title, both Ian and Robin had said that she was the only one worthy that they knew of.

    That had managed to bring her confidence back to full.

    "Are we going to have another spar today?" Elene asked them both.

    Robin gave a nod as she said.

    "If you want to then I''m all up for it." She told her.

    She knew that she was not as strong as Elene but she didn''t mind. All she had ever wanted was to have a place where she belongs, and have the strength to defend herself and her family.

    As such she would not feel any bad about Elene being superior to her. In fact, she was helping her spar and prepare for the fight with a smile every day. Happy for her friend and sister to be close to achieving her dream.

    Ian thought for a bit and then nodded.

    "Sure. Why not?" he said.

    But then all of a sudden a warning bell was rung throughout the Kingdome.

    And Ian and co wondered what it was about. Before Ian remembered how Luffy entered the country in the anime. And he grinned.

    So as they had already finished eating they went outside, and the first thing they heard was loud voices yelling intruders.

    "Intruder, intruder! We have an intruder!"

    Ian was sure now.

    The remaining straw hats had finally reached Zou.

 Chapter 142 - A mission

    On the day that Ian had taken Kong with him from Marijois to that island so that they can fight.

    The world government had entered a high level of alertness due to Ian being able to invade them quite easily two times now. And he had even managed to kidnap their own chief commander Kong.

    The first time it could be said that Im was confident in her abilities and knew that Ian would not dare show up again after the last time she showed him a glimpse of her true prowess.

    But the fact that he did so regardless, and had taken one of her top officers with him at that, had her on high alert. Not to mention rage.

    Rage, that he would dare stand against her again and again.

    Not to mention she did not understand the message Ian was trying to give her.

    Was he declaring war against the world government? Was he telling her that he''ll take her top officers one by one from now on?

    Or was this just a threat on his part? Or could this all be related to something else?

    All these thoughts were making her angrier by the second.

    So she had called for the five elders to come to the throne room.

    She then ordered them.

    "Send our assassins after him! And two admirals too. Make sure that one of them is Kizaru! I want him to be killed! This Ian had been standing in my way for too long!" She had ordered the elders kneeling in front of her.

    She knew that the assassin alone would not be enough at all against someone like Ian. But since she knew that that would not be enough¡­

    So she ordered two of the marine admirals to go with those assassins.

    Said admirals were Kizaru and Fujitora.

    Of course, this was all done by her proxy, the elders. Who had scurried around to deliver the orders themselves.

    ****

    Fujitora was a man of honor, but even he cannot disagree with an order from the five elders.

    As such as he was summoned along with his fellow admiral Kizaru to their chambers, he knew he had to come as fast as possible.

    Sharing a look with his colleague, Fujitora had noticed that he was wearing a perplexed look on his face under his visage of laziness.

    Fujitora concluded that even he did not know what they were summoned for.

    Not to mention that not every day did an admiral meet the five elders. Even their boss didn''t do that so often.

    So he braced himself to be ordered to do something he would not normally do¡­

    But to his surprise, the five elders had just one order.

    "Kill Ian Louis with the help of Kong!"

    And that had somewhat surprised the two admirals before they gave a nod of affirmation and went on their way.

    Kizaru understood his job now that it was explained.

    Since he was the fastest person alive possibly, he went ahead of Fujitora to try to stall against Ian.

    ****

    Im was confident that with this they would be able to work with Kong and kill Ian Louis once and for all.

    As to where to send them, she had been alerted to the presence of Kong on an island that was quite far and would take them a day of travel to reach. With the exception of Kizaru, the fastest person they had who would be able to reach that place fast.

    Still, she thought that Kong would be able to hold himself long enough for Kizaru and reinforcements to come and help him.

    But then just after the assassins and admirals had sailed out, she found her connection was severed.

    She knew what that had meant.

    And she went on a rampage destroying chairs desks, and the like.

    Kong had died. He didn''t even manage to last long enough for Kizaru to join him in the fight.

    "IMPOSSIBLE¡­ impossible¡­ impossible¡­ impossible" She kept muttering angrily to herself.

    There was no way Kong can die that easily. Unless Ian Louis was extremely strong and he was hiding his real strength. Otherwise, she knew for a fact that no one can progress that fast.

    Ian Louis was standing in her way at every turn. And now she knew that his strength had reached a high level. For him to be able to kill Kong as fast as he did.

    Even some of the five elders, who held strength as much as an admiral, would not be able to do anything against him now. And even with the abilities, she had given them¡­

    She knew that against real strength, no tricks could work.

    Still, there were many things she could do now¡­

    ****

    Since then two days had passed.

    And the admirals had gotten back. Sadly they weren''t even able to acquire Kong''s body.

    The two admirals had given their reports about what happened.

    And then the elder''s proceeded towards their sovereign Im''s throne room to give their own report.

    Along the way, they conversed with sweat on their foreheads.

    The one with a scar on his face started.

    "We need to find out who leaked the info!" he stated. Although there was visible anger in his eyes.

    The info he was talking about, was the information about the kidnapping of Kong.

    Somehow, someone had leaked this, and now it had already started to spread around the world that Ian Louis the fifth emperor of the sea, had infiltrated the world government by himself and had managed to kidnap their chief commander, who until now was still not confirmed if he was dead or alive.

    The fact that this news was heavily guarded left no other option than spies being among their ranks.

    The elder with the long white hair hummed and nodded.

    "Indeed! We can''t let traitors be among us! It appears we had been quite lax in the past!" He spoke up.

    His fellow elders gave nods.

    And then the bald elder started speaking.

    "We have definitely been lax, otherwise we wouldn''t be going to deliver reports about two consecutive failures to sovereign Im" He muttered regretfully.

    First of all, the news of Kong''s kidnapping by Ian was soon going to be public knowledge. And then they had failed to retrieve even the body of Kong. Not to mention that their goal was to kill Ian.

    The others shared pained looks.

    They had failed her. And they were most assuredly in for a punishment. A rather brutal punishment.

    All of them shuddered.

    The youngest of them and the healthiest looking one couldn''t help himself as spoke up quietly.

    "Shouldn''t we postpone this information for a while? At the very least until our next report to Sovereign Im?" He asked them.

    Giving two reports of their failures was sure to guarantee them a painful time with her.

    The oldest looking of them all who was wearing glasses, glared at him at that as he raised his voice.

    "You fool. Do you think the sovereign wouldn''t know that? Then what happens when she does? Keep your mouth shut when it can only utter such idiotic things!" He yelled at him for even suggesting such a thing.

    The young elder lowered his head in shame. Not soon after thinking of what the eldest elder had told him, did he understand that his plan had guaranteed that at the least one of them would die. It was not beyond doubt that Im would kill one of them if that was the case.

    All the time they had been walking towards her throne room.

    When they reached the room, they entered and just like usual went to kneel at the very bottom of the stairs leading to the throne.

    "Sovereign Im. We have things to report!" the glasses-wearing elder spoke up.

    His voice steady and calm, despite the sweat rolling on his brows.

    "You may proceed!" She calmly ordered him.

    She had had two days to calm down and had come up with many plans to deal with Ian.

    The elder then proceeded to report everything up.

    All along Im stayed silent.

    But after a while, she just gave a nod.

    "I knew that he was dead the moment our troops had set out. I sensed it. However, I need you to take care of the spies'' among us as soon as possible." She ordered.

    The elders gave silent nods.

    "As towards Ian Louis¡­ An order to kill on sight would be invoked against him. Admirals would be tasked to search for him and stay alert towards any action he does. If found, they are to engage him immediately. Furthermore two of you¡­" Next she ordered them to start taking action against Ian Louis.

    The list of things was long to do.

    And by the end of the meeting, the only two elders that left the throne room, had looks of determination on their faces as they completely ignored the yells of pain coming from behind them.

    They had a mission to do!

 Chapter 143 - Notice!

    Hey guys!

    Well, for a few weeks, I have been working furiously with what little spare time I have to write extra chapters to put them on my p.atreon for any who wish to read them and support me!

    This means advance chapters ahead of the release schedule on !

    I have seen other authors do it, and frankly, I figured that I wouldn''t be getting anything if I didn''t give back.

    So once again if you want advance chapters ahead of my release schedule in here (on ), check it out!

    The release schedule would not change for the public release and the novel would still be free! This notice only concerns anyone who wishes to read ahead and support me!

    If you chose to do so, then thank you in advance :)

 Chapter 144 - The straw-hats reach Zou!

    [A/N: I just want to say one thing! I suck at retelling things that had already happened. I find it easier when I go off cannon just like I usually do with Ian!]

    The remaining straw hats had spent the day climbing up Zou. And now they were finally there. There was Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Nojiko, and Franky.

    There were also other people with them.

    The first was Law. Next to him was Kin''emon and Kanjuro.

    And when they had all reached the top, they had not found any guards or whatsoever, so in a typical fashion, just like usual, Luffy jumped up ahead of the rest into the guard post and from there jumped inside the forest and had gotten lost.

    "OI! Luffy, wait up!" Usopp yelled after Luffy. He was about to run after him when he felt a chill go up his spine.

    Turning around robotically, he found a rather beautiful girl cleaning her Gun with a cloth as she smiled sweetly at him.

    This was Nojiko.

    She had become prettier than before. Her hair was longer and her hourglass became more pronounced just like her sister Nami.

    She was holding two guns at her waist, along with the rifle she was cleaning.

    "Gulp!" Usopp settled back into staying with the group quietly.

    Meanwhile, Franky couldn''t help but tell him.

    "Even so you call yourself a man?" He spoke as he took a pose.

    But the same chill went up his spine so he quickly added.

    "You should at the least apologies!" He said.

    And then the both of them said they were sorry towards Nojiko.

    While Zoro and Law just shook their heads at their antics.

    They had been walking and were about to pass the gate.

    Then all of a sudden both Law and Zoro tensed up as they put their hands on their swords.

    From the bushes, two minks jumped up at them already holding their swords.

    "Who are you, people? And what is your plan here?" the first one, a horse mink, questioned them.

    The second one, a fox mink just glared at them, keeping silent.

    Everyone there had already heard that the minks were a bloodthirsty race, so they prepared to fight.

    But.

    Nojiko being the kind-hearted person she is raised her hands in surrender as she spoke up.

    "Wait, wait, we are not here to fight! We are just searching for our friends!" She spoke up.

    "Friends?" The horse mink turned to look at his friend for a bit before he turned towards them again.

    "Who are these friends of yours?" He asked her.

    Nojiko gave a nod.

    "Our crewmates. We are pirates! And our crew''s name is the straw-hats!" She said proudly.

    At that, the guards visibly relaxed.

    "So you are friends with Nami and the rest, you should have just said so." The horse mink sheathed his sword as he came a bit forward.

    His friend nodded.

    "Now that I think about it, they did say their crewmates were going to be coming soon!" He said.

    Zoro and Law both relaxed their guards, but they were still alert for anything out of the normal.

    Seeing that the straw-hats and co were still wary a bit, he told them.

    "Since I can see that you are still wary of us, we''ll lead you to your friends and they will explain everything to you!" He said.

    "You would? Thank you so much!" Nojiko replied happily to them.

    Even though they were still wary of them they decided that they would follow for now and stay alert.

    Meanwhile from the side of the minks, they had wanted to lead them so that no confusion can be made as opposed to if they had gone alone were they would have been called intruders.

    Then one of them the horse mink jumped up to the watchtower, meanwhile, the second started leading through the forest. As he was giving them a brief description of the mink people and the Kingdome.

    After a while of walking, shouts and warning sounds were heard.

    The guard couldn''t hear what the shouts were saying so he started running to get closer faster.

    The straw-hats and the rest shared looks before they sprinted after them. They knew it would most definitely be related to their captain.

    After a while, the guard stopped when the shouts became apparent.

    "Intruder¡­ Intruder¡­"

    The guard then looked at Zoro''s group in question. Silently asking them if this was related to them.

    "Cough¡­ that would be our idiotic captain!" Nojiko was the one to reply. Saving the others the trouble.

    "Oh?" The mink person asked them.

    "He had jumped to explore before you came up!" She explained to him.

    "In that case, there is nothing to worry about!" He replied.

    He smiled at her and then started running again.

    When they reached the city, they were finally able to see the buildings and the various mink people.

    There were a lot of people and they were all gathering around a few people.

    One of them they recognized as Luffy.

    The second one who was hugging him, they immediately saw that it was Nami.

    Then they also saw Sanji, Chopper, and Brook. They were all surrounding Luffy and talking with him.

    There was also a huge dog mink person standing there with who they knew to be Ian, but since they saw Nami and the rest there chatting happily they ignored them and went to the talk with their friends.

    Zoro did smile at Ian before he joined the rest, however.

    Another thing was how Law''s crewmates joined him as soon as they noticed the commotion and saw him.

    And just like that, the straw-hats were now fully present, and everything can finally start.

    Ian watched as the straw-hats hugged each other and linked arms in the case of the guys.

    He was happy for them.

    Still, with this, it meant that now everything can finally start working.

    Of course, they would be given a few days to accustom to everything. Where thing would be explained to them about everything that happened so far.

    But after that Ian was going to call them and discuss things with them.

    At some point in time, Ian had noted the presence of Nekomamushi who was moving in towards them. Since this was day time he didn''t think the cat would be here. This meant that the two were bound to fight when they see each other. Although they had been united when Jack came up, there was no threat to the country now.

    Ian then noticed that Momo who was in his dragon form was there standing next to Kin''emon and Kanjuro.

    They were happily chatting among themselves with them having been worried about him all the while. But it appeared that all that worrying had not been necessary.

    At that, he understood that Nekomamushi had been alerted just like Inuarashi to the presence of samurais.

    Then all of a sudden, Nekomamushi jumped up towards them!

    And at that Ian knew that the peaceful quiet was done.

    There was no way those two would stop their fighting. Unless¡­

    Unless things happened just like in the anime, where Momo had told them to stop fighting.

    Well, Ian was not sure about it though, so many things had already been changed already¡­

 Chapter 145 - The heir of Kozuki Oden

    Inuarashi had been watching on the reunion of the straw-hats with a calm smile on his face.

    But then he turned to the side and was shocked.

    As soon as Inuarashi saw the cat Nekomamushi jump up in front of them, he flared up in anger. This was not the time for the cat to be here after all.

    He was the ruler of the day and it was currently daytime.

    He had all forgotten that he was told that samurais had reached the country earlier in his anger. He had even forgotten that Ian was next to him.

    "Why are you here? You monster cat? Can''t you see that it''s still daytime?" he spoke up angrily as he started walking towards him, with his musketeers trying to stop him as they too had noticed Nekomamushi.

    Meanwhile, the so-called cat monster turned towards him too and finally noticed him which made his eyes widen. Still, he just snorted at him in response.

    "In the first place, this country doesn''t need two rulers and that stupid day-night ruling time!" Since it was indeed his fault for coming at daytime which was not in their agreement, this was all he could say in retaliation to the dog''s words. His guardian''s trying to stop him couldn''t even slow him down when he too started to walk towards the dog.

    Also forgetting about everything around them just like Inuarashi.

    By now even the straw-hats were paying attention to this and had stopped their reunion short.

    Inuarashi gave a nod showing he agreed with the cat viper.

    "Indeed! How about we fix that short problem right now?" He told him as he unsheathed his sword.

    And the cat viper replied yes as he twirled his spear around his hands.

    Then both of them jumped up at each other and met in the sky their weapons clashing and electricity flying around, which had, in the end, resulted in a shockwave that threw their people around and raised a cloud of dust.

    The straw-hats were shocked at this display of strength.

    Then a sudden yell had managed to make them both stop momentarily.

    "Please stop fighting!" Kin''emon yelled as he said.

    And then he had started walking towards them with his friend Kanjuro next to him.

    The straw-hats who had been hiding Momo all this time tried to do the same towards Kin''emon but it was too late. They knew that the country was attacked by samurais, and Kin''emon was one. They could not see how this would go on any other way than them fighting.

    The two rulers were surprised for a bit before they recognized that this person was a samurai which jolted their memory about why they were both here in the first place.

    And then they too started walking closer to them with their people following behind them.

    "People from the country of Zou! I am a retainer of the Kozuki clan from the land of Wano, named Kin''emon!" Kin''emon introduced himself.

    "I''m here to look for my comrade, Raizo, who is a warrior from the same country. Has he been here?!" He finally asked this question.

    The two rulers had finally stopped walking and sat on the ground in front of them.

    Then, after a bit of silence, they proudly and with smiles spoke up in unison.

    "We have been expecting you! Raizo is safe!" they said. Emotions laying heavily in their voices.

    And then all people there opened their eyes widely in shock. Including the straw-hats.

    Kin''emon shared a look with his friend Kanjuro and his lord Momo.

    They were all smiling there.

    Before he turned toward the two rulers and happily replied.

    "Oh! He''s safe? I''m relieved!" He told them with a smile.

    Since he had just gotten here he didn''t know that Jack had attacked them and that Ian had saved them.

    As such Inuarashi proceeded to explain.

    "We had been under attack by Jack who was searching for him, however, that attack failed, thanks to Emperor Ian!" He told them.

    At that both Kanjuro and Kin''emon who had not known this like the straw-hats who had spent a few days here, widened their eyes, before looking at Ian.

    They both bowed towards him.

    "I''m deeply grateful to you!??? He spoke up towards Ian who only waved his hands in response, and then they turned towards the two rulers and bowed again.

    Next to speak was surprisingly Nekomamushi.

    "Captain Ian, I''m sorry for keeping this a secret from you! But the land of Wano''s Kozuki''s family and we have been like family since way back! No matter what happens we''ll never betray our friends!" He too bowed his head along with Inuarashi.

    Ian''s response this time was a shake of his head as he said.

    "It''s nothing, don''t mention it!" He told them.

    He was not bothered at the least. After all, it was their secret, not his. But since the minks were loyal beyond doubt, they were feeling quite torn at hiding this from an ally and friend.

    "Let me say this again! I''m deeply grateful to you all!" Kin''emon was touched by what they said so he bowed to them again.

    The two rulers smiled at him.

    Then as he saw this he too shared a smile with them before he turned around and dropped his kimono to the waist.

    "Now as proof, I offer you this!" He spoke up.

    And this managed to surprise them all, except the two rulers.

    Then the two casually started to speak with each other, before Ian was joined with Luffy and co.

    "Ian it''s been a long time!" Luffy said in greeting as he shook hands with him.

    Ian too said.

    "Indeed it has! I heard that you have gotten stronger, and managed to beat up Doflamingo! That''s quite amazing!" Ian told him.

    And Luffy laughed happily as he scratched the back of his head.

    "Yes, I did!" He laughed.

    Ian greeted Zoro, Franky, and Usopp who were smiling at them.

    After that Luffy suddenly started speaking.

    "I heard that you have helped my crew. Although I still don''t know what you did exactly, I can only say I''m deeply grateful!" Luffy said towards him with a serious look.

    Nami and Sanji nodded their heads, as Sanji spoke up.

    "He really did save our asses!" He told them emotionally. While promising to explain later.

    "Don''t mention it. What are friends for?" Ian gently laughed as he said.

    "Oh by the way, when things are explained to you all, I would like to talk to you about what to do from there!" Ian told them.

    And they gave nods.

    Then all of a sudden yelling started to draw their attention.

    When they turned their eyes to the side they were met with the two rulers on the brink of a fight and Momo the little guy admonishing them about their fighting. Stating that it would make his father sad and that they used to be good friends.

    This perplexed them as Kin''emon was just there at the side.

    Then under the astonished eyes of the straw-hats, the two rulers kneeled on the ground asking for forgiveness.

    Then Kanjuro and Kin''emon each took a side to Momo and stood there.

    Kin''emon proceeded to explain to the straw hats that he was in fact not the father of Momonosuke.

    He then loudly announced.

    "This child here, is the heir to Lord Kozuki Oden, daimyo of Kuri in Wano country! His name is¡­ Lord Kozuki Momonosuke! That means to us he is our Lord!" He said.

    And then silence permeated the surroundings at this!

 Chapter 145 - Bertâ€™s request

    Kin''emon proceeded to apologize for a second time for keeping this from the straw-hats, who had been a massive help to them.

    But they just told him that it was fine.

    Then Momonosuke came up himself and started to apologize before he got into a brawl with Luffy and then took comfort in Nami''s bosom¡­ much to the ire of every male there¡­

    The two rulers agreed on some pack between them so that they won''t bother their lord.

    And then under the stares of their whole people, they linked their arms, making them cheer.

    What happened after that was something that Ian was quite surprised about.

    Zunesha, the giant elephant had sprayed water on the sky, which resulted in rainbow forming.

    Ian filed that for later.

    Because right now, the two mink leaders were leading everyone towards the road Poneglyph.

    Truthfully Ian didn''t think that it would be so easy.

    Ian had originally only two goals for coming to Zou. The first was of course for Bert. But the second was for the Poneglyph and the friendship of the minks. But now that he saw that rainbow, a third goal appeared in his mind.

    Still, he would leave that to later. Right now his second goal was about to be fulfilled.

    At the side, Sanji was filling the straw-hats about all that had happened so far in Zou. Meanwhile, Ian had officially met Law, and they shared a few words.

    ****

    As such, they left the place and headed towards the Poneglyph.

    Ian was a bit surprised when Bert had brought with him a cat mink woman towards their group.

    Bert for the last while had not been sleeping with them in the house. Only Stella still did.

    Bert had been sleeping in his girlfriend''s house.

    This particular cat girl was quite fun to be around apparently as Bert had been spending a lot of time with her.

    Her name was Akemi. And Ian had been waiting for Bert to come forward and introduce her to them.

    As even though he knew that they all knew about her. He had still not decided to formally introduce her.

    Which was hard for the girls since they had met her multiple times and had to act as if they don''t know her beforehand.

    But now they were finally about to be introduced.

    Bert finally spoke up.

    "Captain Ian, I want to discuss something with you? It''s quite serious." Bert started.

    His eyes closed as he took a deep breath.

    Obviously what he wanted to say was quite hard.

    They had been quite near the groups so Ian told him to follow.

    And after going a bit to the side, just far enough for the rest to not hear them, they all stopped.

    But then after waiting for Bert to speak for a bit, Ian noticed that he was struggling to say what was on his mind.

    This made Ian sigh as he jumped to a conclusion and started speaking for him.

    "You have gotten too attached to her right?" Ian stated as he looked between the two of them.

    He knew that this could as well be a possibility.

    Ever since Bert started going out with her, this thought had been on his mind.

    And now it had turned out to be true.

    Bert might be leaving the crew! Since he might want to spend his time with his girl peacefully.

    Ian watched as Bert nodded his head. Although on the inside Bert didn''t know what it had to do with what he was going to say.

    "I feel like she is the one for me!" he told Ian passionately. As he grabbed her hands. Minks were not as embarrassed about their mates as humans. So the cat mink replicated the gesture.

    The girls cooed at that. Never did they imagine Bert to have it in him.

    Ian was happy for him but was still somewhat sad about letting him go. However, a stable life was better than the dangerous journey Ian was going on.

    "Then I will not make this hard for you Bert!" Ian stated again.

    Leaving not only Bert perplexed but Even Elene, Stella, and Robin.

    Ian then took a deep breath before he spoke up again.

    "If you want to leave the crew, then you don''t have to worry about us! I can never restrict you! You are free to do as you want from now on Bert! You don''t need my permission for this! Go and enjoy your time with your girl, my friend!" Ian told him with a tired voice.

    Bert for his part was shocked.

    Never did he expect Ian to say that. He didn''t know whether to be moved or what to do.

    "What?" Stella asked shocked. "Bert is leaving the crew?" She couldn''t imagine that. He was with her since way back.

    Even Elene and Robin were somewhat put off with this. They looked at Bert in questioning.

    But he was so overwhelmed that he forgot to speak.

    Still, as she saw him keeping silent, Akemi was the one who spoke up to Ian.

    "Wait, wait! It''s not that! You got it all wrong!" She said.

    And when Ian turned to her perplexed. Bert finally got his bearings back.

    "Do you really want to get rid of me that easily?" Bert spoke up somewhat annoyed.

    Again his answer was Ian staring at him in confusion.

    "You didn''t want to leave the crew to be with her?" Ian questioned him.

    This was what he had believed after all.

    "NO!" Bert yelled at him.

    Which surprised Ian somewhat. He didn''t expect that his assumption was wrong.

    "Although I appreciate that you didn''t restrict my freedom¡­ I really do, but it''s not why I wanted to talk to you today!" Bert said.

    "Of course I would not restrict you guys. You are my family!" Ian stated in a matter-of-fact manner.

    Bert smiled at Ian for his words. Those words were worth more than even gold.

    Elene and co too shared a small smile. That was so like Ian.

    "But then what did you want to talk about?" Ian then asked perplexed.

    "Well, as you know Akemi is quite strong since she is a Mink, and if you had not helped me, she would be even faster than me, plus she had mastered her sulong form which is something that makes her quite dangerous to her enemies, and the Moon''s limitation is not a problem anymore¡­ however she is not as strong as us¡­ well what I''m trying to say, is that I want her to¡­ well not just me she too wants that¡­ but anyway I want her to join our crew! That is what I wanted to talk to you about! Goddamn it this was so hard to say, sigh!" Bert started speaking and explaining about the strength of Akemi his girlfriend and he kept getting around the subject until finally, he managed to spit it out. And then cursed at the difficulty of saying it.

    Akemi by the side giggled at him.

    At this Ian started to think for a bit!

    But after a while, he gave him a nod.

    "Sure! Why not?" He said with a smile with Bert soon sharing a smile himself.

    Ian then added.

    "Do you guys have any problem with that?" He asked the rest. But they all shook their heads.

    "And you are sure you want to join us?" Ian asked Akemi.

    In truth, he did not think that he would be getting another family member so soon.

    There were some in mind that he was planning to let join, but this was a positive surprise.

    "Yes!" this was her reply. But inside she was quite happy. She was quite the adventurous type, and she couldn''t imagine a better crew to be with, than this one. All the while being with the man she likes.

    "Well then, welcome aboard!" Ian then gave her a grin as they shook hands.

    "Also don''t worry about her not being as strong as us¡­ as she soon will be!" Ian told Bert. Who immediately understood what Ian meant and couldn''t help but be happy.

    After that, they jogged to follow the groups that had gotten ahead of them.

 Chapter 146 - I can help him!

    When Ian and co rejoined the others they were just about to climb up the whale tree.

    From the side, all the straw-hats appeared to have understood things that happened so far. Especially as Luffy looked at Ian in gratitude.

    Sanji had explained everything to him. Including how he was planning to leave the crew so that he will not implicate them. But then Ian had stopped him.

    This was why Luffy was grateful.

    But Ian only smiled in response.

    Meanwhile inside he was quite happy and excited to finally be done and get his first Road Poneglyph.

    Nekomamushi then proceeded to explain that they had to take a certain vine root to reach the place. The place where Raizo was kept hidden.

    At that point, Momo remarked about how a voice he was hearing was getting louder and louder the more closer they were getting to their destination.

    This had drawn the attention of everybody there. Including Ian.

    So he strutted closer to him.

    When he reached him he spoke up.

    As he had heard about how Oden had the same ability he went straight to the point.

    "That ability is named the voice of all things! However, since you are still young you are not supposed to be using it now!" Ian told him.

    And Momo widened his eyes. He thought that only his father had that ability. Still, he nodded his head to Ian, waiting for him to continue.

    This caught the attention of both rulers and Kin''emon.

    "Young Ian, do you know about it?" Inuarashi stopped in his place and asked Ian.

    And with that everybody surrounded them and tried to see what the matter is.

    Ian gave a nod.

    "I can use it." He told them.

    This surprised them all there.

    The ability was not exactly common after all. Except for Ian''s crewmates, and Law, the rest didn''t even know what it is.

    "Can you teach Lord Momonosuke how to control it?" Kin''emon asked hopefully. Even Momo had eagerness visible in his eyes.

    Ian shook his head.

    Which brought sad looks onto their faces. Ian was about to speak and explain when Inuarashi interrupted him¡­

    "I only know one other person who could use that ability. And it didn''t sound like it could be taught!" Inuarashi spoke up. With Nekomamushi nodding to him.

    "Wait! What I meant is that its training is quite hard. Even for someone like me! As such I would rather not train anyone in it but if it''s really necessary, let''s at least wait until he is older! Also, there is another person here who can use it, or rather will be able to use it in the future!" Ian explained to them.

    It was surprising to them to know that Ian was well versed in the ability. Enough to be able to teach it to another user.

    "Who is the other person?" Nekomamushi asked in surprise.

    And Ian pointed at Luffy, who like the rest were quite perplexed.

    The two rulers and samurais were quite shocked, to say the least. To think they would find three of the users of that ability in one place.

    The confused Kin''emon however chose to go back to the subject at hand.

    "But Lord Momonosuke can already use it, which is why he is feeling sick!" He told Ian.

    Ian thought for a bit before he replied.

    "This is just a guess. But maybe Momo is using it unconsciously, which means the ability is always active, but in a weak state. Otherwise, if he used it actively I''m afraid his mind would shatter!" Ian told them his guess.

    "Let me try to explain it more thoroughly. The voice of all things refers to the words conveyed by inanimate objects and animals that do not speak the human language. Although these words are usually either inaudible or unintelligible to humans, this ability helps you to understand them. Whether it''s an animal incapable of speech, or even a simple rock, you would be able to understand things about them using this ability." Ian explained the ability so that they can understand what he was trying to say.

    The others took a few minutes to think before they gave nods that they understood. This was in tune with what they knew from Oden and Roger.

    Meanwhile, the rest of the onlookers finally understood how this ability would be useful. They looked at Luffy in admiration. With the person himself having a serious look for once.

    "Well, since it helps you understand inanimate objects and animals, how many of those can you see in the surroundings?" Ian then asked them this question.

    Which left them surprised.

    Still, Inuarashi was quite fast in grasping what Ian wanted to say to them.

    "You are saying that If Lord Momonosuke was using the ability consciously, he would hear all the voices of the trees, grass, ground, and everything surrounding us at the same time, instead of just one voice like he is doing right now?" He asked.

    "Exactly! That is why I said that his mind might shatter from the stress of that! Let me tell you, and you know I''m quite strong, but even I had trouble the first time the ability activated. I could say your young lord is quite lucky! I''m guessing that since he is not using the ability at full power, he is only hearing inaudible words which are giving him headaches." Ian told them.

    Inuarashi couldn''t help himself as he asked Ian.

    "How many voices did you hear at the same time when you had used it first?" He asked.

    And at this Ian took a deep breath before he spoke up again.

    "Well, I don''t know for certain how many, however, I know for a fact that it was more than a few million¡­ it was in fact so much for me, that I started to bleed from my seven orifices. And at the time if I hadn''t released a conqueror Haki infused Yell, I would have possibly lost consciousness for days, waiting for my mind to heal. As it stood the yell was enough for them to shut up!" Ian explained to them.

    This shocked everyone there.

    To hear millions of voices in your head at the same time. It was indeed something that might shatter a weak mind.

    Ian looked at his crew for a bit, before he proceeded to explain how to train that ability. He had hidden this from them before, but it was time they knew.

    ???Which brings us to how to train it! We as you know nothing can be free. You have to endure and endure to be able to use this ability. There are no shortcuts. For me, I woke up ahead of my crew every day, and then activated the ability, with a bucket of water at the side and a towel to wipe the blood and then continue. Then while it was active I would try to lessen the number of voices I can hear each time, and after I became quite tired I would go back to sleep just when my crewmates were beginning to wake up, making them think I was just used to sleep a lot. And just like that, I went from millions to thousands. And from thousands to hundreds. And so on until I had mastered it completely. You can understand now why I don''t want to train him as he is now! But in the future, I might be able to help him learn it faster!" Ian finished and took a deep breath.

    Then after a bit of silence.

    Elene yelled at him.

    "You stupid asshole¡­ why did you hide this from us?" she spoke up as she had tears in her eyes. And then she went forward to hug him.

    He comforted her as he eyed the others and noticed that they all had admiration in their eyes.

    Well, Robin had tears too as she came closer to him and held his hand.

    Kin''emon closed his eyes for a bit. He could understand what Ian meant now.

    "Indeed. Ian! The best option is to wait for Lord Momonosuke to grow up some more. Still, at that time we''ll be in your care!" He told Ian as he bowed.

    "No problem!" Ian replied nonchalantly.

    The two rulers shared a look.

    The same thought going through their heads. Of how Ian was worthy of admiration.

    Then after Elene had stopped crying. Ian spoke up.

    "Well, I can do something for Momo now, however!" He said.

    "What is that?" Kin''emon asked Ian with anticipation. He wanted to help Momo after all.

    "I can help him turn the ability completely off!" Ian grinned.

 Chapter 147 - Turning the ability off!

    "What is that? Ian!" This was immediately asked by Kin''emon the moment Ian finished uttering the word ''help''.

    His number one duty was to protect his lord. And Ian''s explanation of the ability the voice of all things had put a new perspective for him about it.

    And if this ability could do harm to his lord at any given moment, he might as well take this opportunity that was laid down in front of him by Ian and then shut down this ability for his Lord until he grows at least somewhat older.

    So to protect his young Lord he was willing to do anything in repayment.

    "I''m willing to give you anything! Just help Lord Momonosuke! Please!" Kin''emon spoke up with determination in his voice. He then bowed towards Ian. Not the least ashamed from that.

    And he meant every word of it. For Momo he was even willing to be a slave to Ian.

    Kanjuro joined him and bowing. His gaze shared the same determination on Kin''emon''s face.

    Inuarashi and Nekomamushi joined him soon after.

    "Please! We can''t bear to see our Lord in pain!" Nekomamushi spoke up, his head bowed.

    "We''ll never forget your help in this young Ian!" Inuarashi added with his head bowed too.

    Momonosuke by the side was also happy that Ian would be able to help him. But then he understood that Ian would have to be given something in return. So when Kin''emon and the others all bowed he tried to bow his head, from his place on Kin''emon''s back. But then a pair of hands gently reached out and took him.

    Ian had frowned the moment he saw Kin''emon and the rest acting like that. But as he was about to speak he saw Momo trying to do the same. And that was it for him.

    He reached out for Momo as he took him from Kin''emon and started to speak.

    "Don''t speak about this anymore! I don''t need anything! He is just a kid! Do you think I would ask for something in return for helping a child? What kind of man do you think I am? And you little guy, don''t do like them! You''re are still young, so act like your age!" Ian shook his head as he reasoned with the man before him. He then addressed Momo as he pinched his nose.

    "Also stop bowing to me, Man! Don''t do that! Just talk to me normally like you would a friend!" Ian then said with annoyance in his voice.

    Kin''emon and the rest laughed nervously as they straightened out. They were thankful to Ian. And with this, the man had earned the respect of both samurais.

    And this managed to bring a smile to everyone looking.

    Well, those that already knew Ian beforehand just smiled at him, but for the others, the feeling was more obvious. There was also admiration in their eyes. Admiration and aspiration to be someone like him.

    "Anyways moving on¡­ what I can help Momo with is to turn the ability for him! Although I wouldn''t be able to do it alone and would require your help little guy, alright?" Ian then continued with his explanation. And Momo nodded his head at Ian.

    "I understand!" Momo replied determined.

    This was good news for them. If he was able to turn his ability he would no longer feel bad every time.

    Kin''emon gave Ian a nod.

    And Ian continued. Meanwhile using his ability to soothe Momo''s mind, and help him with what he was going to do next.

    He looked at Momo in his hands and told him.

    "I need you to close your eyes!" Ian told him. And Momo nodded his head and did as Ian asked.

    "That''s good just like that! Now, I want you to imagine yourself holding a sword. You trained with swords before right?" Another nod was Momo''s response. "That''s good! Then just like that imagine yourself holding a real sword this time. And you are training various moves with it!" Ian guided him through this as if it was a dream.

    Again Momo who appears to have entered a focused state nodded subconsciously.

    In his mind, he appeared in his training gear. Just like when he used to train in the past. Except for this time the sword was real. He was somewhat excited at that. He was never allowed to hold a real sword as he was still too young.

    Though the sword didn''t feel heavy for some reason. He knew a real sword was heavy from the few times he had sneaked off to play.

    He began to go through various moves he had learned in the past with the sword he was now holding. It had been a while since he trained with the sword and was enjoying this. Each move came to his head immediately after he finished the first one.

    "Now imaging that when you swing this sword, you begin to hear voices all of a sudden. This is confusing for you right?"

    A voice in the back of his mind told him so, but he couldn''t focus on it at all.

    Still, when he swung his sword this time, voices started speaking at the same time. Making him clutch his head with one arm. And scream in pain. Still, he didn''t drop his sword. It was essential for a warrior to never drop his weapon. This was something he remembered from his training.

    He couldn''t understand what these voices are, however. It had never happened before in his training. So he had no idea what to do.

    "What are these voices? Why am I hearing them! So you swing again downwards, next upwards, and so on, but the voices never get clearer."

    Momo started to swing faster and faster trying to see if he could understand what these voices were trying to tell him. But even after had tired himself out, he couldn''t see any difference with the voices.

    He sighed in tiredness. Thinking to himself that he would ask someone about them later.

    "So you grow tired and decides that you no longer want to hear them. So you sheath your sword! That''s right sheath it and the voices disappear, giving you peace of mind once again!"

    Growing tired of these incoherent voices, Momo sheathed his sword, hoping the next time he trains he''ll be able to understand the voices more.

    And just like that, the voices went away and he could no longer feel the pain.

    Momo then opened his eyes.

    He was confused for a bit, as he remembered training in his house, but then memories rushed back to him and he understood that Ian had done something for him.

    And when he focused more, he found out that he could no longer hear the voices that hurt him.

    He smiled at them all and especially Ian as he spoke up.

    "It worked. I can no longer hear them!" He yelled as he jumped up from Ian''s arms and started to spin from happiness.

    Ian chuckled at this.

    Meanwhile, Kin''emon sighed relieved.

    Even the two rulers and Kanjuro smiled happily. By themselves, they knew that they were no help whatsoever to their lord. They were glad that Ian was there.

    And then all of them started walking towards the door hidden in the giant whale tree, where the road Poneglyph was waiting for them. Along with the ugly Ninja.

 Chapter 148 - Raizo!

    Along the way, Momonosuke, who was no longer tired and sick, kept running around like an energized kid. After all, he was supposed to be one.

    No one begrudged him that as they all smiled at him. Happy that he was for one, acting his real age.

    Momo for his part was also aware that the others were encouraging him to play. As he had at first been a bit apprehensive about that, but when he looked at Kin''emon and he found him encouraging him to do as he wanted, he started to try.

    He would jump on Luffy and kick him and punch him and then run after Luffy follows after him furiously.

    Luffy himself knew that Momo was just playing so he was mainly acting. Mainly¡­ but if gets his hands on that little guy, he was going to pinch his cheeks painfully!

    Momo would then hide behind someone nearby and taunt Luffy from behind them.

    After which the person would punch Luffy for picking on a guy, as Luffy would cry tears of anime at this.

    This all was hilarious to Ian but what he focused more on was the presence he had been feeling so far.

    Although it was not strong the moment he had stepped on Zou, it was in fact there.

    And the closer Ian got to the hidden room with the Road Poneglyph, the more Ian felt the presence get stronger. Ian for one was excited to found out who it belonged to. He knew for a fact that the ninja hiding there was not that presence.

    Simply for the fact that he could also feel his presence there in the same room.

    Not to mention that this presence somehow felt different. Ian couldn''t put his head around that difference though. Still, there was no need as just when Ian finished the thought, Nekomamushi who was at the lead of the group stopped.

    "We have reached our destination!" He told the people following behind him.

    This place was in fact hiding right at the tail of the whale-shaped tree.

    It was indeed a good hiding place, and no one would suspect it at all. Not to mention that even if they did, the door was a hidden one, so they were unlikely to find it.

    Following this Nekomamushi stepped in followed by the rest.

    All of a sudden distant crying voices reached their ears.

    And Nekomamushi remarked about that with a grin.

    "That''s the ninja''s voice!" He said as he told them. A grin of anticipation on his face. He couldn''t wait to see their faces after they see Raizo for the first time!

    Then Luffy, Usopp, Chopper started getting excited at hearing the voice of the Ninja.

    "Ninja?" all three exclaimed in surprise.

    They then started running down the stairs furiously trying to outran the others and see the ninja first.

    Even the giant robot Franky had joined them at one point.

    Then just when they reached down to the ground, they came face to face with the ninja''s crying face.

    Their various images of how a ninja should be shattered completely as they fell to the ground comically.

    Nekomamushi remarked again as he tried to hide the smirk of satisfaction he had.

    "That''s the Ninja Raizo!" He introduced him to them.

    "There you are Nekomamushi!" Raizo spoke up towards him with a yell as he was still crying.

    All there focused on him.

    "Why didn''t you let me fight with you? I would have been of some help to you! And you wouldn''t have to shoulder that burden on your own!" he spoke up.

    He didn''t want them to fight his battles for him. Or at the very least he wanted to fight with them.

    "What about the country? Don''t tell me it was destroyed!" Raizo finished with a yell.

    A bit of silence followed at this proclamation of his. As everyone appeared from the stairs and took in the appearance of Raizo. Even Ian was a bit surprised at seeing such a weird human being.

    "Answer me!! Just what the hell happened outside?" At seeing this Raizo yelled out again. He was desperate to know what happened. As he was chained in the room to the Poneglyph.

    Nekomamushi sighed at this.

    "Forgive me, Raizo! We had no choice! However, don''t fret, Emperor Ian helped us out. He had Disposed of Jack himself! The country is safe!" He told him again.

    Nekomamushi wouldn''t usually call Ian as such. Rather he called him Captain Ian, which to him was like a more intimate way of calling him. However, he called him an emperor this time to impress upon him Ian''s status.

    Although he knew Ian didn''t care about that, he knew an emperor deserved this much respect at the least.

    And at this Raizo closed his eyes. He knew what Nekomamushi meant. He had told him this when Jack had first appeared. Raizo had wanted to help them, but they refused, and when he insisted they bound him in chains. As first of all they knew that he couldn''t fight with them otherwise it would be proof to the beast pirates that he was indeed here.

    And second of all, if anything happened to him, they wouldn''t know how to explain that to his companions and Lord.

    He understood all this. But he still wanted to be of help. Still, now that he was assured that they were safe, he relaxed a bit.

    He looked at Ian and gave him a deep look.

    ''This man is as strong as Kaido?'' He thought to himself.

    And then he moved past that thought and bowed his head to Ian in thanks for saving the minks.

    Ian smiled at him after recovering from his shock.

    The guys disappointed in Raizo were each either lying on the ground or shook their faces at the image of his crying face.

    Some of them started insulting him, saying how his face was huge. And the like.

    At that, Raizo noticed that a lot of people were there. And before he could ask who they were, Kin''emon came up to him and greeted him.

    "Raizo!" He happily said as he walked to him.

    Raizo himself was happy as he saw them

    "You all are here!" He said.

    And then Kin''emon steeped closer and started to release the chains holding him.

    "Just wait a bit. I''ll get you out of those chains!" Kin''emon told him.

    And after a bit, he stood up and massaged his wrists that were sore from the chains.

    And then Raizo noticed that everyone had been eying him up disappointedly.

    "What''s the deal with you bastards looking at me like that?" He angrily questioned them.

    At the side, Robin who was near Ian saw the crest of the Kozuki family that was imprinted on the wall.

    "That''s the same as Kin''emon!" She muttered to herself.

    Inuarashi was the one to confirm this for her.

    "It has existed for several centuries!" He said to her.

    And then Robin turned to look at the Poneglyph with stars for eyes.

    "Is that the Road Poneglyph you told me about Ian?" She asked Ian who was near her as she latched to his arm like a child asking for candy.

    And Ian who heard her nodded while laughing, as he too then looked at it.

 Chapter 149 - Road Poneglyph!

    This was the source.

    The source of Ian''s excitement right now.

    This was the presence that Ian had been feeling ever since getting near this room.

    Who would have guessed that it was actually the Road Poneglyph?

    Even Ian didn''t guess that.

    Still, he went closer to it. With Robin following after him.

    Meanwhile, the straw-hats and Law who had been disappointed, when Raizo had looked at them and yelled suddenly and vanished.

    They were super excited at that.

    After that Raizo started doing various techniques to impress them, even though it went against his ninja training where he was not supposed to showcase his abilities.

    At one point when he had created various copies of himself, Ian paid attention.

    He was aware that ninjutsu exists in the One-piece world.

    And this was the very proof of it. Still, he didn''t know how it was trained or used.

    Still, he made a mental note to add it to his powers. Either by asking one of the samurais or going to Wano country.

    Still, Ian refocused on the thing on hand.

    He finally understood what Roger experienced.

    Ian was able to feel that the information hidden in this Poneglyph was extremely important, but he couldn''t understand what it was about.

    He could understand that whoever engraved these words upon it, was implying the importance of them, but he couldn''t understand what it meant.

    He shook his head.

    ''Not everything is going to be easy sailing¡­'' Ian thought to himself.

    But soon he grinned.

    ''Well, it might be easy after all!'' He thought as he looked at Robin.

    Robin did after all know how to read them. And now that he thought about it, he didn''t want to take the one thing she liked and was a reminder of her destroyed island.

    Not to mention, he could at the very least use his ability to find out the last Poneglyph just like Roger had done at one point.

    ''This will work!'' Ian thought.

    ****

    After a while, some of them had left the room outside. Including Raizo. Who was finally relieved that the country was indeed safe.

    There was nothing like seeing it with your own eyes.

    At that, he once again gave a silent thank you to Ian. He knew that otherwise, this country would have been destroyed if he didn''t help them.

    He knew about Jack, and he knew about his strength too. This is why he didn''t underestimate the strength of Ian at all.

    Soon, however, Nekomamushi called them back towards the room. Saying that the deciphering of the stone was done.

    ****

    Inside the whale.

    Right now, Robin had given a paper filled with what she had seen on the stone to Nami. She didn''t understand much from that. And this was a first for her. As she was used to being able to understand what was on the stones.

    However, Nami was after all the best navigator she knew. And quite possibly the best in the whole world. Or at least had the potential to reach that in the future at some point.

    Nami took a moment to take all of that in before she confidently replied.

    "Indeed, I can draw a nautical chart based on this! And then we can pinpoint the location of something Robin!" Nami told her. An excited expression soon spreading on her face.

    "Listen up everyone!" Inuarashi called them.

    "That red stone is called a Road Poneglyph!" He said for a start. He gave Ian a look for a bit and at seeing him nod back he continued to say.

    "All the tough guys of the sea wants to reach the end of the ground line! Ever since they started their journeys the goal has been to search for it! And that stone right there is the guide to it!" Inuarashi announced!

    Much to the shock of the straw-hats and Law.

    Ian as expected had already told this to his crewmates.

    "This is the reason why this forest, is considered sacred. And why it requires us, guardians, to protect it!" Nekomamushi from the side pinched in and explained.

    And indeed Ian knew that this secret was actually well guarded by them. However, he also knew that thanks to a traitor among them, it was soon going to be known by Kaido. He made a mental note later to attempt something against a certain someone he suspected from the samurai''s side¡­

    Back to at hand, Ian refocused on what was being said.

    Luffy as usual was being an idiot and was pointing at the rock and hugging it saying how it would lead him to laughtale!

    "Wait, wait, don''t jump up to conclusions, and let me first explain!" Inuarashi sweatdropped at this.

    When he saw that everybody was watching him intently he started speaking.

    "There are four road Poneglyphs! Four red stones!"

    Luffy was about to interrupt but Nami hurriedly shut his mouth off.

    Inuarashi then continued.

    "This particular stone does indeed have a location, and if you follow it would definitely lead you to someplace! However, that place would not be Laughtale!" He told them.

    Well, he was mostly focusing on the straw-hats since he was able to tell from Ian and co-features on their faces that they already knew this information from beforehand.

    Which was something good in his book.

    Still, he continued.

    "The three other red stones would also lead you somewhere but it would not be Laughtale either! However, you need to learn all four locations hidden on the red stones. Only then would you be able to learn where Laughtale is! You would need to connect all four locations on the map! And then those lines would cross at the center! That place¡­ that place would be Laughtale. The last known island of this world! The island only the late pirate king and his crew had reached in all of these years!" He finally finished saying.

    However, even Ian was somewhat excited at this.

    He already knew that of course, however, it was another manner to hear it in person.

    This excitement was shared by both his crew and the straw-hats.

    Inuarashi then told Ian.

    "From now on¡­ I''ll let you do the talking young Ian!"

    Ian gave him a nod as he stepped up near him.

    And then when he was just at the center and found that he had the attention of everybody, he started speaking.

    "These red stones. There four of them as you heard! Previously I knew of the location of two of them! This one here is the third!" Ian said. Much to their shock.

    Sanji couldn''t help but ask.

    "Is that true Ian?" He asked.

    And Ian nodded!

    "If you remember back then, I told you to not be hasty and wait for your captain, Luffy. This is related to that!" Ian waved his hand and in it appeared suddenly an invitation.

    "This is an invitation to Big Mom''s tea party! It is directed at me! When the old man and I gave her a call, I told her I would be visiting her, so she sent it to me!" Ian continued.

    This however left the rest perplexed.

    But Ian didn''t leave them anytime to ask questions.

    "The reason I want to go towards big mom is so that I can get my hands on the information hidden on the Road Poneglyph she has!" Ian finally dropped the bomb.

    Much to the shock of those who didn''t already know.

 Chapter 150 - Go on your adventure and I will go on mine!

    [A/N: I have a question for you guys? should Carrot join our mc or not? if she joins Ian on his quest towards Big mom she might as well join his crew. I would like to hear your opinion. As usual, I would leave comments and you can vote by liking them!]

    "The reason I want to go towards big mom is so that I can get my hands on the information hidden on the Road Poneglyph she has!" Ian finally dropped the bomb.

    Inuarashi and His fellow ruler had thought somewhat along those lines. They didn''t know about Ian visiting Big Mom at all. Ian had kept this hidden from them.

    In fact, apart from his crew, he didn''t tell anyone else about this.

    There was a spy among them, and so that said spy wouldn''t be able to send information to his superiors, he avoided letting this information early.

    But now, he would be able to expose this spy later¡­

    "So it is as I guessed¡­" Inuarashi muttered at that. With the cat viper giving a nod.

    They already knew about big mom having the road Poneglyph, and they were actually going to announce it. But they had given the honor to Ian.

    The straw hats were somewhat surprised.

    But then thinking of Ian''s strength, they found it appropriate of him to challenge big mom for her Poneglyph.

    Still, one person who heard that couldn''t help but exclaim.

    "I will be the one to become the pirate king!" Luffy yelled out.

    A serious look on his face.

    And Ian understood him.

    Since his dream was to be the pirate king, and Ian was now closer to having all the road Poneglyphs, this threatened that dream. Still, Ian couldn''t care less.

    Although he didn''t want to destroy Luffy''s dream like that, he also was not going to babysit him like he was a child.

    "Is that so?" Ian asked him with a calm look.

    "Although I don''t want such a title, I do need to reach the last island for personnel reasons! As such if I''m branded as such I won''t care! I have a goal and I won''t stop at anything to fulfill it!" Ian told him firmly.

    This was what he had decided to do about this ages ago.

    He doesn''t need such a title, but it was in fact given to the strongest pirate of each time. And the owner of the one piece.

    Which currently it was Ian. It was only a matter of time before people started calling him that. And even more so when he reaches the last island.

    Still, Ian had a way for each of them to get what they wanted.

    As such he spoke up soon after not leaving anybody any time to speak.

    "The pirate king is the strongest pirate to exist! However, I''m guessing that you do not want to have that title for the treasures or to be famous right?" Ian questioned him.

    And Luffy replied in the blink of an eye.

    "That''s right!" He said. "The pirate king is the freest person in the world. And I want to go on adventures. So what could be more exciting than the quest to become the pirate king?" Luffy said with surprisingly a serious look on his face.

    "Then go on your adventure! Don''t care what happens in the world. Enjoy your time, whether a new king of the pirates is born or not. You shouldn''t care about that at all. The only thing you should care about is your adventure. Explore the world, many things remain hidden away. And then afterward, when you feel you are strong enough, then at that time, challenge those strong people in the world, and take the title of the strongest person in the world! And then you would become the pirate king while also having the most exciting journey you desire for, how does that sound?" Ian explained to him patiently.

    Everyone from the side couldn''t help but be impressed at this.

    Indeed. Based on Luffy''s dream, this was indeed a good plan. And it will also give the straw-hats crew time to train and become stronger.

    Luffy thought hard about this. Meanwhile, his crew liked this arrangement.

    This way Luffy would not be picking fights with stronger people than them all the time. In fact, all of them liked the adventure, and as much as some of them hated to agree, mainly Zoro, they were indeed still weak to sail freely and not be seen as weak.

    After a while, Luffy gave Ian a nod. He understood what he meant by this.

    "I agree with you! This is indeed a good idea! However you better watch out too, at that time, I would be sure to beat you too Ian! I''m sure you''ll become even stronger at that time¡­ I can''t wait for that to happen, Ahaha¡­" Luffy started on seriously then when he thought of the epic battle between Ian and him he couldn''t help but laugh excitedly.

    Ian gave him a nod and a smile.

    "Sure! At that time I will accept your fight, and we will deal with it like men!" Ian stated with a grin.

    Luffy somehow felt a chill when Ian grinned at him. Still, after a bit, he grinned back at Ian too.

    At this everyone released smile. They were glad they didn''t result to fighting it out.

    Law who had been keeping silent until now, finally talked.

    "You said earlier, that you knew about two of the whereabouts of the red stones?" He asked Ian a crucial question.

    Ian gave him a nod.

    "The second one is in the hands of another emperor! And that is Kaido! Whom I believe you have already pissed off by taking down Doflamingo!" Ian told them.

    Once again shocking them.

    Just when the straw-hats started to curse their fates, Nekomamushi intervened as he started to speak.

    "You all, you don''t need to fight them to take it. In the first place, people don''t rob the Poneglyphs at all. It would be troublesome to always be transporting it after all. What people usually do is to copy the text on the Poneglyph!" He told them, making their faces brighten.

    However soon Ian shook his head.

    "You are underestimating an emperor of the sea! That will not be possible! I know for a fact that even if it were possible, it would be extremely hard!" Ian told them.

    And at this, both rulers had to nod their heads. Indeed it would not be easy.

    "In Big mom''s case she had already been fooled once in that regard so this makes it near impossible to fool her a second time! However, even if I could indeed do so¡­ I choose not to! Elene here would beat Big Mom on her own. And after that, I would be taking the Poneglyphs she has with me!" Ian stated.

    And Elene beamed at him from the side! She knew that Ian can in fact just teleport there and take what he needed quite easily!

    Nekomamushi then stared at Robin.

    "You¡­ I would have been worried about you had you been in another crew!" He told her.

    Which left her perplexed.

    He then explained to her.

    "Although the world government spread lies about you of wanting to destroy the world, many who searches for the true history of the world hidden in the one hundred years void, do in fact know of your importance. Big names from all of the world would search for you once they are ready to read the Poneglyphs!" He told her as he finally made his point.

    "However as I said, I would have been worried if you were in any other crew, but now I don''t have to think twice about it!" He said as he finished with a laugh. He could clearly feel her strength, and she was even stronger than him and the dog¡­

    At that moment Robin had a flashback of all that had happened so far, and couldn''t help but smile.

    She gave her crew and Ian a smile, then she turned to see the straw-hats looking at her their eyes determined to help in any way possible.

    Indeed there was no need to worry right now. She was strong, and she had the help of her new family and friends now!

 Chapter 151 - The secret of the world!

    Robin after this turned to the two rulers besides her and asked them a question that has been going through her mind.

    "By the way, how do you know so much about the Poneglyphs?" She asked.

    She knew that such information was hard to find out about after all. Even she who worked underground for a huge part of her life was not able to find out that much.

    Nekomamushi puffed out smoke from his mouth as he held his pipe in his hands. He contemplated what to say before he finally replied.

    "It all started with our master Kozuki Oden, who used to have a great interest in the stones! Because¡­" He explained as he trailed off at the end.

    He turned his attention at his fellow ruler, Inuarashi, and asked him.

    "Is it okay to tell them this, Dog?" He asked him. It was clear he was not sure of what to say as it was not his place to divulge such information.

    Inuarashi for his part wasn''t sure either just like his fellow ruler, so he turned towards Kin''emon and the rest and silently asked the same question.

    And then surprisingly it was Momonosuke who stepped forward and permitted them.

    He came closer to the cat viper and spoke up.

    "Go ahead and tell them! You don''t have to hide anything from them! and you can tell them anything you want!" but then just as he finished Luffy picked him up and started to pinch his cheeks for acting all high and mighty.

    Much to the amus.e.m.e.nt of the rest.

    "Now, what''s with that person, Kozuki Oden?" Robin asked him. Going back to the subject at hand. She had never heard of someone with that name before.

    Nekomamushi once again puffed out smoke from his mouth as he started to explain after a while.

    "The Kozuki Family of Wano, was in fact, a clan of stonemasons that has quarried stone and processed them for generations. Even now they are still highly skilled at that!" he said.

    This shocked them up for a bit. They didn''t expect that that was their specialization.

    "Stonemasons¡­" Robin muttered. She could feel that there was something more to that. As such, she focused more on Nekomamushi.

    "That''s right!" Nekomamushi who heard her nodded at her as he continued on his explanation.

    "It all goes back to 800 years ago¡­ Where the Kozuki clan created an indestructible book with their sophisticated skills. That is what the Poneglyphs are!" Nekomamushi finished.

    And as expected everybody was shocked out of their minds. The Poneglyphs was actually meant to be as if they were books¡­

    And to think that Momonosuke''s family was the one who created the Poneglyphs to try and pass information through them¡­

    Ian had told Robin and his crewmates a lot of things, however, this was not one of them.

    He could not tell them he knew about such information when there was no way possible for him to acquire it, as such he had to act in this situation as if he was a bit surprised.

    The same goes for Elene.

    Both of them didn''t want to hide this information from them, but it would lead to questions about how they knew of that¡­ and they were not ready to speak of the truth just yet.

    Still, Ian had contemplated about this and was going, to tell the truth soon to his crewmates.

    Back to the present Ian heard Robin ask the cat viper.

    "Were they the ones who made all those Poneglyphs in the world?" She asked him fervently.

    Kin''emon nodded at her instead of Nekomamushi. With the latter staying silent this time.

    And then Luffy asked them a question that managed to strain the atmosphere.

    "Then do you guys know what''s written on them?" He asked. In his mind, it made perfect sense for them to be able to know that.

    "That hasn''t been passed fully through the generations!" Kanjuro replied. His head bowed down.

    Ian looked intently at him for a bit.

    "The only thing that has been passed down, was how to read and write in the ancient text!" Raizo added soon after his fellow samurai.

    All of them then grit their teeth.

    "However¡­" Kanjuro strained to say.

    "Unfortunately, that''s no longer possible¡­"

    Ian asked for the first time.

    "Why?" He said.

    "Before the information was passed down to lord Momonosuke¡­ It was cut off at his father''s Kozuki Oden''s generation!" Kin''emon uttered with great difficulty.

    At this everyone understood.

    Oden had died before he was able to pass on the information to his son.

    Momonosuke himself was trying hard not to start crying as he remembered his father¡­

    Still, some found it hard to believe this.

    "You mean to say, Momo''s father¡­ His father¡­" Brook for one kept muttering to himself as he wasn''t able to wrap his head around it¡­

    Kin''emon gave a nod.

    "Lord Oden¡­ He was- He was executed by the current Shogun, and the pirate emperor Kaido!" Kin''emon told them all.

    "To save the life of all of us retainers, he met his fate! And¡­ Emperor Kaido''s beast pirates are still in the land of Wano!" with this Kin''emon finally was done.

    By now all of them, Kin''emon, Kanjuro, Raizo, the two rulers, and Momo, were crying their eyes out silently. It was hard for them as they were living that same moment again and again in their heads¡­

    And by now everyone there has lost track of how many times had they been shocked already.

    But at this time, Zoro spoke up. As he asked an important question he was able to gather from what he had heard.

    "It''s fine if you don''t want to talk about it, but why was your master executed? You guys have been captured and targeted because of that right?" Zoro asked them.

    Kin''emon took a deep breath. Before he told Zoro.

    "You are right. One can say that it''s a cardinal sin. Kaido is trying to pull information from us! Lord Kozuki Oden, the previous daimyo, traveled to the last island, Laughtale, with the pirate king Gol D. Roger and witnessed the secret of the world."

    Everybody exclaimed at this.

    Well excluding Ian and Elene who already knew.

    The rest felt like they could faint from the continuous surprises, however.

    "He witnessed the secret of the world? Probably with Rayleigh too¡­" Robin muttered.

    ''The entirety of history¡­ even the 100 years void¡­'' Then she thought to herself as she turned and eyed the red stone in front of her.

    The void century was a 100 years old gap in the history of the world. It was after that period that the world government was established.

    And ever since then they have been ruling the world for 800 years. And they absolutely forbid everyone from searching for that history hidden in those 100 years.

    All of her home island had been wiped out for this sole reason.

    This was why Robin wanted to know that history. She closed her eyes for a bit. She knew that she would sooner or later be able to know about that secret of the world.

    And she would not be alone as she would be with her family.

 Chapter 152 - I refuse!

    "I see!" Zoro said after a while of silence.

    And when the rest looked at him he elaborated on what he meant.

    "In order to get the secret of the world from you retainers, Doflamingo and Caesar who are connected to Kaido were trying to catch you guys!" He said in explanation.

    He was finally able to understand why someone like an emperor of the sea would send so many people after them.

    Kin''emon nodded at him as he replied back.

    "That''s right!" He said. But he still had tears on his face.

    Then Usopp who was barely holding himself from asking a multitude of questions couldn''t take it anymore and finally asked what was on his mind.

    "Then¡­ then do you guys know the secret of the world?" He asked them eagerly.

    A look of anticipation was on his face.

    Just like that time with Rayleigh he was excited to see someone else who might know what the secret of the world was. Perhaps even the one piece treasure.

    "Hey!" Luffy at hearing this glared at him making him recoil a bit and try to explain as quickly as possible.

    "I-I was just asking them if they knew, I''m not going to tell them to tell us Luffy¡­" He explained hurriedly. And it was the truth as he really was not going to ask them to tell the secret if they knew it. He had learned his lesson from back then.

    Finally at hearing that Luffy turned to the side and forgot about this issue. He focused on Kin''emon again and awaited his answer.

    Today had been exciting to him. He couldn''t wait to see what other surprises were there. A smile spread on his face as he thought of this.

    Meanwhile the moment the samurais heard the words uttered by Usopp¡­ their faces hardened once again.

    Kin''emon put his hand on his face for a bit. Before he removed it and started speaking.

    "Well¡­ actually we don''t know it!" He told them.

    "Lord Oden didn''t want to burden us with that! As such we don''t know anything about that!" Kin''emon told them sadly.

    They were grateful to their lord for that!

    "However!" Kanjuro then took after his friend and ally.

    "Even if we knew, we still would not tell anybody about it! And either way, if we knew, or didn''t, we still would be hunted! As such the only option left is to fight!" Kanjuro said.

    And his friends nodded their heads.

    "That''s right!" Kin''emon said. "Although we are defeated soldiers, we still accept our defeat and disgrace! And still, survive to this day for one sole reason!" Kin''emon spoke up heatedly as he clenched his right arm. Determination was visible in his eyes.

    "Just because of the words of Lord Oden that are itched in our minds!" he told them all.

    And Raizo took after him.

    "Those words are the reason we live!" He said.

    And was followed by the two rulers of Zou.

    "The same here," Inuarashi said.

    And Nekomamushi just nodded his head. The same determination shining in his eyes.

    "What¡­ what are those words?" Usopp couldn''t help himself once again as he asked them.

    But this was something all of them wanted to know so they couldn''t really blame him. As such they just kept silent and awaited what the response would be.

    "Lord Oden left us just one phrase upon his death!" Kin''emon started.

    Then him, Kanjuro, Raizo, Inuarashi, and Nekomamushi, all looked at the flag drawn upon the wall behind the Poneglyph.

    Then in unison, they all spoke one phrase.

    "Open up the land of Wano!" They said.

    Some of the people there knew what that meant, but some like chopper didn''t, so it was explained to them that Wano was a country that was closed to the rest of the world. Which meant that no one can get out, or enter for that matter.

    And that if it was opened up they would have to interact with other countries.

    Kanjuro then spoke up again.

    "It''s a pity that we as the shield of Lord Oden, ended up being saved by him instead! We have brought shame to ourselves with that!" He cried tears at this as he bowed his head to the ground.

    Ian once again at this stared at him for a bit longer. But even so, he kept silent.

    By his side, Elene who was the closest to him, noticed him and looked at where he was staring intently. Only to find Kanjuro.

    "What we have to do now is to put our lives on the line, and avenge our master!" He yelled out his determination.

    Raizo too yelled out after him.

    "We need to kill the current shogun who stole the land of Wano and then open the country that was closed off to the rest of the world!" He said heatedly.

    "That is our wish!" Kin''emon said!

    "The land of Wano is almost entirely under the control of the shogun and Kaido, who have joined forces! Our friends right now, who are inside are trying to muster dissidents there now, but they are still vastly outnumbered by the enemy''s great army! As such, there is no chance for a win!" He finished as he closed his eyes painfully.

    "However we have to win! As such to look for someone strong who will fight with us, we set out to see! Our first destination was Zou!" He told them all.

    And they nodded their heads as they understood.

    "To fight the beast pirates, we needed the help of the Mink people, our closest allies!" Kanjuro finished for him.

    Inuarashi nodded.

    "Yeah! The special bond between the Kozuki clan and the minks go way back! As such whatever happens, we''ll share the same fate!" He told them.

    By now everybody there already understood the extent the minks were willing to go for their allies.

    "More than anything, the dog and I, are direct retainers of Lord Oden!" Nekomamushi said too.

    "We have been prepared ever since the day that Raizo had come here! Our warriors are absolutely ready." He said.

    "We have even fought against Jack who is a part of the beast pirates! However, I must say that they are extremely strong, and unless we had used our trump card, the fight would have lasted for a long time, without a clear winner!" Inuarashi said as he bowed his head.

    "However the next time, we would definitely do better! We have an ace up our sleeves after all!" Nekomamushi spoke up next and then grinned in pride.

    But he did give Ian and Bert a brief look. After all, their ace was actually related to them.

    This ace however left them all there wondering what it was. Except for Ian''s crew who were responsible for it.

    And then Kanjuro, Kin''emon, Raizo, shared a look before they nodded as they looked at Luffy, Law, and Ian.

    "We have a favor to ask of you, Ian, Luffy, and you too Law!" and then when he saw that he had their attention he continued.

    "I know it is presumptuous to ask this of you after everything you have already done, but I have been impressed by how strong you guys are, and since we are fated to share the same goal and purpose, will you help us fight to kill the shogun of the land of Wano and Emperor Kaido?!!"

    "Please!" Raizo said too as he bowed his head next.

    And he was followed by Kanjuro who bowed too.

    The straw-hats were excited at that. As not only would they have the help of the minks, samurais, but also another emperor.

    Kin''emon raised his head and requested once again.

    "Please help us!!"

    But then both Luffy and Ian said at the same time.

    "I refuse!"

 Chapter 153 - The traitor!

    "I refuse!"

    Both Ian and Luffy spoke up at the same time.

    And then they both turned to each other in surprise.

    This proclamation by both Ian and Luffy shocked the rest, however.

    For Luffy, he was already on the bad side of Kaido, and their plan revolved around taking him down.

    Not to mention that they had been traveling together for a while now, and their goals were the same.

    As for Ian, by taking down Jack, he was also now targeted by Kaido. So it made sense that he should get allies to fight alongside him.

    Unless he thought he could fight the great army behind Kaido on his own¡­ if that was the reason then maybe they should reevaluate their opinion about Ian¡­

    Meanwhile, for Ian''s crew, they knew that he must have something up in mind if he refused. They had absolute trust towards their captain, as such, they stayed silent for now. But if Ian didn''t provide a sufficient enough reason, then Elene and Robin were going to wipe the floor with him¡­

    It took a minute of silence after that for Luffy''s crew to start hounding him.

    "What-What did you just say?" Usopp asked in disbelieve. He didn''t think that it was possible for someone to be this stupid to kick a gift in the mouth. A gift they were in desperate need of. Otherwise, if they didn''t join this alliance, they might as well just commit suicide instead of waiting for their death that was absolutely coming to them.

    "I said I refuse!" Luffy repeated again. And Ian stayed silent for now as he waited for Luffy to finish what he had to say.

    "Why just why?" Usopp yelled at him.

    He couldn''t understand why he would do this.

    "We have already been traveling together as friends for a while now!" Usopp yelled at him.

    Kin''emon raised his head in shock.

    These were valuable allies to them. He couldn''t afford to not have them on their sides.

    Truthfully he expected Ian to not want to get entangled in their mess¡­ however he didn''t expect Luffy to refuse too.

    "Luffy¡­" Kin''emon muttered as he looked at him.

    "I refuse!" Luffy repeated a third time.

    With his friends behind him yelling for him to not refuse!

    "Don''t" The trio of Franky, Usopp, and Chopper said in unison.

    "Please tell me you are just joking, Luffy¡­" Chopper spoke up with tears in his eyes.

    "Why can''t you get it? We have to join hands with them to stand a chance! Are you out of your mind!!¡­" Usopp told him as he started to shake him.

    All attention was gathered on Luffy. Everybody was waiting to see what his reasons were, but the antics of his crew delayed that action.

    After that, he went forward and told Kin''emon to wait for a bit and forget about what Luffy had said¡­

    And then they proceeded to kick his ass on the floor and telling him to rethink it.

    But then Luffy who was held down finally had enough and brushed them off him.

    When he stood up he finally addressed Momo.

    "Are you just a figurehead, Momo?" He asked him.

    He then ignored what his friends were saying about him being just a child. This was just bullshit to him.

    When he was the same age, he was thrown into the forest for weeks to survive by his grandpa. Him telling Momo to man up and OWN his position is not even 1% of what he went through. This was a child of a samurai, not a piece of chocolate that will melt in any second¡­

    "You say it! I thought that you were supposed to be some sort of great guy? You are the leader of these great men, aren''t you? Or are you just gonna cry?" Luffy told him.

    And then surprising everyone, Momonosuke who was still bawling his eyes walked until he was right next to Luffy and spoke up amidst his crying.

    "I want to bring Kaido Down!! He was an enemy to my parents! He killed my Mother too!" He said crying his eyes out!

    And to some this was new. They didn''t know that beforehand.

    "I want to grow up quickly, become strong, and avenge my parents! I want to protect my retainers too!"

    Said retainers too had trouble holding their emotions in check.

    Nekomamushi even went so far as to say.

    "It''s good enough to know that you feel like that!" He said.

    Momo however ignored all of his surroundings as he focused just on Luffy.

    "But my body is still young and small¡­ that is why I want you to fight with me! Please" HE was going to go so far as to bow, but a hand stopped him up.

    "I got it!" Luffy told him seriously. Before a smile spread on his face.

    "Let''s join hands! We''re allies!" Luffy told him as the two then shook hands.

    This was indeed a happy occasion.

    But then Inuarashi remembered the other person who refused.

    "Young Ian, would this alliance not be helpful to you?" He questioned him.

    And at that everyone focused on them both.

    Kin''emon and his friends stood up and came closer to Inuarashi.

    So far Ian had been nothing but helpful so they wanted to hear his reasons.

    Ian sighed.

    "It is not so hard to understand where I''m coming from. I simply will not join an alliance that is doomed to fall!" Ian replied. He explained his reason.

    And while the straw-hats were a bit offended at that, the others knew that Ian meat something more with what he said.

    "Is our strength not enough?" Inuarashi asked him. Although he had a feeling that that was not it.

    Still, he listened to what Ian was going to say.

    "You and Nekomamushi know what I''m talking about," Ian told them.

    "Raizo was hidden in Zou right?" Ian asked them. And when they nodded back he continued to say.

    "Who knew of that information?" Ian asked.

    "Well apart from us, that leaves, Momonosuke, Kanjuro, and Kin''emon!" Inuarashi said. Not quite understanding where he was going with this, but he stayed silent for now.

    "Well, then how do you suppose Jack found Zou and came searching for Raizo when only a very few of you knew about this?" Ian asked them sarcastically.

    And then when it dawned upon them, they finally understood Ian.

    "That''s right, among you is a traitor! This is the reason why your alliance would fail! Because you''re supposed surprise attack had already been known by Kaido via the traitor most likely!" Ian told them.

    At this everybody stayed silent.

    Inuarashi and Nekomamushi knew that each of them can''t be the traitor. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have fought against Jack so seriously.

    That left Momonosuke, Kin''emon, and Kanjuro¡­

    Bar Momo who is obviously not the traitor that left the two samurais.

    Both of them stared between Kanjuro and Kin''emon.

    And at that Ian gave them a nod.

    "Between those two, one of them is definitely a traitor!" He said confirming their guess.

 Chapter 154 - Another notice!

    So yeah! my laptop won''t turn on no matter what! so i couldn''t write today even though i planned to! I''m taking it to get fixed! hopefully it would be fixed by monday as i need it for my formation!! i hope you guys can bear with me for a bit! i might even change the laptop for once and buy another i just need this one to be able to last me the next week!

 Chapter 154 - Evening INK Shower!

    "Between those two, one of them is definitely a traitor!" He said confirming their guess.

    Shock spread on the faces of everybody there.

    But before the accused can even stand to defend themselves, the straw-hats yelled at the same time that it was impossible.

    "Impossible¡­ we have been traveling with them and we know that they can be trusted. Ian, you must be wrong!" Nami told Ian as she looked at the two people in question.

    Ian gave her a look that said are you stupid.

    "I''m not accusing them. I simply stated the facts! Both Inuarashi and Nekomamushi can be accounted for! Obviously, we would exclude Momo, which would leave both of them! And since Zou can''t be found easily, not to mention that Jack specifically came for the person that was hiding here, there definitely was a traitor!" Ian told her calmly.

    And this managed to shut them all up.

    Even the two persons in question.

    But then Kin''emon refused to accuse his friend Kanjuro and came to his defense.

    ??There is no way that one of us is a traitor! Ian, you don''t know how close the bond between each of us is! There must be another explanation." Kin''emon said. A bit hurt that their friendship would be questioned.

    The two rulers had suspected the moment that Jack cam for Raizo, that there was a spy from their side.

    But they had no way to know who he was from the two before them. Still, their gut feeling pointed at one of them as each of them looked at him warily.

    At this point in time, Kanjuro who was silent opened his eyes and looked at Kin''emon with a hurt look on his face.

    "I understand now!" He said.

    And this managed to shut up everyone there.

    "Y-You understand what?" Kin''emon looked at his friend confused. He didn''t understand why he was looking at him that way.

    "All the facts now make sense! I had always suspected you Kin''emon! I have seen you from the shadows always sending those letters to someplace! And at that time when I questioned you about it, you told me that it was necessary for our Lord! But you didn''t want to say anything else! Those were letters to the enemy right? How long?" Kanjuro was the perfect visage of anger.

    "How long have you been fooling us, you bastard?" Kanjuro roared at him.

    And Kin''emon took a step back.

    "W-What are you talking about?" He honestly didn''t know what his fellow samurai and retainer were talking about. He sent no letters and they certainly had never talked about this beforehand.

    He turned at the rest to tell them this but then he saw them all looking at the both of them warily but at him more so.

    Thankfully, Ian came to his help.

    In the form of him laughing his ass off.

    "Hahahaha¡­" He laughed out loud at this.

    "This is so good!" he muttered between heaves.

    "Ian, what''s so funny?" Inuarashi asked him.

    "The bullshit that guy has been saying is!" Ian replied to him.

    "Also you don''t need to keep spouting that crap I already know it is you!" Ian told him.

    At this Kanjuro''s eyes widened as he started to think of solutions to this particular trouble he had gotten himself into.

    Still, outwardly he replied with.

    "Why would you say that Ian?" He questioned him.

    Ian brought his hand to his shin and thought for a bit.

    "You all know that you can sense emotions with Observation Haki right?" And at seeing them nod he continued on.

    "Then do you mind explaining to me, why you, during the time you were happy and sad for your current lord, mourning for your former lord, and happy for the alliance outwardly, why did I not sense them from you? It is almost as if you are a very good actor, wouldn''t you say?" Ian told him as he finished with a question.

    Kanjuro knew that he was in trouble.

    "I do not know what those skills are, however, there is indeed a technique to sense emotions for us but it is not always accurate not to mention that another master can hide his true emotions!" He replied back.

    By now everyone was starting to suspect him more.

    "You mean to say you have been hiding your true emotions while outwardly you were crying with the rest? Now, why would you do so?" Ian knew he had him.

    "Never mind, don''t answer that. Also, let me give you a good piece of information. There is no way to lie in front of someone who had mastered the ability of the voice of the world!" Ian told him.

    This was indeed new to them.

    "How sure are you Ian?" Inuarashi asked. By now he was close to sure that Kanjuro was suspicious.

    After all, he had been trying to blame his friend and now he was trying to defend himself by saying he was hiding his emotions while crying on the outside.

    Ian snorted.

    "Apart from him just now proving it with his acing?" Ian asked him sarcastically.

    "Well there is also the fact that I can read minds when I focused enough and if the person was distracted, as otherwise, they would be able to stop me, and earlier I had used it on him. And what I heard was: I need to tell Lord Orochi that another emperor would be joining the alliance with these samurais and pirates! Now if my memory serves me right, isn''t Orochi the name of the current Shogun you are trying to overthrow?!" Ian told them.

    And they were shocked that he could read minds but even more so when they heard that what he found out from Kanjuro.

    "I can also force him to speak up if you really want to be sure!" Ian continued on.

    "You ruined everything, Ian Louis! I would make sure that you regret this!" Kanjuro spat through gritted teeth.

    He knew that he was busted at this moment, so he hurriedly stood up from the ground and took his brush off.

    And with one fluid motion, he pulled on the strands of his hair and from his mane a thick cloud of ink was released.

    And then the cloud spread above them in the room.

    Next, he did another drawing of his, and this time real lifelike snakes, as opposed to his usual awful drawings, spread around the room holding each of them up and tightening around them.

    Another drawing was followed next which was an elegant giant flying crane! He then stood above it and it started to fly off before Kanjuro spoke up.

    "Although I wouldn''t be able to take all of you down with me, I''ll take what I can! Enjoy my technique: Evening INK Shower!" He said as he continued flying away at a very fast speed. And when he reached the roof of the room he was going to continue and pierce through it.

    Meanwhile, his technique had started.

    A shower of ink drops started to fall on them, but Ian casually waved his hand after which the drops started pooling above their heads as if an invisible barrier was keeping them from cutting through their bodies. From the sound on the barrier, they knew that it was possible.

    And just as Kin''emon was about to run, Ian spoke up.

    "What kind of emperor would I be if I let you escape like that?" He then waved his hand again and a bolt of lightning shaped like an eastern dragon shout out from his hand and reached him in the blink of an eye, after which he was electrocuted with his crane returning to Ink and him soon falling over!

    Only one thought went through Kanjuro''s head.

    ''How?''

    The crane was made with all of his power, and he was sure that anyone else would need a huge effort to revert his drawings to ink.

    And then he lost consciousness.

 Chapter 155 - Alliance!

    This turn of events left everyone there standing shocked out of their minds.

    They were all, not even about a second ago, in grave danger.

    Kanjuro who most of them had thought to be a loyal friend, had taken advantage of their shock and confusion over the fact that he was announced a traitor. He then attacked them with the snakes he drew swiftly that proceeded to bind them not a second later.

    And even someone as strong as the rulers were actually finding it hard to get out of.

    As such they knew, when they finally got their bearings, that the attack raining on them would definitely kill some of them.

    No one could blame them for this.

    No one expected him to suddenly turn on them and attack so aggressively!

    Still, now that he was unconscious their bindings faded to ink and were evaporated shortly afterward.

    The samurais, Raizo, Kin''emon were having the shock of their life. Among the rest, they were the ones who were closer to Kanjuro.

    Especially Kin''emon who until now was still having doubts that maybe this person was not the real Kanjuro¡­

    "Kanjuro wouldn''t do that¡­" Kin''emon kept muttering.

    He kept muttering like that until he was suddenly interrupted.

    "That was Kanjuro, do not delude yourself!" Inuarashi told him as he shook his head.

    Although he too had trouble believing that Kanjuro was the traitor, he did understand that it was, in fact, him who had given the information about Raizo. Otherwise, he would not have tried to kill them all and then run away.

    "However-" Even Raizo tried to say something in defense of their friend but he was suddenly interrupted.

    "Don''t be so blind to the facts! He was ready to blame you in a second! And don''t give me that bullshit about another person disguising as him! Or do you perhaps know another person that could produce ink from their bodies and draw forms that come to life?" Nekomamushi stepped up at him aggressively and lifted him from the color up as he yelled at him.

    At that, both Raizo and Kin''emon had to take a second as they closed their eyes.

    The fact was right in front of them.

    "Oy don''t fight you guys, you are allies after all!" Franky stepped up to them. He didn''t feel that it was alright for friends to be fighting like this.

    Nekomamushi gave him a nod as he released Raizo and apologized afterward.

    "I apologize. I was a bit emotional!" He told him as he bowed his head.

    "No, you were right! The fact that Kanjuro could use drawings as good as that¡­ was another proof he was the traitor¡­ I just can''t forgive myself for not knowing about this¡­" Kin''emon spoke up in return as he opened his eyes.

    Showing the pain in them. And when he turned to the side and saw Momo crying his eyes out in silence that same pain fueled his rage.

    The fact that a traitor was so close to Momo¡­ meant that he could have at any point either kidnapped him or worse even kill him¡­

    He unsheathed his sword and proceeded to the unconscious form.

    "You took advantage of our kindness and betrayed us! You betrayed us! You betrayed Lord Oden¡­ Lord Momonosuke! You deserve to die!" His sword lit up in fire as he suddenly prepared to attack.

    "Wait!" Ian intervened before Kin''emon would do something to regret.

    And Kin''emon did stop at that.

    "Don''t you want to know who is behind him? And also what information he told his superior?" Ian asked him calmly.

    And at that everyone understood where Ian was coming from.

    "But¡­" Kin''emon tried to come up with something but couldn''t.

    "Look man, I know this is hard, but you need to be strong for Momonosuke''s sake alright? We need to find information about him and what he had told our enemies. And don''t blame yourself, this guy didn''t fool just you, he fooled even your lord, and unless you think you are just as strong as said lord, then don''t be so hard on yourself! The only reason I suspected him was that only a few of you were supposed to know about Raizo being hidden in Zou, and if it was another situation, I''m afraid even I would not have known!" Ian calmly reasoned with him.

    And this finally made Kin''emon think rationally again.

    What Ian said was indeed true.

    Kanjuro had fooled even Oden. As such it was clear that the fault didn''t lie on Kin''emon or anyone else for that, but the enemy was just that better than them.

    He turned to give his lord a look when he found him being hugged by Nami and Robin. Still, he could feel the pain in his eyes. But there was also understanding there. He clearly understood that Kanjuro was a traitor to them.

    Kin''emon then shared a look with the two rulers and Raizo and understood that they too understood this.

    Even Ian believed what he had said.

    He didn''t have any prior knowledge about Kanjuro. He did not reach until that point of the manga in his past life. Or perhaps this was another change that happened due to his meddling.

    But it did come to pass and if he didn''t suspect the existence of a traitor perhaps even he would have been done in.

    He shook his head from such negative thoughts.

    And it was at this moment that a voice spoke up.

    "You said earlier ''our enemies'' Ian, does that mean, you decided to join the alliance?" said voice belonged to one Usopp.

    Usopp was trying to change the mood by bringing some good news. He had managed to pick that up earlier when Ian was talking with Kin''emon.

    Still even as he tried to change the mood, he couldn''t help but be hopeful as he was once again impressed by Ian''s strength.

    In fact, everyone there was impressed by Ian''s strength. At that moment they were caught, some of them knew that they would just get some injuries, but some knew that they might die. As such, they knew that Ian had saved them and that he was in fact quite strong.

    At hearing this question sound seemed to still for a second as every pair of eyes laid down upon Ian.

    Even the emotional ones, like Momo, Kin''emon, Raizo, and the two rulers.

    "Well my reason for refusing is that there was a spy among you, so now that we have caught him, there is no reason not to join you!" Ian told them with a grin.

    This in turn brought smiles to all of their faces.

    "You guys, should we continue on our earlier conversation, or should we do it later?" Ian asked Kin''emon''s group.

    But surprisingly it was Momonosuke who replied to him after he jumped up to his feet from the embrace of the girls.

    "I think we should continue! We will deal with Kanjuro later¡­" He told Ian what he thought, and Ian gave him a nod back.

    And at hearing that, Kin''emon and co forgot about Kanjuro for the time being, but they decided silently that they will be giving a visit to interrogate him later.

    For now, they thanked their luck for having someone like Ian by their sides. If it was not for him, they wouldn''t perhaps even know about Kanjuro until he betrayed them for good.

    And then from the side, Luffy, who tried to change the mood too, told them to gather up.

    And when they did he announced with a grin and his arm raised.

    "Our objective is to dispose of Kaido! We are now officially the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai alliance!" And then he thrust his arms at the rest who did the same.

    Even Ian jumped in on the fun while grinning. It felt good for him, to be part of this.

 Chapter 156 - Ianâ€™s condition!

    Outside of the room where the Poneglyph was located.

    The minks in their city were in a rather festive mood.

    They noticed that ever since Ian''s crew had stepped on their country, things had been going good for them.

    Their biggest source of happiness on this day is that their two rulers, Nekomamushi, and Inuarashi had made a pact to work together.

    What did that mean? They would no longer use that day and night ruling crap.

    From now on, the minks under them would be able to work and sleep whenever they wanted. They wouldn''t have to worry about them meeting and trying to kill each other like they were enemies.

    One such mink who was happy about this was Pedro.

    He was standing on a tree with Carrot and Wanda standing nearby.

    "It really is hard to see that such a day has really come!" Pedro spoke up from his position.

    This was in reply to Wanda who exclaimed about the two rulers working together, even though they had in the past split the day into night and day all to not see each other.

    "It was said that Duke Inuarashi and master Nekomamushi were once considered the closest of friends! However, one day when they came back from a long journey barely alive, they were already in a deep feud! Every time they came face-to-face they would try to kill each other! I wonder what happened on their journey¡­" Pedro added next. And he couldn''t help but wonder why those two closest friends would one day become enemies¡­

    Carrot from the side then spoke up.

    "That was before I was born, right?" she said as she turned to the dog mink, Wanda.

    "That''s right, even Pedro and I were small at that time." She told her with a small smile.

    "Ever since Emperor Ian and his crew came here, things have been going on for the better for us¡­" She said as she enjoyed the wind that was blowing.

    Then all of a sudden one of the minks who were nearby yelled.

    "Let''s have a banquet to celebrate our kings'' reconciliation!" He raised his arms with that.

    And the rest cheered loudly.

    Another yelled after him.

    "We can sleep and wake up whenever we want now!" He too was happy about this.

    And again the rest cheered at this.

    Leaving Pedro there on the tree smiling as he eyed the whale tree.

    ****

    With Ian!

    "Our enemy is Kaido! And our goal is to take him down!" Ian said after Luffy had exclaimed about the alliance.

    Luff at that nodded vigorously.

    "We''ll kick his ass all over the land of Wano!" He exclaimed as he raised his right arm.

    "Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, Momo, Kin''emon, Raizo, Tra-guy, Ian! We all join hands to take down Kaido! That''s what we joined hands for! Especially you, Ian, even I understand that you joining the alliance would be of massive help to us!" He told them all and then looked at Ian deeply.

    Ian was someone he was very grateful towards. At the war, he taught him one of the most valuable life lessons.

    At that time he was blindly charging in the war, and like that he might have ended up dead, or worse, his brother Ace would die too.

    But Ian stopped him and gave him a lesson about real life. In real life, you don''t risk it all depending on only your luck. Which was what he was doing before.

    And as a result of listening for once, his brother is still alive.

    He knew now, that they were against Kaido. And though he trained for a while, he knew that he was still no match to Kaido nor Big Mom. Although he did end up provoking her and Kaido.

    With this in mind, he gave Ian a grin.

    "At that time you beat Kaido, make sure to let me kick his ass some!" He cheekily said.

    It was obvious that since Ian was the strongest of them, that his role in this would be to take down Kaido.

    Ian smiled at him back.

    "Sure!" He said. He had no problem with that.

    Then Luffy moved on with his little speech.

    "You guys, we are now allies. Don''t bow your heads, nor get down on your knees, an alliance means¡­ Friendship!" Luffy finished with a yell.

    Much to the amus.e.m.e.nt of the onlookers.

    Then Ian took this chance to announce his plan.

    "You guys, although we are already allies. I have a condition!" Ian told them.

    And Raizo couldn''t help but exclaim.

    "Doesn''t conditions get raised before the alliance is made usually?" He said.

    But Kin''emon ignored that and asked Ian.

    "What is the condition?" He asked him.

    "I already told you that I would be going towards big Mom! Elene''s dream to be the strongest woman alive would be fulfilled at that. On the bonus, I get to take her Poneglyphs with me, and then dispose of some people under her!" Ian told them.

    "So the condition is to not go and fight until then!" Ian then told them the reason.

    And that had them relieved. They were expecting something more, but it was just normal.

    "That is the condition? If so, then sure, we''ll wait!" Raizo said in return.

    "Thanks!" Ian gave them his thanks.

    Then Inuarashi stepped up closer to him and said.

    "Are you sure?" He said as he looked at Elene. "Your opponent is Emperor Big Mom!" he told him again.

    "You might not know it, but right now Elene is the second strongest person in the room! If I were to rate her strength, she would be at the same level as the old man Whitebeard!" Ian said calmly.

    But what he said managed to shock them all.

    "Are you for real?" Luffy looked at her with wide eyes.

    "Yes! Everyone from the crew is quite strong with the exception of Akemi since she just joined us. You already dueled Bert so you know about him, but don''t forget your trump cards too!! Stella and Robin are the same as him in power level, with the exception that they are more adept at fighting huge numbers of enemies due to their devil fruits! As to Elene, just wait for her news against Big Mom, at that time you would naturally know!" Ian filled them in on his crew''s power level.

    He gave an apologetic look at Akemi who was by the side for comparing her against them. But she just shook her head with a smile.

    Nekomamushi and Inuarashi had indeed both lost against Bert.

    "We have lost against Bert, even when we fought together against him! Not to mention his power level when he uses the trump card¡­ if the others are as strong as that, then I can only say that the Beast pirates are not going to know what had hit them¡­" Inuarashi told the rest about the duel.

    And then he laughed as he imagined the faces of the Beast pirates when they get their asses kicked.

    Everybody there didn''t doubt Ian''s words. After all, this was something easy to prove, so it made no sense to doubt it.

    Not to mention that the strong guys from their side, did feel that Ian''s crew were really strong.

    The samurais for one were thankful that such strong people joined on their side.

    Then Sanji took this chance to speak.

    "Luffy, I would like to join Ian when he leaves for big mom!" Sanji said.

    And this brought questions from his crew.

    To which he replied with.

    "I need to go deal with that supposed family of mine one last time!" Sanji said with gritted teeth.

    He will go there and he will kick all of their asses and show them that the next time they tried to take advantage of him he''ll kill them all. Except for his sister.

    His sister too was a reason for why he wanted to go there. He had a favor to ask of Ian in regards to her.

    Luffy for his part didn''t mind about this.

    "Alright, Sanji! You can go if you want to!" he gave him a nod.

    And with this, it was decided that Sanji would be joining Ian''s crew at that time.

    And Ian had no problem with that. Sanji was his friend, he''ll even help him at the time.

 Chapter 157 - A small matter!

    With how things were already happening, Ian knew that things had changed too much ever since he started his journey but he didn''t care at all.

    As before, Sanji was supposed to leave the straw-hats to protect them. But now he didn''t. And then Luffy was going to attempt to save him, and again, he was not going to now.

    All those plans made by Bege to take down Big Mom¡­ Ian didn''t care for any of that.

    The moment he steps there, he would give Elene the privacy she needed with Big Mom, by holding off her children. Of course, the others would help him with this.

    After that, he would join the rest in Wano, and again take down Kaido. Only this time that would be left to him.

    Such was the new Ian. He didn''t care for changing the plot anymore. He didn''t care for a while now.

    But who can blame him, he had surpassed that level of strength where you always needed to stay on the line¡­

    Ian also guessed as to why Sanji was going with him. Other than the obvious reason that he wanted to sever the last link he had with that family.

    But he didn''t comment on this guess.

    With Sanji.

    Although he had asked Luffy, his captain, for permission he still needed to ask the person he was going to join.

    "Um¡­ Ian is it fine with you?" Sanji awkwardly asked Ian.

    After all, he didn''t know if Ian would refuse, and he had already announced that he would be joining him out loud. If he was turned down, that would be embarrassing.

    ''Why did I have to say it out loud?'' He thought to himself embarrassed.

    "Sure! You can join us at that time!" Ian told him with a smile.

    And at that Sanji visibly relaxed as he gave Ian a thankful look.

    And after this everyone started to move from the room on the whale tree.

    Ian was standing near his crewmates, who ever since he praised them had been sporting massive grins on their faces.

    They were surely enjoying this.

    Taking a look at Akemi, he promised that he would help her later, as she was now officially one of them.

    Ian just shook his head in amus.e.m.e.nt at his crew before looking forward.

    Meanwhile, Luffy started asking the two rulers about shanks, and they proceeded to explain everything about that to them.

    How they were Lord Oden''s attendants and followed him from Whitebeard''s ship to Rogers.

    Obviously, Kin''emon and the rest stayed in the land of Wano. As they didn''t even want their lord to travel with pirates.

    Then just when everyone started asking them questions, Nami told them to shut up.

    This was something that even Ian was quite perplexed about. As truthfully he didn''t remember what he had watched in the anime about this particular moment, other than that it was okay and to just keep going forward.

    Inuarashi explained to her, and once Ian heard that he knew that he didn''t have to worry.

    Basically, there was a road on which all the needles of the log pose points- in the same direction- towards one specific point.

    In the case of Roger, since no one told him about the Poneglyphs for the first time, he had to start all over again once he reached the last island the log pose leads to.

    But in the case of them who already knew about that, they were already ready. They just had to keep going on forward on their own journeys.

    Then Nami was praised for being a good navigator, to which she blushed but had a happy smile on her face nonetheless.

    Then they kept on moving forward before a very excited Momo remarked that he had also met Roger when he was young.

    But he was called a liar by Usopp. Stating how he couldn''t have been born at that time.

    But Ian knew the truth about that.

    In fact this was something that was interesting to him a lot.

    Back in his past life, he always felt like time traveling in one piece was quite weird. Like it didn''t belong in this world. But the author did manage to make it sound as if it was part of the world.

    These guys in front of Ian¡­ they were all, time traveling to the future!

    This is why Momo said he had met Roger. He had in fact said the truth.

    "For now¡­ we have many things to do before fighting Kaido!" Inuarashi said.

    Kin''emon gave him a nod.

    "We need to prepare! Like I told you before, we are trying to recruit samurai who will fight with us in the land of Wano right now! But before anything else, we need to get information from Kanjuro first!" Kin''emon said.

    Getting information from him would help them to plot their strategy even more.

    And since this time, there was no grudge war, Neither Inuarashi nor Nekomamushi tried to recruit Marco. They both were going to go to the land of Wano.

    In fact, apart from Ian and co, everybody was going to go towards Wano.

    "When we reach the land of Wano, we will round up allies, and plot a strategy!" Kin''emon told them.

    It was dangerous for them to do that, however, as the land of Wano was completely under Kaido.

    But at that Law stepped up.

    "We can go on our submarine, that way, we''ll be safe while traveling." He said.

    And they gave him a happy smile and nods.

    "Afterwards if you have a safe place to hide on the island, we''ll be safe" He finished.

    And the samurais nodded and told him their thanks.

    Ian thought that all of this was complicated somehow.

    He was the type that was more forward.

    If it was up to him, he would charge at Kaido with his crew and take down everyone he sees. He knew that it was possible. And easier.

    But since this war was not concerning only him, he didn''t think it was right to do everything himself.

    As such he agreed with the rest.

    All of them would go to Wano, and then try to gather allies, meanwhile, Ian and co would deal with Big Mom.

    Plus it didn''t hurt to be more prepared just in case something unexpected happened after all. There was the world government who until now he didn''t know what will do in retaliation for killing Kong. And also there was the di¨¢voloi who had been silent lately.

    He could feel that something was wrong with that. And he figured they would make an entrance soon¡­

    So they continued with their walking until they were joined by the other minks. And at that everybody asked how Raizo was and was he hurt at all before he was impressed with them and did one of his techniques that released heart-shaped petals from the sky.

    And at that, they told him that there was going to be a banquet in the honor of the Kozuki family reunion.

    All of a sudden Ian was alerted. And he sharply turned to look at the gate to Wano.

    "What''s wrong Ian?" Inuarashi noticed this and asked him.

    Ian replied.

    "It appears the beast pirates that ran away are back¡­" Ian told him.

    Even after they had let them keep their lives, they had come back.

    "Leave them to me! You guys continue on!" Ian told them and then abruptly vanished from there.

 Chapter 158 - Zunesha!

    [A/N: Please enjoy two chapters today! and I''m sorry I couldn''t write more chapters! Also Happy new year to you all!]

    Near the giant elephant, Zunesha, Sh.i.p.s could be seen turning sideways so that they were facing its left leg. Cannons first.

    All of these sh.i.p.s coordinated under the highest authority pirate among them all.

    Who had taken leadership of the forces after Jack had died! He was the strongest as such it was the logical course of actions for them.

    These pirates were the same that were spared, in the hopes that they would think well about fighting Ian and co again. Sadly¡­ you can''t really change the mind of someone who was stupid and searching for death like them.

    Though they had run away at first, they had undergone a meeting between them and then decided that they didn''t want to die.

    And that was something granted for them, had they gone back with no success on their mission.

    Not only had they not brought Raizo back, but they also were not even able to confirm if he truly was among the minks country.

    And then Jack had died. And that was someone important to Kaido! In fact, it was the first reason why Kaido would kill them.

    9 sh.i.p.s circled around the leg until they were all ready to lay waste to the elephant.

    Why would they attack the elephant though? One would ask.

    This was the conclusion everyone had reached after their discussion. Since they couldn''t go back in failure, they sought to at least do something to report to Kaido about it.

    And one fact they were sure about was that they would never be able to Beat Ian who took down Jack easily.

    So why not take down the very elephant all of those people were on? It was a genius plan.

    Once the elephant was down, everyone would be dead, with the possibility of Ian surviving, but with heavy injuries.

    At that time their combined attack would be able to take him down¡­ or so they thought.

    This would have worked had Ian not been quite as strong as he was!!

    "Prepare the cannons for shooting!" A person wearing the beast pirates costume yelled at his now subordinates.

    And the rest hurried to do as he said.

    "We need to hurry and take the elephant down!" He yelled again.

    Sweat rolling on his forehead but he kept a composed smirk on his face.

    Showing the rest that he was confident in the plan.

    Meanwhile internally, he was scared shitless. He couldn''t help but feel that something was wrong. Like something bad was about to happen.

    "Everything is read!" one of the pirates yelled to him from his ship, and this was followed by the other sh.i.p.s doing the same.

    He took a deep breath before he suddenly yelled for them all.

    "Shoot! Take them all down!" He announced and they followed his orders.

    A barrage of cannonballs was launched at the left leg of the elephant Zunesha.

    Then explosions sounded and the area was covered with smoke soon after.

    But he didn''t stop and yelled at them again, not letting even the smoke clear.

    "Again! Shoot!" He yelled at them. So much that his throat was starting to hurt.

    But he didn''t care only one thing went through his mind. And that was to take down this elephant and all that was on it.

    "It shouldn''t take us a lot to take it down. This animal is beyond its age! Its skin should have deteriorated by now!" He told his subordinates.

    Who themselves were eager to destroy the elephant.

    Again another round of cannonballs was shot. And then again, and again, until the sixth round when their leader told them to stop.

    He knew that it was not enough to injure the animal to the point where it would keel over, however, he wanted to see the current progress they had.

    But when the smoke cleared, all of them widened their eyes in disbelieve at what was happening.

    In front of them, just short of touching the leg of the elephant, those cannonballs they shot had apparently done no damage to the elephant''s leg. Even after so many rounds.

    This brought panic to them, as this was their one chance to not get punished by Kaido.

    They couldn''t understand what was happening, was the elephant really this strong?

    And that panic indie of them only magnified when they heard an all too familiar voice address them.

    "Who would have expected you guys to be so stupid as to come back? And my crew had even considered sparing you¡­ sigh!"

    Yes.

    This was Ian who had left the rest after telling them that he was going to take care of the problem.

    He had sensed that the beast pirates were back. But he didn''t know that they were planning to attack the elephant as that was just stupid.

    He had thought that someone strongest than Jack had come to enact vengeance, but he was wrong apparently.

    Ian didn''t wait for them to speak or anything.

    Their chance to run was already given. And he was not a saint. Not to mention that these people were now his enemies as he became a part of the alliance.

    He took his right arm from his pocket and started charging his electricity through it.

    After a while, he pointed his right arm now looking all blue, at them.

    And to their on growing shock, a massive eastern Dragon made from electricity charged at them soon after.

    The dragon plunged mouth first at the nearest ship swallowing it and continuing to the sea under it.

    The ship was destroyed as soon as the Dragon made contact with it. With all of those on it dying just as soon.

    Still, the few that had jumped to the sea before the dragon hit the ship, were electrocuted to death since the Dragon had continued on to the water.

    But it was not done, as Ian controlled it and had it attack another ship from the sea towards the sky this time.

    And just like that, the nine sh.i.p.s were soon reduced to wood wreckage on the sea.

    As for the Beast pirates? No survivor was left.

    Ian had made sure to sense for that.

    Ian spared the place a single look. While thinking to himself.

    ''Become better people in your next lives¡­''

    As to whether reincarnation was true or not? He was the living proof of that.

    He was preparing to teleport back to the place he was at earlier, before a trumpet sound was loudly emitted.

    All of those on Zou heard it.

    It was in fact so loud that the minks and the rest had to close their ears in pain.

    But for Ian, following this trumpet sound, he heard a deep rumbling voice speak to him in his mind.

    "You have my thanks, young child!" the voice said.

    And Ian was able to immediately understand that it was Zunesha.

    Taking a look at the giant elephant Ian started to think for a bit.

    This was one of his goals when he had come to Zou.

    To find out if possible, what the elephant was searching for or why was he punished...

    And now Zunesha had taken the initiative to speak to him. He thought that now was a good time to speak with it.

    He figured it wouldn''t take him long to speak with it and get back to the rest, so with a nod, he teleported straight to the head of Zunesha.

    It was best to talk to it face to face.

 Chapter 159 - Getting some answers!

    Ian directly appeared in front of the face of the gargantuan Elephant Zunesha.

    He stared directly at this massive beast in front of him

    Its eyes sunken deep into its eye sockets, but even so, Ian could discern that they were turquoise ringed irises. He had great eyesight after all.

    If another person looked at Zunesha they would find it hard to see its eyes. They were in fact so hidden one would think they were nonexistent.

    Its ears were tattered and frayed at the edges. No doubt due to its age, and it having to weather the atmosphere of every island it passed. Ian made a note to see if he can do anything about it right now.

    Ian noticed that Zunesha was studying him too but he didn''t mind.

    But Ian proceeded to introduce himself.

    After all, this was a one thousand years old Elephant. And it deserved some respect.

    "Hello! My name is Ian D. Louis." Ian introduced himself calmly.

    But upon seeing Zunesha stay silent he continued on.

    "I heard the resident on the island call you by the name Zunesha, is it really your name?" It was possible that the name was just given by them, and that since Zunesha was self-aware, that it had another name.

    The minks didn''t even know that Zunesha could speak, after all. But there was also the possibility that the name was indeed passed down from generation to generation. Personally, Ian guessed that it was the latter.

    Again the elephant stayed silent for a bit.

    Before this time he replied.

    "Indeed!" Zunesha confirmed Ian''s guess.

    "Although I remain thankful for your help, I must ask, for what purpose do you seek me, Ian D. Louis?" Zunesha stated as soon as it finished confirming what Ian was thinking.

    And at this Ian took a few seconds to think things through.

    He didn''t know how much would this elephant know, but at the very least he wanted to know its reason for wandering or why it was punished.

    With that in mind, Ian looked at Zunesha.

    "For what reason do you wander the sea?" Ian asked.

    He was not going to directly ask of course. As that would mean he already knew that Zunesha was being punished by someone. And he was not supposed to know that.

    No, if he asked that, Zunesha was definitely going to be alert.

    Zunesha himself after hearing this took a second to look profoundly at Ian.

    ''This is the one ''he'' was talking about¡­ I suppose it wouldn''t hurt to tell him!'' It thought to itself.

    As it remembered when he had mentioned the coming of Ian in the past¡­

    "It is a punishment if you must know¡­" Zunesha said, and it sounded to Ian as if the elephant was mad tired at that moment.

    Ian for his part already knew that. What he did not know was why the elephant was punished. And who, yes who, was capable of punishing such a massive lifeform.

    "Punishment you say? Why though? Have you done something to earn it?" Ian asked him.

    His thoughts wandering to what could be so worse as to punish him to wander the seas for hundreds of years¡­

    Yeah, he couldn''t come up with something, not to mention, he felt the elephant was not really bad.

    Zunesha contemplated on what to say for a bit.

    "For a crime, I committed in the past¡­" Zunesha began. "I had been quite young at the time, barely two hundred years old¡­ there was a war happening, and all of us were called¡­ except at my young age, I had been scared of dying, as such due to my cowardice I had run away. The war thus was lost, and I was punished¡­" Zunesha explained. A hint of bitterness in its voice that Ian could understand. Anyone would find it hard to admit their shortcomings¡­

    "Do not ask me against who was the war fought, you can make your own guesses, but it is forbidden to say anything more about that! You will eventually find out on your own anyway!" Zunesha continued on not leaving any time for Ian to ask questions.

    "So as punishment to that, you were tasked with traveling all around the world?" Ian asked it.

    He could already make a few guesses. What was the war? Most likely the war against the great kingdom. The one where it was betrayed.

    But he didn''t understand what the relationship of the great kingdom was with Zunesha. Plus it had said ''all of us'', meaning more like it.

    Would Kurma also be among those? Ian had this thought. His father had said at one point that there were massive beasts in this world with unimaginable power. Kurma was one. Zunesha another¡­ after all, even though Ian was quite strong, Zunesha would be able to kill him, if it was capable of touching him, that is.

    His body though evolved, just could not hold the same amount of strength as a massive thirty-five km tall beast.

    Not to say that Ian would not be able to easily kill it. But this was a comparison of raw strength. And in that, Zunesha easily wins¡­

    "How long ago was this war?" Ian continued asking him. If he knew the exact time, he might be able to confirm his guess.

    Again Zunesha thought for a bit. And then replied.

    "I was barely two hundred years old. And now I''m a thousand years old!" He didn''t state it directly but Ian understood that it was 800 years ago. Meaning at the time of the void century.

    So Ian''s guess was in fact correct. This war was the war the great kingdom fell in.

    "Well, I don''t believe that you running away would warrant 800 years of punishment¡­ there must be more to this!" Ian stated as he said.

    He knew that there was something more. Obviously, the war was lost, and the elephant deserved some sort of punishment, but for it to wander the seas for years and years, it had to have another reason¡­

    Zunesha was searching for something¡­ or rather somewhere¡­ Ian knew well about this.

    He just didn''t know what they were searching for.

    But Ian had a feeling that somehow, the minks, Samurais, fishmen were all related somehow.

    One was searching for something, one was promised to be brought to the surface, and the last was hoping their country would be opened to the rest of the world¡­ Somehow all of this was related¡­

    "Make your own guesses, Ian D. Louis! This is all that I''m allowed to say!" Zunesha responded.

    Ian nodded his head.

    He understood that he was not going to get anything more from Zunesha about this.

    Still like it said he did manage to get quite a few things from it.

    For one, he now knew why Zunesha was being punished. Then there was also the fact that he now knew Zunesha was somehow related to the great kingdom, and by extension, the ''D'' people who Ian thought are the great kingdom rulers.

    Another thing is that it had confirmed that there was some beast strong enough to command it and punish it when it had said that ''all of us were tasked to fight¡­''

    Also if there wasn''t a beast like that, why would it obey such an order for years¡­ not even capable of protecting itself until ordered¡­ no it definitely existed and it was scary strong¡­

    Perhaps that was the unknown existence that had talked with Ian. After all, that existence had said at the time that it was fortunate for Ian that he had met one of them at the Florian triangle¡­

    Ian was starting to get tired of all these riddles. But the day to reach the last island and understand everything was close.

    "Thank you, Zunesha!" Ian thanked the elephant.

    "As you replied to my questions to the best of your ability, I''ll help you up somewhat!" He said as he came closer.

    His energy had helped many in the past, and Ian had no reason to believe that it would not be able to help Zunesha, except that it might take more times, and several tries rather than one.

 Chapter 160 - Discussion

    After dealing with Zunesha, Ian teleported back to where he left, but he didn''t find the rest there.

    After sensing their place he was currently on his way back to meet them.

    He had left abruptly earlier when he had detected the beast pirates, but it appeared they had continued walking and talking in between them. Not that he minded at all.

    Ian had infused his energy with Zunesha, and just like he expected it to, it did work, though since the body this time was quite large it was apparent to him after he did it the first time, that he was going to need to do it a few more times. Still, it did work, and that was all Ian needed to know.

    Doing it a few more times wouldn''t really hurt after all. And if he was correct, Zunesha should be an ally¡­ or at the least his brethren whom he guessed that they would be quite vital in the future¡­

    The effects of what he had done were not apparent and seemingly nonexistent, but Ian knew that they were mostly internal for now.

    As evidenced by Zunesha thanking him profusely and stating how it didn''t hurt as much to walk right now.

    Soon he had reached where the rest were standing.

    They all noticed that he was there.

    Inuarashi and Nekomamushi as expected were the first to ask Ian.

    "Young Ian, is it done with?" Inuarashi asked him.

    He knew of Ian''s strength and unless Kaido had come by himself, he knew that most likely the threat was done with.

    Ian nodded at him.

    "Yes, since they didn''t appreciate it when we let them go the last time it is only appropriate I dealt with them!" Ian replied. He sighed thinking of how stupid those fellows were even after they were spared¡­

    "What could have driven them to attack once again?" Nekomamushi mused out loud.

    With the rest sharing the same thoughts.

    "Most likely they couldn''t report their failure. So they made a plan. And that was to bring down Zunesha I guess. When I had reached the place, they were attacking Zunesha''s leg with cannonballs. But don''t worry I stopped them! Zunesha is safe for now!" Ian told them.

    And he was able to see the look of realization on the two mink rulers'' faces.

    If Zunesha fell, everything would be done for them.

    Still, that had already been dealt with, courtesy of Ian.

    "Sorry about the trouble, once more!" Inuarashi shook his head as he said.

    "Don''t mention it! We are allies now! Not that I wouldn''t help if we were not haha" Ian laughed as he replied.

    The rest shared the laugh with him.

    Before Ian asked them what to do now.

    "Well, all of us would head out to the land of Wano. However, we decided to first interrogate Kanjuro to get some info, including how the Beast pirates are capable of reaching Zou! Only after that would we head out to zou!" Nekomamushi said.

    And seeing Ian nod he continued speaking.

    "When we reach there, we will devise a plan on how to bring down Kaido and his army with the help of Law!" All of them there knew that Law was the most ideal to plan their strategy.

    Even Ian would give him that.

    In fact, the rest were quite nervous about this, since they thought that Ian wouldn''t agree.

    But Ian was not like the rest.

    "I have heard about you Law, and I have no problem with this! You can do as you want! The only thing I''ll say is to leave-taking down Kaido to me! I''m not saying this just in spite or anything, but an emperor cannot be underestimated. You would understand once you have seen how strong Kaido can be that no plan would work against him. No matter how well-devised! So leave him to me in your strategy!" Ian addressed Law. His voice sincere, but most of all filer with absolute seriousness.

    What he said was indeed truthful. He didn''t mind Law at all. He knew about him from the anime after all.

    He would even admit that his own mind was not well made to make strategic plans or anything. Rather he was the straightforward type, so it was best he left that to someone else.

    But in front of true strength, nothing would work, it was best they knew that right now.

    Law for his part understood this. Just like earlier with his plan against Doflamingo. As such he gave Ian a nod.

    He would leave Kaido to Ian, but not without making some reserve plans in case that didn''t work. That was just how he was.

    "I understand!" He replied vocally. Still, he was glad Ian didn''t assume the leadership of this and left him to devise a plan. It was what he was best at after all.

    Ian smiled at him and then turned to Inuarashi for him to continue.

    "Meanwhile you Ian, would head out to big mom and deal with your purpose there! Afterward, you will join us in Wano! So far this is the plan but once you head out after us, hopefully, our plan would already be underway!" Inuarashi told him.

    Unlike in the anime, there was nothing for the minks to do other than interrogate Kanjuro. As such, they were going to go with the rest to the land of Wano.

    Apart from Sanji who was going to go with Ian, all of the rest would head out together.

    Also, Zunesha was not injured at all, as such there no time to be wasted on healing him or anything of the like.

    Although Ian would have been able to heal that easily of course.

    "Alright. I understand. Since the straw-hats are going with you if you need anything from me just have them call me okay? For example, if you can''t interrogate Kanjuro on your own¡­ hehe I have ways to make him spill the beans!" Ian told them with a feral grin at the end.

    Luffy and co did have his den-den mushi number so they could contact him. Plus all of them knew about his teleportation ability so they knew he could reach them easily.

    Inuarashi and Nekomamushi nodded at him.

    While Kin''emon and Raizo didn''t think they would need Ian''s help with Kanjuro they still appreciated the gesture and thanked him.

    Inuarashi asked Ian then.

    "Are you going to go now then?" He asked.

    "No! We have already stayed long enough that''s true, but I was planning to leave the next morning! There is also someone I would like to recruit on the way to Big Mom. At that time when we reunite I guarantee he would be of massive help!" Ian grinned at them.

    It was indeed time to leave! They had spent a lot of time here and it was time to move on.

    "If you say that young Ian then he must be quite dependable!" Inuarashi laughed with him as he couldn''t wait to meet such a person.

    Things were looking out for them. With allies like Ian, they were surely going to win this fight.

    "Oh, I just remembered but, about Pekoms, that guy, he is quite nice but I don''t know why he is working for Big Mom. I would advise you to not let him go back to her! He is one of you after all!" Ian told Inuarashi and Nekomamushi.

    And this was something they had planned on doing already so they nodded.

    After that Ian and co went back to their home.

    Ian had wanted to go right now at first, but then he thought about the newest addition to the crew. He didn''t want her to be caught off guard after all.

    As such he would help her become stronger, and then all of them would spend the rest of the day helping her train her new strength. And they would only leave on the next day!

 Chapter 161 - Time to leave Zou!

    New world, Zou.

    In the Rightflank forest.

    The sound of fighting was loud and clear for anyone that happened to be there.

    Two blurs moved forward, backward, sideways, as they traded blows until they came to a stop revealing them to be Bert, and his lovely girlfriend, Akemi.

    Surrounding them, were Elene (holding Libell), Robin, Stella, and Ian.

    "Huff-huff!" Both Akemi and Bert were breathing heavily.

    They had been dueling for a while now. Trying to push Akemi to her breaking point.

    Why? One would ask.

    It is because she had undergone Ian''s strengthening, and she needed to adapt to her new strength. As such all of them tried to help her until they reached this point where they sought to test her newfound strength.

    And so far everyone was pleased with her progress.

    As apparent from Bert being slightly tired, Akemi had given him a run for his money.

    Still, no one approached waiting for Bert to give his judgment.

    Bert sat upon the ground promptly. In his mind, all of the fights they went through kept replaying and replaying.

    Until he suddenly opened his eyes.

    "Captain, I would say she is close to me in strength. In fact, based on what I saw during our earlier fights, she merely needed an advantage, like if I slipped and made a mistake, she would press on to corner me and perhaps even win!" Bert said. His voice steady now that he had rested a bit, and a hint of pride was apparent.

    One would think he should be jealous, but Bert was not like that. Even if she was even stronger than him, he would be even happier, knowing that she would be able to protect herself.

    The rest smiled at her.

    Elene came closer and tried to give her a one-armed hug due to her holding Libell.

    "Um¡­ I''m kind of sweaty right now, so¡­" Akemi tried to spare Elene that, but Elene didn''t care and hugged her anyway.

    "Eh? Who cares about that! Anyways, Congratulation! Now you can beat up Bert if he misbehaves with you!" Elene teasingly spoke up right into her ears with a whisper.

    Making Akemi giggle as she pictured that. And Bert to sweat for some unknown reason.

    Stella came next and praised her.

    "You are definitely fast! I can only silently pray for your opponents'' tsk-tsk!" She playfully said.

    But behind her playful words, the truth remains that Akemi was indeed fast. She was extremely close to Bert at that.

    And as of now, in speed, besides Elene and Ian, she was the second-fastest person on their crew. Followed by Stella and then Robin.

    "Congratulations!" Robin smiled at her as she handed her a bottle of water and a towel for her to use.

    Akemi had been training since yesterday, with only four hours of sleep in between. Congratulations were indeed due.

    Akemi took the towel and bottle of water happily as she thanked them all.

    "Thank you, guys!" She replied to them. But they could tell from her almost choking on her thanks that she was feeling quite emotional. And they gave her gentle smiles. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="/book/reincarnation-in-one-piece-the-adventure-of-ian-louis!_15935515306575705/time-to-leave-zou!_50952689365860497">/book/reincarnation-in-one-piece-the-adventure-of-ian-louis!_15935515306575705/time-to-leave-zou!_50952689365860497</a> for visiting.

    "Big sis you are so strong and fast!" Libell spoke up in her childish voice. She was greatly impressed with her new big sis.

    Akemi giggled at her as she patted her head.

    For her part was beyond happy.

    Never did she expect to be accepted as one of them so quickly. She thought they would need to test her at some of their fights in the future to see her loyalty and priorities, but no. they just up and accepted her on the words of Bert.

    They even gave her a newfound power. And now were congratulating her for a bit of training. She knew at this moment that this crew was the best thing to happen to her.

    After all, she had her lover Bert in it, and she had friends who treated her as if a family member too. What more could she want?

    She vowed to herself at this moment, that the crew would have her absolute loyalty.

    Turning to look at Ian she saw Him smiling at her.

    He was the person capable of making her stronger.

    She bowed her head and thanked him once again.

    "Once again, captain, I thank you with all of my heart!?? She sincerely spoke up.

    Bert had at one point gotten a towel himself to dry himself and he had moved to stand next to her and held her hands comfortably.

    Ian nodded while smiling.

    "You are one of our family, it is only natural after all!" He told her.

    Her eyes widened for a bit before she leaned on Bert and smiled in content. She didn''t think that Ian would say it so straightforwardly, but then again, such was Ian.

    Ian seeing that the timing was good he spoke up.

    "Alright, you guys! Since we have done what we had to do, it is time for us to leave! Akemi is there something you still need to do here? Or are you set to go? Actually, now that I think about it, is it fine with you to leave Zou?" Ian told the rest that it was time to leave.

    But then he remembered about Akemi. Since she had spent her whole life here it was quite possible she would need more time before deciding to leave.

    In that case, Ian wouldn''t mind coming to pick her up when she feels ready.

    "Ah? No-no I''m fine to go right now!" Akemi was surprised at first before she replied to Ian.

    "Are you sure? We can always come to pick you up later when you feel like you are more ready? In other times we would even stay here with you waiting, but you know of our agenda and its importance, sigh!" Ian told her as he sighed.

    Akemi shook her head.

    "We can go now! I''m ready captain!" She resolutely said.

    And Ian smiled at her.

    "Alright! You would not believe this coincidence guys, but just yesterday, Dragon contacted me about the person I want us to join! He told me he had information about his whereabouts and now we are ready to set sail and get our newest member aboard! After which, we will head out to kick big mom''s ass!" Ian told them how he got info about the new member from Dragon yesterday. He then laughed as he spoke about kicking big mom''s butthole. Well more specifically Elene would!

    The rest laughed with him.

    And though they didn''t know who this newest member was, they didn''t ask. They knew that since Ian was hiding this information from them, then he had a reason for why. Perhaps it was to surprise them.

    "Would we go now?" Bert asked. If so he had to ask permission from Inuarashi and Nekomamushi to pick some rare ingredients only found here.

    Ian removed his ring and gave it to Elene.

    "Yes! Make sure to pack our stuff and get everything we need! Meanwhile, I will go pick up Sanji!" Ian told them and seeing they nodded he started walking away.

    "Big brother Ian can I go with you?" Libell called for him and he stopped and smiled at her.

    "Sure!" She hurriedly jumped at him and climbed to sit on his shoulders.

    Ian shook his head at her antics.

    "Should we run or fly little princess?" Ian asked her with a doting voice.

    "Fly-fly-fly!" She excitedly started to say.

    And who was Ian to disagree? He took off to the sky just like the little princess demanded.

    It was time for the Nightmare pirates to leave Zou!

 Chapter 162 - The plan!

    Ian had gone to bring Sanji to leave with them leaving his crew to pack up everything they needed. And he did bring him back shortly after.

    By the time he came back along with Sanji and the rest of the straw-hats, Elene and co were already done with their part. Although by appearances only, one would not think so at all.

    As it appeared that they stayed the same as before. While they had in fact stored all their belongings in the ring.

    When Ian and Sanji reached the rest they greeted each other. Before the straw-hats proceeded to say their goodbyes¡­

    Ian gave them their space as he moved to the side with his crewmates.

    "Alright guys, let''s first discuss what we are going to do!" Ian told them as they listened.

    "First, we will go get our newest member! His location is in the new world, Galmar Island. That would be our destination for now. I can''t travel to a place I have never been to before if the distance is too much as you already know, so we are going by ship! I''m sure Libell would be happy about that!" Ian told them in explanation.

    It was true that he can''t teleport to an island he had never been to. the ability worked by picturing the place you want to go to vividly. Though he could teleport to places within his eyesight.

    Libell who had been sitting on his shoulders happily replied in the affirmative.

    "Yes! Yes! I would like that big brother Ian!" She said with great enthusiasm.

    "Alright, then that''s what we''re are going to do!" Ian told her with a smile.

    The rest didn''t disagree with him either.

    "Would we be heading towards big mom after then?" Stella asked him next.

    And Ian gave her a nod.

    "Yes! We would immediately head out there!" Ian replied to her.

    "So what''s our strategy?" Robin asked him.

    Ian thought for a bit about that.

    There were many options to go with.

    He could devise his own strategy. Or he could join that Bege guy ''if'' he was still alive.

    But ultimately Ian thought that being straightforward is the best option.

    "Had it been an enemy out of our own powers I would agree to a strategy well thought off! As it stands now though? I refuse. This is how it will go down! Elene would challenge big mom. While we will prevent anyone of her sons from interfering. We would not wait for her stupid tea party or the like. The moment we reach Toto land the moment we attack!" Ian told them all.

    And they sighed at this. Not that they minded at all. It was just that this was something Ian would do.

    "What about Sanji? And the Poneglyphs?" Robin further asked.

    The Poneglyph was most important to her. Though Sanji was her friend too.

    Ian thought about that for a bit.

    "Well not all of us need to guard Elene. And during the commotion, and especially when big mom starts losing and her sons see that, no one would care to guard their treasury! Which the place I''m guessing would contain the Poneglyph. At that time one of you could go and retrieve the Poneglyphs." Ian told them what he thought.

    And Elene couldn''t help but be happy about this.

    Ian had stated that when big mom would start losing¡­ this meant that he trusted Elene so much that he knew big mom was going to lose 100%!!

    Of course, that would make her happy. Well, that and the fact that her dream was close to being fulfilled.

    "As for Sanji¡­ most likely Germa 66 would be there at that time, and again since not all of us would be occupied, we could help him! After that, we would join the rest in Wano!" Ian nodded to himself as he felt this was possible.

    They all nodded at that. Nothing too serious was needed. Their strength was enough for them to do things simply like that.

    "Oh, also if you come against Katakuri in big mom''s territory, don''t underestimate him and if you win don''t kill him!" Ian told them as an afterthought.

    They nodded at that.

    Katakuri was well known after all in the world.

    But Akemi didn''t know him so she asked.

    "Is he someone strong?" She asked Ian.

    Ian gave her a nod and a smile as he explained.

    "That guy is quite strong, he is next in line to lead after the emperor he is serving under! It is said that he never lost a battle! But I know a few more things about him!" Ian told them.

    At this time even Luffy and co had finished and came to join Ian.

    Ian didn''t mind. They were already done discussing their plans.

    They had heard about this Katakuri and were intrigued by him. Especially Luffy. But they all listened silently.

    "That guy had honed his observation Haki close to the limits. When one reaches that state, they would be able to see into the future for a few seconds. The only people I know for a fact that had reached that level are him and me! However, I would venture to say that any other emperor and the admirals and above all can do the same!" Ian told them.

    He explained what observation Haki was capable of at that state and told them who can use it.

    "My point is, only people at a certain level are capable of using this! And he can so anyone of you who goes against him is best to be cautious!" Ian cautioned them about it once again.

    And they all understood that and nodded their heads.

    In fact Ian had wanted to say this specifically for Elene, since Katakuri can see the future, big mom might as well be even more adept at it.

    The straw-hats, however, were shocked after hearing that someone can in fact see a bit into the future. This brought the revelation that their opponents were getting stronger and stronger. Still, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji were excited about that and not scared.

    After that Nekomamushi and Inuarashi along with the samurais were seen heading their way.

    After sharing a greeting between them Ian proceeded to talk.

    "It''s good that you came now. We are already ready to leave so it''s time to say our goodbyes!" Ian told them. Then he started to walk towards the gate of Zou.

    And the rest flowed after him. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="/book/reincarnation-in-one-piece-the-adventure-of-ian-louis!_15935515306575705/the-plan!_50998387281021952">/book/reincarnation-in-one-piece-the-adventure-of-ian-louis!_15935515306575705/the-plan!_50998387281021952</a> for visiting.

    Kin''emon stepped up closer to him.

    "Understood! And thank you once again!" Kin''emon said but didn''t bow this time.

    Which had Ian smiling at him.

    "Nekomamushi made my vivre card earlier! Since we are going to split up, make sure to take one Ian!" Kin''emon said as he cut the vivre card into two and passed Ian a piece from it.

    Ian took it, as he did in fact need it to be able to search for them later.

    "We are splitting up into two groups! First, your group who would head to whole cake island! And our group that would head to the land of Wano! Let us reunite at Wano!" Kin''emon spoke up.

    "That''s the plan!" Ian grinned as he replied.

    Turning to look at the rest Ian nodded at each one, silently saying his goodbyes.

    He did notice however that Nami had a new clima tact or whatever its name was. He didn''t remember that from the original anime. But he didn''t care about it much, perhaps it had happened and he just didn''t remember.

    Then they continued walking while sharing small talk until they had reached the edge of Zunesha''s back. Just past the gate.

    Then Ian, Elene, robin, Stella, Bert, Akemi, and Sanji, stood there opposite Kin''emon''s group.

    "Well, then Ian! We will be waiting for you at the Land of Wano! Good luck with your endeavor!" Kin''emon told him.

    And the rest similarly said their thanks, goodbyes, and good luck.

    Ian and co similarly replied with their goodbyes.

    And just when Inuarashi was about to suggest that they help them get down from Zunesha, Ian and co had already jumped off Zunesha''s back all of them grinning with their backs to the ground.

    Well apart from Sanji who had a look of horror on his face and who was being held by some unknown energy.

    "See you later!" Ian yelled out loud while he laughed as he enjoyed the shocked looks on the people opposite them!

 Chapter 163 - Shocking abilities!

    On the road to Galmar Island. Two days since setting off.

    The odyssey can be seen cutting through the waves at a furious speed.

    And though any regular ship would suffer from imbalance along with damage to the ship, the Odyssey remains steady and in top condition. Thanks to Ian and his invisible field of energy surrounding it.

    Though what was different this time is how he didn''t need to stay focused at all while doing so.

    Previously he was already proficient enough to steer the ship that way without too much focus on his part. But now with the addition of Libell, things became easier.

    She was the one steering the ship. After all, she was the ship. But how could she use Ian''s own energy? Well, that would be due to what Ian found out about her abilities.

    Since she was the spirit of the ship, she could to a limited extent use the same abilities of everyone who stayed for a long time on the ship.

    Ian didn''t know how that happened. Perhaps due to them using their abilities on the ship or something along that line, but he didn''t mind.

    Though this ability won''t work for just a guest boarding the ship.

    In the first place, the spirit only appeared to those who loved and took good care of the ship. So the only people who the spirit could emulate their abilities are the crewmates.

    Right now, Libell was capable of using all the abilities of the crew. She could use the telekinesis of Ian, the darkness energy of Elene, Bert''s electro, Robin''s ability, and Stella''s chains. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="/book/reincarnation-in-one-piece-the-adventure-of-ian-louis!_15935515306575705/shocking-abilities!_51068244370444081">/book/reincarnation-in-one-piece-the-adventure-of-ian-louis!_15935515306575705/shocking-abilities!_51068244370444081</a> for visiting.

    The day they had set off Libell had shown them Ian''s telekinesis by surrounding the ship with it.

    How did they found out since it was invisible? It was due to their observation Haki. They could see the blue aura surrounding the ship.

    Ian had proceeded to question her on this gently to not scare her.

    And she had confusedly stated that she just knew how to use that.

    Upon trying further, they found out she could use their abilities.

    Ian could still remember the day when they asked her about that.

    **Flashback**

    Ian had just beaten everyone else by reaching the finish line the first.

    Then he took out the ship and gently stepped onto the deck while enjoying the feeling of being back on ''their'' ship.

    Sanji was the next as he was being held by Ian''s energy more than half the way. Though at one point he used his own ''moon step'' ability to continue on his own.

    Upon stepping on the ship Sanji just silently glared at Ian before choosing a place to sit and promptly doing so.

    "Stupid captains and their stupid ideas¡­" Sanji muttered to himself, though Ian heard him easily and he grinned.

    Well apart from the initial panic Sanji had, just a bit after they started to fall, the ride became enjoyable. Still, he glared at Ian for doing that out of nowhere.

    The rest soon followed them and stepped up on the ship. They each had a happy smile on their faces.

    With Libell having the brightest one as she was able to feel all of their emotions.

    As a result of Libell bonding somehow with his ring, she was able to make herself visible to normal people. Which is how the minks and the rest were able to see her.

    Ian at seeing them all there he spoke.

    Alright, let us be on our way to Galmar Island then! Set sail!" He yelled out as he prepared to use his energy as usual to steer the ship. When a voice stopped him.

    "Wait-wait!" Libell yelled at him in her adorable voice.

    She shook herself from Elene''s hold, whom she enjoyed staying in, and moved to Ian excitedly.

    "Let me do it! Please!" She begged Ian as she jumped onto his arms.

    Ian turned t Elene and co and saw the same confusion he had in their eyes.

    "Eh? Libell, let you do what exactly?" He questioned her gently as his right hand started to pat her head.

    Libell tilted her head at him cutely.

    "Do just like you Big brother Ian!" She stated matter of factly at him.

    Once again Ian was left perplexed.

    "You mean to steer the ship?" And seeing her nod her head excitedly, he continued on hoping to explain to her.

    "But at the speed, the ship would be going at it would break! As such, I need to be the one to steer it!" He explained.

    But she continued on.

    "But I can do the same look!" She said and then the ship moved through the water slowly at first before it started to gain speed.

    This made them all feel shocked.

    But not because she could in fact steer the ship. No. but rather that they could notice the aura surrounding the ship protectively.

    "How?" Ian asked shocked.

    His ability was not something that one could just come and acquire after all.

    It was not even supposed to be possible in this world, and he only had it because he was not from this world.

    Sanji for his art didn''t know why they were shocked, as he only saw her steering the ship. Though he admits that even that is cool.

    But seeing them that shocked meant something was wrong so he concentrated and used his observation to see. And then he joined their shocked look.

    "How are you doing that Libell?" Ian asked her again.

    She shook her head.

    "I don''t know how! I just use it!" She cutely replied with her finger in her mouth.

    Upon thinking for a bit she added.

    "I feel like I can do other things like that too!" She said.

    Ian and co were intrigued.

    "Show me!" Ian told her. He didn''t mind that Sanji was here at all. He was trustworthy in regards to this so Ian thought it was fine.

    Libell saw that the rest too had curious looks on their faces so she closed her eyes for a bit.

    Then the ship started to be surrounded in darkness energy moving like shadows. Before it was completely engulfed.

    Tendrils of the shadows moved at the sideways of the ship.

    Ian had his mouth wide open. This was Elene''s ability¡­

    ''First, it''s me, next Elene¡­ don''t tell me she can use all our abilities¡­'' Ian thought to himself in shock.

    Though the ability appeared to not be important right now, it was in fact quite strong. It could for example help them hide the ship when in pursuit. Or act defensively with those tendrils not to mention that Elene''s shadows could absorb anything that touched them¡­

    "What else can you do?" Ian smiled at her as he encouraged her to try. The rest staying silent for now. And only observing.

    Just as the shadows came, they vanished in an instant. Only to be replaced with Electricity. But it didn''t touch the ship, rather it was overlaid on top of the energy field that was driving the ship just like earlier with the shadows.

    Though in this case, the electricity was not as strong as Ian''s. So he guessed this must be Bert''s Electro.

    Libell smiled at Ian as she pointed with her hand forward.

    And just like a cannon, electricity started charging at the mouth of the dragon figurehead, before releasing a huge ball of electricity forward.

    Ian estimated that such a shot would destroy a ship much larger easily.

    "That''s amazing!" Ian grinned at her as he praised her. The more he saw from her the more he became happier.

    And without waiting for him to speak she continued on with her display. A bashful smile on her face, but the look of pride in her eyes was apparent.

    Chains rattled as they launched from various points on the ship. She manipulated them easily and made them do many things for a bit before she made them vanish.

    Next, she sprouted Arms and had them unfurl the sails, turn the steering wheel, fix minor damages the ship had with a hammer and nail, and so on.

    After doing all that, she felt a bit tired and moved her head closer to Ian''s hand. Wanting for him to pat her head and praise her.

    And Ian did just that.

    "That was AWSOME! You really are one of a kind aren''t you?" Ian praised her as he pats her head. He couldn''t help but pity their enemies¡­ he also wondered if in the future she would be able to use all their abilities¡­ as right now she used one ability from each member.

    If Ian would try to explain this, it would be that she had gained these abilities since she was their ship and one of them.

    The rest too moved in to praise her for that, even Sanji did so.

    "Ehehe!" Libell giggled happily.

    After a bit when everyone calmed down, Ian told them.

    "Since Libell can steer the ship, we will leave that to her from now on," Ian told them and then he gave her an eternal log pose.

    The log pose was not for the island they were heading to but for the closest one to it. After that, they would still rely on the regular log pose.

    "Now that that is taken care of, let''s focused on something important we had all forgotten about!" Ian told them and they all looked at him for once serious.

    "We still don''t have a flag!" Ian said.

    **Flashback end**

    And now two days later, they were about to reach their destination. Since for once Ian had some free time, he was currently working on his abilities and training some.

    He raised his head to the flag they all had agreed on and smiled proudly.

    It was a regular one, with a dragon in the background roaring at the skies. Over it was the usual skull with the crossbones, but what was different was the spear penetrating through the skull and emerging from under it.

    This was the flag they had chosen. Since Ian was known for his spear, and the ship had a dragon figurehead they all agreed that it was suitable.

    Ian turned his eyes forward and continued to train his abilities with a smile on his face.

 Chapter 164 - Notice(Taking a short break for exams)

    Hey guys :) I''m sorry for this but I have two exams coming up on Thursday and I won''t be able to write before that! Sorry again for the inconvenience and I hope you can understand! Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="/book/reincarnation-in-one-piece-the-adventure-of-ian-louis!_15935515306575705/notice(taking-a-short-break-for-exams)_51120522997592022">/book/reincarnation-in-one-piece-the-adventure-of-ian-louis!_15935515306575705/notice(taking-a-short-break-for-exams)_51120522997592022</a> for visiting.

 Chapter 164 - Kuzan again!

    (A/N: Hey, I''m back :) So I wanted to ask you guys a question. Should I make a discord? I don''t have a lot of free time, so I won''t be able to manage it much, but then again I have many things I want to ask you guys before releasing a chapter so it would help me a lot. Can anyone give a solution?)

    Galmar Island was not an overly visited island. And it would appear to be boring during the day, with people going about their days regularly.

    No one would suspect anything.

    However, between the underground folks, it was a place one comes to ''enjoy'' their selves in. many shady deals were conducted here. The key point being nothing happened until it was nighttime.

    Still a particular person on the island this day was not here to enjoy himself.

    Walking among the streets was a rather tall person that stands out. He was wearing a blue bandana that covered most of his hair, leaving only the tips which fan out.

    His outfit consisted of a V-neck shirt with black trousers along with a dark blue-green trench coat. Cowboy boots can be seen on his feet, while a knapsack hung from his shoulder. Presumably carrying all of his belongings.

    This person was Kuzan. Or rather known as former admiral Aokiji.

    ''The city appears to be peaceful¡­'' He remarked to himself. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="/book/reincarnation-in-one-piece-the-adventure-of-ian-louis!_15935515306575705/kuzan-again!_51184132788634055">/book/reincarnation-in-one-piece-the-adventure-of-ian-louis!_15935515306575705/kuzan-again!_51184132788634055</a> for visiting.

    His contact had briefed him about this island and its inner workings. Though it appeared to be peaceful now, he knew that he would soon witness the truth about it.

    He continued on his path towards the room he had already booked.

    And after a while, just as he entered the room and laid down on the bed he started speaking.

    "Whoever you are, it''s best you come out now!" He lazily intoned. However internally he was on high alert. No one was supposed to know about his coming as of yet.

    Did his target already notice him?

    However, when the person stepped up from the shadows, it was not who Kuzan was expecting.

    "Emperor Ian!" Kuzan said in shock.

    His mind raced to know what someone like that guy needed with him.

    "We meet again!" Ian greeted. A calm look on his face.

    Kuzan gave him a nod.

    "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Kuzan questioned him. While internally he was hoping it had nothing to do with fighting.

    He knew his limit. And even when he was at his one hundred percent power, he would still not dare fight Ian. Perhaps at the last time they fought, he could still be considered his equal, but two years later? He would most definitely not be. Especially since he had gotten weaker due to his many injuries he got from his fight against Akainu. Mainly his missing limb.

    "Nothing too serious! I just want to ask you some questions!" Ian told him.

    He was able to feel the tension of Kuzan despite him keeping a calm look on his face.

    At that Kuzan thought for a bit. He knew that Ian had something in mind now, but he was willing to play this game if it meant they wouldn''t fight. It was more important to him to finish his mission.

    So he nodded.

    "Why did you leave the marines?" Ian asked him. An intense look was visible on his face.

    Kuzan felt like if he lied about this, Somehow Ian would know for sure.

    He felt like Ian''s eyes were staring at his soul.

    Deciding to answer truthfully he proceeded to explain.

    "At the time there was the empty position of fleet admiral! And though I didn''t want it, I felt like it was best that that position does not go towards Sakazuki! So the two of us fought a duel! I lost and didn''t want to be under Sakazuki for the same reason I fought him for in the first case!" He told Ian truthfully.

    He saw no need to hide this at all.

    Ian remained silent.

    He already knew this beforehand. But he had expected something along the line of Kuzan being a spy or something. He was glad those expectations were wrong.

    "I presume that ever since then you have come to see the truth of the world government?" Ian asked him next.

    And though it hurt to admit this, Kuzan still nodded his head. It was the truth after all.

    "Then what have you been doing these past two years?" Ian proceeded to his next question. And the most important one too.

    In the anime, Kuzan had somehow gotten somewhat allied to Blackbeard. Obviously, since he was dead now he didn''t meet him. But it doesn''t change the fact that something was wrong. And when you add to it what Dragon had told Ian¡­

    Dragon had said that Kuzan was well acquainted with the underworld.

    Kuzan at this stilled.

    Before he finally sighed.

    He sat up from his laying position.

    "You have so many questions for me apparently¡­ so troublesome¡­" After saying this and seeing no change whatsoever on Ian''s face he continued. "Basically, I hunt the corrupt! Preferably those in close relations to the world government!" Kuzan said.

    And just like earlier Ian knew that this was the truth.

    "Is that what you plan to do on this island?" Ian asked him.

    And Kuzan nodded.

    "How do you do that then? I doubt you are going around hunting people so casually!" Ian continued.

    "Yes! Well¡­ since it''s known now that I left the marines many people wish to rope me into their circles and I make use of that. I join them for a while on the premise of giving them some ''toys'' while requesting that my identity remain hidden before I destroy them from the inside!" Kuzan explained.

    It was a good strategy. If he had gotten around and started destroying them casually eventually it would spread around that he was doing so. But now he was playing his cards right and having them hide his identity, which would serve to keep him unknown while he keeps disposing of his targets.

    Truly a good strategy.

    And Ian knew that he was saying the truth with his ability. With this, he finally relaxed. It appeared that Kuzan was still an honest person. And as honorable as before.

    Even his relation with Blackbeard can be explained now. He was planning on destroying him from the inside out. But since Blackbeard in the original anime was quite the suspicious type, he had only agreed to be in relation to him and had not let him join his crew. So Kuzan was most likely biding his time first until he was trusted more.

    "Alright since you asked me all these questions, you must have a goal for that right?" Kuzan then questioned Ian.

    Ian gave him a nod.

    "I have a proposition for you!" He started.

    "What is that?" Kuzan was suddenly on high alert, what could Ian want from him¡­

    "I want you to join my crew!" Ian dropped the bomb.

    Leaving a shocked Kuzan.

    But he recovered quickly and started speaking.

    "I thought I made it clear that I''m pursuing my own justice even though I left the marines¡­" He replied hoping this indirect refusal of his would be enough.

    Sadly for him¡­

    "Yes! So? Are you implying that I''m evil? You can''t possibly think that when you know Robin is on my crew. Plus I''m sure that you have not heard anything about me in that way¡­" Ian told him the facts.

    Indeed he knew about Robin. She was the victim turned aggressor by the world government. And she would not join a cruel captain. He also remembered that Ian had not killed any marines in the war previously even though by the end, it was apparent that he was able to do so.

    And again the truth was that he didn''t hear anything about Ian doing things like big mom and Kaido.

    "Your current goals are the same as the revolutionary army! I know that by targeting the corrupt marines you are trying to cleanse the world government but sadly you can''t do that on your own! I would also not ask just anyone to join me! You must know how small my crew is. But of all of them, I feel like you are the one most similar to me! I''m on close terms with dragon and I had promised to lend my hand to him! I would extend the same to you!" Ian told him.

    Kuzan stilled at this. The revolutionary army had asked him to join them as they knew what he was doing thanks to their spy network. Which he guessed was the reason how Ian knew where he was, since he just said he was allied with them. He refused at the time stating that he would think about it¡­

    "Don''t be hasty to refuse! There are several things you still don''t know about the world government even though you were an admiral! Believe me on this! If you join my crew, I would not limit you, you could do what you want, but when the time comes I would count on your help that''s all I ask." Ian told him.

    "Why would someone as strong as you need my help?" Kuzan asked perplexed.

    "Just like I said there many things you don''t know about the world government! Currently, I am allied with Dragon, Garp, Sengoku, and Whitebeard. But I''m still seeking your help now, that says a lot right? However, your position is more special since I want you to be a part of my crew!" Ian said in explanation.

    The very idea that all of those big names had joined Ian was enough to alarm Kuzan.

    "If you decide to join, everything I know will be relayed to you! For now, I will leave you to continue your mission and think about my offer!" Ian said before he suddenly vanished from the room in a swirl of shadows. Going back to join his crew.

    Leaving Kuzan thinking about what he said.

 Chapter 165 - The reply

    Galmar Island.

    The next day since Ian met Kuzan.

    Kuzan was sitting on the edge of a cliff and looking at the sea, lost in his thoughts.

    He had many things to think about.

    First of all, was him considering what had happened to his supposed targets yesterday?

    Secondly was his offer to join with the Nightmare pirates.

    And lastly, what secrets could Ian know about the world government that he didn''t?

    The first thing he guessed that it was related to Ian and his crew. Even for him, an operation like that would take a week as he would need to gain their trust before he would finally strike at them eliminating them.

    How he does so, is by making himself sound evil and giving the opposite party some strong weapons that he made. On the premise that he wants to wreak havoc on the world.

    Right now Kuzan was playing with such a weapon in his hand.

    It appeared to be crystal made in a circular shape and mainly from Ice. It had a very light blue color.

    Kuzan threw the ice orb out of his hand towards the sea. And low and behold the moment it made contact it exploded and started to freeze everything surrounding it, mainly the sea.

    By the end of that, the damaged area was in a diameter of 5m with the orb at the center.

    Kuzan continued to look at the sea and thinking.

    If he used his full power from the start, it would be easy to destroy them all. However he would risk letting some of them escape and his identity would most likely spread, and operations like this would start to fail.

    Since he had information about the boss only he was sure his underlings could escape and start the whole thing again on another island.

    But here he was now, looking at a paper in his hand.

    On it were the names of all the members of this underground cell. Including the boss, he was pursuing.

    Where did he find this paper?

    It was yesterday as he was preparing to start his job. He had gone to the know hideout of his target that he got from his contacts.

    But upon reaching there, he found everybody dead. Leaving just that paper in place.

    Following the directions on the paper, he visited all of their hideouts. And the result was similar.

    ''The island at first appeared to be peaceful¡­ but now I guess that it would stay that way!'' Kuzan thought to himself.

    He knew this must be the work of Ian. Which brought him to the next point.

    He had thought hard about this since yesterday. And he found nothing bad to have him refuse Ian''s offer.

    He was more inclined to believe Ian about what he had said.

    Ian at that time in the war had said about that devil being, that it was the true threat that lurks in the shadows¡­

    And now he had allied with Whitebeard, Garp, Sengoku of all people, and Dragon.

    That very fact is very disturbing. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="/book/reincarnation-in-one-piece-the-adventure-of-ian-louis!_15935515306575705/the-reply_51230365443998640">/book/reincarnation-in-one-piece-the-adventure-of-ian-louis!_15935515306575705/the-reply_51230365443998640</a> for visiting.

    He knew Garp personally and though he had left the Marines he knew that Garp was not one to just up and quit the marines. He must have a reason, and that reason is connected to Ian.

    One would say that he shouldn''t count on Ian''s word when he said that he was allied with all of those guys, however, this was something easy to confirm.

    And he had done so the very first thing in this morning.

    And Garp had explained that they witnessed the truth of the world government and as such, they were ordered to die as they shouldn''t have known about that secret. This was all Garp was willing to say on the subject.

    When asked of Ian, Garp had nothing but praise.

    Kuzan trusted Garp, as such he told him about Ian''s offer. And Garp had told him to take it. Stating that whatever goals he had would be much easier with Ian on his side.

    He knew that Garp would not tell him that if Ian was someone not worth following.

    So Kuzan was more or less made up, on his choice. What more could he ask? He would get help with basically no restriction?

    Plus he was always not comfortable with following orders from the world government.

    Pirates were free. Freer than when he was an admiral. Basically, his current lifestyle was like a lone pirate.

    As such he decided that the next time he sees Ian he would join him. And if he doesn''t like it he would leave. But if he likes it he would help the crew in any way that he can.

    As to what secrets could Ian have? Just from Garp''s words, he knew that what Ian said was the truth. He really did have secrets he knew and he was willing to share them with him.

    And just as he had finished that thought, Ian appeared in front of him.

    Earlier Ian had been with his crew on the ship near the docks. But then he had heard an explosion and came to investigate.

    And what he came to witness was Kuzan sitting on the cliffside.

    "Was it you?" Ian asked as he turned and surveyed the surroundings. And then he saw the part of the sea that was still frozen.

    Kuzan gave him a nod.

    "Emperor Ian¡­ did you and your crew take care of my targets?" Kuzan asked.

    After all, what he had was just a guess about that.

    "Yes!" Ian replied to him.

    "How did you get that much detailed information about them?" Kuzan genuinely asked Ian.

    "Well, I told you I''m allied with Dragon¡­ if anyone knows anything about people it would be that guy!" Ian honestly told him.

    And indeed Dragon had a spy network unlike any other force in this world.

    Kuzan nodded.

    "Well, I''ll leave for now! I hope by the evening you would have made your mind! I can''t stay anymore beyond that!" Ian told him.

    And Kuzan was able to detect the hint of apology in Ian''s tone.

    Probably for not giving him much time to decide.

    "No need! I have already decided!" Kuzan replied to Ian.

    At this Ian turned around as he was leaving, and looked at Kuzan.

    "Oh, Already?" he questioned a bit surprised.

    When Kuzan nodded.

    Ian waited for his reply.

    "I decided that I would join your crew!" Kuzan told him and saw how a smile spread on Ian''s face.

    "However! If I at one point don''t like your crew and wish to leave it, I hope you won''t mind!" Kuzan said and was expecting Ian to frown, be displeased, or anything of the like, but what he got was nothing.

    Ian stayed smiling and replied.

    "Sure, I don''t mind! A pirate is all about freedom after all!" Ian said.

    "Now since you agreed, let''s go meet the crew!" Ian intoned with a smile on his face!

 Chapter 166 - Notice

    Sorry guys, I tried to write a chapter today, but I just couldn''t. It''s been a while since I had Some free time to just relax and read some novels. I''m always either working or studying sigh Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/notice_51299165971476394">#!_15935515306575705/notice_51299165971476394</a> for visiting.

 Chapter 166 - Introduction!

    Ian just as he heard the positive reply, suddenly engulfed Kuzan in shadows and then both of them were gone from the Cliffside. Leaving the waves crashing on the cliff as the only sound.

    When they showed up next it was in the Odyssey. Which was docked on the other side of the island.

    Obviously, the whole crew would be alerted to that due to their abilities, so it was no surprise that they showed up on the deck soon after Ian and Kuzan did.

    And upon seeing Kuzan they all had shocked looks on their faces. If someone couldn''t recognize someone like that, then they might have brain damage.

    "Captain¡­ Don''t do that again please!" Kuzan said to Ian his face scrunched up in pain like he wanted to throw up but he was holding himself off. He decided that he should start calling Ian captain from this day onward. He did agree to join him after all and he was not about to go back on his words.

    "Well, you''ll get used to it don''t worry!" Ian smiled at him as he replied. Though that smile is what the rest of the crew dub as Ian''s evil smile.

    Whenever he smiles like that, he is always up to some mischief.

    Meanwhile, Kuzan cursed in his mind. ''I don''t want to get used to it damn it!''

    Elene and co who had heard Kuzan call Ian captain understood he was their newest member. The one person they had sailed off to meet and stopped their journey towards big mom for.

    Elene was the first to step forward and greet him.

    "Welcome to the crew formal Admiral Aokiji! My name is Elene" She said.

    Though she said his past title, she didn''t mean anything by it.

    He gave her a nod back and replied.

    "Please, you can call me by my name, Kuzan, or just Aokiji if you want!" He told her. Though on the inside he was quite a bit shocked at feeling the strength of all these people.

    She nodded back at him.

    "Then I''ll call you Kuzan! Welcome among us!" She smiled at him.

    Next was Bert.

    "Welcome to our crew! My name is Bert, and I hope we can get along well from now on!" He said introducing himself.

    His hands reaching for a handshake.

    Which Kuzan returned soon after. He had no problem with Bert at all.

    Next was Akemi who repeated the same thing as Bert.

    And then it finally came to be Stella''s turn.

    "Why is an old man joining us? Ian, have you eaten something bad or whatever?" And just like Ian guessed she wouldn''t be able to stay silent about that.

    After all, Kuzan was quite old to be on their crew.

    But then again, he did not care about that one bit.

    So he glared at her silently. Making her flinch a bit.

    "And since when was that a requirement to join a crew?" He questioned her.

    And she wisely stayed silent at this time.

    "Ahm, captain don''t mind her too much she is still just a brat! And I am quite a bit old after all!" Kuzan said.

    Though when he spoke he kept his eyes on Stella the whole time and made sure to stress the word Brat.

    "What did you say, you old geezer?" Stella who had a short temper was immediately angered.

    So much that she attacked just after hearing him.

    Four chains extended from her back and made towards Kuzan at a very fast speed.

    Though when they entered his range, they all suddenly became frozen and broke off on their own. Shattering to pieces.

    "You even have the temper of a brat!" Kuzan muttered but everyone heard him clearly.

    "You bastard!" She gnashed her teeth and prepared to attack him again.

    But then Ian spoke up.

    "Alright, don''t fight you guys! You are now crewmates after all!" Ian scolded them.

    And seeing them nod, albeit reluctantly in Stella''s case, he continued on.

    "Now then, since our business is done here, let us resume our original journey," Ian said and then they each moved to do their own things.

    Except for Kuzan. And Robin who was staying silent all this time. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/introduction!_51323449733348334">#!_15935515306575705/introduction!_51323449733348334</a> for visiting.

    "You can sleep in any empty room except on the floor of the girls. Or you can even take the crow nest, as it has a room too!" Ian told him where he can go now to rest.

    Kuzan nodded.

    "Where were you going to before?" He asked Ian. He felt it was only natural that he should know that.

    "Towards Big mom territory!" Ian told him in reply. He didn''t see any point in not telling him.

    "Elene is going to take down big mom. And we need her Poneglyphs!" He added right after.

    And this did manage to shock Kuzan.

    "You do know about big mom''s strength right?" Kuzan questioned him with raised eyebrows.

    Ian nodded.

    "Of course I do! But I also have faith in Elene!" Ian told him.

    And Kuzan nodded.

    "Alright, I won''t ask anything more!" He did however make a note to himself to help in case things went south.

    Kuzan then turned to look at Robin. After which Ian moved aside leaving them some space to themselves.

    "It has been a while!" He greeted her.

    And she nodded at him.

    "Indeed! Never did I imagine that in the end, we would be in the same crew!" Robin replied. Though a small smile couldn''t'' help but spread on her face.

    He smiled at her. Yes. Kuzan smiled a bit.

    "Yeah! I didn''t ever think it could happen but here we are!" He said back.

    He closed his eyes as he remembered everything they had shared in the past.

    "I had not been confident in my decision at that time, but you have managed to convince me that what I did was the right thing! You have so far been living your life full of courage! The Ohara people are still living! Keep at it, Nico Robin!" He told her. And then with a step, he jumped to the crow''s nest.

    Robin who left there gave a nod and a smile before she went inside and followed after the rest.

    Though Ian jumped after Kuzan. He still had something to talk to him about. Specifically about that missing limb of his.

 Chapter 167 - Gratitude!

    Ian followed after Kuzan with a simple almost effortless jump on his part, and then called for him to stop.

    "Hey, Kuzan! I still need to do something so wait up for a bit!" Ian said as he stepped up lightly on the wooden ground of the crow''s nest.

    Kuzan turned his head, a puzzled look in his eyes.

    "Do something?" Kuzan asked giving voice to his confusion and waiting for Ian to explain.

    Ian turned his head downward and looked at Kuzan''s left leg. Although it was covered since he was wearing a boot, Ian knew that he had already lost it. And that the leg there right now was a substitute made of ice!

    He had already lost his limb, or rather than lost it, it was more accurate to say that it was a casualty of his fight against the current fleet admiral Akainu. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/gratitude!_51392173488262220">#!_15935515306575705/gratitude!_51392173488262220</a> for visiting.

    Kuzan followed Ian''s gaze towards his leg and understood that Ian wanted to do something about his missing limb.

    Still, he kept silent as he didn''t understand what Ian was able to do in that regard. Though a small part of him couldn''t help but hope that Ian had a way to help him.

    Fortunately, Ian didn''t keep him waiting as he pointed ahead at the room inside the crow nest and said.

    "Let''s go inside! I''ll help you with that problem of yours!" Ian said then started heading inside soon after.

    As for the ship, since a while ago Libell has been the one to steer it! They had gone towards Kuzan with her steering the ship all the way. And there was no accident. And with that Ian was confident she would manage her newest position.

    Their destination now, was just like they had talked back on Zou. They were heading towards big Mom territory.

    Sanji was with them too, but he was probably busy with cooking along with Bert, as he hadn''t come out when Ian and Kuzan had stepped on the ship, unlike Bert.

    Perhaps Sanji thought that it was not his business or maybe he didn''t sense Kuzan due to their huge difference in strength.

    Well, in any case, Ian figured they were going to meet each other later anyway.

    Kuzan followed after Ian, and he found him sitting on a chair near a bed.

    Kuzan stepped closer a bit and then waited for Ian to explain what was going on.

    If Ian had a way to heal his missing limb, Kuzan would like to hear what it entailed first.

    "Well, I''ll help restore your missing leg and heal any injuries you have! Even scars too! So just lay down on the bed for a bit!" Ian explained. He was not one to beat around the subject.

    "H-How is that possible?" Kuzan muttered a bit shocked at hearing that, and also suspicious.

    He didn''t know if Ian would drug him and inject him with something if he was unconscious.

    But Ian continued on talking.

    "Just like with Whitebeard! You must have known how the health of the old man was deteriorating right? But then at the war, he shocked everyone with how strong he still was! Well, that''s because I healed him and even Garp and Sengoku had been healed by me, although in their case, I more or less restored their bodies to their peak! Also, you don''t have to worry, you will still be conscious when I heal you! Just lay down on the bed already!" Ian explained to him. He thought that if he told him about Garp, Sengoku, and Whitebeard having done the same it would put him at ease.

    He also knew that Kuzan would not think he was lying, as what he claimed can be confirmed with a single call.

    Kuzan now understood.

    When he was still with the marines, they did speculate that the change with Whitebeard might have something to do with Ian, they just couldn''t prove it!

    Kuzan chose to trust in Ian and laid on the bed. He was after all his caption now! And it will do well for him to listen to his orders.

    Ian smiled and then started the process.

    Nothing too shocking as usual. Just circulating the energy through the body for a few times, and boom there you go. By now he had done it enough times for him to do it with ease.

    The first cycle managed to heal all internal injuries that Kuzan was not even aware of. And then with the second cycle his scars, on his neck and arms, started to heal at a visible rate to the n.a.k.e.d eye.

    Kuzan who was at the moment conscious couldn''t help but exclaim in surprise.

    "Just how?" He muttered.

    And then he moved his eyes to his left leg, from which he had hurriedly removed his boot and dissolved the ice limb.

    And then under his watchful eyes, the limb started restoring slowly and slowly until it had been healed completely.

    Kuzan was shocked beyond what words could explain.

    Though he didn''t show it, the loss of his limb had left him angry and sad. It had actually reduced his fighting capabilities by a lot. He couldn''t move just as fast. But the most thing about it was that it reminded him of his loss against that hateful guy.

    Every time he would take a bath, it was there to remind him of the bitter truth.

    But now¡­ he no longer had to think about it anymore. He knew he lost and he accepted it, but he didn''t need to be reminded about it every second he breathed.

    Well, he no longer would be after today.

    He looked at Ian with a gratitude-filled gaze.

    Kuzan was not one to show many emotions. And ever since meeting Ian, he had been getting shocked out of his mind. But right now, he truly felt thankful to Ian.

    From now on he decided to be a part of this crew for real. And Ian would have his loyalty.

    "Well rest for now! Later I''ll take you towards Garp and Sengoku to tell you the information we agreed on!" Ian told him before he started to leave the room.

    And just as he was about to step out a voice managed to catch his attention.

    "Thank you!" Kuzan had muttered looking straight at Ian.

    But Ian heard him clearly.

    "No problem" Ian just grinned back before leaving completely.

 Chapter 168 - Ambush!

    While the Odyssey was busy sailing in the sea, an enemy of the nightmare pirates was searching for them.

    On an island in the new world, through which one can officially enter big mom''s territory, several sh.i.p.s were hiding on the shores.

    When taking a closer look, the leading ship would be identified as a warship. One belonging to the marines''.

    This one was especially big like it represented the status of the people on it.

    They were three people wearing cloaks and hiding their bodies completely.

    Though from their general body shape, one would be able to guess that they were males.

    Many regular marines were moving around, busy doing things to accommodate them and finish the tasks they were given.

    One of the high ranking marines there was a person Ian had met a long time ago.

    It was master Rey! (The guy Ian fought back then, when he went to rescue Robin!)

    Except at this time, his hair had gotten even more silver strands to indicate his increasing age. However, his strength is another matter.

    Ever since he lost to Ian, he had upped his training and had managed to reach new heights. He was confident that he would rank high among the vice admirals, perhaps he might even be the strongest one.

    Of course, that would be excluding the former vice admiral Garp. There was a unanimous rule among the marines to not consider that guy as anything other than as strong as an admiral or even higher.

    If one were to look deeper into the eyes of master Rey right now, they would see a hint of anger and hate as his eyes as he looked at three people ahead of him.

    He stepped up close to them and awaited their permission to speak, as they were higher in rank than him.

    He had been chosen to go on this trip with them, and he didn''t refuse. As to why?

    Well, those three had something to do with a certain pirate. They were tracking him for a while now, and their information had relayed that this pirate was heading towards big mom''s territory which is why they had gotten ahead of him and reached this place to ambush him.

    "You may speak!" A rather old-sounding person''s voice came from the person in the middle.

    And taking his cue, master Rey started speaking, doing his best to hide the contempt he had for these people.

    "We have spotted our target''s ship coming this way! What should we do?" Master Rey inquired.

    "Hmm!" the one on the left hummed for a bit as he leaned closer to his companion and they started whispering, while the third person stayed a bit away. After a bit, the one in the middle nodded his head.

    "Tell our sh.i.p.s to ready the cannons, and to fire at my mark!" He then stopped talking and resumed looking ahead with his hands behind his back.

    Master Rey acknowledged the words with a respectful bow and a nod before he went to relay their orders.

    ''Sooner or later you will get what you deserve¡­'' He thought to himself.

    ****

    Back with Ian.

    After Kuzan had rested for a while. He had taken him to meet with Garp and Sengoku on another island they had moved to.

    He left him there for a while for them to catch up, and just now he had brought him back after getting a call from Garp.

    It was a perfect time too, as right now, the odyssey was enclosing on the last island before entering big mom''s territory.

    When Kuzan appeared from the shadows, he looked around for a bit before his eyes settled on Ian.

    He gave a nod in greeting.

    Though Ian noticed the shock in his eyes.

    He knew that what Garp and Sengoku had to say would shock the hell out of anyone¡­

    But it was better this way. Kuzan had already left the marines, so his shock was not as high as someone who would be devoted to his job¡­

    Still to know that a devil was leading your government from the shadows¡­

    Kuzan looked deeply at Ian.

    "Thank you!" Although it may seem that Kuzan was thanking Ian for bringing him back, Ian knew better.

    Kuzan was thanking him for not keeping him in the dark. For letting him know all of this valuable info. For finally understanding the reason Garp and Sengoku were kicked out of the marines.

    "No problem!" Ian smiled at him. He liked Aokiji from the anime, so he was quite friendly to him now. Not to mention that he had become part of his crew.

    Kuzan understood now that when Ian at the war had said that the real threat to the world was lurking in the shadows while they were playing justice and evil.

    He truly understood now.

    Still, his goal did not change even a bit.

    Previously he had been planning to change the world government. As to disposing of it? Or abolishing such a system? He didn''t agree with that.

    That system was needed in this world. What needed to change would be those who lead it.

    He had planned to change it bit by bit from the lower of the hierarchy until he reached the top.

    It was just that now, he happened to know that the previous top he was aiming for, was not actually the real top but just a public one.

    In other words, the five elders who he had been aiming to eliminate at some point, were now just servants to the real leader of the world.

    That person, Im, she was his newest target now. And knowing that Ian too was going against her, he felt reassured.

    His chances now, that he had a crew behind his back, were much higher.

    Kuzan prepared to go and rest for a bit to digest everything he heard today.

    But unfortunately, something came up. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/ambush!_51463871810028587">#!_15935515306575705/ambush!_51463871810028587</a> for visiting.

    Both he and Ian were suddenly alerted to an attack made on their ship.

    Staring at the front, Ian and Kuzan saw close to thirty sh.i.p.s, all of them aiming their cannons at them from a very large distance away and firing.

    "What are they playing at? No way would that reach us!" Kuzan muttered.

    And Ian nodded.

    The sh.i.p.s appeared to be still far away, and there was no way that the shots would reach them.

    But just after the first volley was shot, it made a resounding Boom as it impacted the ship. Smoke was raised soon after.

    There was no way the cannonballs would reach from all that distance away.

    So ''how?'' Ian thought to himself.

 Chapter 169 - Confrontation!

    Ian looked at the odyssey that was protected by a barrier. Courtesy of Libell who had reacted much faster than Ian. Not that Ian wouldn''t have made it in time to shield the ship¡­ But since the ship was basically her she would be more adept at protecting it.

    Ian then switched to look at the marine sh.i.p.s once again, his eyes carrying a hint of suspicion.

    Ian''s confusion could be understood. Even Kuzan felt the same way.

    Those shots shouldn''t have reached them at all, in fact, it shouldn''t even come near them based on the distance visible to them. The sh.i.p.s were very far off.

    Immediately Ian suspected something to do with a devil fruit ability. It was the only explanation that made sense to him.

    Focusing his observation Haki he was able to see the truth soon after.

    When he turned to Kuzan he saw that he was doing the same as him. But he still carried that perplexed expression¡­ meaning he did not manage to see what Ian had seen.

    "How many sh.i.p.s do you see?" Ian asked him all of a sudden.

    Kuzan turned to look at him briefly.

    "30 or something! Why?" Kuzan asked him.

    Ian turned back towards the front and stared his brows furrowed.

    Ian knew that his observation Haki had no match from the moment he had acquired the voice of all things¡­ Still to think even an admiral level person couldn''t detect what was wrong with the current situation.

    Reflected on Ian''s gaze, there were only three small warsh.i.p.s and one bigger one. They were much more closer than they seemed, and that would explain why the cannonballs had impacted the barrier on the ship.

    In other words, there were no thirty sh.i.p.s in front of them and they were not as far as it appeared at first.

    Ian reaffirmed his guess that someone on that ship was a devil fruit eater with illusion abilities or something similar.

    Even the number of cannonballs that appeared at first to encompass the sky, was not that many actually. Which would explain why Ian didn''t feel like that explosion was strong enough.

    Focusing on the biggest ship, Ian tried to see who''s behind this.

    And his gaze landed on three people on that ship.

    He could feel the strength of those three cloaked people he could see right now on the deck of the largest ship.

    The weakest of them felt a bit stronger than Kuzan.

    Though he didn''t panic at realizing that, no, he was rather excited.

    He also understood something from that.

    The marines were getting serious about eliminating him. Those three people were proof of that.

    Not to mention, even Elene and co, who by now had all gathered near Ian, didn''t manage to see through that illusion.

    This was not a fight they would win¡­ though if he took care of the one releasing the illusion then they would easily win if they fought with their all.

    "Elene, I''m going to send you forward a bit! Leave these guys to me, it''s been a while since I last had fun! Afterward, you can continue to sail forward, and I''ll follow you later!" Ian turned to Elene and spoke.

    She briefly thought about refusing as she felt something was wrong with the current situation. Somehow her senses said that the current image in front of them with the thirty sh.i.p.s was not real¡­ but then she realized that this was Ian she was thinking about, so she just nodded her head. Completely trusting his judgment.

    The rest didn''t object either.

    And seeing them all nod their heads, he jumped upwards and flew through the air, before waving his hands at the ship, after which it was suddenly engulfed in shadows. A second later, the odyssey appeared way past the marines'' sh.i.p.s range where they can follow them.

    This was not something that Ian was capable of from before. But as he had gotten stronger, even teleporting massive objects like a ship was manageable to him.

    Then Ian moved towards the four attacking sh.i.p.s and with another wave teleported them all, including himself towards the same island he had killed Kong in.

    If he wanted to enjoy fighting them, he would have to search for an island.

    The sh.i.p.s crashed with the stronger ones jumping ahead of the rest and resting on the ground.

    Ian floated near them and then with one swift motion, released his conqueror Haki. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_%!d(string=15935515306575705)/confrontation!_%!d(string=51555738744575022)">#!_%!d(string=15935515306575705)/confrontation!_%!d(string=51555738744575022)</a> for visiting.

    And the results were immediate.

    Almost everyone there were hit with this wave and lost consciousness soon after.

    The only ones left standing would be those three clocked people, and someone Ian managed to recognize.

    "Master Rey¡­ it''s been a while since we last met!" Ian greeted him. And then cut off his Haki.

    Master Ray, who stayed conscious albeit with difficulty took a deep breath before he looked towards Ian.

    Then at his two fellow vice admirals that had already entered the dream world.

    Ian had become quite the frightening guy¡­ this was the thought going in master Rey''s head.

    He gave Ian a nod and took a few more seconds to recompose himself.

    "So what is the reason for this time''s ambush?" Ian inquired but didn''t hold much hope of an answer. Still, though, he wasn''t expecting what happened next.

    Master Rey jumped using ''Shave'' and came closer to Ian, more so than to his companions.

    "This time the world government wants to truly get rid of you." He replied to Ian.

    And seeing Ian nod, he took his chance.

    "Ever since the war¡­ I had this thought on my mind! And you are the only one capable of answering it. Will you answer this old man?" Master Rey said to Ian.

    "What are you doing you fool?" An old aged voice called from behind.

    "What''s that then?" Ian asked totally ignoring the person who yelled.

    "Those devil beings¡­ you said they were the real threat the world faces¡­ I want you to explain to me about that!" Master Rey said. He too ignored that person yelling.

    Ever since he had watched Ian say those words he had been questioning his loyalty to the world government. Everything that happened after only made his doubts grow more and more.

    The world government hid the news about the filthy prisoners that escaped impel down¡­ they chose Akainu over Kuzan¡­ add to that how the celestial nobles were the definition of sc.u.m and evil people¡­ then Garp and Sengoku are suddenly released with no rhyme or reason¡­

    He wanted answers¡­ did he waste his life pursuing justice under the wrong people?

    And who better to answer those questions for him than the one that managed to make him ask the questions in the first place.

    So here he was¡­ at this moment in time willing to even forsake the marines for those answers, and might as well do so depending on the answers.

    Still though just as Ian was about to answer¡­ Master Rey suddenly was engulfed in a bit of fog, after which he took a sword and tried to stab himself with it.

    The fog originating from the person who yelled at them.

    Keyword being tried.

    As Ian telekinetically stopped him from going any further.

    "Hey, hey now! That was not so nice to do to one of your own? At the very least let him hear how the leader of the world whom the world government answers to is actually one of those devils!" Ian brought master Rey near him using his energy as he spoke up.

    He noted to himself that this person must be the person responsible for the illusions from earlier.

    Ian''s words managed to make the other party enraged.

    Two of them trembled, although the third one appeared to be somewhat shocked.

    Gritting their teeth''s, one of the three clocked people took a sword out yelled.

    "I''ll make sure to cut that tongue of yours first!" He yelled then subsequently vanished.

    Only to appear near Ian. His sword already swung.

 Chapter 170 - An unexpected person!

    Ian again felt that nagging sensation in the back of his mind. The moment the old man vanished, his mind went on high alert.

    He had previously stopped using his observation Haki, so he turned it on again, this time intending to keep it on.

    When he did, he again saw the truth.

    Previously the cloaked old man had been attacking attempting to bisect Ian with a downward slash.

    But upon using his observation Haki, he found the old man attacking him from the right side with a horizontal attack instead of a vertical one.

    This was intriguing for Ian. Still, Ian didn''t stop the sword or anything. He had his psychic barrier in place at all times.

    But this time, his opponent proved to be more adept than Ian''s previous opponents¡­

    The barrier lasted for a few seconds before it was bisected and the sword passed towards Ian, who still didn''t flinch at all.

    ''This has just gotten more fun!'' Ian thought to himself with a grin on his face.

    He then looked at the people at the back.

    One of them had fog spreading from him as the center. This was the one that Ian guessed had the illusion ability.

    The other person though, was just looking on intensely. His figure standing there a bit lazily.

    Ian''s hand shout at blinding speeds and caught the sword that was attacking him. He didn''t even coat his hand in Haki. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_%!d(string=15935515306575705)/an-unexpected-person!_%!d(string=51555870277949298)">#!_%!d(string=15935515306575705)/an-unexpected-person!_%!d(string=51555870277949298)</a> for visiting.

    And the sword was suddenly stuck.

    The old man was someone proud of his strength, but even he started to struggle and exert his power to continue and injure Ian.

    Still¡­ no matter how hard he tried, it didn''t budge even an inch.

    ''Good sword¡­'' Ian thought to himself.

    If not for his ridiculous defense, the sword would cut right through him.

    "You are pretty strong for an old man!" Ian remarked to his opponent.

    "I don''t need praise from someone like you!" The old man snorted. Still trying his best to liberate the sword.

    Gathering his energy, he coated his sword in Haki and released the energy making Ian release the sword and move a step back.

    "Oh! It was not praise old man¡­ There is no way you would be this strong if you were a normal human¡­ I have seen your ruler''s kind enough times to know when a human has been contaminated¡­" Ian explained to him.

    This struck a chord with master Rey who was at the very back courtesy of Ian. He first had heard that the supposed leaderless world government had a ruler who was in fact a devil¡­ and now one of the highest people from the world government was in fact a contaminated human, whatever that was. He guessed it meant they were half devils or something¡­

    And indeed just like Ian had said, the strength of the old man was not a joke. And even whitebeard was not this strong at his old age. Even if he was not sick he would not be. This was someone with the strength of the old man in his peak¡­ minus the devil fruit capable of destroying the world.

    Even the aura he felt from this old man was not exactly pure like he was used to.

    It was blue on the exterior but had a sickly red slushing around on the inside. It felt sick to look at and Ian didn''t want to keep looking at it.

    ''Shit, I was distracted¡­'' Ian realized his mistake as he was suddenly attacked by a fourth member who was playing as if he fainted¡­

    The attack came suddenly from the back. A giant magma fist assaulted him, and Ian hurried to activate his power to guard. Using his telekinetic barrier along with him crossing his arms to shield himself.

    Still, the magma fist passed through him with no damage whatsoever¡­

    This made Ian shocked. He thought he was holding his observation Haki on? So how was the illusion able to take effect?

    But then he remembered his mistake of letting his guard down and assuming that his observation Haki could guard against these illusions, which lead to the other cloaked person to use it to his advantage. Ian now knew that there was no fourth person and no magma fruit¡­

    And now capitalizing on this the sword-wielding old man came with his own attack.

    His sword was as black as the night, but a dep glow of purple was surrounding this black.

    An indication of a master of the art of Haki.

    If that attack were to hit, Ian''s outward defense would have nothing to guard against, as this attack would injure him internally.

    His telekinetic barrier proved inadequate earlier, and his elemental form would not be able to do anything as the sword was filled with Haki.

    So for the first time in a while now, Ian was forced to actually dodge.

    Reforming into lightning, Ian moved leaving a trail of electricity and it appeared as if he teleported away.

    In that situation, he would not be able to use his shadow teleportation as it required him to concentrate.

    Ian now knew that this situation was quite serious.

    That illusion fruit holder was quite troubling to deal with.

    So Ian was going to start with him. He was Ian d. Louis, and he would be damned if he let these people get the better of him.

    He had already guessed who these people were.

    Well, at least the two who had been attacking so far. They should be two elders from the world government.

    Their abilities should have been chosen precisely to take care of Ian.

    Illusion, plus a master swordsman, that had reached a very high threshold in his swords arts. Since brute force was proved to be inadequate in killing him they brought someone who could attack the mind. Ian really had to give it to Im.

    Ian reinforced his barrier around him with many layers. He had been complacent apparently as he had just one layer previously.

    He also didn''t like the fact that he had been attacked twice now and he came out as the losing side. Even though he was not hurt or anything.

    Ian made a note to himself.

    A note to show these people who the boss was by going all out.

    And just as he thought that Ian again reformed to lightning and neared the sword-wielding old man.

    And this time, since Ian was focusing more on the fight, he managed to pick up a sort of fog that was nearly impossible to notice, try to enter his body.

    His barrier would not stop gasses from entering. So this explained how he was caught off guard earlier. Since the fog was in his body it proved harder for him to notice the illusion.

    Taking his spear out, Ian proved that he was getting serious.

    The old man with the sword was abruptly hit with the spear the moment he had seen Ian take his weapon out.

    He didn''t understand what happened at all. He had just seen him take his weapon out, and suddenly he was flung into the ground getting buried after leaving a trench through it.

    The moment he had stopped, the impact resulting from that had him cough up blood.

    Then not leaving anytime for the second old man to check what the hell was going on, Ian Had already reformed near him and attacked.

    Similar to the sword-wielding elder, this one took a downward slash of Ian and was flung backward, all of his internal organs damaged much like the other elder.

    And then suddenly a person appeared in a yellow light and clashed with Ian using a sword made of light.

    This was the third person there. He had moved as he too reformed into light and tried to protect the illusion master. But he was too late, as he had thought Ian was going to continue to attack the swordsman now that he had attacked him.

    Never did he imagine Ian to be targeting the illusion master all along.

    And indeed, for Ian to take care of the sword-wielding old man it would be easy. But this fog illusion person was a bit tricky. So he was the real target.

    Still¡­

    "I didn''t think that the marines'' would even bring you this time¡­ Kizaru!" Ian talked as he interlocked his spear with the light sword belonging to Kizaru!

 Chapter 171 - A picture!

    "I didn''t think that the marines'' would even bring you this time¡­ Kizaru!" Ian talked as he interlocked his spear with the light sword belonging to Kizaru!

    In his speed Kizaru had his cloak''s hood fall off, much like the two downed elders. Still, Ian recognized him the moment he had reformed in light.

    This person was someone Ian was wary of fighting until it was absolutely unavoidable.

    Why? Ian had this theory that every admiral level person of strength, had managed to awaken his devil fruit.

    This is supported by the battle between Aokiji and Akainu.

    So this leaves one wondering¡­ what could the awakening of a devil fruit that turned you into light be?

    Yeah, Ian wanted to make sure that he was absolutely prepared to fight someone like that!

    But now, it appeared that he was going to fight him anyway.

    He was not nervous or anything, however. Since it had come to this, he would make sure to ingrain it in Kizaru''s soul to never bother him again.

    But first, he was going to see what Kizaru thinks about the di¨¢voloi.

    Ian jumped a bit back and lowered his spear. Making it penetrate through the ground a bit due to its sharpness.

    "Kizaru¡­ did you know?" Ian asked him.

    And Kizaru who saw Ian do all this lowered his sword too.

    He knew that Ian wanted to talk.

    "Knew what?" He asked back, his voice still carrying with it that hint of laziness.

    "Don''t play dumb! Did you know that the supposed leaderless world government had a leader in fact! I''m talking about that! And also this leader is actually a di¨¢voloi, or since you might not know the name, it''s precisely the devil we had fought at the war!" Ian admonished him, before explaining anyway.

    This shocked Kizaru again.

    He had heard it earlier, but he threw it away from his mind. There was just no way it true.

    And seeing that Ian was saying this now, he thought that maybe Ian was trying to create an opening.

    Ian shook his head seeing that Kizaru was suddenly on high alert.

    Thinking a bit he managed to follow Kizaru''s train of thought and sighed. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_%!d(string=15935515306575705)/a-picture!_%!d(string=51579096924210180)">#!_%!d(string=15935515306575705)/a-picture!_%!d(string=51579096924210180)</a> for visiting.

    "Idiot, if I wanted to deceive you why would I choose something like this?! Also, do you think I would tell you anything if I didn''t have any proof?" Ian sarcastically intoned.

    He reached towards his pocket and brought a picture from it.

    He then threw it towards Kizaru.

    Kizaru caught it warily and looked at it. Keeping a sideways glance at Ian.

    When he saw what was on it, he was shocked out of his mind.

    The picture had the five elders kneeling to the empty throne, which unlike its name was actually occupied by Im.

    You couldn''t fake a picture in the world of one-piece, so Kizaru knew that this was authentic.

    This made him think if this was true, then were the other things Ian had said true too?

    Ian chose this moment to speak.

    "That picture was taken by Sengoku himself! I had taken him and Garp to prove to them the truth about the world government. A few days later they were discharged, and ever since then, they suffered assassin attacks because they saw something they shouldn''t! Even ''I'' this time! Why was I ambushed? Because I managed to annoy Im so much she resulted to this!" Ian explained to him where the pic had come from.

    At the time even he didn''t know that Sengoku had brought a snail to record with. And at the moment they were caught the snail had been recording on its own.

    Again this was something that could be confirmed with one call so Ian had no reason to lie. Kizaru was well aware of this.

    Movement from the side caught both of their attention.

    The two elders were healing at a rate visible to the n.a.k.e.d eye.

    "Well, you heard me earlier¡­ these two¡­ they are both carrying the blood of those devils through them¡­ they can no longer count as human beings!" Ian told him again.

    The only reason he was saying so much was to bring Kizaru to his camp.

    Otherwise, he would just kill them all and be done with it.

    Still, it appeared that it was not going to be that easy.

    Clearly, Kizaru had to think this through.

    Or maybe he had something holding him back.

    "Why are you saying this much when you know they are hearing us?" Kizaru threw this question all of a sudden.

    Ian gave him a look that translated to ''Are you stupid perhaps?''

    "They ambushed me, and you are asking that? Of course, they are going to die!" Ian replied matter of factly.

    He realized the threat his crew could have been if that illusion master was attacking them¡­ even he had trouble with him¡­

    There was no way he was going to let him and his friend get away like that.

    Today, two of the elders were going to die.

    Kizaru had a troubled look on his face.

    He knew the facts as they were laid in front of him¡­ still he had to take some time to think.

    He considered the marines to be part of the world government but he also wanted to think that they were somewhat independent.

    However even he, someone high on the ladder of the marines'' was here obeying the words of the two elders.

    But not because he wanted to¡­ no it was because he was afraid of what the world government would do to the marines, whom he considered as somewhat of a family to him.

    Right now the marines could sometimes act on their own. And the only reason they were not punished for that was due to him, Akainu, and now Fujitora, being as strong as they were.

    They needed them to fight off against the pirates.

    And now these facts were thrown at his face¡­ he could tell Akainu of this and perhaps they could attack the elders¡­

    He had to think about this well.

    Meanwhile, he had to protect the two elders for now. He couldn''t let Ian kill them while he was guarding them.

    His light sword was once again formed.

    His intention to fight as plain as day!

 Chapter 172 - Kizaruâ€™s trump card!

    Having heard Ian''s intention about killing the two elders Kizaru hurried to speak.

    "I''m sorry! But I can''t let you kill them on my watch!" Kizaru spoke up. His voice was quite serious in contrast to his usual laziness.

    He had seen Ian''s speed from earlier so he decided to be more careful and use his all from the start.

    "Haha, such confidence! I''m afraid today you are going to go back disappointed for not achieving what you wanted! There is no way that they are going to leave here alive! And if you stand in my way¡­ even if you would prove a valuable ally against the di¨¢voloi¡­ I would not show any mercy!" Ian laughed at first before issuing a fair warning towards him.

    He was giving him a chance to leave. If he did so, he could still claim later that Ian had caught him by surprise or something like that to the remaining elders and Akainu¡­ but if he stayed¡­ Ian would not bother with him anymore.

    By now the two elders had already healed from all of the injuries they sustained. They were mostly internal, but one of them had had his arms broken. Still, it was quite shocking for Kizaru to see them heal all of this.

    The two elders had already been furious for being treated like small fries by Ian, and then they got their asses kicked¡­ and now¡­

    Hearing the two talking about them like they were small kids needing protection left a bad taste in their mouths¡­ one of them could not help but remark.

    "Such unparalleled arrogance! Never have I heard someone boast this much!" The sword-wielding elder shook his head as he talked.

    With his fellow illusion master doing the same. If a third party were to see this they would think of them as right due to how wise their words and tone sounded.

    "Arrogance? Boasting? Did I not just almost kill you with a simple strike of mine? Are you perhaps blind? I was not aware that when one becomes half a devil they would lose their sight! Well, I guess the saying the more you live the more you know is quite true!" Ian replied back sarcastically.

    These two old men were entertaining, to say the least.

    And his reply to them angered them to no ends. They shared a look and prepared to go all out right at this moment.

    Kizaru stood guard in front of them. Ian''s warning blaring in his mind. But at this moment he chose to ignore it.

    Seeing this Ian resolved to teach them all a valuable lesson. To quit when you can, otherwise, it would be too late later.

    He was going to show them what real strength is.

    Although Kizaru was quite alert ever since he made his mind, he still couldn''t see when Ian had made his move.

    A sound caught his attention and he turned to see what was wrong when he suddenly saw the two elders were both caught in Ian''s hands by their necks. Ian was floating and holding them effortlessly.

    Then Ian smirked at Kizaru before he discharged electricity through his arms.

    Ian had discharged the highest amount of voltage he was capable of while using his ''blue'' lightning.

    This was far from Ian''s limit, but it was enough for these two.

    As evidenced by the two elders screaming their lungs out.

    "NO!" Kizaru yelled as he used his teleportation technique to near Ian.

    He could not let him kill them.

    And by his estimation, if the two elders'' stayed in Ian''s grasp for a few more seconds then they would really die.

    Just as he neared Ian, the person himself released them to fall to the ground. Before he brought out his shield again and this time, he coated it in Haki and swung at Kizaru using the advanced form of Haki: Emission.

    With this technique, Kizaru would have to dodge even further back as using emission would let one hurt even his opponent without even touching them.

    And since Kizaru was using his light sword against Ian, who even two years ago was capable of going toe to toe with that devil that outclassed the marines, Kizaru chose to run. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_%!d(string=15935515306575705)/kizaru%E2%80%99s-trump-card!_%!d(string=51694722007224605)">#!_%!d(string=15935515306575705)/kizaru%E2%80%99s-trump-card!_%!d(string=51694722007224605)</a> for visiting.

    But Ian wouldn''t let him.

    He followed after him, merely redirecting his strike towards the light human.

    Kizaru started to panic.

    But after a few seconds, he regained his calm.

    Using his ability he started glowing for a bit before the glow exploded and managed to blind Ian for a bit.

    This brought Kizaru a few seconds to run away backward and check on the two elders.

    When he did, his face couldn''t help but turn ugly.

    If he didn''t take them now and give them some medical help they would definitely die. One heart or two hearts won''t matter¡­ as both were damaged.

    Thinking at a furious speed, Kizaru saw only one method left for him, to both save them, and potentially kill Ian.

    This was something every admiral would have to have before they could accept the position.

    A trump card that manages to deter the emperors of the sea.

    Their devil fruit awakening.

    In Kizaru''s case¡­ since his fruit is the light-light fruit¡­ his speed in that state would enter into a whole new realm¡­ although the time he could stay in that state would be very small¡­

    By now Ian was moving towards him, his right hand rubbing his eyes.

    "So sneaky!" Ian chuckled.

    Kizaru didn''t like how Ian was so confident¡­ but the time was against him. And with one final resolute look at the two elders, he chose his course of action.

    Suddenly the surrounding space around Ian and Kizaru started distorting as if a mere illusion. Yellow-colored energy started to surround them all.

    Ian was still floating in the sky, but then all of a sudden his eyes glowed red before he started moving at a very fast speed. His future sight had triggered and what he saw didn''t please him at all.

    He used his scaly mode to surround himself in his armor and then further added his Haki!

    He didn''t stop though¡­ no¡­ using his telekinesis he layered barrier after barrier through his body and then circle after circle around him until he for the first time in a while started to feel tired mentally.

    Only after doing this did he feel it was enough for what was coming next!

 Chapter 173 - A whole new realm of speed!

    In order to save the two old fogies and not end up implicated by this hidden leader ''Im,'' Kizaru had no chance but to use his trump card.

    Three seconds. That was all Kizaru would be able to stay in that state.

    Although the fruit was said to be the light fruit, its owner could never reach such speed.

    In fact, usually, Kizaru moved at sub-relativistic speeds, which is not even 10% of the light speed. And even that too took its toll on him.

    For example, he would always feel somewhat tired. He could also move only in straight lines. His brain couldn''t keep up with the speed, so he spoke somewhat slowly. And while his body was that fast, his reaction speed couldn''t keep up at all.

    This is where his trump card would shine.

    For a brief moment, three seconds to be exact, Kizaru would truly live up to his epithet of the fastest man alive.

    When in that state he would be able to move ''And'' react in sub-relativistic speeds.

    No more should be said.

    Quite possibly this was the limit a person could reach in this world in terms to speed. Or, at the very least very few would be able to do that.

    Looking at Ian, Kizaru knew that this was a tough opponent and he would have to go all out.

    The space surrounding the two started to distort or rather the light around them was making it sound as if it was.

    Kizaru''s body started to change.

    Light energy started to surround him and by the end of it, Kizaru had changed to somewhat look quite fearsome.

    His cloak was already discarded to the side.

    Now his whole body was glowing in the previous yellow light now almost white.

    His hair had turned into light particles as it swayed upwards.

    Kizaru pointed his right arm sideways and then instead of a sword appearing, his whole arm turned into light and was shaped like a sword.

    Then under Ian''s watching eyes, Kizaru vanished.

    From that moment on, Ian was not able to track Kizaru at all.

    Kizaru had entered into a whole new realm of speed. A realm where only he was capable of moving.

    This was proven when Kizaru suddenly appeared near Ian. Meanwhile, Ian had still not moved his eyes from where Kizaru had been.

    Bringing in his sword down towards Ian, in an attempt to behead him, Kizaru encountered a sort of barrier that actually managed to withstand the whole force behind his move even at its massive speed, but he was not discouraged at all. Rather he continued on attacking with multiple successive strikes with the final one managing to crack the barrier a bit.

    However due to the force behind the strike Ian''s whole body was thrown backward and into the ground where he was buried leaving a trench behind him.

    Still, Kizaru could swear that before Ian was thrown down, his eyes had moved a bit to look at him, albeit sluggishly. And he had seen such deep anger in them that he felt absolute fear for a bit there. But then he resolved to continue as Ian was going to die anyway.

    Ian''s whole body was in a sort of defensive stance where he was crossing his arms and his spear was already stored away. And though the dust wouldn''t settle down due to how fast Kizaru was moving he was still able to pick up Ian''s form buried somewhat within the ground. And his barrier that was cracked by Kizaru''s multiple strikes didn''t suffer at all from the impact of being thrown to the ground.

    A testament to how strong Kizaru''s strikes had become. And to how strong Ian''s shield is.

    Kizaru''s thoughts moved at the same speed his body was capable of now. And he immediately concluded that he needed to destroy Ian''s shield or his strikes would deal no damage.

    He moved near him and again kicked him to the sky, and this time he clearly saw Ian''s eyeballs trying to follow his movement.

    ''Such a monster!'' He couldn''t help but exclaim.

    He then readied his next attack. There was no time to waste. He knew that once the state he was in wore off he was going to be in for a world of pain. As he was currently light so he wouldn''t be able to feel any pain.

    The light that had spread around the two of them suddenly changed form to become laser energy and they all fired at Ian from all directions.

    From the back, front, down up, from everywhere strikes landed on Ian''s body.

    And Kizaru didn''t let on, he was short on time, and though three seconds at this state appeared to him to be longer he was sure that it was almost done.

    The strikes landed once again. And just like that, he had fired off plenty of strikes and he was sure he only had one second left now.

    But the good news was that he had destroyed the barrier finally.

    A strange armor was seen on Ian like some sort of scales. But he was sure that since Ian had added the barrier then it was not that great.

    He tested it by moving near him and delivering a strike with his light sword straight to his neck.

    His strikes since a moment ago were all attempting to kill Ian.

    But to his surprise, his strike didn''t do anything.

    He followed by various strikes in an attempt to overwhelm Ian''s shield. All in vain.

    At this moment Kizaru knew that he had f.u.c.k.i.e.d up. And that Ian''s shield now was stronger than the barrier.

    He tried to follow up by attacking again, but his body suddenly couldn''t move.

    ''Shit!'' He cursed in his head.

    His body started changing back to his normal form and the pain was starting to spread through his body.

    And then just like him, Ian was starting to feel the effects of all the strikes that landed on his body, with the last one that had hit him on the neck before he was thrown backward again.

    Explosions finally kept up with time as they started sounding soon after and dust was raised again. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/a-whole-new-realm-of-speed!_51762884463612820">#!_15935515306575705/a-whole-new-realm-of-speed!_51762884463612820</a> for visiting.

    When Ian got up this time, blood was leaking from his mouth. And he felt sore all over his body. His hand moved to massage his neck, where he felt the most amount of strikes had landed.

    "Bastard!" Ian growled furiously. His eyes shining with an uncontainable rage.

    He was quite injured even with his defense.

    But it was not something that would inhibit him from expressing how furious he was.

    His regeneration kicking in to heal all his injuries at a very fast pace.

    In but a few minutes he should be able to use his full power without injuring himself further.

    Similarly, Kizaru coughed blood as he fell to the ground when the transformation was finished.

    His whole body was paralyzed. And he felt his consciousness slipping away. The last time he had used this he had slept for two months straight. Or rather he was in a coma. And this time he felt it would be even worse.

    This was the price for using his trump card.

    Ian moved slowly. But he didn''t head out towards Kizaru, no. he knew that guy couldn''t move now.

    He rather went to finish off the two elders.

    He did this for two reasons. One he couldn''t let them take advantage now and run. And two he wanted to give his body a few more minutes to heal just in case Kizaru had another trump card.

    Kizaru who saw Ian do that was both anxious and somewhat relieved he had a few more seconds to live.

    He knew that Ian was not going to spar him now that he had tried to kill him.

    ''I should have just run with the two fogies earlier¡­'' He lamented to himself.

 Chapter 174 - Escaping!

    Kizaru knew he f.u.c.k.i.e.d up big time.

    But Ian didn''t care about that at all.

    No! He went around to the first elder, the one holding a sword. From the five elders, this was actually the oldest looking one!

    Ian took his spear out, and in one swift moment followed by a twist, he ended him.

    The reason he twisted his spear was so that it would destroy both hearts, although they were already failing due to his lightning. Still, it didn''t hurt to be cautious.

    Then taking his spear out he swung it to get rid of the blood until it was clean.

    After this, he went to the other elder quickly. But he didn''t forget to get rid of the body. A huge lightning beam came down from the sky and onto the body, and by the end of it all, suffice to say there was no ''body'' to be found anymore.

    The second one Ian went to sport a mustache and had a rather large birthmark on his face.

    Ian drove his spear through that elder shortly after just like he did with the one before. And then cleaned his spear with one swift swing.

    And then he turned his sight to the paralyzed Kizaru.

    It was good that he had future sight¡­ otherwise¡­ he was not willing to think of what would have happened to him if he didn''t use his all to guard ¡­

    When he had seen what Kizaru did in his future vision, he had hurried along to use his highest form of defense which he was quite confident would suffice for this¡­ he would have used his teleportation too, but he didn''t have the time to¡­ that ability was just not made for split decision making¡­

    He knew all along that every admiral level powerhouse had a trump card somehow¡­ but he didn''t expect that even with his current strength as the strongest human being alive that it would turn out like this. Or perhaps it was just with Kizaru¡­ since he was effectively a light human. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/escaping!_51791840059376089">#!_15935515306575705/escaping!_51791840059376089</a> for visiting.

    It doesn''t matter, Ian was not going to spare him now.

    Screw the plot¡­ screw his help in the future against the di¨¢voloi¡­

    Screw everything. Kizaru was going to die, and if that didn''t happen today, it would happen later¡­ Even if Kizaru had used his trump card to escape, Ian would not react so intensely. In fact after telling him the truth of the world government he expected him to run. But the bastard instead tried to kill Ian so many times and this got on his nerves. There was no way he was going to spar him now¡­

    Kizaru was completely helpless at this point¡­ he couldn''t turn his body into its intangible form, he couldn''t do anything at all¡­ so Ian would only need his spear.

    When Ian reached him he saw the panic in his eyes. But he didn''t change his mind. He brought his spear forward and was just about to pierce right through his body when something happened.

    A huge amount of energy exploded out of Kizaru making Ian go alerted, and his eyes to glow red as his future sight triggered.

    ****

    With Kizaru¡­ he was looking at Ian go around to kill the elders with fear and nervousness.

    For the first time in his life, he had f.u.c.k.i.e.d up completely.

    Had he taken the two elders with him he would have been able to run away from Ian with ease.

    And though the two fogies would be displeased it was much better than them dying and him after them.

    But he had to be stupid and try to kill Ian. Now even the remote chance of them being allies in the future if what Ian had said about Im was correct, turned to dust¡­

    At this thought, Kizaru was suddenly alerted.

    ''I still have to tell about this to Akainu¡­'' He watched as Ian came closer to him with every second¡­ his thoughts moving sluggishly¡­

    ''I have to let him know about this¡­'' Kizaru was already awake by a miracle¡­ he should have lost consciousness much earlier.

    And though he was scared to die¡­. What drove him at this moment was his sense of justice¡­ it was true that his moniker was lazy justice, but it was still justice¡­

    And he couldn''t abandon that now when he knew that the marines would be left in the blind¡­

    And just as Ian raised his spear and was about to pierce it right through his chest, Kizaru who was already in between consciousness and unconsciousness suddenly exploded with power from out of nowhere.

    ****

    What Ian saw in the vision was Kizaru suddenly disappearing from around him.

    And though he could see quite a bit into the future, Kizaru did not return.

    Ian was again angry that he was going to run, so trusting in his future vision he charged instead of retreating.

    And then he swung his spear at Kizaru while he coated it in Haki in case.

    But it appeared that it didn''t do anything as suddenly Kizaru turned to light particles that shot to the sky in a beam¡­ making Ian''s spear cut only the light.

    "Goddammit¡­" Ian screamed in frustration, his conqueror Haki shooting out of him madly¡­ lightning started to descend from the sky as the weather changed from a sunny one to a stormy one.

    Arcs of lightning danced around Ian as he resembled an enraged god at that moment.

    Suddenly the lighting surrounding him turned purple¡­ instead of the usual blue.

    Kizaru was gone¡­ this frustrated Ian. He didn''t get to repay Kizaru for what he had done¡­

    But after a few seconds, Ian plopped back to the ground exhausted. The lightning dissipating and the weather changing back to a cloudy one.

    It didn''t become sunny again as Ian was still upset about what had happened.

    He vowed to himself that he would not let this go. If Kizaru was still alive, he would make sure to pay him back.

    He decided to take what he could today. And that is the achievement of killing two elders while injuring Kizaru to a mad point.

    This brought a short smile to his face after he mulled it over. He realized that he was not always going to get what he wanted. And he should be happy with this much.

    The sun started to peek through the clouds as they dissipated soon after.

    And just as Ian was going to store his spear again, he noticed the blood on it¡­

    ''So my last attack was not pointless¡­'' He thought to himself.

    This brought another smile to his face.

    Then Ian teleported back to his ship to continue his journey with his crew!

 Chapter 175 - *Title at the end of the chapter*

    Actually, before teleporting the ship, Ian remembered something. Which is to change his clothes and clean the blood on his body first. He didn''t want to make his crew worry all over nothing.

    Well, it was not ''nothing'' but still. The girls would make a big deal out of it, even bigger than it was already.

    Only when he was freshened up did he finally head out towards the rest of his crew. Or he tried.

    But someone stopped him.

    In the heart of action Ian forgot about him.

    It was master Rey. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/*title-at-the-end-of-the-chapter*_51794557448287516">#!_15935515306575705/*title-at-the-end-of-the-chapter*_51794557448287516</a> for visiting.

    "Wait! Do you know where Garp and Sengoku are? I swear I only want to join them. Those two are the most righteous people I know! Can you please tell me?" Master Rey told him.

    It was true. He felt everything around him collapsing as he knew the truth about the world government.

    Ian gave him a short nod. He was able to feel his sincerity so he waved his hand at him and just like that Master Rey was teleported to Garp and Sengoku. Ian was also not able to detect the energy of the devil fruit that was harmful to its eaters in him. This was also true for Kizaru and Kuzan. He would have to think about this more.

    But for now he went towards his crew.

    When he appeared on the ship they were now very close to reaching big mom''s territory.

    The first to greet him was Libell as she materialized from nothing and jumped toward him.

    Ian caught her and praised her for steering the ship, to which she giggled happily.

    "Our Libell is doing her best right?" Ian tickled her little nose as he teased her.

    Next came out Elene and Robin, with Stella and Akemi trailing behind them.

    Bert was still in the kitchen only yelling a loud welcome back captain.

    Kuzan peeked over Ian from the crow''s nest and gave him a nod before returning to a book he had in his hand.

    When Elene stepped closer to him she felt something off about him.

    "Welcome back Ian! Did you deal with the enemies?" Elene asked.

    The rest followed after her and greeted him too. And seeing Ian nod after greeting the others, Elene continued

    "Who were they?" she and the rest had not seen who the enemies were. As such even Kuzan was interested. In fact, even Bert peeked from the kitchen.

    "Sigh¡­the enemies this time were two of the five elders and¡­ Kizaru!" Ian replied.

    They could see that he was unhappy about something.

    "What happened?" she asked him.

    "Well, the two elders as expected were indeed no longer humans. As for Kizaru even after showing him that and giving him the option to leave he still stayed so we, unfortunately, had to fight!" Ian told her.

    Seeing Ian here she knew he had obviously run. But then what was he upset about¡­

    "Why do you feel upset then?" She gave voice to her question soon after.

    "That bastard Kizaru¡­ when I gave him the option to leave he refused but then, in the end, he still ran away¡­" Ian said with distaste.

    "He ran away¡­ from you?" Elene asked somewhat surprised. There was still someone like that in this world? She had absolute confidence in Ian''s power.

    "Yeah! It appears that I somewhat underestimated the level of power someone has to reach to become an admiral! They all have their trump cards!" Ian said. And then he gave a meaningful glance at Kuzan upwards.

    Kuzan smiled a bit.

    "We can spar later, and I''ll show you everything I can do if you want!" This was a sign of him trying to bond with his new crew. He was choosing to put his trust in them and show them his trump card.

    Ian gave him a nod. He felt somewhat placated that Kuzan would do that.

    "What about the elders?" Elene got back to the subject.

    "No longer among the living. And Kizaru that bastard¡­ although he left¡­ it was not without leaving something behind hehe" Ian laughed evilly.

    Elene giggled at him. His laugh was not evil. Period. As to what he said? Why should she care? He killed two demons spawns. And even if he killed humans they would still deserve it as she knew Ian would never target innocents.

    At this, even Kuzan was surprised. As far as he knew, anyone boosted by the di¨¢voloi was quite strong. And these two were from the five elders, who even now, Akainu can''t do much against based simply on the power he can feel from them. He was not scared of them, no, but he had to bid his time and gather people on his side¡­

    And Ian fought two of them in addition to someone he very well knew could be the strongest from the marines'' side with his trump card.

    And what was the result? The two elders died¡­ and Kizaru left something behind whatever that was¡­ it didn''t sound good.

    "But then¡­ why is your shirt different than the one you were wearing earlier?" Elene then voiced her earlier suspicion.

    Ian immediately started to sweat internally.

    But on the outside, he looked at her funnily.

    "What? You expect me to go into battle against two elders and one admiral level person, and not even my clothes should be shredded? Of course, they would be. And since I didn''t want to show up like that, I changed clothes!" Ian calmly told her.

    She was still suspicious about his words, but she decided to let it go. After all, he didn''t appear to be injured or anything so he was most likely saying the truth.

    An indeed by now, all of Ian''s injuries were somewhat healed/. The ones visible already healed. And the more trickier ones, the internal injuries, most of them healed with the few harder ones, probably needing him to take a night''s sleep.

    So while he was still injured, it was not apparent at all. Not to mention that even like this he could still fight off against the likes of an admiral a few more times.

    "So how close are we to reach our destination?" Ian then asked them.

    ****

    Meanwhile with Kizaru.

    The moment he had affirmed his will to live so that he can warn the marines¡­ energy exploded out of him.

    He knew that using the same technique again (his trump card) would hurt him and possibly even cripple him for life. But against Ian? He saw it as the only chance to run.

    So he didn''t hesitate to do it.

    But he had underestimated the power that was unleashed due to him feeling the despair of being on death''s doors.

    As such instead of giving him his usual sub-relativistic speed, he instead exceeded the light speed for a second.

    So instead of him just running from Ian in another direction¡­ he showed up in this unknown place.

    He was on some sort of cliff that was overlooking an island completely covered in fog.

    But he could swear there was no such island in the world. Not in terms of size, and not in terms of buildings visible through the fog.

    Boom sounds were heard since a while ago.

    And now they had reached close to him and he was finally able to see what the origin of them was.

    Two absolutely gigantic beings were wrestling near the island he saw, they were so big he couldn''t see their whole bodies from this point. And there was a huge distance between the cliff and the island they were near so that said it. Both beings had wings and were flying while trading claws.

    He had never seen such huge beings in his life. And the energy he felt from them almost had him wet himself in fear. He couldn''t see the details about them and he could only see them as shadowy figures due to the distance.

    Just the killing intent in the air was enough to paralyze someone like him.

    In fact, the light energy that was keeping his body together left him the moment one of those beings laid eyes on him. And at that moment he fell to his knees completely paralyzed.

    From fear and from his injuries.

    All of a sudden the one that had laid its eyes on him, just from his feeling as he couldn''t really see from this distance between them, gathered energy at its mouth and released it at him.

    He, someone known for his speed, couldn''t really keep up with the huge ball of destruction coming towards him.

    One moment it was far the next it was just in front of his eyes.

    ''This is it¡­'' at that moment Kizaru knew he was going to die.

    But all of a sudden a voice was heard in his mind.

    [This is not your time, child! Go back to where you belong!]

    And just as it finished he was engulfed in energy and vanished from the place. Leaving the ball of destruction to destroy the cliff he was on.

    The last thing that was reflected in his eye, was a huge serpentine body appearing from the sea and wrapping around the being that attacked him helping the other one to restrain him.

    Kizaru then went back to his original timeline.

    That''s right. He didn''t run from Ian to another island¡­ no he ran from Ian into the past.

    Title: Escaping into the past!

 Chapter 176 - Explanation!

    Light exploded into the ground coming straight from the sky in a pillar. But the ground was not destroyed or anything.

    When the dust cleared and light dispersed Kizaru''s form appeared.

    Just like that Kizaru was back to the same place he had run from. Where Ian had kicked his ass and reduced him into this state.

    But this time he was finally completely out of energy. As such he had not time to dwell on the things he had seen.

    The only thing he did do once he noticed his current place and state was to call Akainu for help.

    He was breathing hard as the den-den mushi was ringing. Any second now he would lose consciousness.

    He knew his state was f.u.c.k.i.e.d up but he chose to ignore it, even though the pain he was feeling was absolutely devastating.

    "Borsalino, what the hell happened, why were you not answering for a while now?" Akainu''s enraged voice sounded from the other side as soon as the call made it through.

    Cough¡­ cough

    Kizaru coughed out blood.

    "S-Stop the bullshit¡­ and send someone to me now¡­ I''m about to lose consciousness¡­" Kizaru was barely able to form a phrase as he said. But then the moment he finished he was done for. His eyes closed no matter how hard he tried to stay awake.

    And just like that, he entered the realm of unconsciousness.

    "What are you on about? Borsalino! Borsalino! What the hell happened! answer me!" Akainu kept on yelling into the line that was still open. But then he understood that Kizaru must have lost consciousness so he hurried to send people to his place.

    If one were to say that this person was Kizaru no one would believe them.

    Why? Kizaru was a strong person. So much so that he was always lazy. Even in fights. He didn''t think of them as enough threat to be serious against.

    But what about this person? He had blood leaking from all his seven orifices, one of his legs was apparently broken as it was twisted in another direction than it was supposed to.

    He had various gashes across his body, but the most important injury, and obviously the worst, was the missing limb.

    That''s right, Ian''s last attack had taken Kizaru''s left arm from him. It was a clean-cut straight through his elbow.

    If the arm was found, then a doctor might be able to find it for him¡­ but the arm had traveled with him into the past¡­

    His only option now was a prosthetic¡­

    ****

    The next time Kizaru came to conciousness was due to an induced shock from the doctors.

    This was by order of Akainu. He needed to know what the hell had happened. And though this action would hurt Kizaru somewhat it was a price he was willing to pay. Or rather¡­ Kizaru would pay.

    (A/N: Akainu''s time is coming¡­)

    When Kizaru felt the pain in his body he wanted to scream. So he did.

    One of the doctors nearby hurried along to inject Kizaru with something and after a few seconds, his yelling subsided as he felt the pain lessen.

    After a few minutes, he was finally able to think straight. He noticed first that his whole body bandaged heavily and that his left arm still hurt even under the injection that got rid of the pain. His left arm was missing from the elbow down. He was not able to notice that earlier as he was overwhelmed with everything.

    He released a sigh at that.

    He was already prepared to lose limbs and even to die the moment he joined the Marines''. Their world was not a playground after all. No matter how he joked in his fight. This was a fact he knew well.

    But he didn''t expect that it would be due to his idiocy this time. If he had just swallowed his useless pride and run away with the two elders¡­

    Akainu''s voice brought him out from his thoughts.

    "We found you three hours after the call and you have spent two hours here under surgery. But I have to know what happened to you and where the hell did those two geezers go?" Akainu came up with his question.

    Kizaru sighed.

    "Couldn''t you wait until I woke up regularly?" He understood that if he was going to be in a coma for a few months, now with that injection, that time was going to be even more.

    "Your injuries are even worse than the last time. And at that time you had slept for three and a half months. Now I could only presume you are going to take more time than that. And I can''t wait four months or more to get a report about what happened. Even the rest of the geezers have been calling me to give an explanation for a while now. Now stop shitting around and tell me what the hell happened!" Akainu explained and finished with a yell. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/explanation!_51834971463147850">#!_15935515306575705/explanation!_51834971463147850</a> for visiting.

    He did not like those elders one bit. And they had been bothering him for a while now.

    Kizaru sighed again. He could understand at the least.

    He looked at the doctors and then at the camera''s recording.

    Akainu understood and yelled his orders for them to leave and stop recording in this room.

    Once they did he used his observation to see if anyone was near and then he nodded at Kizaru.

    Kizaru then proceeded to explain everything that had happened.

    About how the two elders were actually quite strong and about the illusion that they were able to use.

    He then told him about how they were able to become that strong by explaining that they had the blood of those devils in their body which gave them enhanced strength and regeneration.

    He also explained to him how the leader of the world was actually a di¨¢voloi as Ian called them.

    Akainu tried to refuse.

    "The whole meaning behind the world government is to signify that no one ruler would sit upon the empty throne! This couldn''t be true!" Akainu wanted to refute him.

    But then Kizaru spoke up.

    "I saw the picture damn it. And unless you know of a way to fake it then it is as true as it can be. Those elders didn''t feel human at all. And Ian said the picture was taken by Sengoku. You know that old man, just ask him and confirm this. He wouldn''t lie. In the first place, we all felt their release was suspicious no?" Kizaru yelled at him to understand.

    Akainu took a few seconds this time to think.

    He then called Sengoku for confirmation. He had his number and Sengoku was using the snail capable of hiding their conversation.

    And to his shock Sengoku replied that it was true and that he had witnessed Im with his own eyes and he told him to be careful against her. But he cut off the line there. Sengoku didn''t like him at all as he felt he was too extreme.

    But the point was that it was true.

    "What about Ian Louis?" Akainu then asked this as he noticed Kizaru''s state.

    Kizaru decided that he won''t speak about his short trip through time.

    "It''s best that we leave Ian Louis alone from now on. Even in my highest level of power, my attacks barely scratched him! And this was while fighting two other people at my level" Kizaru said bitterly.

    He already explained how it was his fault as Ian gave him the option to leave.

    Akainu nodded and then the effect of the injection was done and Kizaru fell asleep for now.

    Akainu left the room, his thought all over the place.

    But one thing was for sure. If Kizaru, That Kizaru he knew, said to leave Ian alone, then it was best he does so.

    After all¡­ even he would not beat Kizaru when he used his ultimate technique.

 Chapter 177 - Notice

    Sorry, I have a bit of bad news. I am currently working on a project with friends on my laptop, so I won''t be able to write any chapters. I''ll try to write tomorrow if I can depending on my work. Sorry, this came out of nowhere and it has a deadline of next monday. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/notice_51924505978795006">#!_15935515306575705/notice_51924505978795006</a> for visiting.

 Chapter 177 - Germa 66

    Ian and co had entered Totto land.

    Ian had already discussed with the rest and they all agreed that they would not waste time waiting for the tea party or wedding.

    They were heading straight towards big mom.

    Their journey, though it appeared simple, was actually easy only because it was them. even Kuzan was somewhat jealous. After all the weather and all the things that happen on a journey were not a problem for the odyssey and Libell. Thunder and lightning would strike at an energy field surrounding the ship and deal no damage. The sky would be raining, snowing but the ship still retains the heat and stays dry due to the same energy field.

    Kuzan had no choice but to accept that Ian was amazing. Of course, by the time the ship had reached Totto land, the weather was already sunny.

    But just as they had all decided that they would head towards big mom, something unexpected happened.

    A ship was coming towards the odyssey.

    It was only natural as there was no way a ship would enter Totto land and stay hidden.

    But Ian didn''t expect that it would be a ship belonging to Germa 66. Their flag denoting the 66 was quite big after all.

    Ian didn''t need to alert his crew at all. They were all quite adept and had felt the new presence coming near them. As such, they all came closer to Ian, with Kuzan staying in the crow''s nest.

    When the ship was beside them, all of them noticed the two clocked people on the ship.

    Ian and Elene already knew who they are of course, but the rest didn''t. Well, minus Sanji who''s features suddenly started to twitch in anger.

    Ian knew that in the original anime they came to look for Sanji.

    But this time no one should know that Sanji was on his ship. So they had come to visit him.

    It would make sense as due to his intervention Sanji was not going to be married and they settled for his Brother Yonji.

    So what did he want with Ian? Ian decided to wait and see.

    Ian also looked at Kuzan¡­ sigh.

    He wanted to leave him as a trump card for now, but since they had already seen him, it was too late. It didn''t bother him much, however.

    Ian could also hear the transponder snail ringing, which means they were really in big mom''s territory.

    The ship was quite big and the person on it was making his way until he was visible.

    Somehow the ship was trying to collide with Ian or something similar.

    So with a raised brow, he stopped it in its place all of a sudden.

    Then alarm sounds started to sound all of a sudden. With the soldiers yelling how the ship was fixed in place and couldn''t move at all.

    Yonji was somehow shocked at this as he started to curse.

    "What the hell happened?!" He yelled.

    But then all of a sudden a calm voice sounded.

    "Hey, you! Just now¡­ what were you trying to do?" Ian asked him as he looked at him directly.

    Yonji was shocked as he laid eyes on Ian. He understood that it was Ian who was responsible for his ship being locked in place.

    He didn''t know how to bullshit his way out of this one. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/germa-66_51993305432518319">#!_15935515306575705/germa-66_51993305432518319</a> for visiting.

    But luckily for him, someone else saw to it.

    "The ship was being steered by incompetent people. I hope you wouldn''t pay too much mind towards this, Emperor Ian Louis." A new person that stepped up towards Yonji and kicked him in the head throwing him back, said.

    When Ian took a look at her he noticed immediately that she was Reiju. Sanji''s sister.

    Reiju herself was cursing her brother on the inside. He had said that he would just meet Ian and move on, but then he went and tried to show Ian up by trying to ram the ship and see if they would panic and move on to move the ship out of the way.

    Sadly for him, Ian was not so easily showed up.

    She just hoped Yonji won''t mess up again now.

    On the side of Ian, although they hadn''t met just yet, they all knew from Ian about Germa 66.

    As such, they weren''t too much shocked. They were only excited somewhat as they saw the downed Yonji float in the sky.

    They were excited due to knowing that he was floating using a scientific tool.

    It was cool to see.

    Yonji, though he glared at his sister, stayed silent as he knew that she had just saved them.

    "Well, since you said so, I wouldn''t mind it anymore. Now tell me Vinsmoke Reiju, and Vinsmoke Yonji, what brings you here?" Ian replied towards her before asking this.

    It was only natural that Ian would know their names, as such they were not shocked or anything at him using their names.

    All of a sudden the atmosphere turned serious, as Reiju prayed that her brother would keep his mouth shut.

    "I wanted to see the man responsible for my ''wedding''!" Yonji yelled at him in anger.

    Though he was quite angered and wanted nothing more than to kick Ian''s ass he knew that he would lose on this. Horrifically.

    "Hoh! And what are you going to do now that you saw me?" Ian asked him amused.

    Yonji took some time to think of what to do now.

    Originally he didn''t want to do anything towards Ian. He just wanted to show him that he didn''t like him.

    But he was a hotheaded person and seeing Ian looking down at him, he was angered even more.

    But he still retained his reason.

    As such he just asked him.

    "Why did you help that trash Sanji?" Yonji said with gritted teeth.

    "Trash? As far as I know, Sanji is stronger than you all, possibly even your father, why do you say he is trash?" Ian asked him perplexed.

    He was doing this on purpose. He was having fun with this. But it was also the truth. Sanji fought with his father, unarguably the strongest among the Vinsmoke''s, who was using his weapon and raid suit and still almost won.

    Yonji, unlike his sister who looked somewhat happy and surprised about that, was enraged even more.

    This anger turned worse when he saw Sanji step up near Ian.

    He hadn''t seen him there before. But now this changes everything.

    Since Sanji was here, Yonji wouldn''t have to marry anymore. He would take Sanji with him no matter what.

    Sanji himself had a cigarette on his mouth as he spoke up with gritted teeth.

    "The only person here who is trash is you. Someone who bullies those weaker than him to feel strong." Sanji spat at him.

    This had the last effect needed for Yonji to explode.

    He jumped at Sanji while yelling.

    "A weak person has no right to speak back!!"

 Chapter 178 - Sanji vs Yonji

    "A weak person has no right to speak!" He yelled at Sanji. The mere sight of him getting on his nerves.

    Yonji used his suit to propel himself at Sanji at an impressive speed.

    The speed was quite decent as Ian remarked. But he knew that it was not a problem for Sanji as he was now.

    Yonji though thought otherwise. He knew that no ordinary person would be able to endure his power, especially while wearing the raid suit. He was confident in his abilities. And of his brothers for that matter. So what Ian said about Sanji being on par with his father or perhaps even stronger? He took it as just Ian lying or something along the line.

    But who was Sanji? The Moment Yonji neared him and was about to punch him he dodged him and swiftly dealt him an attack of his own in the form of a kick.

    He kicked him regularly without even coating his leg in Haki. But it was enough to throw Yonji back a distance away.

    Sanji had been pissed off at his family for ages now. And he wouldn''t miss this chance to show Yonji his place. Especially now that he didn''t have anything shackling him¡­

    Yonji who was thrown backward from the force tried to stabilize himself in the air using his Raid suit and was successful after a bit.

    Still, both he and his sister were quite shocked at this.

    His hands which were crossed as he had guarded against Sanji''s attack were a bit dented¡­

    This surprised him. It was not possible at all.

    Sanji was not like them he was not born genetically enhanced. As such he should not be able to reach this power level. He was just a failure.

    ''What the hell?'' Yonji thought to himself with gritted teeth. A failure should act like a failure.

    Although Reiju didn''t believe in the same thoughts as her brother. This was proved as she looked at Ian and his crew. If that was true then monsters like those shouldn''t exist, Right?

    Meanwhile, Yonji couldn''t accept this so he went for his signature attack.

    His hand suddenly extended towards Sanji at a very fast speed trying to capture him. But Sanji moved back easily out of the way.

    And even when the fingers on the hand extended themselves he still easily slipped out of the way.

    Sanji was highly adept at using observation Haki. In fact, he was one of the few capable of reaching the advanced stage of seeing the future.

    So someone like Yonji who relied on his raid suit and genetically engineered body had no chance against him.

    "Impossible¡­ JUST SIT STILL YOU ASSHOLE!" Yonji was angered as he yelled.

    Sanji was done being passive, so he jumped to the sky following after the figure of Yonji.

    This action again shocked them, as even though they were aware of the skill that allowed one to fly, they didn''t think a failure like Sanji would be able to use it too.

    Well, mostly Yonji as Reiju was happy for her brother even though she didn''t show it.

    Sanji then used his signature skill ''Diable jambe'' and kicked at Yonji''s face at a very fast speed, leaving him no time to react.

    "Concass¨¦" Sanji shouted as he slammed his heel on Yonji''s head effectively deforming it and knocking him unconscious while still being thrown to the sea.

    Sanji jumped back to the ship soon after.

    And just like that, the fight ended.

    Or so Sanji thought. But Yonji came back up soon after.

    He had indeed lost consciousness for a second. But he regained it soon after. This time he was calmer as he looked at Sanji. It appeared that what Ian said was quite correct.

    But he would not give up. Using both hands he punched his head from both sides, fixing it from the deformation it had suffered.

    And then he charged at Sanji again. This time using his suit to dodge Sanji''s kicks. While trying and failing to land any hits.

    All of them kept watching this fight that kept going on for a while now.

    Until all of a sudden Sanji using his flaming leg attack kicked at him multiple times and though he guarded the very first few strikes he couldn''t guard them all and ended up losing consciousness in the end and falling to the sea, again his body deformed and dented in many places.

    Though Reiju was shocked she didn''t show it, again. But it appeared that Sanji had left them in the dust. He was possibly as strong as her father as she saw. Possibly even more. As evidenced by him toying with Yonji all this time.

    She moved using her raid suit and intercepted Yonji before he fell to the sea. After which she promptly threw him to the ship effortlessly towards a couple of their soldiers.

    Then she jumped towards Ian''s ship. She had to apologize to Ian and his crew, and she was a bit nervous about it. She also wanted to meet her brother¡­ it has been a while since they last met after all.

    Briefly, a thought passed through her head¡­

    ''What if Sanji had a raid suit¡­''

    If he had then he would definitely be the strongest among them, that''s for sure.

    ****

    When she stepped on the ship, Ian and co turned and gave her curious looks.

    Though Elene was quite excited too.

    Why? Well, both Reiju and Hanc.o.c.k were her favorite characters from the anime.

    As such she would be excited to meet any of them. Well, she already met Hanc.o.c.k earlier but for Reiju it was the first time.

    She even planned to ask her to join them. But that would have to wait until she beat big mom.

    "I would like to apologize for my little brother, Yonji! He is a bit brash but he didn''t mean this." Reiju started by saying.

    Ian could feel her nervousness so he laughed as he replied.

    "No need to be nervous, I don''t mind at all, so just forget about it," Ian said. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/sanji-vs-yonji_52024303838873851">#!_15935515306575705/sanji-vs-yonji_52024303838873851</a> for visiting.

    And Reiju heaved a sigh. Finally a bit more relaxed.

    She planned to ask what Ian was doing going towards big mom and to warn him about what big mom had planned for him. Only then would she talk with Sanji about what happened since the last time they met.

 Chapter 179 - Vinsmoke Reiju

    Reiju started to think about how to start. After a few seconds of thinking, she decided she would just come out and ask Ian directly.

    Taking a deep breath, she spoke.

    "Emperor Ian, tell me for what reason are you heading towards big mom?" She asked him.

    Although internally she was not expecting him to reply to her with anything definitive.

    Ian didn''t see any reason why not to reply but he still asked her.

    "Why do you ask?" He wanted to know why she asked that. As he felt that she wanted to say something to him.

    She once again took a few seconds to think¡­ She and her family are going to become allies to big mom, and so they naturally heard of the plan that big mom had. They were even required to help in case they needed the help¡­

    But since she didn''t like her family one bit and she would be satisfied if they all saw their ends, she decided to tell Ian what was going on.

    Plus¡­ she turned to look at Sanji who was also looking at her.

    She didn''t want him to get in between the mess of two emperor level crews.

    "The big mom pirates-"She was still speaking when she suddenly felt the air around her change as if something was surrounding them in a dome. She was startled and thought that Ian was attacking her when she saw him nod at her calmly.

    "That is just a precaution since we don''t want anyone else to listen in on us right?" Ian said. He had released one of his energy fields to isolate sound from the outside.

    Reiju looked at the expression of the rest, including Sanji, and chose to trust him on this.

    "As I said, the big mom pirates, are prepared to destroy your crew the moment you step on near big mom. And she herself had declared that she would teach you the manners one has in front of an emperor before she makes you her slave. Even my family was made to promise help in case her children didn''t do their jobs properly. As such if your reason is not important you should abandon it at this time!" Reiju finished her piece and waited for Ian to process that.

    But Ian had already guessed that.

    "You think we don''t know?" Ian chuckled softly. "In the first place, someone unreasonable like big mom would not just listen to me if I had just told her to back off on Sanji. No, her arrogance knows no bounds. It required both me and the old man Whitebeard to threaten her to get her to back off. However, you don''t have to worry. Big mom soon would not be a problem anymore, Elene here would deal with it. Since you are also heading there, you should join us. And at that time you would naturally know what I mean. Plus it will give you time to talk with Sanji." Ian said in explanation. And at the end, he invited her on the ship with a small smile.

    Reiju was about to refuse before she saw Sanji looking at her calmly. His eyes also expressed the desire to speak with her.

    As she was the only person from his family that had ever treated him well since his mother''s death.

    She thought about it for a bit, and then she had an idea.

    Ian was an emperor like big mom. Though he was still a new one, she knew not to underestimate him. Just like shanks was the newest emperor at a time, but nobody dares to belittle his power.

    The point was however that she couldn''t just refuse Ian as that would make him unfavorable to her family no?

    Well, she didn''t really believe so but her family will.

    Though they were going to become allies with an emperor they were still not at the current time so it was best they stay on the good side of both parties.

    Giving a nod at Ian she moved a bit away from them and called her father.

    Then she started to explain to him everything.

    But she was truly smart as she didn''t say it like it was. No.

    She used the art of bullshitting.

    "¡­At your order I will take Sanji back and have him marry just like the old plan." She finished as she said.

    She had told him that her brother had attacked Sanji but then he lost and ow she was facing them as Ian had requested she joins him on his ship for the rest of the journey. She then told him she prepared to refuse before snatching Sanji with her and running.

    At this Vinsmoke Judge decided to stop her.

    "Stop. Your opponent is an emperor. No matter how new he is. And at this time we can''t afford to offend him nor big mom. You already know what the old hag has in store for him. As such join him for now and lead him here." He said.

    ''And then when he is beaten, we''ll naturally have Sanji marry her child instead.'' He thought to himself on the other side.

    He then hung up and left Reiju there standing smiling.

    Everything is heard by the others there.

    Well except for the soldiers on the ship as Ian''s sound isolation was still I effect.

    Reiju expected some sort of angry or even hateful stare to be directed to her, but all of them were just smiling at her. This managed to calm her a bit.

    "Well then welcome aboard. You have an interesting family though haha." Ian said as he laughed a bit.

    He couldn''t wait to see the expression on the old man''s face when he sees big mom had fallen. Also, he was not sure if big mom was going to betray them just like in the original anime, though it was highly probable due to her character.

    Reiju couldn''t help but agree with Ian. But for now, she had some talking to do with Sanji.

    She gave the ship the order to move with her brother still unconscious on it. And only when they had reached a sufficient distance did Ian released the energy field. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/vinsmoke-reiju_52069312143344685">#!_15935515306575705/vinsmoke-reiju_52069312143344685</a> for visiting.

    Soon the Odyssey started moving too as Sanji lead his sister inside. He wanted to ask her many things after all it has been a while since they had last met.

 Chapter 180 - Join my crew

    Sanji and Reiju went inside to enjoy their reunion. And Reiju didn''t appear to be cold or anything towards him as she was not under watch this time. Rather she enjoyed his company and wanted him to tell her everything that happened so far.

    And Sanji agreed. But not before pointing out that she would have to do the same. He had noticed her attempt at steering the subject off of her topic. He too wanted to know what happened to her all this time.

    And at that, she could only nod her head with a sigh. She knew that there was no way out for her.

    ****

    With big mom''s side, she had already known about Ian nearing her island.

    She sported a vicious smile on her face.

    She planned to torture him into submission, and if not, she would kill him. She never liked that old man Whitebeard anyway¡­ and for them to dare to threaten her¡­ they would pay, oh they would pay. And it would start with Ian and his crew.

    In fact, his crew can be used to threaten him into obeying her. She couldn''t wait for that to happen. Just imagining Ian marrying one of her daughters was enough to change her smile to a happy one.

    After all, he was still quite young and she had seen his strength on those projections about the war. So combining his genes with one of her daughters would give her quite specimen child.

    "Haaaaaahaha''mamamama" She laughed loudly to her heart''s content. Not caring at all that she was scaring the hell out of her children.

    Katakuri who was near her started to think that she was losing what was left of her brain. Still, he was fiercely loyal to her, as she was his mother.

    But this time he thought that she had been hasty. He felt a bad premonition about the coming fight they were going to have.

    Although Charlotte Linlin had assembled all her children and was now lying in wait for Ian at the island he was going to dock at, he still felt something bad was about to happen.

    Looking at the side, he also saw the vinsmoke family of assassins nearby in their suits ready to fight.

    Originally they didn''t want to fight, but big mom put them in a tough situation. She had told them that if they were to become her allies, they would have to fight with her. Although she remarked at the end that they were likely to need their strength.

    He couldn''t see the eldest daughter of Vinsmoke judge, but he had heard earlier that she was with Ian, and she would be able to deliver a cheap shot before joining back with their side.

    He didn''t care about that anyway.

    Continuing to look around he saw all his brothers and sisters happily chatting with each other, leaving only him as the one most worried¡­ He just hoped everything would go smoothly for them. Even as unlikely that was, he still hoped.

    Looking back at his mother, he saw her wolfing whole cakes into her mouth.

    ''With Mama on our side, there is no way Ian Louis would win right?'' He thought to himself.

    Plus they were going to have the element of surprise to themselves as Ian would be thinking they are invited for the tea party, and if anything was going to happen it would be after that time, or at least during.

    Shaking his head he looked at the guests that had already reached the island I annoyance. Whatever was going to happen when Ian comes, it was going to be twisted in a way none of them would like.

    ****

    Back to Ian. He was briefing his crew on what was most likely going to happen. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/join-my-crew_52136103699867348">#!_15935515306575705/join-my-crew_52136103699867348</a> for visiting.

    They were all right now standing on the deck, snacking on some Barbequed meat skewers.

    Each one was holding one and munching on it while listening to Ian. Even Ian himself was taking a few seconds to take a bite and then resume talking.

    Why? Because it was made by Sanji and Bert.

    That''s like the two greatest chefs in the world collaborating to make this barbeque. You bet your ass they would salivate over this.

    As evidenced by Kuzan who at first was looking from the crow''s nest and listening to Ian, but the moment the food was brought he came down as fast as he could and tried to make it look as if he was there from the start.

    Of course, Stella called him on it and they got into an argument just like they used to until Elene called her off, and Ian called Kuzan off.

    "Anyways, so that''s that." Ian finished off what he was saying at last.

    Sanji and Reiju were of course there too. Reiju was trying to make herself seem entirely focused on the skewer, so as to not be called on hearing their plan.

    "You mean to say¡­ that right now, the whole crew of the old hag is waiting for us in ambush?" Elene in between bites said.

    Ian nodded.

    "That''s right. She would have already known about us coming. And since I know how she is, she would not wait until the tea party and would attack as soon as we land to repay my offense against her¡­ What a child!" Ian said and finished sarcastically.

    "You''re right, she really is a child in the body of a grown-up. But getting back to the point¡­ Since I am the one going to fight her, you and the rest would make sure to stop her children and possibly Sanji''s family from interfering? Let me get another skewer, sigh, this so tasty. I''m going to become fat and it''s your fault, Sanji, and Bert¡­" Elene continued speaking, as she reached for another skewered from the plate.

    The two guys sweated at her words. Sanji and Bert shared a look as they took a few steps back from Elene, discreetly of course¡­

    "Haha, yeah I''ll get another one too¡­ Anyway back to the subject, yes, we will make sure to stop her children and the Vinsmoke''s from interfering¡­ Their joining is not a speculation but a fact." Ian said as he bit into the meat.

    He looked sideways at Reiju.

    He knew that her family would be expecting her to attack them when they least expect¡­ but by then Ian was sure she would already be part of his crew.

    That''s right, during a deep session with Elene and Robin, they agreed with him on her joining the crew.

    "Reiju, I know that if your family asks you to attack us, you will not hesitate to do so¡­ but don''t worry I won''t hold that against you. Still, I''m going to give you a way out of that right now. I can teleport you straight to your brother Yonji right now. I would be stupid if I waited for you to ambush us right?" Ian said as he spoke.

    And seeing Sanji about to speak up. Ian raised his hands.

    "Another choice you could take is to join my crew." Ian dropped a bomb on them all.

    Even Kuzan didn''t expect that at all. But the most shocked one was Sanji. This was exactly what he was going to ask from Ian as a favor.

 Chapter 181 - Reijuâ€™s choice!

    "So choose wisely. I can either teleport you away to your brother, or I can have you join my crew and be one of us. Also, don''t bother lying to me with your answer¡­ I would know!" Ian repeated to her.

    But against the thoughts of Ian, it was not Reiju who responded. It was Sanji.

    "Ian¡­ How? That was exactly what I was going to ask you as a favor¡­" Sanji muttered in shock.

    And even Reiju who was in shock woke up from her trace at this.

    "Oh, is that so? I did suspect something like that, but I just felt it was right for her to join us. Still, the choice is hers," Ian said.

    What he had said was indeed fair. The choice was hers. If she wanted he would really send her to her family.

    He would never force anyone against their mind.

    Reiju for her part was deep in her thought.

    For her, this was a golden opportunity. As she had said to Sanji when they talked earlier, she had suspected that her family might be betrayed by big mom. And when Sanji asked her if she wanted to save them, she said that they all deserve to die, including her.

    Sanji had said that she was not like them¡­ but although she was kinder, she still did what she was ordered to do by her father¡­

    So why was this a golden opportunity for her? She would be able to finally be truly free. Her family was dangerous and they would become even more so in the future. And if she ran away from them they would find her and make sure to brainwash her into obeying them again, and what little freedom she had would be gone.

    But now this choice in front of her was one that would exempt her from all that drama.

    She knew her father¡­ he would never dare go up against an emperor¡­ well not one as young as Ian as he would underestimate him, but she was different, she clearly saw how strong Ian was in the war, and even now she felt it in her bones¡­

    It was a reasonable choice to accept Ian''s invitation. But she decided that she will see what the drawbacks of doing so are.

    Big mom for a start would attack them in rage. As they were supposed to be allies. She already thought that big mom was just using them and was going to dispose of them so it didn''t fully count¡­

    Her father would be angry at her and might decide to disown her after his attempts at attacking Ian fails.

    She didn''t see anything else to the matter, which made her consider accepting even more.

    Then Sanji who was also silently waiting for her response decided to speak.

    "You are the only one from our family, besides our late mother, that treated me kindly. That place with those monsters is not for you, Reiju. Join Ian. He is strong. Much stronger than you are thinking¡­ and he would protect you. He already saved me from the marriage, you can see the lengths he will go to for a friend, not to mention a crew member. He had called Whitebeard to help him in threatening big mom to back off. So that says it all. I know that deep inside, you also want freedom just like me at that time¡­ If you join Ian you would have that and more." Sanji tried to help her make her choice.

    He really didn''t want her to be like those monsters anymore.

    Looking at them all she saw how they all were encouraging her to choose.

    She saw how Elene was quite excited for her to join, and how Ian was giving her a gentle smile, and also how the rest didn''t react in disgust or anything even after knowing she was an assassin¡­

    Sigh¡­

    "I agree¡­" She responded almost tired as she uttered the word.

    And at that moment Ian knew she was saying the truth and that she agreed from the bottom of her heart.

    "But, although I don''t like my family, I don''t want them to die with the exception of my father¡­ you may not know, but apart from Sanji whom our mother took a special drug to protect, all of us are genetically enhanced. But in the case of my brothers, my father saw fit to remove their sympathy and empathy, and though it doesn''t justify their wrongs and even I still don''t forgive them, there is still a chance in the future for them to be cured, and then they could atone for their sins." She said to Ian soon after she agreed.

    But she added in her mind ''I too will atone for my sins with them¡­''

    Ian was not able to pick that up as he decided long ago that he would not be leaving his ability to read minds open. And he would not use it easily.

    "That''s fine, I understand. I will not do anything to them so you can relax. Now then, allow me to officially welcome you to the crew!" Ian reassured her.

    "Yes!" Elene and Stella from the side said at the same time as they jumped at her and hugged her, Libell also joined them and hugged her new big sister. To them, Reiju was just so cool. But if one would look around well, they would notice that all of them there had a small grin on their faces.

    They all agreed with her choice and welcomed her to the crew. Even Aokiji. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/reiju%E2%80%99s-choice!_52182506006433940">#!_15935515306575705/reiju%E2%80%99s-choice!_52182506006433940</a> for visiting.

    He then continued on.

    "Before we get back to our subject on the ambush of the big mom pirates¡­ tell me, don''t you suspect that crafty old hag to just be playing your family?" Ian said towards her.

    There was no way big mom was really planning to go through that alliance. She was definitely lying just to get her hand on their tech.

    Reiju looked at him in surprise. And then started to think about what to say.

 Chapter 182 - The â€˜Ambushâ€™

    After a few seconds of silence, Reiju finally said in reply. (Click here for Ian''s drawn picture, or head to discord to see)

    "I did suspect what you just said. This is why I had wanted you all to just take Sanji with you and run away. To be honest, I expected that my whole family would die, so I wanted Sanji at least to run. As I told him earlier when we talked. But apparently, he has faith in your power ''Captain''." Reiju said in reply. Ending her words by calling him, captain.

    Ian turned to look at Sanji with a raised eyebrow. To which Sanji just turned aside embarrassed a bit. He was not usually embarrassed but at this moment being looked on upon by all of them, he felt awkward.

    "Anyway, I can confirm for you, that whatever big mom does results in the other party being duped over. Even if it was Kaido himself. That''s how big mom is. She is just a demon in human skin. So what you thought is most likely correct. Your family is known for their technology, and she is definitely after that." Ian explained to her.

    And when she thought about it, indeed, she felt it was possible.

    Ian then continued on.

    "Elene here will be taking down big mom, once and for all. As you heard earlier. Nothing would be changed except a few small things now that you joined us." Ian said.

    Reiju nodded at Ian indicating that she agreed to whatever tasks he needed from her even before he said what they were.

    "Alert your family about the possible betrayal they might face soon. If they are smart then they would be prepared and would not need us to help them. If not we could still do so, but in any case, just tell them that it''s valid info from me." Ian told her what to do.

    And she agreed.

    Sanji from the side also wanted to meet his family so that he can cut their ties once and for all.it was the second reason he came with Ian after all. The first was to ask Ian to help Reiju escape their family. But she ended up in his crew which is even better in his mind.

    Seeing Reiju nod, Ian decided to continue on.

    "The second thing you should do is to make it seem as if you ambushed us when we reach the place of the fight. Not to give us any advantage, no, but rather to make it sound as if you still think your family is allied with big mom and so you helped them. This would lessen the burden on your family. We will not announce you joining us until your family is at a safe distance. " Ian said.

    Reiju appreciated this a lot. She gave Ian a thankful nod.

    "Alright, since everything is sorted out, let''s go join the party, shall we?" Ian said towards his crew with a grin.

    "Let''s go, let''s go!" Libell raised her small hands to the sky as she increased the ship''s speed.

    ****

    On the side of the big mom pirates.

    An extremely tall, large, and muscular man with short spiky crimson hair and two symmetric scars on both sides of his face, could be seen standing near big mom, who was still gorging on various types of food.

    He didn''t show it but he was worried sick for his family. He feared if any of them would die in this upcoming fight. He knew his mom wouldn''t care. Ofc she would be enraged for a while, but she would only treat it as the child that died being weak in the end.

    Earlier the Vinsmoke''s had received a call and then, the idiots they are, they played it in front of everyone, so the children of big mom near them heard what it was about.

    And then they delivered the news to big mom, after which she ordered them to incapacitate them.

    The Vinsmoke''s had only been alerted but did not believe it completely, but it was too late for them even if they did when all the strongest fighters of big mom joined in and ganged upon them.

    They shot them with special bullets that weakened and injured them, making them drop their suits and return to normal¡­ after which they were encased in candy prison while still standing.

    Now they waited for Ian and co to come. Reiju had only relayed what Ian had said and told them to be extra careful. So the big mom pirates thought she was still on their side and would ambush Ian when it comes to that.

    Suddenly Katakuri was alerted. His instincts were screaming at him that at any second now, they would show up.

    And low and behold.

    Their ship the odyssey soon appeared.

    Once they docked the ship seemingly vanished as they each stepped up towards them.

    Turning towards his mom, he saw her dropping the food and taking on a serious look on her face.

    He followed her line of sight, and then he saw Ian along with another person he knew all too well. Aokiji.

    ''Shit'' he couldn''t help but curse. That guy was as good as a new emperor like Ian, so the both of them might be able to beat big mom.

    Nobody said anything about Kuzan joining in this fight.

    No wonder big mom became alert all of a sudden.

    Ian and his crew stopped a bit away from them before he started to speak.

    "Big mom¡­ this is such a warm welcome from you. Greeting me with all of your crew!" Ian said as he kept a smile on his face.

    "It is only fitting for someone like you don''t you think so? After all, you are an emperor of the sea, no?" Big mom said as she laughed.

    But big mom had just spoken when a pink fog started to spread around Ian''s crew.

    "Pink smog" Reiju muttered. Though she stayed near Ian

    All of a sudden they had started to drop to their knees, with the exception of Ian and Aokiji who still stood their places though they appeared to be struggling with sweat pouring from their foreheads.

    "A-As expected from you big mom. You really are despicable." Ian coughed and blood leaked from his lips as he said towards the giant woman in front of him.

    Then all of a sudden big mom started laughing hysterically.

    "Haaaaaahahamamamama, well thank you for the praise." She laughed and said. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/the-%E2%80%98ambush%E2%80%99_52226279239371333">#!_15935515306575705/the-%E2%80%98ambush%E2%80%99_52226279239371333</a> for visiting.

    And then she abruptly stopped laughing as her features turned serious.

    "Now die!" She announced the start of the fight.

 Chapter 183 - The fight is on!

    The moment big mom announced that Ian should die, all her children started to attack.

    Starting with the sweet commanders. Katakuri, Smoothie, and Cracker.

    They all narrowed in on the downed form of Ian, with big mom right next to them dealing her own attack.

    Katakuri inflates his mochi forearm until the pressure causes it to explode, propelling his Haki-embedded fist at his target from a distance. The speed of the fist is so high that it catches on fire due to friction.

    "Yaki Mochi" (Grilled mochi) Katakuri yelled as he shot his arm.

    His brother cracker who was inside his armor, attacked using his sword that he spun while coating with Haki.

    "Pretzel Roll" Cracker yelled as he jumped at Ian.

    Meanwhile, Smoothie used her sword to send an attack flying at Ian.

    Not much different from what big mom was doing¡­

    Big mom gathers her energy and swing Napoleon, in a wide arc releasing a massive flying arc of destruction. But unlike her children, her attack would manage to include the whole crew in it instead of just Ian.

    But then someone laughing could be heard.

    Before all the attacks struck and a cloud of dust was raised.

    Soon the dust cleared and what appeared there was shocking to the big mom pirates.

    By the side of Ian, the vinsmoke family was floating. They were still encased in candy though.

    However, all those attacks targeting Ian didn''t manage to deal him any damage. That was because Ian used his shield to tank everything. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/the-fight-is-on!_52249146450570456">#!_15935515306575705/the-fight-is-on!_52249146450570456</a> for visiting.

    This managed to displease big mom. Ikoku was one of her strongest attacks.

    Ian then spoke up.

    "Well then, now that we have your family, let''s finish up with this shall we?" Ian said as he addressed Reiju.

    The Vinsmoke''s were actually laughing maniacally.

    When Ian was getting attacked the other officers under big mom saw it fit to kill them all. And they burst out laughing, with the exception of their father who was crying his eyes out.

    It turned out that big mom had just wanted their tech without giving anything in return. And if she killed them, no one would be able to recreate that technology.

    And then her army would be strengthened even more than they were.

    But all of a sudden they were brought out of the attacks targeting them and now they were against Ian.

    The genetically enhanced soldiers stopped laughing while their father Judge stopped crying his eyes out in frustration.

    Reiju gave Ian a nod.

    "How are you not hurt?" Katakuri muttered to himself.

    One of the crewmates on his side inhaled the pink smoke still lingering around and yelled.

    "This just ordinary smoke, that bitch betrayed us!" He yelled out.

    And the rest looked at her in anger.

    "Fufufu, you have my family caught, and even attempted to kill them, and you still dare say I betrayed you?" Reiju laughed as she mocked them.

    Big mom though, didn''t care about that. Her only focus now was on Ian.

    She was a vengeful woman and she still didn''t forget that Ian had threatened her previously. She had sworn to pay him back and she was going to do so now.

    But then even though she was still glaring holes through Ian''s she still didn''t manage to see what came next¡­

    "Disperse¡­" Ian gave his orders.

    His crew behind him did as he said, they each jumped forward at a very fast speed, and only a few there were able to keep up with. Next, they showed up in a loose circle surrounding Elene as she stood there with a no-bullshit look on her face while glaring at big mom.

    Next Ian followed them by moving in next. And even though a lot of people were watching him, including big mom, no one saw him move him, seemingly as if he just vanished from existence.

    The next thing that anyone saw was Ian reaching behind big mom, and then with a single punch, he punched big mom in the back. She was not able to even react to his speed.

    A shockwave erupted as soon as his punch made contact with her before big mom was launched towards Elene who changed her face for the first time.

    She now sported a grin.

    Back to Ian. He didn''t stop just yet. And didn''t give anyone the time to react before he vanished again, and then all of a sudden people started to get thrown backward behind his own crew.

    Separating big mom from them.

    Everyone from the opposite side who didn''t get thrown like a puppet looked at Ian with a hint of shock and fear etched on their faces.

    Katakuri was one of those who got thrown back. And as he got up from the floor, he was the most shocked there. He ignored the pain he felt and looked at Ian intently.

    He clearly saw the future where Ian was going to hit him, but even so, he was not able to dodge.

    ''Was this what absolute speed is? Is this why Mama told me to not fight Kizaru under any circ.u.mstances?'' He couldn''t help but wonder to himself.

    Still, he changed his lower body to Mochi before he started heading towards Ian to attack the hop he could pass him and protect his Mom who was no inside the circle consisting of Ian''s crewmates.

    But then all of a sudden his Mochi froze and he hurriedly jumped back and reformed his body.

    He looked warily at Kuzan who had one finger thrown at him.

    Ian chuckled at this before he started speaking.

    "That girl there with big mom is my wife¡­ she has a dream to be the strongest woman in the world¡­ and since currently, big mom is the one holding that title¡­ she needs to beat her. So while she is having her fight, it''s best that you guys just watch the fight as it goes on, and don''t bother trying to reach them, as you would have to pass through us first." Ian said as he addressed the small army now ganging up on them¡­

    There were only about twenty-level powerhouses, but a lot of regular pawn soldiers and the like.

    Kuzan looked at Katakuri indifferently as he spoke up.

    "Well, you heard the captain¡­" He said.

    And this made Katakuri clench his hands hard as he grit his teeth.

 Chapter 184 - Vs big mom!

    As it was expected, the Pirates there didn''t agree with Ian at all.

    There was no way they were going to watch their mother fight without doing anything.

    They were her children, and it was their responsibility to help her when in need. Though it might backfire on them if big mom was in a bad mood and thought that they were looking down on her by trying to help her¡­

    Some of them indeed thought of that, but it was better to suffer her wrath than her falling a victim to Ian¡­

    But¡­ will Ian and co let them do as they like? Of course not.

    The moment anyone moved, they would retaliate hard.

    It was also fortunate that the stronger pirates like Katakuri, Smoothie, and Cracker were on the side of Ian and Kuzan.

    It was not that Bert and the rest would lose, but the fight would be quite hard and troublesome¡­ and if it was indeed so, then the fight between Elene and big mom would be interrupted.

    And Ian wouldn''t have that.

    As such the moment any one of them moved, Ian started delivering his own attacks.

    And each time they got back up, he would increase the power. He was trying to warn them to watch the fight subtly, and so far only Katakuri seemed to understand that.

    But at one point, Ian might just have to start cutting limbs off to make sure he was understood¡­

    The same thing could be seen happening with the rest of Ian''s crew.

    Ian looked at them in pity.

    ''Just give it up¡­ there is no way big mom, would stay alive after tonight¡­'' He thought to himself.

    He wouldn''t do this just to torture her children, but big mom was not someone that should be kept alive.

    She was utterly cruel and evil, even to the very same children that were trying to protect her¡­

    Of course, he wouldn''t let Elene kill her, he would let her win before he will personally finish her¡­

    The same can be said about Kaido¡­

    ****

    On the other side of the fight, Linlin had just righted herself on the ground after being kicked brutally. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/vs-big-mom!_52300246075626459">#!_15935515306575705/vs-big-mom!_52300246075626459</a> for visiting.

    She got up and dusted herself, but a malicious glint passed in her eyes.

    ''That brat¡­ I''ll make sure that he pays tenfold for this¡­'' She thought to herself.

    Of course, there was no damage on her body, just like expected from someone of her status.

    Granted Ian was also not using any armament or even his full power. It was a kick to send her into their circle that''s all.

    But it was impressive nonetheless when this simple kick would probably cripple a vice-admiral easily¡­

    ''But¡­ How was he able to sneak up on me?'' Big mom questioned. Her observation would usually kick up and warn of anything dangerous to her, though this time it remained dormant.

    ''Perhaps it was not dangerous to her which is why it didn''t flare up? Yeah, that must be it'' she concluded.

    Turning around¡­

    She found Elene on the other side of her looking at her with an excited expression.

    "Who are you?" Big mom questioned once she saw that she was ''trapped'' in a circle with this girl.

    "I wish to fight you for the title of the strongest woman in the world¡­ My name, It''s Elene, even though after today you won''t need it anyway¡­" Elene truthfully replied. Though she kept the rest of the words to herself. ''And to rid the world of the evil you bring¡­''

    Elene was prepared to kill big mom after she wins. Why is she so sure about her win? She was not sure. She was just confident.

    She looked at Ian on the outside and as if he felt her stare, he turned to her and grinned at her while nodding.

    He was encouraging her to do her part. She was happy she had such a supportive man. She nodded to herself. Later there was going to be a reward for Ian. A hot and steamy reward¡­

    Big mom released a hysteric laugh after hearing what Elene said.

    "You''ll fight me? Step aside little brat. I have to make sure that Ian kid pays for this¡­" big mom didn''t even spar Elene another glance as she moved towards Ian. Still walking leisurely as if believing she was simply the strongest person in the place.

    But will Elene let her?

    She would not. And that is why she took her weapon out for a small greeting strike.

    Just enough to drill it into big mom''s brain that she would have to first beat Elene if she wanted to head to Ian.

    Also, Elene was somewhat annoyed that she was dismissed easily¡­

    ''Let''s see if you''ll ignore me now¡­'' Elene thought to herself with a grin as she aimed with her rifle¡­

    Charging her energy at the tip of the rifle, Elene used her Haki to imbue the effect of internal destruction into her shot.

    That way the old hag would need to dodge at all costs. She doubted even her Iron balloon physique would help her¡­

    With a grin, she released the shot¡­

    Big mom all of a sudden perked up and hastily moved to dodge the massive strike that came her way at an impressive speed¡­

    She barely managed to dodge that¡­ but she clearly felt that the strike would hurt her quite badly.

    ''This brat¡­ she already mastered that type of Haki?'' Big mom thought to herself as she turned towards Elene and concentrated this time.

    The people who mastered the advanced forms of Haki were not ones to be underestimated.

    Apparently, Ian''s crew was quite impressive. Big mom started to think about having them join her crew. They would be quite an addition to her army.

    She could capture Ian and torture him, meanwhile having his crew follow her orders scared for their captain¡­

    ''Hmm, that''s a good plan.'' She thought, but all of a sudden the same feeling from before came u and she dodged once again.

    "What are you spacing out for, old hag?" Elene taunted her as she spoke.

    "Interesting brat. Let''s see if you can entertain me for a while." Big mom smiled maliciously. And it appeared borderline insane to Elene.

 Chapter 185 - Cutting ties!

    While Ian and co were fighting against big mom and her children, many things were happening around them.

    News reporters were doc.u.menting the fight¡­

    Early gests were enjoying the fight from a distance away¡­

    But most importantly¡­

    The Vinsmoke''s had already retreated courtesy of Reiju freeing them. When they were free from the candy prison, one order given from their father was all that was necessary for them all to start running. But there was an exception.

    Reiju.

    She just stood there watching them calmly.

    Before she turned to look at Ian. The newest emperor of the sea. The one she had already agreed to join the crew of.

    Having already agreed to join im on his journey, there was no way she would leave now. No, she would join him and the rest of the crew in this fight. Even if they were destined to lose this day, she would still do so.

    His words that he said to her gave her courage. The way he said that his wife was going to beat big mom might sound foolish to anyone, but she felt she could trust him. And if his wife was capable of going on against big mom, then he must be stronger as the captain of the crew.

    And that was what gave her the courage to finally confront her father.

    Her father Judge stopped as soon as he saw her just standing there.

    "What''s wrong, Reiju?" He questioned her. His voice wavering slightly, still not recovered from almost dying along with his dreams¡­

    While they were running, they were not in fact going to run from the island. But rather they were just moving a bit away from the battlefield. He still wanted to thank Ian¡­ and maybe acquire his cooperation¡­ after all Ian did save him and his children so he must also be interested in his technology.

    "This is it for me," Reiju replied to him after staring at him silently for a bit.

    The three brothers also stopped for a bit as they turned to look at her.

    "What do you mean? This is not the time for this." Judge asked her as he had a bad feeling about this.

    "This is it for me! You bastard. From this day out, consider me dead. Don''t call me your daughter ever again. So long have I waited for this moment¡­ You killed my mother, and you threw away Sanji... you are no way human, you are worse than a demon. I have joined Ian''s crew, and I won''t ever be one of you again from this day on." Reiju poured her heart as she yelled.

    The tears falling freely from her eyes as the memories of her mother and Sanji that she cherished passed through her mind.

    Judge was stunned. But only for a second.

    "What the hell are you saying Reiju! Seize your temper tantrum and let''s move out already!" He yelled back as he turned to continue.

    But Reiju didn''t move.

    "How did it feel?" She wiped her tears as she asked.

    "W-What?" He asked perplexed.

    From the surroundings, the sound of explosions echoed out. Courtesy of Ian who was moving like a blur and kicking people around.

    "How did it feel, when you were about to die, but instead of panicking your precious children who you made unable to feel emotions, were laughing maniacally? How did it FEEL YOU BASTARD!!" Reiju yelled at him and he couldn''t help but turn down his head in shame.

    Reiju saw that and closed her eyes for a second taking a deep breath.

    Sanji came up next to her and held her hands.

    She was surprised for a bit, as she didn''t see when he came up. Before a small smile graced her visage. She was happy that he was here to support her. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/cutting-ties!_52344099570770462">#!_15935515306575705/cutting-ties!_52344099570770462</a> for visiting.

    But Sanji also saw that it was the perfect chance to finally cut out all ties with them.

    "Vinsmoke Judge¡­ Even after throwing me out you still wanted to use me for your selfish ideals¡­ This is why I came here this time. From this day on, consider me dead to you. You are no father of mine. You never were, and you lost that chance forever. I was willing to give you a chance, but nothing has changed, so from this day on, I no longer will belong to your family. The next time you try to use me, I will wage war against you. And I will not stop until all of you are down!" Sanji said.

    His words carried with them so many emotions that Reiju started crying again.

    But his father was not someone to take insults lying down.

    "You dare threaten me? You are just a trashy experiment son of mine. Do you think that you could question me?" Judge yelled back at Sanji as he brandished his spear¡­ his stance as if he was going to attack.

    But Sanji had had enough and just when his father jumped at him to attack him, he held up his knee as it ignited in flames before he kicked at the spear with all he had after spinning on the ground...

    This time there was no one to tank Sanji''s kick like in the anime. So the kick with all of Sanji''s power managed to break the spear and continue to damage Judge as it threw him away.

    Judge, got up coughing blood as he looked at him in disbelieve.

    "The only trash here are you and your experiments¡­ even with your technology, you can''t beat me the supposed trash¡­ and I''m not even the strongest in my crew¡­" Sanji said with gritted teeth.

    But this time his words carried more weight to them¡­

    Still, Judge was quite stubborn as he replied.

    "Boy! I am still your father. You can never change that!!" Judge yelled at him.

    But Sanji just shook his head.

    "My father?" He muttered as a figure passed in his mind. "You will never be like Him!" Sanji finished on as he grabbed a cigarette and lighted it up. His response leaving them all stunned. Except for Reiju who already heard from him about this.

    "Reiju has already joined Ian''s crew. So lay off her. Just like me. Don''t ever bother us again. Or you won''t just have me after your ass¡­ Also, don''t try to use Ian''s fame to your advantage. He will know. And he will not like it!" Sanji finished on as he started walking back to the fight.

    This time his earlier words became like sharp daggers pointing at their hearts. He had casually beaten Judge, and he had a crew with a fleet behind him¡­ and if they added Ian to it¡­ then they would truly be done¡­

    Reiju gave her brother and her father one last look before she started walking back and joining Sanji.

    Her last words echoing out to them.

    "Farewell, my little brothers¡­ I hope your emotions somehow awaken one day¡­"

 Chapter 186 - Come out Erebus!

    The method of categorizing people in this world was never clear enough. How strong was someone? Was it simple enough to categorized people as grand line power level, new world level, Emperor of the sea level?

    No, it was not enough.

    That is why Ian came up with the names for the four stages that he was made knowledgeable about the very first time he advanced a stage. Or realms as he called them.

    That said, the only thing it worked on was physical strength. As this was what this world was revolving about.

    If a person was at the third stage, which Ian named the emperor realm, then that meant they were close to reaching the limit of their planet and being able to leave it to go out and explore the universe.

    It was a requirement that couldn''t be bypassed no matter what.

    However physical strength was not the only thing available in the world of one piece. There was another thing and that was:

    Devil fruits. Yes, devil fruits. These were abilities that would not be able to be measured.

    For example, physically Ian was stronger than Kaido, Whitebeard, and every human being in this world.

    The Di¨¢voloi didn''t count as they were anomalies to this world. And even the devil fruit would count as so.

    However, Ian''s devil fruit cannot destroy the world like Whitebeard''s can. Even though it was quite strong itself.

    So in this case the system of strength will not work at all.

    Still, even though that was true, in the end, whitebeard will not be able to leave his planet unless he reaches the fourth stage in physical strength.

    Not that he wanted to anyway. The guy was more focused on his own family than on adventures.

    Back to the thing on hand. Elene was in the early stage of the emperor realm. Which was as strong as big mom.

    However, Elene was not as durable as big mom due to her special physique that was nicknamed iron balloon by people that saw her. The mystery of her lineage was still not made apparent¡­ She was human, as evidenced by her parents, but how did she grow so large? Where did her strength that was capable of killing a giant at five years old come from? How was she so durable? Those were all quite good questions, sadly Elene did not care enough to find out.

    Still, how did Elene figure out that her strength would not bypass the durability of big mom?

    Well, big mom after stating her words to Elene had moved to attack soon after.

    Her speed was quite impressive but not beyond Elene. She punched with her giant hand leaving craters in the ground. Elene was able to dodge easily, moving flexibly enough to move out of the range of the punches making them miss her completely. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/come-out-erebus!_52412691809105434">#!_15935515306575705/come-out-erebus!_52412691809105434</a> for visiting.

    But then when Elene retaliated by spinning on her hand and delivering a Haki enhanced kick Sanji style, she didn''t deal any damage whatsoever, even though big mom was sent skidding backward from the force.

    In fact, Elene felt a bit sore in her leg.

    This brought a frown to her face.

    But then she relaxed. Why? Well in the first place, she was not a front-line combater. She was more of the stealthy kind. So she didn''t have any reason to feel down.

    "That''s quite the impressive strength you are packing there. Especially with your small frame!" Big mom praised.

    She was quite happy at this. As she saw the whole of Ian''s crew as hers already.

    She still thought that she would capture Ian and make him work for her.

    Elene smiled in return.

    But then big mom asked her again.

    "If I''m not mistaken, you are the sniper of your crew right?" Big mom said.

    For a sniper to be this strong was indeed quite good.

    Elene didn''t reply. No. she instead got engulfed in shadows and vanished.

    There were many buildings aside. Meaning there were enough shadows for her to hide.

    Whenever was there darkness, Elene was right at her home.

    So it was not strange that even after big mom used her observation Haki, she still didn''t find out Elene.

    Her smile vanished in an instant and she crossed her arms in front of her head as she used her armament Haki to coat them.

    Seconds later explosion sounds were heard as shots impacted big mom.

    Elene had relocated to a building that was quite far from big mom.

    The distance was good enough for Elene''s shot''s to be at their strongest.

    Elene fired three consecutive shots before she immediately vanished into shadows and appeared in another place. Once again firing three shots and repeating the process.

    Elene knew that her regular shots would not deal any damage whatsoever to big mom. But what she was using right now was shots imbued in Haki.

    So she expected them to deal plenty of damage.

    Once Elene finished the seventh round she stopped to take a breather as she watched from the shadows.

    The dust cleared around big mom, showing her whole body had stayed relatively unhurt except for a few scratches here and there.

    This managed to get the same reaction from both women.

    Shock. They were both shocked but for different reasons.

    Elene was shocked because her attacks didn''t deal any damage. Her shots were made from shadows concentrated and solidified to deal different effects towards big mom. And Elene''s shots this time were made with the effect of exploding on contact.

    Meanwhile, big mom was shocked because the attack had actually scratched her even after she used her armament.

    Still, she was not an emperor for nothing¡­ seconds after seeing that she was already starting to think of solutions of how to find out Elene''s whereabouts.

    Thinking back to how Elene was engulfed in shadows, big mom reasoned that Elene''s ability had something to do with shadows.

    Turning to look at the side between two buildings and found plenty of shade apparent.

    She then grinned as she yelled out loud.

    "I figured out your secret little girl, so prepare yourself to be found. *Come out, Erebus!*" Big mom yelled out at the end as she used her soul-soul devil fruit to give part of her soul to the shadows in between the ally.

 Chapter 187 - Getting serious

    The moment big mom pointed her hand at the shadows a small white-colored dot that glowed purple to big mom''s eyes headed out to the ally.

    This was her ability to manipulate souls.

    When the dot reached the place it got swallowed easily and then the shadows there gathered together and twisted about before taking the general shape of a humanoid figure made of darkness.

    It had no eyes and it was completely dark. But it did have a mouth as it looked at big mom.

    "Mama!" it said. The voice sounding oddly female.

    Big mom grinned happily.

    "MAMAMAHAHAH!"

    The reason she used a part of her soul and did not just make a regular homie was that she saw the benefit of Elene''s ability to hide from observation Haki.

    It was really useful as evidenced by her being unable to feel or react to Elene''s attacks.

    "Erebus, tell me where is the little girl hiding!" Big mom ordered as she prepared her attack.

    She threw her hat to the sky as she yelled.

    "Napoleon!"

    Then her hat transformed into a longsword.

    She then brought her hand closer to her as she gripped the sword hard and prepared to release a strike.

    "THERE, MAMA!" Erebus suddenly shouted and big mom swung her sword without any delay.

    "IKOKU!" She yelled.

    A huge shockwave was generated and started destroying everything in its path.

    Elene who was watching everything happen and was quite shocked at seeing Erebus hurriedly dodged from the trajectory of big mom''s attack.

    The attack missed her, but it continued on passing the circle made by Ian''s crew and it impacted many of her own children¡­ this was painful to watch for her other children but they could say anything, as their mama was just unreasonable that way¡­

    Bert was actually the one responsible for that side from which the attack came, but he dodged it, fortunately.

    But then once again Erebus said where Elene was and another attack headed towards Elene as soon as she landed on her feet.

    Dodging again Elene exited from her hiding state as she glared at big mom and then Erebus.

    A thought then came to Elene''s mind.

    She had seen how Erebus was made. It came to being from shadows. And Elene was the shadow empress¡­

    If so shouldn''t she be able to control it quite easily?

    There was one way to found out.

    "Erebus! Come over here and serve your empress!" Elene yelled out towards it.

    Erebus was about to refuse when its body all of a sudden vanished and appeared next to Elene a bit titled as if it was bowing.

    Its priorities all of a sudden changed as if it was rewired to listen to Elene''s commands.

    Elene thought of something after seeing Napoleon and then yelled.

    "Erebus!" The shadowy form transformed all of a sudden into a sword that was quite long.

    It almost reached two meters long, with the handle itself being 60cm long. Tendrils of shadows originating from the sword were left flailing about leisurely.

    Elene caught the sword with both hands, but she felt it was quite lightweight to hold.

    She then put it onto her shoulders as she looked at big mom with a grin.

    "I have to thank you Linlin for such a gift!" Elene said with a smug smile.

    Which managed to enrage big mom to no ends.

    "You damned little girl!" Big mom yelled at her before gritting her teeth.

    Although she tried to get Erebus back, she couldn''t. She had been trying for a while now, but the connection with her part of the soul was lost all of a sudden.

    "IKOKU!" In her rage, she started her attack once again.

    And when Elene dodged this time, she once again vanished along with her sword and appeared right next to big mom who was not able to react anyhow thanks to her Haki not alerting her of the danger. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/getting-serious_52482809582906008">#!_15935515306575705/getting-serious_52482809582906008</a> for visiting.

    Elene swung her sword testing its sharpness for the first time. She was a bit trained in the sword arts. So while she was not truly adept she was quite capable of throwing flying slashes easily.

    And that was what she did.

    A huge slash was sent at big mom at point Blank range.

    It hit her straight at the back and pushed her backward a huge distance away and got her buried a bit into the ground.

    She had released her sword as she was thrown, so the minute she got up she searched for it.

    And when she found it lying around she called for it as it flew cutting through the sky for her to hold on to.

    This time she looked at Elene in anger. The more she fought her the more she understood how troublesome she was.

    Spores like lights were released out of big mom all of sudden. But since she was walking towards Elene still amidst the dust that was raised, they were not visible to Elene.

    Those spores merged with the shadows and waited their turn to tell their mama Elene''s position whenever Elene hid away.

    Big mom grinned at this as she was finally visible to Elene.

    Once again there was no visible wound on big mom as she stood there grinning at Elene.

    Elene frowned at her.

    It appeared that big mom''s iron balloon physique was quite the troublesome thing to bypass.

    Still, she didn''t use her Haki on that strike so it was not like she was totally helpless.

    Big mom though had something planned for Elene as she suddenly jumped at the sky and neared her.

    "You troublesome brat I''ll make sure to punish you well enough that you will not disrespect your betters from now on!" She said as she started to laugh.

    "What are you going on about you stupid old hag?" Elene retorted as she was perplexed.

    But soon her features turned pale as she stood there watching the surrounding air around big mom turn grim.

    "SURRENDER!" Big mom yelled out the first word as she landed near Elene who was suddenly frozen in her place.

    The air intensity increased all of a sudden in the surroundings as the weak members of the big mom pirates lost their consciousness all of a sudden even if they were quite far away.

    "OR LIFE?" then the pressure descending on Elene increased many times more.

 Chapter 188 - Everyoneâ€™s fighting

    While Elene was fighting big mom, Ian and co were keeping the rest of the pirates at bay.

    Since Ian was quite strong, he could right now move them all backward and easily cage them in an energy field.

    But his crew wanted to fight these pirates to see the level they had reached. After all, this is what they had been training for.

    Just as the fight against big mom had started they each had engaged an opponent.

    Well, an opponent from the ones that were still left standing after Ian released his conqueror Haki.

    He had done so a bit after Elene had started her fight. And as evidence of their concentration, they both ignored this wave of Haki.

    ****

    With Bert.

    Ian had already told them all that the strongest of big mom prates were respectively as follows:

    Katakuri, Cracker, Smoothie, Perospero, Snack, Oven, Daifuku, Streusen, Compote, Tamago.

    Anything below that and their fights would just be downright easy.

    In fact, he had said that apart from the three first people on the list, they could defeat the rest easily, but at the very least the opponents would entertain them a bit.

    And as Ian used his Haki, it was apparently true as only those few people were left standing and awake.

    Bert''s luck had him paired up with Snack, who according to Ian was actually a former sweet commander.

    But he apparently was not anything special as shown right now.

    Bert had attacked the moment the other person moved.

    Bert had used nothing but ''shave'' to move around his opponent and deliver various attacks from different sides. Snack was left there guarding with his sword whatever he could and taking the rest of the strikes with gritted teeth.

    Until finally Bert thought that he should end this.

    His eyes landed on the three people Ian and Kuzan were keeping at bay.

    Maybe one of those would give him some excitement.

    At that thought, he used electro on his sword before he vanished and appeared near Snack to deliver the last strike.

    And just like that, Snack was done for. And Bert was left unsatisfied due to how weak his opponent was.

    But in reality, he was not weak¡­ but rather Bert was just too strong.

    A mink known for speed, using ''shave on top of that, would be just straight-out bullying.

    Still, Bert did not head towards Ian¡­ not yet. He would help take down all the other powerhouses before heading to fight against one of those three.

    Right now the closes person to him was Streusen. So he headed towards him with haste.

    ****

    With Stella.

    Her opponent was Oven. And just like with Bert, he was lying at her feet as she mocked him with her words.

    "Who''s the little girl now? Huh?" She said with a smug look on her face.

    Her eyes were a bit weird to anyone looking.

    They were bloodshot as if the person was extremely pissed off. Still, from her words and tone, you will not think that, you would just assume that she is being playful.

    This was why she was named crazy eyes Stella. Her eyes were those of a psychopath when she was angry, but her manner of talking would remain the same, making people weirded out by her.

    "You should have just let me beat you, uncle, that way you would not be so hurt right now. Sigh." Stella muttered in sadness as if he felt sorry for him.

    The person in hand was regretting having this girl as his opponent. He has told her to move out of his way so that he could go and help his Mama.

    But he made the mistake of calling her a little girl. And how Ian was weird by having her in his crew and fighting in his stead.

    The moment he had finished that he was wrapped up in chains all of a sudden. He was then abruptly lifted to the sky and thrown violently to the ground.

    Then a couple more chains went straight through his body and emerged from the other side before the previous process was repeated and he was once again left buried in the ground.

    He didn''t even have any time to react before he was totally incapacitated and left coughing blood.

    She then walked calmly near him still restraining him with her chains.

    When he raised his head to try and melt the chains nothing happened apart from the chains turning red.

    She had mocked him and told him that the heat was not enough to damage her chains.

    She then placed him on the ground still chained so that he would not move.

    Then walking around until she was in front of his right arm, she stepped out on it gently at first, before she swiftly applied pressure and broke it completely.

    Relishing in his screams, she moved to the other arm and did the same.

    Once again he had yelled his heart out in pain.

    The process continued until both arms and legs were broken.

    Ad now here she was looking at him with her smug look.

    With his last remaining consciousness, he etched the smiling face of the devil that inflicted this on him. Not so that he would have his revenge. No. but rather so that he would never offend her again¡­

    Stella then regained her calm.

    Before she looked at the others. She saw Robin near her bullying her opponent before she made towards her with a happy smile.

    ****

    With Robin.

    Her opponent was actually Daifuku.

    He was quite strong actually with his devil fruit that was able to generate an even stronger halberd-wielding genie.

    But¡­ his opponent was sadly Robin.

    He was quite confident in his abilities as he had used the genie to launch an attack against her, but then a giant arm much bigger than the genie caught easily and it struggled to move out of the way.

    Before it turned to smoke and passed through the hand towards Robin.

    But then the hand caught it once again and this time it was coated in Haki.

    So the genie couldn''t escape.

    Robin then made another giant arm as she caught Daifuku.

    Unlike the rest of her crew, she didn''t want to compare her strength or anything, she was doing her best to help Elene in any way she could.

    She tightened the arm around Daifuku and had him lose consciousness by suffocating.

    She then threw him near Ian where all the beaten opponents'' of their crew were lying.

    She saw Stella coming near them and she responded to the hug of the little girl.

    ****

    Akemi similarly to Bert had easily disposed of her opponent.

    She fought against someone called Compote.

    She didn''t let her do anything and attacked her with absolute haste and defeated her swiftly.

    Although she still didn''t start to train in the six marine''s skills, her speed was even faster than Bert when he was not using Shave.

    That was because she was a cat mink.

    She delivered a Haki imbued strike straight to the face of Compote. And she was not able to react whatsoever. Her speed was just so much for the poor woman.

    She still had not mastered other forms of Haki, after all, she had acquired her strength through Ian, but she was getting there. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/everyone%E2%80%99s-fighting_52576033995551242">#!_15935515306575705/everyone%E2%80%99s-fighting_52576033995551242</a> for visiting.

    Looking around after compote lost consciousness, she saw Bert coming near her and towards Streusen, she moved towards him soon after.

    ****

    Reiju who was the newest addition to the crew had some trouble with her opponent but not much.

    She was put against Tamago.

    He is a good swordsman, and as a person from the long leg tribe, he had quite the kicks, but Reiju was genetically enhanced and all his trikes, at the least the ones that made contact, didn''t deal much damage.

    Whereas in contrast, Reiju dealt him increasing doses of poison to his body each time he made contact or she landed an attack against him.

    By the end he fell off to the ground, his face purple and his breathing rushed. And he then soon after lost consciousness.

    Reiju moved near him and tapped him with a finger, and the poison in his body exited it like smoke which she inhaled soon after before looking at her ''crew''.

    She then moved to join them.

 Chapter 189 - Trust!

    Standing in what became a battlefield were Ian and Sanji. They were watching all the rest fighting and keeping an eye on Elene.

    Ian didn''t forget about his other purposes to come here this time.

    One was the Poneglyph, which until Elene beats big mom he was not going to move to do.

    And the second thing was actually the Impel-down escapees that had become part of the big mom crew.

    Once Ian had released his conqueror Haki they had fallen unconscious soon after. So he brought their bodies nearby using telekinesis.

    One belonged to a woman and the other to a giant.

    There was no need to overcomplicate this¡­ he just brought a regular sword from his ring and swiftly beheaded the woman.

    Then he let the sword fly to the sky and brought it down soon after into the heart of the giant.

    The sword pierced right through the body and got lodged a few meters into the ground.

    Now they were both dead, and Ian finished this part of the plan.

    And just as he had done so Katakuri yelled at him from the side.

    He was the only one from the three sweet commanders not under Ian''s gravity. Not that the other two were on the ground or anything. They were still standing in their places with difficulty, but they couldn''t even move their fingers due to Ian.

    "Why? Why are you killing our crew?" He yelled. He was enraged. It was true that the two Ian killed were just new addition to the family but they were family nonetheless.

    Still, Ian raised an eyebrow at him.

    But before he could reply, a few people all of a sudden landed from the sky near him.

    They were his crew. And they had finished hunting them all.

    Right now, the only people still standing were the three commanders in front of them.

    The rest had either fallen unconscious or were beaten by Bert and co.

    Stella, Bert, were left there wanting to have a real fight, so they asked Ian.

    "Hey captain, can we fight against these sweet commanders or whatever they are called?" Bert was the first to ask as he looked intently at the one holding a giant sword on him.

    That was Cracker.

    Ian didn''t see anything wrong so he gave a nod.

    "Go ahead." He told him and then released the said person from his gravity.

    Bert then jumped at him.

    Next was Stella. She asked the same but wanted to fight against the girl. Which was Smoothie.

    Ian gave her permission again.

    Now only Katakuri was left there.

    Ian then remembered that he had asked a question earlier so he replied.

    "These two I killed are escapee from the sixth level of Impel down. Only the worst of the worst were put there. The giant one had eaten a whole kingdom into extinction. I''m sure I don''t have to say anything else in regards to that. The girl though, I don''t know what she had done, and I don''t want to know. But the very fact that she was locked with the giant guy, explains it all. So I must say this to you? Why would you make someone like them join your crew?" Ian questioned him.

    Katakuri had a stunned look on his face.

    "W-What?" He couldn''t help but exclaim.

    He didn''t know about this. And though he knew his family was quite evil themselves, as it was the nature of pirates, he knew that it was forced on them by his Mama.

    In fact, he knew that apart from a few of the children of big mom who were inherently sick, the rest were only forced.

    But even they would not do what the giant had done.

    But now that he thought about it, big mom must have accepted him only based on that.

    He didn''t have an answer for Ian so he kept silent.

    Ian just shook his head.

    "I actually know about your family Katakuri. You are forced to do as your captain and mom say to do. But you won''t have to follow her anymore after today. I know that you are quite strong, so lead the crew. And as long as you won''t kill innocent people and be evil I won''t come after you no bother you. Big mom will die today. So make your choice." Ian thought for a bit before he advised him.

    Katakuri was shocked as he exclaimed.

    "Are you telling me to betray Mama?" He said in disbelieve.

    All of a sudden they were interrupted when attacks made from big mom at Elene came flying at them.

    Ian knew this attack. It was Ikoku. Which big mom was famous for.

    Ian moved all the children who were in the way of the attack, as otherwise, they would die. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/trust!_52597351780508981">#!_15935515306575705/trust!_52597351780508981</a> for visiting.

    He looked at Katakuri in pity.

    But the man himself ignored him for now as he yelled at big mom.

    "Mama, Stop! You will kill your own children!" He yelled at her. He knew that they would die if Ian didn''t move them out of the way.

    Big mom did hear him. But she just laughed before yelling back.

    "If they die, then it is their own fault for being weak!" That was her response and Katakuri fell in shock and pain.

    Ian then did him a favor as he moved all the unconscious people to one place just right in front of Katakuri.

    Ian walked close to him and looked at him once again.

    Katakuri raised his head from his kneeling position to look at Ian.

    "Can you still call someone like her your mother?" Ian asked.

    Katakuri refused to answer but his resolve was made.

    It was true that he was the most loyal to her. But what did that get her? She had nothing but hate for him. But even so, he didn''t mind and continued on serving her.

    But now she was almost going to kill his brothers and sisters. Which is the one thing he would not tolerate.

    He made his resolve. If Ian indeed succeeded in killing big mom, he will let them, and from then on he would lead his brethren and protect them.

    He came to realize that Ian was doing them a favor. Big mom never treated them as her sons or family. She had even killed her own sons before.

    And no matter how much he deluded himself into thinking that it was because she was not in her own state of mind due to losing control of hunger¡­ he knew that that was just an excuse.

    As such he laid down on the ground on his back and closed his eyes.

    Ian shook his head with a small smile. He understood what the guy was going through.

    All of a sudden Ian was alerted as he felt the atmosphere change.

    He looked back at Elene only to see her glowing and the glow was slowly leaving her.

    He was immediately alarmed and was going to move until a hand was put on his shoulder.

    It was Robin.

    "Believe in her!" She told him.

    Ian knew what she meant. And took a deep breath.

    What she said was the truth. And though Robin appeared to not mind this much, he clearly felt that she was worried for Elene too.

    It was okay to worry, but he wouldn''t interfere. He had promised Elene that he will trust her. And that was what he''ll do.

 Chapter 190 - It wonâ€™t work again!

    Big mom had used her ability to take lifespans of other people. One could say that this ability was the most troublesome and powerful out of all big mom abilities.

    Why so? Because as long as the person was afraid of dying or afraid in general, he was at the mercy of her hands.

    Even someone as strong as Kaido or whitebeard would still succ.u.mb to her ability if they were afraid of something.

    But what happened next left big mom quite shocked.

    One moment Elene was falling to her ability, but the next everything changed.

    Elene felt scared. Not because she was usually quite easy to scare, no, it was because the devil fruit forces one to feel the fear¡­

    Elene had felt scared that she was going to die. Not for her, no. She didn''t want to leave her newest family. This fear had been with her since she reincarnated in this world. Ever since she felt Ian but didn''t know where he was. She was scared she would never meet him. Or die before doing so. And now that she met him and they made a crew, she didn''t want to leave them.

    But who was Elene?

    The moment her soul started to leave her body, she abruptly remembered.

    She remembered what her crew had said to her. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/it-won%E2%80%99t-work-again!_52644505689581678">#!_15935515306575705/it-won%E2%80%99t-work-again!_52644505689581678</a> for visiting.

    They all said one thing as they all bumped their fists together.

    "We trust you!"

    That was what they had said.

    And if they trusted her? Why wouldn''t she trust in herself?

    All of a sudden her confidence was restored and the soul that was leaving got back to her quite easily.

    "NO! NO!" Big mom yelled as she tried to grab the soul before it completely returned.

    But Elene jumped backward a bit.

    "Surrender or LIFE!" Big mom yelled again. But nothing happened.

    Elene snorted.

    "It won''t work again, you old hag. It appears that I must get serious now!" Elene laughed as she said.

    Suddenly tendrils of shadows spread from under her. They all became quite sharp and solid as they started to attack big mom.

    Big mom was dodging around this time. Why? Because she felt that Elene was using Haki on her strikes. Specifically Internal destruction.

    So just like Kaido, though she was quite durable, she was vulnerable internally.

    The spear-like shadows would get embedded in the ground as big mom would dodge and weave through them. One could say that her experience in fighting was quite impressive even with her huge size.

    Big mom brought her sword to guard against a strike she wasn''t able to dodge and then as she redirected it to the side, she thought to herself that she was done playing around.

    "Prometheus! Zeus!" She yelled at them to which they came flying quickly.

    Elene didn''t care as she continued manipulating her shadows into very pointy ends that would spear through anything.

    Sometimes she would make them razor-thin and try to cut big mom, but she would dodge again.

    But as big mom brought Zeus and Prometheus, she was forced to start to dodge too.

    Huge lightning strikes the size of buildings were launched at her and she would have to dodge hurriedly. She knew that she would not be able to take that attack and come up unscathed.

    The area around her hit would be destroyed completely in a show of power.

    But while dodging the lightning, the flames thrown at her would come.

    Since the shadows Elene can manipulate are connected to her and she was dodging, her attacks stopped momentarily on big mom.

    And this was something big mom banked on as she started throwing ''Ikoku'' around and trying to hit Elene.

    But then Elene got her bearing back and resumed her attacking too. Her strikes were so sharp that they were generating air slashes whenever the tendrils were swung.

    The fight continued on in this manner for a while, until both sides realized that it was not going to work at all. They had been fighting for close to an hour like this. With Elene enjoying the fight, and big mom thinking that Elene was not as durable as her, so that she would tire.

    But Elene ended up disappointing her when she didn''t tire at all.

    Though they did manage to hurt each other a bit. After all, it was not as if they would be able to dodge everything thrown at them.

    Big mom had some scratch marks on her, and some not so very deep wounds.

    Meanwhile, Elene had some burn marks on her arms.

    At one point big mom had sent Zeus and Prometheus to the sky and had them merge to create a very huge cloud that rained lightning and fire. This was an attack that was hard for Elene to dodge. So she got burned a bit. Even while using Haki.

    Still, though Elene paid back in full as she momentarily pinned big mom in place, and then she had her attacked from all sides with her shadow constructs.

    Though Elene remarked to herself that she had to dodge all of big mom''s strikes from now on. Though she was no longer showing any fear, she managed to feel a weak headache the moment she was touched by big mom''s attack. So her devil fruit was still working. Elene now had to dodge or big mom would tire her using her devil fruit.

    Big mom took this chance to up her level. She yelled at the homies helping her.

    "Napoleon, Prometheus, Zeus!" She always yells only their names. As she had a connection with her, they know what she was meaning.

    Prometheus sn.a.k.e.d around her right arm and merged with it after she coated both hands in Haki.

    Her right arm from the shoulders down now was coated in Haki and flames.

    Meanwhile, her left arm went through the same thing, only with Zeus. Napoleon returned to a hat, as he knew his mother liked to beat people around in this form.

    She could set them on fire, or stun them with lightning while punching them around.

    Big mom grinned as she looked at Elene.

    "Prepare to get beaten, little girl!" She taunted.

    Elene knew that she had to dodge around this time once again. As even when she tried to hide around earlier she was easily found out by big mom''s homies. Elene made them dispel, but since they were easily made, big mom made more.

    Elene then refrained from hiding in the shadows anymore.

    Instead, she brought Erebus to her and made it a bit smaller. And decided that she will engage big mom and attack/defend using the sword.

    "Bring it on Old hag!" Elene replied with her own smirk plastered on her face.

 Chapter 191 - Life return!

    Ian and co watched on intently as the fight between big mom and Elene kept raging on.

    All of them were mesmerized by how easily these two people fighting were throwing attacks that would leave them half-dead if they touched them. But then both Elene and big mom would shrug the attack on and continue the fight. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/life-return!_52670786594467608">#!_15935515306575705/life-return!_52670786594467608</a> for visiting.

    A while earlier Stella and Bert had joined with Ian after beating Smoothie and Cracker.

    Bert had destroyed the swordsman and his army made of biscuit. He was just stronger than him. And no matter how much the guy cried and tried to hurt Bert he lost in the end.

    Stella too ended up bullying the giant woman that fought her. She didn''t let her touch her not even one time, so their match was pretty one-sided.

    Now they too were looking on intently at Elene and watching her fight.

    Well, that is except for Ian who was only enjoying the fight and seeing his wife beating the hell out of big mom.

    It had already been close to three hours since the start of the fight. And though the fight was intense, it was nowhere near its end. Admirals could fight for days, and emperors were even more ridiculous than that.

    However, that is true only when the two sides were closely matched. If one was stronger than the other by a huge margin. Then that person can end the fight quickly.

    Right now Elene was quite injured than before.

    There were more burn marks on her body than before. Her clothes were shredded in quite a few places, though thankfully not in anywhere inappropriate. Otherwise, Ian would be beating anyone who saw her in that state to a pulp.

    She had blood on her forehead falling through her left eye. Which she hurriedly swiped out with her sleeve so that it won''t obstruct her vision.

    Her speed, if one was watching intently, could be seen that it was a bit slower than before.

    But the look on Elene''s face was still that of excitement. She was enjoying the fight. She did not have the chance to just let go in a fight quite often. And Ian would just be bullying her if he fought against her.

    Meanwhile with big mom, even though she was known for her defense, internal destruction would bypass that and hurt the person attacked.

    So it was no surprise when big mom had many injuries on her body. Since Elene was quite adept at that form of advanced Haki.

    Elene even managed to inflict external injuries with her stronger attacks. She had injured her enough for her to throw blood out of big mom. And not many could say they have had the honor of doing that.

    After all, Elene was using internal destruction. Which was quite hard to find a user of.

    Big mom was using her fire and lightning instead. Which Elene still dodged quite regularly. She was also faster than big mom, so she took fewer injuries than her.

    Right now Elene had four clones similar to her in shape made out of total darkness which could attack the same as her.

    She had them attack big mom with shadow constructs, while she engaged in close-quarters combat.

    So unlike what big mom thought before, she was losing quite badly.

    All of a sudden big mom gathered energy in her right hand, and then she punched forward at Elene. Which released a huge ball of fire at her. And Elene was forced to dodge quickly.

    But Elene retaliated with her own attack.

    Suing her sword she released a huge ball of darkness at big mom that made big mom''s pupils dilate.

    So she hurriedly tried to dodge, but then Elene made the ball of darkness that passed by the side of big mom explode.

    And then it started to pull everything around it to its center. Including big mom.

    Big mom started struggling withstanding her ground.

    This has happened beforehand already so she knew what was about to happen.

    She had already fallen to this attack beforehand. So she knew that if she stayed in her place now, Elene would attack her with all her clones. But if she let herself be pulled to the black hole, then it was much worse.

    She has taken more damage from the black hole so she stayed her ground and gritted her teeth as she glared at Elene.

    Elene only smirked at her.

    Before she then used Shave to attack with her sword.

    While her clones all sent many darkness spears at her to hit her from every possible angle.

    And that was what happened next.

    Big mom took the attack head-on after coating her body in Haki.

    Elene''s sword strike hit her directly and it managed to throw her quite a distance away. But not before all the shadow constructs hit her body and drew blood from her.

    Big mom was then thrown backward and got buried into the ground. She then got up while coughing blood.

    But after standing up she was enraged and she grabbed her hat which transformed into a sword.

    She then had fire travel through it to release a flaming slash.

    She slashed at Elene in successive motions releasing close to ten strikes. But Elene was quite fast and was dodging them all easily. Still, due to the high number, she was not able to dodge the last two so she made a shadow resembling a wall in front of her and strengthened it with Haki, and took the attack head-on.

    And as expected, it did not break the wall.

    Big mom again tried to attack with her lightning. But still, the same thing happened.

    Big mom was frustrated. Her high defense, would not work against an adept Haki user. Her devil fruit''s main ability to take lifespans proved useless.

    Her physical strength was matched with Elene even though she was much smaller than her.

    Her homies, which were the method she chose to fight also were not providing her much help. As it was going now, she would probably lose.

    But who was big mom? If it was this easy to beat her, she would have become an emperor of the sea.

    So while gritting her teeth, big mom chose to use something that she wouldn''t normally use.

    She looked at the sky as she took a deep breath. And yelled.

    "Life¡­ Return!!"

 Chapter 192 - Consuming!

    Big mom, ever since a while ago was starting to grow slimmer and slimmer. Elene didn''t know how that was possible, but maybe she was too distressed by the fight, so that was why.

    Right now, though she was still ugly, she was not as fat as she was before.

    But to Elene''s shock the moment big mom called her technique, blue-like energy started to gather around her.

    Then next, her injuries started healing at a visible rate to the n.a.k.e.d eye.

    Elene had no idea what big mom had done. But thankfully the idiot hag started explaining herself.

    "You are done for. I wouldn''t normally use this, but you have pushed me too far. I have now called back all the life-force of the homies to heal myself. I have healed while you are still injured." Big mom laughed as she gloated. Although her homes were no more, she could always make herself some more.

    She had started treating Elene as her equal. As such now that she was healed while Elene is still hurt, it meant that she would win now, in her mind.

    But Elene was not panicking or the like.

    She just smiled at her. If big mom thought that she would win just like that then she was mistaken.

    She used ''shave'' and their fight started once again.

    Elene delivered her attacks with her clone, while big mom who was healed used her sword to send flaming slashes at Elene. And once she was close enough they would clash their swords together.

    But after a few exchanges of moves, big mom started to notice something.

    Nothing changed.

    She was still getting oppressed. It was just her bad luck, she had no advantage against Elene.

    Speed? Don''t joke around. Not with her fat self.

    Power? She would have to touch her first. And that wasn''t likely.

    Defense? What was internal destruction for then?

    Meanwhile, Elene was faster, she could attack from big mom''s blind spots since her clones were shadows and would not be picked up by observation Haki.

    All her attacks dealt internal destruction to big mom. So her defense might as well not be there. But Elene had to give it to big mom. Since even so, she was still quite durable. She was sure that the only people who can take more damage than her must be Kaido and Whitebeard.

    For power? Though she wasn''t as strong as big mom in attacks since big mom had the fire and lightning elements at her call, Elene still couldn''t be underestimated much.

    One could say that the only advantage big mom has against someone is her soul fruit. She could make armies of homies and have them attack people. But she had tried that, and Elene with her shadows constructs easily obliterated them.

    Plus whenever Elene did that, big mom felt a bit weaker so she refrained from doing that anymore.

    Now even after she was brought back to her peak, she was still on the losing side.

    Her attacks at that moment started to get sloppy and weak due to her stress increasing.

    And whenever she was distressed much, big mom would start to get thinner unconsciously as she would burn through her stored energy.

    So that''s what happened next.

    ****

    Everybody watching was shocked. Except for Elene''s crew.

    Even the Vinsmoke''s were no different (Sanji and Reiju). Of course, they heard from Ian that she would fight big mom, but who could blame them if they were a little skeptical.

    But now all of them there were feeling the same shock. Reporters. Big mom''s children. Allies... Everybody.

    Why?

    Because Elene, the Shadow empress, was fighting big mom and suppressing her. Yes. Suppressing her. Not fighting her to an equal stand. No. she was beating her.

    And that is even after big mom healed herself.

    For the reports, this was big news.

    For the children of her, this was bad news¡­ but they couldn''t do anything about it.

    Meanwhile, Ian was looking at Elene in pride. But he knew that the fight was far from ending though.

    He was sure big mom must have a few more trump cards.

    So he continued watching intently.

    He also noticed how thin big mom started to look. Due to her stress, she had slimmed up.

    And he would have to admit. This slim form of her was much better than before.

    All of a sudden a yell brought all of their attention towards big mom.

    "AHHHHHH" Big mom was hit by the sword of Elene straight in the stomach which had her throw up blood before she was thrown backward.

    Ian noticed that when she got up, she exuded such a feeling of rage, that Ian remembered a character from an anime in his past life who was like a beast when in rage.

    "You forced my hands¡­ you¡­ made me do this¡­ you will pay" She yelled out and all of them there heard her. Her yell contained Haki.

    Ian noticed her as she held her flame cloud and lighting in each hand and started to bring them to her mouth. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/consuming!_52714718489530745">#!_15935515306575705/consuming!_52714718489530745</a> for visiting.

    He somehow guessed what she was planning to do. But he calmly looked at the fight as he shared a look with his crew. They had already decided to trust Elene.

    So they were not going to interfere in her fight. Well not unless Elene was in danger of dying...

    ****

    Elene watched intently as big mom started eating her homies.

    "Mama! STOPP!" Prometheus started to yell in pain.

    The moment he was put near her mouth, a blueish light started to enter her mouth and he began to yell in pain.

    Zeus tried to run away but she held him tightly.

    Meanwhile, Napoleon watched on in pain as his brothers were getting consumed.

    He was there when big mom did this the very first time. When she had just tried this technique. She had eaten one of her homies and entered into a state of extreme power. So while he sympathized with his siblings, he also knew that what she was doing right now was necessary.

    As to why he wasn''t panicking himself? Well, she wouldn''t eat her sword now, will she?

    The sounds of Zeus soon followed after Prometheus.

    And then when she had consumed them both, everybody started to see what would be different now. When big mom did something else.

    She grabbed her hat and started to bring it into her mouth too.

    Only at this did Napoleon notice that big mom was influenced by her rage completely.

    He didn''t yell as his siblings though. No, he smiled one last time at her before he was completely consumed.

    That smile expressed all the memories he had with her. Ever since she was still young.

    Too bad big mom was not in the right state of mind to notice...

    Then a fire started to build up around her form. Sounds of lightning cracking were surrounding her form as she all of a sudden yelled at the sky.

    "I''ll kill you!!" Shockwaves filled with Haki started to emanate with her as a center point.

    The real fight between the empress of the shadows and emperor big mom was just about to start.

 Chapter 193 - Notice

    Hey everyone. Sorry about this, but I''m not going to be able to update these next few days. I have exams on both Friday and Saturday, as such, it is necessary I focus on preparing for them. When I can write, I''ll try to make chapters longer and write more to compensate. Really sorry, and thank you for sticking with this story.

    PS: Wish me luck ???? Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/notice_52762473694031685">#!_15935515306575705/notice_52762473694031685</a> for visiting.

 Chapter 193 - Shadow Empress

    Big mom''s form became somewhat different than before. Her whole body was covered in lightning and fire. They had become a part of her and now she could use them as if she had these abilities all of her life.

    When she ate her homies, she also took their memories.

    She never expected to be pushed around so much, just so that in the end she would have to sacrifice her children.

    Gritting her teeth she vanished from her spot and delivered a ferocious punch that exploded on Elene''s crossed arm guard. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_15935515306575705/shadow-empress_52853907088530913">#!_15935515306575705/shadow-empress_52853907088530913</a> for visiting.

    ''Fast'' Elene thought to herself.

    This led to her defense being broken, and big mom capitalized on that and brought her left hand, which all of a sudden became a huge sword attached at the elbow to her arm.

    She swung the flaming sword hand at Elene who was vulnerable at this moment.

    Elene knew that if that hit connected, she would suffer a huge disadvantage for the fight''s remaining duration.

    ''I have to use that!'' Elene made her choice immediately.

    As such she used one of her techniques. After all, she did not come to fight an emperor of the sea while completely underestimating them.

    No. she knew she would win.

    All of a sudden Elene switched places with one of the clones that were surrounding them.

    This was an ability of hers. She trades places with them, and it was quite a dangerous ability in the correct place. Just like now.

    The clone that was hit with the flaming sword was immediately engulfed in fire and destroyed.

    But Elene had already closed in on big mom and dealt her own attack to her back.

    But then from big mom''s shoulders, a thin metallic rod shot out and expanded to form a shield while still connected to big mom.

    The shield encompassed her whole form and protected her from the strike of Elene.

    ''What is that?'' Elene thought to herself as she couldn''t understand what that was.

    Even though the strike contained Haki, all it did to the shield was cracking it, meanwhile big mom suffered no damage.

    She started to gloat at Elene who was frowning at her.

    "Just give up brat. You have already lost. No one can beat me in this form." Big mom smirked as she announced.

    Her newest form gave her speed equal to or even faster than Elene.

    Her defense was also taken care of in the manner just like earlier.

    And her attack was as deadly as possible. Since she now could use her arms as swords and imbue them with either fire or lightning.

    She didn''t see how Elene would win against her now.

    Even Elene knew that now. Somehow big mom had taken the properties of the homies she had consumed.

    "You have already done well enough. No one has in my whole life, forced me to use this technique. Apart from the first time I used it, this is the second time. But now it is already over. Now quietly surrender." Big mom told her.

    This was indirect praise from her towards Elene. She started to imagine what specimen she would get if Elene married one of her sons. She was already planning on what to do with Ian and this cake fell on top of her.

    This was the mistake of the strong people.

    Just seeing they have a bit of advantage, gives them all of their arrogance back. Big mom was already acting as if she had won.

    ''Do you think you are the only one who has a trump card?'' Elene thought in contempt.

    And it reflected on her face as big mom frowned.

    "What''s with that look?" Big mom exclaimed in anger.

    "Old hag? Do you think you are the only one with trump cards or what? Even now you still have not done anything against me. You are just baselessly gloating. Just how grand is your ego?" Elene sarcastically told her.

    And was the truth, and big mom knew that. Which is why she was enraged.

    But then all of a sudden Elene was engulfed in shadows.

    The shadows started to circle around her body as if they had a mind of their own.

    This continued on for a few more seconds before Elene''s form was shown.

    She now had a shadow cloak on her body with a hood that covered the top half of her face. The remaining half showed some strange black tattoos on her face.

    The cloak was moving around as if it was conscious. A dark fog was swirling around her form. Moving around her, twisting and twirling as if dancing in happiness to be around her.

    Below the cloak, she was wearing a dark latex pants and shirt. Atop of which sat some sort of thin armor that covered her chest, shoulders, hands, and then legs.

    Right now Elene was floating around in place. She held her sword in a reverse grip while she had it lined up with her back.

    (A/N: Check Paragraph comment for Pic)

    Then she glared at big mom for a second.

    "You thought you are the only one with a few tricks up her sleeve? Hehe," Elene laughed as she spoke.

    Big mom frowned at her. The moment Elene was engulfed in shadows, she felt her presence vanish.

    But even after she showed up now, she still didn''t feel her. If she wasn''t seeing her now¡­ she wouldn''t be sure if she even existed.

    All of a sudden Elene dissolved into a dark fog, leaving big mom perplexed at what happened but still vigilante for any attack on her.

    But the attack came from under her form. Specifically from her shadow.

    Big mom hurriedly used the iron shield to guard against Elene. And she managed to successfully guard it but then her shield broke, which meant the attack was stronger.

    Jumping a bit of distance away big mom readied her sword to deal an attack of her own.

    She focused her all on that one strike. She was planning to end the fight right then.

    "Ikoku"

    Flames surrounded the sword for a second before lightning followed soon after. And then big mom used her Haki on the sword to make it more durable and to deliver internal destruction to Elene.

    Then she swung with all her might at Elene, releasing a strike so powerful, it started to destroy the ground on its path completely.

    But Elene only grinned at this.

    The fog surrounding heeded her will and formed a wall in front of her.

    When the huge attack came into contact with the wall it started to get absorbed in a very fast speed.

    "Old hag, you think you can get rid of me that easily? Haha" Elene''s laugh echoed out in the battlefield. Ringing through the ear of the crown, including big mom, who couldn''t believe such an attack was easily dealt with.

 Chapter 194 - Be good in your next life!

    Elene knew she had big mom right now just by how things appeared.

    In this new form, she had taken she was practically just bullying big mom around. Even after big mom had the big reveal of her strongest ability.

    Big mom was now getting more and more frustrated with her. She never felt this way beforehand. Elene could tell just by looking at her constipated look on her face.

    "Haha" Elene laughed as she saw that.

    Why would she laugh at her? Because big mom deserved that. She was the worst of the worst. And in her last life, Elene hated her so much, even more so than Blackbeard.

    This woman had so much power, but she didn''t even spare her children. If there was anyone Elene would kill without remorse it would be her. This was only reinforced when she heard big mom earlier saying how if her children died by her attack, then they are weak.

    This action by Elene, made big mom even angrier than before.

    She had sacrificed all her homies to heal. And then she didn''t even stop and consumed what to her was akin to a more real child than her children. They were after all parts of her soul.

    And then¡­ she was still beaten by a kid¡­ no she was not done for yet. Although her strongest attack was blocked easily, she didn''t believe she would lose just like that.

    She was big mom, she was an emperor of the sea. And this will not be her resting place. No, she will win, and she would make both this girl and her boyfriend pay. They will pay for all the humiliation she suffered.

    She knew people would ridicule her for losing to a kid. And even if she won, she was sure it will become the story of the coming years. How big mom almost lost against a kid from an uprising crew of pirates.

    She will make them pay.

    She glared at Elene heatedly.

    Just as her confidence kept increasing by her encouraging herself, Elene vanished all of a sudden.

    It was always bizarre to big mom how she would just stop being there with no prior indication.

    But this time the clones surrounding them also vanished.

    Big mom thought that Elene had a duration to her form, unlike her who now controlled flame and lightning along with metal with ease. As they were part of her.

    This thought managed to bring a smile back to her face. Before it suddenly vanished as she was attacked.

    Just like earlier, from her own shadow came Elene ad her clones. Each with a sword ready to attack.

    Though big mom managed to guard against two attacks, she could not guard against them all.

    All of the remaining attacks dealt huge damage to her. With Elene''s sword strike almost tearing off big mom''s arm.

    The cut runs deep through her arm, and big mom screamed in pain for a bit. Before she grits her teeth.

    The others strike threw her around like a ragdoll.

    When she got up, she was once again attacked with no way to dodge and guard all the attacks.

    The process continued for a while with big mom sometimes trying her own attack.

    But then all her attacks would just get absorbed easily.

    The more the fight continued on the more big mom started to feel how it was unfair to her.

    She finally started to comprehend that Elene was just toying with her.

    Elene noticed this.

    "You are the strongest woman alive. And that is my goal. To take that title for myself. After this day, I will finally achieve my dream" Elene told her. As if explaining to her what was going on.

    Ever since she was young (in her old life), she had had confidence issues. Her upbringing made sure of that.

    But she had met Ian. And he pushed her out of her shell. He raised her confidence in herself and told her that even if she didn''t believe in herself, then he will in her stead.

    That opened her bottled feelings, and it was at that moment that she completely fell for Ian.

    So she strived to be a strong woman.

    But here in this other world, where fantastic beasts, and abnormal humans'' lives, being just strong personality-wise, was just not enough. No, she needed to be stronger. The strongest ever. And it just so happened that the title of the strongest woman was in the hands of a waste of a woman.

    Why not? She would become the role model of women. And then she would help as many people as she could.

    "You don''t deserve such a title. You don''t even deserve to live. When all you bring to the world is chaos¡­ you really don''t!" Elene muttered.

    Since big mom was now aware that she was no longer a match for her, it was time to end this once and for all.

    Shadows originating from her spread on the ground in a square shape.

    So that big mom would not run, Elene trapped her shadow in place.

    The time to enjoy the fight was already done.

    "If you have something to say to your children, it''s the time," Elene told her.

    But big mom was too used to living selfishly and arrogantly that she missed the obvious signs of her impending doom.

    She thus started to scream at Elene.

    "What the hell are you spouting brat?! Just you wait I''ll make sure to torture you thoroughly. You and that Bratty captain too!" Big mom sneered as she yelled at Elene.

    But no matter how hard she tried to escape, there was no chance for her.

    Elene ignored her and turned to look in the direction of her children.

    And then she spoke.

    "You deserve better!" She said.

    She also looked at Ian who at the time wanted to stop her from killing big mom, but then he saw the look in her eye and he just gave up.

    And then her eyes suddenly changed to completely black as she turned to look at big mom again.

    Then from the sides of the squares, the shadows climbed to the sky and then finished making a huge cube made of shadows completely.

    And then to all the strong people there, they stopped feeling the presence of big mom.

    As she was quite strong, she was like a beacon to them, so there was no way her presence would disappear. But that''s what happened.

    They already understood how Elene did that.

    That cube of her she had made concealed all that was happening inside. If they closed their eyes, they would not even feel its existence.

    Except for Ian who had the Darkness ability too.

    Inside the cube. Elene looked at big mom who was yelling as loud as she could.

    "Where are you?! Release me now!!" She kept yelling around as she could not see anything. She started to attack blindly using her powers. But nothing worked. Her soul devil fruit did not appear to be working. And since it was not working, the newest abilities of her homies that she got were not working either.

    Elene just shook her head.

    Big mom never had advanced from the mentality of a spoiled child¡­ but this did not exempt her from her sins.

    "Be good in your next life." These were the last words big mom heard before all of a sudden she started to feel unimaginable pain all over her body.

    She felt like her body was breaking molecularly. Even more so. Her soul was shattering into little pieces as if it was a solid substance.

    She could not even fathom what was happening to her.

    And what was just a second felt to her like an eternity of pain, as her body finally dissolved into particles that spread around.

    And just like that big mom was no more.

    Elene released her shadow empress form and dissolved the cube.

    She then just stood there looking at the sky.

 Chapter 195 - Katakuriâ€™s decision

    The fight was over, and Elene came out as the winner. The world now was one evil person less.

    Elene had officially now reached her dream. She became the strongest woman in the world.

    Though this title was not spoken about, it was still what everyone thought of big mom to be. And now big mom was dead, and Elene became the new owner of the title.

    Elene took just a few seconds before she got back to herself. Though big mom was evil and she didn''t feel bad about killing her, it still left a bad taste in her mouth after.

    She soon turned to the side and felt Ian and co coming near her.

    She was a bit tired and injured too. So when Ian helped support her she leaned on him and started to relax.

    "Good job." Ian praised her. The pride he had for her was apparent through his eyes. Though he was also a bit worried for her since she just killed someone...

    She smiled in return.

    Robin also congratulated her.

    "Yes. You did a good job!" She hugged her.

    Stella knew that she was tired so she just gave her a short hug and a kiss on the cheek.

    Bert praised her power, and told her that she did well, and finally achieved her dream. Aokiji and Reiju''s words were short but enough nonetheless. They just congratulated her.

    Akemi hugged her too. And after that Elene looked at them all and spoke.

    "I did it." She replied to them as she closed her eyes and eye-smiled.

    Then they all started to walk back to their ship. Except for Ian.

    "Go back first. I''ll go and complete our objective here and join you!" Ian told them.

    They still had to join with the others back at Wano so they shouldn''t waste any time. But the Poneglyphs were a must to have so it came first.

    And afterward, while they are sailing to Wano, there was no need to not celebrate right?

    ****

    With big mom''s children.

    All of them who were conscious were quite sad. They looked at the last place where their mama was and just plopped on the ground in tiredness.

    Though try as they might to suppress it, a small part of them was happy.

    Happy that they didn''t need to live in fear from now on. That they were finally free.

    To big mom, her children were just bargaining tools to get more people to support her dreams.

    Everyone would be married if she gained something out of it.

    So they had always been prepared for the worst. But now, there was nothing to prepare for anymore.

    All the officers of big mom looked at Katakuri who is the strongest among them in the crew after the now-deceased big mom.

    Will he continue to lead them?

    This was the question they all had.

    Even the other two sweet commanders.

    Katakuri himself had thought about what Ian had said earlier.

    And he couldn''t help but agree. Though it still pained him to watch his mother die, he knew that he would pass that with time.

    She didn''t deserve them. As evidenced by her trying to kill them and blame it on them.

    She was not worthy of him to call her mother...

    ''Not worthy...''

    Katakuri took a deep breath. His brothers and sisters only had him for protection.

    Cracker and Smoothie were strong, but even the three of them combined would not be enough.

    An emperor had died. So a lot of chaos was going to come later. And most of it would be focused on them.

    Katakuri knew his strength, and if Kaido or any of the other emperors attacked them to strengthen their own pirate crew, they were done for. Though he knew that Kaido was the most likely one to do this.

    As such he made a decision that he knew was the best, but he also knew that his brothers/sisters would not agree with...

    ''Forgive me... but this is for the best...''

    He saw Ian coming towards him, and he wasted no more time.

    As soon as Ian was next to him he spoke.

    "Emperor Ian." He greeted him.

    And then proceeded to say after a deep breath.

    "I hereby announce as the strongest person in the crew after the captain, that the remaining of the big mom pirates would come under your crew." He said it all in one breath.

    And it had his brothers/sisters raging in a second.

    The first was Perospero.

    "What the hell are you on to, Katakuri? I know that you would not do anything without planning, but to suggest we come under the people who killed mama? That''s too much!" He was actually quite tame in conveying what he meant in comparison to what the others were shouting from the back.

    Smoothie and Crackers gave nods of their own.

    Katakuri sighed.

    He looked around and glared at everyone until they shut up.

    "If we don''t join him, then what do you expect us to do when another emperor comes to have us join him? Would you rather join that guy instead?" Though Katakuri said another emperor, they all knew who was the most likely to attack them.

    Shanks was not that sort of person. While Whitebeard was a peaceful old man caring about his family first and foremost. Which left only Kaido... whom everyone knew that he was gathering strong people under him...

    And sure enough, no one wants to work under that battle maniac.

    However, Ian was also quite bad in their eyes. How could someone expect them to do so when he had resulted in the killing of their mother?

    "I know it is tough to swallow but it is all that we can do." Katakuri himself knew that being under Ian was actually quite good for them.

    Based on what he figured out about Ian, that guy is not oppressive or anything.

    But Katakuri also had his own plans...

    He would get stronger. Stronger enough to no longer need to lean on Ian''s name, and lead his crew and protect them...

    But he won''t forget if Ian does help them with this favor. No, he might have killed their mother, but he knew they were better off without her. So he won''t hold a grudge against him.

    "I don''t mind you using my name. And if another person does indeed try to attack you while under my name I''ll also come and help you. But I won''t order you around, you can lead yourself. But there is just one thing. Big mom is dead. There is no reason for you to hurt innocents anymore other than you yourself being evil. If you still do so, then you will leave me no choice but to hunt you all down." Ian told them all and warned them at the end.

    He didn''t mind Katakuri and his plan at all.

    And though he knew that some of big mom''s children were quite sadistic themselves, he still didn''t think they were as bad as big mom, so he will give them a chance.

    Katakuri looked at his brothers and sisters. There was no better deal than this.

    And they all understood this.

    Seeing their expressions, Katakuri turned back to Ian and gave a nod.

    And then the remaining big mom pirates officially came under the nightmare crew.

    Now Ian just had to go and take the Poneglyphs before leaving.

 Chapter 196 - The Greatâ€™ Don

    Before Ian was lead to the Poneglyphs he remembered something.

    If he was not wrong, big mom had a library where she was collecting races using the devil fruit of one of her children.

    He had actually forgotten about that completely.

    It was good that he remembered now.

    ''I should help them get their freedom back.'' He thought to himself. He didn''t like the idea of robbing people of their freedom. And since they dealt with big mom, then they might as well just help them.

    He turned to look at Katakuri who was near him.

    "If I''m not wrong, you have a library where big mom is keeping all the races she collected as slaves'' right?" Ian asked him.

    Katakuri felt bad for some reason at hearing Ian, but he still replied to him.

    "Yes. Do you need someone from there?" He asked him. if Ian knew someone there¡­ the god help them all¡­

    "I think that they should be released from their confines." Ian was blunt as he spoke. "Big mom who was collecting them is no more. So there is no need to keep them right? Unless you all share the same ideals with her." He added.

    Katakuri agreed with Ian and nodded his head.

    This felt natural to him. He was never a fan of enslaving someone so he didn''t disagree with it.

    Though he might feel that way, others didn''t.

    His future sight triggered all of a sudden. And then he turned to glare at one of his brothers.

    The one who is responsible for the library. Montd''Or.

    Katakuri saw him object to Ian and say that they had wasted so much time and effort to collect them and that it was collected over the course of many years.

    And when Ian would say they are to be freed once again, the idiot refuses and tries to attack Ian along with some other children.

    This was what Katakuri had seen in the vision.

    Katakuri''s glare had the guy in question rethink what he was about to say. But the keyword was to rethink. Not to stop.

    And just as he was about to speak, the pressure being released on him increased.

    "There is no objection right?" Katakuri calmly intoned.

    "B-But-" The guy tried to say something when Katakuri repeated.

    "NO OBJECTION RIGHT?" this time his voice was raised.

    "Yes!" He replied.

    The guy thankfully shut up right after.

    "Follow me!" Katakuri then started to lead the way for Ian.

    "Let''s first deal with the Poneglyphs. As that wouldn''t take much time." Ian said to Katakuri. Releasing all of those people was going to take time after all. While he would just store the stones away in a second.

    Again Katakuri just nodded his head in response.

    Soon they had reached the room of treasure. Which was located on the fourth floor of the whole cake chateau.

    Ian didn''t waste time and just after stepping inside, he stored the Poneglyphs away under the shocked starts of Katakuri and then motioned to him to lead the way to their next stop.

    Katakuri soon recovered and started walking.

    ''It''s none of my business anyway.'' He thought to himself.

    Montd''Or was also following them but he didn''t step inside the treasure room. So he didn''t see what Ian had done.

    Once again it didn''t take them long to reach there.

    Ian was thinking that it would take quite a while to release them all and he wanted to go back to his crewmates.

    But he would have to stay and watch everything go on as otherwise, they might not release everyone caught.

    But then Katakuri spoke.

    "Now released them." He said.

    And just like that, the books started to open on their own.

    But before he could continue any more Ian spoke up.

    "Wait. You could release them at the same time?" Ian asked. If so then this would be quite easy then.

    The guy nodded his head.

    "Then could you choose who to release?" Ian asked again.

    Montd''Or replied with a yes.

    "Alright. Then make sure to only release the sentient beings. And leave the animals until last. But before you start let me have a word with them." Ian spoke up before he stepped forward a bit.

    All the books were opened so it was easy for them all to hear him.

    "Listen up well. My name is Ian D. Louis. My crew and I had just beaten big mom. And we came to rescue you. In a few seconds, you will be free. Food will be given, so make sure to stay calm when you are released." Ian spoke up and they all heard him.

    Since some of them had been here for ages, they agreed easily.

    Everyone just wanted to be out.

    Ian looked at Katakuri who understood what Ian wanted. He stepped out of the room and called one of the people nearby to tell him to go make food for the people there.

    The place was huge so it could house them all.

    Soon everyone was released and they just laid there on the ground looking at their surroundings as if they didn''t believe they were released.

    Some were crying. Some were happy. And some were just relieved.

    One guy though stood up and walked to Ian.

    When he came close he suddenly bowed down to him. And Ian moved and helped him up.

    Though the guy was huge and almost twice his size so it was quite comical.

    He stood at 340cm.

    And Ian noticed that he was some sort of shark Fishman with a light-grey skin tone. Various scars were visible through his body, with the most notable one coming down from his neck to his abdominal muscles but not reaching all the way to his waist.

    His mouth was full of sharp triangular teeth, and he had long black curly hair.

    And unlike most of the regular fishmen, this guy was very muscled, having a bulky build. Since he was wearing just a white open shirt along with short black trousers. This left all his muscles showing to anyone looking.

    Like all fishmen, he had gills near his neck, along with webbed feet and hands.

    "What are you doing?" Ian asked him with confusion on his face. He was also able to notice that the guy was a bit guarded against him, from his body posture.

    "It is only right to pay respect to one who has done you a favor. Not to mention when it''s a favor of this magnitude. I would remember this for the rest of my life. Thank you for saving me and my homeland." The guy once again proceeded to bow.

    ''Homeland? How did I do that?'' Ian wondered.

    And Ian stepped up aside as he looked at Katakuri with a questioning look.

    Katakuri sighed. He still remembered this person.

    "This guy was caught by mama more than twenty years ago. He had come on his own, fearing that mama would act on her threat and attack his homeland, Fishmen Island." Katakuri said.

    Even he had a bit of admiration for this guy. He was quite strong as could be felt when Katakuri looked at him.

    He ignored the stunned look on both Ian and Fishman.

    "Before that, he was a lone pirate known for his vast strength and being once a candidate for the warlord system. He has various feats from taking down a fleet of pirate sh.i.p.s to defeating a warlord of the time. His bounty reached 400 million Berries. And then he was caught by us."

    "His name is Don. And he was nicknamed the Great'' Don." Katakuri finished speaking.

    There were a handful of people among those caught he remembered about and this guy was head of that list.

 Chapter 197 - I would like to follow you!

    "His name is Don. And he was nicknamed the Great'' Don."

    At this Ian looked at the guy once again. He had a bit of respect for the guy now.

    He sacrificed himself for more than twenty years just to protect his homeland.

    He understood that at the time Whitebeard had still not made the island under him. So big mom could have acted on her threat. In fact, he guessed from her to do as she said even if the guy surrendered himself. That was just how she was.

    But something must have happened to stop her.

    "Why was he caught by her though? I don''t think he would have caught her interest enough to be put in this library if he was normal right?" Ian asked Katakuri.

    He would have asked the person himself, but it appeared he would

    Meanwhile, Katakuri continued on.

    "He would not have attracted mama if not for his special circ.u.mstances. He was the last of his species. The Megalodon. They are the largest known type of shark species. This was the reason for his high strength and stamina. This strength allowed him to easily move through the sea without a ship. Mama was even considering making him one of us, but since his species was almost extinct she reconsidered. He was also known for evading the world''s most dangerous bounty hunter multiple times¡­" Katakuri finished saying all he knew about the guy.

    Ian once again looked at the guy. Ian did hear about this famous bounty hunter¡­ who supposedly fought against many great names including Mihawk, Whitebeard¡­ and so on. But even though he couldn''t catch them, this feat of fighting them and escaping put him among the strongest people in the world.

    Don now had a small smile on his face. He already noticed the respect Ian had in his eyes. As such Ian moved through his list of people he could become friends with.

    Generally, humans would always act disgusted with him at first glance. Those that didn''t, became friends of his.

    He didn''t hate humans, but he certainly looked down on any one of them that treated his race as any less.

    In his time, which was 24 years ago, humans had been coming in droves to his hometown and started to wreak havoc and kidnap them to sell as slaves.

    He fought this hard. It was the reason he got famous quickly. Because on his journey, he would challenge pirate crews that he found, and if he found them to be sc.u.m he would dispose of them.

    All on his own.

    But there were a few rare instances when he befriended some humans. They were the ones that taught him not to judge the whole race based on a select few.

    He was the type of guy that fought first and talked later. So when he found those humans, it was not until they had fought enough that he understood their points.

    But from then on, he became better at judging people.

    And right now his guts were saying that Ian was a good guy.

    Ian started to speak.

    "I admire people like you, sacrificing yourself like that¡­ not many would do it. Eat for now, and later I''ll make sure you all will be taken to a secure place. But if you want to leave on your own, you can also do so. I''m sure you remember where your homeland is." Ian praised him first before he continued.

    But the guy cut him off.

    "No. I would like to follow you. Until I repay my debt." Don said resolutely.

    This was the least he could do. Ian had saved him after twenty-four years of captivity. So the least he could do for him was to serve under him since he heard earlier that Ian was an emperor.

    This served as another point for why he wanted to serve under Ian.

    He was caught by an emperor who could destroy his homeland what better choice to protect his land than to serve under another emperor? Plus he knew Ian was a good guy.

    "Not even five minutes since you were out, and you start to think about your hometown? Haha don''t worry, your hometown is protected by Whitebeard. He is known as the strongest person in the world. And he values family over anything else. So don''t mind about that." Ian informed him.

    He wouldn''t refuse the guy if he still wanted to join his crew. But it would leave a bad taste in his mouth if the guy joined him when he didn''t need to.

    "Are you sure? When did he start to protect Fishmen Island if you don''t mind me asking? And did they get into any wars since then?" Don asked questions in succession.

    Ian chucked at his enthusiasm. But he still answered him.

    "I think it was about the same time when you were caught. It is known that the old man had gone to put the territory under him since a lot of pirates were going there to wreak havoc." Ian answered him.

    To which Don nodded with a relieved look on his face.

    Ian continued.

    "Since then Fishmen Island had always been under the old man, so you can rest easy that there was no war." Ian finished his explanation.

    Now Ian waited for what the guy was going to choose. Would he go to his hometown on his own, or would he leave it to Ian to help them?

    For the rest of the captured, Ian already had a plan in mind.

    He would call Dragon to give him some sh.i.p.s and workers to man them. And then the sh.i.p.s would deliver the people and the animals that were still in the books, into a certain point, before Ian''s father meet them and take over from there.

    What better place to put the almost extinct species than on Kurma?

    Don was finally relieved. But he still looked at Ian resolutely.

    "I would still like to serve under you. It is the only thing I can do to repay you." He said.

    Ian sighed.

    "You don''t need to repay me. I did not do this for you. You were robbed of your freedom and I gave it back to you." Ian replied back.

    He wanted everyone to be free. But freedom was only when it does not encroach on the freedom of another.

    The more Ian spoke the more Don felt more convinced about his choice.

    "Please!" He repeated with a small bow.

    Sigh.

    "Alright but don''t talk about serving under me. You''ll be my crewmate and friend, is that okay with you?" Ian finally relented. He had already said that he would accept him if the guy wanted to join him.

    Don, was a lone pirate. But he always came upon crews with a captain and members.

    But he didn''t understand why they gathered around in huge numbers when they could just go on their own like he was doing.

    He had been thinking that crews were for the weak people. But then he met some strong crews that had members even stronger than him.

    So he understood that they did it for friendship and comradeship.

    So he started to search for crews to join. But he did not find the right one.

    That was back then, but it was still the same for him even now.

    So he looked at Ian.

    "I agree." He agreed.

    He would just have to see if Ian''s crew was the one for him now, wouldn''t he?

 Chapter 198 - Newest member

    Right now Ian was walking with Don back to the Odyssey.

    Both of them were thinking about things. Ian about reaching Wano, and beating the shit of that overgrown fish.

    His business was already done here in whole cake island. He already acquired the stones, and he also called Dragon and told him what was needed from him. Dragon of course happily accepted the task.

    Next, he called his dad to come pick up the new people and animals.

    The island Kurma was big enough to house them all.

    Katakuri was left in charge. And he knew that he had to do as Ian said.

    Ian didn''t force them or anything. No, they came under him on their own. For protection. So the very least they could do was not go against his wishes.

    Meanwhile, Don was looking at the surroundings as he saw the changes that were brought with time. This was what occupied his thoughts.

    It was hard for him to understand that he had just like that became almost 50 years old. It was just a blink of an eye in his perspective.

    He had agreed to join as Ian''s crewmate but he also wanted to find one of his people and ask about his hometown. And if possible even visit it.

    As to whether he should have accepted Ian''s proposal?

    Of course, he would. After all, It was all the better for him why would he refuse something like that?

    But now he had many questions on his mind. He had just got his freedom and he was still a bit behind the times.

    As if Ian felt that he turned to look at him as they were walking.

    "I think one of my friends did say that he had gotten one of your people on his crew. So when we reach Wano, you could then ask him to brief you about what had happened so far since you disappeared. There is also a possibility that we can meet some on our way." Ian told him.

    He was talking about Jinbei.

    Since Whitebeard didn''t die, the guy didn''t have to join big mom. So he was left free, and Luffy managed to somehow recruit him into the crew.

    And since they were going to Wano, they were sure going to meet at that time.

    Ian also had plans to visit Fishmen Island anyway. But it would have to be after he finishes his business in Wano.

    Don nodded his head. What Ian said was already good enough for him.

    "We will also be visiting Fishmen Island in the future so there''s that too," Ian added as an afterthought.

    Don''s eyes lit up at that. Finally, he could relax. With this everything he wanted was settled.

    "Captain¡­ I have a favor to ask." Don asked all of a sudden.

    Ian wondered what it was. So he nodded his head.

    "Can we fight later?" Don asked.

    His eyes contained a glint of excitement.

    Ian nodded his head.

    "Sure. Let''s do it later." Ian agreed.

    This was something he does with the crew daily.

    Every time he would spar with them so that they can get stronger.

    So he had no reason to refuse Don.

    Don was expecting Ian to react badly to that. As it might man he was challenging him or something.

    These were pirates so one could never be sure with them. But seeing Ian nod without any problems, Don breathed a sigh of relief.

    In truth, he requested that somewhat selfishly.

    Not to beat Ian or anything. No. as strong as he was, he could feel that Ian was like a sleeping beast, that when woken up, would spell doom for anyone against him.

    No. what he wanted was to see where he stands against someone on the level of an emperor of the sea.

    This was a common occurrence for battle-hungry fools. They would fight and fight and so on. Searching for strength all their lives. Not thinking about anything else.

    Don released a smile. He rarely does so, but right now he just felt a sort of peace and happiness. He was just content like this.

    ''Joining this crew just might not be so bad after all¡­'' Don thought to himself.

    Soon both of them stood against the odyssey. And were ready to board the ship.

    Ian jumped to the deck fist, followed by Don who only took a deep breath and then jumped after.

    Ian landed normally, but for Don who was quite heavy, his landing made a bit of a sound.

    Ian smiled at this.

    As such the crew one by one started to file out to the deck to see what was going on.

    Upon reaching there they noticed that a Fishmen was standing next to their captain.

    If Ian brought him to the ship then he definitely has something important to do with them.

    Either he was going to be an ally, or he was going to join them. So they paid close attention to him,

    Don himself, was expecting Ian''s crew to only contain humans.

    And though the majority of them were humans, two of them were actually another race he knew about.

    They were the minks. He had met some of them on his journey so he knew that they were quite friendly.

    "Hey guys, meet Don, he''s our newest member," Ian announced, just like they were expecting.

    Ian saw them nodding their heads as if saying ''As expected...''

    He laughed before he moved to the next step.

    "Well let me officially introduce the crew to you." Ian then addressed Don.

    "This furry guy here is Bert. He''s the ship''s cook," Ian introduced Bert who came up next to him and reached out for a handshake.

    "Nice to meet you!" Don spoke up.

    "Likewise," Bert replied as he stepped to the side a bit after shaking hands.

    Ian then pointed at Akemi.

    "This is Akemi, Bert''s girlfriend," Ian said. Ignoring the glare he got from the said girl.

    Don chuckled as he nodded at her and she smiled back.

    Next was Elene and Robin whom Ian introduced as his lovers.

    They both nodded at him while smiling.

    Aokiji was looking down from the crow''s nest, like usual, so he just waved his hand at Don, with Don replying with the same.

    Stella, being the energetic one from them, waited until everyone else was introduced, including Reiju and Sanji, before she started bombarding him with questions.

    Like, how old are you? And how come you are so much bigger in size than regular fishmen? What species did he belong to? And had he eaten a devil fruit? Could he swim then? and so on¡­

    In short, Don, felt like these guys didn''t harbor any dislike or hate for him.

    And though he was quite huge, all he got were looks of curiosity. He was not accustomed to this...

    Even the tamest humans he had met, were still a tiny bit disgusted with his skin, size, or looks.

    It was just how it was, he was used to people being uncomfortable around him. He didn''t mind that at all.

    But these guys were clearly different.

    So with a smile on his face, he decided to just relax and enjoy his time, and then he might as well answer the questions the little girl next to him was still asking.

 Chapter 199 - Celebration

    So the odyssey took off to meet with their allies in Wano.

    This time with three new members. Each one strong enough to make a difference in the coming fight they were going to have.

    However, since Elene had just won against big mom, it called for a celebration.

    So even though they had set sail, it didn''t stop them from partying and having fun.

    It was currently nighttime.

    And that was what was going on right now in the ship.

    Ian was enjoying his time as held Libell in his arms.

    They were all sitting in a loose circle, each close to their usual circle of people.

    Robin sat near Elene and Stella.

    Since Elene was the one the party was for, she was drinking nonstop and chatting with the two girls next to her.

    Meanwhile, Robin wasn''t reading one of her books at this time. After all, this was a part. So instead she enjoyed the food and drinks while answering questions both Elene and Stella would ask her from time to time.

    "Big sis, I heard that Fish-men island from which big bro Don came from, is located 10,000 meters below sea level? Is that true?" Her voice was full of wonder while asking. After all, she couldn''t fathom how such a phenomenon came to be.

    She had on her hands a skewer filled with meat and a glass of drinks on the side.

    Elene too had never seen those in real life. Seeing them in her past life didn''t count. She also had a plate of cooked meat near her which she ate from.

    Robin gave her a nod and a smile. From her face and rosy skin, one could tell that she was quite drunk. But Robin kept her cool and answered.

    "Indeed. Though I was never there in person, it is said that the islands rests under the red line. It serves as an underwater gateway to the new world for those who don''t wish to cross over the red line above. This had been confirmed by your brother Ian. And he did say we are going to visit the place someday in the future." Robin explained patiently to Stella.

    Afterward, she grabbed a sandwich from a nearby plate and started to nibble on it.

    Stella smiled happily.

    "Hehe. Didn''t big bro Ian say we will also visit an island in the sky? Can you believe that? An island in the sky?" Stella said. Ian had told them about this a while ago.

    But for one who never visited such a place¡­ how can one expect them to believe that so easily?

    Though they were certain the places existed as Ian wouldn''t lie to them. They just found it hard to visualize on their own.

    Robin nodded.

    "He did say that yes." Robin nodded. She had already been there, but it doesn''t hurt to visit a second time.

    "Don''t worry you two, on this journey of ours, we''ll see everything exciting there is to see. Haha," Elene from the side promised them as she laughed with them.

    Bert sat close to Akemi. The two shared a one-armed hug as they looked at the sky and admired the beautiful sight of the stars. Since they were pirates, they each held bottles of drinks and enjoyed themselves. Near them on a small table, plates with various foods laid there.

    There was no sense in being free if you couldn''t even do what you wish like this.

    Sanji was conversing with his sister Reiju. He was telling her of some of his adventures with the straw hats crew. Whom he was missing right now. Maybe except that dumb Marimo.

    Reiju was enjoying her time listening to him, as she giggled from time to time. Both of them enjoyed the drinks and food.

    Which left Aokiji and Don who sat near Ian.

    The two had hit off somewhat contrary to what Ian thought.

    Since Aokiji was calm and collected, meanwhile Don, was a ''do first, talk later, type of guy.

    But it appeared the two hit off pretty well even so.

    "So you always jumped ahead into fights, like there was no tomorrow? Haha, what if you met some of the monsters of the sea? What would you do then?" Kuzan laughed as he asked Don.

    Don chuckled himself. He knew who Kuzan meant by monsters.

    "I did meet some of them many times. What can I do? I got my ass beat and told to be responsible." Don replied as he shrugged his shoulders.

    Kuzan laughed.

    "And so? Did you act responsibly after that?" he asked him again.

    An ashamed look was sent his way as Don lowered his head.

    This time even Ian from the side joined in laughing at his expense.

    "Tsk." Don clicked his tongue in distaste as he downed the bottle of drink he had in his hands. But it was apparent that he too enjoyed his time with them.

    Ian felt someone tugging at his shirt, so he looked down at Libell who was sitting on his lap.

    "What wrong, my little cutie-head?" Ian asked her gently with a smile full of affectionate warmth.

    Libell enjoyed being in her big brother''s lap, as she pointed at a cake on a plate nearby.

    "Can I eat it?" She said as she cutely started at the cake and back at Ian.

    The expression was too much for Ian, so he reached forward to cut a slice for her and then proceeded to feed her himself.

    Don and Kuzan also had smiles on their faces seeing this.

    Kuzan grabbed another cut from the cake and put it on the plate Ian was holding.

    "Here, let uncle give you another piece." He gently said with a smile.

    Libell raised both hands in the sky.

    "Yay!"

    Ian chuckled seeing this.

    He knew that Libell didn''t need and food to sustain herself. But she could eat if she wanted.

    As such though he laughed, his hands didn''t stop feeding the little girl.

    He couldn''t help but feel a sense of fulfillment.

    This was what he set out to the sea for. In search of adventure, and most importantly companionship.

    After all what good would journeying alone do for you? He looked at Don who was laughing once again with Kuzan.

    He knew that the guy must have been lonely on his own. Well, he was glad he was now part of his family.

    "No more cake?" Libell''s cute voice traveled to Ian''s ears.

    In his thoughts, he forgot to feed her for a bit so she questioned him.

    Ian hastily brought a spoon full of cake to her mouth.

    "My little cutie-head can have as much cake as she wants!" He stated with conviction.

 Chapter 200 - Worry!

    {A/N: This is the 200 chapter of this fic. Just WOW. 200 chapters and more than 250 thousand words. I have truly mastered the Dao of Bullshit with this fanfic!}

    ****

    Three days had already passed since big mom died.

    When big mom died, it was only obvious that Im would be the first to know. But it was only in the latter of the first day since her death.

    This made her furious beyond reason. All her plans were getting thwarted by this Ian Louis. Big mom played a role in her future plans¡­ but now she was dead. But even so, Im could get past that as it was not a huge setback.

    What was more important was the fact, that Elene was the one who beat big mom and not Ian himself. This meant that she had to reevaluate the whole strength of the crew.

    Perhaps they had become the strongest crew in this world already. Not knowing if this was true or not, almost drove her insane...

    The next day after that, the news spread around the whole world.

    Im had anticipated this of course, but it didn''t lessen her frustrations at all. In fact, it even increased with the titles on the news she read.

    Things like, ''Are all the crew members Emperor level powerhouses?'' and ''Elene dominated big mom so easily, what are her real limits?'' and then ''If she is that strong, how strong is the captain Ian D. Louis?''

    The last title about Ian infuriated Im. ''She'' knew of course that he was a ''D'', that was not the point. Otherwise, he would not have been able to run from her the last time they met. But her knowing that, did not mean that the whole world should also know. Which is what happened.

    That bastard Dragon and Morgan were responsible for this.

    Im right at that moment decided that she would kill Ian no matter what. And this time not by half-assed means. She would show him true despair before he dies.

    As such the third day after big mom''s death, all the marines were tasked with finding out Ian Louis''s current location. The order came from above, and they hurried to complete it. The order was only for his location nothing else...

    And by a chance of fate, one person did spot Ian and he reported soon after.

    When the news reached Im, she for the first time for a while grinned savagely.

    "Let''s see how you deal with this, Ian D. Louis."

    she then started to evilly laugh as the sound echoed in the huge chamber...

    ****

    Ian and co had been sailing for three days now, and they had finally reached close to the land of Wano.

    Ian estimated that they only had another four to five hours of sailing to reach it.

    The day had been going on good.

    He and the girls, Elene and Robin, had enjoyed their ''time'' on the night of the party privately.

    But afterward, they had resumed their routine.

    Don had his fight. And he finally got his wish of knowing where he stood up in terms of power.

    He actually requested Ian to train him, but Ian only shook his head stating that he was not a teacher, but he gave him a helping hand by stating they could spar as many times he wanted.

    Don felt that that was beneficial to him. So he agreed.

    Aokiji also spared against Ian and showed him his trump card, and also spoke about Akainu''s trump card too. Ian then and there understood that Aokiji only lost against Akainu due to the disadvantage of his fruit.

    But if he compared it to Kizaru''s trump card, then they all would fall short.

    The rest did like the usual.

    But now when they were just about to reach Wano, they were finally excited.

    The girls talked about buying outfits to blend in, and Ian was pretty interested in seeing how he would look like in a kimono.

    Ian''s eyes all of a sudden glinted red.

    But before he moved, the ship vibrated a bit and Ian knew Libell was doing something immediately. He looked for her around and found her on the mast of the ship looking worried and concentrated.

    Since the ship was protected by them both, it would rarely vibrate and would always stay steady.

    But when it was disturbed, it meant the ship was moved. And Libell as she was now, she was capable of teleporting the said ship. Even faster than Ian would be able to.

    But why would she do that?!

    Ian looked at where her eyes were looking, and he then noticed that they had moved a huge distanced backward from the island they were going to reach.

    And in their previous place where they had been just seconds ago¡­ a huge dark shadowy arm was plunging into the sea releasing a massive tsunami that reached them as soon as they saw it...

    Ian controlled it with his telekinesis to settle the sea around them. So it didn''t do any damage whatsoever.

    If they hadn''t moved, then perhaps the ship would have been brutally destroyed with them being injured badly. It seems they owed Libell this time, after all, was said that the ship''s spirits can react to danger much faster than its crew. But the thanks would have to wait until later...

    Trailing the arm of the shadowy figure revealed something Ian detested to see at this time.

    Without a doubt, that was a di¨¢voloi. Ian didn''t need any further proof.

    And this one was neither alone nor at the same size as the one Ian fought in the war the last time.

    Indeed. Four other somewhat smaller ones were surrounding the huge figure. Well, they were only small when compared to the huge one...

    Ian didn''t bother sizing it up, as he could tell that the very arm of the Di¨¢voloi was as huge as an island. The fact that they were all standing on water also further proved their massive size and form.

    Ian took a deep breath. Perhaps he had underestimated Im.

    If she had pawns like this to send to kill him, then he really did underestimate her.

    The energy he was feeling from the largest figure among them immediately had him think of one thing.

    That''s a fourth stage being. A being at what he had dubbed, the saint stage.

    He had thought that only Im was one. And perhaps the existence that talked with him. But today he was enlightened on this.

    Who said there were only three Di¨¢voloi''s? And who said that they were the strongest? The fact that Whitebeard and Roger fought them, didn''t mean they were the only three of their kind. And definitely not the strongest.

    He had already guessed the existence of a war in the past. And in this war, Zunesha already told him and confirmed a war happened where they were called to fight. Beings like the elephant fought in this war. Then against whom?

    As such it was only right to assume the other side had an army of Di¨¢voloi too. Perhaps they were injured or recuperating which is why only those three were the ones that Roger and Garp fought¡­ Ian didn''t know and he didn''t care at this time...

    And just like Ian had guessed, Im was quite furious this time, even more so when knowing he was heading towards Kaido right after beating big mom... So she had directly used a huge part of her energy to hasten the awakening of one of the strong Di¨¢voloi of the past that she had under her control.

    And then she opened a portal from the place where they were to where Ian was reported to be. Consuming once again a large amount of her energy...

    This lead to the current events.

    Ian scrutinized them with his eyes for a few seconds. And he came to the conclusion that if he was using his all against the strongest Di¨¢voloi here, he still had a small chance to win, even with the difference between them being huge...

    But that would mean he can''t focus on the other four ones, and if even one of them helped then he would lose¡­ not to mention his crewmates¡­

    Perhaps they could take on one or two maximum. But not anymore.

    The situation was turning bleak fast for Ian. And for the first time ever, Ian started to feel worried.

 Chapter 201 - Help is here!

    The Di¨¢voloi.

    Though they were in fact still retaining their minds, they could not speak a single word in this form. But the killing intent coming off of them delivered their intentions perfectly.

    In the midst of this helpless situation, however, none of the members of the crew despaired.

    They were not kids after all. Death was real, and it would come at unexpected times. So they had already expected such a thing to happen one day.

    Not that Ian would let that happen. Ever. Unless it was their own choice when they reached an old enough age.

    Even he accepted such a thing also. But this didn''t mean that when it came to, they would just surrender themselves to it. You bet they would fight to their last breath. And they would do it while laughing proudly.

    Elene used her strongest form from the start, the one she had managed to beat big mom with. Stella also focused hard on what''s coming next. As chains started to surround her form.

    Bert and Akemi directly used their Sulong forms. Transforming into it in but a short second.

    Aokiji was surrounded by fog coming of him. Sanji and Reiju used suits built by their family to jump and float. Sanji got it as a gift from his sister, saying she had made the scientists make it for her.

    Don jumped into the sky and landed in the sea, as he also readied himself to fight what could possibly be the strongest fight of his life.

    Ian had a plan though. Even when they had taken him by surprise.

    He had not been gathering allies in vain all this time¡­ There are of course reasons for that¡­

    And right now it was one of them.

    Indeed. Both Elene and Ian sprang into action all of a sudden as they were engulfed in shadows that spread in a circle around them.

    And in a second, Garp, Sengoku, Whitebeard, Dragon, all showed up where the ship was. Teleported from who knows where straight to where the battle was going to start.

    With them, on their side, their chances increased¡­

    Thankfully no one was in an awkward situation. Or not wearing any clothes¡­ Ian did expect that from Garp to a certain extent. He was glad he was wrong.

    And while he was not n.a.k.e.d, Garp was half-asleep and half-awake with his pinky in his nostrils.

    "W-What?" He muttered as he shook himself awake and looked at his surroundings.

    The first thing he was drawn to was the massive figure in the distance that was starting to move towards them. But since the distance was quite far, it was still a few seconds until it reaches.

    Seeing who was around him he started to understand.

    Ian had already predicted something like this before. So he had told them all that he might summon them on short notice someday. And they had agreed to that. They knew Ian would do the same for them.

    And by the expressions of the rest, it appeared all of them grasped the current situation.

    Ian then chose to speak.

    "Im has chosen to get rid of me once and for all this time," Ian said this one sentence. His expression is totally serious.

    "Indeed." Dragon analyzed their opponents and gave a short nod.

    The opponents were clearly felt by him, and he knew that to survive this, much less win, they would have to work together.

    He spared his father one glance before he turned back and got ready for the fight. The enemy didn''t give them the time for them to talk.

    Sengoku, Whitebeard, both only nodded at Ian before they readied themselves for battle.

    This would be hard-fought, as they were in the sea.

    But everyone there had already reached a far enough level of power to fly with their own ways. Not to mention that Aokiji hurried along to freeze the sea surrounding them in a huge radius enough for them to land on.

    Sengoku jumped down and transformed. Getting ready.

    He was followed by Garp who loosened his shirt and rolled his sleeves. An expression of concentration on his face. Perhaps today they were all going to fight their last battle¡­

    Looking at Ian, he changed that thought.

    ''Who knows what this young man has in store¡­?'' He thought to himself¡­

    All of them who were healed by Ian had become since then younger and younger until they reached the state when they were the strongest.

    This fight was obviously going to be hard-fought, and Ian was not about to slack off or take it easy.

    As such he prepared to enter his strongest form¡­

    Sounds of electricity started to surround his form when all of a sudden a huge crack in the sky nearby them opened all of a sudden.

    The crack was massive in size, but nothing could be seen on the other side as if it was completely blank.

    Ian panicked thinking that they were maybe more di¨¢voloi. He even wanted to curse them. After all, he was not even sure they could deal with those here.

    But instead of the shadowy humanoid forms that he came to associate with them, what came out instead was a huge animal form.

    It was actually a winged lion.

    While its size itself was massive, and even passing by their ship flying the shockwaves rocked them around.

    And though its size when compared to the strongest di¨¢voloi there was not the same, the strength it packed was definitely closer to it.

    Ian immediately had a grin on his face the moment he laid eyes on the beast.

    Why?

    Because he heard a voice in his head.

    "Help is here. Young Ian." It was the familiar voice Ian used to hear back then. It only said this and cut off but it was enough for him.

    Ian didn''t question it anymore on why it didn''t send more of them or any similar question. He knew by now that there was a reason for everything. And he was going to find out about that sooner or later as such he might as well just drop it now.

    The lion beast itself was not exactly normal. It had scales on its face. And two horns going from its temple to the back. Its wings were more like dragon wings than birds.

    Its claws were also definitely longer than they should be.

    The beast roared loudly and it was as if thunder had struck.

    Ian seeing this he looked at his allies and crew.

    "He''s on our side." That''s all he said.

    Before he abruptly lit up in electricity and started to transform.

    His form grew a bit taller but it remained leaner. But instead of flesh this time it was made completely of lightning.

    His hair stood up rigidly pointing to the sky defying gravity completely.

    His spear was glowing in lightning as he swirled it around his hands.

    "Now that the fight is more evened out, let''s show these bastards how strong we humans are!" Ian yelled out as he started attacking leading the charge.

    Coincidently it was at the same time when the lion-dragon beast had just reached the massive Di¨¢voloi and engaged it by biting its neck.

 Chapter 202 - A wild Dragon appears!

    Just as the fight started and Ian was about to start attacking something unexpected happened.

    A new addition to the battlefield made itself known.

    It was someone Ian had seen before in the anime when he still was alive. But this would be the first time for him to see him with his own eyes.

    A huge eastern blue dragon form showed up in the distance.

    Its form was massive but it didn''t reach the size of the two huge figures.

    This was Kaido. Known as the strongest creature in the world. One of the emperors of the sea.

    And just as he had shown up he only spared them a glance before they all saw him start to gather energy in his mouth and fire at the di¨¢voloi.

    For now, they all just watched what was happening.

    ****

    With Kaido.

    He had felt the presence of all these great figures. And to be honest he was thrilled. There are not many things that could make Kaido excited but this was obviously enough.

    He was thrilled to fight them all. Perhaps they would be able to kill him finally. After all even one of them alone was enough to rival him.

    Kaido has a very different point of view about death. He thinks that when a person dies, that is the moment a person would achieve true glory.

    As such he respects people like Roger.

    But as he felt all those familiar presences, he also felt two very large beacons among them.

    Those were the ones he felt were absolutely above his leagues. He didn''t know what was happening, but one of those presences irritated him so much he started to turn into his dragon form.

    Even though he felt either one of the figures could easily beat him, he just could not tolerate the one he felt so much darkness from¡­

    It was like his very existence was rejecting it¡­ it reminded him of the day when he had his awakening somehow¡­ but he didn''t know how that was related.

    So he started flying in that direction, not bothering with announcing anything to his minions.

    And soon he came upon the sight of the fight that was about to start.

    Seeing the huge black humanoid figure, he immediately fired one of his Bolo Breaths directed at it.

    He instinctively wanted to blast it into shreds.

    Thankfully the winged-lion beast had thrown the figure aside. As such the breath hit it directly in the face area.

    Kaido had watched the happenings in the war. He knew about Ian. And he also knew about his crew. As such he recognized them when he laid eyes on them earlier.

    As long as felt the person was strong, then they were worthy in his opinion. And he felt those guys were worthy.

    "Your existence irritates me¡­" Kaido in his huge form muttered as he glared at the di¨¢voloi.

    This phrase of his alone, relayed his intentions to the people gathered to fight.

    Kaido himself decided to see what they all were gathered doing in here afterward.

    Had they decided to take care of him? but were interrupted by these abominations? He didn''t care at all and threw these questions out of his head.

    ****

    For now, Ian decided to consider him on their side. And afterward, he would deal with him.

    "Stay alert," Ian told his allies and crew before he jumped to the sky and turned to lightning as he moved towards the winged lion almost instantly.

    Then the rest each started going on in a direction.

    Most of them were actually excited somewhat, even if this was a dangerous fight.

    Garp and Sengoku decided that it would be best if they took care of the regular di¨¢voloi. Not that those were any weak at all. But they had a reason. Most of the people who went to the strongest di¨¢voloi had a form of a ranged attack. Meanwhile, Garp and Sengoku were more of a brawler''s type.

    As such along with Ian''s crew they all moved out.

    Meanwhile, Whitebeard and Dragon decided to help Ian along with Kaido.

    Dragon flew up using wind and very soon reached Ian who had already engaged the beast.

    The di¨¢voloi had appeared only a bit injured after Kaido''s attack.

    Which was a testament to its durability, since such an attack could actually destroy an island.

    Ian right after him delivered a huge lightning strike straight at the beast in its head.

    The fact that he could create such a massive lightning bolt in a second, and the fact that the beast had also raised its arms to guard this was quite the testament to the power it held.

    Dragon brought both hands together and two tornados that formed all of a sudden started to move towards the massive form in front of him.

    Whitebeard also settled for long-ranged attacks. As such he used both his devil fruit and Haki and shot one huge air blade at the beast.

    When all the attacks connected, the air blade broke the space around the area it hit, the tornadoes started to twist its form and almost made it fall, meanwhile the lightning strike actually made it raise its hands and guard.

    The winged lion seeing this spoke up in their minds. Including Kaido.

    "These abominations are made from the very darkness of this planet¡­ any such attacks like fire, Lightning which are pure, would be its weak point." He informed them before he charged up his own breath attack demonstrating his point.

    A huge pillar of golden flames exited its mouth and hit the di¨¢voloi.

    It was then shot forth through the sea and thrown a huge distance away.

    When it got up a huge wound was apparent in its form.

    But the di¨¢voloi that was ganged up on somehow gave the feeling of being pissed off.

    Before it suddenly attacked them all.

    Its hand became razor-sharp blades that it used to deliver attacks so fast, none were able to react in time but Ian and the winged-lion.

    Ian deployed barriers around everyone there including Kaido.

    Of course against an attack of such a magnitude, such a barrier might as well be made from butter.

    It did its job though, which is to give them all a second to dodge away.

    They did manage to dodge successfully, except Kaido who had a massive form and was actually injured from the strike and thrown backward.

    When he started to fly again, it appeared that the wound was quite small and not very deep.

    Still, though, they all shared a look. They would have to stay on guard if they didn''t want to suddenly lose an arm or leg.

    But Kaido was pissed off and he started to charge another attack of his.

    And so the fight went on.

 Chapter 203 - Effective Strategy!

    (A/N: I''m not going to focus much on this fight, since many strong people have joined, so I will finish it quickly. It would be like a summary. I don''t want to keep dragging the fanfic around.)

    With the addition of the winged lion beast, the fight went on smoothly. And once again Im''s plans to kill Ian were stopped. Though if he had to say, he would say this plan was the most dangerous so far.

    If it had succeeded then most likely Ian would indeed die, or at the very least get injured badly.

    But luck was on his side and he got help.

    The fight went so smooth one might as well say it was easy.

    On Robin and co''s side, they attacked with everything they had straight from the get-go.

    Instead of dividing themselves and fighting separately, by the words of Sengoku, they focused on guarding and dodging and waiting for the chance where they all deal attacks towards one fallen di¨¢voloi.

    When they all charge up to attack the one fallen Di¨¢voloi, the three free di¨¢voloi would try to attack, but then this is where Robin, Stella, Reiju shines in this fight.

    Robin would create huge arms that would twist around their bodies and restrain them.

    Meanwhile, Stella would wrap them in chains. Reiju''s poison would then be inhaled by them and this would also help in keeping them stunned.

    This of course would not hold them for a long time, but it would hold them enough until one di¨¢voloi was down.

    Sanji knew his own strength as such he settled to be only a distraction whenever one person was in danger. His kicks though dealing no damage whatsoever would grab the attention needed and then he would turn invisible and move to another side and repeat the same thing, buying time for his allies.

    The very first one to throw the Di¨¢voloi on the ice would be Garp.

    He had truly shown the younger generation in this fight his true prowess.

    The man pulled back no stops and delivered Haki-covered punches that threw the massive from of the di¨¢voloi hundreds of meters away. And it would be left dazed for a while¡­

    This was something even the golden Buddha Sengoku failed to do.

    Though he also played his own role. And Sengoku by no means was ''weak''.

    Each person had their own points where they shined.

    Sengoku was dealing more damage internally using his shockwaves...

    And while Robin and Stella were restraining the rest of the di¨¢voloi, the rest attacked as one.

    Akemi and Bert also shined in this fight, since using their lightning, proved to hurt them more than any attack.

    But since theirs was weaker than Ian, they had to target injured areas.

    These injured areas were made by Aokiji and Don. One with ice spikes that were rotating which made them sharp enough to hurt them. And Don with his high pressurized water beams.

    Then the finisher would come from Elene who would not waste the opportunity.

    She had a strong ability. The very same she beat big mom with. However, she was not strong yet to use it consecutively.

    But that is if she included a large area in her attack.

    As such so that she would not be out of the fight, she started to target only the chest area of the fallen di¨¢voloi who would be trying to escape and get up, only to be restrained by Aokiji into the ground and frozen.

    Then dark fog would surround its chest for a few seconds before it clears up and a void would be present there.

    This would leave Elene winded up and she would need a bit of time to recuperate and gather herself.

    Meanwhile, the rest would continue on with the next di¨¢voloi and by the time they bring it down as they did before, Elene would have recovered.

    And just like that they had moved on through their numbers and killed them all.

    This strategy was made by Sengoku right after he asked what everyone''s strongest attack was.

    And the man truly deserved his title of a master of tactics.

    Under his leadership, all of the di¨¢voloi were now dead. And they were still not winded enough to stop fighting. As such at the end of their fight, they all had decided to join Ian and co.

    ****

    With the addition of their allies joining Ian and co started to deal even more damage.

    But even with all the damage this di¨¢voloi sustained, it was still standing strong and dealing its own attacks.

    These attacks however would not hit anyone. Courtesy of Elene.

    She had moved back a huge distance away and focused on teleporting any person who came close to getting hit. This was the role she took in this fight.

    Sanji, Reiju, and Don thankfully stayed back this time on the ship along with the little girl Libell. They were not yet at the level of participating in such a fight with this magnitude.

    This left Bert, Akemi, Aokiji, Elene, Stella, Robin, Ian, Dragon, Garp, Whitebeard, Kaido, and the winged-lion.

    This lineup was soon enough able to tire out the di¨¢voloi.

    Robin, Stella, Aokiji served as restrainers. They kept holding the di¨¢voloi still for attacks to hit it.

    Bert, Akemi, Ian, Kaido, Dragon, and the winged lion dealt huge elemental attacks since they were the most effective.

    Bert and Akemi combined their attacks dealing arcs of lightning at the di¨¢voloi.

    Ian was using huge lightning beams to straight-up take an arm or leg from the di¨¢voloi¡­ His attacks in terms of power came second only to the winged-lion who was a being that reached the fourth stage¡­

    Kaido and the winged lion dealt fire breaths that burned it in various areas. Dragon dealt lighting attacks that while not as strong as Ian, were quite strong themselves. He also dealt wind attacks that resulted in various cuts on it.

    Meanwhile, Garp, Whitebeard, and Sengoku got close with it, since this time it was restrained, and then they started dealing attacks of their own that hurt it internally.

    But all this would soon be regenerated. And the di¨¢voloi would once again start to attack.

    And this manner the fight kept going on for five more hours when the di¨¢voloi could no longer regenerate and everyone dealt the last attacks before finally it was killed.

    It took four hours for Elene and co to take care of the regular Di¨¢voloi.

    And then when they all joined up, it took them another five to beat the boss.

    So all in all their fight today lasted a whole nine hours to finish it completely. So it was only natural when everyone just straight up laid down on the ground to finally rest up from this tiring event.

 Chapter 204 - A scheduled fight!

    Everyone after the fight was somehow injured. As such they just relaxed around.

    "We have not fought for a while, so this was exciting for a change." Whitebeard all of a sudden said as he laughed loudly.

    Some agreed with nods of their heads¡­ like Garp, Don¡­

    "Yes, this was some good serious workout for my old bones." Garp sighed in bliss as he rotated his right shoulder arm.

    "Indeed. Our bones almost rusted from doing nothing, haha" Whitebeard laughed along with Garp.

    But some disagreed¡­ and the most vocal one was of course Sengoku¡­

    "Exciting you say? We almost died you stupid old bastards!" Sengoku yelled at him furiously.

    "You die? We would all die before you do, that''s for sure." Whitebeard snorted back at him.

    If anyone was completely safe from dying today, he would definitely be Sengoku. The man was known for his strategies after all.

    "What the hell does that mean?"

    Sengoku almost growled at the old man and seeing that he didn''t reply again before he decided to just ignore him all together.

    Elene and co were giggling and laughing as they saw this. Even the most uptight among them, being Aokiji and Dragon, cracked a small smile.

    Sanji the poor guy was being consoled by his sister for some reason¡­

    "He said workout¡­ that was a workout?" Sanji kept muttering the same word again and again.

    Meanwhile, Reiju, while struggling to hold her laugh, was consoling him.

    "Don''t worry, maybe in another 100 years you would start to think of these small fights as a simple workout," Reiju told him.

    Sanji brightened as he heard her.

    "You are right, even I can reach such a level¡­ wait¡­ did you say in a hundred years? What the hell do you mean by that, Reiju? Are you saying I can''t do it, are you calling me weak?" Sanji was excited at first before it clicked for him that she was just playing a joke on him.

    He almost wanted to cry as he heard her.

    While the rest burst out laughing at him in unison.

    ****

    Kaido having fought with them all, thought that it was enough waiting already so he came closer to them, in his mind, he was preparing to ask why they had all gathered so close to Wano. He didn''t forget about the gathering of all the strong people here.

    But seeing him come closer, Ian moved to meet him halfway there.

    When they reached close enough, Kaido started to speak.

    "You are that new rookie, right? Why have you all gathered here?" Kaido went straight to the point of the matter.

    Normally he would have dismissed Ian and went to talk directly with Garp.

    Out of all of them here, he was the one he respected the most¡­ after all he and Roger had directly taken his old crew apart.

    But now¡­ he had seen Ian''s power with his own eyes.

    Not to mention the feeling of strength he was projecting¡­ this was as strong as his old captain¡­

    And it took the combined strength of Garp and Roger in their prime, to take him down¡­

    Meanwhile, they watched from the sides while fighting the crew of Roger¡­

    But Kaido was excited¡­ why?

    It is because he has a very positive outlook on death. He thinks it''s the moment when one gains true glory.

    And although Kaido knew clearly that Ian was stronger, and this may result in his death, he didn''t mind. He wanted to die fighting even way before, and if this was the time, then he wouldn''t mind.

    "They¡­" Ian started to say as his eyes wandered from Kaido to the people in question who were all ignoring them and relaxing on the ground¡­ in fact, he could see that whitebeard had brought a bottle of sake and was already drinking along with Sengoku and Garp¡­

    He shook his head and turned to look back at Kaido.

    "They came to help me against that devil you saw. Originally only I and my crew were coming towards Wano." Ian explained to him. He didn''t mind having this conversation.

    Kaido raised his brow.

    So only he was coming here? For what reason?

    These were the questions going on in his mind.

    "And what business do you have with me? Have you come to do the same as with big mom? I''ll have you know that I will not go down without a fight, even if you all come at me at once!" Kaido questioned as he declared his stance while putting his Kanabo on his shoulder.

    His eyes were narrowed and he was ready to fight at any second. He had of course already read the news about what happened to big mom. He didn''t think that detestable woman would die just like that¡­

    But Ian just laughed.

    "Relax, they all are going to go back. And there would be no fight this day. It is best to have the fight when we are both at our top condition¡­" He said in reply.

    Ian was somewhat surprised at how civil Kaido was acting. He didn''t think was capable of having a normal conversation. Much less talk like this calmly.

    But in truth, Kaido although unreasonable most of the time, he was not above acknowledging true strength. And Ian deserved his respect.

    The reason Ian said there would be no fight, was because both of them were exhausted.

    If they were going to fight, it was best to do so when they had their full strength. They had fought for nine hours after all.

    Kaido frowned at Ian.

    Deep down he wanted to fight Ian after seeing his strength, he didn''t care that they were currently tried or anything.

    But Ian continued on to say.

    "Just go back for now. At any rate, I will be coming to Wano soon, and I''ll challenge you for a fight but it would be made public for the whole of Wano. After all, I did not come here to sightsee or play¡­ My goal is to free Wano from under your rule. So later on, you''ll have the fight you want." Ian told him.

    He directly announced his intentions. There was no need to hide anything. He knew the character of Kaido.

    Ian also didn''t mind having this fight right now¡­ but it was not just his battle. It was originally related to the samurais as such Ian couldn''t be selfish on this.

    Kaido snorted and didn''t reply back to Ian. Instead, he directly turned back to his dragon form and flew to the sky.

    "ROAAARR"

    Shortly after he released a huge fire breath at the sky before he gave Ian a look.

    "At that time I''ll show you your place brat!" He stated before he started to fly away. He knew that it was better to have their fight when they were both healed, while he might not show it, he was quite tired and injured after the fight against the di¨¢voloi.

    Ian knew that this was his way of saying I accept.

    Ian laughed for a bit. He knew that Kaido was stronger than he thought before, but it still didn''t change the fact that he was going to lose¡­

    The only thing that changed was that Ian wanted to acquire whatever it was that made Kaido this special.

    All of them there were injured from their fights. Both internally and externally.

    But for Kaido, the only damage he had was internal.

    His defense was something beyond normal understanding.

    So he wanted the same. And he would get it after his fight.

    Elene had already given him a glass bottle of big mom''s DNA. And if he got Kaido along with that, then he would have the strongest defense possible¡­

    Ian sighed before he turned to look in a certain direction nearby.

    Where the huge winged-lion was resting.

    Feeling Ian''s gaze the lion turned to look at him before it told him to come closer.

    Ian started to walk towards it. It was time he got some answers out of these mysterious beings.

 Chapter 205 - The Empyreans Kings!

    The sun peeked over the distant hills as the odyssey is seen gliding over the sea, calmly and steadily advancing through it to reach its destination in the fastest way possible.

    On the deck of the marvelous ship, Ian could be seen sitting on a chair. Gusts of winds blowing his hair backward as he enjoyed the morning breeze.

    On his lap sat one slender young woman with black hair. Right now she was wearing a slightly longer t-shirt that belonged to Ian, along with small shorts.

    He had his arms dr.a.p.ed around her and he laid his head on her shoulder, while she leaned on his back and enjoyed his warmth in this cold morning.

    The both of them had woken up before the rest.

    Bert was usually the first to wake up, but since he didn''t Ian didn''t bother waking him up. As for the rest, they were always quite lazy so it was nothing new.

    Elene had been sleeping with Ian and Robin in their shared room, but when they woke up and saw her lazily sprawled on the bed, they smiled and left her asleep.

    And since they were early they decided to just enjoy each other''s company before the rest woke up.

    Today was the following day after Ian and co had fought the Di¨¢voloi. As such everyone was a bit tired, and they deserved their rest.

    Ian had gotten some answers from the winged-Lion, and afterward, they enjoyed their time for a while as they partied before Ian proceeded to send everyone back to their place.

    He then proceeded to continued sailing to Wano. After all, he was on a schedule to beat an overgrown lizard.

    This was where Ian''s future knowledge would end. He only watched a bit after the arc of big mom. So while he knew a bit about the Wano happenings, he was not sure that even those bits would get fulfilled. After all, he had changed so many things. The most glaring of all is the death of big mom.

    Ian moved his gaze towards Robin as he decided to ask her something.

    "What do you think about what Ariel had said?" Ian asked. Curiosity for her opinion apparent in his eyes and tone.

    As to what Ian was talking about?

    It was what the huge winged-lion had spoken about to Ian.

    ****Flashback****

    Ian had come near the beast and the very first thing he did was thank him.

    He knew he was male. He also knew by now that all these mysterious beings communicated via telepathy with anyone they wanted to.

    "Thank you for your help this time. May I know your name?" Ian asked politely.

    The winged-lion replied shortly after on.

    "I have been called by the supreme one since ages ago by the calling, Ariel. As for thanks, there is no need for such a thing, my lord orders and I obey." He looked deeply at Ian as he said this. His voice majestic and at the same time full of reverence for this supreme one.

    His words directly confirmed Ian''s earlier guess. About the mysterious voice helping him.

    As he thought it turned out that he was the one leading these beings.

    Ian knew that any questions about the war in the void century would not be answered and he already understood that they would be once he reaches the last island of this world. Quite possibly by this very same ''supreme one''.

    But he had some questions that maybe can be answered right now.

    One of them was: Zunesha, Kurma, and now Ariel¡­

    Were they an old race that went into hiding due to the war?

    Ian made this thought know as he asked.

    "Who are you? Zunesha, Kurma, and now you. Just who are you? Are you like the sea kings?" Ian asked.

    And he was met by a nod.

    "Indeed, they are our distant brethren. But we go by a different name. Since the dawn of time, we served our Lord, the ruler of the skies, and thus we earned the title: The Empyreans Kings." Ariel explained to him.

    Empyreans Kings. Such a royal-sounding name.

    Ian was excited at this.

    Forget about what he knew about this world from before. Right now he could confidently say this world was definitely different.

    For one, there was no such thing as an Empyrean King¡­ nor any di¨¢volois¡­

    This led Ian to ask another question.

    "The war that happened in the void century¡­ did you fight in it against the di¨¢volois?" Ian directly asked.

    This was already indirectly confirmed by Zunesha back then. He had said that a war was fought and due to cowardice he had not joined. The time that happened is the same as the date of the void century.

    However, Zunesha had said not to ask who the war was fought against¡­ but who could it be other than the di¨¢volois?

    Ariel took a few seconds to think before he replied.

    "Indeed we had fought against the invaders. Though we were not the only ones¡­" Ariel confirmed for him.

    ''Invaders?'' Ian thought.

    But he didn''t allow Ian to ask anything more.

    "I was allowed to say this much to you Ian Louis, but you will have to find the rest yourselves. Judging by your current whereabouts¡­ I''d say you are much closer to reaching the end of your journey, as such do not be hasty and take your time. We will be meeting again sooner than you think¡­" Ariel spoke up.

    And Ian knew that he would not be getting any more answers.

    And while it may not look like much, Ian had gotten answers he had been only guessing about.

    He now knew by what name he should call these beings. He also knew that they are a race that existed a long time ago. Possibly even before humans.

    Another thing was that it was confirmed for him that these Empyreans had fought against the di¨¢volois. Meaning both sides were huge in numbers¡­ The di¨¢volois were also called invaders¡­

    And also that the leader of the Empyreans king was the skies ruler.

    And if there was a sky ruler, who rules over them, then for their supposed brethren the sea kings, there should also be a sea ruler right?

    Ian had gotten many questions answered this time so he was satisfied.

    ****

    Robin looked at Ian from the side.

    She had been told by him about everything Ariel had said.

    And in all her journey to get answers about the void century, this was the closest she had gotten.

    She now knew about two parts who fought in the Great War that happened in the great century. From here many conclusions could be reached.

    "Most likely the great kingdom allied with these Empyreans and sea kings. And somehow the twenty kingdoms of the world government had joined with the di¨¢volois. And that would explain why Im, a di¨¢voloi, is leading them." She told him as she snuggled into his arms.

    Ian gave a nod, this was the same conclusion he had reached.

    He would also have to reevaluate the threat of the di¨¢volois¡­

    If there was both a sky ruler and a sea one with armies on their side, but they still lost in the war then perhaps Im''s ancestor or she herself, are much stronger than he thought¡­

    And Ian was leaning more to thinking that this was the same Im and not a descendant¡­ not to mention the ancient weapons who the great kingdom had, but still, they lost¡­

    Robin did tell Ian in the past that she knew where Pluton was, but Ian told her that they didn''t need it. But if they did in the future she could lead them, and she agreed. She knew Ian well enough to trust him with this.

    Ian leaned in and kissed Robin on her cheeks.

    Before he let her go and started to get up.

    "I think I should go cook something for us and Elene," Ian said.

    And Robin nodded as she also got up to follow him. She enjoys watching him cook.

 Chapter 206 - Oâ€™Tama

    When Ian met with Ariel, he didn''t get just his questions answered¡­ no he got his hands on something more.

    Similar to that time with Kurma, and that lizard in the Florian Triangle, he got some sort of crystalized power source that helps him become stronger.

    Ian was already at the peak of the third stage, but even after he woke up and felt the increase in strength he knew he didn''t reach the fourth stage. He had only gotten closer to it¡­

    But the most important things he had gotten from this were two things very crucial to him.

    Ariel had stressed that before he had gifted them to Ian.

    Ian was on the deck of the ship currently. In his hands, a golden flame danced as he looked at it intently.

    This was the gift he received from Ariel. He had told him that any type of fire would be extremely harmful against the di¨¢voloi. And since Ian already had lightning, Ariel suggested combining the two of the attacks for a better effect.

    His control over the flames came naturally to him. But he was still not at a point where he could combine it with lightning. Whenever he did that, it would explode in his hands.

    And from that explosion, Ian knew that if he succeeded at this, his attacks using it would become the strongest move he could deliver.

    The other gift was a spear, a double-headed spear more precisely. This weapon was stronger and sharper than any weapon Ian had seen so far. Just thinking about it was making him giddy again.

    Ariel mentioned that the spear was gifted to him by the supreme one. Which Ian presumed was his leader and the mysterious voice.

    (A/N: The same spear on the cover of the story)

    Right now Ian was heading out with his crew to Wano. They had just reached the point where they would have to sail upwards of the waterfall.

    Which while impressive in the anime, was even more so in reality.

    Ian turned to the side and saw his whole crew on the deck.

    The giant Fishmen, Don, started to speak.

    "So this is the land of Wano?" he asked in wonderment. He had never been here.

    Ian nodded at him.

    "Yeah, but we still have to go up this waterfall to reach it." He said.

    When they had their fight against the di¨¢voloi, he had already called the rest who were in Wano and told them about his deal with Kaido. Law specifically said that he can do something with that and so he started to change his plans.

    Don gave Ian a nod as he suggested.

    "Should I go down there and pull it upward?" He asked. He certainly had the strength to do that. Especially after Ian''s help, and his increase in power.

    Ian was about to suggest flying the ship since he already told Kin''emon that he would locate them once he is in Wano and come to them on his own.

    But someone beat him to it¡­

    It was the little girl who was floating near Robin''s head.

    She manipulated her ability, and then many huge shadowy arms expanded from the front of the ship and latched on to many of the Koi fish who had started to jump through the waterfall.

    Since everyone there was pretty strong, they didn''t have any trouble staying steady, in fact, most of them found this exciting.

    Including Ian who only smiled as he brought Libell''s into his arms and started to ruffle her hair as he laughed.

    "Big brother, stawp¡­" Libell squirmed a bit in his arms before she gave up and just nestled into his arms¡­ it was not that she hated it anyway¡­

    "Well, looks like we will be sailing upwards with the help of these Koi fish then," Ian exclaimed.

    ****

    When Ian and co finally reached the land of Wano, they ended up on the shore as they all jumped down from the ship.

    The ship was then stored, before Ian could do anything else, a commotion was heard nearby and Ian was surprised for a bit.

    A giant Baboon and a lion-dog were fighting out nearby.

    Soon enough though as the lion-dog was barking, Ian''s eyes glowed red.

    Then he moved on all of a sudden and vanished.

    The next thing that happened was him showing up where he previously was. Only this time he had a sack in his hands which he put on the ground gently.

    Squirming could be seen in the sack before finally, a little girl came out.

    The first thing she did was yell.

    "Please let me go, I didn''t do anything!"

    This left them all perplexed.

    Except for Ian and Elene.

    They had watched the anime and had reached this point.

    Tama then took a look at her surroundings and landed on Ian. She hurried to warn him about the two beast pirates that were following her, but when she turned around to look at them she saw them fallen on the ground unconscious along with their steeds.

    Only then did she turn to look at everybody surrounding her.

    She started to panic and shiver in fear when she noticed them all looking at her. Her eyes watered up as she raised her arms in surrender. That''s all she could do in this situation.

    There were some big guys among them after all. Don¡­ Aokiji¡­ Bert¡­ and even Ian himself.

    But Ian smiled at her as he spoke gently.

    "Don''t worry, we won''t hurt you. In fact, I was the one who saved you from those bad guys just now." Ian told her as he kept eye contact with her. Though he didn''t move from his place and only lowered his body so that he was closer to her height.

    Earlier, he had seen the future vision where they attacked him using rifles, and so he sprang into action and knocked them out, and then he took the sack where she was held. There was no need for any further drama.

    "R-Really?" She asks timidly. Hope reflected in her clear violet eyes.

    Ian assures her with another nod. The gentle smile never leaving his face.

    But then all of a sudden the giant Baboon which was fighting nearby saw the two fallen beast pirates and picked up a nearby sword and attempted to attack Ian.

    But it was met by glare from him that made it stop in place in cold sweat.

    That''s all that Ian did. He just glared at it. But the beast felt that if it had moved another cm it would definitely die. Its instincts were warning it of this.

    It let go of the sword and gently sat on the ground as it surrendered to Ian immediately. Soon after the lion-dog also came and sat near it. Its tail wagging from happiness.

    Tama who was still nervous a bit took this chance and run at the Baboon before pinching her cheeks and creating a Dango ball.

    "Kibi Dango!" She said as she held the Dango ball in her hands.

    This shocked them there. They have never seen anything like that.

    Meanwhile, Tama went near the Baboon and gave him the Dango to eat. A smile on her face.

    But as expected, the beast instead roared at her and was about to hit her as she panicked and yelled. Before she runs and hid on Ian''s back.

    But Ian decided it was enough of a laugh and glared at the beast.

    "Don''t worry he won''t hurt you. Go ahead and give it to him again." He said as he calmed her down and patted her head.

    She looked between him and the Baboon again before taking a brave step and launching the Dango at its mouth.

    The beast seeing Ian''s glare had no choice but to open its mouth wide and swallow it down.

    Seeing that Tama finally smiled and was convinced that Ian was not a bad guy.

    "I did it. I finally tamed the savage wild Baboon of the mountains, big brother! Yay!" She yelled at the sky with her arms raised in happiness.

    Ian smiled at her along with the rest.

    She then remembered to introduce herself and she hurried to speak.

    "That''s right, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Otama!" She said.

    And so everyone started to introduce themselves to this beautiful eight years old girl.

 Chapter 207 - Run!

    (A/N: Hey guys! To help you better visualize the di¨¢voloi and Ariel the Winged-Lion, I have added their pics into paragraph comments on their relative sections in past chapters. But for those lazy to go back, you can check the paragraph comment of this A/N. Or head out to Discord''s picture channel. On another note, an embarrassing one, I have gone back to Robin''s ''intimate'' chapter (ch 87) and changed things up a bit and added almost 500 words¡­ *Cough* She now still has her V-Card *Cough* so give it a reread if you''d like.)

    ****

    Right now Ian was watching over Tama as she slept. They were sitting atop the lion-dog as they run across a wasteland. The rest were keeping up on foot as the lion was just walking.

    Earlier the poor girl invited them to her house. Which was situated in a bamboo forest. The house was quite¡­ modest. And Ian and co felt sad for the little girl.

    She was a bit down at first since she didn''t have much food to cook even for one person, much less all of them. But Bert being the kind of guy he is, took it upon himself and cooked them all some delicious food that Ian brought from the ring. After all, Ian always makes sure to stock as much as he can.

    The nine-year-old girl cried and smiled at the same time as she filled her stomach with all the food she can. Probably thinking that she was not going to get another chance like this.

    Ian at that time shared a look with guys and girls.

    To make someone this young starve for food¡­ this was real cruelty.

    But Ian knew this was not Kaido''s doing. Kaido was cruel true, but he only cared about the results.

    This was the result of Orochi.

    And Ian decided to let his very pissed-off crew to ''take'' care of him. While he would make sure Tama, and any other starving person in Wano, would be taken care of before he leaves.

    After that Ian convinced the little girl to come with him. He even invited her master who joined them at one point. But he refused stating he has a reason why he doesn''t want to leave. Ian didn''t know what but he left him be.

    Tama herself didn''t want to go with Ian. She stated that she had a promise with Ace.

    But Ian assured her that he would call him and let her talk with him later so she agreed in the end.

    Right now Ian was heading in the direction of a large aura he sense earlier when he used Observation Haki.

    He didn''t bother finishing out his whole range, but just casually using it he was able to span the whole wasteland.

    Soon after he finally saw the person he had sensed.

    This person was standing there drinking from a sake gourd bottle. Near him stood a woman.

    This was Zoro and he had just saved the woman unintentionally.

    Zoro as if he sensed a dangerous enemy he threw the bottle aside and put his hands on his swords in preparation to engage in battle.

    But after a while of looking, he saw that they were just Ian''s crew with a few newer additions.

    For one there was Reiju¡­ Aokiji¡­ Don and then a little girl he also didn''t know.

    "Hey, Zoro. What''s up? Where are the rest?" Ian was the first one to greet him as he jumped off the lion still with the little girl coiled around him like a koala.

    But now she was awake.

    Both men shook hands as they smiled.

    Zoro had earlier kind of f.u.c.k.i.e.d up the original plan, which was to lay low until everyone was assembled in Wano.

    He somehow became a wanted man¡­

    So seeing these guys now he could relax. He knew that they were the last edition that they were waiting for.

    Zoro''s eyesight moved to the newest additions in the crew.

    Ian seeing this explained.

    "They are the newest members of the crew. First, the big guy is Don, next to him Kuzan, and then Sanji''s sister Reiju. The little girl is someone we picked up in Wano just earlier. Her name is Tama." Ian said introducing his crewmates in pride.

    And said guys gave nods. Feeling proud themselves.

    Zoro knew Aokiji from beforehand¡­ they had met after all but he didn''t have anything against the guys so he just nodded as a greeting to them. While thinking about who the pink head was.

    ''The love cook''s sister?''

    But then he saw Sanji next to her. And he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

    The sake started to taste bad in his mouth¡­

    Sanji who heard that glared at him.

    "Oy! What''s your deal you stupid moss-head?" Sanji yelled as he came running at him and started their usual scuffle.

    Zoro snorted as he spoke.

    "Nothing. Just that seeing you again dumb love-cook, made the sake taste bad." Zoro replied.

    "What the hell! In the first place, what are you even doing here? Wasn''t the plan to lay low?" Sanji replied.

    Zoro somewhat panicked but he calmly replied after a second.

    "There were some complications¡­" he said.

    "Complications? Don''t you mean you just got lost?" Sanji found his weak point and decided to attack.

    But even though Zoro sweatdropped at that, he still shook his head.

    "I was framed for something¡­ and now I''m a wanted man¡­" he whispered while annoyed. His head was averted to the side as he scratched his head.

    The rest laughed at this.

    But Sanji was the loudest of them all.

    "Hahahaha as expected from you moss head." Sanji laughed as he ridiculed him.

    But then Zoro reached for his sword and prepared to cut him down.

    When the woman Zoro saved interrupted and proposed to repay him by serving him tea at her shop.

    "Please let me repay you. Your friends can join you if you like." She said as she bowed.

    But Zoro looked at Ian.

    Ian nodded back at him.

    "Let''s go. The rest are near there anyway¡­" He said.

    He then turned to look at the side for a few seconds¡­

    Elene saw this and decided to ask him what''s wrong as she took tama from his hands and hugged her.

    "What''s wrong Ian?" she asked.

    Ian smiled at her as he said.

    "Don''t worry it''s nothing¡­ just a¡­ small scared rat!"

    ****

    Meanwhile, not very far from them, a couple of pirates being led by Basil Hawkins could be seen running away on their steeds.

    Their direction? the opposite of Ian¡­

    Hawkins was a man known for keeping his emotions in check. He holds a logical, pragmatic mindset when it comes to confrontations.

    He shows no emotional response to events that would be considered outrageous to most people. Even when approached by a powerful enemy like a marine admiral, Hawkins rarely falters from his usual composure while considering his options for the situation at hand.

    But at this time he was sweating bullets as he ordered his crew to run.

    "Run! Don''t look behind!!" He yelled as he led the way.

    He didn''t look behind not even once.

    Why?

    Because earlier he tried predicting what would happen if he confronted the many auras he felt ahead of him. This is what he does usually, he calculates the outcome of every battle before starting it. And he was following after Zoro this time to catch him, but he felt a lot of auras ahead so he used his tarot cards to see his chances.

    The result was:

    Battle: Probability of defeat 100%

    Escape: 0%

    Defense: 0%

    That scared the shit out of him¡­ even against Kizaru he still stood a chance at evasion or a bit of chance at running¡­

    After all, he had his ability to evade death by using his subordinates¡­ but his tarot cards are never wrong¡­ if it said his escape and evasion perchance was zero then it was.

    Most likely if he continued on his earlier path, he would have died. He was sure since he could see an especially bright card among his cards. When he drew it¡­ it was *Death!*

    That''s why he ordered their escape¡­ what awaited them if they continued on that path was total eradication¡­ the more he runs from Ian''s direction, the more the card dimmed¡­

    This only happened to him once before¡­ against Kaido. Whom he now serves under.

 Chapter 208 - Preparation

    (A/N: I''m currently doing some small-time skips and I hope you guys don''t mind. I''m trying to finish up the story without prolonging it. Hopefully, by 250 chapters it would be done)

    The lady that led the way for Ian and co was named Tsuru. She also happened to know Tama from before.

    She had pointed them to her shop, and when they finally reached the place, she served them tea and some snacks. She didn''t comment about their numbers, nor their races, since they had fishmen and minks among them.

    She also didn''t mention the food spent on them at all, even with how small of an amount she had.

    But Ian being the kind of guy he was, made sure to replenish whatever the lady wasted on them and more. Without her knowing of course.

    When she later goes to see her stock, she would be in for a surprise.

    Ian knew that the current state of Wano was quite bad, so he didn''t want to burden this lady even more. As such he decided to help her.

    Another point was that she was in fact the wife of Kin''emon as he remembered.

    While they were drinking their tea and eating, Kiku was the one helping Tsuru.

    That was someone Ian also knew from the anime. She is one of the nine red scabbards.

    Though Ian didn''t know why she didn''t get ready just yet for the upcoming fight against Kaido¡­

    But if he knew even a bit about her from the anime, he would reckon that she was staying to help the lady Tsuru. But Ian did remark to himself about her strength, she was quite impressive.

    Just after they had been planning to leave, Tsuru began to tell them about the history of the town.

    Since they had not changed their clothing, she knew they were foreigners. As such she explained to them about the history and why many people they saw on their way were starving and impoverished.

    But while explaining there was an attack made on Tsuru, which was then blocked by Zoro.

    Bert having taken a liking to the little girl Tama, stopped the sneaking person who tried to kidnap her. Stopped as in he beat him black and blue and threw him into the sky very far away.

    Whether he would live after or not, even Ian didn''t know¡­

    The other one who attacked Tsuru was taken care of by Zoro with a flying sword attack that threw him after his friend.

    Why was he able to catch the guy off guard? Well since Ian made sure the guy was not able to move.

    ****

    This led to the current event where Law joined them as his crew informed him about Ian''s arrival.

    Since then he had been leading them towards Oden''s castle.

    And very soon after Ian and co reached the place, but not before Zoro separated from them to fight it out with some beast...

    Unlike in the original, Kin''emon had already told everyone from the straw-hats, and law, about their other secrets and them being time travelers.

    This left only Ian''s crew and Sanji as the ones who didn''t know. So this was what Kin''emon did the moment he invited them to the castle.

    Right now in the room, there was Law, Kin''emon, Momo, Kiku, and the ones that came with Ian.

    And just before Kin''emon started, Zoro rejoined them.

    After that Kin''emon started to speak.

    "In truth, the five of us- I, Momo, Kiku, Raizo, and Kanjuro the traitor- all came from the land of Wano of 20 years ago, crossing through time to the present land of Wano!!" Kin''emon said and dropped a bomb on them all of a sudden.

    Only Ian and Elene knew this. But they still tried to act surprised.

    "Is it by a devil fruit?" Ian asked quietly. His face remaining the same apart from raising his eyebrows.

    Kin''emon gave a nod.

    Robin muttered to herself.

    "So there was such a miraculous devil fruit¡­"

    Meanwhile, the rest decided to wait for more details.

    Kin''emon then proceeded to explain to them the history of how that happened.

    But at one point Ian just stopped him.

    "I don''t need to know about this Kin''emon. I already know about Oden¡­ the old man Whitebeard did tell me about him many times¡­ As such, I''ll step outside for a bit." Ian said.

    Kin''emon gave him a nod.

    He then got up to leave.

    Leaving the rest to listen to Kin''emon.

    Ian stood closer to Law as he was near the broken door.

    Ian asked him then.

    "So what''s going on now?" Ian said.

    Law brought his eyesight from Kin''emon to Ian, he already heard what was being said.

    After all, Kin''emon was only repeating this since he felt he had to do it in person since they were his allies.

    "Everyone is ready. A message was spread among the samurais that would be joining us. We will all meet and head out to attack Kaido in Onigashima! I also made sure to spread the message about you fighting Kaido with the stacks of Kaido and Orochi stepping out of Wano as rulers¡­ this has led to Orochi rebelling out and for Kaido to kill him¡­ but by now everyone knows that Kaido and his beast pirates along with everyone that was under Orochi are going to fight a war against you¡­" Law casually stated.

    Ian raised a brow¡­

    He didn''t know about this from the anime. He never reached this far, but he decided to just accept it.

    "So one enemy was already dealt with? And how could I lead a war against an army?" Ian asked what he felt was important.

    Law nodded for the first question.

    "The news spread also happened to mention that you are a person on the same level as Kaido¡­ so it was assumed you had an army too¡­" law spoke up.

    Ian laughed at this a bit.

    "Such a nice plan you had." Ian shook his head.

    "What about swords for the samurais?" Ian asked next. This was important since this was a war and weapons were needed.

    "Zoro in his search for his sword that was taken by someone happened to find plenty for us¡­ Along with Momo''s sister, Hiyori¡­" law said and left it at that.

    And Ian didn''t ask any more about this. Since Law said the swords were enough then it was definitely enough. As for Momo''s sister, well that was a good thing.

    "How did that happen?" Ian asked.

    Law replied.

    "She was ordered to die by Orochi, but Zoro saved her¡­ he also got a sword from her, in return for another he owned¡­ The sword, Enma, is said to belong to Oden. And that it managed to wound Kaido once in the past¡­" law explained. There was a bit of admiration in his tone for the sword.

    Ian did in fact notice that one of Zoro''s swords was quite strange earlier...

    ''So it was a new one he got? Interesting.'' Ian thought.

    Law then continued on.

    "A huge number of allies have also been recruited in the form of prisoners from Udon under Kawamatsu who is a red scabbard... And we also got a recording of Orochi boasting about how they framed Oden and manipulated him by Nami¡­ just like you requested¡­" Law told Ian.

    "However¡­ even so, we still remain outnumbered. We are just a bit more than 4000 persons as opposed to Kaido''s troops reaching near 30,000!" Law concluded his report to Ian of everything that they did so far.

    "What about the sh.i.p.s?" Ian asked.

    "It was taken care of by Franky. Right now all that is left is for us to follow after our allies for the raid against Onigashima! The meeting place was already decided, and only we are left." Law replied.

    Ian gave a nod.

    It appeared that everything was ready for the final battle.

    Somehow Ian knew that this upcoming battle was in no way going to be as easy as he first anticipated. But it did not scare him or anything. Rather Ian was even more excited about this.

    He looked at the sky and grinned.

    ''I can''t wait for everything to start¡­''

 Chapter 209 - Greetings between Emperors!

    Ian and co were debriefed on all the happenings so far in the land of Wano. And just like Ian had guessed, trouble was ahead of them.

    However, Kin''emon told Ian that tomorrow was the day for the attack since he was here now, so Ian still had to wait a bit for the fight.

    And so just like that the next day came. And when they were all ready to start sailing¡­

    Right now Ian and co, joined the rest at the port from which they were going to start their raid.

    Ian looked at his crew¡­

    "You guys are quite strong so I won''t have to worry about you¡­" Ian said to them.

    And seeing them nod he continued.

    "Still you better stay safe, you hear?" Ian glared at his crewmates as he lectured them. He didn''t want any of them to get hurt. And although he knew they were strong, there was a chance the di¨¢voloi could be hiding in Wano and would join Kaido''s side¡­

    They all gave nods. Their expressions were serious.

    Ian then got his playful smile back on his face. He knew that not many could hurt any of them in this war, so he was just reminding them to be careful.

    "Well if there is no huge danger, you can have some fun fighting¡­" He said with a smile.

    And they also smiled back at him.

    Following after which they were joined by another one thousand samurais, making their total more than 5000. These people were also prisoners who had been added to their side by Denjiro, one of the nine red scabbards, who had been hiding under the name Kyoshiro and bidding his time until the Kozuki family allies returned.

    He had his reunion with the others before he explained that he helped free the prisoners so that they can help them. Originally most of them had been Kozuki family supporters or those that opposed Orochi.

    All of a sudden however someone came to report to Law just when they were about to sail. Some of their people on Onigashima had said that Kaido was hosting a party in celebration of an alliance he had with someone new.

    This alliance was loudly proclaimed to be for the both of them to rule the world¡­

    And so far they still didn''t identify who this guy is apart from him being a male. But Ian knew that this guy would be quite strong since Kaido accepted to be allied with him.

    And this was confirmed once he used his Observation Haki.

    Two huge auras were detected by him in Onigashima. It was a good thing that they didn''t bother hiding their presence since using Observation Haki on such a scale would mean anyone actively hiding would be hard to detect.

    This newest piece of news spread around so fast, but Ian was surprised when no one backed off from this.

    But it was only natural after he thought about this for a bit. They had been oppressed for so long, nothing was going to stand in their way on their road for revenge. And for making their land free once more.

    ''Now that I think about it, it feels natural.'' Ian thought to himself as he saw Kin''emon step out in front of his fellow scabbards on their ship.

    He then proceeded to say.

    "Whether they get one more ally or two, nothing will stop us today from getting rid of Kaido once and for all!!" Kin''emon yelled in an effort to rally the troops.

    "LET''S FREE WANO!"

    "OUHH!!" They all yelled back.

    Following after this, they suddenly started to sail towards Onigashima.

    Ian himself was on the Odyssey, he and his crew were donning kimonos and yukatas. They were going on their own ship while joining the rest of the sh.i.p.s.

    But very soon his ship overtook all the others and started to lead the charge from the front.

    Ian had a grin on his face as he looked forward.

    ****

    Kaido on the other side in Onigashima had his whole army ready for a fight anytime soon. Since he had joined Ian in his fight against that devil he had been ready for the fight¡­

    While they were partying right now, they were not heavily consuming drinks as ordered by him.

    He had already told his newest ally about Ian and also about the Kozuki family leading the assault.

    The only thing this person said was¡­

    "Well, then it''s a good chance to prove the power of my mutated army, no? Jihahahaha" the person proceeded to laugh.

    With Kaido soon joining him with his own unique laughter.

    They were still laughing when all of a sudden they felt a presence in their range of Haki¡­

    Ian had finally reached Onigashima.

    Kaido furrowed his brows while his fellow ally grinned at him.

    "Now I understand why you said he is dangerous¡­ This guy''s Haki is ridiculous¡­" he muttered.

    Kaido didn''t wait anymore as he threw his sake bottle and then transformed into a dragon and proceeded to penetrate through the skull dome where his castle was and then he roared through the sky.

    "CHARGE ON!" He yelled at his army to start the attack.

    ****

    Ian seeing Kaido atop Onigashima''s skull dome grinned. They had just reached Onigashima after a while of sailing.

    He also saw the second person he had sensed earlier¡­ (Check paragraph comment for the pic)

    He was a massive pirate dressed in traditional Japanese clothes consisting of an orange trimmed, red and a black kimono robe tied together with a dark green sash, and a golden chain around his waist; he also wears a yellow striped tattered haori coat dr.a.p.ed over his shoulders. He has golden mane-like hair, reaching down to the ground, and on the top of his head is part of a steering wheel that got lodged into his head.

    As for his facial features, he sports a golden bushy tuft of hair for a beard at the bottom of his chin and a black goatee with pointed edges surrounding his mouth. His eyebrows are dark and pointed as well, and he has some purple spots on the left side of his face right around his right eye that indicates his age.

    He was casually seen smoking a cigar as floated near Kaido''s dragon form.

    This guy instead of legs has swords¡­

    Ian knew this person immediately. This was Shiki the golden lion. Or also known as the flying pirate.

    "Well, this is unexpected¡­" Ian muttered to himself.

    Though even so, his side didn''t get discouraged at all.

    Rather, seeing him their strongest ace, standing there grinning at the opposition, they felt more confident than earlier.

    Ian saw Kaido charge up his Bolo breath to attack, and Shiki also doing his own attack.

    Sounds of the ground breaking with simple movements of Shiki''s hands, reached everyone''s ears as debris started to fly upward.

    He then formed a huge lion head shape from debris and then he launched it in Ian''s direction. Following after which Kaido fired his breath which engulfed the lion''s head and then made it even more dangerous than before as it became a huge flaming lion head that could probably destroy half the army if it hit.

    Ian seeing this laughed rather than get nervous or scared.

    "Haha, so exciting! Let me return your greeting!" He then vanished in a lightning show before appearing in the sky with his spear already out and tightly gripped in his hands.

    Ian then let his newest spear soak up his Haki before he felt it was enough and swung it towards the huge flaming lion head attack¡­

    The flying sword slash was so big it nearly reached Kaido''s size. But the attack cut through the sky and reached the flaming lion head in a second. Its size not affecting its speed.

    Everyone watched with bated breaths as the flying sword slash proceeded to cut through the lion''s head and continue on towards Kaido and Shiki, who hastily dodged the attack. But since the slash was a vertical one, it managed to cut through the huge skull dome leaving a crack from the eye and upwards.

    And¡­ since Kaido''s form was much larger as he was in his dragon form, he failed to completely dodge and was hit at the very last second by a small part of the flying slash.

    This attack managed to injure him a bit in the area that was hit and left a scar.

    Kaido angrily looked at Ian.

    This guy was not pulling his punches right from the beginning.

    "You guys, leave them to me¡­" Ian told them as he reassured them of his own power.

    This was all the alliance forces needed to hear before they started to disembark and charge forward.

    "OOUUUHHHHH"

    And just like that, the war has started. With Ian taking the lead.

 Chapter 210 - Hidden enemies!

    Law was a smart man, so he had already taken into account who should fight who, in order for them to win the war effortlessly.

    He looked from his place at the top of the skull dome¡­ where Ian was having fun fighting two extremely powerful pirates that would bring terror to anyone sane enough¡­

    ''Well, we''ll only win assuming that Ian would win in his fight'' Law thought to himself.

    But everyone had so much faith in him, so he decided to take that gamble.

    On his side, if he was to take their forces into account and take the strongest among them, he would be left with the following:

    The nine red scabbards. Who are capable of actually fighting the all-stars under Kaido.

    Himself, who can act as a support to them.

    Luffy, and Zoro.

    Kid. Who can be considered on their side¡­? Well somewhat.

    And then their strongest card, Ian''s crewmates.

    These were the leaders and the strongest among them. So he made sure to give everyone their roles to do¡­ not to say that the others were weak, no everyone was skilled, he was just talking about the strongest ones among them. After all, you can''t expect Nami or Nojiko to fight against Queen or King.

    Since the enemy side was supposed to only have three all-stars, he decided to leave those for some of the nine red scabbards¡­ The newest All-star was one called Who''s who. And he replaced jack after his death.

    Meanwhile, Luffy and Zoro can deal with the Tobiroppo, who are just below the all-stars in strength. Afterward, they can join somewhere where they were needed¡­

    Kid was a wild card so he left him be.

    This left the minks, samurais, and yakuza which made the largest number of them, against Kaido''s side of the Shinushi, who are the elite Gifters, and who are responsible for leading the Waiters, Pleasures, and lower Gifters who make up the rest of the army. And then some samurais and ninjas who were under Orochi beforehand and joined Kaido.

    There are also the ''Numbers'', but he was not that worried about them, since in terms of strong people they won in skill over quantity¡­ since some of the red scabbards would be available they, along with Ian''s crew would be able to take care of the large number of their enemies.

    However, with the addition of another powerful enemy bringing along close to three thousand allies with him, brought him to a stop.

    The said mentioned people, apart from Luffy, and Kid who already started to attack decided to wait for him since he was their strategist.

    Thankfully Ian proved more adequate in detaining the two monsters up there in the sky. And by the look of things they were not in any condition to focus on them¡­

    Ian was dodging all Of Kaido''s attacks, either wind, fire, or anything thrown at him would never hit. While with Shiki, his attacks were futile since Ian''s lightning was superior to his earth-related attacks.

    Law looked at Ian''s crewmates¡­

    As if they understood his intentions, they nodded. Since they already knew what to do beforehand, and this time it just became more important.

    But Elene shook her head.

    Law looked at her.

    "What''s the matter?" He asked her.

    "We can''t follow your plans unless we deal with some new enemies that have shown up," Elene told her reason.

    "Shiki''s allies?" He questioned as the rest also paid close attention to this.

    But Elene shook her head.

    "There are a few strong enemies ''hiding'' and they are quite strong. I don''t know who they are but they don''t feel like humans. I''ll need to take Kuzan with me and deal with them!" She said with a serious look on her face.

    And since word of her defeating big mom spread around, her words this time carried a huge weight with them.

    As such everyone understood that the enemies she spoke about are quite strong. This is further proven since she wanted to take Aokiji with her.

    They also didn''t need to hear her reason for why. As otherwise, these enemies would be able to join Shiki and Kaido in taking down Ian. It was obvious so they kept silent about it.

    And if this new enemy left just either the Dragon or the flying pirate some free time for him to attack the army, they were done for¡­

    Law gave her a nod. Although she was going off their plan, he knew that it was necessary. Plus he was sure she won''t follow any orders he gives anyway if she didn''t want to. That applied to all of Ian''s crew.

    He knew that even without her ad the formal marine admiral, the rest of Ian''s crew could still possibly win this war on their own if you take Kaido and Shiki off the equation, so he was not worried¡­

    This was true even after he saw that Shiki had brought with him huge mutated animals to this fight¡­

    Law shook his head from those thoughts and started to give orders.

    ****

    Ian''s crew spread around, after sharing one look between them.

    Apart from Elene and Aokiji who started to penetrate through the army of people and headed to the castle.

    Even if you take out the strongest people on Kaido''s side, you would still be left with around 35 thousand enemies.

    And even for Ian''s crew, this would be quite tiring. They would not lose, but it would be taxing on them, and they would get injured.

    But since they had some allies in this, they felt a bit more relaxed and focused on making sure their side doesn''t suffer many losses.

    ****

    And so with Bert, Stella, Akemi, Don, Reiju, having everyone from the alliance side''s backs, the rest of the fighters like the nine scabbards and co could relax and do their part.

    Kin''emon and some of his fellow scabbards headed out towards the all-stars who were commanding their allies from the back.

    They cut through the crowd of enemies like butter, there was no mercy on their part as whenever their swords swung around, people died.

    They were not her to play, this was a death sentence being delivered by them to their enemies.

    Until they reached their targets¡­

    ****

    Luffy and Zoro, who followed after him to help him take down the Tobiroppo, finally reached their destination.

    Though this time they were just five of them since a newer replacement for their former strongest one who became an All-star has not been selected yet.

    The five seeing Luffy and Zoro heading out towards them with the intention to attack smiled in contempt.

    "Do you think you could take all of us down?" One of them laughed as he began to transform¡­

    But his transformation was stopped short with a punch to the face courtesy of Luffy.

    "You''re damn right we will!" Luffy yelled as his arm retracted back and he grabbed it with his left hand on the shoulder.

    Zoro from his side grinned as he had his hands on his swords.

    This was going to be a good fight.

    ****

    This left Law who started to see where a side needed some support and then went there. He would teleport an ally from harm''s direction, and put a beast pirate in the path of the attack¡­ and like this, his allies would be safe.

    And from then on he kept moving to any side he felt was getting overwhelmed.

    However, he did issue an order to those that were assigned, leaders.

    This order was to head up the castle and join Ian to help him fight.

    Even with Elene and Aokiji going to take care of these hidden presences, Law somewhat still had a bad hunch¡­

    He just couldn''t get past the point that this war would not be an easy one. And based on what he saw so far, it felt it was easy. So he was left to only think that there were still some strong people not shown yet, or someone strong was going to join later and tilt the winning side in the favor of the Beast pirates¡­

    ''We''ll just have to wait and see¡­'' he thought to himself.

 Chapter 211 - Having fun

    While everyone got into their own fights, Ian was having the time of his life.

    Since a while ago he had been fighting with the legendary Golden lion Shiki AND Kaido.

    Ian had to give it to the older man, he was definitely much closer to what he felt from Kaido¡­ Why would Ian say that?

    Because he was here fighting them, and that was what he felt. In terms of Haki, Shiki definitely had more, but Ian guessed Kaido would still win a fight between them.

    Ian didn''t know much about this old man apart from him being able to fly and that he has a flying ship, or rather an island ship.

    There was also the part he knows about how he lost his legs and put his swords in their place instead, which is why he was now using these swords to walk around.

    In his original world, this guy was brutalized by one of the movies if Ian remembered correctly¡­ he was beaten by a pretty weak Luffy who had only used gear second pre-time-skip¡­

    Ian felt like that was an insult, thankfully he knew that movie was not cannon.

    Otherwise, such a man would have lost his legendary status to a weak-ass kid for nothing¡­

    After all, who can fight against Roger the pirate king, Garp the hero, Sengoku, and be beaten by a teen that doesn''t even know what Haki is?

    Ian shook his head from these thoughts and dodged an incoming attack from Shiki¡­

    "Brat, take this!" Shiki who was flying in the air, yelled at Ian as he twirled on his hands and started to spin and throw air blades at Ian¡­

    Soon there were several hundreds of golden flying air blades all delivered in a second to where Ian was.

    But Ian grinned rather than panic as he twirled his spear in his hands at such a speed it became an impromptu shield and managed to redirect all the air blades sideway.

    This brought a frown into Shiki''s face.

    "Tsk" He clicked his tongue in distaste. This brat had been dodging all of his attacks since a while ago, and that was with Kaido creating openings¡­ He was having a hard time accepting that even their combined effort still didn''t manage to bring down the brat¡­

    "Bolo Breath"

    Just as Shiki finished that attack, a pillar of flames came at Ian out of nowhere, but Ian was not one to be caught off-guard, He had already seen the attack way beforehand in his mind, as such he used his spear and directly cut the flaming pillar into two after which it continued into the sky in two parts.

    Attacks like this still didn''t reach the speed where his future sight would not work, so he dealt with them easily.

    As for why could he cut the flames like they were solid? Any weapon user worth his profession, would at one point be able to do such a thing¡­ after all anything can be cut!

    "While this is fun, it''s my turn to attack now!" Ian swung his spear sideways as he ''smiled'' at them.

    He then proceeded to gather a huge amount of lightning in his right hand¡­

    Soon enough he had a huge lightning ball floating on top of his palm, but he didn''t stop there no, he started to compress it until it was just a regular soccer ball size that could be held on his palm. He then proceeded to throw the said ball into the skies with such a speed that the two who were fighting him didn''t even manage to react.

    And as soon as the mass of compressed lightning reached the sky it exploded and clouds started to surround the sky above Onigashima Island as lightning started to crackle¡­

    This had them alarmed all of a sudden.

    They had felt danger even from that compressed lightning ball, but he had in fact thrown it into the sky, so they knew whatever was coming was going to be big¡­

    "Kaido!!" Shiki yelled at his ally.

    And Kaido gave him a nod.

    "I know!" Kaido replied back.

    Kaido decided then and there to revert to his human form since he knew he wouldn''t be able to dodge due to his huge form otherwise.

    Ian smirked at him as he saw that.

    "Good call," He said as he saw that.

    Kaido was angered by this but he kept his guard up for the coming attack.

    Both Shiki and Kaido noticed that whatever Ian had done was still in effect and they could feel Ian was concentrating on this attack still.

    As such both of them nodded and decided to stop Ian from completing his attack¡­

    Kaido then jumped near Ian with his kanabo swung to deliver an attack. Lightning was surrounding the weapon, a testament to its power¡­

    But all Ian did was block it as he raised his leg and stopped it at its place.

    He then jumped upwards by stepping on the weapon and did a flip before he brought his Haki coated leg on top of Kaido''s head for a destructive axe kick and threw him back to the top of the skull dome.

    Just as this happened, Ian let go of his spear that started to float near him, and he then crossed his arms and caught the two huge lion heads made from earth that came at him from both sides.

    They were so huge you can compare them to mountains and Ian wouldn''t even be visible to anyone watching from afar as he was sandwiched between them.

    But Ian caught them with ease and they couldn''t advance and crush him...

    Ian then remarked.

    "This is not the type of things I''d like to be sandwiched in between¡­"

    However Shiki''s attack didn''t end there, no he delivered a huge triple-stacked golden air blade at where Ian was ''trapped''¡­

    "Oh, you guys are trying so hard to stop me that it''s starting to get funny, haha" Ian laughed as he exerted a bit of effort and pushed the lion-heads backward which lead to them breaking in the resulting shockwave from his simple push.

    Then Ian coated both hands In Haki, then he put them one atop the other with his palms facing the incoming attack, and then actually proceeded to try and grab the air blades that came at him in the shape of two vertical air blades cut in the middle by two horizontal ones.

    The air blades were huge almost reaching Kaido''s dragon form in size¡­

    Shiki seeing this yelled from afar.

    "Are you searching for death you brat?!!" He yelled at him from afar.

    He knew his own attack, and at this time he didn''t pull any stops and loaded his air blades with his Haki.

    As someone who once fought against the likes of Roger, Whitebeard, Sengoku, and Garp, he could confidently say they would not dare catch them barehanded like Ian was doing.

    As if a testament to what he had said, the moment the air blades made contact with Ian''s hands a huge shockwave was released at the point of contact, while black lightning was surrounding Ian''s hands and the golden air blades¡­

    For a second everyone on the battlefield stopped and turned to look at the huge clash between two conqueror Haki users in the sky¡­

    The weaker people on both sides, directly lost consciousness, while the stronger ones looked on in fear¡­

    Ian having heard what Shiki said to him only grinned back as if mocking him¡­

    "As if I would die to an attack of this standard¡­" He then pushed the air blades backward with a bit more effort on his part and redirected them to the sea.

    And when they made contact the sea opened up similar to the shape of the attack and it remained like that for a few seconds before the seawater rushed back to cover the openings.

    Both Shiki, and Kaido, who was getting up from the broken ground with blood on his mouth, looked at this in complete shock.

    Meanwhile, as they were trying to come to terms with what Ian had just done, Ian himself grinned as he looked at the sky.

    "It''s ready! Haha, you better prepare yourself!"

 Chapter 212 - Infusion!

    Kaido from the ground looked up at the sky in shock. There was blood on his mouth from Ian''s earlier attack¡­

    ''W-What the hell is up with this Brat¡­" Kaido thought in shock as he looked upward.

    This thought was mirrored by Shiki who also stared at the sky in shock too¡­

    Both Kaido and Shiki were by no means weak¡­ the world knows of their feats¡­ and there was no need to prove anything in that regard¡­

    However, it was their bad luck this time that they were pitted against someone like Ian¡­

    ''Damn it all¡­'' Kaido angrily thought.

    Why was it their bad luck to be against Ian?

    It all was related to Haki. The natural power of the world that dwells in every one of its inhabitants no matter how small the amount was.

    Haki was a spiritual thing. As such it directly relates to one''s own willpower.

    For Kaido and Shiki, who had weathered the test of times, having fought in wars against the greatest of pirates and marines alike, their willpower was tempered to be unrelenting, unforgiving, and so on.

    They will not give up nor will they surrender¡­ such was their resolve. As such their Haki directly became huge in reserves, and powerful in nature.

    But¡­

    Their opponent outmatched them in that regard.

    He had his willpower tempered for two years in the void. Since he had been stuck there.

    And nothing from the one-piece world can match that.

    This lead to the amount of Haki in his body becoming huge. Like it was massive even for someone of Shiki and Kaido''s caliber.

    Kaido even estimated it to be much larger than that brat Akagami no Shanks.

    What did this mean?

    It meant that any attack of Ian, whose Haki is superior to theirs, would deal huge damage to them.

    And seeing Ian pumping such a massive amount of Haki into that lightning ball before throwing it into the sky, it screamed danger in their minds, which is why they had tried to stop the attack no matter what.

    But sadly for them, the attack came regardless of their efforts¡­

    Kaido got up from the ground.

    ''I will not give up just like that¡­'' Kaido thought to himself¡­

    He then looked at Shiki, and they shared a look of understanding¡­

    Shiki soon came near him and they both got ready.

    They will stop this attack, and then they would show the brat his place¡­

    ****

    The attack Ian did was nothing special to him.

    Rather it was just a normal attack for him. What was special was that he had used a huge amount of Haki to make it.

    Well huge for someone like Kaido and Shiki¡­ but for Ian, it was still quite regular.

    The clouds upwards parted, letting a massive dragon made of lightning peek through.

    Ian moved the huge lightning dragon through the sky for a few seconds getting a feel for the technique¡­

    Soon enough it became easy enough for Ian to control the massive lightning construct and move it.

    "Alright, let''s get to it then." Ian grinned and swung his hand at the duo of old men¡­

    The dragon then proceeded to attack Kaido and Shiki soon after.

    Almost in a second, the dragon reached its destination and it was about to make contact¡­ and obliterate them apart.

    "Shit¡­" Shiki couldn''t help but curse.

    He was the first one to act as he gathered a huge amount of earth and started to compress it to form an arc-shaped shield with both him and Kaido taking cover beyond. Not stopping there, he made sure this time that this shield contained almost all of his Haki so that it would be the strongest possible. Which made the shield look black from the outside.

    Though he didn''t dare put his everything into that, as he knew that afterward, he would be a sitting duck for Ian to play with, so he did the next best thing¡­

    But he didn''t stop just yet, as he knew that the shield alone would not stop the attack, so he continued to gather the earth and made many huge earth spears that proceeded to attack the dragon coming towards them.

    After doing all this he moved a bit behind Kaido and then started to pant heavily¡­

    "Huff¡­ It''s up to you now, my friend¡­" Shiki spoke up towards Kaido as he was quite tired¡­ not to mention he was still controlling the constructs to attack Ian and keeping the shield together¡­

    Kaido gave him a nod.

    "Leave it to me¡­"

    Beyond the arc shield, thousands of Lion-shaped earth constructs started to bombard the dragon-shaped lightning construct.

    And though the dragon''s advance didn''t stop, its size started to decrease with each successful attack made¡­

    And by the time it reached the arc-shaped shield, it had become only as large as Kaido''s dragon form.

    Which was still huge in itself.

    Once it impacted on the shield, the huge arc shield that was quite durable and would probably tank even Kaido''s strongest attacks started to break slowly as the dragon penetrated through with ease¡­

    Ian from the sky was having fun looking at this¡­

    His spear that he had let go earlier was floating nearby him leisurely as if it had a mind of its own.

    "Good, good¡­" Ian kept nodding his head as he saw his attack break the shield¡­

    Soon enough the arc shield crumbled into tiny pieces but not before succeeding in decreasing the dragon''s size¡­

    But what was left was still enough to hurt both old men and they knew it¡­

    If it touched them, they would be inconvenienced for the rest of the fight¡­ Shiki more than Kaido for obvious reasons¡­

    They would not be out, but they would be injured quite badly¡­

    Just as the dragon head continued on and was about to reach them, Kaido showed his form behind the debris of the crumbling arc shield.

    "RRRRRAAAAIIIMEEEIIII HHHHAAAAKKKkEEE"

    Kaido swung his Armament and Conquerors Haki coated Kanabo at the massive lightning dragon.

    This was why Kaido was known to be quite strong, his Haki complimented his huge physical strength, and usually, his opponents would only be able to take one attack from him and they would lose consciousness¡­

    This is due to him using Conqueror''s Haki in addition to Armament Haki in his attacks since both types of Haki increased his damage, and this added to his already monstrous physical power resulted in any person taking his attack falling unconscious¡­

    Well apart from those that were quite strong and could do the same themselves¡­ But using Conqueror Haki as you would do with Armament is not something just anyone can do, Kaido knew that only a few people in the world were capable of doing that.

    But this time, such a technique was used to guard against Ian rather than to attack¡­

    And at that single moment just like earlier between Shiki and Ian¡­ a clash of conqueror Haki started¡­

    Huge shockwaves resulted from the point where Kaido''s kanabo impacted the lightning dragon.

    Though this was just the residue left from Ian''s attack after Shiki succeeded in decreasing it¡­

    As such Kaido after struggling for a bit managed to redirect the attack into the sky with one powerful swing.

    Kaido''s form was finally clear for Ian to completely see¡­ He had his Kanabo swung at the sky while he stood there panting from the effort¡­ Purple lightning surrounded his Kanabo, signifying his Conqueror''s Haki¡­

    "Heh, that''s cool¡­" Ian remarked as he saw that. His hand is on his chin as he sat cross-legged in the sky watching everything leisurely.

    Ian had learned this advanced technique of conqueror''s Haki before. It was a technique named: Infusion. Geo had told Ian that there was only one thing left in Haki that he couldn''t help him to train in¡­ and so far Ian still didn''t know what that is¡­

    He had known beforehand that Kaido could also use this advanced form of conqueror''s Haki like him. In fact, he knew every one of those big names who had conquerors Haki could also do so¡­

    Even earlier when Ian caught and redirected those air blades of Shiki, he had clashed with his conqueror''s Haki that was infused in them¡­

    Ian got back to the thing at hand.

    He didn''t care that Kaido and Shiki managed to stop his attack, it was just a casual one after all¡­

    Plus Shiki was now tired and Kaido suffered burns from the lighting even if he succeeded in stopping it, and add to it Ian''s earlier Haki infused ax kick and Kaido was quite injured¡­ so the attack didn''t completely fail¡­

 Chapter 213 - Togen Totsuka!

    While Ian was having fun in his own fight, the rest of the allies were fighting their own important battles. (A/N: Click to check the crew''s flag)

    Among those were some that were very important.

    Nekomamushi, Inuarashi, Kin''emon took on the three all-stars from the beast pirates.

    Meanwhile, the rest of the scabbards took it upon themselves to help Ian''s crew in dealing with the large number of enemies ranging close to forty thousand.¡­

    In this way, everyone who had an important opponent to battle can focus on his fight, and not worry about someone interfering from the weaker enemies¡­

    Nekomamushi, and his fellow ruler Inuarashi, had fought a bit at the beginning with their regular forms against their opponents ''Who''s who'' and ''Queen''¡­ but as soon as they transformed to their Zoan forms, both minks also used their trump cards¡­

    And that was what was happening right now¡­

    Inuarashi and Nekomamushi had just popped their pills in, and they then transformed.

    Forget about waiting for moonlight, they could transform as soon as they much on that pill. That was how miraculous the lunar pill was.

    Ian and his crew had already supplied their whole side with the healing water or rather ''Potion'', as it can be called that now. So even after they would come out of the transformed state, they could be healed. As such both didn''t spare many thoughts before they decided to use their all.

    Both ruler''s speed, strength, stamina, agility, and Electro magnified when in this form¡­ So right now the fight became easier for them¡­

    ''I''ll take care of this mutt before I''ll go and help the others¡­'' Nekomamushi thought to himself as he eyed Who''s who¡­

    Right now Nekomamushi''s size increased and his golden fur became white, his eyes turned red while his claws became longer and more sharper, as if they were capable of cutting steel into parts easily¡­ And they were in fact capable of doing that.

    Standing against him was Who''s who in his transformed state¡­

    Who''s who had eaten an ancient Zoan devil fruit from the cat series. It was named Neko-Neko no mi, Model: Panthera Atrox. (A/N: Credits goes to Edalon for coming up with the name of the DF)

    It allowed him to transform into a huge extinct lion form that dwarfed a normal human.

    If he were to stand against a normal human in that form, it would be akin to a giant standing next to a child.

    But right now, he was in his most strongest form, the hybrid form.

    He looked somewhat similar to Nekomamushi, in the sense that they were both furry beings. But his form appeared more muscular and aggressive since it was a humanoid lion form.

    But even with all that power, he gained he was still not worthy enough¡­

    Both of them clashed with their weapons multiple times as Nekomamushi tested the waters against this new form of his enemy¡­

    Both of them used Haki on their weapons, as at this level it was a requirement if you wanted to deal any damage to your opponents¡­

    But after exchanging a couple more moves, Nekomamushi jumped a bit away and prepared to take him down in one attack. He was done testing him out.

    It was apparent to him from their exchange that Who''s who speed did not match him the least. And there was nothing to say about power as it was already obvious¡­

    "What''s the matter? Afraid?" Who''s who words reached Nekomamushi''s ears taunting him.

    But after seeing Nekomamushi not reacting, Who''s who also got serious and sheathed his Katana. And got into a position to attack with his strongest technique¡­

    Too bad he was not going to be able to show it¡­

    Nekomamushi sped up towards him all of a sudden after storing his spear on his back, and before Who''s who could even react, he was already cut with Nekomamushi''s Haki and Electro clad sharp looking claws.

    "AHHHHH" Who''s who started spasming on the ground due to the electricity after he was thrown a bit away.

    He soon started to lose consciousness as he looked one last time at Nekomamushi who continued on his run searching for his fellow ruler and perhaps help him, not stopping to check whether Who''s who had fallen or not¡­ Completely confident in his ability¡­

    The last words Who''s who heard before losing consciousness were¡­

    "As if I''ll ever be afraid by the likes of you weaklings¡­"

    ****

    On Inuarashi''s side, a similar thing was happening.

    His opponent was Queen. The third in command of Kaido''s forces.

    Queen was a cyborg that had eaten an ancient Zoan devil fruit that allowed him to transform into a Brachiosaurus.

    In this form, he had access to a lot of his weaponry that he installed on his body.

    But right now, having already fought with Inuarashi in his Zoan form, and in his human form, he was left no choice but to show his hybrid form. This was a form he didn''t use since twenty years ago when he fought against Oden and the scabbards, and once again he was using it against a scabbard.

    In this form, his body remained largely humanoid, except for his very long neck.

    Inuarashi similarly was also in his transformed state, as they had both decided to stop playing around.

    Well, Inuarashi earlier saw the cat was almost done with his fight, so he now was trying the same.

    He can''t lose to that dumb cat¡­

    However, no matter how much he tried, he was not able to take down Queen as fast as he wanted.

    He had to dodge ''excite bullets'' shot at him by Queen''s machine gun that contained deadly viruses that were dangerous to him.

    One virus even transformed you into an Ice Oni according to Queen who proudly proclaimed that it was his masterpiece¡­ Inuarashi decided not to test that claim¡­

    But even after he does dodge to another place from those ''excite bullets'', as soon as he steps there a laser beam is shot at him¡­

    Inuarashi knew that he could win this fight, he was that confident in his strength, but what frustrated him was that the cat would brag later about how fast he had beaten his opponent, while Inuarashi would need some more time.

    Just when he got lost in his thoughts, Queen took advantage and brought his sword transformed cyborg left hand onto Inuarashi who hurriedly used Haki to coat his hands before crossing them to take the attack¡­ he knew it was dangerous, but he was caught off-guard and that was all he could manage to do¡­

    Fortunately for the allies and unfortunately for Inuarashi, Nekomamushi having finished his own fight joined him just at that moment.

    "Get lost you stupid overgrown lizard!" Nekomamushi snorted.

    He crossed his spear with Queens''s sword, both of them clad in Haki before Nekomamushi exerted more strength and pushed Queen away.

    "Dog, why the hell are you spacing out during fights?" Nekomamushi started to complain¡­

    Meanwhile, Inuarashi had a dark look on his face as he refused to reply and kept silent meanwhile redirecting all his anger towards Queen¡­

    After a few seconds of glaring, Inuarashi spoke.

    "Forget that you stupid cat, and let me take care of this guy so that we can go help elsewhere!" Inuarashi yelled back at the cat before he tried to continue to attack.

    Nekomamushi stopped him with his spear and said.

    "Since I stopped his attack, I should be the one to fight him." He smugly said.

    Inuarashi yelled at him.

    "In your dreams!" And they then started to yell at each other¡­

    Which Queen took advantage of to try and fire a laser beam at them with his maximum capacity.

    It would leave him a bit tired but it was worth it to take the both of them out.

    But to his bad luck, both dodged it easily and they switched all of their anger towards him.

    Which they acted on upon an instant later, with Nekomamushi once again using his Haki clad claws and his superior speed, and Inuarashi using his Haki coated sword, the both of them dealt a strike to Queen that took the breath out of his lungs.

    And he soon lost consciousness, the last thing he thought about was how monstrous those two were, and in his closing eyes, the image of them still fighting and bickering was reflected¡­

    ****

    Meanwhile, with Kin''emon.

    His opponent was King.

    And King being quite the smart guy immediately entered his strongest form. He was after all against Kin''emon, and he had no chance to play it easy¡­

    Plus being the ever-loyal pirate under Kaido, he wanted to go help him fight against Ian¡­

    He along with everyone else saw how Ian was easily dealing tremendous damage to both Kaido and Shiki¡­

    King believed that if he could help, the balance would tip in their favor¡­

    But the reality was otherwise¡­ Not that he needed to know that.

    King who was right now in a humanoid form with wings on his back, fired a large fireball at Kin''emon thinking that it would kill him and he would be free to go and help his captain¡­

    But against his thoughts, Kin''emon jumped up at the fireball with his sword ready to be swung.

    He then cut through the flaming ball like it was solid with a mighty yell.

    "HAH!"

    It split into two parts that passed on each of his sides dealing no damage whatsoever¡­

    This was problematic for King¡­

    All his attacks were revolved around fire after all¡­

    Still, though he was confident in his ability to overpower Kin''emon with his fire¡­ there was no way he could cut his strongest attacks¡­

    And so the fight continued on with King attacking using his fire, sword, and so on, while Kin''emon would cut the flames apart and guard against the sword strikes, and then he would attack himself/

    Overall it was apparent after a while that they were at a stalemate in this fight.

    Until¡­

    Something happened that had Kin''emon look on edge.

    In fact, it was not just him¡­ it was all the scabbards who were scattered on the battlefield¡­

    From afar, a form was shown¡­

    It was an eight-headed giant snake that was rampaging not very far from them.

    Kin''emon saw the scabbards that were not busy with the all-stars, head towards the snake with furious looks on their faces¡­

    He shared the same furious look like them, and King who had seen him distracted tried to use this opportunity to land an attack on him as he flew as fast as he could towards him with his sword swung ready to decapitate him¡­

    "I can''t waste any more time with you, now that that snake is still alive¡­" Kin''emon spoke up without losing his furious look on his face.

    ''That bastard Orochi is still alive¡­'' Kin''emon was filled to the brim with anger and hate towards Orochi¡­

    He was not one to be taken off guard¡­ as such he gathered his Haki in his swords and grabbed them both in a two-sword style form¡­ flames surrounded the two swords as he readied his attack.

    "Oden-Nitoryu!" (Oden Two-sword style)

    Kin''emon attacked at such a speed that King''s eyes were not able to register what happened as an X-shaped scar appeared on his torso and he continued flying a bit before falling and rolling on the ground¡­

    The scar on his chest was engulfed in flames as King yelled in pain¡­

    "AHHHHHH"

    Just before King was out of it, he heard Kin''emon murmur something before he sheathed his swords¡­

    "Togen Totsuka!!" (Paradise Totsuka)

 Chapter 214 - Bounty hunter!

    Elsewhere on the battlefield¡­

    Elene and Kuzan were engaged in a fight against 7 people in marine''s uniform.

    Elene and Kuzan though knew that these 7 people were not humans¡­ they were di¨¢volois¡­ of that they were sure.

    And the best thing to do when fighting against di¨¢voloi is to attack them with everything you have from the start, and take them down before they transform¡­

    And that was what Elene and her fellow crewmate Kuzan had tried to do¡­

    "There is one more of them, but he is heading up the castle, most likely to sneak attack Ian¡­" Elene told Kuzan as they both furrowed their brows¡­

    While they were strong¡­ they were not strong enough to take down multiple enemies at their same level¡­

    Plus they also had to worry about any one of them injuring their nearby allies¡­

    Any short distraction would have their enemies run and join the fight upwards¡­

    Originally they were 10 people in the room when Elene and Kuzan arrived, they both at that moment attacked with their strongest attacks not bothering to think on it anymore¡­

    Kuzan directly using his strongest trump card he like all other admirals had.

    Aokiji''s trump card was related to him freezing everything in the surrounding area which he chooses, and in that area, the time would start to move slower¡­

    He could not freeze time after all¡­ not yet at least¡­

    Using this trump card would usually leave him weak and unable to use his devil fruit ability for a while¡­ this was what happens to him every time he uses it¡­

    But this Kuzan was different¡­ he had an upgrade courtesy of Ian, as such his ability became more powerful and had more range than before¡­ with the side effects being removed¡­

    Kuzan froze the room from which they felt their enemies with this ability, and then attacked with huge Haki infused ice pillars that started descending on the room¡­

    Elene not falling behind used her strongest ability with which she had killed big mom earlier.

    The area that the room was in was engulfed in shadows, and the gravity inside started to tear apart anyone who was trapped¡­ the room was soon deleted from existence along with the spears of ice that were penetrating it, which left only a bit of the ice spears outside the area.

    And this led to the current events¡­

    Where Elene sensed that one of the ten had run away somehow¡­

    And two of the remaining nine were caught in hers and Kuzan''s attack and died while the rest survived.

    This left the two of them against the seven left¡­

    The one that ran to join the rest above could be seen when she focused on where he was.

    She then saw him climbing the castle from the outside instead of climbing the stairs from the inside, and by the speed, he was going, it was only going to take him a few minutes to reach the top¡­ though she managed to know who this person was¡­ as he was not wearing marines uniform¡­

    "Isn''t he that famous bounty hunter?" She muttered to herself¡­

    Elene didn''t want him to reach the top, not because she was scared for Ian or didn''t trust him, no, but rather she had said she would take care of them but this one slipped out from her watch¡­

    There was also the fact that he was the strongest among the ten, as she used observation to gauge his strength¡­

    Kuzan shared a look with her and tried to follow after him using Moon steps, but three of them intercepted his way¡­

    "Tsk!" Elene seeing this clicked her tongue¡­

    She would just have to leave it to Ian, or anyone who was not engaged in a fight from her side and could stop him¡­

    After all, she can''t lose focus when against seven enemies as strong as her¡­

    "Let''s deal with them first, Ian can manage on his own anyway¡­" Elene muttered in annoyance but Kuzan heard her and he got" down to continue their fight¡­

    "We''ll just have to leave it to you boss¡­" Kuzan said as he saw Ian fight against Kaido and Shiki¡­

    ****

    On another side in the battlefield, both Luffy and Zoro were engaged in a fight against the fiveTobiroppo¡­

    All of them had eaten an ancient Zoan devil fruit¡­

    One of them, Page one, was in his hybrid Spinosaurus-human form right now. He was the one that Luffy had attacked earlier¡­

    The next was, Ulti, and she also was in her human-pachycephalosaurus hybrid form¡­

    Then there was Black Maria, the 8m tall woman, in her hybrid spider-human transformation¡­

    The next one was said to be strong enough to possibly challenge one of the all-stars for their position, so he was quite strong. His name was Sasaki.

    He had eaten a triceratops ancient Zoan devil fruit. And right now he was transformed into his human- triceratops hybrid.

    The last person who was going against the two was someone that was a marine formally¡­

    He was named Drake and he ate the Ryu-Ryu no Mi, Model: Allosaurus, an Ancient Zoan-type Devil Fruit that allows him to transform into a full Allosaurus and a half Allosaurus hybrid at will.

    These were all the people that Zoro and Luffy were up against.

    But Luffy who had attained a new form of Haki during their time in Wano, being internal destruction and Emission, was not having any trouble fighting against them all.

    Similarly for Zoro who had Enma on him.

    "This is fun¡­" Luffy yelled out with a smile on his face¡­

    "Bastard¡­ how is that air blade of the sword guy fun?'' some of them thought in anger¡­

    In fact, any attack made by Zoro was always dodged hurriedly and looked on in fear¡­

    This was how strong it was.

    The attack even after dodging would continue on to take a few of the larger enemies that were on the battlefield showing that Zoro calculated his trajectory well¡­ those that were hit would fall down, with no exceptions¡­

    And Luffy was taunting them unaware by saying the fight was fun¡­

    "Gomu-Gomu no: Elephant gun!"

    Luffy would then enlarge his fist and coat it with Haki while dealing internal destruction to anyone he touched¡­

    The only one who was brave enough to tank his attacks was Sasaki since his form was a triceratops, and those had a lot of defense¡­ but even so, he would cough blood after and fall back after gaining an opening for the rest¡­

    But it would all fall apart when they try to attack Luffy who has his arm extended, and instead of landing any attack, they would have to dodge Zoro''s sword strikes¡­

    "We should wrap this up soon Luffy!" Zoro then told Luffy, but as he was moving his gaze to the castle in the distance he noticed someone climbing it at a fast pace¡­

    Feeling his aura he noticed that this guy was as strong as Kaido and Shiki¡­

    This made alarms ring in Zoro''s head¡­

    He hurriedly looked at Luffy and told him.

    "Luffy, can you take them all on?" Zoro asked quickly.

    Luffy seeing this also got serious. He gave him a nod but asked.

    "What''s wrong?" He asked.

    Zoro pointed at the castle and the person who was climbing it.

    "We can''t have him join the battle, Ian is already fighting both monsters on his own¡­" Zoro said.

    Luffy nodded.

    "Go then. I''ll deal with them and follow you!" Luffy said.

    Zoro then started to run towards the castle at full speed.

    When he was near enough he brought two swords and readied himself in a two-sword style stance.

    He then swung his swords releasing two massive blades so huge and fast they reached the place where the person was climbing in a second.

    But the person casually flipped themselves in the sky upwards and latched on above the area of the strike, and didn''t even turn to look at Zoro for a second.

    The wall of the castle broke apart in the area Zoro''s strike landed, but since the castle was quite huge it didn''t manage to sever the whole floor.

    "That bastard!" Zoro muttered as he saw this. He knew who this person was even way back then when he was a still bounty hunter¡­ He knew this bounty hunter was quite strong as it was said that he had even tried to collect Whitebeards and Mihawk''s bounty and even more great people like them¡­

    Zoro shook his head, he knew that such an attack wouldn''t work even if he tried it again, so he started to run, this time his speed was faster and he decided he would just follow him until he catches him.

 Chapter 215 - Mutated Animals

    While Ian fought the strongest people in the war, his crew and the rest of the allies were supposed to fight the huge numbers of enemies that were around them¡­

    It was already more than thirty thousand, but close to three thousand were added from the side of Shiki alone¡­ and only five hundred of those were humans¡­the rest were all huge violent mutated animals.

    These animals were part of Dr. Indigo''s experiments. This guy is the scientist of the Golden Lion Pirates and he created a drug called SIQ that mutated animals upon ingestion.

    And when he presented it to Shiki they both started to use it to make an army of mutated animals.

    Why? To rule the world.

    And Shiki searched for allies too, he called the old man Whitebeard who refused, stating he has no desire to rule the world and that even if he did ''someone'' very strong could easily stop him.

    Next on the list was Kaido and big mom who he recently found out was dead, which left only Kaido.

    This time Shiki brought a sample with him in order to convince Kaido, and that worked for him well, as they both right now were allied.

    It was not like Kaido''s contribution to this alliance was any worse with an army of specialized Zoan devil fruit eaters¡­

    ****

    It was not only Ian who was enjoying his time though.

    One particular black-haired lady from the Samurais alliance side was enjoying her time regardless of what was happening around.

    She was wearing a blue Kimono that dropped a bit around her shoulders showing a bit of her cleavage¡­ there were also plenty of legs visible, which made the guys nearby all look at her smitten.

    However, when you look at them closer you would see them all crying their eyes out.

    "S-she''s B-Beautiful¡­" One of the guys says¡­

    *Crack*

    The guy then gets his back and neck cracked as he drops to the ground, muttering one last time before losing consciousness:

    "B-But she''s the Devil in disguise¡­"

    The lady then holds her fan to her mouth as she laughs.

    "Fufu, well I am nicknamed the Devil child..." (A/N: Click for pic)

    This was Robin and she was having quite the fun torturing these guys¡­ Especially for daring to look at her like that¡­ Only one guy was allowed to do that¡­ it was also the reason that even those from her side avoided checking her out or Elene. This was true even for someone like Sanji¡­

    Well for Sanji it was more of Ian''s doing, than Robin''s reputation of being a sadist¡­ Ian had directly told him that he''ll burn his balls in hot oil and make sure he is awake throughout it all¡­ If he ever looks at his girls perversely¡­ But it won''t happen just once, no, Ian said he''ll heal him then do it again and again.

    *Raaaaahhhhhhhh*

    A couple of beast pirates who rather are on the bigger size started to yell as they jumped at her swing their weapons intent on knocking her out.

    Robin smiled at them like an angel before a huge arm appeared out of nowhere and swatted them aside like some pebbles on the side of the road.

    It contained so much force that they lost consciousness even before crashing on the ground¡­

    "So satisfying¡­" Robin hummed to herself.

    The other pirates all thought to themselves:

    ''Really a Devil¡­''

    She then picked on a rather few large auras coming near her. Her eyes locked on the figures and she started to study them¡­

    "What type of animals are you all supposed to be?" She questioned this newest addition to the battlefield.

    They were all walking towards Robin slowly as they eyed her like prey.

    She similarly started to study them and count their numbers.

    First, there are 8 giant weasels who carried a handmade scythe on their shoulders¡­ it felt ridiculous but she knew they were dangerous based on the aura she felt from them.

    ''Could they use those weapons? Hmm,'' She thought to herself.

    Next to it are 5 large blue six-legged tigers with two tails and long teeth like a saber-toothed tiger, these ones were much more larger than the first ones¡­

    ''They also feel stronger¡­'' Her eyes then switched to the next target.

    They were 11 Long-armed Bears which were basically just black bears with white stripes on their bodies and long arms. Another feature they had besides the long arms was their cute face.

    ''Adorable¡­'' Robin stared at this one just a wee bit more.

    And as if the bears heard her they all collectively growled and roared at her furiously.

    "Oh, calm down will you?" Robin waved her fan at them...

    Her eyes then moved to the next ones.

    They were something Robin preferred to not see¡­ EVER.

    Spiders.

    She didn''t hate them but she preferred if they stayed very far from her¡­ and considering these spiders coming towards her were giant in form and even had armor-like shells on their backs, she wanted them to stay even farther away¡­ like on the grand line or even one of the four seas farther away¡­

    Next after those, were some very huge lions¡­ they didn''t look anything special apart from their red and gold color¡­ So Robin moved on to look at the rest.

    ''Well not special, but somewhat¡­ cute¡­'' Robin praised¡­

    The next type of animal is actually a flying type, they had four wings and were a combination between a rooster and an eagle. Four of them flew towards her along with the rest.

    Directly below these flying animals were 5 large blue boars with spikes on their backs. Right spikes¡­

    Next was some sort of cross between a mountain lion, horse, and zebra.

    They have hooves and hair shaped like a dorsal fin from their heads all the way to their tails¡­ and the hair is also striped red and white. 6 followed the small army¡­

    Then there were 3 red rhinoceros-like animals who have huge horns but otherwise appeared normal besides their unnatural size.

    Following them as Robin saw were 4 animals that resemble an Ibex with large horns. Their bodies are white with black stripes, similar to zebras.

    Their horns also appeared to be dangerous and quite sturdy.

    In fact, they were not the only ones with giant horns as next to them, 6 giant mammoths followed with their stomping shaking the ground. They looked exactly similar to the deceased Jack''s Zoan form¡­

    There were also some hybrid rabbit/wolf animals, and then some dinosaur-like animals who also have horns on its head. They were curved like a reindeer''s.

    Then there is another type of dinosaur lizard animal that appeared to have an armored outer body, followed by some large Gorillas with fangs and muscular arms.

    ''Fascinating¡­.'' Seeing them all managed to get Robin''s interest.

    But as she looked around the battlefield, momentarily ignoring these mutated animals coming towards her, she saw them spread around and attacking everywhere and not just her¡­

    And if not for her crewmates and the straw hats, they would be a huge pain in the ass for their samurai allies.

    From the straw hats, the closest to her was Franky, who in particular was enjoying his time, as he was blasting these animals and beast pirates around him with laser beams using his giant robot.

    The rest were also not doing bad themselves, maybe except for Nami and Nojiko who were teaming up.

    On the other hand, her crewmates had no such trouble whatsoever.

    Stella was destroying them easily by making chains wrap around one and then she would swing them while hitting all the others¡­ she would do this while laughing happily as if playing or something.

    Bert and Akemi would get all close and personnel with them and deal Electro damage to these animals and beast pirates all alike.

    Reiju had the most damage as her poison was contagious only for these mutated animals and it spread chaos among them as she smirked at them from afar¡­

    Don the big guy was a master of martial arts and fishmen karate so each punch he dealt casually would result in the huge animals flying away easily.

    Robin smiled seeing this.

    "Well, the others are having fun I see¡­ How about we also enjoy our time?" She grinned at them sending shivers up their spines.

    Huge hands started to appear surrounding them, only this time they were all covered in Haki¡­

    Seeing this the animals started to feel like they were the ones preyed upon and not the other way around¡­

 Chapter 216 - â€˜Mirror Demonâ€™ Faust

    To them who were above the Skull dome, nothing that was happening below mattered¡­

    Kaido stared at Ian who was floating and sitting cross-legged nearby¡­

    ''This brat is not taking this seriously¡­'' Kaido remarked to himself. Behind him, Shiki was also glaring at Ian with equal intensity.

    While both men were a bit winded, it was nothing they couldn''t shrug off.

    So with a shared look and a nod, both resumed their attack.

    "I''ll have to get serious myself¡­" Kaido thought.

    It might not show on his face, but even he was having an exciting fight. How long has it been since he fought with his all against someone?

    And now to have Ian here stand before him worthy enough for him to go all out, of course, he''ll be excited.

    But Kaido knew that the playing time was now over, it was time to start the fight for real¡­

    "The real fight will start from now on!" Kaido glared at Ian as he spoke.

    His form then started to expand and smoke started to surround his form.

    His muscles also started to expand and as they did so scales appeared over his arms, legs, and on his c.h.e.s.t, while two more horns started to appear over Kaido''s head. Thus Kaido''s already huge form became even bigger. A tail also sprung into existence shortly after.

    Ian grinned at seeing this.

    Kaido''s aura just now shot through the roof¡­

    "So this is your Human-Hybrid Zoan form?" Ian muttered to himself while keeping the smile.

    The next thing Ian saw was Kaido vanish and reappear near him instantly with his black lightning clad Kanabo swung to deliver a strike to him.

    But Ian just smirked at this.

    Using his hand he stopped the weapon from touching him.

    In fact, the weapon was stopped a bit away from where Ian''s hand was. They were not even touching.

    He then moved his other hand in order to deliver a punch but Kaido jumped back quickly and readied for another strike.

    "Observation¡­"

    Ian raised a brow. This was clear use of observation Haki¡­ and Kaido earlier on their fight used neither observation nor Armament.

    It appears his words of fighting seriously from now on were true.

    Still, though Ian had to dodge swiftly however when several weapons ranging from swords, battle axes, spears, came flying at him from everywhere. They were spinning and Ian knew that anyone touched by them would be cut into two¡­

    But even as he turned to lightning and dodged them, they started to follow him.

    Ian turned to look at Shiki, who was responsible for this¡­

    "Don''t think I am out of this fight just yet you brat!" Shiki smirked at him.

    He for now focused on regaining his Haki that he used in that last attack and Shield. So he settled for using smaller objects and manipulating them to give Kaido an opening¡­

    Though even in his current state, manipulating thousands of such weapons was easy for him. In fact, it barely equated to transforming earth to one lion-headed shape.

    Through their whole battle, he had been touching every fallen weapon around¡­ and there was a lot of them. This was a habit of his and it had helped him plenty of times. His devil fruit works only on objects he touches after all¡­

    Ian then used his powers and made a barrier that stopped all swords from continuing, as they spun and tried to break the barrier, meanwhile Kaido who didn''t want to waste this chance when Ian was distracted used the opportunity to attack.

    He made a cloud appear near him that he used as a foothold to jump to the sky before he started to spin and then descend at a fast speed looming over Ian''s form.

    "HAH," He yelled as he this time used both Conqueror Haki and Armament on his Kanabo that he was holding with both hands to deal a devastating strike to Ian.

    "KOSANZE!!"

    The club smashed into the shield that was barely holding on against the various weapons and destroyed it before Kaido continued on smashing towards Ian who raised his Haki coated hands and crossed them above his head to tank the attack.

    Even as the Kanabo made contact Ian held his guard and didn''t appear to be suffering, until the ground he was standing on, or rather the skull, caved in and he was seen falling by Kaido who gathered a huge momentum from spinning.

    "RAGNARAKU!!" Kaido yelled after Ian was sent falling down.

    "How do you like that brat hahah" Shiki started to laugh from afar as he sent the spinning weapons following after Ian.

    But Ian came flying back up soon after as he rotated his shoulders a bit¡­

    "That was a nice attack." He gave Kaido a thumbs up. Which managed to anger him even more.

    "Well, let me try something of my own then¡­" just as he finished saying this he vanished from their vision.

    And the next thing Shiki''s eyes registered was Kaido''s form keeled over by Ian who had his right elbow hitting Kaido in his solar plexus while at the same time Lightning exploded from Kaido''s back as if it went right through his body.

    "Cough!" Kaido coughed blood.

    Ian then moved on in the same manner and appeared right next to Shiki who had his mouth wide open and delivered a similar attack to the dumbstruck person.

    Except in Shiki''s state, it was a kick that threw him right next to Kaido, who even as he was keeled over and having an arm laid on his c.h.e.s.t managed to react and caught Shiki with his other arm¡­

    Ian then grinned at them.

    "I''m sure you are still up for some more right?" He said before he brought both hands together and started to release electricity into to form a spherical shape.

    And then when he felt he had compressed enough, he pushed both palms towards them, and a beam of pure lightning was shot at them reaching their form instantly.

    "Damn it!" Shiki cursed as he saw this¡­

    Kaido wiped the blood on his mouth with his hands and got into a stance to take the attack.

    But Ian even before the attack made it furrowed his brows as if he didn''t like what was about to happen.

    "So you finally made it¡­" He muttered to himself.

    And that was exactly what happened. Another person appeared shortly afterward and he, without even taking his hands out of his pants, stopped the attack.

    Or rather absorbed it is more appropriate. There was a barrier right in front of the attack and it absorbed it immediately and then it spat it back much more larger than before.

    Ian estimated that it was now three times more dangerous than before. Both in power and in speed.

    But even as it reached him in a second he didn''t panic at all.

    Coating his hand with Haki Ian waited until the last second before bitch slapping the attack and redirecting towards a few large auras he had felt earlier on the battlefield.

    All of this happened in an instant, so whoever was targeted by the attack now was as good as dead.

    Ian made eye contact with the newest addition on top of the skull dome.

    "So you are that famous bounty hunter¡­ If I am not wrong, you are known as the ''Mirror Demon'' Faust¡­ That ability you used is indeed fit to be called as such¡­" Ian looked at him as he spoke.

    The barrier that absorbed Ian''s attack can be called a mirror since it reflected his attack, and for the demon part, it must be related to how the attack came back much stronger than before.

    In fact, Ian had already felt his aura earlier along with the others that were fighting Elene and Kuzan¡­ he also felt him when he was climbing up the castle to come join them so he was not shocked at all¡­

    Rather, Ian was more concerned with the fact that, even if the demon''s name was not related to his ability, it was in fact, true¡­ since he was a di¨¢voloi!

    ****

    [A/N: The name, nickname, and abilities, along with the background of this bounty hunter and another guy that will be shown later, were suggested by ''Edalon''. So once again, thank you, bro.]

 Chapter 217 - Still Alive!

    (A/N: If the story has close to 18 thousand collections, why do the comments barely reach five-six ????? and also, drop some stones. I don''t want to reach the top, but at least show some love ????)

    While Elene and Kuzan had started to fight it out against the seven di¨¢volois, Elene suddenly felt like something dangerous was about to happen¡­

    But she also felt that it was not targeting them, but rather the seven di¨¢volois.

    ''It doesn''t hurt to be careful anyway¡­!'' She thought to herself as she decided to use one of her hidden clones she had planted earlier to help her by sniping her unaware enemies¡­

    Without even saying anything else, she grabbed Kuzan and jumped away to one of her shadow clones switching places with them, far far away from the battle place they were in.

    Just as this happened, both she and Kuzan from their new place saw a beam of pure lightning descend from the sky over their previous place where they were.

    The attack destroyed the ground they were previously on and dust was raised obscuring their vision.

    When the dust settled, Elene and Kuzan were able to see the effect of that attack.

    A huge hole opened in the ground, proof of how strong the attack was¡­

    From the seven enemies they were facing, Elene felt two of their auras vanish, while another one was weakened¡­

    This meant two were directly killed and one was injured¡­

    Elene looked at Ian who was fighting upward and smiled.

    "Thank you¡­"

    Kuzan finally got his bearing as he looked around.

    "Was that the captain?" He asked Elene.

    Elene nodded her head at him.

    "Erebus!" She summoned her Living sword

    A mass of shadow then started to condense and turned to a sword with a mouth and eyes at the handle.

    "Empress!" Erebus greeted with happiness.

    This was another thing that happened later on, although created from big mom, since Elene was the shadow empress all shadow constructs were like her subjects¡­ and Elene didn''t mind being called that.

    "Are you ready to have some fun?" Elene asked as she grinned.

    The sword that was flying near her shook with happiness.

    Elene then gripped it as she looked at Kuzan.

    "Well. Let''s start then!" Elene said before they both ran back into the fight.

    ****

    On another side of the battlefield, Luffy who was supposed to be battling the Tobiroppo ended up being helped by one of them to take on the rest.

    And that was Drake. He had been shown to be a spy for the marines by The Marys who are the Beasts Pirates'' surveillance force, as such the other remaining Tobiroppo turned on him.

    And after weighing in his options, he decided to join the alliance between Luffy and the samurais.

    Luffy had refused his help, but he didn''t care and fought with him nonetheless. Taking on one of them.

    In the end, Luffy transformed into his gear fourth and beat them all with the exception of the person Drake fought, which was Page one. Just as Luffy had finished Drake had also finished taking care of Page one.

    Luffy then took a few minutes to recover from his Haki being used and started to move towards where Zoro had run earlier. The castle.

    "Wait!" Before Luffy can go any further, Drake called him.

    "Let me join you!" He asked Luffy.

    "I refuse. Go find Tora-o and ask him that." Luffy stated before he resumed running. After all, Law was the person in charge¡­

    Drake thought about it, and then found it was good enough so he went to find Law.

    Meanwhile, Luffy soon after ended up running into the castle, and as he started to climb he met another person doing the same. Only this person was flying upwards.

    "You are that brat: Straw-hat Luffy¡­"

    The person remarked upon seeing Luffy.

    "Who are you?" Luffy asked him perplexed. He didn''t remember this person at all¡­

    The person who was already angered thanks to the scar he received on his c.h.e.s.t earlier by Kin''emon, got even angrier that Luffy who is on the other side in this war didn''t know HIM, who is second only to Kaido in terms of strength and authority¡­

    But King didn''t have time to waste on him now.

    As such he looked at the few beast pirates around and asked in anger as fire lit up above his head.

    "What the hell are the Tobiroppo doing to let a weakling like this advance this far? Go call them right now! I don''t care what they are doing, they better be here as fast as they could!" He asked.

    All of them started to sweat and their knees got weak. An angered King was not someone they wanted to be close to, much less even speak with him.

    Fortunately, or unfortunately, Luffy was the one who replied sparing them his anger.

    "I kicked their asses! And I''ll kick yours too!" He said as he raised his right fist.

    He was ready to beat this guy black and blue before going to help elsewhere.

    This statement led to the fire above king''s head becoming even larger as he looked at Luffy and started to grab his sword.

    "You don''t even know who I am, yet you dare make such a claim? What Arrogance. I''ll make sure to educate you and show you your place Straw-Hat!" King spoke each word slowly as he faced Luffy with his sword.

    Since there was no one else to take care of him King decided that he might as well enjoy breaking this guy''s spirit¡­

    "Bring it on!" Luffy yelled a smoke started to surround his form.

    ****

    Meanwhile on another side in Onigashima¡­

    Kin''emon, Denjiro, Kikunojo, Raizo, Ashura Doji, Nekomamushi, Inuarashi, and finally Kawamatsu, had all gathered to fight against Orochi who ended up being alive even after it was stated that Kaido had killed him.

    The scabbards didn''t know how that was possible but this was their most hateful enemy and they will make sure he would pay.

    Although they also hated Kaido, they admit that it all started because of Orochi who took the shogun place. And now Wano under his rule became like this¡­ Kaido was not a good person they knew that, but he only cared about the results, meanwhile, Orochi was the one who responsible for the means¡­

    It was he and one of his family members who could disguise herself as any person, Higurashi, that plotted for their lord Oden and his father to fall off from their rightful places¡­ this was 41 years ago even before meeting Kaido¡­

    Ian had promised them that he would deal with Kaido but he won''t kill him¡­ And they agreed, opening Wano and fulfilling Oden''s dream after killing Orochi was enough for them.

    But they had heard that Orochi had died¡­ So they felt like he was let off easy, but it turned out they were wrong.

    Kurozumi Orochi was still¡­ Alive!

    So right now they were all brimming with anger and ready to cut him apart.

    Orochi was also angered not only at Kaido for trying to kill him but also at them. But he couldn''t do anything to Kaido, as such he settled for killing these scabbards.

    "You ruined everything¡­ I''ll make sure you pay!" Orochi yelled. All his eight heads swinging wildly around.

    He then started to throw fire at them from every one of his heads.

    "That''s our line you treacherous snake!" Kin''emon yelled at him.

    He then jumped up and cut the fire column thrown at him into two. He then continued on towards Orochi and delivered a strike towards one of his heads, but it didn''t penetrate at all.

    Orochi used one of his other heads to throw Kin''emon away after which he was sent flying into the ground¡­

    "His scales are so tough¡­" Kin''emon got up completely fine and muttered.

    "However it doesn''t matter, today, you Kurozumi Orochi will DIE!" Kin''emon.

    Before he along with the rest jumped at him their swords swung with a warrior''s yell.

    "FOR ODEN-SAMA!! AAHHH!!"

 Chapter 218 - Today, you will die!

    While Orochi in this form could attack via fire, you could say the devil fruit was useless other than that¡­

    It did give him a huge physical boost, and a very tough defense. But the fruit''s real power lied somewhere else¡­ and the scabbards were about to see what this devil fruit gave its user.

    While the others from the scabbards were busy dodging the fire pillars thrown at them by Orochi, Kin''emon readied his own attack.

    He was targeting the main head among the eight. The one that had a darker shade of color and appeared similar to Orochi the most.

    "HAH"

    He then jumped at him with a yell as he kicked the ground with enough force to fracture it.

    "Shakunetsu no kiritsukeru" (Burning cut)

    Unlike earlier this time he was using his Haki on his sword.

    As such the moment his flaming sword made contact with the head of the screaming Orochi it was swiftly cut apart.

    And from each side of the cut that Kin''emon made flames emerged and scorched the area making the long neck with no head start to thrash around and the other heads yell in pain.

    "AHHAHHHH!"

    But something happened afterward that shocked them all¡­

    The head that was cut all of a sudden started to regrow.

    "YOU BASTARD" The head that was cut started to yell as Orochi started to speak in ridicule next.

    "You think you can beat me that easily? Even Kaido failed to do that Gufuhahaha, However, you dared to hurt me, I will make sure to cook you alive!!" Orochi said angrily.

    It was true, Kaido had thought he had killed him. But it didn''t work for him, and now even Kin''emon failed to do so.

    "W-What is this?" Kin''emon was perplexed about this¡­

    But he didn''t give up, rather he resumed attacking soon after.

    "Even so, such a thing will not stop me!" He yelled and jumped resuming his attack.

    Orochi laughed before throwing a fire pillar at Kin''emon.

    But then Orochi saw the fire pillar getting cut apart into various parts¡­

    Kin''emon then attacked with his sword.

    "Hon¨­ no ko" (Flaming Arcs)

    He used his sword and swung his flaming sword multiple times at the same head.

    But even as the head was dissected apart, it only took a second to once again reform like earlier.

    And taking advantage of Kin''emon being shocked again, the head swung around and hit him straight into the stomach throwing him away into a nearby house where he crashed.

    "Gufuhahaha, it''s useless¡­" Orochi laughed.

    He then threw massive fire pillars at everyone else and got a valuable second to finish Kin''emon while the others were still occupied.

    And then he followed his attack by momentarily focusing all heads on Kin''emon at the fallen house, and then firing flame pillars that combined at one point and continued on as one massive pillar afterward.

    "Moeru y¨­na¡­ky¨­ran!" (Flaming Frenzy)

    Orochi thought that with this attack he would have an easier time with the others. Since Kin''emon was the only one capable of cutting the flames apart.

    And although the others were strong, they still had to dodge the very hot flames he was throwing, and so far they had not been able to deal any huge damage like Kin''emon.

    Seeing this attack on Kin''emon they felt like they were useless¡­

    But as everyone thought that Kin''emon was finished, the huge flaming pillar was cut easily by Kin''emon and he jumped next to his fellow scabbards.

    "Bastard, why won''t you just die?!" Orochi yelled and decided to finish them all at the same time.

    He did the same attack but this time he did not stop supplying fire to them.

    Kin''emon seeing this yelled at his friends and allies.

    "Leave this to me! I''m going to get us an opening at that time, everybody should focus on cutting his heads!" Kin''emon spoke up.

    He then proceeded to cut the flame pillar apart while at the same time giving an opportunity for them to attack.

    "For Lord Oden!" Both rulers yelled as they attacked.

    Nekomamushi using his claws covered in electro while Inuarashi used his sword skills.

    Nekomamushi and Inuarashi had it the easiest as they each deliver a devastating attack that cut a head right away.

    Their electro combined with Haki gave them a huge advantage.

    Denjiro yelled similarly to them as he dealt his own attack.

    He jumped at the sky and started to spin while falling down before delivering an over-the-shoulder downward strike that cut cleanly through the head.

    Kikunojo also jumped at the sky but unlike them all, she didn''t need to get closer to cut the head.

    "Zansetsu-gama" (Lingering Snow Scythes)

    No, she used her ability with the sword and dealt multiple circular flying slash attacks towards her intended target.

    The attack shredded the head rather than cut it¡­

    Raizo used an ability of his to throw a huge flaming pillar at the head.

    He had earlier managed to store it in his scroll, and now he used it to destroy one of Orochi''s heads.

    The head was evaporated completely from the above of the neck area.

    Kawamatsu the fishmen among them used his great strength to his advantage as he leaped in the sky delivering a horizontal slash attack that cut cleanly through the head.

    This left only Ashura Doji who followed their examples and dealt his own attack resulting in the seventh head getting cut.

    All of these attacks happened at the same time, so one moment Orochi was still using his heads to attack Kin''emon, and the next he only had one head left.

    "Orochi!! Today you will die!" Kin''emon seeing everything happening yelled as hard as he could.

    Everyone noticed that as they had cut the seven heads and only the main one was left, no heads started to regrow¡­

    Kin''emon then held his sword with one hand as he unsheathed the second sword and got into a Nitoryu sword-style stance.

    The other scabbards each followed Kin''emon''s example and started to hold both swords.

    They knew what Kin''emon had in mind, and they agreed. Today Orochi will die.

    "Oden Nitoryu!" they all yelled at the same time as they jumped at the last head.

    Orochi started thrashing around as he panicked.

    "Stop! Stop! You will die! Kaido won''t forgive you if you kill me! I said stop! Please" He started to yell at them and threaten to kill them, even using Kaido''s name. The panic was apparent in his tone.

    But they didn''t care one bit as each of them used the same sword attack which Oden used once in the past.

    "Togen Totsuka" (Paradise Ten Hands)

    And then each of them threw an X-shaped slash that combined into one giant one and proceeded to cut Orochi''s head into four parts.

    Finally signifying the death of their hateful enemy by the very attack their deceased lord used to do¡­

 Chapter 219 - Cutting through the barrier!

    Ian seeing this annoying di¨¢voloi decides to get rid of him first.

    Even with this addition of this Faust guy, Ian was still not pressed hard enough for him to dish out his strongest moves¡­

    If you were to gauge Ian''s strength right now, then he was way past the third stage but has not yet stepped into the fourth one. Still, even that was enough for Ian to practically bully them around if he got serious enough and used his all.

    Though right now he just wanted to enjoy the fight, and this newest guy might make things more exciting at any rate.

    That is why when Kaido transformed, he had almost reached Ian''s strength and speed as he was right now.

    That might sound like Ian was weak but it was the other way around. Kaido had eaten a Zoan devil fruit and the strongest one known to the world. One that made him transform into a dragon. Plus he has the blood of giants, which also increases his strength.

    The fact that Kaido using the strongest form he has to barely come close to Ian''s base form speed and strength was proof enough of Ian''s strength. Not to mention he is fighting two other opponents on the same level as Kaido at the same time.

    ****

    Kaido having recovered soon, started to attack again.

    Shiki was also mostly recovered and he used his strongest abilities once again.

    They were not known as monsters just like that. They easily shrugged such attacks after a few minutes of recovering.

    Kaido sprang into action as he sped up towards Ian leaving the ground fractured where he had stepped up.

    Ian grinned at him as he readied himself for combat.

    When Kaido reached him he swung his Kanabo at him with his full power.

    "Take this you brat!"

    But Ian redirected the attack to the side without even touching it. He then kicked Kaido behind the knee making him fall on one knee and gave him another powerful punch straight to the stomach making him cough up some more blood, and he was even ready to uppercut him, but he had to dodge out of the way of some earthen spears that were rotating and coming towards him.

    This was Shiki starting his own attacks.

    The spears followed after him as he jumped backward.

    Ian didn''t give them much thought as he pointed his right palm forward and shot a huge number of lightning arcs that destroyed the spears altogether.

    "I''m not done yet!" Shiki yelled as he saw that.

    And following this Ian was suddenly attacked by huge lion-headed earthen shapes.

    This time it was much more than Shiki had used before, not to mention these were in fact coated in Haki.

    Ian raised his brow in surprise.

    "Well, it is only natural now that I think about it." When he thought about it, If Shiki was not capable of doing this much, he wouldn''t have been known as one of the legends.

    Ian grabbed the spear floating near him and then got into a stance.

    From afar it looked as if Ian was buried by hundreds of huge lion-shaped earth attacks, but after a few seconds, Ian was shown again running on top of one as he destroyed the previous by cutting it into various parts.

    Shiki manipulated them to follow Ian, and even after Ian cut them apart, he would remake them and make them follow him again.

    Ian with a grin on his face, located where Shiki was before he abruptly vanished from their vision with a ''Soru''.

    Seconds later he was seen bringing his spear from the sky on Shiki''s form.

    "You are done for Old man!" Ian grinned.

    Shiki had a horror-stricken look on his face as he watched death coming towards him.

    But Ian couldn''t continue on as he felt an attack coming towards him.

    "Bolo Breath!"

    So he dodged aside by flying, completely dodging the fire breath attack made by Kaido.

    Ian didn''t even know that Kaido could release his fire breath in his hybrid form.

    But what Ian didn''t expect was that guy Faust finally making his move¡­

    He went directly to where Kaido''s flame attack had missed and he caught it in his barrier and absorbed it before he then reflected the beam back at Ian much stronger and faster than before.

    ''Let''s see how you will dodge this'' Faust evilly thought.

    Now since Ian had just dodged the attack, he would have trouble to dodge out of this one, not to mention that while earlier its speed was still okay for Ian, having been increased in power and speed, Ian found the attack right in his face in a second.

    Using Haki on all of his body and weapon Ian used his spear to cut the flame breath into various cube sizes as if the flame was solid instead.

    Ian kept on cutting the flame pillar that was still being fired by Kaido and being redirected by Faust to attack him.

    ''He has an impressive lung capacity¡­'' Ian remarked to himself.

    Ian dodged to the side, but Faust moving his barrier once again made it attack him.

    But Shiki having recovered from the near-death experience he had, yelled at Ian as he resumed his attack.

    "You have no way out now you brat!" He yelled at Ian, and once again the huge lion-shaped mass of earth started to bear on Ian''s form.

    Still, the grin never left Ian''s face.

    "Bring it on!" He yelled. Meanwhile inside he started to consider taking this a bit more seriously¡­

    However, something out of their expectation happened that made Shiki stop controlling his attack, as the shapes crumbled and turned to dust.

    Another addition to the battlefield made itself known.

    "Ten O Bunkatsu Shimasu" (Splitting the Heavens)

    This was Zoro who is currently in the sky after he jumped and he swung his sword with a yell at Shiki releasing a massive flying purple air blade¡­

    The moment Shiki caught wind of the attack, he tried his all to dodge to the side but it was already too late¡­

    He barely managed to move his body a bit, but the flying air blade cut right through his left arm and continued on to cut the huge horn of the skull dome, a testament to its growing power. Even Shiki who was known as the flying man, and for his speed, barely managed to dodge for his life¡­

    Ian seeing this person grinned as he decided to show off himself.

    "It''s good to see you Zoro!" Ian greeted not caring one bit at the attack he was currently cutting apart.

    Using Rokuogan, Ian sent a huge shockwave that expanded and stopped the flame breath until it reached both Faust and Kaido and threw them into the ground.

    Ian didn''t stop there as he redirected his attention to Faust.

    "Your ability is a nuisance!" Ian looked at Faust as he said.

    He then similar to what Zoro had done just seconds ago, let his Haki seep into his spear until it started to glow with a purple color before he swung it at Faust releasing a massive flying air blade at him.

    Faust though was confident in his abilities.

    "It''s no use!" He spoke up towards Ian as he made sure to put a barrier before the attack.

    His eyes looked sideways at Zoro. He was going to target this guy for interfering when they were finally close to killing Ian¡­ well that''s what he thought anyway¡­

    But a sound drew his attention back to where the attack made contact with the air blade.

    His mouth hung open in shock as he saw his barrier being cut into two with the air blade continuing on to reach him.

    He started to regret taking part in this fight right at this moment¡­ in the first place, his mission was only to lay low in Wano, and help CP-0 in case they needed help¡­ but he saw an opportunity as he saw Shiki and Kaido teaming up to take Ian down. He contacted his sovereign but all contact with her was not possible for some reason he didn''t know, so he made the rash decision to jump into the fight.

    Thinking that Ian won''t be able to take them all three. How wrong he was¡­

    He barely crossed his arms to guard against the attack at the last second before he was thrown into the skull dome himself. He crashed and dust raised from where he had made contact¡­

    This left only Shiki who was standing there next to Kaido.

    Kaido was the only one who was intact, as he held his kanabo above his shoulder. One might think that he was panicking or getting scared, but Kaido was excited.

    This was the person he wanted to kill him. If he was going to die, then it should be by the hands of someone as strong as Ian.

    "This is it¡­ this is the type of fight where I could die with honor! Let''s have the greatest fight the world would ever know Ian D. Louis!!" Kaido started to speak with a low voice before he yelled the last words. His voice booming all around.

    But Ian only laughed.

    "Relax, don''t be so tight. No one is going to die today¡­ well maybe except that guy over there. As for the greatest fight in the world¡­ I think that would come much later on¡­" Ian said before he pointed at Faust.

    Zoro came near Ian as he started to say.

    "You can leave that guy to me!" He also pointed at where Faust had fallen. After seeing Ian cutting that barrier down. He saw a new opportunity to get stronger.

    If it was possible to do for Ian, then he should also be able to do it!

    Ian smiled at him and nodded.

    "Alright, but be careful, he is not a human!" He said.

    Zoro nodded seriously. He knew the level of fight he got himself into, but he was not one to back down.

    Then the both of them got ready for the coming fight.

 Chapter 220 - Getting serious

    Zoro jumped toward Faust''s position.

    And by the time he made it out to there, the dust had already cleared, showing that Faust had gone straight through the skull dome penetrating it as if it was paper-thin.

    But after a few seconds, Faust climbed up again and stood there completely angered.

    Beyond some scratches, the only visible injury he sustained from this attack was a deep gash that went from his neck to his waist.

    Even after taking this attack and suffering an injury, he still didn''t think that taking down Ian was completely impossible.

    As such he ignored Zoro and put his hand on his c.h.e.s.t where the scar was in an effort to heal it. The scar notably started to heal, but it didn''t completely seal through¡­

    "That damn annoying bastard¡­" Faust muttered as he glared at Ian.

    He couldn''t completely heal his scar as Ian had infused his strike with so much Haki it became impossible for him¡­

    Zoro seeing him ignoring him grinned as he put his hand on two of his swords¡­

    "You''re underestimating me too much¡­" Zoro muttered before he charged at him.

    "Nanajuni Pound Ho" (72 Pound Phoenix/Cannon)

    Zoro used his two swords to perform a circular swing that launches two air-compressed projectiles spiraling towards Faust instead of one, making it twice as powerful.

    Faust turned to glare right at Zoro.

    "Annoying pest!" He clicked his tongue as he used his barrier to stop the attack and shoot it back stronger than it came.

    ****

    Back with Ian.

    Standing against him were Kaido and Shiki.

    Shiki right now had lost a limb, but he didn''t flinch from the pain at all. Kaido even helped him to cauterize it using fire.

    "That brat!" Shiki spoke up as he glared at Zoro.

    Following this, he manipulated several giant lion heads to attack Zoro and Ian at the same time.

    Ian frowned as he looked at him.

    "You think you can afford to divide your attention while fighting me? Why is that so? Is it because so far I have not chopped an arm or leg yet?" Ian questioned him.

    Was he being underestimated?

    He had his hand on his chin as if he was genuinely perplexed. His tone was not dangerous or cold, it was as if Ian was asking normally.

    But it brought shivers down Shiki''s spine nonetheless.

    And just like Shiki thought, all of a sudden all the lion heads that were flying towards the both of them, stopped in place and started to compress and change their forms, until they became much sleeker dragon heads instead of the previous lion ones.

    Shiki was shocked out of his mind.

    "How?" He muttered weakly as he saw his own attacks change direction and come back to attack him.

    "Hmph! When fighting against me, you should give it your all! Just like your fellow over there! If you underestimate me it will only lead to your loss!" Ian spoke up as he pointed at Kaido.

    Then following this the both of them started to dodge out of Ian''s attacks.

    Kaido was directly destroying them as he flew over his clouds.

    He maneuvered in the sky dodging one barely as he then hit it with his kanabo being imbued with his Haki leaving a trail of black lightning.

    But after it crumbles, all of a sudden it starts to change form and construct into various smaller dragon heads, which have more range. They were like serpents as they chased his form.

    Kaido seeing the thousands of dragon heads coming towards him yelled at the top of his head.

    "AHHHHHHHHH"

    This lead to various wind scythes resulting out of the powerful Haki-infused yell.

    Then Kaido continued on by taking a very deep breath, he gathered his energy and Roared as he released a huge fire breath at Ian.

    "BOLO BREATH"

    Meanwhile, Shiki who now had one arm less started to sweat as he saw all the dragon heads following him.

    But then he got his bearing back and started to try to control them back. When that didn''t work he cursed.

    "Shit!" He spoke up.

    "If that won''t work, then I''ll just destroy them the old way!" He then yelled stubbornly.

    He coated his sword legs in Haki before he started his attack.

    Following after he started to spin like a spinning top in all directions while releasing flying air blades of massive sizes consecutively.

    The dragon heads started to get destroyed in huge numbers while Shiki continued to spin around sending the air blades without any sign of stopping.

    But seeing the dragon heads not stopping at all and even increasing in numbers, Shiki stopped and he then flew around dodging any attack that came at him.

    He would flip around and shoot air blades at them, while his main direction was Ian.

    Coincidently He came at the exact moment Ian was attacked by Kaido''s flame breath.

    He took advantage of that and what he did this time was not manipulate earth but seawater.

    He wanted to kill Ian.

    He knew that he had also eaten a devil fruit like the two of them. And any devil fruit eater would drown in seawater.

    As such Ian was attacked by a massive water body shaped into a lion head that lunged at him with its mouth open.

    "Let''s see how you''ll escape this brat!!!" Shiki yelled at him as he continued to dodge the dragon heads following him.

    It was clear to him that if Ian didn''t want to or didn''t suffer an injury, these attacks were not going to stop.

    Ian seeing both attacks merely grinned.

    For the breath attack, he casually slapped it away using his Haki-coated hand.

    And for the lion''s water head, he let it hit him and take him away.

    Shiki yelled in joy.

    "Kaido did you see that?! The brat is done for! Jihahahaha" Shiki started to laugh.

    As if to prove it to him the dragon earth attacks stopped and crumbled back to debris.

    Kaido though merely frowned as he looked at the still flying lion water attack.

    The attack all of a sudden stopped in it the sky before its shape changed and turned to a ball.

    By now even Shiki knew something was wrong.

    Then when they looked closer they could see Ian inside there playing as he swam around.

    Ian then turned to look at them from inside the water before all of a sudden the water turned into a dragon shape and headed towards them leaving Ian in his place floating there.

    Kaido clicked his tongue.

    "He''s playing with us¡­" He muttered.

    He flew around dodging the attack along with Shiki before the attack continued on after missing them towards the sea¡­

    Kaido knew that if the water hit them, they were done for, and that was exactly why Ian had not continued attacking them with it¡­

    Even Shiki grasped this point. He and Kaido understood that Ian was not trying to kill them¡­ they didn''t even want to think about what if he was trying his all to kill them?

    But Kaido being the man he was became furious at Ian.

    "Fight like a man Ian D. Louis! Stop playing with us! Use your all." Kaido growled at him.

    His yell was filled with Haki and it was heard all around the battlefield.

    For a second everyone turned their attention to them.

    Everyone on the beast pirates'' side and Shiki thought in shock¡­

    ''He''s playing with them?''

    Meanwhile, on the samurai''s side, everyone was filled with joy and happiness at this news.

    Ian spread his observation Haki all around and started to ''see''.

    He then sighed¡­

    "I guess it is time to wrap this up then!" He then gave a nod to Kaido.

    "You want my all? Then don''t complain later when I kick your a.s.s all over the land of Wano!! Hahaha," Ian laughed as the sound of electricity started to surround him.

 Chapter 221 - Domination!

    While Ian had finally decided to stop playing around, Zoro was having a hard time fighting against Faust.

    When he used Enma and let it take his Haki for an attack, he found out that Faust''s shields don''t hold at all and break on impact.

    But that was due to the sword and not due to him.

    Zoro knew he couldn''t keep spamming that attack, as otherwise, he would run out of Haki. And even as he used the sword to attack, it all managed to do was to break the shield, but that in itself brought Faust enough time to move out of the place and dodge.

    ''But¡­ I have seen Ian ''cut'' that barrier¡­ And that means that it is possible!'' Zoro thought to himself.

    He still remembers Mihawk''s words back then when he trained him¡­

    ''If we wish to cut, we can cut through anything, if we don''t wish to cut, then the blade becomes dull and will not even scratch a paper. Roronoa, a real swordsman can cut everything, and cut nothing!''

    This was what he had said to him back then. And Zoro was familiar with these words, as back in the past, he had been up against Mr. 1 whose body was made of steel.

    Zoro at the time had thought that cutting steel was impossible. But he did manage to by the end.

    That was due to his strong will, and due to hearing the breath of his sword. Now he can do all that, so all that was left for him was try it out.

    And that was what he had been doing for a while now.

    Faust though was not just about his barriers. No, the sword at his waist was actually not just for looks. He had made his own attacks with the sword at Zoro, and now Zoro was injured in a few places¡­

    Zoro attacked for the seventh time since he stopped using only Enma. All his attacks thus far had failed, but he believed that if he continued like this he will succeed.

    ''I don''t believe I can''t do it!'' Zoro thought to himself as he took a deep breath. He then coated the three swords in Haki.

    "Everything can be cut!!"

    [Hyakuhachi Pound Ho] (108 Pound Phoenix)

    Holding his two swords horizontally above the shoulder and the other in his mouth in the same direction, Zoro performed a circular swing that launched three air compressed projectiles spiraling towards Faust instead of one or two, tripling the power of the technique, but with Enma, the air compressed projectiles instead fused and became a larger and more powerful compressed air projectile that shot towards Faust.

    But¡­

    Once again Faust brought forth his barrier as he mocked Zoro.

    "I don''t know what you are trying to do, but it won''t work! Why? Because you are weak!" Faust spoke up.

    But against his provocation, Zoro remained calm as he looked at his attack.

    And unfortunately for Faust, this time the attack was not absorbed.

    Rather it cut through the barrier, and due to his momentary shock, he did not dodge and was hit straight with the attack.

    "AHHHHHH"

    This resulted in him getting another injury, although not as deep as the one Ian gave him¡­

    Faust''s eyes turned red in rage as he looked at Zoro while he put his hand on his injury trying to heal it.

    It started to heal but like Ian, after it reached one point it didn''t heal anymore since the strike contained Haki.

    Zoro had a grin on his face.

    "What were you saying earlier?" Zoro taunted as he put one of his swords on his shoulder.

    ****

    Back with Ian.

    The sky changed all of a sudden from sunny weather to a cloudy one, as lightning could be heard crackling. As if it was about to greet a thunder god¡­

    Ian transformed into his Raijin form (Thundergod form). Which is similar to what the original Enel named Amaru form.

    Ian''s whole body turned into a gigantic thunder god made of pure electricity. His hair stood up rigidly as his form reached 8 meters in size. Apart from becoming made of pure electricity, Ian''s features remained the same.

    As such, right now, his size became the same as Kaido.

    Ian''s spear was glowing with electricity as he held it in his hand.

    Ian''s eyes met Kaido as he grinned.

    Before suddenly Ian raised his right hand and condensed his electricity into the shape of a spear, and fired at him.

    [Inazuma no yari] (Lightning spear)

    Kaido couldn''t even move before he found out he had a new hole in his body¡­

    This lightning spear, akin to a laser shot, managed to cut right through his famous durable body.

    "C-Cough"

    Kaido coughed blood before falling on one knee.

    Shiki seeing this, knew they were done for. If Kaido who was in his strongest form couldn''t dodge, then how could he? But even so, he was not going to sit around and wait for it.

    He flew at the top of his speed and came up above Ian before dropping on him with his swords swung to cut him apart.

    Ian''s form had become larger, as such it should much easier to hit him now with Haki attacks¡­

    [Nanatsu no kaminari Ryu] (Seven thunder dragons)

    Ian made seven lightning dragons in the sky and they started to fly around while the sound of the lightning reverberated around.

    But just as Shiki was about to touch Ian, a huge pillar of lightning shaped like a dragon came bearing on his form from the sky¡­

    Shiki didn''t even know what was happening and still had a determined look on his face before the beam made contact and practically fried him in his place.

    He then fell to the skull dome on the verge of losing consciousness¡­

    But Ian''s attack was not done yet, 2 more lightning dragon-shaped beams once again targeted his form and hit him one after the other dealing immense damage, before Shiki finally lost consciousness¡­

    Smoke was coming out of his form as he fell through a hole that he made through the skull dome.

    Ian didn''t let him fall through and caught him using his telekinesis before he put him nearby on the skull dome.

    The remaining four lighting dragons that were flying around, all came down in a second attacking Kaido who had managed to stand back up on his feet.

    Ian made sure to telekinetically hold Kaido''s form in place as the lighting beams made contact one after the other¡­

    One came from the side after it circulated his form, the next came straight from the sky and fell on him, and so it continued until they had all hit him¡­

    "C-Cough" Kaido coughed more blood as he struggled to remain conscious.

    Then Ian flashed right next to Kaido.

    Kaido even with the injuries that he sustained, was quite fast as he raised his kanabo almost on instinct and tried to land an attack on Ian''s form, but his mace passed through his form just like would usually happen with Logia''s except in this case he was using Haki so it shouldn''t be possible¡­

    Unless¡­

    "You can see the future?" Kaido muttered.

    And Ian only grinned as he punched him straight where his wound was and electricity exploded through his body¡­

    Remarkably Kaido was not down yet¡­

    Ian was happy at this. As such he continued on seeing when Kaido would finally succ.u.mb to his wounds¡­

    Kaido tried to attack once again and Ian let it pass through him, before kicking at his leg making him drop on his knee hard enough to crack the surface they were on¡­

    Kaido inhaled before firing a beam of fire at Ian from point-blank range.

    Ian''s form had a hole in it before it reformed soon after. His future sight played a huge role in this, as he could open a hole in his body where the attack was and then reform it after it passed him harmlessly.

    He then joined his hands before dropping them on Kaido''s head. The attack was so strong Kaido dropped straight through the skull dome and passed through the whole castle like a bullet before leaving a crater in the ground.

    Ian flashed to his position and watched as Kaido slowly got up from the ground while breathing roughly¡­

    "You really are crazy old man¡­" Ian muttered.

    Kaido gave him a grin as he stood up his form wobbling until he used his kanabo to support himself.

    "You are a worthy opponent, Ian D. Louis!" Kaido uttered loudly.

    He then started to return to his human form, and finally lost consciousness¡­ Still standing¡­

    Ian shook his head as he saw this.

    It might sound like Ian''s attacks were weak, but they were not. Ian was attacking with every ounce of his power. Those attacks of his had actually been made on the di¨¢voloi of the fourth stage, and even it was damaged¡­

    The fact that Kaido could tank so many of those spoke volumes about his durability¡­

    Ian stopped thinking about this before he flashed back to the skull dome and focused on Zoro who was nearby.

    He saw that Zoro was very near his limits, but the guy had something to show for his efforts.

    Faust was completely filled with injuries¡­

    And Faust seeing Ian done with his fights panicked before he touched a tattoo he had on his right shoulder.

    "Bob, take me out¡­" He yelled before he suddenly vanished under the eyes of Ian and Zoro.

    Ian grinned however as he made a motion of his hands to summon something.

    "Zoro, be ready to deal your strongest attack!" Ian told him and Zoro nodded.

    ****

    On another place in Wano.

    Faust suddenly appeared near another guy.

    "How many times have I told you to not call me Bob?!! My name is Bart!" The guy who was wearing a Marine uniform and a hat spat out angrily at seeing Faust.

    "Bob this is not the time, we need to get out of here fast!" Faust quickly said.

    "Bastard!" Bart cursed. But he understood the urgency¡­

    But all of a sudden both their expressions changed as they were grabbed by something, and the next second, their surroundings changed and they were right next to Ian.

    Ian brought the other guy next to him as he held him by his neck.

    And the moment Zoro laid eyes on Faust he attacked with his strongest ability.

    [Kiki-Kyutoryu: Ashura Bakkei: Moja no Tawamure] (Demonic Nine-Sword Style: Asura Sword-Drawing: Farce of the Dead)

    Zoro held Enma out before him, horizontally in his right hand, his other swords held in his left hand and mouth, as usual, entering the "Asura" state, with the silhouette behind him clasping two of its six hands. Haki begins emanating from him as he imbues his blades with it, turning them black. He then, readying his blades, moved past Faust in a flash, cutting him with incredible force. All nine swords landing in the same area.

    What followed after was Faust losing his right arm from the shoulder down.

    "AHHHHHH"

    He yelled in pain as Zoro dropped on one knee.

    "That was all I have!" He told Ian as he breathed roughly¡­ He was already quite injured from his battle, so Ian thought that it was enough. After all, no matter how much Faust was weak to him, he was still an emperor-level powerhouse.

    Ian gave him a nod and a thumbs-up, making Zoro smile.

    Ian then made another huge lightning dragon and made it come down from the sky onto Faust''s form before he was suddenly incinerated with nothing of him left¡­

    Ian then turned his attention to this person in his hands¡­

    "Did you know that Faust isn''t human?" Ian asked him.

    The guy franticly shook his head.

    "H-He isn''t? I didn''t know that!" He stuttered as he replied.

    Ian frowned before he threw him towards X-Drake who he knew was from the marines. Apparently, this guy who had earlier teleported Faust was the partner Whitebeard had mentioned when he was telling Ian about Faust. But he was not related to the di¨¢voloi so Ian let him go¡­ After all, no one can lie to him¡­

    He then let his Haki spread around¡­

    ''Almost all fights are done¡­" Ian concluded.

    "Well, I''ll take care of the rest then!" Ian grinned as he flew to the sky and with one swing of his hand, lightning started to rain on the beast pirates'' side and Shiki. He located them by his observation Haki which made it easy to lock on their forms¡­

    Everywhere the lightning hit, the pirates would be done for¡­ the only ones still conscious by the end of his attack were those going against Elene and Kuzan.

    As such he flashed right next to them after dealing with the huge army.

    It was time to end this war.

    (A/N: Enjoy another chapter, one that is 2200 words long. Also Special thanks to Edalon once again for coming up with Faust and his partner Bob/Bart)

 Chapter 222 - Even pirates have honor!

    [A/N: Sorry for the slow release guys. the current and next months (June and July) are filled with exams so I have less time to write, especially with me still working every day. And I''m also helping a friend with editing his written chapters. Once these exams pass, I''ll be releasing chapters every day, since I would have a lot of free time. I hope you can be patient]

    Elene and Kuzan did not need any help.

    This was what Ian concluded after flashing next to them.

    He had arrived just as Elene and Kuzan each took care of one of the two last di¨¢volois.

    Each one of them had dealt their most powerful strike and this resulted in their last enemies dying.

    "Good job!" Ian praised them.

    He gave them both a thumbs up and decided to wrap things up as he flashed back towards Kaido''s location...

    ****

    Since everyone was stunned into unconsciousness by Ian, the rest of the allies proceeded to celebrate their win.

    With this, their land was now free.

    Wano was free¡­ some of them still couldn''t believe this as they sat there on the ground in shock and happiness¡­

    And among those were the nine scabbards.

    "That ally you brought this time is truly formidable¡­" Ashura Doji said. Due to Ian alone, the fight ended up being so quick, it was hard to believe. Was this even a war at all? He internally wondered.

    Kin''emon, Nekomamushi, and Inuarashi smiled in pride.

    "Young Ian is a unique person¡­ I doubt you can find someone like him¡­" Inuarashi replied back to him.

    Kin''emon and Nekomamushi nodded their heads.

    "That''s right. It was fortunate he was on our side!" Kin''emon was grateful to Ian and didn''t want to even consider if Ian was against them¡­

    "His spear skills are also ridiculous!" Nekomamushi also added his two cents.

    Inuarashi glared at him.

    "What does that have to do with anything you stupid old cat?" He spat as he cursed the cat mink.

    "AH? What did you say? Of course it''s important, after all, he used those skills to beat me. Your tiny brain can''t comprehend that obviously!" Nekomamushi replied in distaste.

    The two then started to push each other with their heads, starting one of their famous quarrels once again.

    Kin''emon and the rest laughed at this.

    Sigh.

    Kin''emon then sighed.

    "To think our land is finally free¡­" He still found it hard to believe it.

    The others quieted and shared the same sentiment.

    Their lord Oden''s dream was to open the land of Wano to the rest of the world.

    And right now they were closer to that goal than ever.

    "We must not be hasty though¡­ Our lord Momonosuke is still young, not to mention we still have to ask Ian for another favor¡­" He said after a bit.

    The rest agreed.

    They had a favor to ask Ian and it had to do with protecting the land of Wano¡­

    Soon people started to surround them as they all laid on the floor.

    First were Ian''s crew who came closer while chatting happily.

    Next were the straw hats and a newer addition to them going by the name Yamato.

    This girl had helped them up in this war, and she was the daughter of Kaido.

    Luffy seeing she had the same explosives handcuffs as Rayleigh had destroyed once in the past, helped free her from them with his new type of Haki.

    And she seeing that they did in fact explode, cursed her father, and decided that once and for all she would sever all relations with him. The bastard after all was considering killing his own child.

    She then requested to join them. Stating that she failed to set sail with Ace, so she would set sail with Luffy instead. Luffy agreed as he didn''t see any reason to refuse. Plus she was quite the strong person too¡­

    Luffy had beaten King, and thus he was being praised by his crewmates.

    He had beaten him while struggling a bit in snake-form, however, Luffy had learned the new type of Haki which is what made it possible for him to beat King without using his ace card¡­

    And so on the people kept coming closer, and after a while, some people all of a sudden brought carts of food from the castle and started to pass food and drinks around.

    They had won, and they deserved to enjoy and celebrate.

    ****

    Back with Ian, he was surprised to see that Kaido had regained consciousness¡­ how resilient was this guy¡­

    Ian saw that he was now laying on his back on the ground staring at the sky that was starting to get clear.

    Ian didn''t speak first and decided to instead bring Shiki towards their place.

    He also moved Zoro from the top of the castle towards his allies.

    Kaido seeing Ian bringing Shiki, sat up and looked at Ian.

    Ian used a bit of lightning to stun Shiki which made him wake up.

    Upon seeing Ian he tried to curse first before all his injuries started to flare up, as if making him remember that the person he was about to curse had done all this to him.

    Ian then decided to speak.

    "Kaido, you and your pirates will leave Wano! That was our agreement." Ian told him. He didn''t ask him, no, he ordered him as the winner.

    "Tsk" Kaido clicked his tongue in distaste. All his plans with Shiki to rule the world¡­ never would happen now. Well at any rate he only wanted to stir the world to bring chaos and have the best fight of his life¡­

    But he did nod his head after a while.

    Ian smiled. He then moved his gaze to Shiki.

    Shiki seeing this beat him to the punch and asked.

    "Brat¡­ I have noticed that you didn''t want to kill us¡­ what is your goal with this?" he asked.

    And it was true. Every attack of Ian always felt like he was not giving it his all. So he was somewhat thankful to Ian for that. After all, Ian could have killed them anytime he wanted¡­

    Even Kaido straightened his back and listened with full attentiveness.

    "I want your help. It''s as simple as that." Ian replied.

    These two would be of huge help to him in the future. He was after all gathering allies for a while now.

    "Our help? Is it against that devil thing we fought?" Kaido was quick on the uptake.

    Ian nodded his head.

    "They are huge in numbers, and I can''t take them alone. That is why you have seen all those people back then fighting with me!" Ian answered.

    Kaido fell silent as he started to think about this.

    Meanwhile, Shiki didn''t understand anything so Ian started to explain everything to him.

    "So you are gathering allies in the case that a war will be fought in the future¡­ and you want my help? After you became my enemy?" Shiki asked.

    Ian gave him a nod and a glare.

    "It''s best you drop your ruling of the world ambition. You are just wasting your life that way and also I didn''t become your enemy, you tried to become mine when you allied with Kaido but I don''t hold it against any of you, as long as you stop these foolish actions¡­" Ian shook his head at him.

    Shiki didn''t get angered. He was quite calm right now. Plus with his beat-up form, he can''t even muster the strength to get angry even if he wanted to.

    Kaido then spoke up all of a sudden.

    He got up shakily from the ground and came near Ian.

    "Even pirates have honor!! I will leave Wano as per the agreement!" He said.

    Ian nodded.

    "At that time in the future, if there really is a fight, I''ll join your side!" He stated¡­

    Ian knew that what he said was what he meant truthfully. Due to the voice of all things, no one can lie against him after all.

    Ian saw that Kaido was about to leave so he told him to stop.

    "Wait!" Ian said to him.

    Kaido turned to look at him.

    "Since you will be on my side, let me help you with this!" Ian flew closer to him and then used his power to heal his body.

    Kaido had suffered from ugly burns, scars, broken bones, punctured organs and the list went on¡­ It was a miracle he was even still awake.

    But after Ian was done, Kaido turned back to his prime self. He was healed completely and not only that, his body had even regained its youth as if he was still a young guy¡­

    Kaido was stunned for a bit before he recovered and looked at Ian.

    "Thank you¡­" He whispered.

    This left Shiki.

    "Stupid brat, heal me too!" Shiki yelled at Ian as he looked at his tattered body.

    "I''ll also join, so just do it!" He grits his teeth as he said.

    Ian grinned. Two absolutely strong people had become his allies today.

    He chuckled as he started to heal Shiki. Not forgetting to fix his missing arm too¡­

    With this, the only thing Ian had left to do on Wano was to get the Red Poneglyph and make sure that Wano was back on its feet.

    "Well let''s drink to this!" Ian brought bottles of sake from his storage ring as he grinned at the two.

    Only Ian would be able to beat two people and then drink with them as if nothing had happened.

    Shiki and Kaido shook their heads as they grabbed a bottle each by the rope and started to chug it down.

    They needed to get wasted to get their mind out of these things that happened.

 Chapter 223 - Sabo in danger!

    Ian watched as both the legendary pirates before him started to fly away after they got drunk a bit.

    It was obvious they were not going to be buddies any time soon.

    But Ian didn''t mind.

    He smiled in triumph.

    He had gotten a promise from both of them to help when the time comes¡­ Ian knew they would hold their words.

    He was grateful for that.

    One might ask why he was bothering this much¡­ but when Ian thinks about what he came to know so far¡­

    ''Even Ariel and ones similar to it in strength still lost their war¡­ what chance do we have?'' Ian shook his head as he thought.

    It was only natural that he gathers allies, he didn''t want to lose¡­ Ever.

    Shaking his head from such thoughts, Ian got back to the thing at hand.

    He needed to find the red Poneglyph that Kaido had.

    Ian didn''t need to ask the man, since he had already sensed its whereabouts.

    He was currently still in his Raijin form, and he didn''t bother to turn it off.

    "Well, I''ll go get the Poneglyph before I join the rest for a drink!" Ian concluded before he sped up flying towards the castle.

    When he reached it he went inside. The castle had seven floors, two of which were underground. They were Ian''s destination.

    Ian moved fast by flying through the stairs until he reached the second bas.e.m.e.nt floor and found a room.

    "BOOM!"

    Two were blue, and the last one was red.

    "It''s only natural. Even big mom had two of the regular ones." Ian said as he saw them.

    He then waved his hands and the stones were stored away.

    Ian then got back and exited the castle before he looked at the whereabouts of his crew.

    "There they are!" He found them soon.

    He then flashed next to them before he turned off his Raijin form.

    Just as he was about to join his crew sitting down and enjoy a drink he saw how Kin''emon and the rest all got up with serious looks on their faces.

    "What are you doing you guys?" Ian asked them perplexed/

    They then bowed towards him at once.

    Included among them was Yamato who inclined her head towards Ian in thanks silently.

    They then loudly spoke.

    "Ian-dono¡­ We cannot stress how important this is to us¡­ But please accept our heartfelt thanks!" Kin''emon led the rest as they all yelled.

    "Thank you for your help in freeing the land of Wano, Ian-Dono/Ian-Sama!" They shouted as they kept their heads lowered¡­

    Ian was about to tell them to stop, but upon further looking at them, he noticed that they all had tears falling from their face.

    This was important for them.

    ''Well, it won''t hurt to accept their thanks!'' Ian didn''t like such things, but it didn''t hurt to let it go once in a while.

    "Then I''ll accept your thanks¡­ with a toast!" Ian brought a bottle of sake and grabbed it by the rope as he raised his right arm to the sky.

    They understood his meaning and they all raised their own cups.

    "To victory!!"

    ****

    The next day.

    "Purupuru!"

    Ian stirred awake from the bed as he moved his hand to grab the den-den mushi.

    By his side were Robin and Elene each taking his left and right. Kin''emon had led them to this house where they could sleep yesterday.

    "Gacha!"

    "This is Ian," Ian said.

    "I''m deeply sorry to call you young Ian at this time, but something happened." On the other side, a deep voice spoke up urgently.

    "Give me a second," Ian said to Dragon that he recognized from the voice.

    He then gently moved both girls before he was able to get up and sat on the side of the bed.

    "Tell me what happened." Ian then asked Dragon.

    Dragon took a deep breath.

    "One of the most important plans of the revolutionary army is to acquire a certain treasure from Marijois¡­ I do not know what it is, but according to Roger, it will help us greatly in the future. We had a plan to infiltrate Marijois and get the treasure, but complications arose. And I can''t do anything now," dragon explained.

    Ian raised a brow.

    ''There is a secret treasure in Marijois that would help them? If it can help then it must be harmful to the di¨¢voloi¡­'' Ian thought silently.

    Dragon waited patiently on the other side¡­ in truth, he was planning to study what the treasure was before he speaks to Ian about it. He was even willing to give it to Ian if he needed it. He understood the threat they were facing, and he was willing to bet on Ian.

    "What went wrong then?" Ian asked after a bit.

    "Two admirals were present in Marijois!" Dragon didn''t need to say anything else for Ian to understand.

    "It can''t be Kizaru so it must be the two newest ones then¡­ did anyone die?" Ian asked.

    Dragon replied.

    "No! But Sabo, who I''m sure you know as Ace and Luffy''s brother, is being chased by them, he had bought time for the rest to escape. The last message from him was how he was going to escape from the two admirals and rejoin the other executives! I know this is too much to ask of you, but please help him young Ian, he is a good kid¡­" Dragon added.

    Ian gave a short nod.

    He did know about Sabo from Luffy. The three did manage to reunite. Sabo had lost his memory but at the news of the war, he had regained it.

    "What about the operation?" Ian asked.

    Dragon was the one who sighed this time.

    "It was a fail!" He replied.

    Ian thought it was only natural¡­ for such a treasure, perhaps even if dragon went himself he still wouldn''t be able to take it with him.

    Ian didn''t need Dragon to tell him what he wanted.

    He understood everything. Dragon was powerless to do anything, not only against two admirals but also Im.

    Meanwhile, although it was dangerous for Ian, it was still possible for him to succeed.

    He can in fact destroy both admirals and he can escape Im¡­

    Ian started to say.

    "I''ll help you save Sabo!"

    "You have my thanks!" Dragon thanked him, while internally vowing to never forget this.

    They then cut the call off, and Ian grabbed a shirt before walking from the room.

    He was wearing a simple white t-shirt, blue shorts, and sandals.

    "Well let''s go save the kid!" Ian muttered as he rubbed his eyes with his hand.

 Chapter 224 - Rescue!

    Marijois. Grand line.

    The last time Ian was here he had kidnapped Kong, and following that he had killed him.

    But since he did visit before, it was easier for him to teleport there this time.

    In the sky above Marijois Ian appeared from a swirl of shadows.

    The first thing he did after was to use observation Haki.

    He of course would do that since Im was the number one thing he had to be wary about this time.

    If it was just the two admirals, then Ian was confident of taking them on both easily. But If Im joined he was not so sure¡­

    He suspected Im was the strongest person in this world¡­ but even if such a scenario came to be, he was confident he could teleport. He had done so once in the past right under her eyes.

    If he couldn''t save Sabo while doing that, then it would be a shame, but he wouldn''t trade his life for his.

    ''Why does her presence feel faint?'' Ian thought to himself as he felt everything around him.

    It felt to him as if she was very far away¡­ but he knew for a fact that she was right there in the castle below.

    Normally by now, she would have reacted to his presence somehow, but she didn''t¡­ this left him wondering what was wrong?

    She would have come herself. Ian knew that she wanted nothing more than to kill him after all.

    She won''t make the same mistake as before and send weaklings after him. at this time only she was capable of doing that perhaps.

    ''It''s no use thinking about this anymore!'' Ian decided.

    If she couldn''t stop him due to something going wrong, then it was good for him. There was no use thinking about this and wasting time.

    Ian''s Haki picked up on three presences that stood up from the rest. And he also picked up the presence of some others who were strong.

    He guessed that some might be di¨¢voloi hiding, after all, Im had to have some around.

    The others he felt should be the remaining elders.

    He also felt the faint presence of a few people very deep underground.

    ''Those must be Sabo''s companions!'' Ian thought.

    Ian decided to get on with it.

    ****

    Though her eyes were closed as if she was in a deep sleep.

    Various feelers were connecting through her body.

    If you followed where these feelers were going it will lead you to a huge underground room that had no furniture or anything. The only thing it had was¡­. bodies.

    Dead bodies in the millions¡­

    The feelers were connecting to the bodies, and then they would enlarge as if they were absorbing something, and this would go all the way until it pours into Im''s body.

    It was clear that Im was not aware of whatever was happening outside, and that she was not going to be awake anytime soon.

    ****

    ON another room that was underground of the castle, a hat can be seen that was frozen.

    In fact, the whole room was frozen.

    "Thump!"

    But a heavy thump was heard every few seconds. It appeared as if something was held down, and it was trying to escape¡­

    "Thump!"

    ****

    He flashed to their position.

    He then saw Sabo fighting while dodging around against Fujitora and Ryokugyu. The two new admirals.

    Sabo had his arms covered in a blueish metallic color along with armament Haki as he kept breaking the ground around them easily and throwing it at them while running backward.

    His fingers turned to claws that were very sharp, and they were also made from the blueish metallic color covering his arms.

    "HAH!" he yelled as he buried his hands in the ground and threw a huge stone at them.

    Ryokugyu also had his arms covered in Haki as he easily swatted the pieces of the ground thrown at him.

    "Settle down you brat!" He spoke up.

    Meanwhile, Fujitora cut them with his sword and continued on chasing the young man.

    "Resistance is futile." He shook his head at Sabo.

    And then all of a sudden Fijitora swung his sword at Sabo.

    Sabo crossed his arms that were covered in Haki and metal clashing with metal sounds were heard following after.

    Sabo held his ground against the admiral, but before he could think of a way to escape the gravity around his form increased all of a sudden.

    His legs started to get buried in the ground due to this, but he didn''t budge or bend his knees. A testament to his strength.

    The other admiral all of a sudden came falling from the sky, his to arms joined together and made a sort of hammer from branches intertwining together. He also covered this huge wooden hammer in Haki.

    Sabo started to think that maybe he was done for this time, as even holding down one admiral was tough, before all of a sudden next to him a new person appeared.

    This person caught the hammer with one arm easily, while with the wave of another the gravity effect was canceled.

    "You are Sabo?" the person asked.

    Sabo nodded subconsciously.

    "That''s good. Then go rejoin your companions!" Ian waved his hands and Sabo suddenly was engulfed in shadows.

    The next second after the shadows dissolved, Sabo was gone.

    Ian sent him to his fellows who were under the ground.

    "Yonko Ian D. Louis! This is even better than catching the Revolutionary Army''s chief of staff, Sabo!" Ryokugyu spoke up as he saw Ian.

    The hammer that Ian was holding all of a sudden changed into thin branches that started snaking around his form until they had completely circled around him and caught him in a bind.

    "A plant-based ability¡­" Ian muttered.

    Ryokugyu had eaten the Hito-Hito no Mi, Model: Faunus. (Human-Human Devil Fruit, Model: Faunus).

    It is a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit that allowed its user to control plants, turn invisible¡­ and many other abilities¡­

    He once again used his gravity on Ian and summoned a huge meteor down onto Ian''s form.

    Right now they were in the gardens surrounding the castle, so Fujitora thought it was fine.

    Although Akainu was sure going to give him hell later on.

    Ian flexed his muscles, and just like that the bindings snapped like little twigs of a tree¡­

    As for the meteor, Ian grabbed his spear from the ring, and before they could react whatsoever had already swung it multiple times leading to this meteor that was the size of several houses, being cut into various little pieces.

    Ian stored his spear once again.

    "My objective is done. So I won''t be a bother to you anymore. But if you still wish to fight¡­ I won''t hold back!" Ian informed them.

    He had come to save Sabo. And he had done so. Fortunately, it appeared that no complications arose.

    Meaning Im didn''t show up just yet¡­ as such Ian wanted to leave while he still had time.

    Ryokugyu laughed as he heard Ian.

    "We are being underestimated! You brat I''ll teach you a lesson to not make fun of your betters!" He grits his teeth as his form started to enlarge and grow big until he was almost ten meters in size.

    Horns made of tree branches intertwined appeared above his head, and his body became huge and more powerful like an Ent tree being.

    Issho or better now as Fujitora sighed in tiredness.

    If it were up to him he would have taken Ian''s suggestion.

    Why?

    Because Sabo and the revolutionary army had failed their objective. And now they had run away.

    So why battle Ian, what were they going to gain? Nothing.

    Issho knew that for a fact. He also knew that they wouldn''t even be able to match Ian much less catch him.

    If Kizaru failed, then they would fail ten times more¡­ Even Akainu had warned not to engage him unless they were left with no choice¡­

    Too bad his partner this time was a hotheaded one.

    How a devil fruit that gave the ability of plants which signified calm, landed in his Ryokugyu''s hands who is the complete opposite, Issho would never know.

    Since the idiot went and got them into this, he had to follow. He was about to start getting serious himself when Ian moved all of a sudden.

    Issho couldn''t even see what happened before his partner''s transformation started to recede.

    Ryokugyu coughed blood and lost consciousness even before he was launched back due to the attack made by Ian.

    Ian had moved so fast and then he kicked him straight in the stomach and threw right into the castle with enough force he actually got out from the other side!

    Issho could clearly see Ian''s form being one of pure blueish electricity unlike earlier when he was still normal.

    Ian then turned to stare at Issho.

    And seeing him not moving, Ian released his Raijin form. He meant it when he said he won''t hold back, and if he fought with his base form, then the fight would just go on and on for a while¡­ He couldn''t afford that here and right now¡­

    Seeing Issho not moving at all even after leaving his form, Ian decided to leave.

    He was then engulfed in shadows, and after a second he was gone.

    Sigh.

    Issho sighed.

    "Maybe this will teach him to keep his calm the next time¡­"

    Fujitora started to head out towards Ryokugyu¡­

    But after a few seconds, he sighed again.

    "Who am I kidding?" He muttered.

 Chapter 225 - Leaving Wano

    4 months later.

    This was the day Ian and co were finally leaving Wano in. Everything was already done, Wano was back to its feet, and Ian and co finished their business.

    After the war, they had enjoyed a party for a whole week. All around Wano food was distributed and everybody joined in on the celebration.

    The news that Orochi and Kaido were gone spread around the whole land in a single day. That alone was the sole reason everybody was filled to the brim with happiness.

    Afterward, everybody from the allies started to leave.

    Apart from Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, and some other minks with them, all the rest had already left Wano after the war. They had their own duties to their kingdoms so they left. As for the two rulers, they had a duty to their lord Momonosuke, so they would stay a bit more, or so they had said.

    Some, like Law, left after the first week, and some others spent a bit more, but Only Ian and co stuck around so much, enough to see the changes the land of Wano went through.

    Even the straw hats had already left. Their job was done, they had helped their allies, and had taken care of their problem against Kaido, which resulted from destroying the smile factories¡­

    A promise to fight when Luffy reaches the top was shared between Ian and him too. Both Ian and Luffy were excited about that¡­ Ian mainly for seeing what other new gears Luffy was going to come up with.

    The newest addition to their crew, Yamato, also started her journey with them with full enthusiasm.

    For Zoro, he was given Enma as a gift. That was unlike what he was thinking before. Since it belonged to Oden, he thought he would have to give it back. But it turned out he could keep it.

    Their crew was given gold and silver as a gift too, which all wanted to refuse, but Nami ended up accepting it on their behalf.

    Her eyes while doing so, were scary for the samurai handing them the gifts¡­

    ****

    Ian right now was heading out to the pier with Kin''emon to join his crew, before finally leaving Wano.

    "Sigh. I can''t believe four months went by so fast¡­" Kin''emon sighed as he walked with Ian.

    Ian smiled as he looked at the changed Wano.

    Everything was just¡­ better.

    The scenery of the trees in full bloom, the roses on the sideways, and the fresh smell of nature that was lost to them, all came back.

    Everything was so full of life, Ian felt relaxed¡­

    Ian had already told his crew to get things ready so that they could leave. Meanwhile, he had gone and joined Kin''emon for a conversation concerning a favor he had to ask of him.

    But only he and Kin''emon talked about this. The rest had already gone away to the pier in preparation to send off Ian.

    Basically, Kin''emon had asked Ian to stand by their side when the time comes for them to open the land of Wano.

    In fact, if it was not their late lord''s will to Open Wano, they wouldn''t dare do so.

    As such they could only rely on Ian''s prowess and reputation to survive at that time.

    Ian didn''t mind so it was resolved easily. When the time comes, the land of Wano will surface into the world, as a country under the protection of Ian D. Louis. The fifth emperor of the sea, and the captain of the Nightmare pirates.

    Ian before going back promised the little guy Momo to come to visit and to also help train him in the future.

    That kid got a friend in Tama, and the little girl Toko. They each gotten along quite well and played around since the end of the war¡­

    Tama had promised to be a ninja that is to him, something similar to what nine scabbards were to Oden.

    And as expected Momo didn''t feel strongly about that, until he had to admit her strength after she showed him her ability to tame wild beasts.

    As for Toko, she was the maid of his sister, and since his sister Hiyori was always around him, she was permitted to play with them.

    Ian had even helped to heal Toko from her sickness so she could play like a normal kid¡­

    Well, Ian found out that the healing water he could produce turned out to be able to cleanse the polluted soil of the land of Wano.

    So Ian was requested to help with this particular problem.

    He didn''t mind of course.

    The land of Wano, apart from the capital, was completely reduced to wastelands.

    And Ian changed that.

    That was the very next thing he did right after making sure the news of Orochi dying and Kaido being taken care of was spread out among the citizens.

    He did all this along the course of the four months of course¡­

    He went around the country and using his powers he created a huge quantity of healing water, by drawing water from nearby rivers and adding his healing energy to it, after which he used this new water and changed the polluted soil into a fertile one.

    Once he had done that, he left the next task to the men of Wano to prepare locations near each city, to make something akin to the paradise farms. Except for this time, it was for all regions and not just one.

    In this way, Ian had resolved the problem of food the whole land of Wano was facing.

    And now due to that, there was no reason someone like Otama would starve¡­

    And during that time, due to chopper, Ian even discovered that the sick people of Wano would be cured of their problems if they drunk the healing water. Including the ones who had eaten defective smile devil fruits.

    This was how Toko was healed.

    ****

    Kin''emon was also admiring the changes along with Ian before he started to speak.

    "I cannot thank you enoug-" He was cut short however soon by Ian putting the tip of his spear right at his throat.

    "If you thank me one more time, I''ll beat you black and blue! Damn it people how many times do you have to thank me? I get it already¡­" Ian released a frustrated sigh.

    Imagine everywhere you went in Wano people would bow to you. Ian didn''t care the very first few days, but then this went on for four months and people were still thanking him left and right. Whenever he is walking around those people would bow down dropping whatever they are doing at the time, treating him respectfully until he moved past them.

    Kin''emon gulped.

    "H-However Ian-dono, what you have done for us can''t be forgotten so easily¡­" Kin''emon replied with heat in his voice.

    Sigh.

    Ian stored his spear back.

    "I know¡­ sigh," Ian replied and sighed for the umpteenth time.

    "That is why it''s getting annoying." He added.

    Kin''emon smiled. He knew Ian didn''t mean that. He was a nice guy.

    If Ian knew what he was thinking, he would really consider beating the hell out of this guy.

    ''If I beat the shit out of you would you stop thinking I''m a nice guy?'' Ian had this brief thought pass through his head.

    And Kin''emon felt a shiver down his spine with the way Ian was looking at him menacingly. But he shook it off. It must be his imagination.

    Soon they had reached the ship. And it was finally time to leave.

    When Ian got onto the ship and joined his crew, Kin''emon and the rest stayed on the pier watching. This time they had smiles on their faces.

    Then when everything was ready, Ian''s crew were busy moving things away, and Libell took her role of steering the ship.

    Ian waved his hand at them before the ship started to sail soon after.

    Kin''emon and the rest yelled their thanks for one final time.

    "Thank you for helping us, and not looking the other side when we were in need!"

    Ian grinned as he shook his head.

    He turned to look forward and started to consider their next destination.

    The final words Kin''emon added ringing in his ears.

    "May your journey be filled with adventures and good times!"

 Chapter 226 - Notice (One that isnt scary at all!)

    Heya, you guys. So yeah this week is a week of exams. From Monday until Saturday. Following this week, by next month, I would have my end of the year exam, and that''s gonna need a lot of preparation... Specifically, it is on the 07 of July.

    As such, I won''t be updating for a while. I''m not going to stop for the next 14 days completely though. Just updating less frequently that''s all. After that though, I''ll be back to a more steady update.

    The next update will be on Sunday since that''s a Free day. And also since the current chapter I will be writing needs more research than usual since it is about the country of the giants.

    Thank you for your patience, especially with my sporadic update schedule. I understand your frustration. My release is a mess because I work while I study at the same time, and writing is just my hobby. I hope you can understand and continue to like my story and support it. I thought I should at least tell you about this, after all, many people would think I''m dropping it or something.

 Chapter 227 - Cybernetic arm!

    While Ian and co had started to continue their journey from Wano, an important thing was happening in the marines'' headquarters.

    Kizaru who had been in a coma finally¡­ woke up!

    He slowly opened his eyes that were still a bit cloudy and looked at his surroundings¡­

    No one was in the room right now but he did hear faint voices of people yelling earlier just when he got his consciousness back.

    ''Must be the nurses¡­'' He thought.

    He guessed they were the nurses and they probably went to call his doctors.

    ''Water¡­'' His throat was parched he looked around searching for water.

    He found one by the bed and he grabbed it and chugged it completely down.

    He felt better afterward.

    He stood up near the bed and started to check his body.

    He didn''t feel injured at all, and besides a bit of tiredness, he was relatively fine.

    Left-arm, check. Right-arm, check. Both legs intact, check. No injuries, check.

    He didn''t feel any different for a while so his mood was turning for the better¡­ until it clicked for him¡­

    That memory came crashing down on him reminding him of what had happened, and his mistake¡­

    He looked at his left arm in wonder¡­

    As far as he knew there was no person alive who could heal such an injury.

    ''Then how?'' he asked himself.

    Right now it appeared just like a normal arm. There was practically no difference. Neither in looks nor feeling.

    That is why he thought it had been healed¡­

    But as he clenched his left arm all of a sudden, it changed form and from the wrist, a part opened and a sword started to come out before Kizaru grasped it in his hand.

    It was just a short sword, close to 60-70 cm, but Kizaru noticed something else.

    He moved his right arm towards it and as he touched it he started to feel weak.

    "Seastone¡­ Just as I thought." Kizaru muttered.

    He was fine holding it with his left arm, but maybe that was because he was not holding it directly but rather with this mechanized prosthetic arm.

    He found it easy to use this arm as if it was his real arm, and soon he was able to control its forms.

    He changed it once again and this time it became some sort of gun with a lot of holes to fire from.

    The next form he tried was some sort of cannon.

    And Kizaru instinctively let his light energy flow through the cannon and a yellow glow started to surround the room while the sound increased.

    He was just about to release it when he turned to look at the door of the room. His head titled.

    It was then that the same door to the room was opened by Akainu and a doctor following after him¡­

    He receded his energy before the sound and the glow died out.

    "Finally you are awake Borsalino!" Akainu spoke up, his facial features as always hard, while he had a cigar in his mouth.

    "Yeah¡­ "Kizaru replied.

    Akainu then saw his left arm that was transformed.

    "I see you have gotten used to your new arm!" Akainu remarked.

    Kizaru looked at it and had it change back to a regular arm. Before he gave him a nod. He was starting to like this mechanized arm.

    "Anything happened while I was out?" Kizaru then asked.

    It was not a lot of time so nothing big should have happened¡­ right?

    Akainu''s eyebrows twitched for a second.

    Kizaru had a bad feeling about this¡­

    ****

    Akainu told him about everything and he even included how Ian had beaten Fujitora and Ryokugyu.

    Meanwhile, the doctor checked on him and explained everything the arm could.

    He told him that it was made from the newest metal the marines produced based on research done by combining Wapometal and various others.

    It could shoot Seastone bullets. And if he wanted to capture someone it could also fire Seastone nets.

    The sword as he already knew, was made from Seastone. But what he didn''t know was that the hand too can switch to a form where the fingers will be made from Seastones. But only the fingers, while the rest that is connected to him is made from metal.

    As for the cannon it was made specifically for him. And it was capable of amplifying his laser attacks.

    But Kizaru even though heard all that and was amazed, didn''t care as much as hearing that Elene had beaten big mom and killed her.

    "That guy was not the one who killed her?" Kizaru asked as his eyes widened¡­

    Akainu shook his head¡­

    "It was not him but the nightmare''s sniper: Shadow Empress Elene," Akainu said.

    Kizaru knew that Ian was in fact capable of doing that so his reaction was not really extreme to the part about him, though it was surprising that it had happened in the first place. As he had warned them to leave Ian alone. But his fellow admirals did otherwise.

    His biggest surprise though came in the form that Elene had beaten big mom and not Ian¡­

    "That crew is crazy¡­" He muttered.

    He took a few seconds to let that sink in before he got his bearings back¡­

    "Didn''t I already tell you to leave Ian Louis alone?" Kizaru spoke up as he got up from his sitting position in the bed.

    "Tsk. I already gave them the orders, those bastards ignored it." Akainu grumblingly muttered. He had given the order to leave Ian alone. This is the reason he and his crew were not meeting any marine sh.i.p.s recently¡­ But that didn''t mean that he was scared of him.

    No Akainu had a lot to deal with at the current time, but he believed that with sufficient preparation he could take down Ian. And it was one of his goals as the felt admiral.

    "Idiots!" Kizaru shook his head.

    Akainu seeing this glared at him.

    "Aren''t you the same? As if you always follow your orders¡­" Akainu spoke in distaste.

    "While the revelations of what had happened so far are important and serious, what I want to know is what you had decided about that Im?" Kizaru ignored what Akainu said as if he wasn''t speaking about him at all¡­ Instead, he brought the focus to another important subject.

    Akainu didn''t pursue it.

    Instead, he did something anyone that knew him would say was impossible.

    He smiled.

    But it was not just a regular smile. No, it was a bloodthirsty smile that promised pain.

    "I have let those two know about this. And we decided to make sure there is no hidden or known single ruler to the world government. The empty throne was named thus for the sole reason to imply no one ruler governs the world. We will make sure it means exactly that." Akainu spoke up.

    From his tone, Kizaru could detect that he was excited about that and can''t wait for it to happen.

    Kizaru though noticed something else¡­

    "So it will be just us?" He asked.

    Akainu nodded his head.

    "There are three elders left. And this Im. We will not include the marines and it will be a secret operation. There is no need for the whole world to know about this¡­ So it will be just the four of us!" Akainu confirmed.

    Four against four¡­

    "We will first take care of the elders alone before we proceed to kill her. I don''t believe she would beat all four of us!" Akainu explained to him.

    And Kizaru nodded as he looked at his left arm.

    Its form changed to a sword once again as he grasped it.

    "I don''t believe so either!" He slowly spoke each word regaining his usual talking manner.

 Chapter 228 - Akagami no Shanks

    New world.

    Akagami Pirates.

    Shanks and his crew right now are on an island glaring at their opposition.

    The Nightmare pirates.

    Shanks''s eyesight met Ian''s.

    "In the end, we never shared that drink did we?" Ian said with a small smile.

    Shanks gave him a nod. Not losing his seriousness.

    Shanks thought about how it all went down and reached these current events¡­

    ****

    He was generally a very laid-back person.

    He was also a pacifist, searching for balance and order. Although the most important thing to him was still freedom. When he knows the world is going to be engulfed in chaos, he makes his move. This was how he was¡­

    He had even some relation with the world government since they knew and respect him the most among pirates. He never goes back on his words, and they knew he was quite honorable, and not searching for conflict. Though if he had known about the di¨¢voloi from before, he wouldn''t have helped them at all¡­

    Not many things made him break out of this usual characteristic of his¡­

    Among the few things capable of so, are hurting his friends. As evidenced by Luffy.

    Another thing was how inspired by Roger he was.

    Roger had said that he was very early when they found the One Piece¡­ And Shanks having not reached the last island, believed them when they said that Roger''s son would reach it¡­

    But an encounter with Luffy put the image of his deceased captain in his mind the figure of the two almost overlapping¡­ At that time he felt that Luffy will be the chosen one.

    When he met Ace, his thoughts on the matter became more firm.

    Luffy was just too similar to roger for him to think otherwise. Their carefree personality their non-caring attitude, and their childish demeanor. Even their quick to anger tendencies were shared¡­ Shanks had provoked Luffy saying he doesn''t have what it takes to become a pirate¡­ and this led Luffy to proclaim how he will become the best of the best among them, the pirate king, and claim the one piece.

    So he traded his arm for the future of Luffy. It was not that he couldn''t dodge that sea king back then, it was just a matter of how much importance he placed on Luffy and he showed it with that.

    His existence led Shanks to start doubting himself¡­

    After all, if anyone was close to reaching Laughtale, then it had become Ian. And due to recent events, Shanks was sure it was Ian.

    Ian had taken big mom''s Road Poneglyph, had gotten a copy of the one in Zou, and now took the one with Kaido.

    All that was left was the last one.

    Which coincidently is with Shanks¡­ Or rather Shanks knew where it was.

    So now he had to accept that Ian was the most likely person Roger his captain was waiting for to reach the last island¡­

    He had a hard time accepting this for a while. He was a stubborn fool, but in the end, he came to terms with it. Which is why he had come here¡­

    Sooner or later Ian was going to reach the last island¡­ Shanks was even sure that Ian can take the last Stone from him in time.

    But he came here selfishly this time.

    Why was Ian in need of reaching the last island? What did Ian know and he didn''t? What were the di¨¢voloi they fought at the war? It was apparent that Ian did know these things¡­ and Shanks wanted to ask these questions¡­

    If his goals didn''t meet his and Roger''s expectations Shanks would leave and not give him the location where the stone was. As Ian''s opposing goals would mean he was not the one who Roger was waiting for to lead the new dawn¡­

    ****

    "Let''s have a fight!" Shanks all of a sudden spoke up making the tense atmosphere grow more heated...

    Both crews except the captains, got ready and tense as they brandished their weapons. Ready to move in a second.

    "Sure!" Ian cheerfully replied.

    But Shanks added next.

    "It will be just you and me! Our crew members can watch if they want!" Shanks said.

    Ian agreed with a nod.

    There is a difference between confidence and arrogance¡­

    When that fight does happen and his crew loses, only then would what he said be considered arrogance.

    Right now they had already landed on the island that was close to them when Ian and co were stopped by them...

    Ian was standing with his crewmates near him, and Shanks with his similarly.

    It was an uninhabited island so it would serve well for the purpose of fighting this time.

    "You Ian D. Louis are the closest living person to ever reach Laughtale!" Shanks stated as they both got rid of their cloaks and their crew stepped back a distance away.

    Ian looked at him in amus.e.m.e.nt.

    "Are we going to fight or talk?" He asked. From Shanks laid back stance he deduced that he wanted to talk first. Which Ian thought was weird considering how serious Shanks looked when he asked for a fight.

    Shanks was startled for a second before he recovered and scratched his head nervously.

    "My apologies¡­ I didn''t mean a fight to the death or the like¡­ It is more like a spar, nothing too serious¡­" Shanks said.

    "I''m being selfish here, but I want to know your goals for reaching the last island, and also what you know about those di¨¢voloi! In return, if I find your goals similar to mine, we''ll have the spar and I can teach you something about Haki very few people know about, and then I''ll give you the location of the-" Shanks was still speaking when Ian interrupted him.

    "The location of the last Road Poneglyph!" Ian grinned as he said.

    "As expected it was with you!" Ian added.

    Shanks was stunned.

    "How did you know about that?" He asked genuinely wondering about that.

    "Well, my thoughts were that either you or the government had it. But you confirmed it right now!" Ian cheekily said with a grin on his face.

    Shanks stared at him for a few seconds.

    Before he burst into laughter.

    "DAHAHAHAH!"

    Ben didn''t know what his captain had in mind this time, along with the whole crew. So only now could they relax thinking to themselves that it was just a spar.

    As for Ian''s side, he had warned them that at the current time, only Shanks could possibly be a match for him. Not in power but in skill.

    After a while, Ian looked a bit seriously at Shanks.

    "I don''t mind telling you what you want to know, after all, you are a strong ally to have. We can also have the spar just for fun!" Ian nodded at him.

    Shanks suddenly felt that Ian was quite a good guy.

    He nodded back at Ian waiting for him to start speaking. Only after he hears what Ian has to say will they have their spar. If Ian''s answers are not what Shanks is searching for, then there was no point to have the spar.

 Chapter 229 - Beating time!

    Elene and co watched along with the rest of the Akagami pirates.

    Watching them, they would see Ian and Shanks''s attacks as something that they can''t dodge, and that would definitely hurt them. But then, both would easily block each other''s strikes as if they were a regular sword/spear strike.

    This spar that was happening, might as well be the most impressive fight they had witnessed in their life.

    That is if they were capable of following them.

    Though for now, they were still able to follow the movement of both of them¡­

    Shanks''s speed was impressive, he was able to keep up with Ian just fine, even though it shouldn''t be possible, since Ian was clearly stronger and faster.

    Rather than what they thought, it was not speed, but rather Haki. Shanks was using future sight, and ''his'' was potent enough to see the future, plus he was fast enough to dodge out of harm''s way.

    How was Shanks so fast though?

    His crew already knew of course, but Ian''s noticed something about Shanks.

    Red lightning was surrounding his form, and he even attacked with it occasionally.

    "Most likely that will be the answer," Elene remarked after a while of watching. "But for now let''s watch a bit more." Although it was almost obvious, she still wanted to be sure.

    In the first place, this was just to pass time, so it didn''t hurt to male speculations and so on.

    "I am most certain about it too!" Robin replied as she didn''t take her eyes off the fight.

    "Likewise! But even with that, big bro Ian is going to kick his a.s.s later on just watch!" Stella cheerfully added.

    Bert, Stella, Robin, agreed to her statement with nods.

    The rest stayed silent. But there was approval in their eyes. Along with anticipation to see that happening.

    And after a few more exchanges, they surmised it was due to that. There was no longer any doubt in their minds, as Shanks himself explained it¡­

    ****

    Ian had his spear in his hand as he parried a strike from Shanks, and then proceeded to kick him into his stomach.

    ''He''s fast.'' Ian remarked. He knew it had to do with the lightning that was surrounding Shanks''s form.

    Ian dodged it easily and countered with his own lightning air blades.

    Earlier he had seen Shanks use it, and the moment he had come near it he dodged it hastily¡­

    Why?

    Because it was made out of Haki.

    Yes, Haki.

    In terms of power, the red lightning was inferior to Ian''s power, but the fact it was made from Haki made it all the more dangerous.

    There was also the fact that Ian didn''t know what kind of technique this was¡­ His father told him there was only one technique that was left for him to learn¡­ Was this it?

    But Shanks had said that he was going to test him first¡­

    Once again Shanks dodged easily a few of Ian''s air blades while he swung his sword deflecting the rest.

    They had been fighting like this for half an hour now. Hundreds of moves were exchanged between the both of them, and yet there was no visible injury on any of them.

    Shanks lowered his sword a bit.

    And seeing Ian''s wondering look he started to speak without stopping his attacks.

    He jumped at Ian swinging his sword coated in Haki and red lightning.

    "This is also something, as far as I know, only I can use!" Shanks said.

    *Clang*

    Ian raised a brow as he blocked the sword strike¡­ What about that old man then, huh?

    But all jokes aside, Shanks didn''t know about Howell, so it is true that maybe he is the only one.

    But Ian''s question was if anyone can train to use this?

    As if reading his mind, Shanks Answered.

    "When you use the conquerors'' technique Infusion, a type of black lightning results. This is the advanced form of that. When one can control it, it would take on the color suited to the person! But¡­" Shanks explained. "As far as I know, no one has been successful in learning it, even the late pirate king, Roger!" Shanks dropped a bomb on Ian.

    *Grunt*

    Shanks exerted his power trying to push Ian only to fail.

    He fell back soon after and made a thrusting stance, which led to a beam of red lighting being thrown at him.

    Ian raised a brow. There were so many applications for how he could use the lightning it appeared. Well, Shanks was a strong man so of course, he would master his own powers.

    Ian didn''t know what the technique was earlier so he didn''t venture out to test what would work against it, but now that he knew¡­ He didn''t take long to know what to use.

    He coated his spear in both types of Haki, and then black lightning started to spark around it.

    He then proceeded to strike the incoming beam aside with a wide excited smile on his face.

    ''A new technique that even the pirate king couldn''t master¡­ I will definitely learn it!'' Ian thought to himself.

    Ian managed to redirect the attack easily as he was thinking to himself.

    Now that he knew what the attack was, he of course knew how to stop it.

    Shanks had a bit of amazement in his eyes.

    At that moment, Ian somehow reminded him of Roger. Their figures overlapped with the both of them grinning widely.

    Roger had once in the past, did the same thing to Shanks. He easily reflected the attack by slapping it aside, and cheeringly remarking: "You are one hundred years early to land an attack on me, you brat!"

    Truthfully, due to how young Ian was, he didn''t think that he would have already mastered the Infusion technique.

    It turned out he was wrong.

    ''What other surprises are you hiding, I wonder?'' Shanks thought to himself.

    Ian put the spear on his shoulder.

    "This technique¡­ I will master it!" He promised. There was no doubt in his words. As if he really believed that what he said was going to happen.

    Shanks didn''t want to burst his bubble, but he doubted anyone could master something that even his late captain, Roger, failed to do¡­

    Still looking at Ian''s grin and confident stance, he smiles and took back what he was going to say.

    "I look forward to that time." He replied.

    Shanks then felt like he had gotten what he wanted by testing Ian, so it was time to start teaching him the ultimate form of Haki known¡­

    "I think fighting anymore like this is pointless¡­ So I''m going to teach you the technique now!" Shanks said.

    Ian hearing what he said, and noticing the atmosphere change also turned serious.

    He waited for Shanks''s words on how he was going to teach him this technique.

    "If you want to teach someone anything related to battle, the best way is always¡­ To beat them until they learn it instinctively!" Shanks grinned a savage grin.

    And Ian suddenly had goosebumps on his skin.

 Chapter 230 - Letâ€™s have some fun!

    Ian who was feeling his instincts flare-up, all of a sudden saw Shanks speed up towards him.

    Shanks appeared next to Ian and took a swing at Ian''s head, with a grin on his face.

    Physically Ian was much stronger and faster, so he was able to see Shanks move. But now, unlike earlier, Shanks had reached a speed comparable to him.

    Ian dodged Shanks''s strike to his head, but Shanks didn''t waste any time and attacked again and again and he kept coming with attacks.

    But after a few seconds, Shanks grinned and increased his speed as he attacked Ian once again.

    But unlike earlier when he was still dodging out of the way, this one attack came so fast Ian couldn''t react.

    Shanks was not in a position to attack as fast as he did. But even so, it was like his body moved on its own and delivered this attack. As if he didn''t need to think about what to do before moving like an instinctual level of reaction¡­

    Ian''s body was thrown backward by Shanks punch to his gut.

    The fact that his future sight didn''t trigger from the first of the exchange didn''t matter for him at the moment, since quite a foreign feeling was occupying him at the moment¡­

    Pain.

    Ian was feeling pain.

    He was thrown backward a distance from Shanks before he backflipped using his hands and righted himself on the ground.

    He looked at Shanks''s hand that punched him.

    Shanks still had the same stance, with his right hand in a punching position. And Ian couldn''t see any change about him as if he was still the same as before¡­

    His sword was back into its sheath.

    ''It''s not coated in Haki¡­'' Ian pondered.

    He had been hurt by Haki punches before, and he knew the damage to expect from them¡­

    But this was different. Just that regular strike to him, that he would normally take easily, made his body ache like never before¡­ There was also something else to note but he would have to observe more to make sure¡­

    ''This shouldn''t be possible¡­'' Ian thought.

    If Shanks managed to hurt him, then he must be using Armament Haki. Plus since he did this much damage to him, it meant he was also using Conquerors Haki at the same time.

    So there should be black lightning showing along with the armament coloring appearing.

    But somehow Shanks was hiding that¡­ Ian knew for a fact that he was hiding them. There was just no way he could deal that much damage without them.

    But as far as Ian knew, there was no way to hide neither the black lightning that appeared when using Infusion nor the blackish color that comes with Hardening.

    And now that he was focused, he remembered that his observation Haki didn''t kick in¡­ this was a first for him. He couldn''t react to Shanks with observation alone¡­ plus the way Shanks moved made it clear to Ian that right now he was not as fast as him¡­

    Shanks''s voice soon snapped him out of his thoughts.

    "Surprised aren''t you?" Shanks asked him.

    There was a playful smile on his face.

    Ian smiled back.

    "This is an interesting technique¡­" Ian replied back.

    Instead of the red lightning, maybe it was this technique that his father had talked about.

    "Your observation won''t work¡­ your devil fruit intangibility won''t work¡­ and any attack that lands would deal massive damage¡­ now what will you do?" Shanks asked.

    Ian quietly listened.

    The fact that Shanks started with a punch instead of a sword attack, clearly showed his intention of just teaching him¡­

    Ian appreciated that.

    Also, it might seem Ian was not on guard, but he was absolutely focused right now.

    He had subtly used his observation Haki, and he was shocked when he couldn''t detect Shanks at all. If he was not seeing him with his own eyes, he would question if he was even there¡­

    So what Shanks said proved to be true. He can''t see him, he would take huge damage, and he can''t turn intangible since that would be just stupid.

    So far this new technique he was seeing gave Shanks the ability to use Haki without showing he was using it.

    But that was not all¡­ No, it also made it possible for him to vanish from one''s observation range and remain hidden¡­ even from his future sight.

    Ian got ready. He was almost a hundred percent sure this was not all there was to the technique.

    So he paid attention to what was going to come next.

    Shanks gave a subtle nod of approval.

    "This is the ultimate form of Haki. Watch well and learn!" Shanks said before he got ready.

    He then leaned forward and pressed on the ground leaving cracks forming on it as he vanished.

    But unlike the last time, Ian was more ready.

    He might have gotten complacent and heavily relied on his future sight, but he was not totally helpless¡­ there was still an ability of his that he had subconsciously dropped for the better option, which is observation Haki.

    This ability was what he had often back then from the DNA of the minks.

    It gave the body an instinctual reflex to danger, which made it possible to evade the most dangerous of attacks.

    So even though Shanks appeared next to him, Ian managed to react.

    Shanks attacked with a kick towards his midsection trying to throw him back, but Ian moved out of the way appearing above Shanks, and tried to deliver a strike down on his form, only for Shanks to weave out of the way effortlessly.

    Shanks took a few steps back and started to observe Ian.

    Right now Ian was in his Raijin mode, which is why he was on even speed with Shanks.

    Shanks didn''t know how it was possible though. In this state, no one would want to fight him. Except of course Whitebeard or his captain if he was still alive.

    Apart from those though, Shanks was confident he would be faster than the rest, and in a fight, that would be deadly to anyone.

    But... Ian was keeping up with him easily.

    ''Maybe I should change this training style¡­ since clearly, I can''t beat it into him¡­'' He thought to himself with disappointment¡­

    He unsheathed his sword and got ready.

    Right now Ian proved that he was as strong as him and maybe even stronger than him so he had to put his all.

    Similarly, Ian brought his spear out. And then he grinned as he spoke.

    "Let''s have some fun shall we?" He asked. He was not going to be helpless and take a beating. Nope.

 Chapter 231 - Figuring it out!

    When Shanks said he will no longer play around, he was not joking.

    He got all close to Ian and with a speed the others watching failed to follow he swung his sword trying to decapitate Ian''s head with a single strike.

    But, Ian right now was comparable to speed with him so he found it easy to dodge.

    He bent his back backward dodging with a hair''s breadth the air blade containing red lightning coming at him with vengeance.

    A single swing of Shanks''s sword in Ian''s direction sent a massive destructive air blade that gave Ian the same dangerous feeling of earlier.

    Meaning it contained Haki. Even though the only thing apparent over Shanks was his serious look. He didn''t show any sign that he was using Haki. It was as if the Haki became part of his body completely and he didn''t need the process of hardening or imbuement¡­

    ''Since it''s apparent he won''t explain what I need to learn, it means he is waiting for me to grasp it on my own¡­'' Ian thought to himself.

    He started to examine the clues he had while formulating ideas of what it could be.

    Ian having dodged the air blade casually sent by Shanks didn''t stop it though, as it continued on to reach a mountain and cleave it cleanly into two with relative ease.

    The size of the mountain was huge, and normally it wouldn''t be possible to cut it into two, except maybe for Mihawk, but these two were emperors of the sea. Such things were child play for them.

    But for the others¡­

    ''What the hell¡­ Such a monster¡­'' This was the thought going through the heads of those watching.

    Ian''s side thought of that while admiring how Shanks could reach such a level, meanwhile, the red-hair pirate also thought the same, but there was pride in their eyes. That was their captain, which they sailed under proudly.

    Ian righted his position and attacked soon after with his spear, except his was coated with Haki and lightning.

    He thrust the spear at Shanks, and for a second it appeared as if it was going to pierce right through him before Shanks turned on his leg making the spear pierce nothing.

    Shanks then swung his sword with the momentum he gained from his spin. His sword came bearing down on Ian all of a sudden.

    This time he was targeting Ian''s arm to maim.

    ''He isn''t joking around¡­'' For a while, he noticed that Shanks''s attacks became more deadly¡­

    ''Well since he is serious about this¡­ I have to give him what he wants, no?'' He thought to himself.

    And then a massive amount of bloodl.u.s.t exploded from him, momentarily making Shanks flinch.

    Ian kicked Shanks''s sword away with his Haki-coated left leg and c.o.c.ked his right arm back before gathering his energy in a second and attacking.

    [Roku¨­gan: Hon¨­ no sh¨­gekiha] (Flaming Shockwave)

    A shockwave exploded from his fist towards Shanks in a second. But what separated it from normal was that it was a flaming shockwave.

    It was so huge in size that Shanks couldn''t dodge it and was engulfed completely.

    The flames cut through the earth and left a wide burning trench on its path that Ian followed with his eyes to the end.

    What lied there was Shanks who had his sword in a guarding position and was¡­ Completely unharmed.

    So far he was starting to reach a conclusion. It gave you the ability to use Haki naturally as if it was a part of you. He already witnessed it let you hide yourself even from future sight users. He also took damage from conquerors Haki and armament combined without it showing, and now, such a massive attack that should have left quite a bit of injury, didn''t do anything.

    This was the showing of armament Haki being used defensively.

    But in the direct line of Ian''s eyes, Shanks had no Haki coating him. At least visibly.

    So with this, Ian concluded that it lets you use all types of Haki. And they were on another level completely. Observation, armament, and conquerors, all of them had been used so far and Ian was sure about that.

    But people could already use that, so what was different? For one Ian knew that it lets you hide which type you are using at a time.

    He needed to observe more to see what else. As he didn''t believe that was all.

    "I didn''t expect that," Shanks said.

    He didn''t know about Ian being able to use fire attacks.

    But it didn''t change much to him. He only had to be more careful from now on.

    And suddenly he was gone from where he was and appeared right behind Shanks who still hadn''t moved from his position.

    He swung his spear at him and just when it appeared that Shanks was going to get cut into two parts, he moved his sword into the path of the falling spear and guarded against it.

    The moment the two made contact, a huge shockwave resulted from it and black and red lightning started to dance around.

    The weather from a sunny one started to turn chaotic, rain, hail, tornadoes, snow, everything started to change rapidly.

    Shanks grunted feeling he couldn''t move the sword away, so he settled for redirecting it by moving his body weight slightly to the side letting Ian overpower his guard, but since the spear attacked on his side he was safe.

    The spear being redirected sent a huge air blade that unearthed the ground they were fighting on leaving a long trench through it and when it reached the end it exploded on a mountain breaking it into various pieces of earth with different sizes.

    The rocks started to fall down on the ground, but Ian wasn''t done with his attack.

    He released his spear for a second, and put both hands over each other, and released a massive fire beam at Shanks.

    Once again since it covered a huge area, Shanks couldn''t dodge it, but he was not overly worried.

    The flames then turned the rock into small meteorites, and with a grin, Ian controlled them telekinetically to fly and target Shanks.

    Shanks g.r.o.a.n.e.d at this. In his surroundings, thousands of flaming rocks came at him with an impressive speed.

    But he was not one to lose.

    He started to dodge them all, cut them apart, redirect some, kick others¡­

    By the time all the rocks had fallen and broken apart.

    Ian watched all of this with a small frown on his face.

    He was sure that even if he pushed his observation Haki to its limit, he wouldn''t be able to dodge all the rocks. And that was HIM.

    The way Shanks dodged, reminded Ian of his own instinctual ability to dodge, except it was better.

    At this thought, Ian had suddenly reached a conclusion.

    "You are using Haki instinctively! You don''t need to choose which type to use consciously!!" Ian muttered.

    It would explain it all. He was using this form of Haki where all types of Haki came to him naturally. He didn''t need to think about coating his arms in Haki before each attack, he didn''t need to think which type of armament to use and whether it should be for defense or for an attack, and he didn''t need to use observation to dodge, all of it came to him instinctually¡­

    This would explain the way Shanks was dodging everything perfectly. If didn''t have to consciously activate observation to dodge and instead came to him on an instinctual level, it would make his reaction speed explode through the roof. And what he had done before, just proved that.

    And Shanks who heard Ian say this, sported a massive grin on his face.

    "Congratulations on figuring it out!"

 Chapter 232 - Notice(Another one that isnt scary)

    Alright, hey there you guys, hope you''re all doing well.

    Anyway, this is just to tell you guys I won''t be updating for a while now. It''s a sort of holiday (EID) in my country these next few days, as such I''m extremely busy, and I just can''t concentrate at all. It will be two or three days at max. Sorry for this, once again ????

 Chapter 233 - Stellaâ€™s not so mysterious lover!

    Three days later.

    After Ian started to learn from Shanks, they had gotten as close as friends. They finally shared their drink¡­

    They would train the whole day and rested only when they had gotten tired, which took a while for them. Then they would enjoy the night and party among themselves, only to repeat the same thing the next day.

    Right now the crew was watching ahead of them the fruits of Ian''s training. Elene and the girls were on a side while the red-haired pirates and the males from Ian''s crew took another side.

    It was only natural the girls wouldn''t sit with them, but Bert, Don, and Aokiji enjoyed their time with them so they had become close to them.

    Ian and Shanks were having another spar. But things were different this time.

    Both of them seemed similar to the ones watching. There was no Haki shown being used, not any type. But they knew they were both using it in fact.

    Stella who had a glass of juice in her hands was enjoying her time. But then she had a question to ask so she turned her eyes to Elene.

    "Big sis Elene, could it be possible for you to learn this technique like big bro Ian?" She asked her with a curious tone.

    "Although it would be hard, it shouldn''t be impossible yeah." Elene nodded her head after a few seconds.

    The technique was extremely hard, but the requirement for it was just to be a master of all types of Haki. Which she was. So all she needed was to train it. But even then, she knew Ian managed to learn it in three days only because he was a talented monster.

    But for her, she estimated she would have to train a lot more¡­

    Ian was having the time of his life.

    "Then is it possible for anyone who has all three types of Haki to train it?" Stella pressed with her question.

    To anyone else, her question might sound just casual and curious.

    But to Elene and Robin¡­ it was nothing but.

    They gave her a meaningful look and she started to get uncomfortable.

    "W-What?" She questioned them.

    "You little brat, you think we don''t know why you are asking this?" Robin gave her a pointed look, while Elene just smirked at her.

    Everybody on the crew knew about this mysterious lover of hers. Well, he was not mysterious at all, except in the head of Stella who still thought it was a secret.

    "W-What do you mean?" She asked while unconsciously she started to panic.

    "Look at you trying to play all innocent, tsk-tsk. Aren''t you asking this for that swordsman guy you like from the straw-hats?" Elene teased her.

    Back when Ian fought with Kaido he had noticed that Zoro also had Conquerors Haki. So he had told it to him, and then he told his crew.

    This was how they knew.

    Stella''s ears turned red and she started to blush.

    "W-W-Who likes him?! Don''t speak n-nonsense!" She stuttered and managed a reply after a second.

    "Hoh? Didn''t you enjoy a very hot night with him back-" Robin was still talking when Stella jumped at her and covered her mouth.

    "Stop, stop, please. Fine, I like him, okay?" Stella was brought close to tears.

    She and Zoro had gotten drank once and ended up enjoying a hot night with each other¡­ since then they had started to develop feelings for each other and decided to keep it a secret for a while. But she didn''t expect them to know about this already.

    All she wanted was to ask if Zoro could also learn this technique¡­

    Elene seeing her like that patted her head to comfort her.

    "Why are you so panicked and embarrassed about this? We don''t mind about you two!" She couldn''t understand.

    Stella who enjoyed Elene''s touch started to explain after a bit.

    "I-I didn''t know if you would accept him¡­" She quietly whispered.

    Robin seeing this pinched her cheeks.

    "You brat. Although we are your family, as long as it is not someone taking advantage of you, we won''t interfere at all. Plus that swordsman guy appears to be a good guy, so go for it!" She gave her a thumbs up.

    Elene shook her head with a small smile on her face.

    "To answer your earlier question. It is possible for him to learn this technique! But only after he master all types of Haki!" Elene answered her.

    This brought a smile to Stella''s face.

    ****

    Ian was having the time of his life.

    He and Shanks were engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

    This was for Ian to get a feel for the technique.

    He was dodging Shanks''s attacks easily, but the same couldn''t be said for Shanks.

    Ian dodged a palm attack made by Shanks''s left hand towards his stomach easily and spun on his heel delivering a kick towards Shanks''s midsection. And it hit true.

    Shanks was thrown backward before he stabilized himself.

    He brought his right hand towards the area he was hit. It was painful.

    His gaze looking at Ian was not bitter or anything rather he was happy. He and Ian had gotten quite close. Shanks even started to consider Ian as close as family. So it was natural he would be happy for him to get stronger.

    Because in return for Shanks training him, Ian healed shanks. This is why Shanks right now appeared somewhat more youthful, strong, and had one more arm he didn''t have originally. That''s right Ian regenerated his missing limb.

    Shanks would forever be thankful for that.

    There was also something else Shanks knew that had him like Ian more.

    He had seen in one of his visions, a very satisfying future¡­ That''s right, although Shanks didn''t have future sight like Ian, he had something similar. Except his only turned on occasionally and made him see visions of possible futures¡­

    This was how he knew things before they happened. Like how Blackbeard was going to kill Whitebeard and that being the reason he had gone to the war to stop it. It was also how he saw that Kaido was going to the war too, and intercepted him.

    And now he had seen, Ian on top of a huge Dragonoid beast flying in the sky, by his side, allies also flying on similar but smaller in size beasts and they cheered and yelled before charging at their opponents, the di¨¢voloi that filled the sea in front of them.

    Among those allies, there were people he knew, but most importantly, ''he'' himself was there.

    This vision was enough for him. He now knew that Ian was the chosen one that Roger was waiting for.

    There was a reason for why Ian was landing more strikes against Shanks, and dodging all of his strikes.

    Originally Ian couldn''t use his future sight against Shanks, but now that he learned to enter the spiritual resonance state, he was able to again.

    Thus Shanks couldn''t land an attack on Ian. Nor could he catch him by surprise.

    Plus Ian was faster than Shanks, and shanks only matched Ian due to using this state. But now that Ian could also use it¡­ the scale tipped back in his favor.

    "Alright, I think this is enough. You have already surpassed me, Ian!" Shanks announced before both of them got out of the state. After all, it consumed mad amounts of Haki¡­

    Ian grinned. He had done it once again.

 Chapter 234 - Notice

Sorry, I won''t be able to write for a while... I have a huge pain in my hands. Specifically bones, I''m taking medication for this and hopefully soon I''ll get better. I won''t write much, since I''m told I shouldn''t bend my fingers.