Chapter 54: Many Forces Converge
The reason Ian hadn't wondered where Johnny and Joseph had gone was that he assumed they'd lost track of him while he was chasing Ace. After all, there were so many people in the square at the time; it was perfectly normal for Johnny and Joseph not to find him.
Another point was that when Johnny and Joseph had followed him earlier, they had basically latched onto him on their own. Ian was only moved by their sense of justice and their willingness to step forward, so he treated them to a meal as a token of thanks. He didn't have a deep friendship with them.
So, after Johnny and Joseph disappeared, Ian didn't think much of it.
But he forgot one thing: when he captured the members of the Krieg Pirates, Johnny and Joseph were present!
The appearance of Krieg Pirates members in Loguetown was no coincidence. Given the current scale of the Krieg Pirates, raiding small villages couldn't meet their needs. They still needed to purchase supplies in large cities. But while Garp was still in Loguetown, the Krieg Pirates didn't dare set foot there. However, Garp had left recently, and upon receiving the news, the Krieg Pirates seized the opportunity to resupply in the town.
The pirates Ian caught were actually one of the groups sent out by the Krieg Pirates to procure supplies. But unexpectedly, they had a sudden impulse to rob Ian and ended up being captured instead!
With twenty or thirty people captured, there were bound to be more. After this group was caught and sent to the Marine base, the other Krieg Pirates members scattered around town naturally got word. Led by the executive "Iron Wall" Bala, the Krieg Pirates immediately sought revenge against Ian and his group.
But at that time, Ian was chasing Ace to the execution platform square, so Iron Wall Bala ended up only catching Johnny and Joseph, who were slower runners.
That was why Johnny and Joseph ended up on Krieg's ship—they were brought there.
Hearing Krieg's question, Johnny and Joseph lifted their heads with difficulty and said, "We... didn't we already tell you? The ones who caught them... were just the two of us... there was no one else..."
Iron Wall Bala, standing nearby, swung his round iron shield and slammed it into Johnny's face!
Johnny let out a "Pfft—" as a mouthful of blood was knocked out, splattering against the wall beside him, staining it a vivid red.
"Do you think I'm a fool?" Krieg said with a dark expression. "My men told me there were three bounty hunters who caught our people. But you're telling me there's no one else?"
"Indeed... indeed there's no one!" Johnny couldn't speak, so Joseph took over: "We did it all ourselves..."
Krieg stood up with a sharp motion. As befitting the current dominant pirate crew of the East Blue, Krieg was exceptionally tall and powerfully built. Wearing a majestic suit of golden armor, he exuded an imposing aura. Looking down at them, he said, "You think you can just lie and take the blame after messing with my Krieg Pirates? Since you won't tell me who the third bounty hunter is, we'll keep beating you until you talk!"
With Krieg's command, the surrounding pirates swarmed in again, pummeling Johnny and Joseph relentlessly.
Only after a large pool of blood had formed beneath the two men did the pirates stop.
"Well? Still not talking?" Krieg sneered at them.
But Johnny and Joseph, who had been screaming in pain earlier, now gritted their teeth and refused to speak. In fact, Joseph even tremblingly reached into his pocket, pulled out a crumpled cigarette, put it in his mouth, and said, "Even though... we're... weak... don't... don't underestimate our... loyalty!"
"You—!" A vein bulged on Krieg's forehead. Joseph's words had clearly provoked him. Feeling his authority challenged, Krieg roared, "Hit them! Beat them to death!"
After that, Johnny and Joseph were subjected to another brutal beating. Finally, unable to endure any longer, they passed out.
But from start to finish, they never begged for mercy, let alone revealed Ian's name...
"Captain Krieg, they're unconscious! What should we do?" Iron Wall Bala asked from the side.
Krieg thought for a moment, then said with a cold smile, "Get a few men to throw them into Loguetown tonight. Since they won't talk, let the third bounty hunter come to us himself!"
Soon, several pirates came forward, hoisted the limp, battered bodies of Johnny and Joseph, placed them in a small boat, and rowed toward Loguetown.
"Tell everyone to get ready! Tomorrow, as soon as that remaining bounty hunter shows up, bring him to me!" Krieg ordered his men.
"And... Captain, what about our brothers locked up in the Marine base? Should we rescue them?" a pirate asked cautiously.
"Rescue them? For what?" Krieg sneered. "They've disgraced the Krieg Pirates' reputation. Let them rot in jail forever!"
Hearing Krieg's words, the surrounding pirates couldn't help but shiver, but they dared not say anything more.
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Loguetown actually had two ports. The eastern one was the largest, and that was where the Krieg Pirates were anchored. Meanwhile, at the western port, another pirate ship was docked.
It was Buggy's Big Top!
At that moment, Buggy was in the cabin of the Big Top, holding a key in his hand and laughing loudly.
"Hahahaha! This... isn't this the key to the Seastone handcuffs!?" Buggy laughed so hard he could barely straighten up. After a while, he wiped the tears from his eyes and asked the scrawny pirate in front of him, "Are you sure you saw it right? That kid named Ian is really handcuffed?"
"Absolutely no mistake!" The scrawny pirate, a member of the Buggy Pirates, said confidently, "I was in the square at the time. That bounty hunter named Ian was fighting someone—I don't know who, probably a pirate he was after. I saw the key fall out of his pocket, so I quietly stepped on it and picked it up!"
"Haha, well done!" Buggy happily patted the scrawny pirate on the shoulder. "You've done a great service this time. I'll promote you to boatswain!"
The scrawny pirate was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.
But Buggy had no time for his thanks. Stroking his chin, he stared at the key in his hand and began to scheme.
The keys to Seastone handcuffs were specially made, containing Seastone components themselves. As a Devil Fruit user, Buggy sensed it the moment he picked up the key. Although he was surprised that Ian had Seastone handcuffs, after hearing the scrawny pirate's report, Buggy realized his opportunity had come.
After escaping from the Marine base prison in Shells Town, Buggy had contacted his crew, who had sailed away with the ship. In a pirate crew, the captain is the authority. Generally, without the captain's permission, crew members couldn't leave the crew on their own. The pirates who had fled with the Big Top knew their captain might escape, so they didn't dare touch Buggy's treasure or ship and loyally returned to his side.
Although he had escaped safely, Buggy was still grinding his teeth in anger. This arrest was a tremendous humiliation for him.
If he had been caught by the Marines, he could have accepted it. But his captor was an unknown bounty hunter kid! He, Buggy, was a pirate who had returned from the Grand Line! How could he swallow this insult?
So, as soon as he escaped, the first thing Buggy thought of was revenge on Ian. His Big Top was a large ship, and with full sails, it was naturally faster than Ian's. Even though he left Shells Town two days after Ian and had to take a detour to avoid Garp's warship, he still caught up to Ian by the time Ian reached Loguetown.
However, he was wary of Ian's strange abilities and, while tracking Ian, had been afraid to confront him directly.
He kept wondering what kind of Devil Fruit Ian had eaten.
That was the problem when facing a Devil Fruit user: if you didn't know what fruit they had eaten, you could only judge and guess during the fight. It was easy to lose out.
He had carefully questioned his men and confirmed that when Ian first boarded the Big Top, he had indeed swum up from the sea. But the flames on Ian's fists and sword when he captured Buggy were also real—that was the most baffling part for Buggy.
A Devil Fruit user who could still swim?
Impossible! Buggy preferred to believe that when Ian swam to his ship, he had used some special trick! The weakness of a Devil Fruit user couldn't be eliminated!
So, when the scrawny pirate on lookout duty brought back the key to the Seastone handcuffs and reported that Ian was handcuffed, Buggy laughed so loudly.
Even if Ian had some special means to touch water in the sea, being handcuffed with Seastone would leave him helpless, right?
"Men!" Buggy suddenly stood up and shouted, "Get ready! Tomorrow, we head to Loguetown! The time for revenge has come!"
"Whoo!" The Buggy Pirates members cheered loudly in response.
Two pirate crews had simultaneously set their sights on Ian, seeking revenge. But was that all?
No! It wasn't over yet! At that moment, on the Calm Belt of the Grand Line, a Marine warship was sailing. Although it was night, the lookout on the watchtower, using the faint starlight, spotted the outline of an island.
"Captain Smoker! I can see the island where Loguetown is located!" the lookout shouted from above. "If all goes well, we should arrive in Loguetown early tomorrow morning!"
"Understood!" A man on the deck, with two cigars in his mouth and smoke billowing around him, responded before continuing to puff away. The glow of his cigar flickered on and off in the dark night.
The Krieg Pirates, the Buggy Pirates, Marine Headquarters Captain Smoker, plus Ian and Ace—Loguetown was destined to witness a major incident after dawn...