Chapter 79: Pig-Pig Fruit
When the lookout said they would collide, it was no joke.
Ian's ship had now nearly reached the mountaintop. As the area narrowed, the field of view expanded, and they could naturally see the ship the lookout had mentioned.
It was a vessel that had come up from the South Blue route. At this moment, it was almost level with Ian's ship on the waterway. A single glance revealed most of its hull. The ship was flying a black pirate flag, clearly a pirate ship.
The moment Ian and his crew spotted them, the other ship naturally saw Ian's vessel as well. A quick comparison of their positions made the severity of the situation clear.
Now, not only were Ian's crew panicking, but the other side was equally alarmed. Since the currents on all four routes were nearly identical in speed, the two ships would likely collide the moment they reached the summit. At such high speeds, both vessels might be torn apart.
"Hurry! Hoist the sails and slow down!" Bill roared.
But before the sailors could carry out his order, Ian grabbed him and said, "No! Don't forget, there are ships behind us! If we hoist the sails, we won't hit that pirate ship, but we'll crash into the ones behind us!"
Bill snapped back to reality at the reminder. They couldn't slow down at all. So he could only look at the pirate ship, hoping they would realize this and slow down themselves.
However, the difficulty lay in the fact that Ian's group was a fleet. Aside from the lead ship, other vessels followed closely behind. Even if the other ship slowed down and avoided hitting Ian's vessel, it might still collide with one of the trailing ships!
Slowing down was out of the question. The only option was to speed up and pass ahead of Ian's ship.
But on the waterway, all ships were being carried forward by the current, climbing upward. They were sailing against the wind, so hoisting the sails would only slow them down, not speed them up.
In fact, Ian and his crew should count themselves lucky. If the approaching ship had come from the West Blue route, it would have been on the opposite side of the waterway, invisible until the moment of impact. By the time they saw it, they would have already collided.
Now, both sides had spotted each other, giving them time to react.
Ian's group couldn't slow down due to the ships behind them, so the sailors stood at the railing, frantically signaling with flags as Bill instructed, hoping the other ship would speed up and pass first.
There was no response from the other side, but after about five or six seconds, several black dots suddenly flew out from the pirate ship.
Ian didn't immediately recognize what they were, but by the time he did, the black dots were already closing in on their vessel.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Ian's ship was struck by dozens of black, sharp spines. These spines were about a meter long, thick at the base and tapering to a point, gleaming like steel. They flew with a piercing whistle, launched from the other ship. As they landed on Ian's vessel, they embedded themselves deep into the hull.
The force behind these spines was like that of a powerful crossbow. They could pierce through wooden planks two or three fingers thick! Ian barely had time to shove Captain Bill to the deck as one spine whizzed past his head, thudding into the deck not far in front of him.
Staring at the quivering tip of the spine, Bill was terrified. He shouted, "They can't speed up, so they're trying to destroy our ship!"
As if to confirm Bill's words, another volley of spines flew over, riddling Ian's ship with holes. Many sailors on deck were hit. Ian even saw a sailor running when a spine whistled through the air, pinning his thigh to the deck!
Screams rang out continuously. As they neared the summit, the distance between the ships shrank, and more spines flew over, as if the other side was determined to destroy Ian's ship or die trying.
Ian knew that since they were pirates, there was no room for morality. It was every man for himself, and they would strike without hesitation.
"Everyone, get behind me!" Ian shouted as he got back to his feet.
The sailors, who had been in chaos, found some direction at his words. Whether or not they believed Ian could save them, they all scrambled behind him.
Ian steadied himself on the deck, watching the next wave of spines being launched from the other ship. He took a breath, placed his hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist, and waited for the right moment. Then he drew his blade swiftly, unleashing a Wind Barrier against the incoming spines.
Whoosh! A gust of wind swept across the deck. Since the wind was invisible, the sailors had no idea what Ian had done. But they were amazed to see that the spines approaching the ship's railing suddenly hit a kind of buffer. Their powerful momentum vanished instantly, and they fell chaotically from midair, clattering onto the deck.
Seeing this, everyone, including Bill, cheered. They didn't know what Ian had done, but they knew that with him there, the spines were no longer a threat!
Ian exhaled. He wasn't yet skilled with the Wind Barrier technique; he had only managed it with the help of a card skill. He hadn't been sure if the wind wall he raised could block the spines, but it seemed to work well enough. Although the wall wasn't very strong, it slowed the spines' speed and reduced their danger.
If Ian's swordsmanship were stronger, fully matching expert-level technique, the wind wall might have been even more powerful, possibly deflecting the spines entirely.
Seeing their spines blocked, the pirate ship didn't give up. They launched another volley.
All this happened in just over twenty seconds. By now, both ships were nearing the summit. In a moment, they might collide. Ian understood the other side's desperation: if they couldn't destroy their opponent's ship, everyone would die.
What to do? Ian's mind raced. Soon, he made a decision and shouted to the people behind him, "Get down!"
The sailors quickly dropped to the deck. This time, Ian didn't use the Wind Barrier to block the incoming spines. Instead, he let them fly.
Many spines were aimed at Ian. As they came, he flipped his wrist, drawing the Enma sword. Combining his sharp eyesight with quick reflexes, he deflected as many spines as he could.
During this, he also used two Flash Slash moves, cutting spines down onto the deck.
After the two Flash Slash strikes, Ian felt a strange swirling airflow form around his body. He now had a plan.
The two ships finally reached the summit. From Ian's estimate, the pirate ship was slightly ahead of them, but not enough for them to pass each other safely. Ian's ship would likely crash into the rear half of the other vessel.
This judgment wasn't just Ian's; everyone on both ships realized it. Despair set in among the crew of Ian's ship and the pirates alike.
Many closed their eyes, unable to watch. Those who kept them open were frozen in terror.
The only one who hadn't given up was Ian. He stared intently at the rapidly approaching ships, his left hand holding the scabbard and his right hand on the sword's hilt, ready to draw at any moment.
Now!!!
Ian suddenly drew the Enma sword, using the momentum to swing it upward in a sharp arc.
A strange sight followed. A small tornado formed as Ian swung his blade, hurtling rapidly toward the pirate ship. Pure tornadoes are invisible, but the water spray from the waterway was sucked into it, leaving a visible trail.
The tornado flew swiftly, landing right at the stern of the pirate ship. It dissipated upon impact, but the force momentarily accelerated the other vessel!
With that push, the pirate ship's stern barely scraped past Ian's bow, swinging away.
No collision?!?
Everyone on both ships stared in disbelief at the scene. After a moment, they realized it wasn't a dream and erupted into cheers!
"Heavens! It's a miracle! An absolute miracle!"
"We're alive! We're all alive!"
The sailors hugged each other and jumped for joy, tears streaming from their eyes. They had thought they were doomed, but the situation had turned around, and they had all survived.
At the summit, the currents from the four seas converged, causing both ships to lurch. Then they were carried down the descending waterway. Throughout this process, the distance between the pirate ship's stern and Ian's bow remained incredibly close, just a few dozen centimeters apart.
From this position, everyone on both ships could clearly see each other. It was then that Ian noticed a strange man standing on the pirate ship.
He was an extremely fat man, wearing a captain's hat but no shirt. A thick, messy beard framed a snub nose with huge nostrils!
His ugly face matched his pirate identity, but what struck Ian as oddest was what was on the man's back!
His back was covered in countless black spines, like a porcupine's. They extended down his arms as well, but his chest was smooth. It made him look like he was wearing a porcupine cloak, which was truly bizarre.
Ian immediately thought he might be a Devil Fruit user, but he couldn't tell which fruit it was.
Could it be the Zoan-type Porcupine Fruit? he guessed.
Captain Bill, being well-traveled, got up and looked at the pirate flag on the other ship. He exclaimed in surprise, "The Pike Pirates?! They're a famous pirate crew from the South Blue! This is bad!"
"The Pike Pirates?" Ian asked, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"They're a well-known crew in the South Blue," Bill said with a grimace. "Their captain is called Pikes, a notorious ruthless man and a Devil Fruit user. He has a bounty of twenty-four million Berries in the South Blue. I didn't expect them to enter the Grand Line at the same time as us, and we almost collided."
"Twenty-four million?" Ian's eyes lit up. That was higher than Arlong's bounty! He asked, "Do you know what kind of fruit he ate?"
"Of course!" Bill replied bitterly. "He's a Zoan-type, with the Pig-Pig Fruit—Porcupine form!"
Ian turned to look at the riddled deck and cabin walls. So those spines shot onto the ship were actually porcupine quills?!