Chapter 80: Battle on the Waterway
Ian could tell that Bill was in a tough spot right now. He was the captain of this ship, but the vessel was battered and in desperate need of repairs.
All of this damage was caused by the porcupine quills shot over from the opposing ship. Among the classifications of Devil Fruits, Zoan-type fruits had their own unique characteristics. They typically possessed a distinct "wild power" that enhanced the user's strength, speed, and physique. This was evident from the sheer force behind those quills. The thinner wooden planks on the ship had been completely pierced through, while thicker sections like the deck had quills embedded deep inside. Pulling them out would leave deep gouges. The force behind them was stronger than some crossbows.
Seeing his own ship damaged like this, how could Bill, as the captain, feel anything but terrible?
What made matters worse was the Pike Pirates ahead. For a merchant convoy, encountering pirates was the worst-case scenario, which was precisely why they hired guards. But unfortunately for them, they had just entered Reverse Mountain and immediately ran into trouble.
"Ian, can you take them out?" Bill whispered to Ian. "Otherwise, once we reach Twin Cape, the Pike Pirates will definitely target us."
They were pirates, after all, and pirates who specialized in plundering would never let a merchant convoy pass by untouched.
Even though the convoy still had eleven ships left while the enemy only had one, making the numbers heavily in their favor, Bill knew that if it came to a real fight, the convoy would be at a disadvantage. They had recruited some pirate hunters and bounty hunters in Loguetown to serve as guards. These men looked tough and muscular, but most of them were just for show. Their actual strength was questionable. Moreover, these guards were only in it for the money. Expecting them to fight pirates to the death was unrealistic. If things turned bad, they would likely abandon the convoy and flee.
This was why the convoy treated Ian so well. Skilled guards were incredibly hard to come by these days.
So now, Bill had no choice but to rely on Ian to deal with the problem first.
Ian didn't need Bill to say it. He had already been planning to do just that. Earlier, that guy named Pikes had fired several volleys of quills at Ian's ship, clearly intent on sinking it. Since Ian was on board at the time, if the ship went down, he would be in trouble too. That pissed him off.
Ian had used a whirlwind earlier to push the enemy ship away, just to avoid a collision. Now that the immediate danger was over, it was time to settle the score.
But before Ian could finish talking to Bill, the Pike Pirates made the first move. Their captain, Pikes, the porcupine fruit user, suddenly lay flat on the deck. The long quills on his back trembled, stood upright, and aimed directly at Ian's ship.
Or more accurately, at Ian himself.
"Quill Shot!"
The next second, with a soft *puff*, a long quill detached from his back and shot toward Ian. This quill was much faster than the ones fired earlier. Ian barely had time to push Bill aside before quickly dodging to the side.
In the blink of an eye, the quill grazed past his face and pierced straight through the ship's mast behind him.
Ian's reaction speed had improved significantly, but even though he dodged the attack, his face stung fiercely. He reached up and touched his left cheek, finding a cut where the quill had grazed him, blood slowly trickling out.
Damn it! My handsome face! Can't I just be a pretty boy in peace?
Furious, he turned his head and glared at Pikes on the enemy ship. That fat, ugly bastard must be jealous of him. Ian crouched slightly, placed his hand on the hilt of the Enma sword, and in one swift motion, drew it. A flash of cold light streaked through the air as Ian unleashed a flaming sword slash toward the enemy ship.
Striking with full force, Ian poured almost all of his Psychic Power into that single slash. The power was immense. The crescent-shaped flame energy shot diagonally toward Pikes at incredible speed.
Startled, Pikes didn't dare take the hit head-on. He curled into a ball and rolled away, but his fat body was too large to fully evade. The slash grazed him, cutting off a small patch of quills on his back before slamming into the ship's cabin.
With a series of *crack* sounds, the relatively large cabin was sliced open by Ian's slash. The severed section slid down and crashed onto the deck with a loud *boom*.
The pirates of the Pike Pirates stared wide-eyed, nearly popping their eyeballs out. Ian's flying slash had turned their cabin into an open-air structure!
There was someone this ruthless on the merchant convoy's ship!?
By now, both ships had passed the summit of Reverse Mountain and were riding the current toward Twin Cape. The downhill slope kept both ships tilted. Ian had originally intended to cut down their mast, but due to the angle, he only hit their cabin.
Even so, the sailors who witnessed this cheered for Ian. Many had been injured during the Pike Pirates' earlier attack, and they all felt the malice of the pirates trying to destroy their ships. Now that Ian had scored a hit, the sailors were inspired. They shouted for everyone to bring out the cannons and prepare to bombard the enemy pirate ship.
The merchant ships were armed, cannons among their equipment. Though not numerous, they could still be considered armed merchant vessels. In this era of the Great Pirate Era, an unarmed merchant ship daring to sail the seas would be asking for trouble.
However, the sailors' frantic efforts to move the cannons also alerted the Pike Pirates. They scrambled to bring out a cannon of their own and aimed it at Ian.
"Not good!" Ian's heart skipped a beat. He cursed his own sailors for being idiots. They were still on the waterway, and at this close range, exchanging cannon fire was far too risky. He quickly flipped his wrist, took out two Ice Tears Stones, crushed them to instantly replenish some Psychic Power, and slashed another sword wave at the pirates moving the cannon.
Those low-level pirates weren't as fast as their captain. They were just about to light the cannon when Ian's slash cut down two of them. But one remained. Terrified, the surviving pirate ducked down while holding the cannon, causing the barrel to tilt slightly upward.
Seeing the angle of the cannon barrel, Ian knew it wouldn't hit him, but it would likely strike the ship's mast.
Sure enough, the cannon fired. Two *boom* sounds rang out. One came from Ian's ship, where the sailors had also fired at the pirate ship. Since Ian's ship was positioned higher, that cannonball hit the pirate ship's deck, blowing a large hole in it. The cannonball from the pirate ship, due to its upward angle, struck the middle of Ian's mast.
The pirate ship was severely damaged, but Ian's mast also collapsed from the impact, crashing down toward the deck. As the mast fell, it was heading straight for Ian's position. To avoid it, Ian had no time to worry about the enemy pirates. He grabbed Bill, who was lying on the deck, and rolled away just in time to dodge the falling mast.
Bill was just an ordinary man. In the midst of such chaos, he couldn't react much. After Ian pulled him to safety, Bill felt grateful but also furious at the sailors.
"Idiots! A bunch of idiots!" Bill roared. "Who told you to use the cannons!? Were you reminding them to use theirs too!?"
Now the mast was down, and the ship would need major repairs.
Worse still, the wooden mast had caught fire after being hit by the cannonball. When it fell, the attached sails also ignited. The sailors scrambled to find water and start putting out the fire.
The same was happening on the enemy pirate ship. The solid cannonball had hit their deck, and the explosion had also set their ship on fire. Both sides abandoned the fight and focused on extinguishing the flames.
In that brief delay, the ships had already drifted out of the waterway. Ian felt the ship slow down. Looking up, he saw the lighthouse at Twin Cape.
They had come down from Reverse Mountain!
This meant they were now within the Grand Line. Captain Bill quickly ordered the sailors to raise the remaining triangular sail at the stern while sharply turning the helm to make way for the ships behind them.
The reaction was timely. As soon as Ian's ship moved aside, the second ship of the convoy rushed down the waterway and onto the sea, followed by the third and fourth.
Each ship had its own captain. While not all were as experienced as Bill, they knew what to do once they left the waterway. One by one, they adjusted their course to make room for the ships behind.
Seeing that the convoy was safe, Ian turned his attention back to the Pike Pirates' ship. To his surprise, they had already raised their sails and were trying to escape.
A pirate crew trying to flee from a merchant convoy? Most people wouldn't believe it, but that was exactly what was happening. Perhaps they realized that with someone like Ian on board, the convoy was a tough nut to crack. After weighing their options, they decided to leave.
"Damn it! Trying to run!?" Ian wasn't about to let that happen. That fat, ugly Pikes had a bounty of twenty-four million. When Ian heard that, he had already decided to capture him.
He slapped Bill on the shoulder and said, "Quick, they're getting away! Chase them!"
"How?" Bill shrugged bitterly. "Our mast is broken. We can't raise the sails!"
Ian slapped his thigh in frustration. If he had known they would try to escape, he shouldn't have let the mast get hit. He could have jumped up and cut the cannonball in half. With the Enma sword's sharpness and enough Psychic Power wrapped around it, he could indeed split a cannonball.
These pirates had no class. Based on what Bill said, Pikes was supposed to be a ruthless pirate. Ian had expected the Pike Pirates to launch a full-scale raid on the convoy once they left the waterway. Who would have thought they'd run away?
Now they had raised their sails and fled. Was he supposed to swim after them?