Chapter 92: Boarding a Pirate Ship
A day later, a vessel sailed across the vast, boundless sea.
It was a single-masted medium-sized sailboat. At the top of the mast hung a black pirate flag. The flag’s design featured a spade symbol from a deck of playing cards as the base pattern. Within the spade’s frame was a skull, and the skull wore a hat identical to Ace’s.
That’s right, this was the pirate flag of Ace’s Spade Pirates.
On the ship, Ian sat cross-legged on the deck, his arms folded, staring disdainfully at Ace, who was crouched in front of him.
Ace, however, wore a constant smile, completely unfazed by Ian’s glare. “Just say yes, alright? Come on!”
Ian raised his palm and said, “Stop! Cut it out with that misleading talk! Do you know people are already calling you ‘Lady Ace’ now?!”
How did this all come about? It started after the fire was put out yesterday.
At the time, Ian was exhausted and could only let Ace carry him as they ran. He hadn’t thought much of it, assuming Ace was just getting him away from the fire. But to Ian’s utter shock, Ace ended up running all the way to the harbor!
He had somehow acquired this medium-sized ship to use as his pirate vessel. Upon reaching the harbor, he tossed Ian onto the ship and immediately ordered the sails raised to set out!
Ian was stunned. It wasn’t until the ship had left the harbor that he snapped back to reality and quickly asked Ace what he was doing.
Ace bluntly told him he wanted Ian to be his first mate!
Ian felt like he’d been completely duped. Ace had kidnapped him without a word!
But unfortunately, Ian was still in a weakened state, lacking even the strength to dive into the sea and swim back to Bibbico Island. He could only watch helplessly as the ship sailed farther and farther away.
In the time that followed, Ace persistently pestered Ian, insisting he agree to become the first mate.
The current Spade Pirates, including Ace, only had seven members. The other six were the ones who had been following Ace all along. They had witnessed Ian’s single slash cleaving through the warehouse building and were utterly awestruck. So when they heard Ace wanted to recruit Ian as first mate, every member of the Spade Pirates was in full support.
Ian, however, was furious. Ace hadn’t even asked for his consent before dragging him onto the ship. He had planned to stay on Bibbico Island for a few more days. Bill and the others were still there, Roland Gale had died without Ian even getting a chance to say goodbye, and many matters remained unresolved. Yet here he was, forced out to sea by Ace.
Now, by the time Ian recovered from his weakened state, the ship was already on the vast ocean. How could he possibly find his way back to Bibbico Island?
Ace sometimes seemed foolish, just as goofy as Luffy, but he was actually quite clever. He used this method to force Ian to continue traveling with his ship.
This truly felt like boarding a pirate ship!
So now, Ian was angry with Ace. There was no way he would agree to his request!
“Captain Ace, Boss Ian, breakfast is ready!” Just then, one of the Spade Pirates’ members, the ship’s cook Jimmy, brought over two plates of food.
The current Spade Pirates crew members called Ace “Captain” and Ian “Boss.” In their eyes, it seemed they had already accepted Ian as the ship’s first mate.
This left Ian feeling helpless, so he simply didn’t respond and started eating.
To be fair, the cook Jimmy was quite skilled. Ian could understand why Ace had chosen these crew members as companions.
Ace was also eating, his cheeks puffed out as he chewed. Between bites, he said, “You’re my good friend, so why won’t you be my first mate?”
Ian glared at him with a dark look and said, “Don’t talk while you’re eating!”
“Oh, sorry!” Ace politely bowed his head in apology.
They ate in silence. After finishing, Ian tossed his utensils aside and said to Ace, “It’s not that I can’t be your first mate, but I can’t become a pirate. Having a pirate identity would make many things inconvenient for me.”
Yes, for Ian, whether it was being a pirate, a Marine, or a pirate hunter, it didn’t really matter. He knew that, given his personality, even if he became a pirate, he wouldn’t be the kind of vicious, evil pirate. Similarly, if he became a Marine, he wouldn’t turn into a scumbag like Captain Mouse. As long as he stayed true to his principles, any role was the same.
In gaming terms, Ian was essentially a neutral, lawful character.
But regardless of the role, it depended on the situation. For now, his priority was finding a way to earn money. Becoming a Marine would give him a strong backing, but it might not bring in money. Marines seemed to catch pirates as a duty and obligation, receiving no bounties—only merits to raise their ranks. Pirates were even worse. Ian didn’t want to become a thieving, violent pirate, but relying solely on adventure and treasure hunting was unreliable. If anyone could easily find treasure, there might be no pirates left in the world.
In the end, the pirate hunter identity couldn’t be given up for now. It might change in the future, but certainly not at this moment.
Ian was still grateful for Ace’s request. He knew that if Ace didn’t truly see him as a friend and companion, he wouldn’t have made such an invitation.
But just as Ian had once asked Ace not to become a pirate, and Ace couldn’t agree, the same applied now. Ian couldn’t agree to Ace’s request to become a pirate.
So Ian explained his situation to Ace in detail, telling him why he couldn’t become a pirate.
After hearing Ian’s words, Ace finally stopped insisting.
However, the cook Jimmy, who had been listening nearby, suddenly spoke up. “Boss Ian, you don’t want to be a pirate just to earn money? But if you could become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, wouldn’t that be the same?”
Ian stared at Jimmy in surprise.
Damn! That actually made a lot of sense!
Ian hadn’t thought of that before. He had only focused on not becoming a pirate, which would prevent him from collecting bounties from the Marines. But he had never considered that becoming a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea would be similar to being a pirate hunter. The Warlords were the government’s means of balancing pirates, and any pirates they caught could still be turned in for bounties, recognized by the government.
Of course, becoming a Warlord required the strength to defeat one of the current Warlords. Ian didn’t know how his current strength compared to the Warlords. Even among the Warlords, there were varying levels of power. Hawk-Eye Mihawk could match Red-Haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors. Using him as a benchmark, Ian wasn’t qualified yet.
So while Jimmy’s point was valid, Ian still wasn’t considering it for now.
Since he was already on Ace’s ship, he might as well travel with him. He couldn’t navigate the seas alone anyway. Ace had spent so long recruiting companions on Bibbico Island that his Log Pose had already stored enough magnetic energy to point to the next island. Following him would allow Ian to reach the next island smoothly.
Ian asked and learned from Jimmy that reaching the next island would take about seven days.
With such a long time ahead, he couldn’t afford to waste it. So Ian said to Ace, “Let’s fight!”
This was something Ian had been planning to do all along. Ace had already eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit and was about to experience a surge in power. While Ace was still getting used to his new abilities, Ian intended to use him as a sparring partner to level up!
If he could defeat Ace, he would gain substantial experience points, far more than when he sparred with Zoro in Shimotsuki Village.
Fighting Ace also had another benefit: gaining early experience against Logia Devil Fruit users. Back in Loguetown, Ian had clashed with Smoker twice, but Smoker’s fruit ability lacked offensive power and leaned more toward control, completely different from Ace’s Flame-Flame Fruit.
Ian knew that Haki was something everyone was born with, so he must have the potential for it too. He just hadn’t awakened it yet. What he was using now was all Nen ability. Fighting a Logia user like Ace would help him better understand the differences between Nen and Haki.
At the same time, this would help Ace quickly master his Flame-Flame Fruit abilities.
Hearing Ian’s proposal, Ace got excited. Their fight in Loguetown had been half-hearted on both sides. Now, seeing Ian’s serious expression, Ace knew this time it would be for real.
“Bring it on!” Ace clenched his right fist against his chest, spread the fingers of his left hand, and flames erupted from his fingertips, striking his signature pose.