Chapter 94: Emergency Distress Signal
Over the next few days, whenever Ian had free time, he would spar with Ace.
Since it was just a friendly match, their bouts were always restrained, stopping at the point of contact. However, even so, Ace lost more often than he won.
Ian was too crafty. He knew full well that Ace wouldn't dare use any powerful moves on his own ship, so he took this opportunity to treat Ace as an experience farm.
Ace had only recently eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit, and he was still groping and exploring its development. He was currently trying to integrate the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit into his physical combat for attacks. Although Ace had good imagination and was quite clever, the moves he created this way posed little threat to Ian. Don't forget, Ian himself could also use flame power, including the Evil King Flame Slayer Sword and the Evil King Flame Slayer Fist.
As for moves like the Fire Fist, which could destroy an entire ship with one punch, Ace couldn't possibly use them on his own vessel, let alone more powerful techniques like Solar Flame or Flame Emperor. Not to mention that Ace hadn't even developed them yet; even if he had, he wouldn't dare use them.
On the other hand, because Ian could use Nen abilities, Ace's elemental body was useless against him. So as long as Ian seized the opportunity, he could injure Ace.
Perhaps because it was a sparring match, the experience gained from winning seemed to be slightly less. However, in the passive judgment of the Evil Eye Master, Ace's strength was higher than Ian's red threat level. So defeating such an enemy gave a high experience bonus. After defeating Ace, Ian ended up gaining more experience than he would from defeating an opponent of equal strength.
In just three days, Ian had leveled up again by sparring with Ace.
Ace, unable to go all out, was frustrated, while Ian secretly chuckled to himself.
However, Ian also noticed that Ace's control over the Flame-Flame Fruit's power was gradually maturing. His flame power was increasing, and the guy was already trying to compress flames, making them expand after being thrown, creating an explosion-like effect. Such progress was astonishing.
As a result, the two developed a game: Ace would throw explosive fireballs at Ian, and Ian had to knock them away with his sword. If Ian was too slow or didn't control his strength well, the fireball would explode, leaving Ian covered in soot.
After this baseball-like game was developed, the two would play it enthusiastically after their sparring sessions. The only ones suffering were the members of the Spade Pirates. Whenever the two started playing, they no longer dared to watch the fun but instead hid far away, because no one knew if Ian would mess up and knock a fireball onto them.
In truth, they didn't realize that this seemingly playful activity was actually a way for both to train their respective powers. Every time Ian actively used the Evil Eye Master skill, his surging Nen power made him feel like he couldn't control it. Now, using the Enma Sword to hit fireballs allowed him to control his Nen more precisely. The same went for Ace; the power of the fireballs he threw varied, testing his control over his own strength.
Whenever Ian messed up and caused a fireball to explode, Ace would hold his stomach and laugh at him. Similarly, whenever Ian successfully knocked away all the fireballs, it was his turn to laugh.
This kept the Spade Pirates' ship filled with laughter at all times.
After sailing with Ace and his crew for a few days, Ian found that his drinking habit was growing. There was no helping it; the ship's fresh water supply was limited, so they usually used alcohol to quench their thirst. Ian hadn't noticed it when he was traveling alone, but after hanging out with Ace, he understood what a pirate banquet meant!
Every dinner time, it would easily turn from a simple meal into a drinking contest. Then a bunch of people would start cheering, and soon it became a banquet. Large cups of alcohol would clink together, and they'd down them in one go!
Although the alcohol in this world wasn't as strong as liquor, drinking cup after cup could still get you drunk.
Ace's personality was quite similar to Luffy's; he was also the type to start a banquet over the slightest thing. He and the Spade Pirates were birds of a feather, but it was tough on Ian, who was always dragged into drinking by Ace.
Ian wanted to avoid drinking, so he taught Ace and the others how to play finger-guessing games. However, to his surprise, he could take advantage at first, but Ace and the others quickly got the hang of it, and Ian ended up losing to them, getting cup after cup forced on him.
Although he often ended up drunk thanks to Ace and the others, Ian kind of liked this feeling. He finally understood why so many people were willing to become pirates. This carefree life, where you could drink when you wanted and sing when you wanted, was truly joyful. Perhaps, in the eyes of pirates, this was the freedom they sought.
So they fought, played games, and drank. Six days passed quickly. In another day, Ian and the others would reach the next island.
On the deck, Ian and Ace were still sparring. Ace had come up with a good idea yesterday. He pressed his index and middle fingers together on both hands, like firing a gun, and shot high-temperature sparks at Ian. This was his newly developed move: "Fire Gun!"
Sparks as small as real bullets came densely at Ian, who concentrated and kept swinging his Enma Sword, deflecting each spark.
But Ace got carried away. Knowing it wasn't very effective, he kept using the move. Ian had to suddenly swing his sword upward, creating a wind wall that blocked all of Ace's sparks.
Ian's Nen Training skill was finally about to level up with his constant practice. Once it reached the advanced Nen Training skill, Ian planned to attach his Nen to the wind wall to see if he could increase its strength.
Ace had the imagination to develop moves for the Flame-Flame Fruit, and Ian did too. He had even thought of combining the wind wall from the Shadow Card with the flame power of Flying Shadow to create a fire wall, or fusing flames into a tornado to create a flame whirlwind!
Card skills and such were all fixed; the key was whether the user could use them flexibly.
After blocking Ace's sparks with the wind wall, Ian was about to attack when he suddenly heard a strange sound, like someone crying.
Ace heard it too, and they both stopped at the same time. Ace pointed at Ian's hat and said, "It seems to be coming from inside your hat!"
Ian was puzzled. He took off his Bear Ear Hat and saw that the Den Den Mushi, which should have been hiding in its shell, had come out for some reason. It was wailing loudly while making a "Bru Bru" sound. The two sounds mixed together into an unpleasant "Pwoah, pwoah" noise.
"You have a Den Den Mushi!" Ace crouched down, curiously looking at Ian's Den Den Mushi, and asked strangely, "Why is it crying? Did you bully it?"
"Get lost! You're the one who bullied it!" Ian glared at him in annoyance.
He was a grown man; why would he bother bullying a Den Den Mushi?
But Ian also found it strange. His Den Den Mushi had always been kept in his hat, and he had specially modified the top of the hat for it. The little guy had always been fine, with no issues. Why was it crying now?
Could it be that he had accidentally pressed it while sparring with Ace? Or had Ace's "Fire Gun" attack accidentally hit the hat and hurt the little guy?
The two men stared at each other, looking at the wailing Den Den Mushi, not knowing what to do. Maybe they could try coaxing a child, but coaxing a Den Den Mushi...
Forget it...
Just as they were at a loss, the chef, Jimmy, cautiously poked his head out of the cabin. Ever since an unlucky crew member had his butt burned by Ace's flames, the Spade Pirates had been avoiding the deck when the two were sparring. Jimmy had only come out because he heard the crying from the deck.
Seeing that Ian and Ace weren't fighting, he breathed a sigh of relief. But when he saw the crying Den Den Mushi, he was startled. He stepped forward and said, "This... this seems to be an emergency distress signal!"
"Huh? Emergency distress signal?" Ace looked confused, pointing at the Den Den Mushi and asking, "Isn't it crying because it's hungry?"
"Hungry my ass! Get lost!" Ian pushed Ace aside and asked Jimmy, "You mean someone sent an emergency distress signal to my Den Den Mushi?"
Jimmy rubbed his hands and said, "To be precise, it wasn't sent specifically to your Den Den Mushi, but to all Den Den Mushi in the nearby sea that can receive the signal!"
"So, someone is in trouble?" Ian asked.
"Most likely!" Jimmy nodded. "Emergency distress signals are usually not sent casually, but..."
"But what?" Ace asked curiously from the side.
Jimmy sighed and said, "But it could also be the Marines deliberately fishing for criminals, or some pirates using this method to lure people in for robbery."
Hearing this, Ian remembered. He did have some impression of emergency distress signals, so he couldn't help but shake his head. The emergency distress signal was a good thing, but it had been ruined by the Marines and pirates. Now, when someone received a distress signal, their first reaction was suspicion.
What to do? Ian, Ace, and Jimmy looked at each other, unsure whether to answer the call.
"You're the captain, you decide!" Ian finally pushed the issue to Ace.
Ace thought for a moment, then picked up the receiver and said, "Hello, hello, this is the Spade. Who is this?"