Chapter 104: Disembarking
The exchange between Tina and Ian on the deck was naturally witnessed by some of the Marine soldiers.
Although they didn't know why the two had started fighting, in the eyes of these Marines, Captain Tina was sure to win. This universally acknowledged goddess of Marine Headquarters had countless admirers and suitors within the Marines, and in their hearts, their goddess was invincible.
Such sentiment was blind, but undeniably, when Tina stormed off in a huff, the Marines on the ship immediately became displeased.
They surrounded Ian, looking at him with hostility. "Kid, Captain Tina wanted to hit you, and you actually dared to dodge!?"
"Exactly! Do you know how many people here wish they could be trampled under Captain Tina's feet!?"
"Ah! I'd love to be ravaged by those high heels..."
Ian looked at these Marines speechlessly. At first, he thought they were looking for trouble, but somehow the conversation had veered off track. They were all blushing with dreamy expressions, looking quite perverted...
Just as Ian was wondering how to deal with them, Tina's furious roar rang out.
"Shut up! Get back to work!"
Tina had come back, and she must have heard what the Marines said earlier. She looked annoyed now. "I'll transfer you all to the G-5 branch sooner or later!"
"Tough crowd, huh?" Ian said to Tina after the Marines had left.
Tina ignored him, only saying, "You go help too. On my ship, you don't get to freeload!"
Ian shrugged and got up to help as well.
After another two hours, the count of the Iron Bones Pirate Crew was finally complete. There were 124 bodies in total, roughly matching the crew's size. Some were missing, likely having sunk to the seabed and been devoured by fish.
It was now confirmed that the Iron Bones Pirate Crew had been completely wiped out. Of course, these bodies couldn't be taken back, so the warship soon changed course, found a small deserted island, and buried them.
Not even a tombstone was erected...
That was how things were on the Grand Line. Every year, countless people died unknown deaths, just like the Iron Bones Pirate Crew.
With Iron Bones Ewing dead, his bounty was naturally canceled. Ian found it a pity, since Ewing's bounty was 75 million Berries—a huge sum—but now he couldn't claim it at all.
After these matters were handled, the fleet set sail again.
Ian had thought Tina would take the Calm Belt all the way to Marineford, but that wasn't the case. Of Tina's three warships, only one was completely undamaged. The other two had only been hastily repaired, so they weren't fast. Such ships were dangerous to sail through the Calm Belt; if attacked by Sea Kings, they couldn't even escape. So the fleet still took the Grand Line route, following an Eternal Pose without stopping at any islands along the way. This would actually get them to Sabaody Archipelago faster, taking about twenty days.
This amount of time was fine for supplies, as the Marine warships were large with high cargo capacity.
When they neared Sabaody Archipelago, Ian would have to leave. Tina couldn't take him directly to Sabaody because, as they approached the Red Line, the warships would turn into the Calm Belt and then use a special triangular current to return to Marine Headquarters.
Even so, Ian was very grateful to Tina. His earlier judgment had been correct—both Tina and Smoker were among the more humane Marines.
So for the rest of the time, Ian didn't cause Tina any trouble. He didn't wander around inside the warship, mostly just going between his room and the deck.
The warship had weightlifting equipment for training. Ian found some, attached them to his sword, and practiced swinging it every day.
With his current strength, he could only lift about 300 kilograms for practice. It wasn't much, but it still shocked the Marines on board. Swinging a sword at least a thousand times a day with 300 kilograms of weight—just watching made their arm muscles ache. Yet after finishing such training, Ian would act as if nothing had happened and continue with push-ups and other exercises.
Every morning, he would exhaust his stamina through training, rest for a while, then eat heartily at the Marines' free mess hall. When his stamina recovered in the afternoon, he would start punching sandbags.
Ian was consciously training in physical combat.
Among the cards he had drawn, two were physical combat cards. One was the Master Roshi card, but it was only a two-star card with just two skills.
One skill was [Kamehameha], described vaguely as increasing destructive power by 10%, with the requirement being that intermediate physical combat training could be used.
The other skill was [Thunder Shock Surprise], which could paralyze enemies, requiring intermediate physical combat training and intermediate Nen training skills.
Ian tried equipping this card but found he couldn't activate his physical combat training skill.
The same was true for the other card, Don Jon. Its skills were [Tiger Fist], [Dragon Knee], and [Explosive Punch]. Ian had thought that even if this Don Jon card wasn't great, it might let him learn Muay Thai, but to his surprise, it was useless!
This left Ian puzzled. Did physical combat training, like swordsmanship skills, have to be gained through personal training?
What he didn't know was that "physical combat training" was a broad concept. It wasn't just about throwing a few punches or kicks. True physical combat training involved a holistic internal and external workout—regulating breathing, strengthening bones, enhancing muscles, and even controlling blood flow—ultimately aiming to fortify the human body. That was what real physical combat training meant.
The skills on these cards were just specific applications within physical combat. That was why Ian couldn't gain the physical combat training skill by equipping the cards.
If he wanted to master physical combat training now, he had two options: one was to learn and master a complete set of physical training methods on his own; the other was to draw a card that had physical combat training as a passive skill.
Such cards existed, but only if he could draw them.
After a few days of punching sandbags, Ian had strengthened his fist power but hadn't unlocked the physical combat training skill. This gradually made him realize the truth.
If he wanted to learn physical combat, the best way now was to learn the Marines' Six Powers!
The Six Powers had been passed down within the Marines for years and had become a relatively complete form of physical combat. Its training effects were comprehensive, focusing on developing the limits of the human body.
However, Ian understood that this probably wouldn't work unless he was willing to join the Marines. Only then could he learn the Six Powers. Otherwise, the Marines wouldn't allow such physical training to leak out.
So after thinking it over, Ian had to put it aside for now. Punching sandbags was just a way to train his stamina.
At night, Ian stayed in his room, practicing his Nen proficiency.
Days passed like this, monotonous but fulfilling. It seemed that since leaving Shimotsuki Village, he rarely had time to immerse himself in training like this. Now, on Tina's ship, he got to experience it again.
The warship's voyage wasn't entirely smooth. The weather on the Grand Line was unpredictable, and they occasionally encountered fierce sea beasts. Fortunately, the Marines were elite soldiers from Headquarters, so they handled these situations fairly easily.
Occasionally, Ian felt guilty about freeloading meals on the ship, so when they encountered sea beasts, he would jump into the sea with the Enma sword in his mouth, kill the beast, and drag it back for the Marines to enjoy.
Whenever this happened, the Marines would cheer for him. Ian's actions were all observed by Tina and the Marines. His strength and diligence gradually earned recognition from many Marines, and no one found it strange anymore that an outsider like Ian was on the ship.
Time passed quickly. Tina's warships gradually approached the Red Line and were about to turn toward the Calm Belt. Ian had to disembark here.
The warship lowered a small boat. Ian was on it, checking his luggage.
"Ian, are you really not going to become a Marine?" a Marine soldier leaned over the warship's railing, reluctant to part. "If you became a Marine, you could come with us to Marine Headquarters!"
"Yeah, why get off here alone?" another Marine chimed in.
Over these many days, the Marines on the ship had grown fond of Ian. They were ordinary people without many ulterior motives, and now they were reluctant to see him leave.
"No, going to Sabaody Archipelago was decided long ago!" Ian smiled at them. "Wish you all a smooth journey!"
"What wind is there in the Calm Belt?" Tina, wearing a coat and smoking a cigarette, also came to the railing.
"Haha, slip of the tongue!" Ian blew Tina a kiss. "Beautiful Tina, did you write down my Den Den Mushi number? Call me sometime!"
"You should call me big sister, you brat!" Tina snorted coldly.
"That won't do!" Ian grinned mischievously. "There's something I forgot to mention. When I met Vice Admiral Garp before, he said he wanted to introduce you to me as a potential match!"
Tina's face immediately darkened, and the Marines on the ship erupted in fury: "What!?"
This was too much!
Those who had been reluctant to see Ian go suddenly started throwing things at him. Ian laughed, quickly untied the rope, and rowed away.
Having held back from mentioning this for so long on the ship, he wanted to see everyone's reactions at the last moment. Now his mischievous side was satisfied...
The small boat drifted away. Tina's darkened face finally relaxed, and she muttered something under her breath before shouting loudly, "Turn around! Target: Calm Belt!"