Chapter 127: Kuma Comes Knocking
As Kuma stood up, picked up the photo, and prepared to leave, Garp couldn't help but glance at him.
Though Garp appeared carefree on the surface, he was actually more perceptive than anyone. The moment he saw Ian's photo appear in Sengoku's document bag, Garp guessed that this mission might require Kuma's involvement.
So when he heard Kuma's words now, Garp wasn't surprised at all.
In Garp's view, Kuma and Ian probably did have some connection, but it was hard to guess what it was.
Garp had met Ian and had a good impression of him. He could tell Ian wasn't the type of person who was deeply evil or malicious, so Garp didn't mind giving him a hand. When Sengoku grew suspicious, Garp casually offered the explanation, "He's one of Kuma's admirers." As one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Bartholomew Kuma was naturally famous, so having admirers wasn't unusual.
Sengoku, being an old friend of Garp's, immediately caught the underlying meaning in his words and went along with it, removing Ian from the list of targets to be dealt with.
This was the unique tacit understanding between Sengoku and Garp.
By playing this little game, they indirectly pushed Kuma into the spotlight. They didn't care what the actual relationship between Ian and Kuma was—as long as Kuma felt the favor they were extending, that was enough.
The Seven Warlords were all unruly individuals. Though they were nominally lapdogs of the World Government and the Marines, most of the time they ignored the Marines and the government entirely. Bartholomew Kuma was a bit of an exception—he maintained good relations with both the Marines and the World Government and was relatively compliant with orders. That was why Sengoku had brought him to the meeting. To them, Kuma was practically half an insider.
Now that Kuma had volunteered, Sengoku breathed a sigh of relief. He really didn't want to send Garp and Tsuru out. The Marine Headquarters needed strong figures to hold the fort.
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In a small house in the 27th Red Tree District, several people armed with various weapons were gathered, arguing loudly about something.
But just then, they heard a loud creaking sound. Before they could figure out what was happening, they saw the corner of the house being torn apart!
Then, a massive shockwave swept through, obliterating their house in a devastating blast. Everyone inside was sent flying by the overwhelming force!
After the shockwave subsided, they struggled to climb out from under the rubble, all of them injured. Just as they were about to cry out in pain, they suddenly fell silent, staring in awe at a tall man who had appeared before them.
This tall man was, of course, Bartholomew Kuma, who had come on orders.
He still held his book in his left hand, but he had removed the black glove from his right hand. Looking down at the group, he spoke in a low voice: "Red Murderer, the Naros Brothers—where are they?"
As his words fell, two red-haired men in the crowd began trembling like leaves in the wind.
"It seems you're the ones," Kuma said in a low voice, fixing his gaze on them.
"R-run! It's the 'Tyrant' Kuma!"
The two red-haired men were among those who had attended the gathering the previous night. They had been discussing with their subordinates whether to participate in the heist of the Heavenly Tribute, never expecting the government to send out a Warlord so quickly!
The Red Murderer brothers let out a heart-wrenching scream and turned to flee.
But at that moment, Kuma raised his right hand and gently pushed it toward the direction they were escaping.
A visible, condensed ball of air, like a paw pad, shot toward the Naros brothers at the speed of a cannonball. The compressed air pierced straight through their bodies.
This was Kuma's unique technique, the Pressure Cannon. The ball of air was essentially a powerful shockwave. After being hit, the Naros brothers coughed up blood, their eyes rolling back as they collapsed to the ground.
Though Kuma hadn't killed them outright, the shockwave had damaged their internal organs, leaving them severely injured.
Confirming that the two were no longer capable of resistance, Kuma took out their photo and tore it up. As the fragments scattered in the air, Kuma vanished without a trace.
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The Naros brothers' fate was no coincidence. Over the following hours, many of those who had attended the gathering the previous night were attacked by Kuma.
The targets included not only local underground forces on Sabaody Archipelago but also people from other places. No matter where they came from, as long as their hiding spots were exposed and the Marines obtained intelligence, Kuma showed up at their doorstep.
For a time, the underground forces on Sabaody were in a state of panic, with many starting to flee. This was especially true for those who had attended the gathering and decided to go for the heist. They knew they couldn't stay on this island any longer—they had to leave.
Fortunately, they still had time. They could use the three-day window to head to Ginana Island, a slightly more distant island from Sabaody. Under the current circumstances, the Marines' reach wouldn't extend there.
Even so, Kuma's strikes suppressed many people, achieving Sengoku's goal of reducing the number of participants.
Ian learned about this news a bit later. His subordinates had gathered at the stronghold to report the situation to him.
When he found out that Kuma was the one leading the assault, Ian was quite surprised. He hadn't expected Kuma to get involved. He had assumed the Marines would send someone like a Vice Admiral.
"Ian, boss, what do we do?" Hogkin asked anxiously, standing in front of Ian.
He knew Ian had also attended the gathering. Though Ian hadn't made any decisions yet, the fact that the Marines had sent the Tyrant Kuma meant they were making an example of someone. Hogkin couldn't be sure if the Ian Family would be targeted next.
Ian narrowed his eyes slightly, scanning the expressions of his subordinates. He noticed that most of them looked uneasy. So he spoke up: "If anyone wants to leave, go ahead."
Hogkin and the Lame Man were taken aback. They were about to say something, but Ian waved his hand and said, "It's settled! I won't hold it against anyone."
He made this decision because he knew these people were too weak to be of much use. Under the shadow of a Warlord's reputation, many were already thinking of running away. Since that was the case, why force them to stay?
Ian had already made up his mind to go after the two Demon Fruits. He had no idea how the Marines would react afterward, but these people were just ordinary folks. There was no need to drag them into such a major incident.
Sure enough, once Ian confirmed he was serious, quite a few people immediately left. Most of them were those who had been gathered by the original four families.
However, the old-timers like Hogkin stayed. Even they didn't know where else they could go if they left the family.
Ian took out the remaining 20 million Berries he had and handed them to Hogkin, saying, "A few days from now, if I don't come back, you'll have to fend for yourselves. Take this money, open a shop in the tourist district or something—it's better than scraping by in the lawless zone."
Hogkin and the Lame Man took the money, feeling its weight. They never expected Ian to give them such a large sum.
Back then, they had ended up in the lawless zone because they had no money. They were just ordinary people. If they had the chance, no one would want to live a life of constant fighting. As Ian said, with this money, they could find a legitimate business to run. Everyone longed for a peaceful life like that.
This was where Ian differed from the original Sicilian. Sicilian would have hoarded every last Berry, never caring about his subordinates' fates. But Ian had thought about their future.
"Thank you, Ian, boss!" Hogkin and the Lame Man bowed deeply to Ian.
Ian didn't say anything. He was about to let them leave when the Monkey guy came rushing over, panting, "Ian, boss! The Tyrant Kuma is here!"
Ian took a deep breath. He still didn't know what Kuma's intentions were, so he had to go outside and see.
After all these years, would Uncle Kuma still remember him? Probably not… Otherwise, he wouldn't have come knocking.
When he reached the door, Ian immediately spotted Kuma's towering figure.
"Are you the Pirate Hunter Ian?" Kuma asked in his low voice after Ian came out.
"That's me," Ian nodded, then asked with a hint of hope, "Uncle Kuma, don't you recognize me?"
"…" Kuma remained silent, looking down at Ian.
Hogkin and the others stood behind Ian, gripping their weapons, but they too looked at the two with hope. Ian's hat was identical to the Tyrant Kuma's, and coupled with their exchange, Hogkin and his group couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope.
But then, Kuma tucked his book under his armpit and removed both gloves, bringing his hands together in front of his chest!
A visible mass of air, shaped like a paw pad, appeared. As Kuma compressed it with his hands, the mass grew smaller and smaller.
The moment Ian saw Kuma's movements, he knew something was wrong. He immediately turned to Hogkin and shouted, "Run!!!"
Hogkin and the others didn't understand what was happening and hesitated for a split second. That brief delay was enough—they couldn't escape in time.
"Kuma Shock!"
Kuma gently pushed the compressed air mass toward Ian and the others.
The tiny, compressed air mass exploded the moment it left Kuma's control!
Ian barely had time to brace himself, lowering his stance with his arms crossed in front of him. But as the shockwave hit, he was pushed back, his feet carving two deep trenches into the ground!
After the shockwave finally dissipated, Ian turned to look. The house behind him had been completely destroyed. Hogkin and the others had been blown away to who knows where.
The entire scene looked like it had been hit by a massive bomb. At the epicenter of the air explosion, a crater dozens of meters in diameter had formed, resembling the impact site of a meteorite.
Though Ian was unharmed, his clothes were torn, and his body was covered in cuts from the sharp air currents generated by the compressed air explosion!
If he hadn't been training in physical combat with Rayleigh and made some progress, he didn't know how badly he would have been hurt this time.
It was only then that he realized just how powerful Kuma truly was.
Kuma's Devil Fruit ability had been developed to an incredible degree. Ian didn't know if Kuma had achieved Awakening, but just from this single Kuma Shock, he could get a glimpse of it.
Gritting his teeth, Ian felt a surge of anger. He had thought that Kuma might recognize him when he saw the hat he was wearing, but instead, he was met with such a powerful attack. It meant Kuma hadn't held back at all!
"What's going on with Uncle Kuma? Could the human weapon modification project have been completed early, leaving him without memories?" Ian wondered. But then he dismissed the thought. Human modification was groundbreaking technology, even for a genius scientist like Vegapunk. There was no way it could have been completed ahead of schedule.
If he couldn't figure it out, then he wouldn't dwell on it. Since Kuma had gone all out, Ian had no choice but to fight back!