Chapter 156: Establishing the Pirate Crew (Part 1)
After everyone’s marks had been erased, Ian quickly swapped out Orihime Inoue’s card.
He kept feeling that if he equipped this card for too long, it would leave a psychological shadow on him.
Among the system’s cards, there were quite a few female character cards, and not only were their designs beautiful, but their skills were also very powerful. If this were just a real game, Ian might have even made a point of collecting these female cards—after all, everyone appreciates beauty. But the problem was that when the exclusive items of these cards materialized on him, it was a different story. Wearing such feminine accessories really gave Ian a bad case of secondhand embarrassment.
From this, he also wondered what would happen if he drew a card like Mai Shiranui. He didn’t know whether Mai Shiranui’s exclusive item would be her fan or her sexy ninja outfit…
If it were the ninja outfit, then he would never use that card, no matter what…
No one knew about Ian’s inner turmoil, but that didn’t stop people from realizing that Ian had used some miraculous method to erase their slave marks. When all the marks were gone, the slaves Ian had rescued burst into cheers of excitement.
Tears welled up in their eyes. No one would want to carry the shameful mark of slavery for their entire lives. The disappearance of the marks signified that the last trace of bondage on them had been removed.
From now on, it was a new beginning!
Without exception, everyone bowed deeply to Ian.
Jinbe silently watched this scene, as if recalling the moment when the Sun Pirates were first established…
Those who were leaving began to board the ship. Though they felt a bit reluctant, they also understood what Ian, their benefactor, was about to face next. If they stayed, they would only become a burden to him.
After Ian watched them all board the ship, he said to Jinbe, “I’m entrusting them to you!”
Jinbe nodded without saying a word, leaped onto the bow, and directed the Fish-Man Pirates’ members to set sail.
The people remaining on the shore watched Jinbe’s ship sail away until it disappeared from sight. Then they turned back and looked at Ian.
Ian didn’t stand on ceremony either. He tore off his face mask with one hand and waved, saying, “Board the ship! We’re setting sail too!”
“Woooh!!!”
The remaining people raised their arms in cheers and followed Ian onto the ship that Jinbe had left for them.
“Haul in the lines!”
“Weigh anchor! Hoist the sails!”
“Yes, Captain!”
With Ian’s commands being issued one after another, the people on the ship began working in an orderly fashion. Actually, Ian didn’t originally know much about this, but fortunately, he had spent some time on Ace’s ship and had picked up a few nautical terms.
The ship began to turn and slowly sail away from the island. Ian stood at the bow, looking at the clear weather and feeling the sea breeze on his face. For some reason, he felt a surge of high spirits.
He turned around and looked at the sailors busy working on the ship.
There were 75 people willing to stay and sail with him. They were all people with no home to return to, which was why they had unhesitatingly chosen to follow Ian.
Among these 75 people, most were humans, but there were also quite a few members of other races. Apart from the Fish-Men that Jinbe had taken away, this ship had one Giant—Sardine. He was so big that it seemed he would have to sleep on the deck at night. Besides him, there was also a Mink—the black bear Mink who kept saying “Garuchu” to Ian. His name was Dorry, a simple and honest fellow.
Additionally, there were four Long-Leg Tribe members and two Long-Arm Tribe members on the ship. Although their body shapes looked a bit strange, to be honest, they were rare combat assets.
Among the humans who stayed, most were strong, sturdy men. Some of them had originally been pirates, while others were ordinary people, but when it came to fighting, they could still be useful.
There were also a few girls on the ship, including Margaret, whom Ian had met earlier. These girls were also pitiful people with no home. They couldn’t fight, so their work on the ship involved cleaning rooms and washing clothes for everyone. Ian didn’t want his ship to be stinking up from a bunch of rough men, so when Margaret asked to stay, he tacitly agreed.
Most importantly, Margaret actually knew a bit about navigation and could serve as a navigator—that was the most crucial point.
Among these people, there were those with various skills. Some could work as sailors, some could operate cannons, some had sharp eyes and could serve as lookouts, some knew how to repair ships and could act as shipwrights, and some knew how to cook and could work as chefs.
With this group of people, Ian’s pirate crew naturally took shape. Moreover, they were loyal enough to him—much more reliable than the people he had gathered on Sabaody Archipelago.
Watching them busy themselves with their respective tasks, Ian couldn’t help but reflect on everything that had happened recently.
In fact, the whole affair had been pretty much a foregone conclusion ever since Ian infiltrated Mary Geoise after hearing about the Devil Fruit.
Some might say that Ian could have just sneaked away alone without making such a big fuss by taking the slaves with him. But honestly, that would only consider the immediate situation without thinking about the future. Ian had killed a Celestial Dragon out of righteous anger, and no matter what, the Celestial Dragons wouldn’t let it go—they would definitely investigate.
Even if Ian had worn a mask and not revealed his identity at the time, thinking that would be enough to fool the World Government into not tracking him down was a joke!
A perfect example was right in front of him: Ace!
To evade the World Government’s investigation, his mother had carried him for 20 months before giving birth to him and then handed him over to Garp for adoption. With a Marine Vice Admiral covering for him, that was impressive enough, right?
Yet, in the end, Ace’s true identity was still uncovered!
The World Government had controlled this world for so many years, and its intelligence agencies were undoubtedly pervasive. Ian might be able to hide for a while, but as long as the Celestial Dragons didn’t give up the investigation, he would eventually be exposed.
If he hid alone, by the time he was discovered, he wouldn’t even be able to escape. Facing a massive Marine pursuit, his fate would likely be to get cornered on some island and eventually captured.
He couldn’t escape alone—that was the most important point, because one person couldn’t sail a ship!
Unless Ian could fly, and fly far enough, he would never get away. Forget about sneaking away on a merchant ship—once the Marines had definite information about him, they would definitely conduct thorough inspections.
Ian couldn’t fly, and he couldn’t sail a ship alone, but he could find a group of people to sail it for him!
That was why he had thought about rescuing these slaves in the first place—not just to help them, but also to help himself.
So, in fact, although these people kept calling him their benefactor, Ian never really saw himself as one. He knew very well that he had simply tied these people and himself to the same rope.
They wanted to escape Mary Geoise, and he wanted to escape the Marines’ pursuit. Their goals were aligned, so they could naturally move forward together without any friction.
Ian couldn’t wait until the last moment to figure things out. From the very beginning, he had never underestimated the World Government’s intelligence capabilities. Establishing a pirate crew to resist pursuit was the backup plan Ian had set for himself.
His original plan was to return to the East Blue before the World Government uncovered his true identity. First, to hand over the Devil Fruit he had snatched to Master Koushirou, and second, to prepare them in case the Celestial Dragons shamelessly went after his family. That way, Master Koushirou and the others could hide.
However, this plan became unnecessary after he coincidentally met Kuma and joined the Revolutionary Army. Kuma used his ability to send the Devil Fruit to the East Blue and also promised that the Revolutionary Army would protect Master Koushirou and the others, completely eliminating Ian’s worries.
Everything was interconnected, with a cause-and-effect pattern. If Ian hadn’t killed that Celestial Dragon’s son, he wouldn’t have obtained the Celestial Dragon’s identity chip as a talisman. And without that talisman, Ian might have had to live as a pirate constantly hunted by the Marines. But now it was different. If Ian could endure the Marines’ pursuit long enough, according to Kuma’s plan, as long as the Celestial Dragons wanted their identity chip back, they would have to hold their noses and swallow the bitter pill Ian was feeding them!
Having the chance to become a Warlord of the Sea, Ian was certainly willing, and he couldn’t wait to see that day come. He wondered what kind of amusing scene it would be when the Celestial Dragons, with their enemy right in front of them, would have to give up their bounty on him.
Just as Ian was pondering these things, he saw the people on the ship gathering around him. By then, the ship was sailing smoothly, and they had finished their tasks.
“What’s up?” Ian asked them.
“Captain, we still don’t know your name!” the black bear Mink Dorry scratched his head and said naively.
Ian smiled slightly, not surprised. After sending off those who were leaving, he didn’t need to hide much from his own crew members. That was also why he had taken off his face mask earlier.
“My name is Ian! My previous identity was a bounty hunter!” Ian said to them with a smile. “But now, I’ve become a pirate too!”
“Captain Ian, don’t worry about it!” one human sailor laughed loudly. “In this world, a lot of pirates were forced into it. Not to mention you were a bounty hunter—even many former Marines have ended up becoming pirates!”