Chapter 166: Confusing News
(The previous chapter's number was wrong; this chapter is actually 166)
After getting off the ship, Ian and his group headed straight into the town.
At the entrance of the town, Ian saw the island's name. Two pillars supported a curved signboard that read, "Welcome to Stripe Island!"
Opposite it, hanging above the signboard, was a massive black pirate flag emblazoned with the Whitebeard Pirates' emblem.
This was indeed Whitebeard's territory without a doubt.
However, once they entered the town, Ian realized there were many ordinary residents here.
Spacious streets, a dazzling array of shops, and buildings of various unique styles gave the entire town a bright and lively atmosphere.
While Ian was still admiring the town's appearance, a sudden barking sound came from behind. Thinking it was a dog, he turned around to look.
But when he saw it, his eyes nearly popped out!
Running over from behind was indeed a dog, but Ian noticed that there was a key embedded in its body. As the dog ran, the key slowly turned.
A mischievous kid was laughing loudly, chasing the dog from behind, seemingly trying to catch it. The boy and the dog dashed past Ian and his crew like a gust of wind.
"Am... am I seeing things?" Ian rubbed his eyes vigorously. "How can a dog have a key? Did that brat stick it in?"
The rest of the pirate crew exchanged bewildered glances.
As Ian and his group ventured deeper into the town, they saw more and more such creatures.
Dogs, cats—all had iron keys on their bodies. In the town, Ian also saw livestock like cows and horses, all of which also had keys on them.
A parrot flew over Ian's head, a key dangling from its rear, spinning and spinning...
"Haha! First time on Stripe Island?" An old man passing by, seeing Ian and his crew's stunned expressions, couldn't help but laugh.
"Old man, are those keys on the animals real?" Ian pointed at the parrot flying away, asking dazedly.
The old man smiled and said, "Yes, the creatures on this island are very rare 'key creatures'! They're absolutely alive."
Stripe Island, to be more precise, should be called Rare Beast Island. The creatures here all had a special "key organ." During the day, when these key creatures were active, the keys on their bodies would turn. At night, when they went into hibernation, the keys would automatically reset, like winding up a spring, serving as the power source for their movement.
"This island has existed since ancient times!" The old man leaned on his cane and introduced to Ian, "These key creatures have also existed since then. For thousands of years, they've lived on this island until people arrived and discovered them. Some scholars settled here to study these rare key creatures and built the town. However, when the news spread, more and more people started coveting these rare creatures. They hunted them recklessly for sale, and we common folks were often harassed by them."
The old man sighed and said, "Many people originally thought they couldn't go on living here and wanted to leave. But thirty years ago, Whitebeard came to this island and claimed it as part of his territory, which helped protect it."
Ian nodded in agreement. Indeed, those who coveted the key creatures were likely pirates or bounty hunters. With Whitebeard marking this as his territory, no one would dare cause trouble here.
"Listen up!" The old man pointed at Ian and said, "You can stay on the island, but don't even think about messing with these creatures, or no one will be able to save you!"
Ian shrugged. He hadn't expected to be warned twice just after arriving on the island.
He hadn't planned to mess with these creatures anyway, so he didn't take it to heart.
Stripe Island was quite large, but the town wasn't very big. Looking into the distance, behind the town were dense forests and mountains, likely where these key creatures lived.
Ian's group of over sixty people was quite a spectacle. After entering the town, they first found a place to sell the surplus supplies they had looted from the warship.
These items were mainly swords and guns. At the time, every Marine soldier on the ship was equipped with a gun and a sword. After they surrendered, Ian confiscated everything—seven or eight hundred guns and the same number of swords. With only about seventy people in Ian's crew, even if each person took one, there were still many left over.
These weapons couldn't just sit around and rust, so Ian decided to sell some of them.
Marine weapons were good stuff and easy to sell. Ian found a weapons shop and sold the entire batch to the owner.
Since this was Whitebeard's territory, the owner accepted them without hesitation, even though he could tell they were Marine property. However, all businessmen are cunning, and Ian's group had to accept a lower price. In the end, over five hundred guns and swords only fetched about five hundred thousand Berries.
It wasn't much, but with money in hand, they naturally wanted to spend it. On Dorry's suggestion, they found a large tavern to drink and grab some food.
When they reached the tavern, Sardin ran into a problem—the door was too small for him to enter. Helpless, he had to ask the tavern owner to bring out dozens of barrels for him to drink outside.
Ian's group was a big customer, so the tavern owner cooperated, warmly welcoming them in and seating them.
The crew spread out across seven or eight tables. Large mugs of ale were brought out, along with various delicious foods, and everyone began to feast.
Matthew, the chef, was curious about the island's unique cuisine and tried to chat with the tavern owner for tips. But his slow, deliberate way of speaking annoyed the owner, who quickly made an excuse to leave.
The others drank and chatted about interesting things, occasionally bursting into laughter. This was typical pirate behavior.
Ian didn't join in much. Instead, he was listening to the conversations of other patrons in the tavern.
It's often said that taverns are great places to gather information, and that's absolutely true. Besides Ian's group, there were many other pirates in the tavern. As they talked, they often shared their experiences, and valuable information would slip out unintentionally.
Quietly sipping his drink and listening, Ian's attention was caught by a conversation at a nearby table.
"Hey, have you heard about that masked guy?"
"Masked guy? Who's that?"
"Are you stupid? Who's the most famous masked man right now?"
"Ah! You mean the one with a five-hundred-million-Berry bounty?"
"That's him! The arsonist from Mary Geoise!"
Hearing this, Ian immediately knew who they were talking about and perked up his ears.
"Five hundred million Berries, damn it. Why did the Marines offer such a high bounty?"
"What else? He burned down the Celestial Dragons' houses and pissed them off!"
"By the way, why did you suddenly bring him up?"
"Hehe... I heard he's come to Stripe Island!"
Ian nearly spat out his drink. What the hell? How could any random pirate know he had arrived here?
Since when could any pirate track his movements?
Confused, Ian heard the pirates at the next table continue, "What? That masked guy really came to Stripe Island?"
"Of course, the news is absolutely reliable!"
"No way! Doesn't that mean we're rich? If we catch him, we'll get five hundred million Berries!"
"Dream on! With a five-hundred-million bounty, do you think he's easy to catch? The wanted poster says he has to be taken alive!"
"That's not a problem. Just sneak up and knock him out from behind!"
"Tch, you really are stupid. This is Whitebeard's territory. Do you dare to catch someone here?"
"Simple. Just make sure the Whitebeard Pirates don't see it!"
"Get lost! That masked guy is someone even the Whitebeard Pirates take seriously. I heard that as soon as he landed on the island, the Whitebeard Pirates recognized him and tried to recruit him!"
"No way? Then we can't touch him at all?"
Ian listened, utterly bewildered. What was going on? When had the Whitebeard Pirates recognized him? And when had they tried to recruit him?
He was completely confused by this news...