Chapter 170: The Situation Is So Complicated
The news that the Marines had surrounded Stripe Island was brought by a pirate who stumbled into the tavern.
Since this island was Whitebeard's territory, about 80% of those who came from overseas and landed here were various pirates. There was a reason pirates were willing to come here: although they had to follow the rules set by Whitebeard, they didn't have to worry about being pursued by the Marines. For pirates, this was a temporary sanctuary.
But now, upon suddenly hearing that the Marines had surrounded the place, the pirates in the tavern were all stunned.
"Run... run!!"
Someone suddenly shouted this, and the pirates who had been drinking and making noise rushed toward the tavern door in a swarm.
In truth, most of the pirates present had bounties of only a few tens of millions. They were fairly certain that the Marines' large-scale mobilization wasn't necessarily targeting them. Originally, they didn't need to flee in such a panic.
But the key was the meaning behind this event!
The Marines, disregarding the fact that Stripe Island was Whitebeard's territory, had actually landed openly. This was a provocation against Whitebeard! Among the pirates, there were clever ones who realized that war might break out between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines. Who would dare stay to watch the spectacle?
"It's over! Something big is about to happen!"
This was the first thought in the minds of the pirates in the tavern. They only wanted to leave this place of trouble as quickly as possible.
In the blink of an eye, most of the people in the tavern had already run off. The tavern owner stared blankly at the messy floor before snapping back to reality: Damn it, none of them paid!
Ian and his group didn't run; they just watched the scene in stunned surprise. Blackbeard and the masked man also stayed. Only these two groups remained in the tavern.
"Captain, what do we do?" a member of the Dragon Hunter Pirates asked Ian. "Those Marines might be here to get revenge on us."
"That's not necessarily the case..." Ian glanced at Blackbeard's side.
He didn't believe that the Marines' intelligence network wouldn't know the masked man was on Stripe Island. Given that they were willing to risk a confrontation with Whitebeard to forcibly land here, they were probably after this masked man.
Hmph, he had said it before—being his impostor wasn't easy! This guy was an idiot, desperate for fame, not even knowing the inside story of the wanted notice, yet daring to impersonate him.
Fine, let him draw the Marines' fire for him!
"Let's go!" Ian put down his drink, picked up his Enma sword with his left hand, and called out to the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
With a clatter, everyone stood up and followed Ian toward the tavern exit.
But this commotion also caught Blackbeard's attention again.
"Zehahaha! Didn't expect you to have so many people!" Blackbeard, seeing Ian as the leader, grinned at him. "Kid, since you're pirates too, want to join forces?"
Ian glanced at Blackbeard. "Oh? The Whitebeard Pirates are looking for allies?"
Blackbeard laughed loudly again. "What's so strange about that? The old man's men aren't all stationed on this island, but the Marines have two to three thousand. They have the advantage now!"
"Just you alone—how can we join forces?" Ian said mockingly.
"Of course it's not just me!" Blackbeard pointed his thumb at the masked man behind him. "And him! This guy's a real tough one—he burned Mary Geoise and escaped from Marine Admiral Aokiji. You have a ship, right? Just cover us two to get out to sea, and I'll recommend you join the Whitebeard Pirates!"
Dorry behind Ian couldn't help but snicker.
Not just him—many in the Dragon Hunter Pirates were holding back laughter.
They knew the inside story best. The one who truly escaped from Aokiji was their captain, Ian. As for that impostor, who knew where he came from? How could he be called a tough guy?
"Hey, you big bear, what are you laughing at?" Blackbeard glared at Dorry.
But just then, Ian spoke up. "Sorry, we don't want to join the Whitebeard Pirates, nor do we want to ally with anyone. Since you and that masked friend are so strong, why not just fight your way out yourselves?"
With that, Ian waved his hand. "Let's go!"
Knowing the Marines might be after this masked impostor, Ian would be crazy to team up with them. And Blackbeard wasn't a good guy—his so-called alliance was probably just a plan to sell Ian out to the Marines and escape himself. Did he really think Ian was young and easy to fool?
Tossing a stack of bills to the tavern owner for the drinks, Ian and his group pushed open the door and left, calling Sardine in from the entrance.
Only then did Blackbeard realize that the giant at the door was with this pirate crew. It seemed this was a fairly strong group.
His eyes flickered, and he became even more eager to use Ian as a scapegoat. He quickly called the masked man, and the two followed Ian out of the tavern.
The masked man had probably guessed by now that the Marines' large-scale operation was targeting him. He was trembling with fear inside, but since his face was covered, no one could tell. His only hope now was Blackbeard, so he naturally followed when called.
There were so many pirates on the island that the Marines couldn't catch them all. If they tried to arrest everyone, it would provoke a united resistance. Ian guessed they would ignore the ordinary pirates and focus on capturing the masked man. So after leaving the tavern, he planned to slip away in the chaos before the Marines arrived.
As for Blackbeard... Hmph! Ian hoped he and the masked man would both get caught by the Marines!
But what Ian didn't expect was that he had underestimated Blackbeard's shamelessness. Not long after Ian's group left, Blackbeard and the masked man caught up to them.
This was bad! Ian's face turned cold, and he immediately drew his Enma sword.
He held the blade in his right hand, pointing it at Blackbeard. The movement caused a crisp bell sound from his wrist.
Ian's right arm was wrapped in layers of bandages, which looked a bit dirty. But if you looked closely, you'd see strange characters on them. The bandages covered his entire forearm, and at the end near his wrist hung a small cat bell. The sound came from that bell.
"Oh? What's this, Bell Boy?" Blackbeard sneered, looking at the blade tip near his nose.
"Do you think I wouldn't dare kill someone from the Whitebeard Pirates?" Ian said coldly. "Get lost. Stay away from us."
"Zehahaha! The question is, can you kill me?" Blackbeard showed his gap-toothed grin, staring at Ian.
Ian looked at Blackbeard. If you looked closely, deep in Blackbeard's eyes, there was a wild ambition hidden, paired with his ugly face, it always made people uncomfortable.
His answer hit the mark. Ian himself wasn't sure if he could kill Blackbeard.
Blackbeard Teach had always held back in the Whitebeard Pirates, but he had shown his ferocity before. It was he who left a scar on the eye of another Emperor, Red-Haired Shanks!
That meant he had fought Shanks and wounded him, losing several teeth in the process. Ian didn't know if it was a sneak attack or a fair fight, but it showed Blackbeard's strength was considerable.
And this was before he ate the Dark-Dark Fruit...
"Should I unseal the bandage on my arm and hit him with a Black Dragon Wave up close to finish him off?" Ian thought.
The bandage with the bell on his wrist was the exclusive item from the Flying Shadow card. Ian had gathered the materials to synthesize it. With this item, the heat from the Black Dragon Wave on his arm wouldn't spread and hurt others.
In other words, Ian already had a black dragon summoned on his arm...
Just as killing intent began to rise in Ian's eyes, the situation suddenly changed. Countless Marine soldiers poured in from all directions, surrounding Ian's group. The clicking of rifles being loaded echoed as the soldiers formed ranks and aimed at them.
"Damn it!" Sardine and the others knew their last chance to escape had been wasted by that bastard Blackbeard. Everyone in the Dragon Hunter Pirates gripped their weapons, ready to break out at Ian's command.
Vice Admiral Momonga and Vice Admiral Fighting Dog appeared. They saw Ian holding his sword at Blackbeard and were momentarily confused about the situation.
But they didn't have time to dwell on it. Behind Blackbeard, they spotted the masked man.
Their eyes widened. It was him! The mastermind!
They had finally caught him! Momonga and Fighting Dog tensed up, drawing their swords to personally make the arrest.
No wonder they were so cautious. This wanted black-clad masked man had wounded Admiral Aokiji and escaped! Although there was some ability counterplay involved, not everyone had the skill to injure a Marine Admiral. The World Government and Marines had judged him a formidable opponent, so Momonga and Fighting Dog had to take him seriously.
"Two Vice Admirals? This is trouble," Blackbeard muttered.
But Ian smiled and called out to Momonga and Fighting Dog: "Hey, Vice Admirals, if we help you capture this masked man, will you let us go?"
Since Ian had drawn his sword on Blackbeard, Momonga and Fighting Dog didn't see him as part of Blackbeard's group. But they didn't know Ian's identity yet, so they asked suspiciously, "Who are you?"
"We're the Dragon Hunter Pirates!" Ian said with a smile.
When people didn't know Ian was the mastermind behind the Celestial Dragon attack, the name Dragon Hunter didn't trigger any associations. These days, there were plenty of pirates with grand-sounding names.
Hearing Ian's name, Momonga suddenly remembered. They had originally come to capture this Dragon Hunter Pirates, but with the mastermind of the Mary Geoise incident here, the situation was different. Their main mission was to capture the masked man, so their focus shifted, and they were less interested in the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
Ian's offer suited Momonga, so he immediately agreed. "Fine! I accept!"
"To show good faith, can my men leave first?" Ian asked with a smile.
Momonga and Fighting Dog exchanged glances, then looked at Sardine and the others behind Ian. With a giant present, they felt it was troublesome, so they agreed.
"You all go back to the ship!" Ian whispered to Dorry and the others. "Once I return, we'll set sail immediately!"
They understood—this was the captain's strategy. He wasn't really going to help the Marines catch anyone. He'd let them leave safely and then escape himself. Without objection, Sardine and the others left, and the Marines parted to let them through.
Watching them go, Blackbeard cackled at Ian, "Bell Boy, you've done well. I'll remember you!"
"Likewise!" Ian replied coldly. Blackbeard had tried to drag him down, and Ian had turned the tables.
Without looking back, Blackbeard said to the masked man, "Brother, get ready to fight. If you don't want to be caught, fight your way out!"
Since he didn't turn around, Blackbeard didn't notice that the masked man had already wet himself—his crotch was visibly damp...
Hearing this, Ian hesitated slightly. He wondered whether he should actually help the Marines capture Blackbeard and the masked man.
But just then, a voice full of queenly authority suddenly rang out.
"Are you from the Dragon Hunter Pirates!?"
The crowd parted again, and Pirate Empress Boa Hancock walked gracefully toward Ian.
To be honest, Boa Hancock's reputation as the world's most beautiful woman wasn't undeserved. The moment she appeared, even Ian felt a momentary daze.
She was stunning! Ian had seen many beautiful girls in this world, but none could compare to this Pirate Empress.
But despite the shock, Ian quickly recovered. He was puzzled—why had the Empress appeared and specifically mentioned his pirate crew's name?
So he asked in confusion, "I'm the captain of the Dragon Hunter Pirates. Is there a problem?"
But the next moment, Boa Hancock charged at him. Reaching Ian, she raised her leg and kicked.
"It's you... Kneel and repent!"