Chapter 178: To Lift or Not to Lift?
"Where am I talking nonsense?" Ian looked at Boa Hancock with a puzzled expression.
"Hmph!" Boa Hancock snorted coldly and said, "You saw what happened to that impostor earlier. I admit you're strong—you even managed to injure Vice Admiral Momonga—but that doesn't mean you can pass yourself off as the real Black-Clad Man!"
Ian rubbed his chin and said, "I told you, I am the real deal. Why would I bother pretending? You just don't believe me. Is that my fault?"
Seeing Ian like this, Boa Hancock grew even more irritated. The earlier impostor, the card-cheat swordsman Flordes, had already annoyed her. Her Kuja Pirates had chased the Marines all the way here, only to find out it was a fake, making the entire trip a waste of time.
Now that she had finally found Ian, who might know something, Boa Hancock had eagerly pursued him, hoping for an open and honest conversation. But to her complete surprise, this man in front of her also claimed to be the real deal.
She had always thought that Ian was either an accomplice of the Black-Clad Man from the Mary Geoise incident or one of the freed slaves. She had never considered that Ian himself was the real Black-Clad Man.
Although Ian also carried a longsword, judging from his battle with Momonga and Momonga, the abilities he displayed were completely different from the Black-Clad Man's.
So she said coldly, full of anger, "According to the information I've obtained, the real Black-Clad Man is a flame ability user, while you are a lightning ability user. Are you lying through your teeth right in front of me? Do you think that just because you defeated a Marine Vice Admiral, you can look down on a Warlord of the Sea?"
"Oh, fine!" Ian laughed and asked Boa Hancock, "Let's set this aside for now. Let me ask you, even if you find the real Black-Clad Man, what do you plan to do then?"
"That's none of your business!" Boa Hancock, still unsure of Ian's true identity, naturally wouldn't reveal her intentions to him.
"Let me take a guess!" Ian said teasingly. "You're a Warlord. In name, you're supposed to follow the orders of the World Government and the Marines. So I'm guessing you might be planning to help the Marines capture the Black-Clad Man?"
"I said, it's none of your business!" Boa Hancock's expression began to turn cold.
"Oh, so it seems you're not planning to capture him!" Ian ignored her and continued on his own, "Then that means you want to recruit him? Or offer him protection?"
Boa Hancock finally flew into a rage, but this rage stemmed from the fact that this man had actually guessed her thoughts.
This was the second time! The second time! Her thoughts and intentions had been laid bare by this man, giving Boa Hancock a shameful feeling of being stripped naked.
Who is this man? How does he understand my thoughts so well? Am I really that obvious?
Boa Hancock was a Warlord. She liked this identity and didn't want to lose it. So helping the mastermind of the Mary Geoise incident could only be done in secret, without anyone knowing. That's why when she landed on Stripe Island, she had to find an excuse to cover it up. And now, her thoughts had been seen through by a stranger!?
This wouldn't do! Equal communication clearly wasn't working. She would have to capture this man and interrogate him! If he turned out to be an accomplice of the Black-Clad Man, she might let him go. But if not, she would have to kill him!
With this in mind, Boa Hancock decided to stop wasting words. She straightened up and kicked at Ian.
This kick was much faster than the one she had used when they fought on Stripe Island!
In this world, although Devil Fruits are very powerful, there is actually a compatibility issue between the fruit and its user. Whether one's own conditions, personality, and fighting style fully align with the power of the Devil Fruit is a very complex question.
However, Boa Hancock was a perfect match for her Devil Fruit. She was an incredibly beautiful woman with unparalleled charm, allowing her to maximize the power of the Love-Love Fruit. Just imagine if Kokoro had eaten the Love-Love Fruit!
Moreover, although she was a Devil Fruit user, that didn't mean she relied entirely on her fruit's abilities in battle. In fact, she was also proficient in all three types of Haki and was quite skilled in physical combat.
Although it was hard to compare her strength with other Warlords, her prowess had been acknowledged even by Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself.
As she kicked at Ian, Boa Hancock also used her Observation Haki to keep Ian's movements completely under her control. She was confident that no matter how this man dodged, he wouldn't escape her grasp.
However, to her complete surprise, Ian didn't dodge at all. Instead, he extended his left hand and caught her kick with a thud.
She had hit him. Boa Hancock originally thought Ian's left hand would immediately turn to stone, but to her surprise, nothing happened to him!
If she had looked closely at his palm at that moment, she would have noticed a strange layer of light covering it. This light barrier had blocked the skin contact, keeping Boa Hancock's fruit ability at bay.
This light barrier was none other than the Three-Day Binding Shield skill from Orihime Inoue's card!
Ever since meeting Boa Hancock on Stripe Island, Ian had been thinking about how to defend against her petrification ability if he ever had to fight the Pirate Empress.
Against ray attacks like Slave Arrow, Ian could use pain to divert his attention and nullify the petrification. But what about direct physical combat?
It was unrealistic to avoid all contact with Boa Hancock unless Ian's speed was incredibly fast. So what would happen if he was touched?
Many people in the New World could use Haki, but why were Devil Fruit users still so powerful? It was because Haki couldn't completely block the effects of Devil Fruits!
Ian had discovered this during his fight with Aokiji. His left wrist had been frostbitten at that time. Even when he hardened it with Armament Haki, Aokiji's freezing effect still spread to his wrist.
Maybe if Ian had worn gloves back then, he could have resisted Aokiji's freezing. But Boa Hancock's ability was even more domineering—it could even affect inorganic objects. If he used gloves to touch her body, the gloves would likely be petrified as well.
After much thought, Ian came up with this idea: using Orihime Inoue's Three-Day Binding Shield to block the petrification ability!
He could freely control the size of the Three-Day Binding Shield, concentrating it entirely in his palm. The resulting light barrier was also a form of energy, acting like a filter that blocked Boa Hancock's petrification ability!
Of course, to use Orihime Inoue's card, Ian inevitably had to have hairpins appear in his hair. Fortunately, he was wearing a Bear Ear Hat, which could cover them up. It was a small comfort.
Grabbing Boa Hancock's ankle, Ian felt relieved when he saw that nothing had happened to him.
Just then, Ian caught a whiff of the faint fragrance coming from Boa Hancock's leg and couldn't help but swallow hard.
He instinctively followed her ankle and looked upward. Under the stillness, staring at such a smooth, fair, and long leg was a real test of willpower.
Especially when his gaze traveled all the way up to the base of her thigh, even Ian felt a rush of blood to his head.
What kind of scenery was hidden beneath that cheongsam? This peerlessly beautiful Pirate Empress—was she wearing underwear or not?
This was probably a question that had troubled veteran drivers for years! All guesses could only rely on imagination.
And unlike those veteran drivers, if Ian wanted to, by simply lifting Boa Hancock's leg slightly with his left hand, he could easily find the answer!
Should he lift it, lift it, or lift it?
Ian was so conflicted...
(Sanchong Chinese)