Chapter 202: Ace's Request
"What is that?" Ace looked at Jimmy. In front of this familiar person, he finally spoke a sentence.
But Jimmy's face was full of panic. Before he even reached Ace, he shouted loudly: "It's... it's Ian, boss! He... he's been wanted!"
Ace's heart skipped a beat. He quickly snatched the wanted poster from Jimmy's hand and looked at it. The photo on it—who else could it be but Ian?
"F... Five hundred million!?" Ace's hand holding the wanted poster trembled slightly. It was hard to tell if it was from worry or excitement. He grabbed Jimmy by the collar and roared: "What's going on? Isn't Ian a pirate hunter? Why has the Navy put a bounty on him? And such a high amount!?"
To be honest, although Ian had caused such a huge commotion in Mary Geoise and the New World recently, Ace knew nothing about his current situation. That was because during this time, Ace had just been brought onto Whitebeard's ship. At first, Ace didn't want to acknowledge Whitebeard as his "Old Man" and still dreamed of becoming the Pirate King himself. He kept trying to assassinate Whitebeard—over a hundred attempts in two months, almost twice a day. How could he have had time to follow outside news?
It wasn't just him; Jimmy and the others were the same. They were all sticking close to their captain Ace's lead. As long as Ace hadn't surrendered, they were still members of the Spade Pirates, fighting hard.
And the Whitebeard Pirates, though they still provided them with meals every day, certainly weren't going to deliver a newspaper to them daily, were they?
This meant that Ace, Jimmy, and the others had no idea about Ian's rampage in Mary Geoise. Even when they heard the Whitebeard Pirates' crew members discussing it on the ship, they never connected it to Ian.
But now, the newspaper Jimmy had just received from a News Coo had Ian's wanted information updated by the Navy. Ian's photo had replaced the original masked man's picture. This was the first time the true face of the mastermind behind the Mary Geoise incident was officially exposed to the world.
The exchange between Ace and Jimmy naturally attracted the attention of others. Marco walked over with a drink, looked at the wanted poster, and said in surprise: "Five hundred million Berries!? That's a huge bounty. Oh, it says 'capture alive only.' Could this be the mastermind behind the Mary Geoise arson incident? Ace, you actually know him!?"
Hearing this, Ace quickly turned to Marco and grabbed him: "You know Ian? What's this about the Mary Geoise arson? Tell me everything!"
Flower Sword Vista also came over, stroking his mustache, and said: "You don't know about this? It caused quite a stir. I heard this guy sneaked into Mary Geoise during the Reverie and set fire to the Holy Land!"
"Ian burned down Mary Geoise!?" Ace's face was full of disbelief.
"Of course, that's the version the World Government is spreading!" Marco said. "According to the intelligence our Whitebeard Pirates have gathered, the truth is that this guy killed a Celestial Dragon in Mary Geoise, stole two Devil Fruits, and took advantage of the chaos to free over five hundred Celestial Dragon slaves. He led them in an escape from Mary Geoise. In response, Marine Headquarters sent Admiral Aokiji to pursue him, but Aokiji was actually injured by him instead!"
"Haha, this young man is really impressive!" Flower Sword Vista laughed. "The Old Man was so happy when he heard the news. He mocked Fleet Admiral Sengoku of Marine Headquarters mercilessly. I haven't seen him that cheerful in a long time."
Marco said: "To escape from Aokiji and even injure him in return—that's no easy feat. Ace, you know him? Is he a Logia user too?"
"No, he doesn't seem to be a Devil Fruit user!" Ace shook his head. "Stole two Devil Fruits? That's right... Ian once said he wanted to find Devil Fruits for his sister... So, it really was him?"
Flower Sword Vista looked closely at the description on the wanted poster and said: "Dragon Hunter Pirates? Could the one on Stripe Island a while ago be him?"
"What's this about?" Ace asked Vista in surprise. "What Stripe Island?"
"A while ago, didn't I go out on the Old Man's orders?" Vista explained. "You saw me set sail back then, right? That time, Vice Admirals Momonga and Fighting Dog from Marine Headquarters landed on Stripe Island to catch the mastermind of the Mary Geoise incident. Stripe Island is our Whitebeard Pirates' territory. The Navy's forceful landing and the petrification of some members of our Second Division led the Old Man to order me and the Eighth Division Commander Namiur to destroy a Marine fortress under construction as retaliation... So, the cause of all this was this young man named Ian?"
Marco also spoke up: "I heard from Teach of the Second Division that this Ian even had a big fight with Warlord Boa Hancock and Vice Admirals Momonga and Fighting Dog. Fighting Dog had his wrist broken by him!"
The more they talked, the more Ace was shocked to realize that in just these two months, Ian had pulled off such earth-shattering feats. This sudden change left Ace completely unprepared.
"He... didn't he always want to be a pirate hunter?" Ace didn't know what to say, so he just blurted that out.
Jimmy interjected: "Ace, boss, didn't Ian, boss say that the only reason he became a pirate hunter was to earn money to buy Devil Fruits? Since there were some right there, why bother saving up?"
Hearing this, Ace, Marco, and Vista all nodded in agreement. They all knew well what Celestial Dragons were like. None of them thought there was anything wrong with Ian taking the Devil Fruits from the Celestial Dragons.
But... Vista sighed: "Stealing Devil Fruits and freeing slaves are understandable. But how did he end up killing a Celestial Dragon? That's not something that can be easily resolved..."
"Ian must have had his own reasons for killing a Celestial Dragon!" Ace spoke up at this point. "I know him. He's not the type to act recklessly without thinking."
"That's right! Ian, boss must have had a reason to do it!" Jimmy chimed in.
Marco and Vista exchanged glances, puzzled as to why Ace and Jimmy had so much trust in this man named Ian on the wanted poster. Still, they said to Ace: "If this person is your friend, then you'd better find him quickly. The Celestial Dragons, the World Government, and Marine Headquarters are all furious with him. According to the latest intelligence we've received, Marine Headquarters has dispatched two Marine Admirals and ten warships into the New World. We were wondering why the Navy was making such a big move. Now, combined with this updated wanted poster, their real target is probably to capture your friend!"
Two Marine Admirals!? Ten warships!?
Hearing this force, Ace and Jimmy were both shocked.
Ace was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "I... I want to see him!"
"See him?" Marco was slightly taken aback. "See who?"
"See Whitebeard!" Ace said.
Marco and Vista exchanged another glance, then turned and said: "Follow us!"
Under their guidance, Ace found Whitebeard resting on the beach of the island. Seeing the three of them approach, Whitebeard laughed and said: "Ace, you stupid son. The banquet was held just for you. Why aren't you at the party? What are you doing here?"
Ace didn't say a word. He walked up to Whitebeard, suddenly knelt down, and bowed his head: "Old Man, I know I've just joined the Whitebeard Pirates and shouldn't be making such a request. But I want to ask you for a favor—please help me save someone!"
"What's going on?" Whitebeard was startled. This was the first time he had heard Ace call him that.
Marco leaned in and quietly explained the situation to Whitebeard. After listening, Whitebeard frowned and asked Ace: "You want me to help you save this kid named Ian? What is he to you?"
"Brother... no, family!" Ace said without lifting his head. "He's like you all—he's my family too!"
Whitebeard didn't speak. He frowned, lost in thought. Ace, Marco, and Vista didn't dare to disturb him, quietly waiting for his decision.
After a while, Whitebeard suddenly stood up. His towering figure blocked the sun, casting a shadow over Ace. Standing before Ace, he said: "Get up, son. Since you've called me Old Man, then as your Old Man, I naturally have to shield my sons from the wind and rain!"
"You... you agreed!?" Ace looked up at Whitebeard in disbelief.
Marco said worriedly from the side: "But Old Man... the combat force the Navy has deployed this time..."
"Gurararara!" Whitebeard burst into laughter. "Even if the entire Navy showed up, so what? I am Whitebeard! This little guy named Ian is Ace's family, so that makes him our family too. Besides, I want to see for myself what kind of person could make Ace call me 'Old Man' for the first time!"
Hearing this, Marco and Vista both smiled and said nothing more.
After his laughter subsided, Whitebeard suddenly asked: "This Ian—do you know what kind of Devil Fruits he got his hands on?"
Ace was stunned for a moment, then shook his head. But Marco spoke up: "I heard one of them might be a Mythical Zoan fruit, like mine..."
"So the rumors are true!" Whitebeard sighed, then looked down at Ace and said: "Don't worry, stupid son! Even if we don't step in, that little guy probably won't be in trouble. I've heard that Kaido of the Beasts is also looking for him! But since he was masked before, Kaido had no leads. Now that his photo is out, Kaido might show up too..."
Marco, Vista, and even Ace—the news they heard today was more shocking than all the surprises they'd had in the past year combined!
Kaido? Emperor Kaido!?
What does he want with Ian? Could Kaido want that Mythical Zoan fruit? Or if Ian has already eaten it, does Kaido want to recruit him into the Beast Pirates!?