Chapter 224: Melting into Molten Iron
“Young Master Ian, you all did quite a job!” Kizaru said as he walked toward Ian, adding, “You made me swallow quite a bit of seawater, and my mouth still tastes salty!”
Walking behind him was Sentomaru, carrying his battle axe, apparently having retrieved Kizaru.
However, the number of Marine soldiers had decreased significantly. Ian could hear continuous gunfire and shouts coming from within the city, as if the Marines were engaged in battle with someone.
Perhaps it was the soldiers of the Salamis Duchy?
“Sigh! Is it really a good idea to fight this fiercely on someone else’s turf?” Ian said, somewhat speechless as he surveyed the surroundings. The port area was already in shambles, and further inland, many buildings had been destroyed by the earlier tsunami. Ian knew that even after this incident was over, the Dragon Hunter Pirates would likely be listed as unwelcome in this country, since they had brought the Marines here.
“That’s none of our business!” Sentomaru said to Ian. “The Salamis Duchy is a non-member nation, and they even deployed their army to obstruct the Marines from capturing pirates. Not bombarding the entire island is already merciful!”
Ian sneered and said, “Is that Marine logic or bandit logic?”
Kizaru interjected, “Don’t forget, the Salamis Duchy also colludes with the Whitebeard Pirates. Even if they were to be sanctioned, it would be justified. The Marines represent justice, after all!”
Sentomaru turned to Kizaru and said, “Uncle, stop talking to him. If we don’t hurry, the Whitebeard Pirates will really be here soon!”
Ian was stunned by these words.
Ian knew about Sentomaru—he claimed to be the tightest-lipped man in the world, but he always inadvertently leaked information. Ian hadn’t fully experienced this before, but hearing this, he realized it was true.
That sentence alone revealed a piece of information: Ian and his crew had been eager to escape out to sea, but now it seemed the Marines were even more eager to capture the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
So Ian blurted out, “Have the Whitebeard Pirates and the Beast Pirates settled their fight?”
“…” Sentomaru realized he had let something slip again, but the chubby young man refused to admit it, glancing sideways and saying, “You figured that out yourself. It’s got nothing to do with me!”
Kizaru, however, didn’t seem too concerned. He said, “The Marines just received word that the Whitebeard Pirates indeed forced back the Beast Pirates and are heading this way. But don’t worry, Young Master Ian, you won’t live to see them!”
As he spoke, Kizaru raised his finger and, with a *pew*, fired a laser at Ian.
Ever since witnessing Kizaru’s speed, Ian had been on guard against him. His Psychic Field sensed Kizaru’s arm movement, and Ian was already preparing to dodge. Kizaru’s laser missed Ian as he leaped away, striking the ground where he had been standing, causing a burst of flames and an explosion.
Using the blast’s shockwave, Ian flipped backward and landed. But as soon as he steadied himself, Sentomaru was already beside him, striking with a palm thrust.
It seemed Sentomaru wanted to test Ian’s strength, so Kizaru held back for the moment.
Ian raised his left arm to block Sentomaru’s palm thrust, feeling the heavy, powerful impact of the attack.
Although Sentomaru hadn’t yet become Vegapunk’s bodyguard at this point, he had already shown considerable strength. His consecutive palm thrusts were both fast and powerful, and they were infused with Armament Haki, forcing Ian to use his own Haki to defend. In response to Ian’s attacks, Sentomaru also demonstrated impressive defensive techniques, seemingly able to deflect force in a special way. Based on Ian’s estimate, purely in terms of physical combat, Sentomaru was likely a cut above Ain and Binz.
“Flame Flash!” Ian didn’t want to get bogged down, so he immediately used his one-sword style Iaijutsu slash.
However, as Ian charged, Sentomaru’s eyes narrowed, and he instantly drew the giant axe from his back, holding it vertically in front of him. The broad axe face blocked Ian’s slashing strike as he passed by.
With their Haki clashing, Ian couldn’t cut through Sentomaru’s axe, but the flame edge of the Evil King Flame Slayer Sword still left a deep groove on the axe’s surface.
Sentomaru winced in pain, but Ian was already pressing the attack again, swinging his Thousand Cherry Blossoms blade rapidly, striking at Sentomaru blow after blow. While Ian’s speed wasn’t as freakish as Kizaru’s, it was still fast by anyone else’s standards. Sentomaru managed to block a few strikes at first, but gradually began to struggle.
However, despite his eagerness to take down Sentomaru, Ian didn’t forget that Kizaru was nearby. Sentomaru was his nephew, and if he were in danger, Kizaru would surely intervene. So Ian kept some strength in reserve to guard against Kizaru.
But what Ian didn’t expect was that Kizaru would act sooner than he thought. Kizaru didn’t wait for Sentomaru to be in danger; as soon as he saw Sentomaru was outmatched, he decisively moved.
Kizaru’s body turned into a beam of light, instantly appearing beside Ian, and delivered a light kick, striking at Ian’s waist with his heel.
If Ian hadn’t sensed Kizaru’s movement through his Psychic Field and twisted his hips in an awkward posture to dodge, he would have been sent flying again.
Kizaru had entered the fray, but what annoyed Ian was that he didn’t have Sentomaru withdraw from the fight. Sentomaru, as if reading Kizaru’s mind, took advantage of Ian’s dodge to swing his axe down toward Ian’s head.
This strike, Sentomaru was certain Ian couldn’t avoid. But because of orders to capture Ian alive as the mastermind, Sentomaru worried that a direct chop might kill him, so he switched to a flat strike instead.
Facing this swift blow, Ian indeed couldn’t dodge. He could only raise his free hand to brace against the strike, catching it with his palm.
Sentomaru’s strength was considerable. Ian supported the blow with one hand, nearly forced to his knees, but he gritted his teeth and held on. His right hand swung the blade from below, aiming at Sentomaru, but Kizaru suddenly appeared and grabbed his arm, stopping the attack.
“At a time like this, Young Master Ian, you still don’t want to fight with all your strength?” Kizaru pursed his lips, looking down at Ian. “I recall you used a kind of black flame when you injured Admiral Aokiji. Or are you waiting for the others to return and join forces against me?”
Ian had indeed been stalling a bit, unsure if he could handle Kizaru alone without getting beaten badly. He had hoped to wait for Ace to return so they could fight Kizaru together.
But now, the situation had changed. The Whitebeard Pirates were about to arrive, and Kizaru likely didn’t want to face Whitebeard Old Man, so he was eager to capture Ian, even willing to team up with his nephew.
“Looks like I really have to go all out,” Ian thought. Suddenly, the bandages on his right hand vanished instantly.
The bandages could be slowly unwound, but they could also be dismissed as equipment, disappearing in an instant. As soon as the bandages were gone, the immense heat of the Black Dragon Wave on Ian’s right wrist radiated outward.
Black flames began to rise from Ian’s entire body. Kizaru, who had been gripping his right hand, was forced to let go by the heat of the Black Dragon Wave.
“Ohh! That’s impressive!” Kizaru exclaimed, wide-eyed, as he looked at the black fire dragon on Ian’s right hand.
Sentomaru also tried to withdraw his axe and retreat, but the heat radiating from Ian’s body made him uncomfortable, as if getting any closer would burn him.
However, Ian wasn’t about to let him back off so easily. He quickly withdrew his left hand from holding the axe, transferring the Thousand Cherry Blossoms to his right hand, while his left hand reached out and touched Sentomaru’s axe.
The next moment, Sentomaru’s massive axe completely melted!
The temperature of the Black Dragon Wave was astonishingly high. Sentomaru’s axe didn’t seem to be made of any special metal. The moment Ian’s flaming right hand touched it, the axe turned into a pool of molten iron and fell from midair.
Seeing this, Sentomaru was stunned.
“Fall back!” Kizaru grabbed the stunned Sentomaru and pulled him away from Ian…