Chapter 232: Annoying People
"At least you have some manners!" Whitebeard said after hearing Ian's words. "I originally thought you'd be some arrogant brat!"
"Did the Marines retreat?" Ian asked.
"Of course they retreated!" Marco said from the side, observing Ian as he spoke. "But we didn't clash with them either. In fact, we had just fought the Beast Pirates before that, so we really couldn't afford to engage the Marines anymore!"
"What happened?" Ian asked, somewhat puzzled. "Did Kaido really show up?"
Ace was also curious. He had come to the island ahead of time to find Ian, so he didn't know what had transpired between the two Yonko crews afterward.
Whitebeard spoke up. "Hmph, that Kaido, I don't know what he's up to. I originally thought he was trying to take advantage while we fought the Marines, but he didn't show up himself. He only sent his Three Calamities..."
As Whitebeard recounted the events, Ian finally understood what had happened.
The Beast Pirates had indeed come, but it was the "Three Calamities" and nine pirate ships. Kaido himself hadn't appeared.
Even so, the Beast Pirates' lineup was nothing to scoff at. The "Three Calamities" referred to the Beast Pirates' three top combatants: Jack the Drought, Queen the Plague, and King the Wildfire. Even the weakest among them, Jack the Drought, had a bounty of 1 billion Berries. The simultaneous appearance of these three was essentially no different from Kaido showing up himself.
Among the Three Calamities, Jack the Drought was a complete hothead—fierce and reckless, the type to start a fight over nothing. Initially, the Whitebeard Pirates and the Beast Pirates were just facing off from a distance, but because of Jack, some of the Beast Pirates' ships soon opened fire on the Whitebeard Pirates.
The Whitebeard Pirates naturally retaliated, but oddly enough, it seemed only Jack's men were attacking, while Queen the Plague's and King the Wildfire's crews held back.
Worried about Ace, who had left earlier, and fearing he might run into trouble with a Marine Admiral, Whitebeard had no choice but to step in personally.
Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability was incredibly formidable, and its power was undeniable. He created massive waves on the sea, capsizing several Beast Pirate ships. Jack the Drought even tried to jump onto the Moby Dick for a boarding battle, but Whitebeard punched him mid-air, sending him spitting blood into the sea.
In the end, the Beast Pirates hastily rescued Jack and fled the scene.
Not all of Kaido's Three Calamities were as reckless as Jack. Queen the Plague was a woman and seemed to serve as the Beast Pirates' chief of staff. Her intelligence was not to be underestimated. Seeing Whitebeard personally intervene, she understood the Whitebeard Pirates' resolve and ordered the retreat.
The skirmish was brief. Seeing the enemy retreat, Whitebeard had no intention of pursuing them and instead headed for Salamis Island.
After hearing the story, Ian couldn't help but feel lucky. If the Three Calamities had been led by Kaido himself, Whitebeard might not have arrived so quickly. That would have meant Ian would have had to fight Kizaru for longer, and Kizaru might not have been forced to retreat so easily.
The Dragon Hunter Pirates' crew listened in stunned silence. They hadn't realized so much had happened on the outer seas. Looking back, they couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.
"Kid, you're Ian?" Whitebeard looked down at Ian and asked. "That black fire dragon I saw in the sky earlier—was that your doing?"
Ian nodded.
"So you're a Devil Fruit user too?" Whitebeard stroked his chin and asked. "Logia?"
"More like Paramecia," Ian said, not wanting to explain his ability in detail.
"So that means Kaido got his intel wrong," Whitebeard said. "The Devil Fruit you ate was one of the two fruits that the Sakura Kingdom once offered as tribute to the Celestial Dragons, right? Kaido originally thought it was a Mythical Zoan and sent his men to snatch it, but in the end, you got the benefit."
"Maybe that's why the Beast Pirates retreated," Marco said, crossing his arms. "Since it wasn't a Zoan-type Devil Fruit, Kaido lost interest."
"What do you mean?" Ian asked, confused.
Marco grinned. "Don't you know? Footage of your battle with the Marines has been broadcast all over the world. There's a pretty brave reporter on this island!"
As he spoke, he glanced toward a pile of rubble in the distance, where Pritz was hiding.
Ian was startled and quickly realized what had happened. Damn, that intern reporter he had encountered earlier—even though his camera was smashed, he still managed to report on the Salamis Island incident.
Of course, Ian had no intention of making things difficult for Pritz. In his view, letting the footage spread was fine. It would help build his reputation.
"Come on, kid, bring your people and follow me," Whitebeard said. "Because of you, my old friend's country has suffered. I need to go explain things to him. Your people need to recover from their injuries, so stay on this island for a while."
Ace helped Ian up and prepared to leave with him.
Just then, Whitebeard frowned and looked at Fujitora.
"You are..." Whitebeard sensed that Fujitora was no ordinary man and couldn't help asking.
He had been wondering earlier how Ian's Dragon Hunter Pirates had managed to hold off two Marine Admirals, Kizaru and Zephyr. Ian alone could probably only handle Kizaru, so who had stopped Zephyr?
Now, seeing Fujitora, Whitebeard had a clue, and even he felt a bit of awe toward Ian's crew.
Though small in number, the Dragon Hunter Pirates already had the makings of a top-tier pirate crew. Not just anyone could withstand two Marine Admirals.
"A pleasure to meet you. I didn't expect to encounter one of the Four Emperors, Whitebeard," Fujitora said with a smile. "I'm just a blind man. Please don't mind me."
Ian glanced at Fujitora. Though his expression was calm, Ian could roughly guess what he was feeling.
Although the Salamis Duchy was a non-member nation, the Marines had recklessly fought the Dragon Hunter Pirates on their territory. For someone like Fujitora, who valued justice, this was deeply disappointing. On this island, the Marines, who represented justice, were less welcome than a notorious pirate like Whitebeard. This left Fujitora conflicted.
What was justice? What was evil? During his time with Ian, encountering all sorts of events, Fujitora found himself more and more confused.
So he didn't know how to face Whitebeard, a pirate the Marines called "infamous."
Ian smiled but didn't call him out. Instead, he introduced Fujitora to Whitebeard. "This is our Dragon Hunter Pirates' first mate, Fujitora Issho!"
Whitebeard nodded without speaking. After the introduction, Ian turned to comfort Fujitora. "Come on, Uncle Fujitora. Since we're staying on this island for a while, I'll teach you how to play mahjong later!"
"Mahjong?" Fujitora was taken aback. "What's that?"
"A gambling game you've never tried before!" Ian laughed. "I guarantee you'll fall in love with it!"
Fujitora didn't care about much else, but gambling was his weakness. Hearing this, he became curious and felt an itch to try it.
Just as Ian and his group were about to follow Whitebeard into the city, a figure ran up from behind—it was Baby-5!
Ace and Marco shuddered at the sight of her. They now had psychological trauma from that woman.
Ian didn't know what had happened on the Marine ship. Seeing Baby-5, he asked curiously, "I thought you'd taken the chance to run away!"
"I stayed on the ship, but now there's a really annoying person on board, so I think it's better to stick with you," Baby-5 said.
"An annoying person? Who?" Ian asked, frowning.
Baby-5 replied, "He said his name is Blackbeard!"
Hearing that name, Ian's expression darkened instantly...