Chapter 233: A Single Flag Protects a Nation
Ian hadn’t forgotten the purpose of his visit to Ace, so he lowered his voice and asked Ace, who was supporting him, “Ace, have you met Teach yet?”
At this time, Marshall D. Teach didn’t yet seem to have the title of Blackbeard; that name only appeared after he betrayed the Whitebeard Pirates. So Ian simply used his name directly.
“Teach?” Ace was startled for a moment upon hearing the name, then said, “Oh, I remember now, that guy. I’ve already seen him on the ship. He seems like a decent fellow.”
Ian nodded, confirming his guess. Teach’s presence here with Whitebeard meant that after the Stripe Island incident, Whitebeard had summoned him back. So Ace had definitely met him.
However, from Ace’s reply, Ian realized that Teach seemed to be putting on a very good act. Teach had been with the Whitebeard Pirates for a long time, always pretending to be honest and magnanimous, hiding his ambitions deeply. He had not only fooled everyone else but even Ace, a new recruit, seemed to have a favorable impression of him.
“Have you met Teach too, Ian?” Ace asked as he helped Ian walk.
“I know him. I met him on Stripe Island!” Ian said. Thanks to the all-over stabbing pain, Ian was being supported by Ace and was very close to him, so he whispered, “Listen to me, Ace. Be careful of this guy Teach. He’s not as simple as he seems on the surface!”
Ace frowned and said, “But I think he’s a good guy. I really like the atmosphere on the Whitebeard Pirates’ ship too…”
Ian shook his head and asked, “Ace, have I ever done anything to harm you?”
“No!” Ace laughed. “You and I are brothers. How could you ever harm me? Oh, if you ever get the chance to meet Luffy in the future, I’ll introduce you to him. I’m sure he’ll love having you as a big brother too!”
Ian smiled and said, “We’ll see about that. But Ace, please take my words seriously.”
“Alright, fine!” Ace nodded. “I’ll keep an eye on that guy.”
Hearing this, Ian felt a little relieved. However, he calculated carefully and knew that Ace would still have to spend two more years with Teach. The cunning Blackbeard would likely use that time to gradually erode Ace’s vigilance with his behavior, and in the end, Ace might even think Ian was being overly suspicious.
Thinking about this, Ian couldn’t help but frown, pondering how to solve this problem.
He couldn’t join the Whitebeard Pirates. Joining them meant acknowledging Whitebeard as his father. But Ian had his own parents from his original life. Even after coming to this world, he had met two masters, Koushirou and Rayleigh. He also had a little sister, Kuina, and a junior disciple, Zoro. His family was still around. Unlike Ace, who lacked fatherly love, Ian couldn’t psychologically accept calling someone else his father.
Ian admitted that Whitebeard was indeed a great man. He genuinely treated Ace and the others like his sons. If Ian were truly someone with a pitiful background, perhaps following Whitebeard and treating the crew members as family would be a good final destination. But the problem was, Ian wasn’t that kind of person.
If history didn’t deviate too much, then two years later, around the time Luffy set sail, Teach would kill the Fourth Division Commander, Thatch, in his desire to obtain the Dark-Dark Fruit and then betray the Whitebeard Pirates.
Two years. Since Ian didn’t want to join the Whitebeard Pirates, he couldn’t stay by Ace’s side for two years.
Moreover, Ian didn’t know exactly when the Dark-Dark Fruit would appear, so he couldn’t come back at that specific time.
He would have to think of other ways. Ian glanced at Whitebeard walking ahead and felt this wasn’t the right time to discuss things in detail with Ace, so he temporarily dropped the subject.
As for Ace, the idiot had no idea Ian was worrying about him. He cheerfully told Ian about all the things he had encountered recently.
When everyone had left the harbor and entered the city of the Salamis Duchy, leaving the battlefield completely empty, the intern reporter, Pritz, finally stood up tremblingly and ran away as fast as he could.
The scenes he had witnessed today were far too intense for a rookie reporter like him. Fortunately, as a nobody, no one bothered to trouble him. And because of this once-in-a-lifetime report, he would soon rise to prominence.
Pritz left, but what he didn’t know was that after he departed, another figure appeared at the scene.
This figure looked very mysterious. He was completely wrapped in a green cloak, with the hood covering his head tightly.
He stood there, looking at the mess left behind by the battle, and couldn’t help but smile slightly.
“Kuma, it seems you were worried for nothing. This little guy is more capable than we imagined…” The mysterious man muttered softly to himself, then turned and slowly walked away.
A gentle sea breeze blew, stirring his hood and revealing part of his face. On his left cheek, there was a strange, scale-like tattoo…
……………………………………
After entering the city, Ian learned just how much influence the Whitebeard Pirates had in this country.
In the Marines’ propaganda, Whitebeard was a terrifying pirate. This strongest man was often used by mothers to scare crying children, telling them that if they didn’t stop crying, Whitebeard would come!
However, this was the case in some World Government member nations. In Salamis, the situation was the opposite.
Whitebeard had roamed the seas for decades, meeting all kinds of people. He wasn’t a hot-tempered or eccentric person, so he had made many friends in his life. The king of Fish-Man Island, the Great Knight Neptune, was not the only example.
Of course, Whitebeard’s so-called friends were now almost all old men like him.
When the Salamis Duchy’s guard escorted Whitebeard onto the city streets, and people hiding in their homes spotted him, the crowd surged out like a tidal wave.
“Old Man!? Look, it really is the Old Man!”
“The Whitebeard Pirates! The Whitebeard Pirates are here!”
“Oh my god, Salamis is truly saved!”
“Marco, and Phoenix Marco!”
“That guy is Fire Fist Ace, right? He’s part of the Whitebeard Pirates now. Awesome!”
The people of the Salamis Duchy, though still in awe of Whitebeard, warmly welcomed the arrival of the Whitebeard Pirates. They shouted Whitebeard’s name and the names of the division commanders following him. The noise soared into the sky.
Ian looked at this scene in astonishment, hardly believing that this was a welcome for a great pirate. Watching the old people smiling happily and the young girls screaming excitedly, it looked more like welcoming a hero!
“Surprised?” Marco noticed Ian’s expression and smiled. “Don’t doubt it. To this country, the Old Man is a hero!”
“What’s the story?” Ace, being a new member, didn’t know the country’s past and was also curious.
“The Salamis Duchy was originally a member of the World Government!” Marco explained. “But as the Celestial Dragons demanded higher and higher Heavenly Tribute, the country couldn’t bear the burden. You see, Heavenly Tribute is separate from taxes. Countries paying Heavenly Tribute to the Celestial Dragons usually levy an additional Heavenly Tribute tax on top of normal taxes. King Juan Carlos of the Salamis Duchy was a good king. Seeing the country growing poorer because of the Heavenly Tribute system, he resolutely decided to withdraw from the World Government. Without the burden of Heavenly Tribute, he also reduced other taxes, slowly allowing the country to recover.”
“So, other member nations ignore this impact and continue to tax?” Ian asked.
“Of course!” Marco nodded. “And quite a few. For some kings, the Heavenly Tribute is paid to the Celestial Dragons, but it doesn’t come out of their own pockets. The Heavenly Tribute tax goes to the Celestial Dragons, while normal taxes go to them. Both are squeezed from the people. So whether there’s Heavenly Tribute or not doesn’t matter to them. In fact, some kings use the Heavenly Tribute as an excuse to impose exorbitant taxes.”
Ian shook his head in disapproval. No wonder many countries repeatedly proposed abolishing the Heavenly Tribute system at the World Conference. Wise people had already realized that continuing this way would lead to national unrest.
Exorbitant taxes and levies had always been the root of unrest…
“What happened next?” Ace asked.
“After withdrawing from the World Government, Salamis went through a dark period!” Marco said. “At that time, the Marines withdrew their garrison from the country. Some pirates noticed the country’s vulnerability and took the opportunity to plunder the Salamis Duchy. The country’s army couldn’t fend off the endless stream of pirates. In the end, King Carlos had no choice but to seek out the Old Man and ask him to protect Salamis.”
“King Carlos met the Old Man during his travels abroad many years ago, but they hadn’t seen each other for a long time!” Marco said with a smile. “But when he came to ask for help, the Old Man recognized him immediately. Without hesitation, he came to this island and raised his flag. From then on, no pirate dared to cause trouble here. That’s why the people of the Salamis Duchy welcome the Old Man so warmly.”
Ian’s heart stirred with emotion. Whitebeard might be old, but as a pirate, he had reached the pinnacle.
When would he reach this level, where just the flag of the Dragon Hunter Pirates could protect an entire nation?