Chapter 249: "Abnormal Form"
When Whitebeard struck out in anger, not even Ace, let alone Marco, could help but feel a chill in their hearts.
Ace lunged toward the flying Ian, trying to save him, but Ian, who had been knocked away, did not fly over the ship's railing and fall into the sea again, because at that moment, Fujitora made his move.
Ian's body became light and airy, and after the force of Whitebeard's shockwave dissipated, Fujitora controlled him and pulled him back.
"Fujitora, do you want to fight me too?" Whitebeard, seeing this, looked down at Fujitora and roared angrily.
"I don't want to fight the strongest man in the world either," Fujitora shook his head and said. "But you're attacking our captain. Protecting one's own captain is a pirate's code!"
The members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates nodded inwardly in agreement and stood behind Fujitora, ready to go to war with the Whitebeard Pirates. Even Baby-5, though scared, transformed into two massive cannons.
Whitebeard was furious inside. He didn't have many friends, but he always cherished those he had. During his time on the ship, Fujitora had chatted well with him and they got along, so Whitebeard had long considered Fujitora a friend.
And now, his own friend was about to fight him too!?
Whitebeard's heart was conflicted, but his division commanders didn't care about that. They glared menacingly at the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
However, at that moment, Ian's voice came from behind, saying, "Fu... Fujitora, don't... don't fight!"
Everyone turned to look and saw Ace supporting Ian as they stood on the deck. Blood was flowing from the corner of Ian's mouth, but he still forced himself to say to Fujitora, "Let me handle this!"
Fujitora didn't know Ian's exact thoughts at the moment, but he sighed and took half a step back.
Ian said to Whitebeard, "Old man, are you satisfied? If not, how about... another punch?"
As soon as Ace heard this, he panicked and was about to say something, but Ian stopped him with a look.
He could only use a look to stop him. Ian felt like every bone in his body was broken. Surviving a blow from Whitebeard was already a miracle.
After stopping Ace, Ian continued to look at Whitebeard and said with a smile, "Want another one?!"
Ian had thought it through. He couldn't drag his crew members into this any further. That's why he told Fujitora not to fight. Fighting Whitebeard would bring no benefit, and they would definitely lose. So, he might as well bear Whitebeard's anger alone. If Whitebeard still cared about Ace's feelings, he wouldn't kill him.
But if Whitebeard really wanted to kill him over a Teach, then sorry, from then on, the Whitebeard Pirates would have nothing to do with him.
This was the pride hidden deep in Ian's heart. So what if it was Whitebeard? So what if he was the strongest man in the world?
"You...!" Whitebeard saw Ian's expression and felt another surge of anger. "Do you think I really don't dare to kill you? On my ship, killing my son... you!"
"Won't you even give me a reason!?" In his rage, Whitebeard threw another punch at Ian.
The force of the shockwave came again, but this time, Ian couldn't move. Instead, Ace stood in front of him, taking the blow for him.
This was completely unexpected. Watching Ace spit blood and fly backward, with Ian catching him with his body, and both falling to the ground, Whitebeard roared in frustration, "Ace!! What are you doing!?"
"Old man!" Ace was also badly hurt by Whitebeard, but he gritted his teeth and said to him, "Teach is my family, but Ian is also my brother. If you have anger, take it out on me. I've known Ian for a long time. He always has a reason for what he does. I don't know why Ian tried to kill Teach, but he told me before to be careful of him!"
Hearing Ace's answer, Whitebeard was stunned and looked at Ian suspiciously.
Ian knew that Whitebeard wanted an explanation from him, but the problem was that there was no evidence for Teach's actions. How could Ian explain?
So he patted Ace on the shoulder. He knew that Ace was in the most difficult position right now, and he didn't want to cause him any more trouble.
The more Ace acted like a true brother, the more Ian felt that what he had done was right.
He looked up at Whitebeard and said, "Old man, I can't explain much to you right now. If you want to kill me for Teach, then I have nothing to say."
Kill Ian? How could that be? If Whitebeard really wanted to kill Ian, he wouldn't be so conflicted!
Logically speaking, Ian hadn't joined the Whitebeard Pirates, so he was an outsider. If an outsider assassinated a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, Whitebeard wouldn't even need to act himself; his sons would kill the offender.
But Ian was an exception. Anyone could see that Whitebeard admired Ian.
Yes, because Ian, like Ace, had once been invited by Whitebeard to become his adopted son. Although Ian had refused at the time, it didn't mean Whitebeard had given up on the idea.
If it were anyone else, could they have stayed so leisurely on the Whitebeard Pirates' ship for a whole month without any friction? Although Whitebeard hadn't made Ian his adopted son, in his heart, he treated Ian as one!
So, when this incident happened, Whitebeard was angry at his child's mistake and wanted to punish Ian, but actually killing him with his own hands was very difficult!
That's why, earlier, Whitebeard had asked Ian to give him a reason...
"Get out! Get off my ship!" Whitebeard finally roared in anger. "You and your people, get off my ship! I don't have a son like you!"
In the last sentence, Whitebeard slipped up, and Ian immediately understood Whitebeard's feelings. He sighed helplessly in his heart, said nothing, and let go of Ace.
Seeing Ian unsteady, Dorry quickly ran over to support him. Without a word, Ian led the Dragon Hunter Pirates away.
The members of the Whitebeard Pirates silently put away their weapons and made way for Ian and his crew to leave. Ace wanted to call out to Ian, but he opened his mouth and said nothing. He also knew that Ian leaving was the best choice for now, to let both sides cool down.
After everyone had disembarked, Ian turned and bowed to Whitebeard, who was watching them leave from the ship.
Honestly, although Ian hadn't acknowledged Whitebeard as his adoptive father, he had felt the fatherly love from him. Whitebeard might be a ruthless enemy to his foes, but to those he admired, he was indeed a great elder.
If this incident hadn't happened, Ian wouldn't have wanted to fall out with Whitebeard... but now, it was too late to say anything.
After Ian and his crew left, Marco came to Whitebeard's side. Seeing Whitebeard sitting dejectedly in his chair, he couldn't help but say softly, "Old man, don't be too sad. Ian doesn't seem like the kind of person who would kill a comrade. Maybe he really had some unavoidable reason that he couldn't tell us."
Whitebeard didn't respond to that. He just asked, "How is Teach?"
"Still being treated... but from the wound..." Marco couldn't finish the sentence.
"Spread the order. If Teach really dies, the Whitebeard Pirates will hunt down the Dragon Hunter Pirates with full force," Whitebeard said.
"Old man!?" Marco exclaimed in shock. "Do you really want to do that?"
"It must be done," Whitebeard said. "Killing a comrade is a grave sin..."
Marco fell silent. The implication was that Whitebeard still considered Ian a member of the Whitebeard Pirates; otherwise, he wouldn't have used the phrase "killing a comrade."
However, at that moment, the Whitebeard Pirates' ship doctor came out of the cabin.
"How is he?" Whitebeard asked.
"How should I put it?" The doctor had a strange expression on his face. "If I had to say, it seems Ian really did kill Teach once!"
"What... what do you mean?" Marco was stunned.
"It's too strange!" The doctor shook his head. "This is the first time I've seen a body structure like Teach's. He... his body feels like an abnormal form to me... something I've rarely seen in my life!"
"What exactly happened?" Vista, the Flower Sword, couldn't help but step forward and ask. "Is Teach okay or not?"
"He's fine!" The doctor shook his head. "Teach actually has three hearts! Although Ian pierced one of them, the other two hearts are unharmed. Teach is still alive, just in shock for now."
Hearing this, the entire Whitebeard Pirates crew was stunned. How... how was this possible!? How could a person have three hearts!?
Everyone looked at each other in disbelief. No wonder the doctor said Teach was like an abnormal form...
"Three hearts? So that means Teach's heartbeat in one day equals our heartbeat over three days?" Rakuyo said in shock. "At this rate, this guy is even older than the old man..."
Whitebeard didn't think too much about it. When he heard that Teach was fine, he said to everyone, "It's good that Teach is okay. But still, spread the news. Say that the Dragon Hunter Pirates, because they injured a member of our crew, have now parted ways with the Whitebeard Pirates!"
"I understand," Marco nodded... It seemed the old man's anger had finally subsided, and now he was even thinking about Ian again...