Chapter 266: Waldo
The sudden shift in Ian’s identity brought the greatest impact to the pirates on the island: unease!
Yes, because of their lack of deeper understanding of Ian and the Dragon Hunter Pirates, the fourteen pirate crews on the island had no idea what Ian’s temperament was like. When Ian was still a pirate, everyone could maintain a "live and let live" attitude due to their shared identity. But once Ian became a Warlord of the Sea, no one could guarantee that he wouldn’t wipe out all the pirate crews on the island next and then claim the bounties from the World Government.
There’s a saying: "One mountain cannot harbor two tigers." Now that a big shot like a Warlord of the Sea had suddenly appeared on the island, if Ian, with his change in status, decided to claim the island as his own territory, the pirate crews still lingering in his sight would be in for trouble.
Thus, the first to back down appeared: One-Eyed Polly, whom Ian had taught a lesson to earlier. He knew better than anyone how terrifying Ian was. So, after seeing the news, he immediately gathered his crew and decided to leave the island.
"Making money is a good thing, but you need to live to spend it!" One-Eyed Polly said to the other pirate captains. "You can make money anywhere, so why do it right under a Warlord’s nose? Can’t you see? It’s because of us pirate crews that the king hasn’t hired the Dragon Hunter Pirates. We’re already blocking their path to wealth. If we don’t leave now, are we waiting for them to take us out?"
"But with all fourteen of our crews combined, don’t we have a fighting chance against the Dragon Hunter Pirates?" one captain said reluctantly.
"Heh!" In response, the other pirate captains let out disdainful laughs.
What is a Warlord of the Sea? A Warlord of the Sea is someone with catastrophic destructive power and military might comparable to a nation. Although the fourteen crews had numbers, most of their members weren’t Devil Fruit users. What could they use to fight the Dragon Hunter Pirates?
So, the pirate captains quickly reached a decision. That very day, they gathered their men and hastily left the island, scattering in all directions.
In the blink of an eye, the large number of pirates that had been entrenched on the island vanished. Ian soon received the news.
"It seems the deterrent power of a Warlord of the Sea is effective!" Konenai remarked to Ian with a sigh. "With them gone, our plan will be easier to carry out."
"It’s a pity. Most of these pirates have the blood of miners on their hands. Letting them go like this is too easy on them!" Yardy said.
Fujitora smiled slightly and said, "Then, let me take a trip. I’m not a bloodthirsty man, but I can capture them and hand them over to the Marines."
Ian didn’t have much goodwill toward these pirates either, so he didn’t stop Fujitora. He just reminded him, "Uncle Fujitora, remember to claim the bounties! Don’t waste all that money!"
Everyone burst into laughter. Compared to the nickname the Marines had given Ian, those who had spent time with him realized that "money-grubber" was probably the most fitting title for him.
After Fujitora left to pursue the pirates, Konenai said, "With these pirates gone, Waldo will definitely be unable to sit still, right?"
"Yeah, he’ll probably come looking for us soon," Ian said.
Logically, when a Warlord of the Sea appears in one’s country, the king should come to meet them. This was one of the privileges of a Warlord of the Sea—even a king had to show respect.
Moreover, with the recognition of the World Government, some Warlords who knew how to package themselves could even become heroes of a nation, like Crocodile far away in Alabasta.
Ian and the others weren’t wrong. At that moment, in the palace, Waldo was indeed getting restless.
The sudden departure of the fourteen pirate crews had drained most of Waldo’s strength. These crews were large, each with about two hundred members. Together, they numbered nearly three thousand, almost all of them combat-ready. It was with these three thousand pirates that Waldo had managed to suppress the miner uprising.
Although the rebels were ordinary people lacking weapons, they numbered twenty thousand. In this small country of just over two hundred thousand people, those twenty thousand represented almost all the adult men.
Waldo’s situation was now very precarious. He still commanded a force of over a thousand men, built from the core members of his original pirate crew. But this force could at most defend his palace. Suppressing a rebellion was out of the question. Under these circumstances, he needed to find new external support.
But with a Warlord of the Sea on the island, refusing to leave, no matter how much money Waldo could offer, he probably wouldn’t be able to hire any pirate mercenaries—unless he could find someone from a Four Emperor’s crew.
That was how imposing Ian was now. As long as he was on the island, most pirates wouldn’t dare provoke him!
Waldo’s unease stemmed from this. With the departure of the large pirate forces, the rebels were beginning to stir. Yet, he was still hesitant to contact the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
Although Waldo didn’t know exactly why Ian was lingering on the island, his intuition told him that the man was likely after the Thunder Stone.
In the palace on the island, a man dressed in ornate robes and wearing a crown paced anxiously back and forth in the hall. He looked somewhat old but hadn’t yet shown signs of aging. This man was the current king of the country, Waldo. Eight years ago, he had been a pirate known as the Ripper, but even earlier, he had been a scientist in the same research institute as Vegapunk!
Waldo had a rather sinister appearance, with a prominent hooked nose. But what left the deepest impression were the dense scars covering his face.
These scars were left from his escape from the research institute back then. At the time, the World Government had suddenly sent Marines to attack the institute, capturing Vegapunk. The other scientists in the institute either fled or were captured, and the institute was completely disbanded.
Waldo didn’t want to be taken by the Marines, so he chose to hide, hoping to slip through. But when the Marines withdrew, they blew up the institute’s immovable facilities. Waldo barely survived the explosion, but his face was completely ruined.
Fortunately, his disfigured appearance helped conceal his true identity. The Marines had conducted a thorough search for the escaped scientists at the time. Using his scarred face as an opportunity, Waldo successfully evaded the subsequent manhunt. He then adopted a false name and went to sea as a pirate.
However, his scientist’s nature made him less than enthusiastic about being a pirate. He formed a pirate crew, plundered a considerable amount of funds, and eventually decided to lie low in a country to continue his research.
Back at the institute, Waldo’s research focus had been energy. He had a decent relationship with Vegapunk at the time. Vegapunk was already working on artificial humans, and Waldo was assisting him in developing energy sources for those artificial humans.
Now that the institute was disbanded, Waldo had come to this island and resumed his old trade. After becoming king, he gained control of most of the country’s wealth. He then rebuilt a laboratory in the palace’s basement and began researching the Thunder Stone.
The Thunder Stone was something he had stumbled upon when passing by this island years ago. After giving up piracy, he returned to occupy the island and started his research.
Speaking of the Thunder Stone, it’s worth mentioning the situation of another island on this route. Coming along this route, the Log Pose pointed to three islands. The one in the middle was this island, but the island to the right was the famous Thunder God Island in the New World!