Chapter 292: This Sky Island Is Mine!
Although that was the speculation, it was impossible to know whether this Poneglyph had been placed here during the Blank Century, or if it had been put here after the World Government was established, following the Blank Century.
If it was the latter case, Ian guessed that perhaps after this Sky Island had been abandoned, the original Skypieans had returned once more...
That said, what Ian was most interested in right now was what content was recorded on this Poneglyph.
However, it was clear that neither Ian nor Baby-5 had the talent to understand these ancient texts. If Ian wanted to decipher the content, there was only one way: to go to Alabasta and find Nico Robin.
This was quite a coincidence. Ian happened to have a Log Pose for Alabasta in his possession, one he had obtained when entering the Grand Line, and he had kept it all along.
Baby-5 watched Ian stroking his chin in contemplation and couldn't help asking, "Do you want to take this Poneglyph down?"
Ian glanced at her. As expected of someone who had been with Doflamingo for many years, Baby-5 actually knew what this stone tablet was. However, the reason he had brought her up to this Sky Island in the first place was because of her Devil Fruit ability. Before that, Ian hadn't anticipated finding a Poneglyph here. So now, Ian had to consider how to handle Baby-5's situation.
Regardless, Baby-5 was still one of Doflamingo's people for now. Ian wasn't sure if Baby-5's loyalty still lay with Doflamingo. If that were the case, the discovery of the Poneglyph might be reported to Doflamingo through her.
Although this Poneglyph wasn't one of the red Road Poneglyphs, it could still contain information about Laugh Tale. Ian hadn't forgotten that in the New World, Big Mom and Kaido of the Beasts were both collecting these Poneglyphs. If news leaked out, both the Four Emperors and the World Government might come to demand it.
When that time came, would he give it up or not?
Of course, looking at it from another angle, it wasn't that big a deal. Even if Big Mom and the others came to demand it, Ian could just let them make a rubbing. Without Nico Robin, obtaining the Poneglyph wouldn't necessarily allow them to decipher it anyway.
Still, it was best to keep it hidden if possible, otherwise it would invite unnecessary trouble. So he needed to make things clear with Baby-5.
He looked at Baby-5 and said, "You know what this is, right?"
Baby-5 nodded, then her eyes dimmed as she asked, "Do you want to kill me here?"
She was quite clever. The moment she saw the Poneglyph, she could roughly guess what would happen next.
Ian was silent for a long moment before shaking his head and saying, "You've been with me for quite a while now, so I won't kill you. However, because of your personality, if someone asks you, you might actually spill this secret. So there's only one way now: you completely leave Doflamingo's pirate crew and join mine!"
When people spend time together, feelings do develop. During Baby-5's time with the Dragon Hunter Pirates, most of Ian's daily needs had been taken care of by her. This girl's maid outfit wasn't just for show; she truly could handle the work of a maid. She helped clean Ian's room, washed his clothes—Ian was truly indebted to her care. Moreover, the entire Dragon Hunter Pirates had grown accustomed to her presence, so naturally, he couldn't kill her over a stone tablet.
Upon hearing Ian's words, Baby-5's expression darkened as she said, "Doflamingo won't agree."
"Whether he agrees or not is my business!" Ian said with a smile. "I just want to ask you: are you willing to leave his pirate crew?"
Baby-5 fell silent. Ian understood her concerns. She had been by Doflamingo's side for a long time and knew how powerful his strength and influence were. She couldn't make a decision, probably worried that her actions would bring trouble to the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
But what Ian wanted to say was that he wasn't afraid of trouble. He had already fought against a Marine Admiral; he could now take on Doflamingo as well!
And in Ian's view, he had already dealt with Vergo. Doflamingo wouldn't forget that. Since they would inevitably clash sooner or later, poaching one more of his subordinates wouldn't make things any worse.
"Hand over the Den Den Mushi you use to contact Doflamingo," Ian said. "If you don't speak, I'll take it as your agreement. I'm the captain, and I'll make the decision for you."
Baby-5 didn't say a word. She pulled a Den Den Mushi from her pocket and handed it to Ian.
Ian took it, glanced at it, and then suddenly crushed its shell with one hand.
This was the release procedure for a Den Den Mushi. Without its shell, it had no home and lost its ability to transmit radio waves. Such a Den Den Mushi was effectively set free and could no longer receive any signals.
"Alright, welcome to the Dragon Hunter Pirates!" Ian spread his arms and said to Baby-5. "From now on, we are companions, family. I promise here that I won't exploit your personality to make you do anything you don't want to do!"
"Mm!" Baby-5 nodded. Strangely, the moment Ian crushed the Den Den Mushi's shell, she felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
Having spent so much time with the Dragon Hunter Pirates, Baby-5 had come to understand what kind of pirate crew they were. Ian wasn't inherently evil like Doflamingo. In this crew, she wouldn't feel any of the oppressive, dark atmosphere.
"Alright, let's head back!" Ian said to her.
Baby-5 was startled and asked, "What about the stone tablet..."
"Leave it here!" Ian said with great authority. "From today onward, this Sky Island is mine! It will be the Dragon Hunter Pirates' most secret base!"
Ian wasn't speaking idly. Ever since he discovered that this Sky Island had technology powered by electricity, he knew this Sky Island could be used by him. Because he had the most unique resource: Thunder Stones!
He had to admit, the Moon People's technology was truly impressive. Even after so many years, the devices here could still be activated once energy was injected. With that in mind, Ian could use a large number of Thunder Stones to restore this Sky Island city to operation!
Moreover, Ian thought of one more person: Waldo the scientist. If he brought him up to this Sky Island, that guy would surely be amazed by the Moon People's technology. If he could study it and repair the windmills on the island, then the Sky Island's trajectory could be manually controlled. At that point, he could make this Barron Gray Terminal stay permanently above Travira Island!
Heh, maybe then, even if Kaido of the Beasts wanted to jump off the island to commit suicide in the future, he'd have to ask for Ian's permission first...
Thinking this, Ian led Baby-5 out of the underground ruins. There seemed to be a sensing device there, because when they returned to the ground-level hall, the entire floor rumbled and closed back up.
Seeing this, Ian felt even more reassured.
Leaving the city and reaching the edge of the Sky Island, Ian once again used the Black Dragon Wave to form Flame Wings. Holding Baby-5, he plunged into the clouds. It seemed that only the cloud ground at the edges was thinner and could be penetrated.
When Ian carried Baby-5 below the clouds, he casually grabbed two balloons hanging beneath the clouds and handed them to Baby-5 to hold.
As Ian had guessed, although these balloons looked small, two of them could support a person's weight. Moreover, by pulling on them, one could ascend, descend, or hover!
It seemed these balloons were another piece of black technology.
With such convenient tools, Ian felt even more at ease. He grabbed a large bunch of balloons, then retracted his Flame Wings, and the two of them slowly descended toward the ground below.
It was definitely a novel experience...
It took over twenty minutes to land back on the ground. After returning to Travira Island, Ian immediately gathered the members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
Fujitora and Margaret and the others had lost the signal after Ian and Baby-5 entered the underground hall, so they hadn't seen what happened afterward. When they gathered around, they bombarded Ian with questions.
Ian didn't say anything, keeping the suspense. Instead, he told them to bring Waldo out of the prison and bring as many Thunder Stones as possible.
After everything was prepared, Ian gave each person two balloons and led them back up into the sky!
The Sky Island of Barron Gray Terminal drifted slowly with the high-altitude air currents. Ian had to act quickly; otherwise, if the Sky Island drifted away, it might take who knows how long before it returned to the skies above Travira.
Also, regarding the shipwreck that had fallen from above earlier, Ian suspected there might be other ways to reach this Sky Island. So he had to hurry and complete the transformation of this Sky Island, which required Waldo's efforts.
During this time, Waldo had indeed thought about escaping, but the problem was he didn't know where else to go. This kind of science geek, when lacking a goal, often felt lost. So he hadn't actually acted on it. Ian believed that once he brought Waldo up to this Sky Island and showed him the Moon People's technology, the guy would immediately become obsessed. Even if Ian told him to run, he probably wouldn't...
With Waldo's help, this Sky Island would become another "ship" for the Dragon Hunter Pirates!
Perhaps Ian could even find a way to set up a large number of Thunder Roar Cannons on this Sky Island, turning it into a fortress ship!