Chapter 296: Finally Found Someone Who Can Take a Full Combo
Ian had no ship again, so he needed to find a way to get one.
He realized he seemed to be under some kind of curse—whenever he acted alone, he always ended up hitching a ride!
He’d hitched rides on merchant ships, Marine warships, Ace’s ship, Whitebeard’s ship, and so on. If Ace was a glutton for free meals, then Ian was a glutton for free rides! Because every time he hitched a ride, he never paid! In this regard, he and Ace were about equal—neither could call out the other.
And now, Ian had accepted his fate. He decided not to break his tradition of not paying and give Hawkins some face by hitching a ride on his ship.
However, the members of the Hawkins Pirates clearly didn’t understand Ian’s predicament. When they heard his words, they immediately started grumbling.
“What do you mean!? Trying to steal our ship!?”
“Damn it, who does this cocky brat think he is!? Just because he killed a Sea King doesn’t make him special!”
These crude pirates had shallow insight. They hadn’t realized what kind of person Ian was, someone who could break through the Calm Belt and swim out. They just felt that their pirate crew’s dignity was being challenged!
Ian understood that these guys, despite their fierce looks and loud complaints, weren’t the ones in charge. So he ignored them entirely, just smiling as he looked at Hawkins.
Maybe it was a case of “those near vermilion get stained red,” but after spending so much time with Koushirou, Ian’s smiling face looked quite similar to his—harmless and innocent.
Yet, for some reason, Hawkins felt that Ian’s smile was extremely dangerous.
Though he stared at Ian expressionlessly, his mind was frantically recalling impressions of various people, trying to match them with Ian’s appearance to figure out his identity.
Unfortunately, since Ian had come up from the sea this time, he wasn’t wearing his sleeveless coat or his signature Bear Ear Hat. So for a moment, Hawkins couldn’t recall Ian’s photo.
There was no helping it—human memory is often short-lived. Those with photographic memories are rare.
Hawkins couldn’t recognize Ian. Normally, with his personality, he might have just thrown this arrogant guy into the sea. But because of his earlier divination, he was now much more cautious when facing Ian.
“One thought, life; one thought, death.” This divination result had many interpretations. It could be that the thought was Hawkins’ own, but it could also be Ian’s. Whether Hawkins chose to cooperate or not, and whether Ian chose to be forceful or gentle, could all affect the final outcome.
Such divinations were the most mind-boggling.
As one of the future Supernovas, Hawkins had enough composure. He asked Ian calmly, “When you say ‘requisition,’ do you mean you want to steal my ship?”
“Not exactly,” Ian said. “It’s just that I happened to run into your pirate crew as soon as I arrived in the North Blue. I need a ship to get to Reverse Mountain. If you cooperate, it’s just a requisition. If you don’t, then it’s a robbery.”
Hawkins shook his head and said, “I’m the captain of this pirate crew. Everything is up to me. Taking you to your destination wouldn’t be a big deal normally. But if anyone could just walk up and requisition my ship with a few words, that would be underestimating me too much, wouldn’t it?”
Pirates had their own dignity and pride. Although Hawkins wasn’t sure who Ian was, he was still a pirate captain with a bounty over 100 million Berries. Of course, he wouldn’t just obediently submit to some random person’s words, even if that person came from the Grand Line.
Ian rubbed his chin, intrigued, and said, “Oh? So what do you mean?”
“Simple! Demon Form!” Hawkins’ face suddenly transformed into a grotesque scarecrow mask, and his body grew taller, turning him completely into a scarecrow. The five fingers on each hand became long, sharp iron nails.
As soon as the transformation was complete, one of his hands swung violently toward Ian. The sharp nails cut through the air, producing a chilling, hair-raising whistle.
Seeing Hawkins start fighting, his crew members immediately backed off, clearing a space. But they were also somewhat surprised. Hawkins rarely used this Demon Form transformation in battle. His swordsmanship was decent, and he usually handled enemies with just his sword. Yet now, facing this young man, he was so serious that he pulled out his trump card right away.
“Whoa!” Ian backflipped, dodging Hawkins’ attack, and said in surprise, “You’re also the type to attack without a word?”
“My pirate crew will eventually set foot on the Grand Line!” Hawkins’ voice came through, sounding hollow due to the transformation. “Since I’ve met you here, let me test if the Grand Line is really as terrifying as they say!”
Hearing this, Ian couldn’t help but chuckle. He realized his current situation was like when Hawk-Eye encountered Krieg—he was being used as a whetstone!
The difference was that Krieg’s encounter with Hawk-Eye led to the destruction of his entire fleet. What would happen to the Hawkins Pirates when they met him?
Shaking his head, Ian didn’t even draw his sword. He held Thousand Cherry Blossoms, scabbard and all, in his hand and horizontally blocked Hawkins’ next swing.
“Hey, not bad strength!” Ian was somewhat surprised as he blocked the blow. He hadn’t expected Hawkins’ transformation into such a large scarecrow to be more than just for show. This swing actually made his body sway.
Hawkins didn’t speak. He launched a series of attacks at Ian. Ian got a bit more serious, continuously blocking his strikes.
But then, Hawkins suddenly opened his mouth wide and, from his elevated position, spat out a sword at Ian!
It was the Western-style sword he had been wearing at his waist. Apparently, after transforming, he could hide it inside his body and launch it unexpectedly from his mouth to attack enemies.
Hawkins thought this move would at least injure Ian, but just as the sword left his mouth, a flash of blade light passed in front of him!
Ian finally drew his sword, and in one move, he cut Hawkins’ sword in half. Then Ian’s leg turned black with Armament Haki hardening, and he delivered a side kick directly into Hawkins’ waist.
Boom! With tremendous force, Hawkins was kicked flying by Ian, crashing into the cabin and smashing a large hole in it.
At the same time, on a street in the Luvnir Kingdom in the North Blue, a man who looked like a pirate was walking and chatting with his companions. Suddenly, an inexplicable force came from his waist, instantly crushing his ribs and sending him flying sideways, smashing through the glass window of a nearby shop.
His companions stared in shock, completely silent, unable to understand what had just happened...
Back on the ship, Hawkins quickly crawled out of the hole, looking completely unharmed.
Ian was also a bit surprised. He wasn’t particularly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, but recently he had swapped in some KOF cards he’d drawn, like Robert or Ryo Sakazaki, and experienced some fighting techniques. Plus, his strength wasn’t weak now. That side kick should have had at least a few hundred kilograms of impact force. Yet, hitting Hawkins, it hadn’t injured him at all!?
Just as Ian was wondering if the scarecrow form could cushion damage, he saw a strange voodoo doll crawl out from Hawkins’ scarecrow arm and fall to the ground. The doll’s waist was clearly broken.
Suddenly, Ian understood. He remembered that Hawkins’ unique Devil Fruit ability allowed him to use voodoo dolls as puppets to transfer damage.
Relying on his temporary invincibility, Hawkins charged at Ian again fiercely.
But he absolutely hadn’t expected that Ian was even more excited than he was!
Hawkins’ damage-transferring substitutes—how many were there? Five, ten, or more? Ian didn’t know, but he did know that Hawkins could definitely withstand a huge amount of damage.
“Damn! Finally found someone who can take a full combo from me!”
Thinking this, Ian faced the charging Hawkins. Suddenly, he shifted his footing, raised his sword, and in an instant, he crossed paths with Hawkins, landing a horizontal slash on his waist.
Strangely, at the spot where Hawkins’ waist was cut, a rectangular patterned wooden talisman illusion appeared. The talisman was severed by the slash and then dissipated.
But that wasn’t the end. Just after crossing behind Hawkins, Ian turned back with incredible speed and delivered another identical slash to Hawkins’ waist!
Ian slashed at Hawkins four times in rapid succession, back and forth! Each time he struck, a wooden talisman illusion appeared.
That’s right! This was Ian’s recently drawn four-star card, Haohmaru’s sword technique: Sakura Blossom Slash!
After the four slashes, Ian suddenly drew a circle beside himself, then swung his sword upward from below, sending a purple ribbon-like blade light soaring!
Tongue of the Demon Sword!
Hawkins’ entire body was lifted into the air by that purple ribbon-like blade light!
But it wasn’t over yet. Just after landing, Ian held his sword in his left hand and raised his right hand. A massive purple flame flew across the deck toward the falling Hawkins. Just as he landed, the flame reached him. Upon impact, the purple flame exploded, and a towering azure flame shot up. Then, Hawkins’ entire body remained frozen in mid-air, maintaining his landing posture.
This was the first time Ian had used Eight Cups of Wine since obtaining his exclusive treasure, the Yasakani Jewel. Within that purple flame, Hawkins’ sense of time was completely disrupted!
At the same time, Ian gripped his sword with both hands, lowered his body, and rushed at lightning speed toward Hawkins, who was still sealed in the flame. The moment he made contact, his sword rained down on Hawkins!
Forbidden 1211 Style: Eight Maidens!
The moment Ian struck him, Hawkins’ time finally began to flow again. But caught in the Eight Maidens, he was powerless to fight back. Ian’s sword was so fast, so fierce, that there was no gap between attacks. After seven consecutive slashes landed on Hawkins, Ian suddenly slammed the hilt of his sword into Hawkins’ body.
Boom! Purple flame exploded from the hilt, blasting Hawkins backward!
But it still wasn’t over! Ian let out a fierce roar, gripped his sword with both hands, and swung it from the lower left! The long blade of Thousand Cherry Blossoms, carrying a blade aura, struck Hawkins’ body. Then he swung again from the right side, hitting him once more. Two consecutive strikes sent Hawkins’ body flying again!
Then, Ian stabbed his sword straight into the deck!
Rare 316 Style: Flower of the Demon!
The moment the sword pierced the deck, a towering pillar of flame erupted from the spot, engulfing Hawkins’ body and sending him soaring high into the air!
“Lightning Spear!” Ian pulled lightning from his forehead in an instant and casually flung it. A bolt of lightning, turning into white light, pierced through Hawkins’ body in mid-air!
Hawkins’ body, battered by this relentless barrage, was sent flying off his ship, heading toward the sea.
But just as his body touched the seawater, a patch of dark clouds that had appeared in the sky without warning suddenly struck down a massive thunderbolt, hitting him again!
Misaka Mikoto’s ultimate skill: Final Thunder!
Zap! The lightning from the clouds fell continuously, striking the sea surface, causing intense electrical light to ripple across the water for a long time before finally dissipating.
The members of the Hawkins Pirates had been stunned from the moment Ian made his first move. They never imagined that this young man, when he did act, would be so earth-shattering!
After the Final Thunder dissipated, the electricity crackling around Ian’s body slowly faded away.
He let out a long, satisfied breath and said casually, “Ha! I feel great! You can go fish your captain out now!”
Ian knew that Hawkins was probably still alive. With the incredible skill of damage transfer, Hawkins was practically invincible. Even though he had fallen into the sea, he was just out of strength. His Devil Fruit ability was still active, meaning even the continuous lightning strikes from the Final Thunder probably hadn’t killed him!
Such a useful punching bag—Ian had never encountered one before. Using a combo of several card skills this time had truly been satisfying!
After all, the last time he used a similar combo on Vergo, the result was that Vergo died on the spot. Since then, no one had let him fight so freely and thoroughly...
So Ian felt that Hawkins should stay alive.