Chapter 326: Ace's Vivre Card
Hearing Ian's question, Sabo smiled. Although the burn scars on his face looked terrifying, Ian felt that his smile was actually quite sunny.
Sabo had always been a very intellectual person, and he indeed carried a certain aristocratic aura, which might have something to do with his family background from childhood.
"Actually, I'm quite surprised to run into you here!" Sabo said with a laugh. "If it weren't for my companion Barney spotting you at the port restaurant, we wouldn't even have known you'd arrived in Alabasta!"
"Who's Barney?" Ian asked, a look of confusion on his face.
"Well, you don't know him, but he knows you!" Sabo explained. "However, he only knows you as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. He's one of the companions I brought along. All my companions have been scattered across Alabasta recently, conducting investigations..."
Ian nodded, indicating he understood, then looked around but didn't see anyone else nearby.
Seeing Ian like this, Sabo said, "Ah, sorry. Barney was just following behind you to report your location to me. When I arrived, I had him leave."
"Can't let others know, is that it?" Ian asked.
"That's right." Sabo nodded, not continuing on that topic. Instead, he suddenly became a bit hesitant and said, "I came to find you because... because I heard from Uncle Kuma that when I was rescued onto the ship by Big Brother Dragon back then, you had seen me before. And... and you even knew my name. Is that right?"
Ian was startled, then recalled the incident from ten years ago in Shimotsuki Village. He looked at Sabo, whose face was full of anticipation, thought for a moment, and finally nodded, saying, "Yeah, that's true."
"Then... then that means you know me, right!?" Sabo said excitedly. "Mr. Ian, could you please tell me about myself?"
Ian immediately realized—Sabo's amnesia hadn't healed yet!
So instead of answering his question right away, Ian first asked about what happened after Sabo was rescued.
Sabo didn't hide anything and told Ian the whole story.
After being taken away by Dragon and waking up, he had forgotten his identity and everything about himself. He only knew his name was Sabo from what Dragon and Uncle Kuma told him, as well as from the nameplate he carried. Everything else—about his two brothers Ace and Luffy, and all his past experiences—was completely wiped clean.
Well, judging by the burn scars on Sabo's face, the injuries he suffered back then must have been severe, so this situation wasn't surprising.
After being rescued by Dragon, he naturally stayed with the Revolutionary Army. While teaching him, Dragon probably mentioned how Ian had called out Sabo's name back in Shimotsuki Village.
Although Dragon had saved him from the Goa Kingdom, he probably didn't know much about Sabo's past and couldn't tell him much. So when Dragon mentioned Ian, Sabo pinned his hopes of recovering his memories on this person he had never met.
If Ian had stayed on Sabaody Archipelago as a pirate hunter, he might never have crossed paths with Sabo. But because of his big uproar in Holy Land Mary Geoise, Ian not only became a pirate but also, through Uncle Kuma's recommendation, joined the Revolutionary Army.
And so, the name Ian appeared in Sabo's field of vision again.
This left Sabo stunned. He hadn't expected that Ian would become his comrade!
Due to the Revolutionary Army's structure, many executives didn't necessarily know each other, but they all cherished their comrades. So Sabo was probably the happiest about Ian's joining.
He had always wanted to find Ian, but during that time, Ian was being pursued by the Marines. Sabo was afraid that his own identity might bring Ian even more trouble, so he had to hold back.
Then came the news that two Marine Admirals, Kizaru and Zephyr, had jointly set out to pursue the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
At that time, Sabo was very worried about Ian. He found Dragon and asked him to find a way to save Ian. Dragon, who also valued Ian as a new member of the Revolutionary Army, rushed to Salamis Island, ready to step in and save Ian if things went south.
But Dragon's identity was a huge problem. If he intervened, he would definitely be recognized by Kizaru. As a revolutionary, Dragon was the World Government's top wanted criminal. If Dragon saved Ian and was recognized by Kizaru, Ian would be implicated. Forget becoming one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—the World Government would think Ian was also a member of the Revolutionary Army and hunt him down endlessly.
Moreover, Dragon appearing on Salamis Island was a huge risk. If recognized, he could easily be surrounded and attacked by two Marine Admirals!
So, although the Revolutionary Army didn't openly support Ian, behind the scenes, their attention and protection for him had even exceeded that for ordinary Revolutionary Army officers...
Fortunately, Ian held his own. He went all out and clashed with Kizaru without losing ground. With the appearance of the Whitebeard Pirates, he finally forced Kizaru and Zephyr to retreat, sparing Dragon the need to risk showing himself.
After that, Ian became one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. At this point, Sabo found it even harder to approach Ian because he wasn't sure if there were World Government agents around him.
Just as Sabo had resigned himself to possibly not meeting Ian for another year or two, Ian, by a twist of fate, discovered a Poneglyph on Skypiea, left the New World, and made his way to Alabasta. Coincidentally, Sabo happened to be there too.
Describing all this might be a bit tedious, but regardless, when Sabo learned of Ian's arrival, he immediately rushed over from a nearby city, successfully caught up with Ian, and met him.
When Sabo finished telling Ian all this from start to finish, even Ian was left speechless for a long moment.
He hadn't expected that during his time on Salamis, Dragon had been there, secretly protecting him. While feeling deeply grateful, Ian also began to wonder if he should meet Dragon.
Of course, he knew that meeting Dragon wasn't something you could just arrange. Dragon was very mysterious to many revolutionaries, and the World Government valued him even more than the Four Emperors. So Dragon's situation had always been precarious. Reducing his appearances to maintain an air of mystery was his way of self-preservation. Even for Ian, meeting Dragon wasn't easy.
Shaking his head, Ian pushed aside these scattered thoughts, focused on Sabo, and asked curiously, "You really can't remember anything about yourself?"
"The only thing I know... is a strong urge not to return to my parents' side. I don't remember anything else," Sabo said, lowering his head. "So after waking up, I asked Big Brother Dragon to let me stay with the Revolutionary Army..."
"Alright..." Ian had to say. "Actually... I'm not sure if I should tell you, because it could change a lot of things. But..."
Ian thought it over and finally shook his head. Change was change—hadn't his influence already changed many things? In Ian's view, the future was already full of uncertainty, so what was the point of worrying too much?
So he said to Sabo, "Have you paid any attention to certain pirates?"
Sabo shook his head. "Not much. How should I put it? The Revolutionary Army's main focus is on the World Government and certain countries. We don't pay much attention to pirates."
Ian sighed. "I see. No wonder you can't remember..."
"What do you mean?" Sabo asked, puzzled.
"There's someone from the Whitebeard Pirates!" Ian said, looking Sabo in the eye. "His name is 'Fire Fist Ace'! By now, he should be the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division, with a bounty of around five hundred million... Of course, that's not important. What matters is that he's your sworn brother! And you have another sworn younger brother named Luffy. He hasn't set sail yet, but it should be soon..."
"Fire Fist... Ace!?" Sabo's eyes gradually grew dazed. "That name... sounds familiar..."
As he said this, Sabo suddenly clutched his head, looking pained. "Ah, my... my head hurts..."
Seeing him like this, Ian quickly asked, "What's wrong? Are you remembering something!?"
But Sabo gritted his teeth, enduring the headache, and shook his head. "No... it's just that the name feels familiar, like... like it's someone important. But when I try to recall, my head hurts..."
Hearing this, Ian sighed, feeling it was getting troublesome.
According to the normal timeline, Sabo's amnesia was caused by severe trauma. He only truly remembered Ace and Luffy when the news of Ace's death gave him another intense shock. But now, Ace was fine. Just Ian talking about it verbally, without even showing a photo, wasn't enough stimulation.
Did he really have to let Sabo and Ace meet face-to-face?
Come to think of it, Ian suddenly remembered that Ace had once told him he wanted to find the Revolutionary Army and locate his brother Sabo. But after joining the Whitebeard Pirates, that goal seemed to have been put on hold.
So, after finishing his business here, should he take Sabo along to find Ace?
Where was Ace now?
Thinking this, Ian took out his Bear Ear Hat, searched the inner compartment, and pulled out the Vivre Card Ace had left him, wanting to see roughly where Ace was.
But when Ian took out Ace's Vivre Card, he was shocked!
Because on Ace's Vivre Card, a faint scorch mark had appeared...
What... what was going on!?