Chapter 327: The Timing
"What the hell is going on!?" Ian couldn't help but frown.
Vivre Cards were a special kind of thing—they wouldn't get soaked in water or burned by fire. All along, Ace's Vivre Card had been perfectly fine, but now it had suddenly taken on a scorched yellow state. The only explanation was that something might have happened to Ace.
Seeing the Vivre Card in Ian's hand, Sabo leaned in for a closer look and said, "Is this Ace's Vivre Card? He might have run into some trouble, but judging by its condition, he's probably just injured, not in life-threatening danger."
"Oh!?" Ian asked, "Are you sure about that?"
Sabo nodded and said, "A Vivre Card reflects its owner's physical state. This card's size doesn't seem to have changed, which means his vitality hasn't been diminished."
Hearing Sabo say that, Ian felt a bit more at ease, but he was still worried about Ace.
"Sabo, can I ask you for a favor?" Ian said to him.
"Just say it!" Sabo agreed directly.
Ian thought for a moment and said, "If possible, I'd like to ask you to use the Revolutionary Army's intelligence network to help me find out what's been happening in the New World recently. I'm in Alabasta right now, too far from the New World."
Ian had also realized one of his own shortcomings: intelligence capabilities. To become a truly major power, intelligence was indispensable. The Dragon Hunter Pirates were too late in getting started on this front, and it felt like they were always a step behind on any news.
Fortunately, Ian had the backing of the Revolutionary Army. In his estimation, when it came to intelligence alone, the Revolutionary Army might not lose to the World Government, so Ian naturally intended to make use of it.
Hearing Ian's request, Sabo immediately nodded and said, "No problem. You want to check on Ace's situation, right? You don't even need to ask—I was planning to do the same."
Although Sabo hadn't recalled any past memories because of Ian's words, he had realized that this person named Ace might really be his brother, just as Ian had said. Just thinking of the name brought an undeniable sense of familiarity. This time, even if Ian hadn't asked, he would have found a way to investigate on his own. He was even considering whether to go meet Ace in person.
Sabo pulled out a baby Den Den Mushi and a white Den Den Mushi, handing them both to Ian, and said, "Take these. I'll use the baby Den Den Mushi to contact you, but when you answer, it's best to use the white one to prevent eavesdropping."
Ian took them and then said to Sabo, "There's another thing. It's best if we don't get involved with the rebels here in Alabasta."
"Oh!? Do you sense something off too?" Sabo asked with a smile.
"Yes!" Ian went along with his words. "My intuition tells me there might be another reason behind this country's situation, so it's best for the Revolutionary Army not to jump in rashly."
"I was thinking the same thing!" Sabo nodded. "In that case, I'll have our Revolutionary Army comrades keep observing. If it turns out to be what we suspect, I'll pull our people out of this country."
After they settled that, Sabo stood up, wrapped his headscarf back on, reached out, and shook Ian's hand, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Ian."
"Don't call me Mr.!" Ian said with a smile. "Just call me Ian. Trust me, you're Ace's brother, and I'm his brother too. Besides, we're both comrades in the Revolutionary Army—there's no need for such formality."
"Haha!" Sabo laughed too and said, "Alright then, Ian! I'll be off. After dawn, there will be more people on this road, so I need to leave before that."
"Goodbye!" Ian waved.
Sabo waved back and then turned to leave.
After his figure disappeared, Ian lay back down, leaning against BB, with his hands behind his head, frowning as he began to think.
The abnormality in Ace's Vivre Card put Ian on high alert, and it immediately made him think of Blackbeard Teach's betrayal of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Ian only knew that Teach would flee the Whitebeard Pirates when he got his hands on the Dark-Dark Fruit, but the problem was that Ian had no idea when he would actually obtain it. That was why he couldn't make any countermeasures.
However, Zoro had already set sail, which meant that in less than a year, Luffy would also set sail. Calculating the timing, Teach's betrayal was coming up soon.
Could the problem with Ace's Vivre Card mean that this incident involving Teach had already happened?
Ian thought it was very likely, which was why he had asked Sabo to investigate the New World's news. He needed to confirm this.
But one thing puzzled Ian: the scorched yellow marks on the Vivre Card! If he remembered correctly, Ace's Vivre Card should only have shown problems after he was defeated by Blackbeard and handed over to the Marines. There was no reason for it to be acting up now!
Or had something unexpected happened to Ace?
The more Ian thought about it, the more he felt something was off. He took out the Den Den Mushi that Kuma had given him from his hat, trying to contact Fujitora. But to his frustration, perhaps because he was too far from the New World, the Den Den Mushi in his hand couldn't connect to the one on Travira Island. After dialing, the Den Den Mushi actually fell asleep!
This was a classic sign of no signal. Ian had no choice but to put the Den Den Mushi away.
"Something must have happened!" Ian thought. "Hawkins' fortune-telling once mentioned a lurking danger. Now it seems to be gradually revealing itself. Maybe this danger is related to the abnormality in Ace's Vivre Card."
Ian felt a twinge of regret. If he had known, he should have forced Hawkins to join his crew, even if it meant using brute force. He was only now realizing how valuable someone who could predict the future through fortune-telling really was.
As far as Ian knew, there were two people who could foresee the future: one was Hawkins, and the other was Shyarly, the owner of the Mermaid Cafe on Fish-Man Island. But Ian couldn't go looking for either of them right now, so he could only wait for Sabo's intelligence.
Forcing himself to stop thinking about it, Ian eventually fell asleep leaning against BB...
The next day, the camel BB nudged Ian, making a "B! B!" sound with its gap-toothed mouth, acting as an alarm clock to wake him up.
"Thanks, buddy!" Ian woke up, stretched, took out his water pouch to give BB a drink, and then mounted it to set off again.
Ian rode BB as it sprinted through the desert. After realizing that something unexpected might have happened, he now just wanted to finish his business quickly and return to the New World.
Alabasta's capital, Alubarna, was located in the central part of the island of Saint, quite far away. Ian had been traveling for over three days and still hadn't arrived.
However, along the way, Ian had seen the current state of this country. He passed through another city, Erumalu, but it had long since become ruins. The dilapidated city ruins were now mostly buried by wind and sand, leaving only a desolate scene.
The drought was more severe than Ian had imagined...
Ian knew this was caused by Crocodile. This time, when he went to find Nico Robin, he might end up running into Crocodile. Ian still hadn't figured out how to deal with Crocodile, or whether he should step in and stop him.
Logically, the Seven Warlords of the Sea followed the principle of "one king doesn't meet another," each with their own territory, keeping to themselves. If he barged into Crocodile's territory, who knew how Crocodile would react?
But Ian guessed that a fight probably wouldn't break out. The Warlords all had their own concerns. After all, the position of Warlord wasn't easy to come by, and if they fought each other to the point of mutual destruction, it would only benefit someone else in the end...
In short, that was roughly the situation. Ian could only take it one step at a time.
Just as Ian was about to reach Alubarna, Sabo finally responded. He called and confirmed Ian's suspicions!
In the New World, the Fourth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates had been killed—by his own crewmate, Marshall D. Teach. After killing Thatch, Teach had betrayed and fled the Whitebeard Pirates.
According to intelligence obtained by the Revolutionary Army, Teach hadn't stayed in the New World after his betrayal, because the Whitebeard Pirates were already hunting him down.
This incident had indeed happened, but Ian was a bit surprised that it had occurred so early.
However, based on the information Sabo had relayed, Ian learned that Teach had crossed the Calm Belt and appeared in the West Blue. He immediately understood.
That bastard Teach was trying to escape the Whitebeard Pirates' sphere of influence first, then lie low for a while!
After all, after eating a Devil Fruit, there was always a process of getting familiar with its power. And to realize his ambition, Teach needed to form a pirate crew first, since he couldn't sail alone. That meant he was probably looking for like-minded companions!
He had gone to the West Blue, which immediately made Ian think of an important member of the future Blackbeard Pirates: Lafitte!
If he remembered correctly, this guy, who wore a top hat and carried a cane, looking a bit effeminate, was originally from the West Blue and had been a sheriff. Since Teach had fled to the West Blue, it was very likely that his first recruited companion would be Lafitte!
It would probably take until Teach got familiar with his powers and recruited some companions, like the sniper Van Augur, before he would return to the Grand Line...
According to Sabo, the news of Teach fleeing to the West Blue had been uncovered by the Revolutionary Army using a large number of personnel. Many people probably didn't know about it yet.
Another piece of news from Sabo mentioned Ace! As expected, Ace had indeed set out alone to pursue Teach.
Ian counted on his fingers and realized that Ace's pursuit of Teach wouldn't be easy. This chase would probably last a long time—at least over half a year—because Ace was alone and had no intelligence sources. Most of the time, he would just be running around behind that cunning bastard Teach...
"Good, there's still time!" Thinking this, Ian couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.