Chapter 347: Ace's Identity Exposed
Crocodile was no fool, and he quickly caught on, gritting his teeth and saying, "The fifth one is Bartholomew Kuma, isn't it? Damn it, I knew something was off. That tyrant Kuma stepping down from the Seven Warlords was just too suspicious. Even if it was on orders from the Marines and the World Government, if he hadn't agreed, no one could have taken his place..."
At Crocodile's words, Sabo, Koala, Hack, and Nico Robin all stared at Ian in shock.
Sabo and the others knew about Kuma's situation, so what truly surprised them was Ian's relationship with Jinbe and Boa Hancock. They had never imagined that Ian would try to rally every Warlord he knew to come and help.
"Is it really that serious?" Sabo asked Ian gravely.
Ian shook his head and said, "I can only say, better safe than sorry!"
As of now, Ian didn't know who had accepted the commission from the underworld, but he was prepared for the possibility of going to war with one of the Four Emperors. If it really was Kaido or Big Mom's people making a move, then Ian would strike back hard.
Ever since meeting Whitebeard on Salamis Island, Ian had understood just how powerful the Four Emperors were. Honestly, he didn't want to provoke Kaido or Big Mom right now, but the problem was that Travira was his home base. If someone was coming to attack his nest, Ian had to respond with the toughest measures possible.
To be honest, Ian, as a pirate who had stumbled into this life, didn't have a particularly loud reputation among the pirate community. Add to that his youth, and even though he had become a Warlord, he might not catch the eye of the major powers.
A tree's shadow, a person's name—the pirate world was one where might made right. This commission circulating in the underworld was likely a test. Plenty of people were probably coveting his position as a Warlord. To prevent something like this from happening again, Ian had to crush the so-called "bird that stuck its head out" completely. So, in this counterattack, Ian not only had to show his strongest strength but also display all his connections to intimidate those restless fools.
It didn't matter if he lacked high-end combat power; Ian never expected to gather all the top-tier fighters of the pirate world under his banner. But pirates didn't just have partners—they could also have friends and allies.
Crocodile was shaken by Ian's words. At this point, he didn't dare say anything reckless. He could see that Ian was hiding a lot of anger beneath the surface, or he wouldn't have come up with such a crazy idea. Crocodile didn't want to get caught in the crossfire and become Ian's target.
However, after a moment's thought, he still spoke up to warn him: "The Warlords all prefer to operate alone. Whether you can convince them to help is one thing, but I should remind you that you'd better report this kind of behavior to the Marines."
"Why?" Ian asked, puzzled. "As long as it doesn't involve mandatory conscription, the Warlords don't need Marine approval for what they do normally, right?"
Crocodile lit another cigar and put it in his mouth, saying, "But don't forget, the Warlords are also viewed with suspicion by the World Government and the Marines. Normally, things stay peaceful because the Warlords each do their own thing and have little connection with each other, which lets the World Government and Marines feel at ease. But if you suddenly gather more than half of the Warlords to fight for you, what do you think the World Government and Marines will think?"
"Tch!" Ian understood and felt a pang of annoyance.
Crocodile's meaning was clear—there was a balance at play. If the Warlords didn't respect each other, that was the best outcome for the World Government and Marines. But if someone could unite the other Warlords to act together, that wouldn't bode well for them...
Robin chimed in at this point, "In that case, you'd become an 'anomaly' among the Warlords."
Whether he became an anomaly or not didn't matter much to Ian. Honestly, Ian didn't care what the World Government or Marines thought. But Crocodile's words hinted at another issue: would the other Warlords have concerns about this?
Take Boa Hancock, for example. If Ian asked her for help, she'd probably be willing, but she was also the empress of Amazon Lily. Would her actions affect the island?
And what about Jinbe? Would he worry about the World Government's stance on Fish-Man Island and choose to refuse?
None of this was certain...
So Ian frowned and asked Crocodile, "If I report it to the Marines, would that be fine?"
"...Hard to say," Crocodile shook his head. "There's never been a precedent like this in history. Warlords gathering together usually only happens under conscription. There's never been a case where Warlords contacted each other and gathered on their own. So I really can't predict how the Marines would react."
Damn it. If he didn't inform the Marines, it might cause suspicion, but if he did, he didn't know if they'd allow it. What the hell was he supposed to do?
Ian couldn't help but glare at Crocodile. This guy always said useless things.
"Glaring at me won't help," Crocodile grinned. "I'm just giving you a heads-up. It's up to you to decide what to do."
Sabo and the others couldn't chime in on these matters, so they just listened quietly.
Just then, Robin suddenly spoke up: "Maybe you could try the approach of asking for the moon."
"Oh?" Ian's interest was piqued. "Go on."
Robin smiled slightly, glanced at Crocodile, and began to explain her idea...
.........................
About a week later, Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Sengoku was working in his office. Beside his desk stood a docile goat. Whenever he needed to destroy a document, Sengoku would hand it to the goat, which would slowly chew and eat it.
As Sengoku was working, a noisy commotion came from outside the door. An old man with gray-white hair pushed open the door and walked in.
It was Marine Vice Admiral Garp. He was carrying a bag of snacks, and as soon as Sengoku saw him, he knew Garp had come to mooch some tea.
But Sengoku was tired too, so he didn't refuse Garp. He poured two cups of tea, and the two old friends began to drink tea and eat snacks, enjoying a rare afternoon tea time.
As they ate, they chatted. Garp asked Sengoku, "Have you found the pirate who assassinated King Wapol of the Drum Kingdom a while back?"
Sengoku shot him a glare, took a bite of a cookie, and said, "Don't you know who it was? It had to be that brat Ian! He snuck into the first half of the Grand Line and happened to land on Drum Island. Who else would be so bold?"
"Hahaha!" Garp laughed loudly. "But you still have to clean up the mess he made, right?"
"Of course," Sengoku said gloomily. "A Warlord assassinating a king—if that got out, even the World Government couldn't handle it. I had to pin it on Blackbeard Teach."
"Teach?" Garp crunched on a cookie, making a cracking sound, and asked curiously, "Marshall D. Teach? That guy who defected from the Whitebeard Pirates?"
"Yeah," Sengoku said with a headache. "Garp, another one of your D. clan. Be honest with me—do you know this guy?"
Garp shook his head vigorously. "I definitely don't know him. But come to think of it, that guy managed to endure in the Whitebeard Pirates for so many years. That's no small feat."
"To be honest, I have a bad feeling. Something big might be about to happen," Sengoku said worriedly, setting down his tea and snacks. "You know, he's already fled to the West Blue. Fire Fist Ace, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, is said to be chasing him, but Ace disappeared in the New World a while ago..."
"Can't you find out where he went?" Garp asked nonchalantly.
Sengoku gave Garp a meaningful look and said, "Garp, are you still going to hide this from me?"
Garp played dumb. "Hide what from you?"
Sengoku reached out, poked Garp in the forehead, and lowered his voice, "Damn it, Garp, you bastard! Ace's identity has been uncovered by CP agents and reported to me! He's your grandson, isn't he? And he's the son of Pirate King Gol D. Roger, right!?"