Chapter 357: Return (5/22)
The flags of four Warlords flaunting themselves together in the New World was really... completely disregarding the feelings of other pirates!
Every pirate crew that Ian and his group encountered along the way, upon spotting the flags of this fleet from afar, were so terrified they wet themselves and turned tail to flee.
Even those who were slightly bolder didn't dare approach, only following at a distance out of curiosity. These people realized that something big might be happening, and unable to suppress their curiosity, they all wanted to see what was going on.
So after a week of sailing, the scale of this fleet grew larger and larger.
The five ships led the way, while dozens of pirate ships of various sizes followed far behind. Under these circumstances, even Aokiji couldn't ride his bicycle anymore. He had to find a pirate ship and forcefully intimidate its crew into following Ian's vessels.
Such a grand spectacle spread news throughout the entire New World.
Within the Whitebeard Pirates, when they received this news, even Whitebeard Old Man was astonished. He couldn't understand how Crocodile and Jinbe had gotten mixed up with Ian.
In fact, Ian's island being attacked had been heard of by the Whitebeard Pirates during this time. However, they couldn't contact Ace. They had no idea about Skypiea or that Ace was currently there. Whitebeard Old Man had originally wanted to bring his men to help Ian at Travira, but when news spread through the New World that Ian was returning with a group of Warlords, Whitebeard felt reassured and decided not to come.
In truth, ever since Teach's betrayal, Whitebeard had felt guilty toward Ian.
When Teach was in the Whitebeard Pirates, he had always been an unfathomable man. At the time, everyone regarded him as a comrade, so they didn't think much of it. But looking back now, they realized they had never truly understood Teach. Ian, on the other hand, seemed to have seen through Teach's wrongness from the start, always speaking coldly to him, and even attempting to assassinate him during a sparring match.
Now, reflecting on it, they understood that Ian might have seen Teach's true nature back then. He had risked antagonizing the Whitebeard Pirates to strike at Teach, and had even been injured by Old Man for it.
So, inexplicably, Whitebeard Old Man felt somewhat sorry toward Ian. Out of guilt, he didn't know how to face Ian now. When he realized Ian had enough help, he naturally wouldn't appear at Travira.
Nevertheless, he still deployed his men to help Ian gather information about the Germa Group.
After the attack, the Germa Group had vanished. The New World wasn't their territory, so they couldn't stay long. Due to the unique mobility of their ships, tracking them down was no easy task.
Besides the Whitebeard Pirates' attention, the other three Emperors were also secretly watching. Red-Haired Shanks had never met Ian, but this time he finally took notice. As for Big Mom and Kaido of the Beasts, they too were paying close attention. Four Warlords gathering together was enough to warrant the Emperors' concern.
Ian's return this time came with a dazzling halo. Everyone realized they might have underestimated this newly appointed Warlord. They had thought that since he had just taken the seat of a Warlord, he had no significant influence. But this time, Ian shocked countless people. For the first time, they discovered that this Warlord also possessed astonishing connections.
From that day on, in the eyes of many big shots, Ian was finally considered their equal...
Under these circumstances, Ian finally returned to Travira Island.
The island now looked devastated. From the moment he set foot on it, Ian's brow was furrowed, because he saw massive craters everywhere from the bombardment.
It was easy to imagine that the Germa Group had used a large number of cannons when attacking the island.
The base of the Dragon Hunter Pirates was also a mess. All the houses and buildings had been destroyed, and dark red bloodstains could be seen everywhere, hinting at the terrible battle that had taken place here.
There were no bodies; they had likely been taken away. Shortly after Ian and his group landed, some island residents came to find them.
The Germa Group's attack had mainly targeted the Dragon Hunter Pirates, but when they waged war, the island's residents were inevitably caught up in it. The new king, Arions, had been injured in the cannon fire and was now lying in bed, unable to move.
Many of the island's residents had died. So when Ian returned with his people, they became emotional, begging Ian to avenge them.
Ian comforted them for a while and sent them away for now. Then he took out a Den Den Mushi and contacted Walnut.
"I'm back, Walnut!" Ian said over the phone. "Where's the island now?"
"Near Thunder God Island!" Walnut replied. "Wait a moment, I'll have Waldo steer the island back."
"Oh! That guy Waldo, he hasn't run away yet?" Ian said in surprise. He had thought that after what happened to the Dragon Hunter Pirates, Waldo would have taken the chance to escape, but unexpectedly, he had stayed.
"Ancient technology has a greater appeal to him than I imagined!" Walnut explained.
Ian didn't press further. After telling Walnut to hurry, he returned to Jinbe and the others.
"Where are your people?" Crocodile asked mockingly. "Did they all die in the attack?"
Ian gave him a cold look and said, "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."
Jinbe, however, asked curiously, "Ian, brother, didn't you say Ace brother was recovering from his injuries? Where is he?"
"You'll know in a moment!" Ian couldn't explain about Skypiea, so he just told them to be patient.
Jinbe and the others didn't ask further. They directed their crews to help clean up the Dragon Hunter Pirates' base, while the girls of the Kuja Pirates wandered around the island out of curiosity.
Although they had sailed out as pirates with Boa Hancock, these female warriors of Amazon Lily hadn't seen much of the world, so everything was new to them.
About two hours later, a large cloud slowly drifted in from the high sky. Jinbe and the others didn't pay it much attention, but Ian knew it was his base, the Sky Island Barron Gray Terminal.
Unwrapping the cursed bandages on his hands, Ian spread his black Flame Wings and said to Jinbe and the others, "Wait here. I'll be right back."
Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, he flew up into the sky.
Now, Ian's Flame Wings could support him flying from the ground to the Sky Island's location. When he reached the bottom of the Sky Island, he grabbed several strings of balloons and stored them away, then turned and dove back down.
Once on the ground, Ian distributed these balloons to Jinbe and the others.
Amid their curious gazes, Ian didn't explain but simply said, "Hold onto these balloons. I'll take you to see the real base of the Dragon Hunter Pirates."
These balloons had been studied by Ian and his people long ago. They were very strange, made of some unknown material that never broke. Ian even suspected that when the Sky Island Barron Gray Terminal existed, these balloons had already been there, clinging to its bottom for years as it drifted. This was unbelievable, so Ian had always suspected these balloons might be some kind of ancient black technology.
With these balloons, even those who couldn't fly—like Jinbe, Boa Hancock, Sabo, and Nico Robin—could enter the Sky Island. However, unlike Ian, who could fly quickly, they could only grip the balloons tightly and rise slowly.
When they reached mid-air, everyone realized what was happening. Nico Robin exclaimed in surprise, "You... you don't mean to take us up into that cloud, do you?"
"It's a Sky Island!" Crocodile said, looking at Ian with a complex expression. "I didn't expect you to find a Sky Island as a base. What a stroke of luck!"
Jinbe laughed heartily and said, "Ian, brother, no wonder your base being attacked didn't matter much. The Germa people would never have thought your men flew up to a Sky Island!"
Sabo looked up at the Sky Island getting closer above him, and suddenly felt a surge of excitement.
Was he about to meet Ace? Ian said he was his brother. Was that true? When he saw him, would he be able to remember his past?