Chapter 359: The Amazing Ian
After the battle with Crocodile, Ian finally officially reached level 40 and unlocked his fifth card slot.
With the ability to field five cards simultaneously, Ian's improvement was immense. Especially after obtaining the 10 billion Berries from the Celestial Dragons, he gradually upgraded his commonly used four-star cards to five-star red cards, which brought a surge in his stats.
Ian's current stats were as follows:
Name: Ian
Level: 40
Doriki: 3757
Strength: 3400 (The system absorbed a Devil Fruit, increasing Strength and Speed upon leveling up)
Speed: 3926
Stamina: 3675
Psychic Power: 9953
Skills: [Master Swordsmanship]: Sword draw speed +50%, destructive power +50%, enables sword qi attacks and aura attacks.
[Master Nen Training Skill]: Increases total Nen value by 75%, enables Nen diffusion and Nen materialization. Psychic Power recovery is related to the host's physical stamina; the more energetic the body, the faster the recovery.
[Expert Physical Combat Training]: Increases all stats by 25%.
(Since equipping different cards can cause stat changes, the current stats are approximate when equipped with the Flying Shadow card, Iori Yagami card, Orochi card, and Misaka Mikoto card. The fifth card is a swordsmanship card, switched between Yasuo, Haohmaru, Seta Sojiro, and Orihime Inoue.)
Ian's Psychic Power was now close to breaking 10,000. After devouring the Black Dragon Wave or unleashing the final release of Thousand Cherry Blossoms, his Psychic Power would skyrocket even further.
However, as his card collection grew, so did the special abilities he could use, which meant he still felt his Psychic Power was insufficient.
There was no helping it. When someone used various ultimate skills and big moves as casually as eating and drinking, they would inevitably run short...
The shortage of Psychic Power only applied when facing powerful enemies. Under normal circumstances, it was absolutely no problem. Despite the fact that there were fifty or sixty patients lying in the hall, Ian could now treat all of them in one go.
After Fujitora lay down, the light ring of the Twin Heaven Return Shield enveloped his body, and the rejection force began to gradually expel the toxins from his body.
Seeing Fujitora's complexion improve, Ian breathed a sigh of relief and asked him with a smile, "Uncle Fujitora, do you want me to heal your eyes while I'm at it?"
"No, I prefer to keep them as they are," Fujitora replied.
Ian didn't insist and continued the treatment. Erlang had already noticed Ian's return and let out a long sigh of relief upon seeing him. He knew that with the captain back, everything would be fine.
Most of the poisoned Dragon Hunter Pirates members were unconscious, while the few who were awake dared not make a sound, watching Ian with excited eyes.
Just as Ian was treating Fujitora, Sabo had already walked over to Ace's hospital bed.
Lying on the bed, Ace naturally wasn't wearing his hat. His hair was a mess, and his skin had a purple tint—a symptom of poisoning.
Sabo didn't know why he had immediately found Ace's location. Logically, he had never truly seen the grown-up Ace. But things were strangely mysterious, as if something was guiding him, making him instantly understand that the freckled young man before him was Ace.
Sabo took off his top hat, revealing his wavy blond hair. He quietly stared at the unconscious Ace, but the blood in his body suddenly flowed faster, and his head throbbed like needles piercing it.
This caused Sabo to let out a muffled groan. He felt as if some images were about to burst out of his mind, and he couldn't help but kneel on the ground, clutching his head.
"Sabo!?" Koala let out a cry of surprise and quickly went to support him. This shout also caught Ian's attention, and he turned to look at Sabo.
But Ian didn't approach. He knew that whether Sabo could recall the past with Ace and Luffy depended on this moment.
Sabo had lost his memory due to a severe head injury. To restore his memory, sufficient stimulation was needed. Perhaps it was fate, but Ace was also lying on the hospital bed, poisoned and in critical condition, which undoubtedly intensified the stimulation for Sabo.
Ian hadn't finished treating Fujitora yet, and Sabo didn't fully understand Ian's healing abilities, so he had no idea if Ace would be okay...
In the end, the result was that Sabo suddenly burst into tears.
Koala didn't understand and thought Sabo's headache was severe. She couldn't help but call out to Erlang, "Doctor, please, come and check on him!"
But at that moment, Sabo grabbed Koala's hand and stopped her.
Sabo looked up, crying so hard that his mouth was twisted, tears streaming down like a waterfall. He said excitedly, "I... I remember! Ace is my brother! He's my big brother!"
Then he hugged his head and wept, "I can't believe I forgot that I still had such a family..."
This scene left Jinbe and Boa Hancock, who were watching from behind, exchanging bewildered glances. They hadn't expected that the scar-faced man who came with Ian was actually Fire Fist Ace's younger brother!?
Then who was he?
Ian was also drawn to the commotion. After finishing Fujitora's treatment and allowing him to get out of bed, he walked over to the sobbing Sabo and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "It's okay. Remembering now isn't too late!"
"Ian! Thank you! But please save Ace!" Sabo grabbed Ian's arm, causing the bell on Ian's wrist to jingle. He said anxiously, "Even if I have to trade my life for his, I'll do it without hesitation!"
Sabo was very emotional at the moment, so Ian had to comfort him, "Don't worry. As long as he's not dead, I can bring him back."
Then Ian asked Sabo to step back, approached Ace's bed, and used the Twin Heaven Return Shield to treat him.
Under the light of the Twin Heaven Return Shield, the purple tint on Ace's skin began to fade away. Seeing this, Sabo wiped his tears with his sleeve and quietly waited behind Ian.
Crocodile had witnessed the entire process of Ian saving people. He saw Fujitora get up and Ian now treating Ace. He found Ian somewhat mysterious and unpredictable. Ian's abilities were not only strange but also numerous, seemingly able to handle any situation, even acting as a doctor.
"Is the Pay-to-Win Fruit really that powerful?" Crocodile took a few deep puffs of his cigar, his face shrouded in smoke.
As for Jinbe, he had seen Ian's healing abilities before, so he wasn't surprised. Only Boa Hancock covered her small mouth in astonishment as she watched Ian.
She clearly saw that under the light ring from Ian's hands, not only was the purple poisoning on Fire Fist Ace's body fading, but even the wounds he had sustained in battle were gradually disappearing.
Boa Hancock couldn't help but reach a hand behind her back and gently touch it.
She lightly bit her nails and thought, "Such an amazing ability. I wonder if Ian... if his ability can remove the mark on my back?"
When Boa Hancock first met Ian, she hadn't noticed that the slaves on the Dragon Hunter Pirates had their marks removed. At that time, she didn't know Ian had such a miraculous ability, so she never mentioned the slave mark on her back. But now that she had seen it, she immediately made the connection.
So, she cleverly began to secretly observe the Dragon Hunter Pirates members lying on the hospital beds. As far as she could see, not a single one had a slave mark.
Of course, the slave marks might be on their backs, but Boa Hancock knew that all these members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates were slaves who had escaped with Ian. Was it possible that all fifty or sixty of them had their marks on their backs? Wasn't there a single one marked elsewhere?
But she couldn't find any! At a glance, the visible parts of their bodies showed no trace of any marks.
Boa Hancock wanted to turn each patient over to check, but she knew it wasn't appropriate, so she had to hold back for now. She planned to find an opportunity to ask Ian privately.
"Uh... Where am I?"
Just then, Ace on the hospital bed let out a muffled groan and sat up, holding his head...