Chapter 394: To Squeeze or Not to Squeeze?
Perospero's sudden appearance with the Big Mom Pirates instantly made Aokiji's face turn serious.
Jack the Drought belonged to the Beast Pirates, Perospero belonged to the Big Mom Pirates, and with Fire Fist Ace from the Whitebeard Pirates also present, this small island of Dressrosa had suddenly seen three of the Four Emperors' crews show up at once!
Fire Fist Ace was still manageable. According to Marine intelligence, Ace and Ian were good friends, a matter of personal feelings. While the World Government and Marines were somewhat dissatisfied with a Warlord having ties to an Emperor's subordinate, they could tolerate it. They knew that even Hawk-Eye Mihawk was friends with Red-Haired Shanks of the Four Emperors. Such bonds of friendship couldn't be stopped.
But Doflamingo, Jack the Drought, and now Perospero, who had just appeared—none of them seemed to share any friendly connection...
Seeing this, Aokiji couldn't help but think more deeply. Perospero had stepped in to save Doflamingo and Jack the Drought. Did this mean there was some unknown connection between the Big Mom Pirates and the Beast Pirates?
Especially since the Vinsmoke Family of the Germa Group had appeared alongside them, which only raised more suspicion.
So Aokiji couldn't help but ask Judge, "What? Is the Vinsmoke Family now planning to venture into piracy as well?"
However, Judge didn't take the bait. He simply replied, "The Germa Kingdom is a member state of the World Government, but not a direct subordinate. The kingdom has independent diplomatic rights and is not subject to World Government interference!"
In other words, who they associated with was none of the Marines' business. The World Government and Marines had no authority over their internal affairs.
Aokiji had no rebuttal, so he fell silent.
But Judge turned his gaze to Ian and said angrily, "Ian, where is my daughter!?"
Ian was a bit surprised. He looked beside Judge and saw Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji all present, but Vinsmoke Reiju was nowhere to be seen.
But what did your daughter's whereabouts have to do with him? Why was he asking Ian?
So Ian replied irritably, "What? Found yourself a backer, so now you're talking louder? We haven't even settled the score for your Germa destroying my Dragon Hunter Pirates' base. I was kind enough to let you off, and you're still not grateful?"
"You...!!" Judge was choked by Ian's words, nearly spitting blood. He knew that once they arrived on Dressrosa, Ian's target was no longer the Germa Group but Doflamingo. Since Ian hadn't bothered to chase them, they could regroup with Perospero. Otherwise, given the power Ian had just displayed, Judge and his three children combined wouldn't stand a chance against him!
Killing them would be far too easy...
His daughter Reiju was completely unreachable now. The communication earpiece in her combat suit gave no response. Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji had all used this method to regroup with him, but Reiju hadn't answered. Thinking that Reiju had been the one to lure Ian away earlier, Judge assumed she had been captured by Ian. So he had no choice but to swallow his pride and follow Perospero back to confront Ian.
But as Ian said, letting the Germa off was already an act of mercy. Did Judge really think he could shamelessly ask questions, believing Ian wouldn't dare touch them?
Judge was left speechless. As the king of the Germa Kingdom, being scolded like a child by a young man like Ian was humiliating, to say the least.
Fortunately, Perospero stepped in at that moment. Holding his top hat with one hand and his candy cane with the other, he sneered at Ian, "Hehehe! Young man, don't be so impulsive. Even if you're a Warlord, it's best not to casually provoke the authority of the Four Emperors! You might have beaten Jack the Drought, but that's just the tip of the iceberg of an Emperor's power. On the seas of the New World, anyone who opposes the Four Emperors meets a bad end!"
"Shut up, you long-tongued bastard!" Ian glared at him irritably. He was deep in thought at the moment. Reiju had vanished, but Sardine and Sandersonia had been chasing her, and they hadn't returned either. Had something happened?
Ian was worried about his companions, and Perospero had the audacity to threaten him. How could Ian respond politely?
"You little brat! How dare you insult me!?" Perospero's face turned green with rage. Unlike a brute like Jack the Drought, Perospero prided himself on being a gentleman, as his appearance suggested. As Big Mom's eldest son, he was respected wherever he went in the New World. And now Ian had insulted him!?
"Candy Cannon!" Perospero waved his hand, and a cannon made of syrup materialized beside him. The moment it appeared, it fired, sending a sticky glob of syrup cannonball flying toward Ian.
Perospero hadn't witnessed Ian's earlier fight with Jack the Drought, so he didn't believe Ian was that strong. He wanted to test Ian's abilities.
Normally, against a skilled opponent, weapons like guns and cannonballs were useless. But Perospero still used this tactic because he had a trick up his sleeve. He could see that Ian was a swordsman, so he would likely try to cut the cannonball. But if Ian did that, he'd be in trouble.
The syrup cannonball looked solid, but inside it was liquid syrup. If cut open, the sticky syrup would immediately trap Ian.
Once trapped, it would be hard to escape. Perospero, the Candy Man, had abilities far more complex than they seemed. Even Ace had been immobilized by him before.
But to Perospero's surprise, what met his syrup cannonball was a massive white-hot fire fist!
Ace couldn't help but intervene. He remembered being trapped by Perospero before. Seeing him again, he naturally wanted revenge.
Back in the underground port, Ace had been ambushed and stuck together with Sabo. He couldn't fully use his flame abilities to escape because it would burn Sabo, so he was trapped. But that didn't mean Perospero's ability was unbeatable. As the fire fist met the syrup cannonball, the sticky projectile was instantly incinerated by Ace's flames, turning into a lump of charred carbon that fell to the ground.
At the same time, Ace's fire fist continued its trajectory, heading straight for Perospero's position.
Judge and the others had seen the power of Ace's fire fist before. Sensing danger, they scattered in all directions. Perospero was also startled and quickly used his ability to create a thick syrup shield, blocking Ace's fire fist.
With a loud boom, Ace's fire fist exploded, filling the area with smoke.
Perospero emerged from the flames. His shield had been burned away, but he was unharmed.
However, as he emerged, he found a figure with massive wings looming beside him!
Ian and Ace had coordinated their attack. As Ace struck, Ian followed the fire fist, taking advantage of Perospero's distraction to slash at him with his sword.
"Liquefy!" Perospero shouted in panic.
Ian's blade cut through Perospero's body, but surprisingly, it passed right through. Perospero's body was sliced open with a large gash, but he was completely unharmed.
His body flowed like thick syrup, bubbling and then reforming!
"Is this what they call a pseudo-Logia?" Aokiji remarked, watching. "I've heard that Big Mom has several Paramecia users who can achieve pseudo-Logia abilities..."
Pseudo-Logia referred to Perospero's syrup body and another Cream Minister's cream body. They were still Paramecia users, but due to their fruit's properties, they could flow like a Logia, earning them the nickname pseudo-Logia.
Of course, fake was still fake. Even if their bodies could flow, they weren't natural elements. Syrup and cream weren't elements found in nature...
Ian heard Aokiji's reminder and understood. His Final Release state was almost over, so he didn't care about pseudo-Logia. Since his sword couldn't harm him, Ian closed in and used Soul Extraction on Perospero.
Ian's free left hand suddenly plunged into Perospero's right side. His hand seemed to vanish into space, leaving only ripples around the entry point.
Perospero had no idea what was happening. He felt no pain. But when Ian withdrew his hand a second later, Perospero was horrified to see that Ian was holding something very familiar!
It was a faint blue light orb!
Anyone else might not know what it was, but Perospero, having spent so much time around Big Mom, recognized it immediately. It was his soul!
Damn it! This brat had an ability similar to Mom's! He could actually pull out someone's soul!?
In an instant, Perospero's expression changed to one of terror. Cold sweat soaked his back.
"No! It's impossible! Besides Mom, no one in this world can control the power of the soul!" Perospero couldn't help but scream.