Chapter 395: Crushed
Upon hearing Perospero's words, not only Aokiji but even Doflamingo, who had been quietly watching the show from the side, was horrified.
For a long time, the main reason Big Mom had shaken the four seas was largely due to her ability to control souls. Aside from that, no one had ever heard of anyone else possessing such a power. Now, Ian suddenly revealed this trick, and it was impossible not to let one's imagination run wild.
However, they didn't know that, strictly speaking, Ian's ability wasn't really about controlling souls, because his power was completely different from Big Mom's.
The soul Ian extracted was fixed at exactly one-tenth. Moreover, since in this world, the soul represented lifespan, the older the target, the less he could extract. For example, if a 50-year-old person had only 30 years of life left, then the one-tenth soul Ian pulled out would actually represent only 3 years of lifespan. This was different from Big Mom's arbitrary extraction.
Furthermore, Big Mom could place the extracted soul into inanimate objects, granting them personality and intelligence. This was something Ian couldn't do. The souls he extracted could either be returned to their original owner's body or destroyed.
So, the soul-pulling skill of the Great Serpent Card was, overall, still a destructive attack method. It was just a technique, not a core ability.
Still, it was shocking enough. Especially under Ian's misleading display, Doflamingo was well aware that Ian should be a Paramecia-type Pay-to-Win Fruit user. This was now widely known in the New World. As a result, in everyone's minds, the evaluation of Ian's so-called Pay-to-Win Fruit immediately rose another notch.
They felt that this ability was probably a derivative of Ian's Pay-to-Win Fruit...
This misunderstanding was quite significant, but Ian couldn't explain it to them. Although there was something like the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia in this world, the fruits recorded in it were not exhaustive. Devil Fruits not listed in the encyclopedia often appeared, so Ian wasn't worried at all.
Holding Perospero's soul orb in his hand, Ian didn't hesitate and directly crushed it!
He was actually quite curious: if this one-tenth of a soul was destroyed, what would happen to its owner?
This was only the second time he had used this ability. The first time was on Crocodile, but since Crocodile was useful to him, Ian had spared his orb. So, he had never been able to witness the result firsthand.
Curiosity killed the cat. Now that Perospero had delivered himself to Ian's doorstep and even made the first move, Ian couldn't be blamed for using him as an experiment.
His right hand clenched tightly. With a soft *pop*, the orb burst like a real balloon. The originally blue orb shattered into countless sparkling fragments, scattering into the air.
At the same time, Perospero suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood!
Since the soul represented lifespan, it naturally also represented vitality. When Ian crushed Perospero's soul orb, it was equivalent to Perospero suddenly losing one-tenth of his vitality. It was a strange experience. Even though there was no injury on his body, he suddenly vomited blood!
Vomiting blood was just one aspect. Perospero also felt that his spirit had suddenly weakened significantly. Even though he hadn't expended any physical strength, Perospero felt his body go limp. It was as if his entire being had suddenly lost something, leaving him feeling empty, lonely, and cold—a mix of indescribable sensations.
This feeling was truly unbearable. While feeling terrified, Perospero also confirmed that Ian had indeed crushed his soul just now.
Seeing Perospero suddenly spit blood, Gaji and Ichiji were completely baffled, but their gazes toward Ian became even more wary. For Gaji, who had spent his life studying science, the soul was something too mysterious. Germa's technology was considered black tech by many, but Gaji felt Ian's ability was just as much like black tech.
"Quick... let's go!" Perospero wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and whispered to Gaji, "This guy is too hard to deal with. We have to leave immediately!"
Perospero also wanted to run. His soul had been damaged, which terrified him. All he could think of now was to hurry back and find Big Mom. Perhaps Big Mom's Soul Fruit ability could find a way to remedy this, whether by replenishing it with someone else's soul or some other method. He had to get back for that.
"But my daughter..." Gaji hesitated, because he still hadn't gotten any news about his daughter.
"If you want to stay, then stay by yourself!" Perospero growled, ignoring Gaji, and turned to run. His subordinates naturally followed him.
In fact, Perospero now deeply regretted it. He could have originally taken Gaji and the others to quietly leave this island without ever encountering Ian. But first, Gaji's daughter Reiju couldn't be contacted, and second, he also wanted to help Doflamingo out. So, he had come anyway.
The reason the Big Mom Pirates wanted to rescue Doflamingo was because of his special status. As a famous broker in the underworld, Doflamingo had recently introduced a scientist to Big Mom: M. Caesar Clown!
At that time, the Germa Group hadn't yet contacted Big Mom, and Big Mom had no scientific research strength. So, delighted, Big Mom sponsored Caesar with a large sum of money for his research on human gigantification!
Human gigantification was Big Mom's obsession. When she learned that Caesar was confident in succeeding with the research, she told him that no amount of research funding was a problem.
Doflamingo and Caesar were partners. In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Caesar was Doflamingo's subordinate. So, when Perospero arrived at Dressrosa and saw that Doflamingo's opponent was exceptionally strong, he felt they couldn't let Doflamingo die or be captured, because Big Mom still needed Caesar's research.
It was because of this connection that Perospero stepped in to save Doflamingo.
As for Jack the Drought, he was just an extra. Perospero wanted to protect Doflamingo, and Doflamingo wanted to protect Jack. It was a chain of connections. It wasn't that the Big Mom Pirates wanted to see the Beast Pirates lose a major commander.
But now, Perospero regretted it. He felt he shouldn't have shown up at all, only to unnecessarily lose a part of his soul... This wave felt like a loss!
Watching Perospero turn and flee, Gaji and the others had no choice but to follow. With them gone, Doflamingo naturally couldn't stay behind to draw fire, so he took the gradually recovering Jack and escaped as well.
Seeing them flee, Ace and Ian moved, ready to chase after them. Boa Hancock naturally followed Ian's lead and also wanted to stop their escape.
However, at that moment, Aokiji suddenly spoke up: "Wait, Ian! Hold on!"
Ian, Ace, and Boa Hancock stopped in their tracks and turned to look at Aokiji in confusion.
Aokiji sighed and said, "Forget it. Let them go!"
"If I let them go, I'll have big trouble later!" Ian shook his head.
Aokiji's expression turned serious as he said, "Then if you chase after them, do you want to kill them or capture them?"
"Of course..." Ian started to say, but then he suddenly stopped, finally realizing what Aokiji meant.
"That's right! You can't do anything to them!" Aokiji said, hands in his pockets. "If you kill them, your Dragon Hunter Pirates will be at war with two Emperors at the same time! Big Mom and Kaido of the Beasts won't tolerate such a huge loss of their subordinates! Similarly, even if you capture them, the Marines wouldn't dare to take them, because the Marines aren't ready to go to war with two Emperors at once either!"
"Alright, we can ignore Jack the Drought and Perospero, but what about Doflamingo and the Germa people?" Ian asked somewhat frustrated.
"As for Germa, that's also impossible! They are a member nation of the World Government. Even if you catch them, the World Government will turn around and release them!" Aokiji said. "As for Doflamingo, he's also a hot potato. He was once a Celestial Dragon. Even with solid evidence, he can't be executed. But if he's imprisoned, the Beast Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates might both try to break in and rescue him, so..."
Ian shook his head. After calming down, he realized that Aokiji's analysis was correct. After this incident, Doflamingo would likely have his Warlord title revoked by the World Government, but that was it. Nothing more could be done.
The Four Emperors had long held sway over the New World. Not just Ian, a newly appointed Warlord, but even Marine Headquarters had to make concessions to them. The Marines had to handle the matter of Doflamingo's involvement with the Beast Pirates with great caution.
Especially since Ian had caused such a huge commotion this time. He had not only brought down a Warlord but also effectively toppled a country's king. The Beast Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates had also appeared one after another, with the Germa Group intertwined in the middle, and four Warlords joining forces. This was already enough to give the World Government and the Marines a massive headache. It was unimaginable how serious the consequences would be if Ian pressed the pursuit.
Understanding this, Ian felt relieved. He had actually achieved his goal this time. Doflamingo, through Germa's hands, had destroyed Ian's base. In turn, Ian had destroyed Doflamingo's decade-long schemes and foundation in Dressrosa. This wave was not a loss.