Chapter 396: Aftermath (Part 1)
It was easy to imagine that after Ian and his group caused such a scene in Dressrosa, the subsequent impact would be significant.
Doflamingo had escaped, but his deeds had also been exposed. The birdcage that enveloped the entire island and the shadow-stitching lines that forced people to kill each other had made the people of Dressrosa suspicious of Doflamingo. Coupled with the descriptions from those who had been turned back from toys into humans, the foundation of the Doflamingo family's rule over this island was completely finished.
The World Government, perhaps for the sake of saving face, might try to cover up some of Doflamingo's wrongdoings, but they would absolutely not tolerate him. His title as a Warlord of the Sea would definitely be revoked.
Although he had escaped with his subordinates, from now on, Doflamingo had fallen from his lofty position as a Warlord of the Sea back to being a pirate. He would once again carry a massive bounty on his head.
Especially since members of the Beast Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates had appeared on the island one after another and rescued Doflamingo, this would certainly make the Marines even more vigilant against him.
According to Ian's estimation, even if Doflamingo held a grudge against him, he probably wouldn't be able to retaliate against Ian in the short term.
First of all, when Doflamingo originally became a Warlord of the Sea, it was because he had blackmailed the Celestial Dragons, threatening to rob the Heavenly Tribute, forcing the Celestial Dragons to pressure the World Government into granting him the position. Although he later became complicit with the Celestial Dragons through his involvement in the slave trade, one must not forget that Vice Admiral Tsuru, who had been relentlessly pursuing Doflamingo, was forced to stop her chase only because his bounty was revoked when he became a Warlord of the Sea!
As an old rival, Vice Admiral Tsuru understood better than anyone how dangerous this Heavenly Yaksha was. So after this incident, with Doflamingo no longer a Warlord of the Sea, it was highly likely that Vice Admiral Tsuru would step in again and continue her pursuit of him.
Who was Vice Admiral Tsuru? Although she appeared to be an old woman, one must remember that she was a Vice Admiral from the same era as Garp and also served as the Marines' Chief of Staff. In terms of strategy and intellect, she was top-notch. If she set out again to hunt down Doflamingo, she would probably chase him until he was exhausted and desperate...
Moreover, after losing Dressrosa, the first thing he would have to face was the wrath of Emperor Kaido. Because he had lost the assistance of the people of this island, even if Caesar continued to provide SAD, it might not be possible to cultivate Artificial Devil Fruits anymore! This essentially meant that he had broken his promise in his cooperation with Kaido. Given Kaido's madman-like personality, even if Doflamingo had rescued Jack, Kaido would not let him off easily.
It would all depend on how Doflamingo chose to act at that point. If he could endure the humiliation and bear the burden, he might have a chance to join the Beast Pirates after Kaido had vented his anger. But if he couldn't swallow that pride, then he would have no choice but to set sail again and continue as a great pirate. With his strength and bounty, he could probably still do well for himself in the New World.
Hmm... Or perhaps he could choose to join the Big Mom Pirates? But if Big Mom didn't trust him and wanted to tie him down through marriage by marrying off a daughter to him, that would be interesting.
Given that Doflamingo was now nearly 40 years old, how old would an unmarried daughter of Big Mom have to be to match him?...
But no matter what, Ian's blow had essentially knocked Doflamingo straight down from the heavens.
Doflamingo had escaped, but Dressrosa needed to be rebuilt. It was estimated that a large number of Marines would arrive on the island to investigate Doflamingo's crimes. At that point, it was unknown whether a new king would be elected for this country to negotiate with the Marines and the World Government.
Ian didn't think too much about these things. What he was thinking about now was that if Doflamingo was out, it meant another vacancy among the Warlords of the Sea. Who would the World Government and the Marines choose to fill this position?
The first person Ian thought of was Kuma!
Kuma had voluntarily stepped down from his position. If the World Government was feeling lazy, they might let Kuma take over Doflamingo's Warlord position again. It would be perfectly justified and without any issues.
If that were the case, it would be great. Although Ian felt that Kuma giving up his Warlord position back then to make way for Ian might have involved some deeper considerations, or perhaps Kuma was planning something, no matter what, Ian was very grateful to Kuma. If he could see Kuma regain his Warlord position because of this incident of bringing down Doflamingo, Ian would be very happy to see it.
However, if the World Government found someone else to take over Doflamingo's Warlord position, then Ian would have no choice. At that point, the trajectory of history would deviate even further.
Although the course of history had already deviated when Ian became a Warlord of the Sea, and now it was just deviating more severely, it didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, but Ian still had some concerns.
As a time traveler, being familiar with the original course of history was actually the greatest advantage. So for Ian, having history follow its original trajectory was the best option. That way, Ian would feel that things were within his control, which would give him a sense of security and allow him to handle events calmly.
However, things never go according to one's will. As a living person appearing in this world, every action Ian took would inevitably have an impact. Unless he remained obscure and did nothing, only then might he ensure the original plot direction. But now, as Ian interacted more and more with the people of this world, the influence he created naturally grew larger and larger.
Doflamingo's early exposure and withdrawal from the Warlords was the most direct proof. And his withdrawal would subsequently create even more impacts.
Ian's mind was filled with various possible scenarios, thinking until his head hurt (and the author's head hurt too). Finally, he realized that he didn't have the ability to predict the future, so he simply stopped thinking about it and decided to take things one step at a time.
"I... Ian!"
Boa Hancock came to Ian's side and asked him somewhat nervously, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine!" Ian's Final Release state had now faded, so he was just a bit weak. He smiled and replied to her, but then noticed that her right hand was bent behind her back, tightly covering her spine. Her snake, Salome, was also tightly coiled around her waist, with a section of its body raised and pressed against her back.
"What's wrong? Are you injured?" Ian asked her with some confusion.
"No... nothing!" Boa Hancock quickly shook her head and said, "I plan to leave for a while, so I wanted to ask you to find my second sister. If you find her, please tell her that I am on the pirate ship!"
"Oh, no problem!" Ian nodded and agreed.
Boa Hancock quickly left. But as she turned around, Ian saw a flash of fair skin between the fingers of her right hand covering her back.
Ian immediately understood. It seemed that during the earlier battle with Doflamingo, Boa Hancock had been injured... At the very least, the clothes on her back seemed to have been slashed open by Doflamingo's strings!
And the location on Boa Hancock's back was probably where the Celestial Dragon slave brand was. No wonder Boa Hancock was so flustered and wanted to leave.
She was afraid that someone would see the slave brand on her back...
If this were Amazon Lily, Boa Hancock could have used her authority as empress to order everyone present to leave and clear the area. But the problem was that this wasn't Amazon Lily. Besides Ian and Ace, there were also Aokiji and Nico Robin present. So Boa Hancock could only leave on her own.
Thinking of this, Ian couldn't help but take off his sleeveless coat, called out to Boa Hancock, and when she turned back with a puzzled look, Ian tossed the coat over to her and said, "The wind is picking up. Put it on so you don't catch a cold!"
The mention of wind was, of course, just an excuse. But Ian's gesture of handing over the coat solved Boa Hancock's problem. She blushed slightly as she took it, said thank you, and draped Ian's coat over her back, finally letting go of her right hand. This way, her walking posture wouldn't seem so strange.
Ian didn't think much of it. After Boa Hancock left, Ian said to Aokiji, "When will the Marine reinforcements arrive? You can't keep the entire island frozen like this forever. If it goes on too long, those people won't be saved!"
Aokiji replied without turning his head, "Then let Fire Fist Ace melt this ice. Remember, it has to be done slowly!"
Ace scratched his head. He was willing to rescue the frozen people, but he worriedly asked, "If we thaw them out this way, won't some people still get frostbite?"
Aokiji glanced at Ian, pointed a finger at him, and said, "Don't you have the ability to heal injuries? Leave it to you!"