Chapter 398: Aftermath (Part 2) (10/28)
After cheering for Ian, their great hero, for a good while, Leo and the others prepared to rescue Mansherry and their companions.
Ian immediately realized that Mansherry's healing ability might help him treat the frostbitten people on the island, so he was eager for Leo and his group to act quickly.
However, just as Leo and the others were about to leave, Leo suddenly turned back and said to Ian, "Oh, Ian-sama, we also caught someone!"
He pointed at Sardine and said, "Big person, she's not your companion, so we tied her up. Now we're handing her over to you for judgment!"
As Leo finished speaking, a group of Tontatta dwarves pulled a huge cart over.
Ian stared dumbfounded at the person on the cart, a herd of *** stampeding through his mind!
Bound to the cart was none other than Reiju! She lay flat on the cart, with her arms, legs, and the edges of her waist all sewn to the surface with thread!
Needless to say, that was Leo's Stitch-Stitch Fruit's doing...
Reiju was sewn onto the cart, wearing only a short inner dress that reached her thighs. As for her Germa combat suit, it had been taken away and turned into a capsule the size of a can, placed nearby, with an "O" mark on it.
No wonder Judge couldn't find Reiju—she had been captured by the Tontatta dwarves.
Without the earphones in her combat suit, how could Judge possibly contact her?
Reiju was also a beautiful woman with long legs. Now, sewn flat onto the cart by Leo, she couldn't move at all. As she was pulled over, Ian not only saw the deep cleavage on her chest but also caught a glimpse of her underwear beneath the skirt. The scene felt incredibly alluring.
Even Ace and Aokiji awkwardly turned their heads away.
Leo seemed completely unaware that what he had done was inappropriate. After pulling Reiju's cart in front of Ian, they hurriedly left, leaving Ian looking down at Reiju from above.
Reiju's pink hair was scattered around her neck. Even in this state, she still covered one eye with her hair, revealing the unique curly eyebrow on the other side.
As Ian looked at her, Reiju also looked up at him, but strangely, her expression was very calm.
She spoke to Ian, "Can you give me some clothes to cover up?"
Ian glanced at himself—he had given his coat to Boa Hancock earlier. Then he looked at Ace, who was also fond of going shirtless. Expecting to get clothes from him was a pipe dream. Helpless, Ian turned to Aokiji.
Aokiji frowned and tossed his Marine coat to Ian.
After Ian covered Reiju, he crouched beside her and asked curiously, "How did you get caught by the Tontatta dwarves?"
Reiju smiled slightly and said, "The first person Jack the Drought injured was me! I passed out at the time. When I woke up, I had already been captured by these little guys."
"Alright!" Ian understood what had happened and said, "Your father and the others just left. They came to ask me about your whereabouts, but I had no idea at the time, so they had to leave. What do you think now? Do you want to leave?"
Reiju was a bit surprised. "You're willing to let me go?"
"It's not a matter of willingness," Ian shrugged. "I'm pretty annoyed that you destroyed my base and poisoned my people, but you might be an exception. If I'm not mistaken, the poison you used back then was deliberately non-lethal, right? Otherwise, my companions probably wouldn't have lasted until I returned..."
"..." Reiju didn't speak, but it was as good as admitting it.
"So, since you showed mercy back then, I acknowledge that favor!" Ian said seriously. "Most of Germa's ships were destroyed, so I won't pursue it further. As for you, considering that favor, I can let you leave."
Should she go back? Reiju thought to herself. At the time, when she showed mercy with the poison against the Dragon Hunter Pirates, she hadn't expected this outcome. She had simply felt there was no need to wipe them out completely. She was different from Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji—Reiju's emotions had always existed, and she deeply despised her family's cold-blooded, ruthless way of doing things.
To her, it didn't feel like a family...
Ian was willing to let her go. Although Reiju found it surprising, she wondered if this was a good opportunity to break away from her family and survive on her own. So she hesitated.
While she was thinking, Ian looked at her pretty face with interest, his attention quickly focusing on her unique eyebrows. Speaking of which, this was the distinctive bloodline mark of the Vinsmoke Family. He couldn't help but think of Sanji, that guy in the East Blue. But for some reason, Ian felt that Reiju didn't resemble Sanji much. Although they shared the same eyebrows, Ian thought Sanji looked more like Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji.
Holding this doubt, Ian couldn't help but ask, "When I was in the East Blue, I saw a man with eyebrows just like yours. He looked like your three brothers, but not so much like you."
Hearing this, Reiju suddenly became excited. She tried to sit up, but being sewn in place, she only hurt herself. Ignoring the pain, she urgently pressed Ian, "What did you say!? You saw a man with curly eyebrows in the East Blue?"
"Yeah!" Ian straightforwardly told her, "His name is Sanji. He works as a chef at a sea restaurant in the East Blue. Hearing the names of your three brothers, I thought he might be your younger brother."
Actually, the names of Sanji and his three brothers were clearly connected—1, 4—so he wasn't afraid to tell Reiju.
"He's alive, he's really alive!?" Reiju's expression was extremely agitated, her eyes moist, as if she were about to cry.
After a long while, she calmed her emotions, turned to Ian, and said, "Without meeting him, I don't know if he's my younger brother. But I can tell you this: in the Vinsmoke Family, I was born first, while Ichiji, Niji, and the others are actually quadruplets. That's why the four of them look the most alike."
No wonder! Ian suddenly understood. They were quadruplets—this must be the result of Germa's technology, right?
Reiju said to Ian, "Can you untie me first and let me up?"
Ian nodded, drew his Thousand Cherry Blossoms, and with a few slashes, cut the threads sewing Reiju to the cart, allowing her to get up.
Stretching her arms and legs, Reiju turned to Ian and said, "Ian-sama, I admit that this time, Germa was in the wrong. You wanted Germa's technology, right? I can give you some of the technological data I know, but I have one condition..."
Germa's technology? Ian glanced at the combat suit capsule marked "O" beside Reiju and said with interest, "I also salvaged some of Germa's sunken ships. Shouldn't I be able to get some of your technology from those? So tell me, why should I agree to your condition?"
"You're wrong! Those sunken ships don't have any research facilities!" Reiju said. "Germa's kingdom is built on snail ships. What sank were mostly living quarters for the soldiers. The real research facilities are all on the ship my father was riding. As long as that ship isn't lost, you won't get anything."
"Alright then, what's the condition? Let's hear it!" Ian sheathed his Thousand Cherry Blossoms.
"I can give you a portion of Germa's technological data, on the condition that you let me stay with your pirate crew for a while and guarantee to secretly take me back to the East Blue once!" Reiju said.
Hearing this, Ian immediately understood—Reiju wanted to see Sanji!
Speaking of which, if Ian remembered correctly, Reiju and Sanji had the best relationship. Suddenly hearing that Sanji was still alive, of course, she wanted to confirm it.
But...
"You want to see Sanji. What do you plan to do after you meet him?" Ian asked her. "Take him back to Germa?"
"No!" Reiju shook her head. "I don't want him to come back to this family. I just want to secretly see him."
Ian stared into Reiju's eyes for a long time without speaking. He actually envied Sanji, that pervy-eyebrowed guy. To have a sister who always cared about and remembered him—how many wooden fish must he have knocked on in his past life to earn that!?
"Alright, I agree!" Ian nodded.
But Aokiji frowned again beside him. He had heard the entire conversation between Reiju and Ian and never expected Reiju to agree to give Ian a portion of Germa's technological data. Aokiji remembered that the Marine Science Unit and the World Government had long coveted Germa's technology.
So he couldn't help but say to Ian, "Ian, if you don't want trouble, you'd better hand this kind of thing over to the World Government!"
Ian turned back and smiled at him. "Of course, that was my plan. But the World Government and the Marines can't let me take a loss, right? They can trade me something of equal value."
"What do you want to trade for? Money?" Aokiji asked.
"Not money. I want Pacifistas!" Ian spread his hands. "You saw it yourself—you wouldn't let me catch Doflamingo. Now he's escaped, so I have to guard against his revenge, right? My Dragon Hunter Pirates don't have enough high-end combat power yet. So give me two Pacifistas as bodyguards!"
Aokiji frowned and said, "Impossible. Pacifistas are a Marine secret. I'm already surprised you even know about them. Trading Germa's technology for Pacifistas—you're dreaming!"
"Come on!" Ian laughed, saying to Aokiji, "Talking to me is useless. You're not the one making the decision. Just do me a favor and report this deal up the chain. Whether to trade or not is up to the World Government, right?"
Hearing this, Aokiji immediately deflated, feeling an unprecedented sense of frustration.
Yeah, he might be a Marine Admiral, but he really didn't have the final say on this matter. Even if he thought Ian's plan to trade for Pacifistas was a dream, what if the World Government thought it was feasible!?
And based on Aokiji's current understanding of the World Government, he knew they didn't stand for pure justice but considered things from the perspective of the ruling class. If two Pacifistas could get them the Germa technology they had long coveted, they might very well agree.
In their view, even if Ian got the Pacifistas, he could only use them, not repair them. The initiative would still be in the World Government's hands.
And as a Marine Admiral, even if he raised objections, he would likely be ignored.
If he could one day become the Fleet Admiral, maybe his opinions would be taken seriously... Aokiji couldn't help but think.
Ian had no idea that his casual remark had planted a seed in Aokiji's heart. This seed would slowly take root and sprout, eventually making the usually lazy Aokiji develop the ambition to compete with Akainu for the position of Fleet Admiral in the later stages...