Chapter 429: The Straw Hat Pirates Crew
"Straw Hat Kid is actually Fire Fist Ace's little brother!?"
When Smoker heard this, he felt a bit stunned.
Who was Fire Fist Ace? A great pirate with a bounty of 550 million Berries, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. Even in the New World, he was a renowned figure. How could someone like him have a little brother like Straw Hat Kid!?
However, although Smoker was a problem child within the Marines, his commitment to his sense of justice was unquestionable. Even now that he knew Luffy was Ace's brother, he still acted without hesitation!
Drawing his ten-pronged spear, Smoker thrust its tip directly toward Ace's abdomen while shouting, "Get out of the way!"
The tip of Smoker's ten-pronged spear was embedded with Seastone. He knew Ace was a Logia user, so he didn't plan to clash head-on with him, intending to use the Seastone to gain an advantage and deal with him first.
Ace's reaction was incredibly fast. Although he didn't know Smoker's spear had Seastone on it, hitting him wasn't easy. As he sidestepped Smoker's attack, Ace also raised his leg and kicked toward Smoker.
The two immediately clashed. Tashigi saw them fighting and drew her sword, rushing in to help.
Kuina was also one of Smoker's subordinates. Seeing this situation, she couldn't just stand by, so she joined the attack on Ace as well.
Of course, Kuina's attacks on Ace were definitely half-hearted. Although she didn't know Ace, she knew he was with Ian and must be Ian's companion, so she had no intention of going all out.
Seeing the three of them ganging up on Ace, Luffy shouted, "That's so unfair!"
He then swung his arms, wanting to join the fight and help Ace.
However, just as he was about to charge forward, Ian reached out from behind and hooked his arm around Luffy's neck.
Since Luffy was a rubber man, Ian's sudden chokehold bent his neck, causing his tongue to stick out.
"Cough, cough!!" Ian flung Luffy to the ground. Luffy clutched his neck, coughed a couple of times, and looked up at Ian angrily, asking, "Who are you!? You want to fight?"
Ian rolled his eyes at the kid and turned to Ace, saying, "They're yours to handle. Just be careful not to hurt them."
"Don't worry, Ian!" Ace dodged the three-way assault from Smoker and the others while holding onto his cowboy hat. "I remember who this smoke guy is. I saw him in Loguetown before. I won't hurt him!"
"Good! Then I'll take this kid away first!" Ian pointed at Luffy on the ground.
Ace didn't reply, instead setting up a wall of fire on the spot to block Smoker and the others. Ian grabbed Luffy by the collar and dragged him away.
Kuina was with Smoker, so Ian didn't want to get involved. But with Luffy around, the two groups would inevitably start fighting, so Ian decided to take the kid away first.
The problem was that Luffy didn't know him yet. Although Luffy had heard Ian talking to Ace, he couldn't understand the relationship between Ian and Ace. As Ian dragged him along, Luffy got angry, swung his fist, and stretched it out, aiming straight for Ian's face.
At this point, Luffy was far too inexperienced for Ian. Ian simply tilted his head slightly, dodging the rubber pistol.
Then, Ian reached out and slammed his fist down on Luffy's head, which was covered by the straw hat. "Stop moving!"
The fist, imbued with Armament Haki, raised a bump on Luffy's head.
"So... so painful!" Luffy screamed, clutching his head with both hands, unable to understand why Ian could hurt him too.
Once the kid had calmed down, Ian picked him up and carried him away. Behind him, Dorry, Matthew, Reiju, and Robin quickly followed.
"Bastard! Ian! Where are you taking that guy!?" Smoker shouted through the wall of fire, somewhat exasperated.
His mission was to capture Straw Hat Kid Luffy. That's why he had followed Luffy all the way into the Grand Line. Now, seeing the Straw Hat Kid separated from his crew and alone, it was the perfect chance to catch him. But then Ian and Ace had to show up and mess things up.
Ian heard Smoker's shout but ignored him, continuing to drag Luffy until they disappeared at the end of the street.
Luffy couldn't be caught here. Not only was he Ace's little brother, but he was also Dragon's son. Ian couldn't let anything happen to him.
After all, Dragon was his big boss...
Just as Ian turned the corner with Luffy, the kid had already recovered from the head blow. Struggling in Ian's grip, he flailed his arms and shouted, "Hey, hey! Who are you!? Where are you taking me!?"
Ian was about to answer when he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye and suddenly stopped in his tracks.
On the street to his right, Ian saw several people. They were the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates, who had just finished shopping and changed into desert outfits.
Seeing Luffy being dragged along by Ian with no ability to resist, Sanji and Zoro were stunned. When they got a clear look at Ian's face, the cigarette Sanji was holding dropped from his mouth!
"Y... you..."
Sanji pointed a trembling finger at Ian, looking terrified.
Zoro also stared at Ian in disbelief. He never expected to run into his senior apprentice brother here, and their captain was being caught by him!
"Ah! It's Zoro!" Luffy spotted Zoro and Sanji and happily waved at them. "Zoro, Sanji! Save me! I've been caught by this weirdo!"
Ian had been about to greet Zoro, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, but before he could speak, Luffy called him a weirdo. Ian's face immediately darkened, and he raised his fist for another heavy blow to Luffy's head!
"I... Ian! Big Brother Ian!!"
Chopper recognized Ian and immediately dropped what he was holding, running over and leaping to hug Ian's leg.
Although he had just seen Ian not long ago, Chopper was still crying and sniffling. He looked up at Ian and said, "Big Brother Ian, I... I've become a pirate too! I have companions now! I'm a brave man!"
"Haha!" Ian laughed at Chopper's expression and patted his head. "Good boy, Chopper. Didn't I tell you before? You'd find your companions too!"
"Yeah!" Chopper clung tightly to Ian's leg, refusing to let go.
Helpless, Ian let Chopper hang there and waved at the others. "This isn't the place to talk. Where's your ship, Navigator-san?"
Navigator-san naturally referred to Nami, who was standing behind Zoro and the others, dressed in a beautiful dancer's outfit.
By now, Nami had finally recognized Ian and couldn't help covering her mouth in surprise.
It wasn't her fault. The last time Ian had seen her was over two years ago, and Ian had changed quite a bit, mainly in terms of his demeanor. It was understandable that Nami hadn't recognized him right away.
Ian also noticed a beautiful girl and a curly-haired man behind the group. The girl, like Nami, was dressed as a dancer, but she had striking blue hair tied into a ponytail that hung down her back. She looked like Princess Vivi of the Alabasta Kingdom.
Although Crocodile had been taken away by Ian for a while, his Baroque Works organization was still operating normally. In fact, Ian's battle with Crocodile in Alabasta a few months ago had deepened the Alabasta royal family's suspicions of Crocodile. Princess Vivi had already infiltrated Baroque Works as a spy before that, so she still ended up meeting Luffy and the others.
However, there was a difference. Since Ian had taken Robin away, Igaram hadn't been "killed"! So he appeared together with Princess Vivi and the others!