Chapter 431: Warning (13/35)
As pirates, Zoro and his crew naturally didn’t want to deal with the Marines any more than necessary. No one liked being constantly tailed and watched.
Moreover, Zoro was well aware that although Kuina was now a Major, she was still under Smoker’s command. If Smoker said to capture the Straw Hat Pirates, she had no choice but to follow orders.
Zoro’s memories of Kuina were filled with painful recollections—the shadow of 2002 defeats accumulated over time. So when Ian told Zoro and the others to steer clear of Smoker’s Marines, Zoro surprisingly raised no objections at all.
However, when facing Ian, Zoro couldn’t help feeling a bit frustrated. Even though he knew that Ian taking Luffy away and preventing Smoker from catching him had saved the Straw Hat Pirates once, Zoro still couldn’t bring himself to say thank you.
Zoro might not have realized it himself, but his psychology was easy to understand. Now that he had set sail, the people he wanted to surpass were no longer just one, but three. The first was Hawk-Eye, of course—the world’s greatest swordsman with eyes like a hawk. Many swordsmen knew his name, and Zoro was no exception.
The second person was naturally Kuina. As a girl, she had defeated Zoro so many times that any shred of self-respect Zoro had demanded he surpass her.
As for the third person, it was Ian.
As Zoro’s senior disciple and the first of the three siblings to go to sea, Ian’s achievements were enough to make Zoro look up to him. So, though he wouldn’t admit it verbally, Zoro had indeed listed Ian as a target to surpass. This was also why, when Luffy rescued Zoro, Zoro said he wanted to surpass three people…
If Ian and Zoro had no connection, things would be simple—they’d just draw their blades and duel. But the problem was that Ian was Zoro’s senior disciple. In that situation, Zoro couldn’t even utter harsh words to Ian, because Ian was still like an older brother to him.
Thus, it was easy to understand why Zoro wasn’t eager to see Ian. He was clearly overshadowed by Ian’s current achievements, yet he couldn’t say anything about it. No wonder he felt frustrated…
Seeing Ian and Zoro chatting in this disjointed manner, Princess Vivi finally couldn’t hold back. She stepped forward, stood in front of Ian, and demanded loudly, “What exactly are you doing in Alabasta? Are you in league with Crocodile? Or are you a member of Baroque Works!?”
Usopp was so startled by Vivi’s accusation that he nearly wet himself. He quickly pulled Vivi aside and whispered, “Vivi, how can you talk to him like that! Even though he’s Zoro’s senior disciple, but… but…”
Just then, Robin recognized Vivi and looked at her with interest, saying, “Ah, Miss Wednesday! The princess of the Nefertari family!”
“You know me?” Vivi bit her lip, staring at Robin. “So you’ve known my identity all along?”
Robin smiled but said nothing.
“Answer me!” Vivi continued to press Robin loudly. “Why is Baroque Works targeting the Kingdom of Alabasta?”
Ian looked at Vivi’s agitated state. Though he admired her courage, she was clearly targeting the wrong person. He waved his hand and said, “Your Highness, you might be mistaken. This is Nico Robin. She used to be the Vice President of Baroque Works, but she isn’t anymore. She’s a member of my pirate crew! And I have nothing to do with Baroque Works!”
“You’re lying!” Vivi didn’t believe him. “The newspapers from a while back mentioned that you and the Warlord Crocodile appeared together in Dressrosa. And now you’re telling me you have no connection to Baroque Works!?”
Ian frowned. “I said I have no connection, so I have none! Little girl, even if you’re furious at Baroque Works, please don’t jump to conclusions based on your own assumptions.”
Vivi was about to retort, but Igaram grabbed her and said, “Princess Vivi, this might be true. The king once sent word that this Warlord, Black Dragon Ian, had a conflict with Crocodile in Alabasta early on. They might really have no connection…”
“Is… is that so?” Vivi was taken aback. She hadn’t been in Alabasta when Ian and Crocodile fought, so she hadn’t heard about it.
Zoro then turned and said seriously to Vivi, “Princess Vivi, Ian is my senior disciple. I believe him too!”
Vivi took a deep breath, then suddenly bowed deeply and apologized to Ian, “I’m sorry, Ian… sir! I was too impulsive just now…”
Ian didn’t mind. He knew Vivi’s suspicion stemmed from seeing Nico Robin, so he waved it off and said, “I won’t interfere in the matter between your Kingdom of Alabasta and Crocodile. But don’t worry—when Crocodile and I appeared together in Dressrosa, it was because I forced him to. So I won’t help Crocodile either.”
Ian was speaking from the heart. He had no ties to the Kingdom of Alabasta, so there was no need for him to worry too much about their country. Though he could stop Crocodile, he didn’t intend to, because Crocodile was the Straw Hat Pirates’ first major enemy. Whether the Straw Hat Pirates could make a name for themselves depended on how well they handled this. Since Zoro had joined the Straw Hat Pirates, Ian couldn’t hinder Zoro’s rise to fame.
To become a Grand Swordsman, reputation was paramount…
For Ian, the most dangerous person was still Teach. Ian had once tried to assassinate him, and the hatred between them was irreconcilable. Ian couldn’t let a guy like Teach, who held a grudge against him, continue lurking in the shadows…
Hearing Ian say this, Nami and Usopp couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. They could tell Ian wasn’t angry at Vivi.
Robin was the same. She smiled, holding Chopper in her arms and amusing the adorable little reindeer, completely unfazed by Vivi calling her Miss All Sunday. She knew she had fully left the criminal organization Baroque Works behind.
Seeing Usopp patting his chest in relief, Luffy asked him in confusion, “Why are you all so scared of Zoro’s big brother?”
“Idiot!” Usopp whispered to Luffy. “Don’t you know? He’s a big pirate with a bounty of six hundred fifty million Berries! How could we not be scared?”
“Six… six hundred fifty million!?”
If Luffy had no concept of the Warlords before, hearing Ian’s bounty from Usopp finally made it sink in. His jaw dropped in shock.
Bounties were the most straightforward measure. Luffy finally realized what kind of person he was facing. His own bounty was only thirty million.
Luffy’s expression greatly satisfied Usopp’s urge to brag, so he couldn’t help adding, “And that’s not all! They say his Dragon Hunter Pirates’ total bounty exceeds one point five billion Berries!”
“So… so amazing!” Luffy’s eyes sparkled as he stared at Ian.
Usopp puffed up his chest arrogantly. “Hmph, that’s nothing! Let me tell you, the great Captain Usopp has taken down more than one pirate crew like that in his day…”
Ian, though talking with Vivi and the others, overheard Usopp’s boasting. He glanced back at him, and just that one look made Usopp so scared that tears streamed down his face. He immediately dropped to the ground, sticking his rear in the air and clasping his hands together in apology to Ian…
Ian looked speechlessly at this “Captain Liar.” Though it was his first time meeting Usopp, he found the guy quite peculiar.
Turning back, Ian asked Nami, “Nami, you’re the navigator. On your way to Alabasta, did you see a pirate ship with a flag that looks like this?”
As he spoke, he drew his sword and lightly carved the Blackbeard Pirates’ flag pattern into the deck.
“Ah! It’s the Blackbeard Pirates!” Chopper, held in Robin’s arms, saw the pattern and couldn’t help shouting. On Drum Island, though Chopper hadn’t faced Blackbeard directly, he had heard about that flag from others.
“No…” Nami thought carefully for a moment. “We haven’t seen it. What pirate crew is that? The flag looks really sinister…”
“Ace and I came here to chase them down!” Ian said. “If you ever encounter this crew in the future, avoid conflict with them if possible. Stay as far away from them as you can!”