Chapter 487: Shanks' Killing Intent
The joint banquet between the Dragon Hunter Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates began amidst Ian's utterly bewildered expression!
Perhaps this was the true pirate way—seizing any excuse to throw a party, then a group of people feasting on large chunks of meat and gulping down wine, drinking until they were stumbling and lost in a drunken stupor.
From this perspective, Ian wasn't quite a qualified pirate yet; he didn't have the habit of throwing banquets at the drop of a hat.
Shanks looked very happy, slinging his arm around Ian's shoulder and introducing him to the members of the Red Hair Pirates. With each introduction, the other person would clink a large cup with Ian and down it in one gulp, forcing Ian to drink quite a bit as well.
However, Ian also got to know many members of the Red Hair Pirates through this, such as their First Mate, Ben Beckman, the Bosun, the fat Lucky Roux, and others, as well as Usopp's father, the Red Hair Pirates' sniper, Yasopp.
Lucky Roux kept praising Ian's ship's chef, Matthew, because the fat man was a glutton. When Yasopp chatted with Ian, he learned that his son had gone to sea with Luffy to become a pirate. And when he found out that Ian had saved Usopp's life on Skypiea, he became even more friendly toward Ian.
The arrival of the Red Hair Pirates made the entire Saint White Island tremble with fear. However, no one expected that the Red Hair Pirates not only didn't set foot on Saint White Island but instead started a banquet at the port with the Seven Warlord, Black Dragon Ian. Hearing the laughter and noise coming from the ship, the residents of Saint White and the pirates there were all stunned, their jaws dropping to the ground.
This situation was naturally reported by CP6 personnel. Fleet Admiral Sengoku probably had another headache. Since becoming a Seven Warlord, Ian's influence had been growing rapidly. First, he had ties with the Whitebeard Pirates, and now he was getting along well with the Red Hair Pirates. Moreover, he could even gather a large number of Seven Warlords to help him through his own efforts.
Such a rapid rise was truly astonishing!
From now on, it would likely be difficult for the Marines to bypass Ian in any matters...
The banquet lasted until late at night. After many had gotten drunk and were snoring loudly on the deck of the Ark Maxim, Ian was still competing in drinking with Shanks.
Shanks' drinking capacity was bottomless. They had been drinking for so long that Ian's head was starting to ache, yet Shanks still seemed very clear-headed.
Robin and Reiju had long since succumbed to the alcohol and returned to their cabins to rest. Matthew and Dorry were lying tangled up with members of the Red Hair Pirates, snoring away. As for Enel... the wine this time was a strong liquor Shanks had brought from the North Blue. Having only ever drunk wine produced on Skypiea, he had been completely knocked out long ago!
It was only at this point that Shanks began to discuss serious matters with Ian. His eyes were a bit hazy, but his speech wasn't slurred yet. He said, "To be honest, Ian, I'm really surprised. I didn't expect that you and Ace actually managed to catch that guy Teach..."
Although Ian was also a bit tipsy, his mind was still sharp. Hearing this, he shook his head and said, "That guy is very cunning and very strong. He's already obtained the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit. Ace and I almost fell for it too, getting sucked into the black hole he created. But fortunately, my ability counters his quite well, so we managed to escape in the end."
"But I still have to say, you two were too reckless!" Shanks said with a serious expression. "Have you considered what a huge storm it would cause if you and Ace had failed?"
Without waiting for Ian to answer, Shanks explained, "Ace goes without saying. If he had been captured by Teach, Whitebeard would have immediately launched a massive operation to rescue him. As for you! Your identity is a Seven Warlord. Teach would likely have killed you and taken your place. The Marines and the World Government would definitely have agreed to it. And then your friends would have sought revenge for you. The Whitebeard Pirates would have joined in. Other Seven Warlords, like my good friend Hawk-Eye, would have turned against the Marines. Even Rayleigh might have stepped in again. At that point, perhaps just the two of you would have plunged the entire world into a massive war!"
Hearing Shanks' words, Ian was genuinely surprised. To be honest, he hadn't thought about that at the time. He had only been focused on Ace, thinking that if Ace repeated his past mistakes, the Summit War would likely break out. But he had never considered that he himself might become a fuse!
Analyzed by Shanks like this, Ian finally came to his senses and suddenly realized that he could also trigger a Summit War. First of all, he had originally gone to sea to help Ace. If something happened to him, Whitebeard Old Man would definitely try to rescue him just like he would Ace. Additionally, among the Seven Warlords, Hawk-Eye was his junior uncle, Jinbe was his good friend, and he was also considered a benefactor to Boa Hancock. These three might very well turn against the Marines for his sake.
Shanks had considered all these relationships between Ian and these people, which was why he said this.
But Shanks might not know that Ian also had a secret identity: a Revolutionary Army Officer. No one could say for sure whether the Revolutionary Army would impulsively try to rescue him. If they did, things would get even more chaotic. For one thing, Kuma would definitely appear, and Sabo would definitely show up. At that point, the Marines would be facing enemies from all sides!
Thinking about this, Ian suddenly felt a little excited. Oh wow, he hadn't realized that he had become such a big shot, that his every move could have a huge impact on this world!
"It looks like you understand!" Shanks said, looking at Ian's expression with a slight smile. "You need to realize that anything you do now is no longer just about you alone. It involves many people. So from now on, before doing anything, it's best to be more cautious."
"Yeah!" Ian nodded and said, "I understand, Big Brother Shanks."
"Now that Teach has been captured by the Whitebeard Pirates," Shanks continued, "To be honest, although I feel relieved, I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about this. I hope nothing major happens!"
"I actually feel something is off too!" Ian said with a frown. "But I can't figure out what's wrong. The Blackbeard Pirates are being escorted by Ace and Marco. The Whitebeard Pirates have sent quite a few Division Commanders to participate in this escort. I doubt Teach can escape midway. Ace and I fought Teach together in Alabasta and have some understanding of his abilities. He should be careful..."
Shanks waved his hand and said, "Like you said, I'm not worried about Teach escaping midway or anything. I'm just a bit concerned about Whitebeard Old Man's side..."
"What do you mean?" Ian asked, puzzled.
"It seems you still don't understand Whitebeard Old Man well enough!" Shanks sighed. "Although he says that killing a comrade is a great crime... I think, given his personality, after seeing Teach, he probably still won't be able to bring himself to kill him..."
Hearing this, Ian frowned. Reminded by Shanks, Ian also felt that this seemed possible. Back then, even someone like him, who hadn't joined the Whitebeard Pirates, was let off by Old Man out of appreciation and cherishing talent. Although he was punished, Old Man didn't kill him. And at that time, Ian's assassination attempt had left Teach in a state between life and death, which was also a very serious crime.
And now, facing Teach, who had been his son for decades, could Old Man really bring himself to kill him?
Shanks said, "That guy Teach is very ambitious and has enough patience. If he uses the weakness in Whitebeard Old Man's personality to beg for mercy, then Old Man might just let him off..."
"Are you worried that he'll use Old Man's weakness to escape?" Ian asked. "But even if he escapes, what then? Is he still going to be a pirate?"
Shanks shook his head and said, "I don't know. Speculating here won't do any good. That guy Teach is very dangerous. If possible, I hope you can use your influence to contact Whitebeard. Even if Whitebeard doesn't kill Teach, it's best to convince Old Man to imprison him... Whatever you do, don't resort to punishments like exile."
"Alright! I'll try to contact Ace later and have him pass it along..." Ian shrugged and said, "As for the outcome, that depends on Old Man's side."
The topic of Blackbeard ended there for now. Continuing the discussion wouldn't be very meaningful. So the two of them started talking about their own experiences. Shanks also specifically asked Ian about the details of what happened at Mary Geoise back then.
As they chatted, Ian suddenly remembered something and quickly asked Shanks, "By the way, Big Brother Shanks, you're from the North Blue, right?"
"Yeah!" Shanks nodded. "What's up?"
"Then do you remember anything about the North Blue 20 years ago?" Ian pressed on. "Do you know a place called Banbanor? It's on the territory of the Ilusia Kingdom!"
The reason Ian suddenly brought this up was that he remembered the letter Master Koushirou had given him. It mentioned that he was born in the North Blue. Originally, after meeting Robin, Ian had wanted to ask her, since Robin was a few years older than him and should have been old enough to remember things. But when he asked, he found that Robin had no impression of the North Blue at all. At that time, she was alone, hiding and fleeing from pursuit. How could she have paid attention to things outside herself? So when asked, Robin couldn't say anything definitive.
But Shanks was different. For one thing, Shanks was also born in the North Blue. For another, he was much older than Ian. 20 years ago, Shanks would have been 17 or 18 years old. He might have some clues.
However, to Ian's surprise, when he mentioned the name Banbanor, Shanks' originally smiling expression suddenly changed, becoming extremely dark and terrifying.
A terrifying killing intent emanated from him, causing Enel and some members of the Red Hair Pirates to wake up from their sleep in shock.
Shanks stared intently at Ian and asked him, "Why are you bringing up that place!?"