Chapter 559: No Title
Waldo's idea felt somewhat whimsical, but when Ian came back to his senses and thought it over carefully, he realized it wasn't impossible!
Ian didn't know exactly how Vegapunk had managed to implant Kizaru's laser ability into the Pacifista, but he was well aware that to achieve such a feat, one would need a thorough understanding of the power of Devil Fruits.
Waldo might not be able to develop and produce Pacifista on his own like Vegapunk, but when it came to modifying them, it was probably within his reach. As long as he grasped the principles behind the Pacifista's abilities, he might actually be able to do what he claimed.
Having worked alongside Vegapunk for a while, Waldo should have some insight into Vegapunk's thinking.
At this point, Ian naturally didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm, so he said, "Alright, when the time comes, just tell me what you need, and I'll get it for you if I can. But for now, it's best to change the Pacifista's friend-or-foe identification first. I hope they can play a role on the battlefield when the time comes."
"No problem!" Waldo replied excitedly. He then had Fujitora lower the other two Pacifista, and after using the chip to deactivate them, he called over a few members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates who were assisting him, and they carried the three Pacifista off to his lab in high spirits.
"I never expected you to be eyeing the Marines' Pacifista!" After Waldo left, Law walked up with his sword in hand, looking at Ian with an expression of amazement.
He still remembered the scene on Sabaody Archipelago where those Pacifista had chased pirates all over the place. He had a deep appreciation for the power of these humanoid weapons.
Ian smiled and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "There's nothing surprising about it. Who says that what the Marines can use, pirates can't?"
Luffy and Chopper were already running off, shouting excitedly as they went to explore the island. Nami and the others, led by Robin and Reiju, began touring the sky island.
"Enel, come here!" Ian waved his hand, calling Enel over, and then introduced him to Fujitora: "Uncle Fujitora, this is Enel, a Logia user of the Goro-Goro Fruit. From now on, he'll be our crew's chief helmsman!"
Fujitora couldn't see, but he could sense Enel's presence. He chuckled and said, "Captain, our pirate crew is getting stronger and stronger!"
Enel was a bit curious. He had seen Fujitora control the three Pacifista earlier and knew that Fujitora wasn't an ordinary person. Having encountered several people in the Blue Sea who could suppress him, Enel had become more restrained. He didn't dare act arrogantly in front of Fujitora, so he just asked Ian, "Who is he?"
"My first mate!" Ian said proudly. "From now on, call him Uncle Fujitora, got it?"
"Oh..." Enel felt a bit down but agreed anyway.
He knew that whether he liked it or not, from today onward, he would be companions with this group of people. Still, he gathered that his position as chief helmsman probably made him the third most important person on the crew, so he didn't feel too stifled.
"Alright, go explore on your own!" Ian waved Enel off. "This sky island was actually the first stop your ancestors, the Moon People, made when they came to the Blue Star. Go take it in. There are many buildings here that still retain the style of your homeland."
"Homeland? The Infinite Earth?" Enel's spirits lifted at that, and his curiosity piqued. Without even saying goodbye, he ran off.
It was only when most of the people around had dispersed that Ian finally had a chance to sit down with Fujitora, Robin, and Reiju to catch up on what had happened since they parted.
"Uncle Fujitora, from what you said earlier, it seems there were some twists and turns on your way here?" Ian asked.
"Yes, let me tell you in detail," Fujitora replied.
After Fujitora explained everything, Ian understood what had happened during that time.
After Ian left, the Dragon Hunter Pirates had been stationed in batches on Travira Island and the sky island. But some time ago, when Ian went to Marine Headquarters at Marineford, he had entrusted Red-Haired Shanks to take Robin and Reiju back.
Shanks was a trustworthy man, and he delivered Robin and Reiju to Travira as promised. To thank him, Fujitora hosted the Red Hair Pirates.
However, Shanks and his crew only stayed on the island for a day before suddenly leaving in a hurry. Fujitora found it strange at the time, but soon after, he learned that Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, had been severely wounded by Blackbeard Teach, and Marine Admiral Akainu had led a force to intercept the Whitebeard Pirates' pursuing ships.
Shanks had rushed off to head to the New Edd War waters to check on Whitebeard's condition. But not long after, Fujitora heard bad news: Akainu had personally intervened and forced the Red Hair Pirates to retreat, preventing them from getting close.
At the time, the Red Hair Pirates only had one ship, while Akainu commanded a massive Marine fleet. Shanks knew he couldn't win, so he wisely withdrew first.
However, misfortune came in pairs. Just then, news arrived from the New World that the Beast Pirates were stirring.
Kaido was a madman and a war fanatic. When he sensed that the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates were on the verge of war, he wanted to get involved. To him, fighting Whitebeard or the Marines didn't matter.
The New World was already chaotic enough, and Kaido's interference only made things worse. Shanks had no choice but to step in to try to stop Kaido.
Fujitora also knew that this war would shake the entire world. Just as he was hesitating about whether to lead the Dragon Hunter Pirates to try to break through the Marines' encirclement and check on Whitebeard, three Pacifista arrived as "delivery" from the sky island.
Since the Pacifista were uncontrollable, Fujitora had to temporarily use his abilities to suppress them. This delay meant that the next day, he received a call from Ian. Without further hesitation, he ordered everyone to activate the sky island and head toward the first half of the Grand Line.
Calculating the time, they set off just when Ian had gone to Amazon Lily to finalize his plan with Boa Hancock.
The sky island's route passed through the Calm Belt. Although the Calm Belt was full of Sea King nests, it had to be admitted that it had the best climate on the Grand Line.
Logically, taking a straight line like this should have allowed the sky island to arrive earlier. But strangely, when they were crossing over the Red Line, near Holy Land Mary Geoise, the sky suddenly darkened, and a massive gust of wind blew.
The sky island was almost blown backward. Fortunately, the wind didn't last long. As it subsided, the huge shadow in the sky also disappeared.
Everyone was baffled. They hadn't even figured out what had happened, let alone what that shadow was.
The strong wind had broken several of the sky island's windmills, and the crew had to wait for Waldo to repair them before continuing. As a result, they arrived at Amazon Lily later than planned.
"Strange!" Ian frowned after hearing Fujitora's account. "So, there really is something above the Red Line?"
"Hmm? Have you heard of it?" Fujitora was surprised and asked Ian.
Ian nodded. "I once considered using Enel's flying ship to cross the Red Line and enter the New World, but I heard that there's abnormal weather above the Red Line, and no one has ever been able to fly over it. So I didn't take the risk. Now that you mention it, it seems the legend is true..."
"How big was that shadow?" Ian asked.
"Very big, it blotted out the sky!" Reiju chimed in. "It felt like when we first saw the Cumulus Empire on the Angel Sky Island. The entire sky went dark."
"We suspect it might be some kind of giant ancient creature!" Robin explained. "But since we didn't see it with our own eyes, we can't guess what it was..."
Ian and the others discussed it for a while but couldn't reach any conclusions, so they had to let it go for now.
In fact, Ian had encountered many puzzling things recently. For example, the chip key that Kuma had given him to control the Pacifista. Such a control key must have been very important, and logically, Kuma shouldn't have been able to get his hands on it. Yet, he had given one to Ian.
It didn't seem right to say that Kuma had stolen it. Ian always felt that Vegapunk might have allowed it. If that guess was correct, then Kuma and Vegapunk might indeed be in cahoots, secretly plotting something.
But Ian had too little information to figure it out, so he had to drop it.
Moreover, his most important task at hand wasn't these random guesses—it was the war between the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates.
So, after Ian flew back to Amazon Lily, activated the Ark Maxim's Breath Dial, and brought the entire ship onto the sky island, he ordered everyone to set off for the New World.
As for Law and Urouge's pirate ships, they were temporarily left on Amazon Lily, where the Kuja warriors would look after them.
And as Ian and his crew set sail for the New World, the entire world's attention was focused on the New Edd War waters. Everyone knew that the war was about to break out...