Chapter 578: Ian's Decision
Whitebeard's words were spoken with absolute finality; anyone could hear the resolve in his tone.
For a moment, the Whitebeard Pirates fell silent. A few of the beautiful nurses even quietly turned their faces away, wiping tears from their eyes.
Ace grew anxious and turned to look at Ian. He was about to ask Ian to examine Whitebeard's injuries and see if there was any hope of curing the Old Man, when unexpectedly, Whitebeard let out a long sigh.
"Ian, you and Ace are both good kids!" Whitebeard said, sitting on the edge of the bed. He reached for his naginata leaning against the wall, laid it flat, and gently stroked the old friend as he spoke. "I'm grateful that you still thought to come and save me at the last moment. Back then, because you injured Teach, I even punched you. I've always regretted not being able to apologize to you in person. You were right; in the entire crew, only you saw through Teach's ambition back then..."
"Why bring that up now?" Ian waved his hand dismissively.
Leaning on his naginata, Whitebeard stood up. His body still appeared towering and imposing, radiating an awe-inspiring presence. Draped in his captain's coat, he looked down at Ian and said, "Ian, promise me one thing!"
"What is it?" Ian was taken aback.
"If I die, you find a way to take Marco, Ace, and the others and leave!" Whitebeard declared. "From now on, the Whitebeard Pirates will merge under your Dragon Hunter Pirates!"
"Ah!?" Ian was dumbfounded by these words.
Not just him, but Ace, Namur, and all the other ship doctors and nurses were stunned as well.
"Th-this can't be!?" Namur panicked, saying to Whitebeard, "Old Man, don't say things like that! How could you possibly die!?"
But Whitebeard ignored him, raising his voice, "Did you hear that, Ace! Namur! From now on, you and the others will assist Ian. Let him take my place and become the new Emperor! This is your captain's order!"
"Y-yes, Old Man!" Namur's body trembled at Whitebeard's roar, and then he suddenly burst into tears, weeping bitterly.
He understood now. The Old Man was giving his final words...
However, Ace and Ian were still in a daze. This wasn't going according to plan!
Ace thought to himself, Ian had come specifically to treat the Old Man's injuries. How could they not even have time to speak before hearing the Old Man's final words!?
Ian also felt bewildered. He never imagined that the Old Man would think to entrust the Whitebeard Pirates to him. Was it possible that in his heart, Ian—who wasn't even his son—was more worthy of such high hopes than his own sons?
As if reading the confusion on Ian's face, Whitebeard suddenly burst into loud laughter, "Gurararara! The Marines want to wipe out my Whitebeard Pirates, do they? Then I'll let them know that even if one Whitebeard Pirates falls, a Dragon Hunter Pirates will rise. The balance of the Four Emperors will remain unchanged!"
Hearing this, Ian finally understood Whitebeard's true intentions. Suppressing his urge to retort, he raised a hand and waved it at Whitebeard, saying, "Uh... Old Man, could you let me finish speaking? Every time I try to talk, you cut me off..."
Whitebeard was taken aback. "What do you want to say?"
"I think it's better if you lead the Whitebeard Pirates yourself!" Ian said.
"You don't want to take them in?" A hint of disappointment flickered in Whitebeard's eyes.
"It's not that I don't want to!" Ian shook his head. "If they really want to join my crew, I'd be overjoyed!"
"Then why..." Whitebeard was very puzzled.
Ian spread his hands, looking somewhat helpless. "What I'm trying to say is, why are you so pessimistic? Haven't you considered that I snuck over here in the middle of this war just to see you one last time?"
Ace was quick on the uptake; his eyes lit up as he asked Ian, "Ian, do you mean... you have a way!?"
Ace knew Ian had healing abilities, but he didn't understand the principles or limits of that power. He wasn't sure if Ian could treat such severe injuries. But hearing Ian's tone now, he immediately caught on.
"Nonsense!" Ian shot him a glare. "As long as you're not actually dead, I can handle it!"
"What are you two talking about?" Namur was completely confused and finally couldn't help asking.
Ian looked up at Whitebeard and said, "Old Man, what if I told you I could heal you and make you as good as new? Would you still want to merge the Whitebeard Pirates into the Dragon Hunter Pirates?"
At these words, even Whitebeard was stunned.
"I-Ian!? Are you serious!?" Namur and the ship doctors immediately became excited, rushing over to surround Ian.
"Heh heh!" Ian wore a mischievous grin as he said to Whitebeard, "So, Old Man, don't you want to give the Marines a surprise?"
"..." Whitebeard looked down at Ian and saw that he truly seemed confident, so he knew he was telling the truth.
However, thinking back to his own final words just now, Whitebeard suddenly felt a bit embarrassed and annoyed. Damn it, if this little brat Ian had a way to heal him, why didn't he say so sooner!?
Was it fun watching an old man reflect on his final moments in life!?
So, Whitebeard suddenly reached out and—*Bam!*—knocked Ian on the head with his fist!
"That hurts!" Ian, hit on the head, immediately crouched down in defense, feeling a big lump swelling up. He couldn't help shouting at Whitebeard, "Why did you hit me!?"
But seeing Ian's expression, Whitebeard inexplicably felt a surge of good humor. He couldn't help laughing loudly, "Gurararara!" and reached for the sake jug on the bedside table, tilting his head back to take a gulp.
This action naturally made the ship doctors and nurses panic again.
"Tch, forget it, I won't argue with you... Ace! Namur!" Ian stood up and nodded toward Ace and Namur. "Hold him down!"
"Oh... oh!" The two snapped to attention, quickly jumped up to snatch the sake jug and naginata from Whitebeard's hands, then forcefully pulled him back and pinned him to the bed.
"Brat, what are you doing!?" Whitebeard frowned and shouted.
Ian stood in front of Whitebeard and said, "There's no time, Old Man. Just cooperate! If you want to get better quickly, don't move around. Marco and the others are still waiting for support!"
Hearing this, Whitebeard understood. He snorted and said, "Fine then, let's see if you really can heal me!"
Under the anxious and expectant gazes of everyone, Ian placed his hand on Whitebeard's broad chest. Using scissors, he cut open the bandages wrapped around him, revealing Whitebeard's wound.
The wound was located just to the right of the heart, horizontal, as if it had been stabbed directly through the gap between the ribs. Although the ship doctors had already stitched it up, perhaps because Whitebeard had struggled to get up earlier, the wound had reopened.
And the blood flowing from the reopened wound was not bright red but contained black particles, looking very eerie.
He didn't know what kind of poison it was, but if this continued, the Old Man might really succumb to it. After all, his injury was right at the heart, leaving no buffer time. The poison had already invaded his entire body. The fact that he had held on this long was a testament to Whitebeard's inhuman physical constitution. An ordinary person would have died dozens of times over...
Letting out a breath, Ian placed his hand over Whitebeard's wound.
"Twin Heaven Return Shield!"
A faint film of light spread out from beneath Ian's palm, enveloping the entire wound, then expanded further to cover Whitebeard's whole body.
Besides healing, he also needed to expel the poison from Whitebeard's entire system, so Ian had to expand the treatment to cover his whole body.
Perhaps because the rejection power of the Twin Heaven Return Shield was gradually taking effect, Whitebeard suddenly felt much more comfortable all over. He couldn't help but feel amazed.
He couldn't tell what kind of power Ian was using, so for a moment, he became very curious about Ian's so-called Pay-to-Win Fruit...
Meanwhile, Ian was concentrating, continuously outputting psychic power to treat Whitebeard, so he didn't notice Whitebeard's expression. Ace and Namur, on the other hand, were so nervous they barely dared to breathe, afraid of disturbing Ian.
In truth, Ian had hesitated over whether to treat Whitebeard.
As a time traveler, he naturally knew that in the original history, Whitebeard had died. His death also marked the end of an old era, carrying specific significance.
However, because Ian now possessed Orihime Inoue's card and had gained extraordinary healing abilities, he kept wondering: should he really stand by and watch Whitebeard die in battle like that?
Don't doubt it—if Ian hadn't arrived, Ace and Namur would never have been able to stop Whitebeard. The final words he had spoken showed that he was determined to die, ready to join the fight...
If he didn't treat Whitebeard and let him go fight the Marines like that, then there was no doubt: Whitebeard would definitely die. This war would still end in the Marines' victory, and the new era's structure would take shape.
But the problem was that the original history had long been altered by Ian's intervention. The Summit War hadn't happened, Ace hadn't been captured, and the Summit War had been replaced by the New Edd War naval battle. Everything was already different from his memories.
Under these circumstances, what significance did the end of an old era and a new structure hold for Ian? The future was already unpredictable!
For one thing, in this war, Ian didn't believe that bastard Teach would dare to show up and try to seize Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit! If he did, the Blackbeard Pirates would be wiped out from then on!
Admittedly, if Whitebeard died, Ian would indeed have the chance to take over the remaining forces of the Whitebeard Pirates and become a new Emperor. But after taking over, problems would follow. He would have to shoulder the heavy responsibility of avenging Whitebeard!
That meant he would have to lead the Whitebeard Pirates in a direct confrontation with the entire Marines. Moreover, the other two Emperors, Big Mom and Kaido of the Beasts, might also come looking for trouble, testing whether he was qualified to stand alongside them as an Emperor...
These were all foreseeable developments.
However, if he thought about it the other way, if Whitebeard didn't die and instead won this war, the benefits for Ian would be equally enormous!
First and foremost, Ian would earn the friendship of the entire Whitebeard Pirates, including the tens of thousands of pirates from the 43 allied crews under Whitebeard's command.
A living Whitebeard, the strongest of the Four Emperors, would become Ian's greatest backing. The Whitebeard Pirates and the Dragon Hunter Pirates would become the firmest allies! With the two crews supporting each other like horns, even the Marines wouldn't dare to touch him! That was completely different from taking over the Whitebeard Pirates and facing the Marines' tens of thousands of troops head-on.
And if the Whitebeard Pirates won the war, it would mean the Marines' defeat. This would further damage the prestige of the Marines and the World Government. Ian was already a Revolutionary Army member. Would this help the Revolutionary Army's future actions?
Even if Ian didn't want to be a Revolutionary anymore and wanted the position of Emperor, he didn't have to inherit it from Whitebeard. He could still target Big Mom or Kaido. On the contrary, Whitebeard might even lend him a hand...
These were all the advantages Ian could think of for himself.
History had already been changed, so why cling to the original history's perspective? The Whitebeard Pirates had such deep ties with him. Was he really going to watch Whitebeard die for such a ridiculous reason?
After much deliberation, Ian decided to heal Whitebeard...