# Chapter 629: Dragon's Counterattack (Two-in-One)
Almost at the very moment that Sugar turned Bakkin into a toy bear, the memories of everyone present regarding Bakkin had been completely erased.
Edward Weeble shook his head and stood up from the ground, but he scratched his head foolishly and said, "Strange, why am I here?"
Then, he saw Ian, who had just knocked him flying, recalled the battle with Ian before, and angrily asked Ian, "Why did you hit me!?"
Since Edward Weeble had been acting under Bakkin's orders earlier, after the memories of Bakkin disappeared, every word she had spoken was erased by a strange power. So Edward Weeble now had no idea why he had fought Ian in the first place.
Ian was the same. He still remembered Edward Weeble, but he couldn't recall at all why he had fought him. He just found it somewhat inexplicable.
Tesoro was also stunned when he saw Edward Weeble. He remembered Edward Weeble too, but he had no idea why Edward Weeble was here. The agreement Bakkin had made with Tesoro earlier seemed, in Tesoro's memory, as if it had never happened. He was only momentarily startled before remembering that Ian and his group had robbed his vault, and so he launched another attack at Ian.
It wasn't just the three of them; everyone present was the same. After Bakkin was turned into a toy, all logical events related to her experienced a discontinuity. No one could remember any of her actions or words. They only felt that something seemed off in their memories, but when they tried to recall it, they couldn't remember anything!
They couldn't remember, and it didn't seem important, so it was easy to overlook this strangeness.
Bakkin, as a person, was completely forgotten...
"How ugly!" At this moment, only Sugar, the one who had cast the ability, still remembered Bakkin. But looking at the toy bear Bakkin had become, she found it very distasteful. She raised a finger and said to the toy bear, "Let's make a contract: no speaking, and no moving!"
Bakkin, after being turned into a toy bear, was terrified and wanted to cry out to her son for help. But as soon as Sugar's contract took effect, she found herself completely unable to speak or move. She could only lie alone on the ground, unable to move at all. No matter how hard she tried to shout, she couldn't make a sound.
More importantly, she discovered that her son, Edward Weeble, hadn't even noticed that his mother was missing. He looked completely bewildered.
When Sugar was about to leave Bakkin behind and walk away, Ian caught a glimpse of Sugar and the wrinkled toy bear beside her out of the corner of his eye. This reminded him that he had allowed Sugar to deal with someone earlier, but he had no memory of who that person was.
His mind stirred, Ian abandoned Edward Weeble, slashed through a golden serpent that Tesoro had fired at him, and then flashed over to Sugar's side. Holding his sword and watching Tesoro, he asked Sugar in a low voice, "Who was it that I told you to deal with earlier?"
Sugar, of course, knew that Ian, affected by her ability, had already forgotten. So she explained, "It was an annoying old woman."
But even with her saying this, Ian still couldn't recall who it was!
So Sugar had to let Ian touch her head.
Her Hobby-Hobby Fruit ability was mainly concentrated in her hands. When activated, she had to touch the target with her hands for it to work. If others touched other parts of her body, they wouldn't be affected. Conversely, as the user, Sugar could, if she wished, allow specific people to recall memories of those who had been turned into toys.
Back then, Doflamingo used this method to remember the identities of those turned into toys by Sugar's ability. Otherwise, without any memory of these people, how could Doflamingo have feared them turning back?
So, after Ian rubbed her head and gave Sugar a "head pat," he finally remembered Bakkin!
Damn! When Ian suddenly remembered Bakkin, he broke out in a cold sweat. He had truly experienced Sugar's ability firsthand. Thinking about how he had forgotten everything earlier, he felt that Bakkin's fate was truly tragic. Now, besides himself and Sugar, no one in the world could remember her. This was probably more terrifying than killing her!
At this moment, Tesoro had already engaged Aokiji, and Ian had a bit of free time. So he rubbed her head again and said, "Thanks, Sugar. You've solved a big problem for me."
Sugar looked up at him in surprise and asked, "What did you just say?"
"I said thank you. What's wrong?" Ian looked at her strangely.
"N-nothing..." Sugar shook her head and said, "I'm going to find Walnut!"
As she ran back, Sugar inexplicably felt a bit happy, all because of Ian's "thank you" earlier!
Back when she was with the Donquixote Pirates, Doflamingo had given Sugar a high status and even assigned the top executive, Trebol, to protect her, showing that he valued her. But Doflamingo had never said "thank you" to her. Every time, he ordered her around in a commanding tone, as if it were only natural.
In Sugar's memory, she had always been terrified of the sinister Doflamingo and had grown accustomed to obeying his orders. Back on the battlefield at Edd War, when Doflamingo found her, he even wanted her to return. If it hadn't been for Fujitora stepping in to help, Sugar might have given in out of fear and followed Doflamingo away.
She had also been submissive in the Dragon Hunter Pirates. In this world, people admired and looked up to the strong, much like how many are accustomed to obeying authority. So, toward Ian, who had defeated Doflamingo, Sugar's feelings were more about submission to a strong person. While in the crew, Fujitora had been kind to her, but it wasn't certain how much fondness Sugar felt for the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
However, for some reason, after hearing Ian say "thank you" to her today, Sugar suddenly felt that staying in the Dragon Hunter Pirates wasn't so bad... At least there was a friend like Walnut to play with and a doting, fatherly uncle who acted like a babysitter.
Now, there was also a captain who respected others, which made her feel... at ease!
Watching Sugar run back and be protectively shielded behind Fujitora like a cub, Ian couldn't help but sigh.
When it came to the danger of Devil Fruit abilities, Sugar's Hobby-Hobby Fruit could definitely rank in the top five. Ian knew this well, so he usually tried to restrain Sugar from using her ability casually. Now, it seemed his decision had been very correct.
Fortunately, this bug-like Devil Fruit ability had its limitations. The fact that it could only be activated with both hands went without saying—it was probably even worse than Matthew's Sleep-Sleep Fruit, since at least Matthew couldn't be touched anywhere on his body.
Additionally, because the Hobby-Hobby Fruit permanently fixed the user's appearance at the moment it was eaten, Sugar was still stuck in the body of a ten-year-old child. Such a small body naturally couldn't train in physical combat or Haki, and even if it could, it wouldn't reach a high level. So Sugar's combat ability was almost nonexistent; she needed someone to protect her at all times.
Beyond that, through Waldo's recent research, the group had also discovered a hidden limitation of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit: the user had to consume it as a child for the ability to take effect!
This was similar to Law's Op-Op Fruit. If the user of the Op-Op Fruit wasn't a skilled doctor, the fruit's abilities were extremely limited. The same applied to the Hobby-Hobby Fruit. If an adult ate it, they probably wouldn't achieve the same level of ability as Sugar.
Hobby-Hobby Fruit, after all—if the user didn't have a childlike heart, how could they unleash the power of the Devil Fruit?
This was probably the real reason why Fujitora, despite knowing how dangerous Sugar's ability was, insisted on keeping her in the crew. It wasn't just because of her cute appearance, but because Fujitora could sense that Sugar still had a bit of innocent childlike heart.
It seemed this child could still be saved; she wasn't an irredeemably evil person. Perhaps in the future, he shouldn't be too wary of her either.
Ian thought so...
Eliminating someone's existence physically was completely different from eliminating someone's existence mentally. If Ian had killed Bakkin directly, her foolish son Edward Weeble would have relentlessly sought revenge. But now, by using Sugar's ability to make Edward Weeble completely forget Bakkin, the situation had changed.
Ian felt that his plan could now be implemented.
At this moment, Edward Weeble was holding his naginata, looking left and right, completely bewildered. Tesoro was currently fighting Aokiji, and Edward Weeble vaguely remembered that Tesoro had said if he helped beat up the bad guys, he would get money.
But what did he need money for?
Edward Weeble, with his simple mind, had little concept of using money. So even though Tesoro was struggling in his fight with Aokiji and wanted to call Edward Weeble to help, Edward Weeble had no interest at all.
He didn't even understand why he had agreed to help Tesoro earlier...
Just then, Ian came up beside him and said, "Hey, Edward Weeble, do you remember me?"
Edward Weeble gripped his naginata and shouted at Ian, "It's you! Do you still want to fight me!?"
"No!" Ian waved his hand and said, "How about we stop? I'll treat you to roast pork?"
"Really?" Edward Weeble's mouth began to water at the mention of it. Biting his finger, he said to Ian foolishly, "If you treat me to roast pork, I won't fight you. But how much can you treat me to? I eat a lot!"
Seeing him like this, Ian couldn't help but sigh. Now that Bakkin's control and instigation were gone, this guy looked like nothing more than a simple child.
Most importantly, Bakkin had been forgotten by Edward Weeble. That meant everything Bakkin had said—that Edward Weeble was Whitebeard's son—had probably disappeared from Edward Weeble's memory as well. Now, Edward Weeble was just a pirate with immense strength but no brains.
Stupid, easy to fool, come quickly!
These three phrases flashed through Ian's mind, and he beckoned Edward Weeble to lower his head.
When Edward Weeble bent down and brought his ear close, Ian whispered to him, "I can only treat you to one roast pig. But I heard the Marines are recruiting Warlords. If you become a Warlord, you'll probably have endless roast pork!"
"R-really?" Edward Weeble sniffled, his eyes lighting up. "Can I really have endless roast pork forever?"
"Really!" Ian said with conviction. "As long as you become a Warlord, you can steal anyone's roast pork and eat it. No one will charge a Warlord for it!"
There was absolutely nothing wrong with that statement, and Edward Weeble immediately believed it. He pressed further, "How do I become a Warlord?"
"It's simple!" Ian said with a grin. "Just go to Marine Headquarters at Marineford, beat up everyone there, and show them your strength. Then they'll invite you to become a Warlord!"
"Alright, I'm going now!" Edward Weeble said, and without another word, he picked up his naginata and ran out of the vault without looking back. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.
This turn of events left many people stunned. They couldn't understand how Ian had managed to send off such a brutish and violent guy like Edward Weeble.
Seeing Edward Weeble run off, Aokiji frowned. He had originally planned to take this opportunity to capture Edward Weeble and hand him over to Zephyr for punishment. But he had been fighting Tesoro just now, and in a moment of inattention, the guy had run off!
Ian glanced apologetically at Aokiji and thought to himself, "Sorry, Admiral Aokiji, but I can't let you capture Edward Weeble."
Akainu's plan to expand the Admirals after becoming Fleet Admiral had always been a thorn in Ian's side. If Akainu's plan succeeded, there would be five Marine Admirals... And given the enmity between Ian and Akainu over the severed arm, Akainu would definitely relentlessly send these Admirals to attack the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
So Ian had been thinking about how to stab Akainu in the back. With the old hag Bakkin gone, Edward Weeble was now even easier to control. By tricking Edward Weeble into causing a huge ruckus at Marine Headquarters with the promise of endless roast pork as a Warlord, Ian believed the World Government would see Edward Weeble's value.
If they absorbed him into the Seven Warlords of the Sea, as in the original timeline, then Zephyr, the veteran Marine Admiral, would still leave the Marines.
First Aokiji, then Zephyr—two Admirals who had made outstanding contributions to the Marines leaving in anger would be a devastating blow to the organization!
If he could use this opportunity to cause serious division within the Marines, Ian would be more than happy. He could then have Aokiji take Kuina and the others to join forces with Zephyr to establish a new, stronger Marine force.
They say a fortress is destroyed from within. With the Marines' immense power, perhaps this was the only way to slowly dismantle them...
After Edward Weeble ran off, only Tesoro was left to fight alone. Although he was still controlling the gold to attack everyone relentlessly, his heart was filled with despair.
Not to mention the Dragon Hunter Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates, just Aokiji alone as a Marine Admiral was someone Tesoro couldn't handle.
In truth, from the moment Tesoro rushed back to the vault, his fate had been sealed. He might have had a slight advantage early on by using his home turf, but in the end, he was destined to be defeated!
So from start to finish, Ian hadn't seriously engaged Tesoro. Instead, he had focused most of his attention on scheming against Edward Weeble...
Now only Tesoro remained. Ian watched him fight Aokiji for a while, then walked over and placed his hands on the gold encasing Kuina and Tashigi. Using his flames, he completely melted the gold and freed them.
Then came Katakuri and Perospero. Ian knew that Tesoro's gold wouldn't hold them for long, so he simply freed them as well.
Then, a group of top-tier figures stood around like spectators, arms crossed and glaring at Tesoro with ill intent...
The pressure was driving Tesoro crazy!
He finally realized that in the face of absolute power, gold and money couldn't save him.
Tesoro stopped fighting. Liquid gold swirled around him like snakes, protecting him, but he was panting heavily, surrounded in the middle of the vault with no escape.
Since he stopped, Aokiji stopped too. Everyone just watched him.
"I..."
Just as Tesoro was about to say something, a violent tremor suddenly shook the entire Golden Tower. Everyone in the vault nearly lost their footing.
Before the shaking stopped, they heard a deafening explosion.
The explosion came from outside. Robin and Reiju walked out of the vault and saw a thick plume of fire rising in the distance.
The explosion was at the middle section of the Golden City ship. As the explosion subsided, Robin and Reiju saw a tall column of water shooting up from the blast site.
Was that... a hole blown through the bottom of the ship!?
The two stared in amazement at the gushing water. They found a telescope and looked toward the spot, only to see a large group of excited people running over and standing under the water column, letting the spray wash over them.
Then, gunfire erupted throughout the Golden City. Through the telescope, they saw many people wearing cloaks and hats adorned with feathers, holding guns and fighting against the World Government's black-suited agents! Bullets flew back and forth, and people fell from time to time. This gun battle threw the entire city into chaos.
Reiju and Robin exchanged astonished glances. Someone actually dared to attack the World Government's people!?
But in an instant, they understood!
The Revolutionary Army! It was the Revolutionary Army!
Dragon the Revolutionary's counterattack had come so quickly!?
And it was so fierce!
Indeed, the world's most wanted criminal wasn't so easy to catch!
They exchanged another glance. Both Robin and Reiju felt that Tesoro was incredibly unlucky. He had actually thought he could help the World Government capture someone. Now look—even his own ship was about to be sunk by the Revolutionary Army...
Could it be that after Ian knocked out Baccarat, the Luck-Luck Fruit user, her ability had gone out of control, causing the misfortune that Tesoro, who had always relied on her luck, was now suffering from backlash?
At that moment, Reiju and Robin could only offer Tesoro their deepest sympathy...
(Three Seven Chinese Net)