Chapter 651: The Legendary Pirate
Ian searched the seas around him for a while but couldn't find any trace of the Blackbeard Pirates, so he had to return.
Within a thousand nautical miles around Gress, Ian saw a total of twelve islands, varying in size. However, since he was alone, he couldn't search each island in detail; he could only make rough observations from the sky.
Such visual observation naturally couldn't be very thorough, unless Ian could bring a Pacifista with him—perhaps their scanners could search more meticulously.
Thus, Ian's search was mainly aimed at finding the Blackbeard Pirates' ship. He didn't know where they might be hiding, but pirate ships and flags were relatively conspicuous.
However, to Ian's frustration, he never found the Blackbeard Pirates' ship. He guessed there were only two possibilities: either his search range wasn't large enough, or Van Augur had indeed notified Teach and the others in advance, causing them to hide even their ship.
That guy Teach, with his Dark-Dark Fruit, could swallow even an entire town, let alone a pirate ship...
Still, Ian had actually searched Van Augur's body and found no Den Den Mushi on him. He didn't know if it had been discarded or destroyed, or if Van Augur simply hadn't brought it, so Ian couldn't determine which scenario it was.
Unable to find them, Ian had to give up for now. Running into Burgess and Van Augur this time was purely coincidental, but regardless, two of Teach's key crew members had been taken out by Ian. Ian didn't know if the Blackbeard Pirates had expanded during this time; if not, their crew would only have three people left: Teach, Lafitte, and Doc Q. They were on the verge of disbanding—three people could hardly sustain a pirate crew...
It could be said that Ian had single-handedly suppressed them to this point.
For now, Ian wasn't in a hurry. The Blackbeard Pirates' situation was far worse than in the original timeline. Ian knew Teach well—he wouldn't stay dormant forever. If Ian couldn't find him this time, he would eventually show up again, and Ian would find him then.
So after returning, Ian resumed his shopping trip.
By the next day, when the News Coo spread the news of what happened on Gress Island across the world via newspapers, the Blackbeard Pirates also received a copy in a certain sea area.
After Lafitte finished reading the newspaper to Teach, Teach's eyes were terrifying, filled with a predatory glare that showed just how furious he was.
"Raaah! Damn Ian! One day, I'll kill you with my own hands!!!"
Teach slammed both fists onto the table, shattering the sturdy wood into countless pieces. Then he kicked a nearby iron barrel, sending it flying and smashing a hole in the ship's railing.
Teach vented his hatred for Ian through destruction, while Lafitte and Doc Q watched silently, letting him wreck their ship.
Fortunately, Teach knew that if the ship was destroyed, they'd be lost at sea. After a while, he finally calmed down.
His eyes were still bloodshot. The deaths of Burgess and Van Augur hit Teach hard—this was the first time his crew had suffered casualties, and two at that.
"Captain, what do we do now?" Lafitte asked, leaning on his cane, his usual grin gone. "Should we continue with our plan?"
"Of course!" Teach glared at Lafitte. "If we give up halfway, then Burgess and Van Augur died for nothing! Don't worry, I'll avenge them!"
"Cough, cough!" Doc Q, still looking like he was on the verge of death, coughed weakly and said, "But Captain, is your information reliable? If we can't find it..."
"We definitely will!" Teach grinned with his missing teeth, sneering, "Haven't you noticed something strange about this sea area? The water is very murky!"
Lafitte and Doc Q looked at the sea and saw that it was indeed murky. The usually azure water here was dark, as if someone had stirred up sediment from the seabed.
"Two days ago, someone witnessed a peculiar sight in this sea!" Teach said, staring at the water. "They said an uninhabited island here mysteriously detached from the sea and slowly rose into the sky. It seems it's true—the murky water proves it. Only when an island breaks away from the continental shelf could cause such large-scale murkiness... But only fools would think this is some strange climate phenomenon of the New World!"
"Not a climate phenomenon?" Lafitte asked, puzzled.
"Zehahaha! Right!" Teach spread his arms and laughed. "It's man-made, and as far as I know, only one person could cause this!"
"Look up!" Teach pointed to the sky and said to Lafitte and Doc Q, "The person we're looking for is up there!"
Lafitte and Doc Q followed Teach's gaze and saw, high in the clouds, several islands of varying sizes floating slowly, forming an archipelago.
These floating islands were different from ordinary Skypiea islands. Real Sky Islands had bases made entirely of clouds, but these islands had conical rock foundations beneath them. Some even had rivers flowing from their edges, which, cut off at the island's rim, fell vertically as waterfalls.
It was a rare and spectacular sight...
"We've finally found you!" Teach laughed wildly. "The legendary pirate admiral, the Flying Pirate, Golden Lion Shiki!"
Lafitte pressed his hat down and asked doubtfully, "Captain, is Golden Lion Shiki really still alive? He's been missing for twenty years..."
"Who else could make entire islands fly into the sky except his Float-Float Fruit?" Teach snorted. "Of course, he's still alive! Back then, to escape from Impel Down, he didn't hesitate to cut off his own legs. After escaping, he visited Whitebeard's ship once. I was still on the Whitebeard Pirates then and saw him clearly. At that time, Golden Lion Shiki was filled with a thirst for revenge. How could someone like that die easily?"
"I see. But it seems the World Government knows Golden Lion Shiki is still alive, otherwise, we wouldn't have found so many reports of floating islands in the intelligence room..." Lafitte said.
"Of course! After Roger was executed, Golden Lion Shiki went alone to Marineford and killed a large number of Marines!" Teach said. "To stop him, Sengoku and Garp had to team up and destroy half of Marine Headquarters to drive him back. He's from the same era as Roger and Whitebeard—no amount of caution is too much. The World Government naturally monitors him, but they've probably been letting their guard down since he hasn't appeared in over twenty years. Haven't you noticed that the reports of islands flying into the sky have been decreasing?..."
"That may be true, Captain," Lafitte said worriedly, "but according to what you've said, Golden Lion Shiki was also friends with Whitebeard. If he sees you, he might attack you! You did try to assassinate Whitebeard..."
"He'll definitely attack!" Teach's face twisted with ferocity. "But it'll just be an attack. He won't kill me, because I'm sure that in these twenty-plus years of hiding, he's been itching to take revenge on the World Government and the Marines. My plan will definitely appeal to him... More importantly, Whitebeard isn't dead yet, right?"
"Alright, I'll go up and take a look first. Hopefully, I can contact this great pirate admiral..." Lafitte's arms turned into wings, and he flapped them, flying into the sky toward the floating islands high above.
Watching Lafitte leave, Teach's expression turned fierce again as he stared at the floating islands and muttered, "Ian, you can't stop me. When I reappear, the whole world will know my name..."
……………………
Meanwhile, Ian, still in the middle of his shopping trip, didn't know that he had just missed the Blackbeard Pirates during his search.
His search had focused on islands on the sea surface, but Teach, having received information, had been searching for the sea area where islands had flown into the sky. Naturally, there were no islands in such a place...