Chapter 652: The Tea Party Approaches
There was a small error in the previous chapter: Teach had one hand cut off by Ian, so it wasn't "both fists" slamming on the table... Thanks to the readers who pointed it out.
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This time, Ian went out for supplies and ended up spending a full three days before he could return.
There was no helping it. The list of instruments Waldo had given him included some that could be bought directly, but many others required custom orders. The fact that he could get the goods so quickly was only because Ian had thrown in extra money.
Interestingly enough, among the instruments Waldo had ordered this time, several were purchased from the small sky island "Weatheria"!
Yes, that's right—the very same small sky island dedicated to meteorological science. In the original history, Nami was sent to this island by Kuma. Ian hadn't expected Waldo to know the location of this small sky island either. It really gave him the feeling that science knows no borders. He wondered if these scientists all had some kind of connection behind the scenes...
The island was populated by a bunch of eccentric old men. Since this small sky island wasn't a proper island for people to live on, all the residents were elderly scientists studying meteorological science. Not a single ordinary resident lived there. So honestly, Ian had no idea why, after spending two years on this island, Nami had undergone such a stunning transformation from a little girl into a mature woman...
Ahhh! What exactly did little Nami go through!? So frustrating...
When Ian arrived on the island, the old men recognized him. However, these scientists couldn't care less about pirates or anything like that. They weren't surprised by Ian at all; instead, they cheerfully invited him for afternoon tea. While sipping tea and chatting, Ian learned from them that Kuma had indeed once visited this small island!
And it seemed to have been quite a long time ago. These old men, perhaps due to their age and failing memories, took a while to recall that such a person had indeed come to the island. According to their account, Kuma hadn't stayed on the island for long, and they couldn't tell Ian what he had come there to do.
Ian guessed that this was probably just a stopover on Kuma's travels. The ability of the Paw-Paw Fruit to repel the atmosphere for instantaneous movement was truly amazing no matter how he thought about it.
Without staying too long, Ian took the instruments and left. However, he did make a note of the sky island's location.
The total volume of everything was enormous. For this reason, Ian hunted a giant leopard on one island, skinned it to use as a wrapping cloth, and finally returned slowly, carrying a bundle ten times the size of his own body.
Fortunately, when he got back to the island, Waldo and the crew came to greet him. After taking the bundle from him, they carefully unloaded the instruments from the boxes inside and transported them to the newly built research facility.
"So, Captain!" Crocodile said, still wearing his usual aloof expression, cigar in mouth, as soon as he saw Ian. "You really cause explosions wherever you go... You were only out for two or three days, and you've already made such a big headline?"
Reiju, standing nearby with her hands on her hips, chuckled and said, "How come you've been hogging the news headlines so much lately?"
"Can't be helped. I didn't expect to run into Burgess and Van Augur," Ian said, stretching his arms and shrugging. "But did it really cause that much of a stir?"
"Of course," Robin said with a gentle smile. "You have to understand, the World Government is also hunting for the Blackbeard Pirates' whereabouts. So, for once, they actually took a positive stance on you taking out two of their officers and made a big deal out of it."
"Tch," Ian clicked his tongue in disdain. "They make it sound like they ordered me to do it. Have they no shame?"
"You know how the World Government is," Crocodile said with a cold laugh. "And maybe from their perspective, it's just two pirate crews slaughtering each other. They'd love to see more of that."
"But you didn't find Blackbeard himself, did you?" Crocodile asked afterward.
Ian shook his head. "No. Burgess and Van Augur were out buying food. I was tailing Burgess when Van Augur spotted me. In the end, I couldn't get the location of the Blackbeard Pirates out of them."
"Hmph," Crocodile snorted, blowing out a puff of smoke. "Back when the World Government was promoting him, that Teach guy took my spot as a Warlord. How ridiculous. This new Warlord hadn't even held the position long before he bit the World Government back..."
After chatting for a while, Ian looked around curiously and asked, "Where's Fujitora? Where is he?"
Crocodile didn't answer. Reiju and Robin exchanged glances, unsure how to respond. Only Enel, lying against a wall with his hands behind his head, said casually, "He left."
"Left!?" Ian was puzzled and pressed further. "What do you mean?"
"While you were away, Marco from the Whitebeard Pirates called," Konenai finally explained. "You weren't here, so Fujitora answered the phone. We don't know what Marco said to him, but afterward, Fujitora left the sky island with a heavy heart. He said he had to go to Wano Country and that it might take a long time. He told us not to worry about him."
"Wano Country!?" Ian was stunned, even more confused. "What is Fujitora going to Wano for?"
"You... you didn't know?" Reiju looked at Ian in surprise. "Fujitora might be from Wano Country. He probably went back to his homeland for some business."
Ian was genuinely taken aback. Fujitora had never mentioned his background, and Ian had never known his origins. But now that Reiju mentioned it, he suddenly recalled that Fujitora always wore wooden clogs!
Although his clothing style didn't reveal much, wooden clogs seemed to be a unique product of Wano Country.
"I never would have guessed," Ian said, scratching his head awkwardly. "No wonder, ever since I met Fujitora, he's always spoken in an old-fashioned, refined way."
Reiju nodded. "Indeed. But we don't know much about Wano Country either. That country has always pursued a policy of isolationism, with very little contact with the outside world. Since Fujitora never said anything, we can't be sure if he's really from Wano."
"That's right," Robin agreed. "Actually, now that I think about it, Jinbe the Sea Knight dresses very similarly to Fujitora."
That's true. Jinbe also likes wearing wooden clogs and always refers to himself humbly. Jinbe is undoubtedly from Fish-Man Island, but his mannerisms are quite different from other fish-men. Ian wondered if he had also been to Wano Country.
"Did something happen in Wano Country?" Ian asked the group after coming back to his senses.
"There's some news," Crocodile said. "I went down to the sea surface earlier and found some people from the underworld. They told me that Wano Country seems to be in turmoil right now."
"Kaido?" Ian's expression immediately turned serious.
"Not sure," Crocodile shook his head. "But for a long time, Kaido has had his eye on Wano Country. That's common knowledge in the underworld. So this time, it's probably him again."
"Then why didn't you stop Fujitora?" Ian said in frustration. "You don't think Fujitora can take on the entire Beast Pirates by himself, do you!?"
Konenai came over and took Ian's arm, comforting him. "Calm down, Captain. It's not that bad yet. Fujitora probably has his reasons for not letting us go with him. Wano Country has always been very xenophobic. If Fujitora really is from Wano, he would be even less likely to bring us along. This turmoil in Wano might be an internal conflict stirred up by Kaido. If outsiders interfere rashly, it could backfire."
"Yeah, you have to trust Fujitora," Reiju added. "He's a man of discretion. If things get too troublesome, he'll definitely call us. He won't let his homeland be destroyed by Kaido."
"Besides, if you really want to help Fujitora, you should focus on Big Mom's tea party first," Crocodile said. "If you can ally with the Big Mom Pirates and get them to help you become one of the Four Emperors, then Kaido will be the one in trouble."
Crocodile's words made a lot of sense. The guy was a schemer by nature and saw things clearly. Ian thought about it. Although Fujitora might be from Wano, the Dragon Hunter Pirates were not. He wanted to help Fujitora, but if he messed things up and ended up making the people of Wano hostile toward the Dragon Hunter Pirates, that would be bad.
With that in mind, Ian asked Reiju, "How long until Big Mom's tea party?"
"About fifteen days. If we're going, we should probably set sail soon," Reiju replied.