Chapter 653: Gift
About two weeks later, a ship was sailing across the sea. The sea breeze blew, filling the sails and driving the vessel forward, cutting through the waves.
On the deck, Ian was sitting cross-legged, arms folded across his chest, his face serious as his eyes darted left and right in rapid sweeps.
With a thud, a round volleyball landed on the deck in front of him. Ian immediately raised his hand to signal, blew the whistle in his mouth, and said, "Out of bounds! Blue team gets a point! The score is now 10 to 11!"
Robin, slightly out of breath, jogged over and bent down in front of Ian to pick up the fallen volleyball.
She was dressed lightly, her shirt tied in a knot at her chest, and she wore hot pants that barely reached her hips. As she bent over, her full, fair figure was completely exposed, making Ian dizzy again.
Besides her, Reiju, Konenai, and Baccarat were dressed similarly. The four of them were playing a game of doubles volleyball on the deck...
And Ian, using his role as referee, was "civilly watching the game"!
After Robin picked up the volleyball, she returned to her position and passed it to her teammate, Konenai. Konenai bent her long, slender legs slightly, then lightly jumped up and smacked the ball toward the opposite side. On the other side, Baccarat lunged forward to the landing spot, receiving the ball with both hands. The pass was perfectly placed, and Reiju jumped up immediately, spiking it with one hand.
As they volleyed back and forth, four pairs of breasts of different sizes swayed up and down at varying frequencies...
This made Ian sigh—volleyball really was an intense sport! Especially when four beauties in bikinis were playing it, even a spectator would get "blood boiling"!
Though he was acting as a serious referee, Ian wished his Evil Eye skill could give him an actual third eye. That way, he could use two eyes to watch the beauties and one to track the volleyball's landing point. But with only two eyes, he couldn't allocate his attention at all, feeling overwhelmed and unsure where to look...
The volleyball smacked down again, landing not far in front of Ian. This time, Reiju came over to pick it up. Ian finally couldn't hold back and said resentfully, "You're definitely doing this on purpose, right? You keep landing it in front of me, taking turns to come pick it up... Are you trying to make me bleed to death from nosebleeds?"
"Giggle!" Reiju laughed at Ian's words, holding the volleyball at her waist as she walked over and crouched in front of him. Her fair, slender fingers reached out, gently lifting his chin, and she said with a breathy tone, "If we were doing it on purpose, what could you do about it, Captain?"
"Damn! Reiju, big sister, are you a seductress or what!?" Ian was speechless. Reiju's ambiguous tone was clearly teasing him!
Behind them, Robin and the other two watched the scene with smiles, showing no surprise. Clearly, they had planned this together. Ian felt quite frustrated. Having more and more beauties on his pirate crew wasn't necessarily a good thing. After getting familiar with him, they had completely united. These strong-willed women often acted boldly in front of Ian, yet he could only look but not touch, nearly bursting from the pent-up tension.
What could Ian do? He was desperate too... He couldn't just take Reiju right there in front of the other three, could he!?
At that moment, Ian actually missed Boa Hancock a bit. At least his Empress wouldn't tease him like this; instead, she'd act shy, offering a completely different kind of charm...
"I'm done teasing you!" Reiju giggled, lightly pecking Ian on the lips, leaving a faint touch and a lingering fragrance, before turning back to play volleyball.
Ian could only watch her swaying hips and swallow hard...
But before they could restart the game, a Den Den Mushi placed on the ship suddenly made a sound. It wasn't a call, though—the Den Den Mushi's eyes were tightly shut, and it was making noise from its mouth.
"This is..." Ian and the others paused, walking to the ship's railing and looking at the sea ahead.
The Den Den Mushi made this sound because it had received an electrical signal from the ground-dwelling sea slugs beneath the surface. They had heard this sound before when in Whitebeard's territory, so Ian and the others realized they had entered the BIG MOM Pirates' sphere of influence.
Yes, Ian and his crew were now heading to the BIG MOM Pirates' Whole Cake Island. After receiving the invitation and the incident with Fujitora heading to Wano Country, Ian had thought it over and decided to come.
Especially now, with the Dragon Hunter Pirates in a delicate position, Ian wasn't sure what BIG MOM's attitude toward him was. The invitation could be seen as a friendly signal, but the specifics still needed Ian to confirm in person.
After all, this was the New World. Pirates entering here either allied with or challenged the Four Emperors. Without experiencing it firsthand, one wouldn't understand the concept of the deeply entrenched Four Emperors. For Ian's Dragon Hunter Pirates to truly establish themselves in the New World, they couldn't escape the influence of these Emperors.
Even if Ian, as captain, had already shown formidable strength.
However, though he decided to attend the tea party, Ian still took precautions. BIG MOM was known for her unpredictable moods. Inviting him to the tea party might be a friendly gesture, but no one could say what would happen during it. So this time, Ian planned to bring only Reiju. The others, like Robin, would return to the Sky Island base.
Yes, Ian was bringing the entire crew along, even though only he and Reiju would attend. The advantage of the Sky Island base was that it could move with him. If something unexpected happened, Ian would have a fallback position.
After Ian and Reiju entered Whole Cake Island, the Sky Island would stay in the sky nearby. As for why he was only bringing Reiju, Ian guessed that the Germa Group might also be invited to BIG MOM's tea party.
Though Ian had taken Reiju away, the Germa Group hadn't given up on cooperating with the BIG MOM Pirates. They had been working hard to establish a connection.
If Ian's guess was correct, it wouldn't be long before Gaji reached an agreement with BIG MOM for a marriage alliance. At that point, Sanji would probably still be called back to his homeland to get married...
Of course, the current situation of the Germa Group differed from the original history. Ian had taken Reiju away for a long time, and though Gaji, as a father, hadn't come looking for them, Ian couldn't just ignore it. Reiju had joined Ian's Dragon Hunter Pirates, but being a pirate didn't mean cutting off family ties. Bringing her to the tea party was mainly to see if Gaji and the others would also come, so they could sit down and reach some consensus on the Reiju issue...
"Alright, since we're in BIG MOM's territory, you all go back first!" Ian said to Robin and the others.
"Okay!" Robin and the other two nodded, telling Ian and Reiju, "Be careful. If things go wrong, contact the Sky Island in time!"
Ian and Reiju agreed, watching as the three held balloons and slowly floated up into the sky, heading toward the Sky Island clouds.
When only Ian and Reiju were left on the ship, Ian suddenly remembered something and asked Reiju, "Do you think we should bring some gifts to BIG MOM's tea party?"
"What kind of gift are you planning to bring?" Reiju asked Ian with a smile.
Ian thought for a moment, then suddenly slapped his forehead and ran back into the cabin. A moment later, he came out carrying a box.
"What's this?" Reiju asked curiously, taking the box.
When she opened it, her expression turned strange. She said, "This... aren't these the leftover egg tarts from breakfast? You're planning to use these as a gift!?"
Reiju felt like she was about to break down. BIG MOM was a Four Emperor! And Ian wanted to give her leftover breakfast egg tarts as a meeting gift!? How could he even offer that?
And they were cold too...
Ian smiled awkwardly, scratching his head, and said, "I just thought of it on the spot! I didn't prepare anything, so this will have to do. You know Matthew's cooking—it tastes pretty good..."
"I'm speechless with you!" Reiju poked Ian's forehead with her finger, saying affectionately, "Good thing I was prepared. Go to my room and get the box on the table!"
Ian ran back to the cabin and found a beautifully wrapped box in Reiju's room.
When he came out, Ian held the box and asked Reiju, "What's inside?"
"A specialty from our territory!" Reiju smiled, brushing her hair behind her ear. "It's a little trinket Waldo made from Thunder Stone. It should be fine as a gift!"
"Heh, you're really thoughtful!" Ian felt very pleased. Though Reiju always liked to tease him, a young man full of energy, her gentle, big-sister demeanor was very reassuring.
Ian shamelessly leaned in close to Reiju, wrapping his arm around her soft waist, and asked, "And what about my gift?"
"Giggle, looking for a little sweetness again!" Reiju was generous, leaning in again to kiss Ian.
This time, it was different from their usual brief pecks. Ian finally got to fully experience Reiju's sexy lips.
He dropped the box on the deck, and the two kissed passionately, forgetting everything around them. But not far away on the sea, a bearded man was holding a telescope, taking in the whole scene, so angry he was about to jump up and down!
"Damn it, this time I have to bring my daughter back! I can't let her stay by that brat Ian's side anymore..." Bearded man Gaji gritted his teeth, thinking this.