Chapter 700: From Today On, I Am an Emperor!
“A tsunami is coming. Should we take shelter?”
Crocodile, a cigar dangling from his mouth, glanced at the black rain that had been falling continuously, then turned his head to look toward the coast. There, towering waves were roaring toward the shore, their scale threatening to sweep all the way to the castle.
In the battle between the Dragon Hunter Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates, many had been injured. Fortunately, Ian had finished the fight faster than expected. With Big Mom falling, the Big Mom Pirates had lost all will to continue fighting.
However, the tsunami was an unforeseen complication. If the seawater swept through, some of the injured might not dodge in time and could be carried away.
“But where do we hide?” Enel asked, tilting his head beside him. “Honestly, this captain really knows how to cause trouble…”
Before Enel could finish, a flash of eerie green light streaked across the sky!
Like a thunderbolt descending from the heavens, this green light struck directly into the tsunami’s massive wave, plunging into the seawater and blasting a huge hole in the wave.
Hearing this, everyone couldn’t help but look up at the sky.
After Big Mom fell from Skypiea, Ian had followed closely behind, descending as well. Now, he floated in midair, his demon wings burning with black flames behind him, appearing so massive and striking compared to his body.
Crocodile’s cigar fell from his mouth with a soft thud. Ian’s current form was utterly beyond what any of them had expected.
A terrifying posture, a suffocating aura—compared to before, everyone knew Ian had grown far stronger. In that instant, they all understood how Big Mom had been taken down.
“Is he even human in that state?!”
Cracker and the other children of Big Mom gritted their teeth, glaring at Ian in the sky. Though they hated him for killing their mother, seeing his appearance sent an inexplicable chill through their hearts.
Under everyone’s gaze, Ian pulled his hands apart in front of him, and a beam of eerie green energy appeared before him.
“Thunder Lance!”
With a flick of his hand, Ian hurled the energy beam like a spear from midair into the tsunami’s massive wave below.
Boom! Another violent explosion echoed.
The power of that black Cero had been too immense. Its explosion in the sea had triggered the tsunami, something Ian hadn’t anticipated, so now he had to clean up the mess himself.
This Thunder Lance naturally came from Ulquiorra’s card skill, similar in name to the Railgun card’s Lightning Spear, but completely different. The Lightning Spear involved throwing lightning energy without exploding, while the Thunder Lance was pure Nen ability.
One after another, several Thunder Lances struck down, blasting several large holes in the tsunami’s waves. The force within the waves was disrupted. Though plenty of seawater still surged onto Whole Cake Island, the most dangerous crests were gone, and the tsunami dissipated into nothingness.
Ian casually destroyed a tsunami. Ferudo and the other underworld big shots were already stunned. Gaji and Ichiji, meanwhile, were drenched in cold sweat, silently comparing this to the time Ian had led the Seven Warlords to hunt down Germa. They bitterly realized that now, even without help, Ian could easily annihilate the Germa Group alone.
Confirming the tsunami wouldn’t damage the island, Ian slowly descended from the sky.
When he hovered not far above Whole Cake Island, everyone truly felt how enormous his wings were. They covered nearly half the castle area, casting a vast shadow over the crowd.
The black rain in the sky stopped abruptly as Ian descended, making it clear to everyone that the black rain had been his doing.
But even more astonishing was Ian’s changed appearance. Up close, they noticed two strange, tear-like marks beneath his eyes.
His gaze, too, was chillingly cold…
Floating in midair, he slowly swept his eyes over the members of the Big Mom Pirates below.
Big Mom’s children were all thinking different things. Some still harbored hatred for Ian killing their mother and hadn’t given up on revenge, while others nearly broke down just from meeting his gaze.
They were afraid, because they understood that if Ian wanted to wipe them out, not a single person present could escape.
Now Big Mom was dead, Katakuri was dead, and Perospero was nowhere to be seen—likely dead as well. Those remaining couldn’t withstand the Dragon Hunter Pirates…
Taking a deep breath, Ian spread his arms in midair and roared, “Big Mom is dead! From today on, I, Ian, will become the new Emperor! The Dragon Hunter Pirates will become the new Emperor Pirates!”
With Ian’s declaration, the crowd below instinctively took a collective step back. Though they had realized it the moment Big Mom’s body fell, hearing Ian’s proclamation still sent a shock through everyone’s hearts.
But then, a huge cheer erupted. All members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates raised their hands and shouted in joy!
“Haha! The captain really became an Emperor!”
“I knew it! This day was bound to come!”
“The Dragon Hunter Pirates, one of the Four Emperors—that name sounds great!”
Among the crowd, Crocodile lit another cigar and snorted, “At least he remembered to make that declaration…”
Enel just pursed his lips, holding his golden staff in silence.
Robin, Konenai, and Reiju watched Ian’s imposing figure with gentle smiles. They understood that with this declaration, the Dragon Hunter Pirates had successfully risen, and the youngest Emperor in history had been born…
Morgan, trembling, quietly raised a Video Den Den Mushi and captured Ian’s declaration.
He knew this photo, alongside the image of Big Mom’s body, would become the biggest headline in his newspaper…
But with the victor’s excitement came the loser’s resentment. How could Cracker and the others accept that the Big Mom Pirates had been knocked from their pedestal? Amid the Dragon Hunter crew’s cheers, Cracker gritted his teeth, leaped up, and swung his longsword at Ian in midair, shouting, “Murderer! The Big Mom Pirates won’t be trampled so easily!”
“How foolish!”
This idiot dared to attack Ian while he was still in his strongest form?!
Facing Cracker’s incoming sword, Ian shook his head, pulled his hands apart, and a flash of eerie green light appeared again, forming a lightsaber-like blade. He then swung it lightly at the approaching Cracker!
Moonlight Sword!
A streak of eerie green sword energy flew out, cutting straight through Cracker’s sword, then continuing without losing momentum, slicing Cracker’s body in two!
Cracker’s face showed utter disbelief as he fell from midair, his upper body landing on one side and his lower body on the other, blood spraying like a blooming flower in the sky.
Ian showed no mercy, killing Cracker outright.
He knew well that an Emperor’s crew wouldn’t collapse so easily. Though Big Mom was dead, her remaining children might still harbor false hopes. Ian couldn’t massacre the entire island, so he had to crush their hopes with overwhelming force. Anyone who resisted had to be eliminated without hesitation!
That was the law of pirates!
After killing Cracker, Ian pointed his Moonlight Sword at Big Mom’s terrified children below and said coldly, “Anyone else?!”
With Cracker’s fate fresh in their minds, Amande and the others dared not speak.
“The victor is king, the loser a bandit,” Ian sneered. “If the Big Mom Pirates have forgotten this principle, I don’t mind reminding you! Surrender, and I might spare your lives. But if you stubbornly resist, don’t blame me!”
“W-will you really let us go?” a weak voice asked.
Ian looked over and saw Charlotte Joscarpone, Big Mom’s twenty-ninth daughter from the long-neck tribe, and her younger brother, Charlotte Mascarpone, the thirty-fourth son, looking at him with hope.
Hearing this, Charlotte Galette immediately shouted at them, “You… you cowards!”
“B-but, Sister Galette, we really don’t want to die!” Charlotte Joscarpone shrank back, afraid to meet Galette’s gaze.
With these two timid ones leading the way, the other weaker children also began to glance around.
Ian nodded and said, “Of course, I can let you go. But remember, this chance comes only once. If you leave and then come back for revenge, don’t blame me for what happens.”
With that, Ian waved his hand, and the Dragon Hunter Pirates members silently made a path. Ian said, “Now, those who want to leave can go. Those who want to die can stay!”
No one truly wanted to die. So Joscarpone and her brother Mascarpone led the way, running down the cleared path.
Once they ran, many others followed. Galette and Amande, though deeply reluctant, knew they couldn’t stay either. With a stomp of their feet, they ran off as well.
Besides them, many of Big Mom’s combatants also fled.
Crocodile turned into a sandstorm, flying up to Ian’s level, and asked quietly, “Is this really okay? Those who escaped might become remnants causing trouble later.”
Ian shot him a glare and said, “What should I do? Kill them all here?”
Killing their mother and then slaughtering all her children—wasn’t that the same as exterminating a family? Ian couldn’t bring himself to do that. He wasn’t that cruel.
From his words, Crocodile understood Ian’s thoughts and fell silent.
But Ian wasn’t really worried about the remaining ones causing trouble. As the saying goes: “When hearts are scattered, the team is hard to lead!”
Though also bound by family ties, the Big Mom Pirates were different from the Whitebeard Pirates. Whitebeard was a man of great character; his sons loved and respected him. That was why, in the original history, Marco and the others had relentlessly sought revenge on Blackbeard after Whitebeard’s death.
But how many of Big Mom’s children truly loved and respected her?