# Chapter 709: Ian's Fault Again
When Yonji said it was an acquaintance, Ian became curious and followed him.
At the Cookie Town island on the eastern side of Whole Cake Island, a large number of Germa Group's clone soldiers were gathered around the port. When Ian and Yonji arrived, the first thing they saw were two battered pirate ships.
Not only were the ships wrecked, but even the flags hanging from the masts were tattered. Fortunately, they were still barely recognizable.
So when Ian clearly saw the flags on the two ships, he was stunned.
Because one of the ships flew the flag of the Hawkins Pirates—that scarecrow-like pattern was quite distinctive. As for the other pirate ship's flag, it belonged to the Kid Pirates!
Well, they were indeed acquaintances, at least one of them.
Among the eleven Supernovas, Ian had only not met three: the big eater Jewelry Bonney, and two from the Kid Pirates—Captain Eustass Kid and his subordinate, the Massacre Soldier Killer.
But now, the Kid Pirates and the Hawkins Pirates were appearing here together. What was going on?
Could it be that they thought Ian, as a newly ascended Emperor, was vulnerable and came to challenge him? But those battered ships didn't look like it at all.
However, when Ian and Yonji landed on the deck of the Hawkins Pirates' ship, Ian was shocked!
The condition on the deck was absolutely miserable. Every member of the Hawkins Pirates was covered in wounds, many with broken arms and legs. They lay scattered haphazardly across the deck, blood staining everything.
As for Hawkins himself, he was leaning against the mast, covered in blood, clutching a massive wound on his abdomen while breathing heavily.
It wasn't just the Hawkins Pirates—the Kid Pirates were in similar shape, no better off. The Massacre Soldier Killer's mask had a huge gash, one arm and one leg bent at strange angles, clearly broken by immense force. Kid had lost one hand, with a bloody wound across his face.
Seeing Ian appear, Hawkins, though still expressionless, struggled to lift his eyelids and glanced at Ian, saying, "I... Ian-sama..."
"What happened?" Ian crouched down, frowning as he asked.
"I've come to ask for your help..." Hawkins's tone carried helplessness and regret. "If I had known it would come to this, back then... back on Sabaody Archipelago, I should have joined your banner like the Heart Pirates and the... and the Monk Pirates..."
Ian quickly switched a card to Orihime Inoue's card, reached out, and brushed his hand over Hawkins's abdominal wound. The light of the Twin Heaven Return Shield enveloped the injury as he continued asking, "Who did this to you?"
As the wound began to heal, Hawkins felt much better and spoke more coherently, "It was the Beast Pirates..."
It turned out that after the Battle of New Edd War, a group of Supernova pirates had gradually entered the New World to make their names.
But just like Capone Bege, over the past few months, almost all the Supernova pirates had encountered massive setbacks!
Capone Bege was relatively lucky. After encountering the Big Mom Pirates, though he was defeated, Big Mom took a liking to his Fire Tank Pirates and recruited him. To save his life, Capone Bege naturally agreed, which led to his later marriage to Chiffon.
But the others weren't so fortunate, with Kid being the unluckiest of them all!
Like Capone Bege, Kid first encountered the Big Mom Pirates. However, he ran into the Big Mom Pirates' Sweet Commander Snack—the dessert commander Ian hadn't met because he was out on a mission. This Snack was quite formidable, directly defeating the Kid Pirates and even cutting off Kid's left hand.
The Kid Pirates suffered a major defeat and fled in panic. Snack didn't bother chasing them and let them leave.
The historical trajectory here had changed considerably. Originally, according to the original history, Urouge would also encounter this Sweet Commander and, at the cost of severe injuries, barely defeat Snack. But because Urouge had followed Ian and Enel to join the Dragon Hunter Pirates, this plot never happened.
The reason Kid's crew was so unlucky was precisely this: due to the butterfly effect, after barely escaping from Snack, they ran into Queen the Plague, one of the Beast Pirates' Three Calamities, and got crushed again!
This time, Kid couldn't escape—his entire crew was captured.
As for Hawkins... he met Kid in prison! The reason was that his crew had also unfortunately encountered the Beast Pirates...
In fact, Kaido's Beast Pirates had targeted three Supernova crews: the Hawkins Pirates, the Kid Pirates, and the Scratchmen Apoo of the On Air Pirates.
Scratchmen Apoo, realizing the immense gap between himself and the Emperors, surrendered and joined the Beast Pirates. Hawkins and Kid, however, refused to submit and were thrown into prison. Kaido had been busy causing trouble in Wano Country recently and hadn't gotten around to dealing with them yet.
Originally, these Supernovas shouldn't have encountered the Emperor crews so quickly. According to the original history, these events would have unfolded over one or two years. Whether it was Hawkins or Kid, they would have had time to make a name for themselves in the New World, raise their bounties, and only then attract the Emperors' attention, who would then teach them a lesson...
But... the problem was Ian, that troublemaker! Ever since he clashed with Kaido at the Battle of New Edd War, Ian had been considered the most likely candidate to become the new Emperor on the seas of the New World.
This caused both the Big Mom Pirates and the Beast Pirates—aside from the Whitebeard Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates—to become wary, feeling that their authority as Emperors was being challenged.
Once this perception took hold, the result was that both crews felt an urge to assert their dominance, to prove that their positions as veteran Emperors were as solid as a mountain. And so... the Supernova pirates became the victims!
Yes, this was indeed Ian's fault. Although he wasn't from the same era as the Supernovas, he was equally young. Among his peers, he was exceptionally brilliant, which made the Big Mom Pirates and the Beast Pirates extremely sensitive to the term "Supernova."
Thus, Capone Bege, Hawkins, Kid, and the other Supernova members, almost as soon as they stepped into the New World, faced brutal suppression from the Emperors!
Originally, Hawkins and Kid were locked up, waiting for Kaido to have time to deal with them. They would have had to make a choice: either join the Beast Pirates or be killed. But then, a turning point suddenly appeared.
About a week ago, around the time Ian came to Whole Cake Island for the tea party, Hawkins and Kid escaped!
The person who gave them the opportunity was X Drake!
Earlier, when Drake met Ian, he had mentioned planning to join the Beast Pirates, and he had indeed done so. Thanks to being a Zoan-type ability user himself, he joined smoothly. After discovering that Hawkins and Kid had been captured, he found an opportunity, opened their cell doors, and let them go.
He helped them escape not because he saw them as fellow rookies from the same era, but because he knew Hawkins knew Ian. Back on Sabaody Archipelago, the two had been rescued by Ian together. So when he released Hawkins and Kid, he also asked Hawkins to deliver some intelligence to Ian.
Although Hawkins and Kid had escaped, both crews were battered. Though they could barely move, almost everyone was injured. Moreover, most of their supplies had been stolen by the Beast Pirates, leaving them without even medicine.
Hawkins knew Ian, but he had no idea where Ian's territory was. People said Ian had a Sky Island as his base, but Hawkins had no clue where that Sky Island was located.
They drifted at sea, originally planning to find an island to land on and search for medicine to treat their wounds. But heaven never seals off all exits—just then, news birds brought them the news that Ian had killed Big Mom and become the new Emperor.
What a contrast! A group of Supernovas were getting crushed by the Emperors, while Ian hit the jackpot in one shot, killing Big Mom and becoming the new Emperor!
Well, Hawkins knew that Ian was far stronger than them Supernovas, so he wasn't surprised. The key point was that this newspaper indicated Ian's current location, so they headed straight for the former Big Mom Pirates' territory...