# Chapter 747: The Traitor of Zou
Under the moonlight, Ian and his group sprinted all the way until they reached a silent wilderness, where they finally stopped.
"Right here!" Ian set down the Plague Calamity Queen he had been carrying in his arms and checked her condition.
Since Ian had treated her injuries earlier, Queen the Plague's breathing had already stabilized, though she had not yet woken up. Taking this opportunity, Ian pulled Fujitora to sit down on the ground, intending to ask some questions first.
"Uncle Fujitora, Ace and Izou coming to Wano Country to help the Kozuki Family—that I can understand—but why did you come too?" Ian asked him curiously. "Do you also have ties with the Kozuki Family?"
Fujitora nodded. "I was born in Wano Country as a child, but my parents died early, leaving me impoverished. I could only wander the streets, struggling to survive. You've seen the situation in Wano Country—under its closed-door policy, they still maintain agricultural farming methods, and food production has never been sufficient. When I was about ten years old, I nearly starved to death during a famine. Fortunately, the previous head of the Kozuki Family saved me, allowing me to live. Such a debt of gratitude must be repaid!"
"The previous head—wasn't that Kozuki Oden?" Ian asked.
"No, it was Lord Oden's father. But the kindness came from the Kozuki Family, so repaying it to any generation of the Kozuki Family is fine..." Fujitora said with a smile.
"That was decades ago, wasn't it? I'm impressed you still remember..." Ian suddenly felt great respect for Fujitora. "No wonder when I returned to Skypiea, I heard you had rushed off to Wano Country..."
"This was a personal matter; I couldn't involve the pirate crew. Besides, Captain, you were heading to Whole Cake Island at the time, so after receiving Marco's call, I set off alone!" Fujitora sighed. "I just didn't expect that even joining forces with Ace and Izou, we would still be defeated by the Beast Pirates and the Shogun's army, failing to protect Lord Oden..."
"Did you fight Kaido?" Ian asked him. "Were you defeated by Kaido?"
Ian knew Fujitora's strength well. In his opinion, the only one who could defeat Fujitora was probably Kaido.
However, Fujitora shook his head. "No, I didn't fight Kaido. I was fighting Mogami Yoshimori when I was ambushed by the Beast Pirates' Calamity Kin, and that's how I was captured..."
"Mogami Yoshimori? The strongest grand swordsman of Wano Country we saw earlier?" Ian frowned. "He seems to be your friend?"
"Yes!" Fujitora nodded, a nostalgic smile appearing on his face. "He was a companion I wandered the streets with as a child. Looking back now... we were like beggars back then. What we envied most were those majestic samurai. Yoshimori swore to me back then that he wanted to become the strongest grand swordsman, like the legendary dragon-slaying samurai Ryuma. Who would have thought that decades later, he would truly achieve that step..."
"Uncle Fujitora, you're not weak either!" Ian said with a smile. "You're now the first mate of a Four Emperors' pirate crew—no worse than him!"
Fujitora laughed heartily. "Captain, is that your way of bragging about yourself?"
"What happened next?" Ian chuckled, not continuing that topic, and pressed further. "That bastard Kaido—didn't he recognize you?"
"He did. How could he not?" Fujitora said. "Ace was up against Queen the Plague, Izou against Jack the Drought, surrounded by a large number of Wano Country's army, samurai, and ninjas. Lord Oden didn't flee; he stayed behind with us to cover his retainers' escape. Perhaps because he recognized us, and with Lord Oden being such an important figure, Kaido let the escaping retainers go and personally captured us. At that time, news of you becoming a Four Emperors hadn't arrived yet, but Ace and Izou were still division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates. When Kaido captured us, he originally wanted to kill us on the spot. However, this Plague Calamity Queen suddenly whispered something in Kaido's ear, making him change his mind. He chose to interrogate Lord Oden first..."
"Oh!? So this woman actually saved your lives?" Ian looked at the Plague Calamity Queen lying on the ground with some surprise.
"Indeed!" Ace spoke up from the side. "That's why later, the Shogun of Wano Country took us from Kaido's hands and brought us from Kuri to the capital to be imprisoned..."
"Is that so..." Ian rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then suddenly asked, "Earlier, when you recognized this woman as Queen the Plague, why did you call her the traitor of Zou?"
Ace's face darkened. "That's because later, when Kaido ordered Jack the Drought to pursue the Kozuki retainers who had escaped, I personally saw this woman hand a Vivre Card to Jack the Drought, telling him it was a Vivre Card pointing to Zou. She said that if the escaping Kozuki retainers were going to seek help, they would only go to Zou..."
Izou also spoke up. "As a Mink Tribe member born in Zou, leading enemies to her own homeland—if that's not treason, what is? We worked so hard to cover those retainers' escape, but her actions could very well ruin everything..."
After the three of them explained the situation, Ian suddenly slapped his forehead, remembering this matter.
Although Ian had never been to Zou, he knew that Zou was actually a giant ancient elephant from a thousand years ago, walking across the vast sea, carrying a country on its back. Dorry had proudly mentioned this elephant lord in their conversations. And it was precisely because of Zou's special nature that it was unreachable by conventional means.
Constantly moving, having no magnetic field—the Log Pose used by sailors at sea could never find it. Only through a Vivre Card could one reach Zou.
Dorry and Bepo could return to Zou because Dorry, even during his time as a slave, had desperately protected the Vivre Card of his family in Zou. He knew it was his hope of returning home.
So, as long as the escaping Kozuki retainers weren't fools, they should have used this characteristic to find a way to shake off Jack the Drought as a pursuer.
But now, Queen the Plague had given Jack the Drought a Vivre Card pointing to Zou. That meant Jack the Drought could find Zou...
Although Ian didn't know whose Vivre Card Queen had given Jack—a friend's? A relative's? Or even the Vivre Card of the ancient giant elephant lord itself?
Regardless, Zou would likely still attract the attack of Jack the Drought, this calamity, just as in the original history.
He knew that among the escaping retainers was Kozuki Oden's heir, Momonosuke. But according to the original historical trajectory, they would encounter a shipwreck during their escape, get separated from the ninja Raizo midway, drift to Dressrosa, then discover something wrong with Dressrosa under Doflamingo's control, rush out to sea again, causing Kanjuro to be stranded in Dressrosa, while Momonosuke mistakenly boarded a ship heading to Punk Hazard...
What Ian was worried about now was the butterfly effect's changes. Dressrosa had already been liberated by him from Doflamingo's hands, which meant Kin'emon and the others probably wouldn't go to Punk Hazard anymore. But Jack the Drought, who had been chasing them all along, would likely reach Zou even earlier than in the original history!
And if that bastard Jack used poison gas attacks when encountering resistance at Zou, wouldn't that mean Dorry and Bepo would also be caught up in it?
It seemed he would have to personally make a trip to deal with Jack the Drought...
Just as he was thinking this, Ian heard a pained groan. Turning his head, he saw that Queen the Plague had woken up.
Bonney had earlier felt that Queen, being a woman, had been beaten quite miserably by Ian. But now, after hearing Ace and the others' words, she stepped forward and kicked Queen as she woke up!
She now only felt disgust for this woman who had betrayed her homeland.
Ian and the others didn't stop Bonney. In their view, no matter what your stance was—even if you sided with Kaido and became hostile to Zou—you shouldn't betray your homeland! That was the place that raised you! No matter how great the grievance, it shouldn't extend to your homeland, right?
Bonney's cowboy boots had 6-centimeter heels. Each kick was quite painful. Queen, whose injuries hadn't healed yet, let out sharp screams as Bonney kicked her.
Ace watched this scene and felt his scalp go numb.
This cousin must be fake! There's no way my sister could be so violent...
# Chapter 748: Ian's Old Profession
"Alright, alright, stop kicking!"
Ian stopped Bonney, then walked over to Queen's side, looking down at her coldly. "Do you understand your situation?"
Queen the Plague lay on the ground, unable to move. She could only endure the pain, turning her eyes to look at Ian, and barely nodded.
Ian noticed that even though she was lying face up, she wasn't looking at the full moon in the sky. He knew that his earlier Metal Storm attack had left a deep "impression" on her. Satisfied, he said, "Good. Then next, I ask, you answer!"
"What do you want to ask?" Queen spoke with difficulty. Her voice was no longer as pleasant as before; now it sounded very hoarse, naturally due to her severe injuries.
"I remember Kaido left you behind when he departed Wano Country, but instead of staying in Kuri, you came to the capital to assassinate the Shogun of Wano Country. Was this ordered by Kaido, or was it your own reckless decision?" Ian stared into her eyes, speaking word by word.
"Both," Queen replied.
Ian didn't understand at first. "What do you mean?"
"Coming to the capital was my idea, but it was approved by Kaido, so you could say he ordered it," Queen moved her body slightly, but the pain twisted her face. She finally gave up struggling and continued lying on the ground. "Also, I need to correct one thing: I did not assassinate the Shogun of Wano Country. That bomb at the Tenshukaku—I didn't detonate it!"
"If you didn't detonate it, are you saying the Shogun of Wano Country detonated it himself?" Ian snorted in disbelief.
However, Queen said with a strange expression, "He did detonate it! The Shogun of Wano Country has special shadow samurai as body doubles. Don't you know this?"
"Is that so?" Ian was stunned and turned to look at Izou.
Izou wasn't too clear either and could only say vaguely, "Maybe. Although I'm also from Wano Country, my background wasn't good. How would I know such things?"
"It does exist!" Queen spoke up again. "In fact, I only realized this when that shadow samurai detonated the bomb..."
"So the Shogun of Wano Country is fine?" Marco said thoughtfully. "No wonder those soldiers and samurai reacted strangely..."
Ian nodded, agreeing with Marco's assessment. Earlier, Ian had found it strange that although the Wano Country soldiers and samurai had arrived, they took so long to get there. That really didn't seem like the reaction to an assassination attempt on a country's ruler. At the time, Ian thought maybe the Shogun hadn't been killed. But now, hearing Queen's explanation, he realized the Shogun of Wano Country wasn't even harmed—only a body double had died.
"Since you weren't there to assassinate the Shogun of Wano Country, what were you trying to do at the Tenshukaku?" Ian continued asking.
"I was looking for something," Queen replied.
"What were you looking for?" Ian immediately pressed. "Did you find it?"
"I was looking for Poneglyphs," Queen said. "I did find them, but they were rubbings. They're hidden in the fur of my tail now..."
Upon hearing this, Ian immediately wanted to search her, but then realized that although Queen was a Mink Tribe member, she was still a woman. Even if she was an enemy, doing so didn't seem right. So he turned to Bonney and said, "You search her!"
He was quite glad he had brought Bonney along...
Bonney didn't stand on ceremony. She crouched down, flipped Queen over, and reached for Queen's tail area. Queen was a fox Mink, so her tail was quite long. Bonney fumbled around under her tail and soon found a rolled-up stack of paper. The paper had been carefully tied up with Queen's tail fur, so it hadn't been affected by Ian's earlier Metal Storm.
However, after Bonney retrieved the paper, she couldn't help but slap Queen's buttocks hard. "I never expected a traitor like you to have such a big ass..."
Ian and Ace watched this scene, cold sweat dripping down. They felt that Bonney was evolving from a tomboy into a female thug...
Queen gritted her teeth and turned her head to glare at Bonney. This was the first time she had suffered such humiliation, and the fact that the other party was a woman made it even worse...
But Bonney didn't back down at all, glaring back. "What are you looking at!?"
Ace quickly pulled Bonney away, afraid she would pounce on Queen for another round of kicking. As for his cousin's personality, Ace felt that the days ahead probably wouldn't be too pleasant...
Ian took the paper and opened it. Under the moonlight, it was a bit blurry, so he asked Ace to illuminate it with his flames. He examined it in the firelight.
Having come into contact with so many Poneglyphs, Ian was naturally familiar with ancient script. Although he didn't know how to decipher it, he could tell that the ancient script on this rubbing was genuine.
The rubbing came in three copies, on three sheets of paper, apparently taken from three stone tablets. He looked at Queen the Plague in disbelief. "What exactly are you plotting? This is a Poneglyph rubbing, and you're handing it over so readily!?"
Things were going so smoothly it was hard to believe. Ian knew that if Queen hadn't mentioned it, no one would have known she had infiltrated the Tenshukaku to look for Poneglyphs. She had obtained rubbings and hidden them so secretly. Earlier, when she transformed into her Moon Lion form, she had torn all her clothes. If she hadn't spoken up, Ian and the others probably wouldn't have thought she was carrying something so important.
But... she just said it!?
That was precisely why Ian found it hard to trust her. He had been wary of Queen from the start, and now he was even more suspicious of her motives.
However, Queen sneered. "Hmph, you don't think something that a shadow samurai is allowed to see would be a real Poneglyph, do you?"
"Hmm? You're saying this rubbing is fake?" Ian looked at the rubbing again doubtfully. "But this is clearly genuine ancient script?"
"Can't ancient script be forged?" Queen snorted. "Can you read this ancient script?"
Ian fell silent. Hearing Queen's explanation, he realized she was right. Indeed, as long as one hadn't seen the actual Poneglyph stone tablet, a rubbing could indeed be forged.
"So you're saying you think this rubbing is fake, which is why you handed it over so readily?" Marco asked from the side.
"Obviously!" Queen glared at Marco. "Would I bother to be tortured and interrogated by you for a fake text? I'm not an idiot like Jack the Drought!"
This reasoning made sense. Queen had probably realized that the rubbing she had obtained was fake after discovering that the Shogun of Wano Country at the Tenshukaku was a shadow samurai body double. Now that she was in Ian's hands, there was no way she would lie to protect a fake rubbing.
Ian chose to believe her for now, but then asked, "How did you know that the Shogun of Wano Country had Poneglyphs?"
Queen didn't hide this. "The Kozuki Family is a stonemason clan that carved Poneglyphs. Anyone with enough interest could find this out. Lord Kaido has been searching for that missing red Road Poneglyph. He believes that Road Poneglyph is probably in the Kozuki Family's hands. But... after capturing the Kozuki Family's Tenshukaku, we didn't find what we were looking for in their castle. In fact, the Kozuki Family didn't even have a single Poneglyph stone tablet!"
"Lord Kaido was very angry about this. The only reason he spared Kozuki Oden's life was to interrogate him!" Queen sneered. "But Kozuki Oden was a stubborn old fool. He refused to reveal anything, so in the end, Lord Kaido executed him in a fit of rage!"
Hearing this, Ian showed no expression, but Fujitora sighed softly...
"After Kozuki Oden died, Lord Kaido remembered those escaped retainers. He thought it was possible that the Kozuki Family's secrets had been taken away by them!" Queen continued. "So he sent that idiot Jack out to sea to pursue those retainers. As for me, I thought it was possible that the Kozuki Family had given the Poneglyphs to the Shogun of Wano Country, Tokugawa Ieyasu, since he was the Daimyo of Wano Country. It would be natural for them to present such valuable items to their lord..."
"Possibly? So you weren't sure whether the Shogun of Wano Country had Poneglyphs?" Ian keenly caught Queen's choice of words.
"Of course! If I had been sure, it wouldn't have been me who came—it would have been Lord Kaido himself..." Queen sneered. "Do you think someone with his personality would care about a mere king?"
After saying this, Queen seemed able to move a little. She forced herself up slightly and stared at Ian. "Alright, I've told you everything you wanted to ask. Now, shouldn't you let me go? I am one of the highest-ranking executives of the Beast Pirates. If you don't want to anger Lord Kaido, you'd better release me!"
"Are you threatening me?" Ian raised an eyebrow, looking at her with a half-smile.
"No, not a threat—just stating a fact!" Queen shook her head. "You probably know that Lord Kaido is called a madman by the world for a reason. Like leader, like subordinates. Besides me, Jack the Drought and Calamity Kin are all war maniacs just like Lord Kaido. Without me, they might lose their heads and start a war at any moment... Lord Ian, you're also a Four Emperors now. BIG MOM's former territory has become yours. But your forces are definitely still no match for the veteran Four Emperors. Once you go to war with the Beast Pirates, it's easy to lose sight of one thing while attending to another. I'm sure you don't want to see your territory destroyed by the Beast Pirates, do you?"
"Good rhetoric! I admit you've convinced me!" Ian nodded.
"Then let me go!" Queen's fox face showed a charming smile.
However, Ian shook his head. "Sorry, I am convinced, but that doesn't mean I plan to let you go. On the contrary, I have to take you with me!"
Queen was instantly dumbfounded. What... what kind of logic was this!?
Why weren't you following the script!?
Seeing her dumbfounded expression, Ian said with a tone of disappointment, "Are you stupid? I can just hand you over to the Marines! That madman Kaido—if he wants to rescue you, he'll have to fight the Marines. Such a good opportunity to weaken the Beast Pirates—do you think I wouldn't see it? I used to be a pirate hunter, you know!"
What's wrong with going back to my old profession?