Chapter 758: Revisiting an Old Place
Ian flew through the air, his massive Flame Wings spread wide behind him, golden aura blazing from his body as he skimmed low over the sea surface, leaving a white trail of churned water split by the wind pressure in his wake.
Flying from Wano Country had taken Ian a considerable amount of time, but now he could already see the towering shadow of the Red Line in the distance.
Among the members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates, there was a saying: never agree when the captain says he'll take you for a ride and show you a good time!
Anyone who believed that was an idiot!
Speed and thrills sounded nice in theory, but when Ian flew at supersonic speeds through the sky, constantly accelerating, the passengers he carried felt absolutely no excitement whatsoever!
Right now, Ian's "passenger," Queen the Plague, was a perfect example...
When they left Wano Country, to make it easier to carry this fox-like beauty, Ian had found a thick pole, tied Queen's hands and feet together, then bound her to the pole, and hoisted it over his shoulder. Simple and done.
Ian thought this binding method was fine—wasn't this how it was done in Journey to the West? Capture Tang Sanzang, tie him to a pole, and have two little demons carry him back to the cave.
But Queen, as the one being carried, didn't see it that way at all. She felt that her bound position was incredibly humiliating, like she was pole dancing. She was convinced Ian had done it on purpose, and she was furious about it.
However, once Ian took off flying with her on his shoulder, she forgot all about her embarrassing position. What replaced it was sheer terror!
Throughout the entire flight, Queen endured immense wind pressure. The skin and muscles on her face constantly shifted shape under the force, her eyelids couldn't open, tears that formed in her eyes were instantly blown away from the corners, and whenever she tried to shout, the fierce wind forced the air back down her throat. Her originally slightly curly fur had been completely straightened out, like she'd been to a hair salon, streaming behind her head like a flag fluttering in the wind.
Ian had no idea that when he flew himself, his golden aura acted as a barrier against the wind pressure, but anyone he carried had to endure it directly. This was exactly why the Dragon Hunter Pirates crew absolutely hated being flown around by Ian...
Queen felt like dying. She never imagined that being carried through the air would be such a terrifying experience!
She couldn't break free from the ropes either, because below her was the ocean. Even if she fell and didn't drown, Ian would just fish her out and tie her up again. Then she'd be soaking wet, and the wind blowing on her would be even more miserable!
Don't doubt it—she'd already experienced that once...
So when she squinted and also saw the shadow of the Red Line, she was so moved she almost cried!
Finally here, finally no more suffering!
But Ian had no idea about Queen's emotional journey. As he began to slow down, preparing to cross the Red Line, he finally noticed Queen's distress and asked in confusion, "What's wrong with you?"
Queen wanted to curse him out, but the muscles around her mouth were numb from the wind, stiff as a board. All she could do was whimper. When Ian realized he couldn't understand her, he scratched his head and simply ignored her reaction.
This attitude nearly made Queen pass out from rage.
But Ian genuinely didn't realize the issue. In his mind, weren't Mink Tribe members natural-born warriors? And Queen was Kaido's top executive. What could possibly happen to her?
So he never considered her feelings at all. As he approached the Red Line, Ian was already planning how to deliver Queen to the Marines and the World Government.
Showing up openly was definitely out of the question. Given Ian's current reputation, the moment he appeared at Marineford, he'd be met with countless bullets and cannonballs, with Marine soldiers shouting in terror, "Oh no! Black Dragon Ian is here again!" as they fired...
If it came to that, Ian wouldn't be able to hand Queen over at all.
Besides, Akainu wasn't stupid. If Ian just showed up with Queen the Plague, it would obviously look suspicious, right? It seemed like he was trying to make the Marines take the blame.
Putting himself in Akainu's shoes, Ian figured he wouldn't accept it either. So what if she was one of the Beast Pirates' Three Calamities? He'd just refuse!
This situation had Ian scratching his head too. After thinking it over, he decided not to head straight for Marineford. Instead, he went to Sabaody Archipelago first. He figured he needed a better plan to get rid of Queen.
So after crossing the Red Line, Ian flew directly toward Sabaody Archipelago. He hadn't seen Uncle Rayleigh and Aunt Shakky in a long time, so he might as well visit them and catch up.
However, as he passed over the Red Line, Ian made a point to look around.
He remembered that Fujitora and the others had once mentioned that when they crossed over the Red Line, they saw a massive shadow in the clouds high above it. They didn't know what it was, so Ian decided to check this time and see if it was real.
But after hovering there for quite a while, Ian didn't see any so-called shadow.
A bit puzzled, Ian knew that overthinking it wouldn't help, so he shook his head and flew off.
Arriving above Sabaody Archipelago, Ian looked down from the sky and noticed that the part of the island he had destroyed during his fight with Aokiji and Kizaru was still there. The Marines hadn't bothered to fill it in, making the edge of Sabaody look from above like an apple with a bite taken out of it.
This reminded Ian of his old iPhone...
Finding a sparsely populated area, Ian landed and began checking the mangrove tree numbers, looking for the direction to Shakky's Rip-off Bar.
Queen had finally recovered enough to speak and started yelling at Ian to let her down. But Ian didn't want to—if he let her walk on her own, he'd have to watch her constantly to make sure she didn't run off. It was easier to just carry her.
When her noise got too annoying, he simply grabbed a piece of cloth and stuffed it into her mouth to shut her up.
Ian didn't think much of it when he did this, but he forgot one thing: this was Sabaody Archipelago. His behavior looked exactly like a human trafficker!
So soon enough, Ian's Psychic Field detected several figures sneaking around nearby. These people were hiding in the shadows, secretly watching him.
This annoyed Ian. He thought to himself, "Damn, are these Sabaody traffickers mistaking me for competition?"
Despite his irritation, Ian didn't care much. He figured he'd deal with them when they jumped out, so he kept walking.
This finally made the people hiding in the shadows unable to hold back, and they emerged from their hiding spots.
There were sixteen of them in total, dressed in various ways, none of them looking like decent folk. They carried weapons and guns, forming a semicircle around Ian.
"Kid! Where are you from!?" The leader, a big man holding a pistol, aimed it at Ian and said, "Looks like you're a kidnapper, huh? Damn it, don't you know the rules around here? How dare you kidnap someone on our turf!?"
"Look closely, that's a rare Mink Tribe member!" someone beside him exclaimed in surprise. "Kid, you're in big trouble!"
Ian yawned boredly and asked lazily, "Oh... so what do you want?"
"This is our family's territory!" the big man growled fiercely. "From Red Tree numbers 6 to 24! On our turf, human trafficking is strictly prohibited! Don't you know that!?"
Ian was stunned. What the hell? Strictly prohibited human trafficking!?
These guys didn't look like upstanding citizens at all, yet here they were, speaking so righteously. When did Sabaody Archipelago get a bunch of people like this?
"Boss, this guy seems to be a first-timer here. We've never seen him before!" a smaller man beside the big man whispered. "He probably really doesn't know our rules. How about we take him back and teach him a lesson?"
"Yeah, makes sense!" The big man nodded and said to Ian, "Kid, come with us!"
But before he finished speaking, Ian's figure suddenly vanished before their eyes. Before they could react, a heavy force struck the back of their heads, and everything went black as they collapsed limply.
Ian couldn't be bothered to waste words with these people. Carrying Queen on his shoulder, he used his scabbard to knock out all sixteen of them instantly. If it weren't for their talk about prohibiting human trafficking, he might have just cut them down.
Ian walked off casually toward Shakky's Rip-off Bar, treating the incident as a minor distraction. He forgot about it soon after.
A long time after he left, the group on the ground slowly woke up.
"Damn it, who the hell was that guy!?" The big man who had spoken earlier rubbed the lump on the back of his head in frustration, grinding his teeth. "How dare he attack us!?"
"Boss, he's tough!" someone beside him advised. "We didn't even see his movements. He's probably a serious player. How about we go back and call for backup?"
"Let's go! Call for backup!" the big man said. "Daring to cause trouble on our Ian Family's turf—no matter how tough he is, we'll take him down!"