Chapter 766: A Big Shot's Alt Account
Because Auntie Shakky was so delighted with her discovery, Ian didn't even get a chance to test his clone's abilities before his alt account was whisked away by her...
However, Ian discovered that there seemed to be a vague mental connection between himself and the clone. Even though the clone wasn't by his side at the moment, he could still sense its existence and vaguely perceive some emotional fluctuations coming from it.
This surprised Ian greatly. Damn, could this be the legendary sacred Kalla!?
Through this vague mental connection, Ian felt that he could control the clone's actions. This should be the foundation for coordinating with his clone in battle.
But how could he explain these emotional fluctuations from the clone? Did it have a mind and personality of its own?
Ian felt that this personality was somewhat similar to the Homies created by Big Mom's Soul-Soul Fruit, but he wasn't sure if it was permanent or temporary. If he canceled the clone or made it use a skill, causing it to disappear, would it retain its previous memories when summoned again next time?
Also, why had it let Auntie Shakky take it away without resisting? Logically, he himself was the only familiar person to the clone; everyone else was a stranger. When she took it away from him, didn't it react at all?
Was it simply ignorant and innocent, or had it inherited some of his memories, knowing that Auntie Shakky was a familiar person, and that's why it was so well-behaved?
There were too many questions, but Ian couldn't help enthusiastically pondering and studying them. It was like when he used to research his own card skills—more thinking always led to more gains.
But to understand the specifics, Ian could only wait until Auntie Shakky returned to continue his research. So he turned his attention back, listening to Hogkin report on the mission's details.
Meanwhile, Auntie Shakky was walking down the street with a beaming smile, holding Ian's clone in her arms. She usually spent most of her time in her bar, but this time, because of little Ian's appearance, she had made an exception.
Although she had managed to preserve her youthful appearance, Auntie Shakky was actually quite old. Now, carrying little Ian, she felt like an elderly person with a grandchild, bursting with happiness.
Before she could even leave the 13th Grove, she ran into the Ian Family members who had gathered there after completing their mission. Only Hogkin had gone to report to Ian; the rest were waiting here, keeping an eye out for any suspicious people approaching the area. When this group of burly, fierce-looking men saw Auntie Shakky holding little Ian, they all froze in shock.
After carefully studying little Ian's appearance, they began whispering among themselves.
"See that? They look so alike!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
"Could he be our boss Ian's son?"
"Very possible! They look way too similar!"
"But I remember our boss is pretty young. How does he have a son?"
"No idea, and that kid looks about ten years old. Our boss couldn't have had a kid that early, right?"
"Regardless, he's definitely the young master!"
"Right, right! The young master!"
Having quickly reached a consensus, when Auntie Shakky walked up to them, the Ian Family members bowed respectfully and shouted, "Greetings, Big Sister Shakky! Greetings, Young Master!"
Auntie Shakky was in a great mood, so she teased little Ian in her arms, "Come on, say hello to them!"
Little Ian giggled happily, waving at them and shouting, "Ian! Ian!"
"... " The group was stunned, and a blush crept onto their faces. "So... so cute!?!"
These rough men were now completely enchanted, their faces flushed. Usually, any bratty kid on Sabaody Archipelago would be scared into crying at the sight of them. But now, being greeted by such an adorable little guy seemed to awaken a soft spot deep in their hearts. For a moment, these tough guys felt their hearts melting...
Auntie Shakky felt even more triumphant. She gave little Ian another kiss on the cheek and waved to the Ian Family members, saying, "Alright, I'm taking the kid for a stroll. You all keep watch!"
"Yes, Big Sister Shakky, take care! Young Master, take care!" The group bowed to see them off.
As soon as Auntie Shakky left, they started discussing among themselves.
"Did you see that? The young master greeted me!"
"Nonsense! He was greeting me, not you!"
"It was clearly me!"
"It was me!"
"It was me!!"
"Damn it! You want to fight?"
"Bring it on, who's scared! Anyway, the young master was greeting me..."
"... "
This clone, created using the Last Form as a template, looked similar to Ian but was incredibly cute. As Auntie Shakky carried little Ian through the streets, she attracted many glances toward her arms. She even encountered several little girls running up to offer their balloons and cotton candy to little Ian.
Whenever that happened, Auntie Shakky felt like she was the coolest person around, wanting to put her hands on her hips first...
Little Ian, held in Auntie Shakky's arms, looked around curiously at everything. His mind was quite naive, and he couldn't speak much, only shouting "Ian, Ian."
Auntie Shakky's destination with little Ian was naturally the amusement park. Actually, she had also wanted to find Rayleigh to show him this adorable little Ian brother, but she wasn't sure where Rayleigh was, so she decided not to bother.
However, to get to the Soap Bubble Park in the 33rd Grove, she had to pass through the civilian district of the 24th Grove. Unfortunately, today a Celestial Dragon happened to be out sightseeing in the civilian district!
In truth, Celestial Dragons rarely appeared on Sabaody Archipelago. If they showed up often, the people there would have no way to survive...
But recently, the Celestial Dragons had been having bad luck. Since Ian started things off by killing a Celestial Dragon at Mary Geoise, followed by Blackbeard Teach's raid on Mary Geoise, this period had seen the highest number of unnatural deaths among Celestial Dragons in history. As a result, the various Celestial Dragon families had been trying to restrain their members from going out to prevent further incidents.
However, what goes around comes around. Being confined to Mary Geoise for too long naturally led to boredom, so some Celestial Dragon family members would sneak out to Sabaody Archipelago for entertainment.
And for the lofty Celestial Dragons, they actually enjoyed wandering through civilian districts, as that was where they could best feel their own superiority and the fear they inspired.
Here, every civilian prostrating on the ground, trembling in fear, allowed the Celestial Dragons to feel their greatness and superiority.
The one visiting the 24th Grove today was none other than the second daughter of the Roswald Family, Charloss!
Yes, that's right—the same Celestial Dragon family that Luffy and his crew had beaten up in the original timeline...
Ian was a troublemaker, and it seemed his alt account had that potential too. Auntie Shakky rarely went out, but today she happened to run into this Celestial Dragon noble. When Charloss rode on the back of a slave, slowly passing through the street, the surrounding civilians were kneeling everywhere. But Auntie Shakky, while playing with little Ian, kept walking without noticing the situation on the street!
Seeing Auntie Shakky trying to walk past her, Charloss was momentarily stunned, then let out a cold laugh. With a wave of her hand, the black-suited guards beside her immediately rushed forward, surrounding Auntie Shakky.
Only then did Auntie Shakky notice the Celestial Dragon's presence and frowned deeply.
"Commoner, you have quite the nerve!" Charloss dismounted from the slave, leading her glass-helmeted pug dog as she approached Auntie Shakky. "Seeing a World Noble, yet you dare not kneel to greet me?"
"Tch!" Auntie Shakky clicked her tongue in annoyance. Although she rarely went out, she knew what Celestial Dragons were like. She looked at the guards around her and considered quickly taking them down and slipping away. After all, they weren't much trouble for her.
But just then, Charloss noticed little Ian in Auntie Shakky's arms.
"Oh, commoner, your child is quite cute!" Charloss's eyes lit up. She pulled out a gun from her bosom and pointed it at Auntie Shakky. "Hand him over to me. This little thing might be fun for my Saru to play with!"
Saru was, of course, the pug dog she was leading...
In the eyes of Celestial Dragons, everything belonging to commoners was fair game for entertainment, even other people's children. Charloss's intention was simply to snatch little Ian from Auntie Shakky and use him as a toy for amusement.
And this woman had a special hobby: once she got bored with something, when she no longer wanted it, she would personally destroy it!
The civilians kneeling on both sides of the street, trembling in fear, quietly looked up with pity and sympathy at Auntie Shakky. They knew that once a Celestial Dragon set its sights on someone, that woman and her child would face a tragic end.
As soon as Charloss spoke, her black-suited guards rushed forward, reaching out toward little Ian in Auntie Shakky's arms, clearly intending to snatch him away.
Auntie Shakky was furious and was about to strike back when she suddenly felt a dangerous aura emanating from little Ian in her arms.
Little Ian's cowlick suddenly twitched, pointing in Charloss's direction. The next second, a pitch-black point of light began to gather at the tip of the cowlick!
At the same time, Ian himself, far away in the bar at the 13th Grove, suddenly felt a premonition! He, who had been talking with Hogkin, abruptly stood up!
"Biu!!!"
When the pitch-black point of light had condensed to a certain degree, little Ian pointed his finger forward, and with an accompanying sound effect, a black Cero erupted!
Without needing to transform into Final Release or Resurrección, little Ian could directly fire a black Cero in his normal state... Well, to be precise, he fired it with his cowlick... If Ian had seen this, his eyes would have popped out.
The powerful energy instantly pierced through the atmosphere. Along the path of the black Cero's explosion, everything was gone!
An entire street seemed to have been melted away. The bricks and stones on the ground had vanished, leaving a straight scar on the earth that suddenly appeared in everyone's sight. A strange smell lingered in the air...
However, the civilians kneeling on both sides, because they were lower to the ground and had moved far away, were unaffected. Only the Celestial Dragon Charloss, who had been standing in front of little Ian, along with her guards and her dog, were directly vaporized!
From this perspective, little Ian's control over the power of this black Cero was perfect...
Everyone was dumbfounded. They had no idea what had just happened.
Only Auntie Shakky looked in disbelief at the plowed ground ahead, then at the gradually dissipating figure of little Ian in her arms, finally realizing one thing!
A big shot's alt account... is still a big shot, damn it!