Chapter 779: So It's the Second Child
With Luffy and his crew's arrival, the ship was bustling with noise for quite a while. Finally, Ian found a chance to ask Zoro, "How did you end up here? Did you come from Dressrosa?"
Zoro leaned against the ship's railing, arms crossed, and nodded. "Yeah, we were planning to head to Whitebeard's territory, but when we got there, we found that most of the Whitebeard Pirates had already rushed over to your Dragon Hunter Pirates' territory. So, we had no choice but to try and make our way to your Whole Cake Island. On the way, we passed through Dressrosa and stayed there for a bit. That's when we ran into... these guys!"
As he spoke, Zoro pointed at Kin'emon and the others, introducing them. "They're samurai from Wano Country. They said they got shipwrecked and got separated from one of their companions. These two samurai were stranded in Dressrosa with a kid. I don't know if they had a screw loose, but they had no money for food and didn't even try to find any, so they were practically starving to death. That pervy cook Sanji saved them."
"As samurai, we do not accept handouts!" Kin'emon declared proudly upon hearing this. "Naturally, we would never stoop to stealing food!"
"Even if it means starving to death?" Ian asked with a smirk.
"Never!" Kin'emon shouted.
Ian rubbed his chin and said, "So, even if it meant starving your Kozuki family's young master to death, you wouldn't abandon your samurai honor?"
"Of... of course..." Kin'emon hesitated, then suddenly snapped to attention, his eyes wide with shock. "How... how do you know the name of the Kozuki family!?"
With that, Kin'emon and Kanjuro immediately drew their weapons, pointing them at Ian in anger. "Could it be that you're in league with the Beast Pirates!?"
Zoro and Luffy were stunned by this sudden turn. Zoro asked in confusion, "Ian, you must be mistaken. There's no Kozuki family here..."
Before he could finish, Zoro remembered Momonosuke and turned to look at the little pervert, who was standing in a desolate autumn wind.
Momonosuke had also snapped out of it, staring at Ian in terror, unsure of what to do.
Fortunately, Ian had no intention of scaring them like this. He pressed his palms down and said, "Relax, relax, don't be nervous. Actually, I just returned from Wano Country not long ago. My first mate, Fujitora, and your brother Ace, Luffy, were captured while helping the Kozuki family in their conflict with the shogun of Wano. I went to Wano to bring them back."
Hearing Ian mention Fujitora and Ace, Kin'emon and Kanjuro finally understood. They had seen both Fujitora and Ace back then, but at the time, Fujitora had only said he was from the Dragon Hunter Pirates. Since Ian hadn't yet taken down Big Mom to become a new Emperor, Kin'emon and the others hadn't connected him to Ian. Now that Ian brought them up, they realized they had been mistaken. This young man was not an enemy; in fact, he was a benefactor of the Kozuki family!
Immediately, Kin'emon and Kanjuro knelt on the ground, prostrating themselves deeply before Ian. "So you are the leader of the Dragon Hunter Pirates! We failed to recognize your greatness and have offended you, which is an offense against the Kozuki family's benefactor. We regret this deeply and can only atone by committing seppuku!"
With that, Kin'emon and Kanjuro straightened up seriously, untied their robes, drew their swords, and began gesturing at their stomachs.
"MMP!"
Ian could only think of those three words. This habit of threatening to cut themselves open at the drop of a hat was ridiculous!
If you actually died from seppuku, what about your young master? Did you expect me to take care of him?
But Ian didn't call them out. He just watched silently, wondering if they really had the guts to go through with it.
This was a bit of a tricky move. Kin'emon and the others naturally wanted to express their profound apologies to Ian, but they had gone a bit overboard. They hadn't expected Ian to not follow the script and stop them, instead watching them with amusement. This was quite awkward!
However, you had to admire Kin'emon and Kanjuro's unwavering loyalty to the Kozuki family. Realizing they couldn't take back their words, they gritted their teeth, focused their eyes, and prepared to actually go through with it!
Luckily, Zoro, who was closest, saw what was happening and quickly drew his sword to knock away their blades, stopping their seppuku.
Seeing Zoro intervene, Ian waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, put that away! Don't bring that Wano samurai nonsense out here. Since you're retainers of the Kozuki family, you should understand the concept of opening the country. It's time to keep up with the times!"
"Yes!" Kin'emon and Kanjuro said, looking embarrassed. They bowed deeply again and said, "We are ashamed and feel utterly humiliated..."
"Enough!" Ian waved his hand, then looked at Nami and the others, who seemed confused. He asked Kin'emon, "You've been traveling with the Straw Hat Pirates, but you haven't told them who you really are, have you?"
"Yes," Kin'emon said, straightening up. He apologized to Nami and Zoro, "Please forgive us. Revealing the young master's identity could bring deadly danger, so please pardon our secrecy."
Nami, holding little Ian in her arms, looked at Momonosuke in disbelief. "You're really the young master of that Kozuki family?"
"Yes, I am the heir of the Kozuki family, the daimyo of Kuri in Wano Country," Momonosuke nodded.
"A daimyo!" Nami mused. "Then your family must have a lot of gold and treasure... I wonder if it's as much as Ian's..."
Ian sighed, watching Nami. He noticed that even though she had grown up, she seemed even more obsessed with money...
Leaving Kin'emon and the others aside for now, Ian turned to Jinbe and asked, "You were looking for Whitebeard. What were you planning to do?"
Jinbe replied, "We found a large number of dead Marine soldiers in the Castom Sea. Later, we learned it was the result of the Beast Pirates and the Blackbeard Pirates fighting the Marines over the Soul Fruit. We thought there might be a huge upheaval and war in the New World, so we wanted to warn Whitebeard and see if there was anything we could do to help."
"Don't worry," Ian said after understanding the situation. "The Beast Pirates, Doflamingo, Blackbeard, and Golden Lion Shiki have formed an alliance, but the Whitebeard Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates have also arrived at our Dragon Hunter Pirates' territory. Three Emperor crews aren't necessarily weaker than their alliance. Plus, I sent Queen the Plague to the Marines. If Kaido wants to fight, he'll probably have to deal with the Marines first..."
"But... is it true that you killed Fleet Admiral Sakazuki at Marine Headquarters?" Zoro asked curiously. "The Marines have been severely crippled. In that case, even if Kaido and the others attack Marine Headquarters, they might not suffer much damage..."
Just as Zoro finished, Garp suddenly interjected, "Don't worry. If Kaido and the others really dare to come, they might regret it..."
Everyone looked at the old man, but after saying that, Garp crossed his arms and fell silent, leaving everyone puzzled about where Vice Admiral Garp's confidence in the Marines came from...
"Anyway, since you're all here, come with us to Whole Cake Island," Ian said, changing the subject.
Luffy and the others nodded. Franky returned to the Thousand Sunny, weighed anchor, and followed Ian's fleet.
As for Kin'emon and the others, they wanted to tell Ian they needed to go to Zou, but given Ian's status as a benefactor, they didn't dare bring it up. They decided to follow Ian for now and find an opportunity to talk to him later.
"Oh, right!" Nami, who had been cuddling little Ian, suddenly remembered something. She set little Ian down and pulled a roll of paper from the back pocket of her jeans, handing it to Ian. "Ian, this is a rubbing of the Poneglyph we found on Fish-Man Island. I thought Robin could read it, so I made a copy and brought it back."
"Ha, Nami, you're thoughtful!" Ian said happily, taking it and unrolling it to find ancient text.
If he remembered correctly, the Fish-Man Island Poneglyph was about a real person from the void century, Joy Boy, who wrote an apology letter to the mermaid princess of the time. But what it actually recorded was the true identity of the mermaid princess as the Ancient Weapon Poseidon. This was a very useful Poneglyph, and Robin would surely be happy to see it.
Speaking of Poneglyphs, Ian still had the three rubbings he brought from Wano Country. He had left in a hurry and forgotten to give them to Fujitora to pass to Robin. At the time, Queen the Plague had suspected they were fakes because they were too easy to obtain. Ian thought there might be some truth to that, so he hadn't paid much attention. Whether they were real or fake, Robin could decipher them later.
While Ian and Nami were discussing serious matters, Momonosuke quietly approached little Ian, who had been set down. Finding that little Ian was actually shorter than him, Momonosuke perked up and said arrogantly, "I am older, so you should call me big brother!"
He was trying to assert dominance, annoyed that little Ian had been getting more attention from Nami than him.
But little Ian had no idea what he was saying and just tilted his head in confusion.
Seeing this, Momonosuke quietly raised his fist and threatened little Ian, "Or else I'll hit you!"
Although little Ian didn't understand the words, he understood the fist gesture. So... little Ian suddenly lifted his leg and kicked Momonosuke right between the legs!
"Biu!!"
Momonosuke collapsed to the floor, clutching his crotch and trembling. He felt like his little golden eggs had cracked!
Who was little Ian? Despite his cute and innocent appearance, he was Ian's clone! That kick turned Momonosuke's face green!
"Lord... Lord Momonosuke!?" Kin'emon rushed over to check on him, while Nami and Ian also noticed what had happened and gathered around.
Seeing Nami approach, Momonosuke clutched his crotch and sobbed, "Nami, he... he hit me!"
Nami looked at the bewildered little Ian, then at Momonosuke, and asked suspiciously, "Momo, what did you say to little Ian?"
"I... I just told him to call me big brother..." Momonosuke cried.
"Is that so?" Nami crouched down and asked little Ian.
Little Ian giggled and waved at Nami, saying, "Ian! Ian!"
At that point, even Nami didn't believe Momonosuke. She poked his forehead and said, "You must be lying! Little Ian doesn't know anything. You must have bullied him!"
"I didn't!" Momonosuke tried to defend himself.
"Don't talk back!" Nami grabbed Momonosuke's cheek and twisted it. "You're older than little Ian, so as a big brother, you should take good care of him, not bully him!"
"I... I!" Momonosuke was stunned. This wasn't the script! He was the one who got hit!
But Nami pinched him once more, then picked up little Ian and gave him a kiss. "Come on, little sweetie, let's not play with him. I'll take you to play with Chopper!"
With that, she walked off with little Ian in her arms, leaving everyone staring in shock.
Sanji lit a cigarette, raised his curly eyebrow at Brook, and said smugly, "That little brat finally met his match!"
"Yohohoho!" Brook laughed quietly.
"So... Nami is playing favorites, right?" Zoro looked down at Momonosuke, who was still pale, and asked Luffy.
Luffy picked his nose and said, "Definitely. I've fought Momonosuke too, but Nami only ever hits me."
Kin'emon and Kanjuro felt sorry for their young master, but since little Ian seemed to be their benefactor's child, they couldn't say anything. They could only comfort Momonosuke.
Ian, watching this scene, suddenly had a realization and slapped his fist into his palm!
No wonder this felt so familiar! Damn, it was the classic treatment of the first child versus the second child!
For girls like Nami, Momonosuke was like the first child—when there was no comparison, he got all the love. But once a younger second child appeared, the maternal affection shifted instantly!
It was easy to imagine that if Momonosuke tried to compete for affection from now on, he was going to have a lot more trouble...