Chapter 814: Elbaf Under Attack
Time flew by, and about a week later, Ian's fleet had gradually approached the waters near Whole Cake Island.
Compared to before, the fleet now included several ships from the Buggy Pirates, and among them was a massive giant vessel!
This giant ship was being towed by over a dozen pirate ships with cables, slowly sailing across the sea surface.
Pluton had ultimately been brought back by Ian and the others. Of course, for now, Pluton nominally belonged to Buggy, but since Buggy had asked Ian to help repair it, he had to come along as well.
This colossal warship had drawn countless eyes along the way, but because Ian had raised the flag of his Dragon Hunter Pirates, along with the flags of two Warlords—the Kuja Pirates and the Buggy Pirates—no merchant or pirate ship dared approach them. They could only gaze at the giant vessel from afar. This led many to know that the Four Emperor Ian seemed to have gotten his hands on something incredible again, but no one connected the ship to the ancient weapon Pluton.
However, Ian understood that while this could be hidden from ordinary people, it absolutely couldn't be hidden from the World Government. Countless CP intelligence agents had laid eyes on the ship along the way, and they had likely already reported its existence to the World Government.
What the World Government's reaction would be, Ian didn't know and couldn't be bothered to care about. They couldn't stir up any waves anymore. Ian had witnessed Uranus's loss of control firsthand. Now that the Celestial Dragons and the World Government had lost their trump card, even if they knew he had obtained Pluton, they could only watch helplessly.
After approaching the waters near Whole Cake Island, they entered Ian's own territory. But oddly enough, after arriving, they didn't see anyone coming to greet them.
"Strange, where are the Dragon Hunter Pirates?" Ian scratched his head. "And the Germa people are nowhere to be seen either. Normally, even in the outer waters, they should have come to welcome us."
"Could something have happened?" Ace asked. "I haven't seen any Whitebeard Pirates ships either."
With this doubt in mind, Ian and the others sailed straight toward Whole Cake Island.
It wasn't until they were about to dock that they finally saw a few Dragon Hunter Pirates members on the shore—Hawkins and Bonney.
"Sis... cousin?" Ace was also a bit flustered when he saw Bonney. After jumping ashore, he asked, "Why are you here on Whole Cake Island too?"
Bonney put her hands on her hips and huffed, "I had no choice. Whitebeard Old Man said the main base is too dangerous right now, so he sent me over here!"
"What exactly happened?" Ian asked Hawkins curiously. "Where is everyone else? Where's Fujitora? Enel and Crocodile?"
"Well..." Hawkins remained expressionless, but his tone was hesitant. "Captain, let someone else answer that for you."
"Who?" Ian asked.
Hawkins gestured and said, "He's in the castle now. Captain, come with me."
So Ian, Ace, Boa Hancock, Buggy, Bonney, and the members of the Kuja Pirates and Buggy Pirates all disembarked and headed toward the island.
When they reached the castle on Whole Cake Island, Ian discovered that the person Hawkins referred to was... Sabo!?
He wore a top hat, had a steel pipe tucked into his lower back, and spread his arms with a smile as he looked at Ian and Ace. Behind him stood Koala, Walnut, Aldi, and Konenai, all smiling as well.
As soon as Ace saw Sabo, he rushed over and hugged him in surprise.
After the two joyfully exchanged stories of their longing for each other since their separation, Ian walked up and asked in surprise, "Sabo, why are you here?"
"Ian! The operation is about to begin!" Sabo said outright. "Dragon sent me to find you!"
Ian immediately remembered the plan Dragon had mentioned back in Gran Tesoro—rescuing the Marine scientist Dr. Vegapunk. He asked in surprise, "So soon!? Didn't you say we'd wait until he finished researching something before rescuing him?"
"A variable has appeared!" Sabo nodded. "Dr. Vegapunk sent out a distress signal earlier than expected."
Then, everyone sat down, and Sabo explained the whole situation to Ian.
This matter was, of course, related to Uranus's loss of control. According to the Revolutionary Army's current intelligence, when Dr. Vegapunk learned why the Celestial Dragons had secretly relocated him, he knew he couldn't wait any longer. He didn't want to create another guidance device to let the Celestial Dragons regain control of Uranus. But the problem was that the Celestial Dragons knew he had the ability to build such a device. If he dragged his feet too long, it would inevitably arouse their suspicion.
Vegapunk was well aware that no one could accurately predict how long it would take from sending the signal to the Revolutionary Army gathering forces to rescue him. If the Celestial Dragons grew suspicious and locked him away separately, preventing him from staying with Kuma, things would get troublesome.
That was why he sent the distress signal earlier than planned. This way, by the time he was settled into the Celestial Dragons' secret research facility, the Revolutionary Army could locate him as quickly as possible.
Since Dragon had already mentioned this to Ian before, Ian didn't overthink it. If action was needed, he would go.
However, Ian looked around and noticed that most members of the Whitebeard Pirates, Red Hair Pirates, and his own Dragon Hunter Pirates were not on Whole Cake Island. He asked in confusion, "Sabo, when did you arrive? Does the departure of my people have anything to do with you?"
Sabo shook his head. "I arrived two days ago. In fact, by the time I got here, your pirate crew, along with the Whitebeard and Red Hair Pirates, had already left Whole Cake Island."
"What happened?" Ian asked. "What made them leave so hastily without even giving me a call?"
Sabo gently pressed down on his hat brim and said solemnly, "It's Uranus!"
"Huh!?" Ian and Ace exchanged glances and waited for Sabo to explain.
"It happened about four days ago," Sabo said. "At that time, you were probably still sailing, so it's normal that you didn't know... The giant warrior village of Elbaf was attacked by Uranus!"
"Ah!?" Upon hearing this, Ian, Ace, Boa Hancock, and Buggy were all shocked.
Regaining his composure, Ian quickly pressed, "What exactly happened? Uranus has no controller now. Why would it attack? Did the giants provoke it?"
It wasn't unreasonable for Ian to think this. The giants of Elbaf had always valued bravery and martial prowess. It was hard to guarantee that one of them, seeing a giant dragon flying overhead, wouldn't attack Uranus to prove their strength.
"It's true!" Sabo said. "And it wasn't the giants of Elbaf who provoked it. It attacked on its own! Elbaf has been razed to the ground by Uranus. Countless giant warriors were killed or injured. But the World Government suppressed this news and didn't let it appear in the newspapers. After all, there are still many giant soldiers in the Marines. If they found out, they might rebel! So for now, this news is only circulating in the New World."
This explained why Ian and the others, despite regularly checking the newspapers during their journey, hadn't seen any mention of this incident.
"What's going on?" Ian was puzzled. "Ace and I thought that without a controller, Uranus would be like a released wild animal, returning to its natural state. Even if it has intelligence, a creature like that usually only attacks when hunting for food, and it definitely wouldn't use its Devil Fruit powers. Otherwise, how would it get food?"
"Dragon already explained this to me," Sabo said. "While Uranus's loss of control could indeed lead to a return to the wild, the problem is that the Celestial Dragons controlled it for too long. To preserve it, they kept it asleep to reduce its lifespan consumption. So in its perception of time, it hasn't been long since the great war eight hundred years ago... In fact, in its mind, the war hasn't even ended yet!"
With Sabo's explanation, Ian suddenly understood. Yes, Uranus was usually awakened only to be controlled by the Celestial Dragons for battle. So what Sabo said was very likely!
Ian said thoughtfully, "So, the giants were once one of Uranus's enemies?"
"Of course!" Sabo nodded firmly. "Have you forgotten? Historically, most giants became pirates. A hundred years ago, the infamous Giant Warrior Pirates were one of the World Government's biggest headaches. Going further back, it was the same. The World Government and Marines used to capture and execute these giant pirates. It wasn't until fifty years ago that they gradually began accepting giants into the Marines."
Ian's expression turned strange. Sabo's words reminded him of someone—Mother Carmel, Big Mom's benefactor! The fifty years Sabo mentioned likely referred to that incident where Mother Carmel, who was secretly a human trafficker, stepped in to save giants from execution, leading to a reconciliation between the giants and the World Government and allowing giants to join the Marines.
"Ian, Uranus's state is very abnormal!" Sabo spread his hands. "The attack on Elbaf isn't an isolated incident. Although Uranus is now wandering aimlessly out of control, if it encounters any of its old enemies from eight hundred years ago, it will still attack. In fact, after the Elbaf attack, someone saw Uranus flying toward Wano Country. Wano was also one of Uranus's enemies back then. If Uranus discovers Wano, there could be tens of thousands of casualties. So the Whitebeard Pirates, Red Hair Pirates, and your Dragon Hunter Pirates have all deployed their forces across the New World, searching for Uranus's trail and preparing for possible attacks."
Ian glanced at Hawkins, who nodded to confirm Sabo's words.
"Then we need to set out immediately!" Ian urged. "We've fought Uranus head-on, so we know its power well. Sure, with the combined strength of Old Man, Shanks, and Fujitora, it might be possible to take down Uranus. But the problem is that once Uranus uses its Devil Fruit powers, no one can get close to it. No matter how strong someone is, they'd be killed by an explosion of that scale. If they don't know this, there could be massive casualties!"
However, Sabo shook his head. "No, Ian. The reason I'm here waiting for you to return is to stop you from going. Don't worry—they're Four Emperors. They won't be that reckless, even without your warning. What you need to do now is come with me, rendezvous with the Revolutionary Army, and rescue Dr. Vegapunk!"
He took a breath and said word by word, "Because Dr. Vegapunk possesses a weapon that can completely eliminate Uranus!"