"Are we heading back to Wano next?"
On the way back, Law asked with interest.
"Don't ask the obvious," Ian replied lazily. "We'll be staying on Hive Island for a while next."
As the saying goes, if you're going to put on a show, make sure to go all the way.
The World Government needed to be fed a narrative that the conflict between himself and Kaido was far from being resolved.
"However, if we stay on Hive Island," Drake approached, somewhat concerned, "we'll have to face the Whitebeard Pirates' threat directly. While we've been consolidating territories, Moby Dick has been patrolling the border areas this whole time."
"That doesn't matter."
Ian still seemed uninterested, his voice drifting lazily. "Whitebeard will never take the initiative to attack."
After suffering a loss once, Whitebeard would never want his beloved sons and daughters to fall into crisis again.
The world's strongest man, bound by the chains of familial love.
Oh, he might no longer be the world's strongest man.
Kaido-sensei has mastered all three types of Haki to their peak, coupled with the abilities of a Mythical Zoan and his innate monstrous physique. He's probably not inferior to Whitebeard anymore.
"Ian."
Yamato suddenly leaned closer, poking Ian's face. "Lately, you seem a bit out of it. Haven't been sleeping well?"
"This isn't being out of it."
Ian grabbed her hand and chuckled softly. "I'm just adjusting."
"Adjusting?"
Yamato tilted her head in confusion.
Ian simply smiled, a faint red glow flickering in his eyes. "Adjusting to the brand-new sights before me."
Yamato blinked.
She didn't understand.
Just then—
Buru Buru Buru.
The sound of a Den Den Mushi suddenly rang out.
Ian picked it up to answer.
His expression immediately changed.
What? Something like this?
"Ian! You might not believe me when I say this, but I'm seriously doubting whether I'm dreaming! I watched it with my own eyes—Rusukaina Island just flew away right in front of me!"
On the other end of the line, sure enough, it was Tritoma's voice.
"Flew away?"
Law, who was drinking water, nearly choked.
What does that even mean?
What do you mean an island just flew away?
Yamato's eyes lit up. This girl was clearly intrigued.
"Calm down, Tritoma."
Ian calmly said, "I understand what you're saying. In short, the island of Rusukaina was stolen, right?"
Making an entire island take off.
In Ian's mind, only three people in the world could do such a thing.
One was Kaido. He had no need to do that, and Rusukaina Island was too large. His flame clouds weren't enough for that.
The second was Fujitora. His Gravity Fruit could do something similar, but he also had no need to do that.
So, it could only be the last one.
"It's the Golden Lion!"
The voice on the other end of the phone suddenly became urgent. "It's that old bastard Shiki! Only he could pull off something like this!"
It was Gloriosa.
"The Golden Lion Shiki, huh..."
Ian had suspected it was that guy, and with Gloriosa's personal confirmation of it, he was even more certain.
That guy had his reasons.
He must be envious of his own pets.
Damn Golden Lion, daring to steal my island!
"What should we do, Ian? Should we chase after them?"
Tritoma's voice was anxious. "They're flying too fast! We won't catch up in time!"
"No need," Ian replied. "If the enemy is the Golden Lion, chasing after them would be too dangerous."
"Just remember the direction the island flew in. I'll catch up in the shortest time possible."
"Got it!"
The phone call ended.
Ian took a deep breath.
His companions gathered around.
"Ian!"
Hancock sounded anxious, as this concerned her hometown.
"Don't worry," Ian reassured, "The Golden Lion didn't stay for long; he left right away."
"So, Ian!"
Yamato excitedly shook Ian's arm, her eyes shining, "Is the next enemy the Golden Lion?"
She had often heard Kaido talk about the Rocks Pirates, so she was certainly familiar with the man known as the Golden Lion.
"After Ochoku, it's the Golden Lion?"
Law sighed, "Are we going to wipe out the remnants of the Rocks Pirates?"
"They've already provoked us! How can we just ignore it?"
Jack said loudly, "Big Brother Ian! There's nothing to hesitate about, right?"
Hesitate?
There was no way not to hesitate.
After all, the opponent was the Golden Lion, one of the three great pirates who once stood alongside Roger and Whitebeard.
At his peak, he was definitely a monster at the level of the Four Emperors.
Ian, who had just been beaten by Kaido, knew exactly how terrifying someone at that level could be.
Should he have Kaido go personally?
He probably wouldn't mind fighting an old friend, right?
However, Ian thought for a moment. Right now, the Golden Lion was probably not at the level of the Four Emperors.
Eleven years later, this guy would be knocked down by the Straw Hat.
Though it's said that the Straw Hat kid in the movies is at the level of Shichibukai, he still couldn't even use Haki.
No matter how you look at it, by then, the Golden Lion had already weakened to an unbelievable extent.
So, what level was the Golden Lion at right now, eleven years ago?
No matter how much you overestimate him, he couldn't possibly have the same strength as Kaido and the others, right?
So that means, he definitely couldn't be stronger than me.
Ian thought.
"Let's go, to Amazon Lily."
He said.
There was nothing to be afraid of.
In fact, he said rather arrogantly, even though Golden Lion still held the level of a Yonko, Ian felt that he could still hold his own against him now.
Do you understand the value of Kaido's tutoring classes?
"Yay!!"
Yamato immediately cheered.
This time, Ian truly unleashed his full speed.
He transformed into a gigantic golden dragon and grabbed the large ship, soaring through the sky until he ran out of energy and had to land to rest.
Even when nearing the Red Line, he didn't choose to take the Fish-Man Island route, but instead flew directly over the Red Line with the ship in tow.
Even so, it took about a week before they finally reached Amazon Lily Island.
Ian wondered how Shanks managed to fight against Kaido in the New World one day, and then the very next day arrived at Marineford.
"Ian! You're finally here!"
Ian's arrival made Tritoma very excited. "Is it really the Golden Lion? The legendary pirate! Vanished for nine years, and now he's reappeared!"
"It should be him."
Ian said. "Which way did the island fly off to?"
Tritoma immediately pointed in a direction.
Ian turned and looked at Viola.
The girl tried to widen her eyes, her gaze already fixed on the distant horizon.
Viola's Stare Stare Fruit had the ability called Clairvoyance.
This allowed her to observe scenes up to four thousand kilometers away.
But Viola shook her head. "It's out of range."
"It's fine."
Ian said. "We'll just go in this direction."
Since Golden Lion could fly, he wouldn't take a detour and would definitely head straight back to where he was.
That meant as long as they followed this direction, they would definitely find him.
"Ian!"
Tritoma asked. "Do you need help?"
"No need."
Ian said, "Leave it to me."
In fact, you guys would only make things worse.
After staying on Amazon Lily Island for just a few minutes, Ian immediately grabbed the large ship and soared into the sky.
He quickly headed in the direction where Shiki the Golden Lion had left.
Fortunately, Viola's "Clairvoyance" wasn't just focused forward; it was more of a bird's-eye view.
This way, they wouldn't stray off course.
After flying for another two days, they had reached the first half of the Grand Line.
"I see it!!"
Viola shouted. "I see an island floating in the sky!"
**********
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