Suddenly thinking about Punk Hazard, Ian recalled something important.
The original gas accident at the research facility happened two years ago. At this point in time, the battle for the Fleet Admiral position between Aokiji and Akainu hadn’t occurred yet, meaning that Punk Hazard hadn’t been turned into an ice and fire island. Given that Doflamingo had already started producing artificial Devil Fruits, it indicated that Caesar had secretly returned to Punk Hazard, cleared the island of the toxic gas, and occupied it to conduct his research in secret.
This meant that Caesar was currently on Punk Hazard. Should Ian consider paying a visit to Punk Hazard? (T/N: don’t tell me that Ian didn’t take the 2 remaining devil fruits from the golden city 😮 ….. did the author forget about them ?)
However, after thinking it over, Ian felt it might not be worthwhile. Even if Caesar was there, he probably wouldn’t be able to continue his research on artificial Devil Fruits. With Dressrosa liberated, and without the unique horticultural skills of the Tontatta tribe, Doflamingo wouldn’t be able to produce artificial Devil Fruits, even if he still had access to Caesar’s SAD.
Hmm, Ian wondered how Vegapunk managed to synthesize artificial Devil Fruits in the past. He likely didn’t have the help of the Tontatta tribe, which meant that Vegapunk’s techniques were indeed far superior to Caesar’s. Caesar, having stolen Vegapunk’s methods, was limited by many constraints.
Traveling from here to Punk Hazard would mean retracing their steps back toward the Red Line. Not only was it far, but Ian also felt that Caesar wasn’t worth the effort of a special trip, so he dismissed the idea.
Perhaps due to the heavy topics discussed earlier between Aokiji and Ian, a silence had settled over the ship as Ian pondered these matters.
After a while, Baccarat cautiously spoke up, asking Ian, “After hearing all of this, it seems like I don’t have much choice but to join your crew, right?”
Ian was taken aback by her comment. He looked at Baccarat and then at Carina. He realized that during his conversation with Aokiji, he had indeed forgotten about the presence of these two.
However, Baccarat seemed to be overthinking it. Ian didn’t believe that her or Carina overhearing the details about him and Robin would cause any issues. As for Dragon, his past as a Marine wasn’t exactly a secret within the World Government, so it didn’t matter if they knew. It wasn’t as if they would use such information to tattle.“Don’t worry about it,” Ian shook his head. “As I said before, whether you or Carina choose to stay or leave, it’s entirely up to you.”
Hearing this, Carina visibly relaxed, while Baccarat sighed, glancing back at the Golden City, now submerged under the tsunami. “I have nowhere else to go now. Please allow me to join your crew. You might find my abilities useful, so if there’s anything I can do to repay you for bringing me out of there, please let me know. Otherwise, I probably would have drowned in that tsunami…”
“Hehe, welcome aboard!” Ian said with a smile after hearing Baccarat’s words.
Nana and Reiju exchanged glances and then also smiled. “This is great, now we’ll have another companion for shopping trips…” Reiju remarked.
Fujitora chuckled and added, “Our captain is still young… It’s natural for him to like pretty girls…”
Crocodile exhaled a puff of cigar smoke and laughed, “If he doesn’t like pretty girls, should he prefer us old men instead?”
This comment made Zick and the others burst into hearty laughter.
Ian felt a bit embarrassed by Fujitora’s teasing, and to make matters worse, Kuina decided to join in on the fun. She tugged on his sleeve and whispered, “Ian, out of all these beauties, which one is going to be my future sister-in-law?”
Ian’s face darkened as he reached out and ruffled her hair into a messy bird’s nest. “You little brat! Don’t you worry about these things!”
As everyone was laughing and joking, they noticed a ship appearing on the horizon. It had come from the direction of the Tesoro. Reiju, who had sharp eyesight, quickly spotted someone standing on the deck of the approaching ship and exclaimed, “That person… It looks like… Dragon!”
Everyone fell silent, watching intently as the ship sailed closer. When it was near enough, Ian could see that besides Dragon, there were several others on the deck as well.
Since these people were with Dragon, they were likely the Revolutionary Army members who had been lurking in Golden City.
As the ship was about to reach them, Dragon, standing on the deck, lightly leaped into the air and landed on the navy ship where Ian and the others were.
Many of the crew were seeing this legendary figure for the first time, and when he boarded their ship, they couldn’t help but instinctively lower their voices.
Dragon had already changed back into his usual attire, wearing a dark green cloak. The red square-shaped tattoo on his left cheek was faintly visible under his hood.
“Dragon…” Aokiji spoke up with a complex tone as he saw him. “I figured you might come aboard this ship…”
“Kuzan, long time no see!” Dragon grinned as he greeted Aokiji, pulling down his hood to reveal his wild mane of hair, which gently swayed in the breeze.
To Ian, Dragon’s voice was just as it had been years ago—unchanged, still deep and powerful.
Both his words and his gaze conveyed the sense that the man standing before them was one of unwavering resolve.
“I’m curious—what brings you to Golden City?” Aokiji asked. “I doubt you came here just to stir up trouble for Tesoro.”
However, Dragon smiled and replied, “Why ask such things? Do you intend to capture me? Don’t forget, you’re no longer a marine admiral. Like me, we both left the Navy.”
“No! I haven’t betrayed the Navy!” Aokiji defended himself.
“In the eyes of the World Government, you have!” Dragon responded firmly.
Aokiji fell silent for a moment, then shook his head with a bitter smile. “Maybe you’re right…”
Listening to the exchange between Dragon and Aokiji, no one else dared to speak. One was a former admiral, and the other was the leader of the Revolutionary Army—conversations at this level were beyond the rest of them.
Smoker puffed on his cigar, arms crossed as he watched Dragon. He remembered clearly that Dragon had once appeared in Loguetown, thwarting his attempt to capture Straw Hat Luffy.
After leaving Aokiji speechless, Dragon finally turned to Ian and said, “I apologize, Ian. I had intended to find you earlier, but somehow, I was unexpectedly discovered…”
Ian was momentarily puzzled, not immediately understanding what Dragon meant. Then, suddenly, it dawned on him. Oh, right! It was Bakkin who had discovered Dragon’s whereabouts. But with that old lady now turned into a bear toy and all traces of her existence erased, even Dragon couldn’t recall exactly how he had been discovered…
“You… you…” Aokiji and Smoker both looked at Ian in shock, then at Dragon.
What the hell? What’s with this familiar way of speaking!?
Dragon actually knows Ian!?
“This isn’t the place to talk. Come with me,” Ian said, noticing the surprised expressions on Aokiji and the others. After thinking it over, he called out to Fujitora and the rest, then spread his wings and took to the sky.
Fujitora used his powers to lift the members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates, causing them to float into the air, including Baccarat and the remaining gold chests full of cash. He then asked Dragon, “Need any help?”
“No need, I can fly,” Dragon replied, kicking off with a leg and using Moonwalk to propel himself into the air, following closely behind Ian. The revolutionaries who had accompanied Dragon seemed to have anticipated this, staying quietly on the ship.
The members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates all ascended into the sky, heading towards the floating Sky Island above, leaving Aokiji and Smoker behind. The two of them stood there with their mouths agape, watching in disbelief as they departed.
“I feel like we’ve been kept in the dark by that kid Ian this whole time…” Smoker muttered to himself.
“Indeed…” Aokiji surprisingly agreed.
Having overheard the familiar tone in the conversation between Dragon and Ian, Aokiji and the others realized that they had stumbled upon something extraordinary…
After returning to the Sky Island, Ian turned to see Dragon landing gracefully on the clouds. A smile finally appeared on Ian’s face as he said, “Uncle Dragon, I originally thought you would wait quietly to meet with me in secret.”
Dragon shook his head and replied, “It’s fine. I know Aokiji well; even if he suspects something, he won’t make a fuss about it. Besides, with your current strength, there’s no need to go out of your way to hide your identity anymore.”
Ian chuckled, then invited Dragon to enter the Sky Island’s city. As they walked, Dragon observed Ian’s Sky Island, nodding to himself in approval.
Meanwhile, the members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates followed behind, watching the two from a distance.
“Who would have thought that Dragon would take the risk to come and find Ian? This is really unexpected,” Crocodile said in a low voice.
“Maybe he has something important to discuss,” Robin speculated.
Enel, however, didn’t know who Dragon was, so he curiously asked for an explanation. Nana and Wulnat, feeling rather proud, explained to Enel that the person now walking with Ian was none other than their true leader in the Revolutionary Army.
“Heh!” Fujitora suddenly chuckled. “Even though I can’t see, I can well imagine the look on Kuzan and the others’ faces. It must be quite amusing!”
Up ahead, Ian and Dragon were engaged in conversation.
“Uncle Dragon, it’s been more than ten years since we last met… Oh, wait!” Ian smacked his forehead and added, “You actually saw me not too long ago, but I didn’t get to see you—back on Salamis, that time.”
Dragon replied, “Sabo must have told you about that… Yes, when I heard from Kuma that you were being chased by Kizaru and Zephyr, I got worried that you might be at a disadvantage, so I rushed to Salamis Island. But when I saw that you were holding your own and with Whitebeard showing up, I decided not to reveal myself.”
Ian couldn’t help but smile at this. When Sabo had mentioned this to him, Ian had indeed felt quite touched. To be honest, he hadn’t expected Dragon to quietly keep watch over him.
“You came to Golden City to find me, didn’t you?” Ian asked. “When I heard you were in Golden City, I had a hunch.”
“That’s right, Ian!” Dragon’s expression grew more serious. “Ever since you joined the Revolutionary Army, you’ve been operating independently. I haven’t assigned you any specific missions, but I have to say, you’ve done well. Your actions have drawn a lot of attention from the World Government and the Navy, easing the pressure on the Revolutionary Army.”
“I came specifically to find you this time because there are a few things I need to discuss with you!” Dragon said as he pulled out a piece of Vivre Card from his pocket and handed it to Ian. “I know you have Sabo’s Vivre Card, but Sabo hasn’t been in Baltigo recently, so I’m giving you a piece of my own Vivre Card. I need you to come to the Revolutionary Army headquarters in Baltigo in person, six months from now!”
“Hmm!? Your Vivre Card?” Ian was a bit surprised. “Are you sure it’s okay to give this to me?”
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