Chapter 324: Desert law

Ian got this tattoo before the war of Salamis, and its pattern naturally resembles the flag of his pirate group.

But to be honest, with the news that Ian became a Shichibukai, many people may know Ian as a person, but not that many have seen the Jolly Roger of his group.

Obviously, this man wearing a headscarf was one of those knowledgeable people who were familiar with the Dragon Hunter’s pattern.

However, after recognizing the tattoo on Ian’s arm, he immediately lowered his head, drank the wine in front of him, and never looked in Ian’s direction again.

After Ian chugging more than half of the barrel, Ian couldn’t help but take a long breath and slammed the barrel on the counter.

After summoning the owner again, Ian asked: “Where am I right now!?”

The Boss looked at Ian strangely and said: “This is the city of Nanohana! The central port city of Alabasta.”

“Oh, in which direction should I go to reach the capital?” Ian continued, “And how long will it take?”

“My guest, are you talking about Alubarna?” the Boss said: “Just go east from here… As for how many days it will take, it depends on what kind of transportation you are taking!”

Ian slapped his forehead. Aw yeah, Alabasta is a desert kingdom. Traveling on foot isn’t a valuable option. If he relies on transportation n° 11 (walking), he will die alone in the boundless desert.

So Ian asked him again, “From where can I buy a camel?”

Camels are the most common means of transportation in the desert, which is the first thing Ian thought of.

“Go out and turn right, then go straight ahead, there is a market where you can find whatever you want!” the restaurant owner replied.

Ian nodded and bought another five barrels of drinking water from the owner. However, at the time of checkout, the price quoted by the owner startled Ian.

“Six barrels of water, a total of 900,000 Berries!”

“The Fck! Is this a robbery!?” Ian listened to the price, and his eyes almost popped out.

As a result, the Boss smiled bitterly: “My beloved guest, you may not know that Alabasta has been suffering from severe drought in the past two years. It has not been raining much. Therefore, the price of drinking water has been soaring. In fact, all of our supplies are actually shipped from other places, so the price is too high!”

When the restaurant owner said this, Ian reacted. ‘Yeah, that’s right, drinking water in desert countries is really expensive, not to mention that it hasn’t rained in Alabasta for two consecutive years…

And if I’m not mistaken, this drought will last for another year… this is due to the evil deeds of Crocodile!’

Shaking his head, although it hurts, Ian had to pay the full price, and then walked out of the restaurant with five barrels of water.

When Ian walked out of the restaurant, the man with the headscarf paid his bill and moved to the door.

The man with the headscarf went out, came to a quiet street, looked around, and confirmed that no one was near him. Then he took out a Den Den Mushi from his pocket and placed a white anti-eavesdrop little Den Den Mushi near it before starting to make a call.

Purp! Purp! Quickly, the call was connected, and The man with the headscarf immediately said to Den Den Mushi. “I’m Barney. I am currently at the port of Nanohana City. Here is my report: I just met the New Shichibukai in a restaurant here, the ‘Black Dragon’ Ian! He seems to have just landed in Alabasta, his purpose is unknown! Please report immediately, and indicate action!”

As the man named Barney reported, the Den Den Mushi fell into a short silence. After a while, a voice came with the reply: “Great job Barney, your mission now is to follow the ‘Black Dragon’ Ian, report his location at any time, the chief of staff will rush towards your city and he will contact you soon!”

“Alright!” Barney was surprised, but he answered quickly.

Then he tightened his headscarf and clothes, and ran in the direction of Ian’s departure…

Ian has already found the place that sells camels. He was choosing his means of transportation. Under the enthusiastic introduction of the camel seller, Ian picked up a very strong camel, jumped on its back, and tried to ride it.

To be honest, this was Ian’s first time riding a camel. Fortunately, these camels were well trained and very docile. After a little practice, Ian gradually mastered the essentials.

So he headed east and followed the map he bought on his way to the market.

After getting the camel, Ian tied the barrels of water to the camel’s back. Moreover, because the sun in the desert was very strong, Ian bought desert clothes, which is the kind that can wrap him tightly to block the wind and sand…

He swayed on the road, but Ian didn’t realize that behind him, there was a man tailing him.

Moreover, Ian’s path was the main road to Alubarna. Along the way, Ian had quite a lot of travel companions, and there was a caravan of dozens of people, walking in front of Ian, so Ian didn’t notice that a person was deliberately following him.

The sunbeam was piercing, and the dry atmosphere could easily create a strong feeling of thirst and dizziness. Ian wasn’t used to such an environment, so he made a mistake that many people often make, that is, he didn’t cherish his drinking water!

It took him only one day to consume two barrels of water. When he asked others on the road, he was surprised to find that his remaining water might not be enough!

It takes at least four days to reach the next city in Alabasta, while Ian has only three barrels of water left.

Ian caught up with the caravan in front and wanted to buy more water from them. Unexpectedly, none of them was willing to sell a drop of water!

These businessmen knew very well what kind of situation could happen while traveling in the desert, so all their water is the guarantee of their lives. Even if they were offered a lot of money, they wouldn’t easily sell it…

Although Ian is considered a furious pirate, he is not a person that can take a thing by force from innocent people or rob them, so he can only return back in the line…

If they don’t want to sell it, he can do nothing about it. He needs to save as much as possible on this trip.

However, what made Ian uncomfortable is that some of the travelers were laughing at him!

Even though Ian didn’t hear what they were saying, they often looked at Ian with a smirk, so that he knew what they were talking about him…

‘Fck off! I know I’m a Rookie, and I have no idea about the rules of the desert… Don’t you got anything better to do than mocking me?’

Therefore, when Ian notices someone looking back at him, he glares back fiercely. However, he was wearing a headscarf, which hid most of his expression, so the travelers ahead weren’t afraid of him, just kept laughing.

On the same day! Ian went out of sight, he simply fell behind and no longer followed the caravan.

Some people may say, a bunch of travelers dares to laugh at a great pirate like him? Why doesn’t he just rush up to kill them and grab their supplies!

But don’t be funny, due to a brief remark or a joke, he will go all out and eliminate the whole group. That’s something only a madman can do! Ian hasn’t lost it yet, and he can’t just kill anyone he doesn’t like.

In this way, after a day’s journey, the night gradually darkened.

In the desert during the day, the temperature is frighteningly high, but at night, the temperature is low enough to make people consider getting married, Ian was very fortunate that he thought of buying desert clothes, otherwise, it would be very difficult to deal with such temperature changes.

Far away, Ian saw that the caravan had set a camp. They ignited a bonfire, ate cooked food, and placed the camels around in a circle to resist the stormy weather.

Seeing this scene, Ian learned something from them, and rested on his camel.

Although the camel Ian bought looks very strong, it has a peculiar thing, that is, the sound of “Beep! Beep!” that it often makes… because the camel has lost a tooth in the middle of its mouth, when panting, the air coming out between its teeth, made such a sound.

So Ian simply called the camel “BB!”

BB’s body was very warm, Ian leaned on it at night to stay warm, and of course, in order to prevent himself from being buried by sand in the middle of the night, Ian chose a dune as a place to spend the night.

However, in the middle of the night, Ian was awakened by a high-pitched scream. He immediately stood up alertly, looked around, and then found that the scream came from the caravan’s camp!

Their camp was not far from him, and Ian was in the upper reaches, so he could see their camps. However, when he focused his gaze, he found that they were getting robbed…

There are pirates on the sea and thieves on the mountains. Similarly, in this desert, there is also a profession called Desert Robber!

Obviously, this caravan encountered some desert robbers.

This was happening a little far away, so Ian didn’t see it very clearly, he just noticed a group of veiled people in the caravan camp, waving their swords, wantonly cutting and killing, and screams were emitting from there from time to time…

Ian didn’t make any movement, he just kept looking from afar… Ian wasn’t a bad person, but also he never considered himself a hero! So he did not want to interfere with something doesn’t concern him.

This is not only because those guys laughed at him during the day, but also because he knows very well that this is a law of the desert. Don’t interfere in something you are not sure of, because there might be some people of the caravan who are the desert robbers themselves!

Yes, this also goes for pirates at sea. When they can sail the sea together, and can make tons of money, but when someone feels that he can gain all the profit, he will immediately change his role.

Because the desert and the sea are the same, killing people and burying them in the sand will hide all traces. Such low-cost crimes will inevitably occur.

Ian looked coldly at what happened in the camp ahead, and didn’t plan on taking action.

However, when the group of desert robbers ransacked the camp and began to flee, they moved in his direction.

So Ian rubbed his hands…

Great, my drinking water has been refilled!