Chapter 431: Warning

As pirates, it was evident that Luffy and his crew wouldn’t want to interact with the marines more than necessary, as nobody wants to constantly have someone breathing down their neck.

Zoro was well aware that although Kuina was now a lieutenant, she was still a subordinate of Smoker, and if Smoker said to capture the Straw Hat Pirates, she would have no choice but to follow through.

Zoro had a lot of bitter memories associated with Kuina, which were based on the shadow accumulated by the defeat in 2002. So, when Ian told Luffy and his crew to lay low and avoid Smoker’s group, Zoro “surprisingly” had no objections.

However, whenever faced with Ian, he always felt somewhat somber, even though he knew that Ian had saved the Straw Hat Pirates by taking Luffy away and preventing Smoker from catching them. Zoro couldn’t seem to bring himself to say “thank you.”

Zoro may not have known it, but this kind of psychological struggle was easily understandable. The people he wants to catch up to and surpass were not the same as before; they became three now. The first person was Mihawk, who needs no introduction, known by many swordsmen, including Zoro.

The second person is Kuina, who as a woman, has defeated him so many times. Zoro must surpass her if he has little self-esteem.

And the third person is Ian.

As Zoro’s elder brother, and the first of the three siblings to set sail, the achievements that Ian has made so far were enough to make Zoro look up to him. So even though he denies it on the surface, he has already set Ian as his target to catch up with, which is also the reason why he told Luffy that he had three people he needed to surpass when Luffy rescued him…

If he and Ian had been strangers, a simple showdown with drawn swords would have sufficed. But the problem was that Ian is precisely his elder brother. Under these circumstances, Zoro finds it hard to even speak harshly to him, for Ian remains a brotherly figure to him.

Therefore, it’s easy to understand why Zoro is uncomfortable around Ian. He is weighed down by Ian’s current success and feels trapped in his shadow, but at the same time he can’t express his frustration.

Seeing Ian and Zoro talking like this, princess Vivi beside them finally couldn’t hold back and walked out. She stood in front of Ian and loudly asked him, “What are you two doing in Alabasta? Are you in cahoots with Crocodile? Or are you part of Baroque Works?”

Upon hearing Vivi’s questions, Usopp immediately got scared. He quickly pulled Vivi over and whispered, “Vivi, how can you talk to him like that! Although he is Zoro’s brother, but… but…”

However, at this moment, Robin finally recognized Vivi, and looked at her with interest, “It’s Miss Wednesday! The princess of the Nefertari family!”

“You know me?” Vivi bit her lip and looked at Robin, “It seems that you already knew my identity?”

Robin smiled but didn’t say anything.

“Answer me!” Vivi continued to ask Robin loudly, “Why did your Baroque Works want to start a war in Alabasta Kingdom!”

Ian looked at Vivi’s emotional expression. Although he admired her bravery, she obviously got the wrong person. So Ian shook his hand and said, “Your Highness, you have gotten the wrong person. She is Nico Robin, although she used to be the vice president of Baroque Works, but now she is a member of my pirate crew! And I have nothing to do with the Baroque Works!”

“You’re lying!” Vivi didn’t believe it and said, “Recently, the newspapers mentioned that you and Crocodile appeared together in Dressrosa. And now you’re telling me that you have no connection with Baroque Works?”

Ian furrowed his brows and said, “I said I have nothing to do with it, so I have nothing to do with it! Little girl, even if you’re angry at the Baroque Works, please don’t associate me with them without any evidence!”

Vivi was about to say something, but at that moment, Igaram grabbed her and said, “Princess Vivi, this may be true. Not long ago, I received a message from the king that said that the Black Dragon Ian, had a conflict with Crocodile in Alabasta, and they may really have no relationship…”

“Is… is that true?” Vivi was surprised. Vivi was not in Alabasta when Ian and Crocodile fought, so she didn’t hear about it.

At this time, Zoro also turned his head and said to Vivi with a serious expression, “Princess Vivi, Ian is my brother, I also believe him!”

Vivi took a deep breath, then abruptly bent down and apologized to Ian, “I’m sorry, Ian… sir! I was too impulsive…”

Ian didn’t mind. He knew that Vivi was only suspicious because she saw Nico Robin, so he waved his hand, “I won’t inquire about the matters between Alabasta and Crocodile. But don’t worry, the reason Crocodile and I appeared in Dressrosa was because I threatened him, so rest assured, I’m not helping him here.”

Ian’s words were sincere. Indeed, he had no connection with Alabasta, there was no need to consider their country too much. Although he could stop Crocodile, he didn’t plan to. After all, Crocodile was the first strong enemy of the Straw Hat Pirates, and whether they could make a name for themselves would depend on this battle. Since Zoro had joined the Straw Hat Pirates, Ian wouldn’t interfere with his rise to fame.

To become a greater sword master, reputation was indeed the most important…

And for Ian, Teach is far more dangerous, because Ian had tried to assassinate him once before, and their hatred could not be resolved. Ian could not allow the guy who held a grudge against him to continue to hide in the shadows…

Upon hearing Ian’s words, Nami and Usopp both relaxed, they could tell that Ian was not angry at Vivi.

Robin was the same, she smiled and held Chopper in her arms, teasing the cute little reindeer. She didn’t mind Vivi calling her MissAllSunday before, because she knew she was completely free from the criminal organization, Baroque Works.

As Luffy gazed in disbelief at Usopp’s heart-pounding chest-thumping, he asked in confusion, “Why are you all so afraid of Zoro’s brother?”

“Baka!” Usopp whispered to Luffy, “Don’t you know? He’s a pirate with a bounty of 650 million bellies! How could we not be afraid?”

“650…650 million?!”

If before, Luffy had no comprehension of the Shichibukai concept, now, after hearing about Ian’s bounty from Usopp, Luffy finally reacted and was shocked to the point where his jaw dropped to the ground.

Bounties are the easiest thing to attach to someone’s power. After finally realizing the gap between them, and comparing his own bounty, which was only 30 million bellies, Luffy’s expression at this moment satisfied Usopp, and he couldn’t resist adding, “Not only that, it’s said that his crew, the Dragon Hunters, has a combined bounty of over 1.5 billion bellies!”

“Wow…wow, Sugoi!” Luffy’s eyes sparkled as he gazed at Ian.

Usopp, on the other hand, was proud and haughty as he said, “Hmph, what’s so great about that? Let me tell you, the great Captain Usopp defeated more than one crew like this in his days…”

Ian was talking to Vivi, and when he heard Usopp’s bragging, he couldn’t help but look back at him. To Ian’s surprise, the mere sight of him was enough to startle Usopp into tears, who quickly dropped to the ground and apologized with his hands clasped in prayer.

Ian looked at the “deceiving captain” silently. Although this was the first time he had met Usopp, he couldn’t help but find him peculiar.

Turning to Nami, Ian asked, “Nami, as a sailor, did you see a pirate ship during your journey to Alabasta? Its pirate flag should look something like this…”

As he spoke, Ian drew his sword and gently engraved the banner of the Blackbeard Pirates on the deck.

“Ah! It’s the Blackbeard Pirates!” shouted Chopper, who was being held by Robin. Upon seeing the emblem, he couldn’t help but shout out. Although Chopper never faced Blackbeard himself on drum island, he had heard about their emblem from others.

“No…” Nami thought carefully for a moment and replied, “We haven’t encountered them. What pirate crew is this? Their flag looks very evil.”

“Ace and I came here to pursue them!” Ian declared. “If you ever come across this pirate crew in the future, try to avoid conflict if possible and keep your distance.”