Super Card System - Chapter 482
Chapter 482: Astonishing News
Regardless of how Ian considered dividing their forces or not, they had to reach St. Poplar first. Only by doing so could they acquire a new ship. (St. Poplar is an island town in Paradise connected to Water 7 and Enies Lobby via the Sea Train)
So they set sail once again, but this time, Ian asked Robin to sew a flag for the Dragon Hunters Pirate Crew and hoisted it on the mast of the Ark.
There was no other way. Since they had to dock on islands, Ian had to use this method to deter other pirates. Otherwise, when the Ark, a golden-made ship, landed on St. Poplar, countless pirates would come after them with relentless determination. If they didn’t raise the flag, dealing with those pirates alone would be a headache for Ian.
Moreover, Ian estimated that even raising the flag might not be very effective. Although the identity of the Seven Warlords might deter some pirates, at the same time, many pirates driven mad by the desire for fame would come to challenge him. This was nothing new; Crocodile had said that he had no idea how many such pirates he had defeated.
Overestimating their abilities, there were such people everywhere in the world…
After two days of sailing on the sea, they finally saw St. Poplar Island in the distance.
The island, when seen from afar, was entirely covered in forests, as if it were enveloped by a green cover.
As they got closer, Ian realized that the island was full of tall and giant trees, who knew how long they had been growing. No wonder this place became an important source of timber; its forestry resources were incredibly abundant.
In the direction near the harbor, the trees were relatively small. The deeper they went into the island, the larger the trees became. After landing on the island, Ian found that there was no modern city except for the harbor. The people here lived in treehouses, not developing designated urban areas but building houses wherever there were gaps in the forest, using them as towns.
The inhabitants of the entire island had been generations of lumberjacks. After obtaining approval, they would cut mature trees and process them into timber for transportation. But after cutting down a tree, they would plant more saplings in the same place to ensure that this kind of deforestation would not harm the island’s resources.
Perhaps because they had seen plenty of ships made from wood, when Ian’s Ark approached the shore, the whole island was taken aback. Not only was it their first time seeing a ship made of metal, but more importantly, the metal that composed this ship was gold!
Although they had recognized the flag hanging on the Ark and knew that one of the Seven Warlords had arrived on their island, they couldn’t help but crowd around the ship, pointing and exclaiming in awe.
“Look at all the ants!” Enel tilted his head and leaned on his golden staff, standing on the deck, observing the people below and remarking.
Ian also noticed that there were quite a few individuals who looked like pirates among the crowd, their eyes filled with greed. They mingled with the onlookers, whispering to each other, undoubtedly plotting something. No wonder Enel made such a comment.
“Enel, you stay on the ship!” Ian’s gaze turned cold as he glanced at the pirates below. He then said to Enel, “If any foolish ants dare to climb up, crush them without hesitation!”
“Don’t worry, leave it to me!” Enel’s face lit up with excitement. With a crackling sound, he clenched his fist and burst a ball of lightning, reaffirming his readiness for any potential trouble.
“Reiju, Robin, put these on!” Ian handed them each a pair of sunglasses he had found on the pirate ships that Enel had taken down earlier. After they put on the sunglasses, he led the two of them off the ship.
As Ian and the others disembarked, the onlookers quickly made way for them.
“It’s really the Black Dragon Ian!”
“What brings such a distinguished figure to St. Poplar?”
The people exchanged suspicious glances, but no one dared to block their path. Wherever they walked, the crowd scattered.
Once they set foot on St. Poplar Island, news of their arrival quickly spread far and wide. Ian wanted to inquire about the schedule and routes of the sea trains, but with his conspicuous appearance on St. Poplar, the news of their presence had already spread throughout the island.
In the Marine Headquarters at Marineford, a communications officer, gasping for breath, hurried to the office of Fleet Admiral Sengoku. After arriving at the door, he composed himself and knocked, hearing Sengoku’s voice from inside saying, “Come in.” The communications officer pushed open the door and entered.
Upon entering, he immediately stood at attention and saluted Sengoku before reporting, “Reporting to Admiral Sengoku! We just received the latest information that the Black Dragon Ian, one of the Seven Warlords, appeared on St. Poplar Island!”
“Hmm?” Sengoku was momentarily taken aback. He had been reviewing documents and raised his head with a puzzled expression, asking, “How did he end up there!?”
“I don’t know!” The communications officer looked somewhat embarrassed. “He suddenly disappeared for over a week, and we had no idea how he ended up on that route…”
It wasn’t surprising that the Marines were monitoring Ian. Ever since the incident in Dressrosa where he clashed with Doflamingo and forced him to flee, Sengoku had decided to keep tabs on Ian’s movements.
Initially, the Marines only focused on monitoring the Yonko, given their limited manpower. The Seven Warlords, being aligned with the World Government, and mostly staying in their own territories, like the former Doflamingo or Boa Hancock, weren’t seen as potential threats to go rogue.
But Ian was an exception!
When Ian took over the territory of Travolta, the Marines believed he would focus on managing his domain. However, he surprised them by abandoning his territory and wandering all over the world. It wasn’t uncommon for the Shichibukai to roam, like Mihawk, who preferred solitude, but Ian’s roaming was different!
He went to Dressrosa, exposing Doflamingo’s actions and forcing the Marines and World Government to strip Doflamingo of his Shichibukai title.
After that, this guy Ian didn’t rest for a moment. He unexpectedly followed Ace to Arabasta!
Officially, they were there to capture Blackbeard Teach, but to their surprise, not long after they arrived, Crocodile was taken down too!
Though it seemed that Ian wasn’t the one who dealt with Crocodile, Sengoku couldn’t believe that Ian had no involvement in the matter!
At such a critical moment, two Seven Warlords were deprived of their titles consecutively, leaving Sengoku with a headache. The Seven Warlords were an essential asset for the Marines, and precisely when Sengoku was preparing to take action against Whitebeard’s crew, two of them fell. Now, the positions of these two Shichibukai were vacant, and no replacements had been found yet.
As a result, Sengoku was truly wary of Ian. Even though they knew that Whitebeard’s crew had taken Blackbeard Teach away, Sengoku still didn’t dare to relax the surveillance on Ian’s movements.
Of course, this surveillance was kept secret, and they followed from a distance to avoid detection. However, it was precisely because of this surveillance that they lost track of Ian, leaving him untraceable for a whole week.
During this week, Sengoku’s heart was in his throat. Based on Ian’s previous route, Sengoku speculated that he might possibly head to Gecko Moria’s territory… If something went wrong and Gecko Moria got involved, Sengoku would truly be exasperated…
Now, finally, Ian appeared again, but his route suddenly changed. While surprised, Sengoku couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
However, before he could fully relax, the communications officer hesitantly reported, “But… but, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, there’s another pressing issue…”
“What is it?” Sengoku immediately became alert.
“Recently, the Red Hair Pirates, who abruptly changed their course and left, seemed to be heading to St. Poplar too… and judging by the timing, they might already be close…” The communications officer said anxiously, “If Black Dragon Ian doesn’t leave St. Poplar Island soon, they might encounter the Red Hair Pirates very soon!”
“What… what!?” Sengoku’s eyes widened upon hearing this news, and he couldn’t help but sit up straight in his chair.
