Super Card System - Chapter 492

Chapter 492: The Startling Incident on Enies Lobby

“Hmm!?” Shanks looked at Ian with surprise. “What do you mean?”

“My ability!” Ian explained, “Within my abilities, there is an extraordinary healing power that might be able to restore your severed arm!”

Shanks was somewhat dumbfounded by this revelation. While he knew Ian was a Devil Fruit user, and Devil Fruit’s abilities were often considered superhuman, this level of power was still quite shocking.

The fact that an arm severed over a decade ago could potentially be restored!?

But looking into Ian’s eyes, Shanks knew he was serious.

Ian had actually thought about bringing this up with Shanks earlier, but he only found the opportunity to mention it as they were parting ways.

However, to Ian’s surprise, once Shanks calmed down, he patted Ian’s shoulder and said, “I appreciate your offer, but I’ll pass.”

“Why?” Ian asked with confusion. “Restoring your arm should make you stronger, shouldn’t it?”

“It’s been over a decade—I’m used to it now!” Shanks shook his head, smiling as he glanced at his missing arm. “Suddenly regaining it might throw me off, and besides, I’ve already placed my bet on the future. Besides, I’ve staked this arm on the future. Since I haven’t seen the future yet, how can I take back my bet?”

Ian knew he was referring to Luffy, so he was at a loss for words.

However, at that moment, Shanks suddenly burst into hearty laughter and said, “However, Ian, let’s make a deal. Perhaps one day, I’ll come looking for you to have my arm restored!”

“Huh!?” Now Ian was truly puzzled. What did he mean? Not restoring it now but waiting for some day in the future?

“Take care!” Shanks turned around with a hearty laugh, waved at Ian, and then jumped onto his own ship.

Ian knew better than to press the matter further. Shanks had made his choice, and Ian respected it.

The Red-Haired Pirates, along with Robin and Reiju, returned to the Red Force, and their ship set sail shortly afterward. They waved goodbye to Ian from the ship’s railing.

Ben Beckman, with his smoking pipe, stood beside Shanks and waved at Ian while quietly asking, “Captain, what did you mean by that?”

“Haha, Ben! You heard that too!” Shanks smiled broadly but didn’t turn his head as he replied in a low voice, “It’s quite simple, really. I’ve come to realize that there might be more than one possible future.”

Ben Beckman understood Shanks’ words and broke into a sly grin. “Does that mean you heard something that night?”

Shanks nodded discreetly. “Indeed. Before falling asleep, I saw two individuals make a pact…”

—————-

With the departure of the Red-Haired Pirates, Robin and Reiju, along with the acquired gold, left on their ship. Now, only Ian, Enel, Matthew, and Doroni remained aboard the Ark Maxim.

“Captain, should we set sail as well?” Doroni inquired.

Ian nodded. “Let’s head to Marineford.”

The ship embarked on its journey once more. During the voyage, Enel suddenly spoke up, addressing Ian. “That red-haired guy is very strong. I can’t defeat him.”

Ian glanced at him and chuckled. “No wonder you’ve been quiet these past few days.”

“Hmph!” Enel rolled his eyes at Ian but seemed to reluctantly agree. He then asked, “I heard he’s one of the Four Emperors. Does that mean there are three more like him?”

“It’s not just three more,” Ian replied, delivering a reality check. “There are many of them out there. The people on Skypiea and the Blue Sea have a significant gap in strength. You might have been invincible on Skypiea, but in the Blue Sea, there are plenty of individuals stronger than you.”

Enel was indeed feeling disheartened, realizing he had been overly arrogant in the past.

“A change in your mindset is a good thing,” Ian told him. “This way, you might continue to get stronger.”

“In that case, let’s have another match!” Enel raised his golden staff. “I have to defeat you first!”

“Sure thing! I can’t pass up this opportunity for some handed-over experience points,” Ian grinned, flexing his limbs, and soon he and Enel were locked in battle on the deck.

Defeating Enel would provide a substantial amount of experience points. Ian was working toward his goal of reaching level 60, and he couldn’t let such a great chance for leveling up slip by.

—————-

With the departure of the Red-Haired Pirates and the Dragon Hunters Pirates, the people on St. Poplar Island could finally breathe easy, and the island began to return to its lively state.

Around that time, a Sea Train pulled into St. Poplar Station. Three passengers disembarked from the train—a man and two women. The two women appeared to be twins with nearly identical appearances, both sporting peculiar square-shaped hairstyles. As they got off the train, they turned sideways and walked with the wind, and the man, oddly enough, wore only a mask and a triangular loincloth, revealing his furry “long legs”! He seemed like a perverted exhibitionist!

In his hands, he carried a large suitcase…

“Let’s go! With this money, we’ll definitely be able to buy wood from Treasure Tree Adam’s branches…”

—————-

After approximately three days of sailing on the sea, Ian and his crew were getting close to the Sabaody Archipelago.

Originally, due to the conflict with CP6 agents on St. Poplar Island, Ian hadn’t considered using the Navy’s specialized water currents as their route. Instead, they chose to head to Sabody Archipelago first before going to Marineford.

The CP6 agents had claimed to bring news from the Marine Headquarters. Although Ian hadn’t listened to their account, he could guess the general content—either it was about the Pacifistas or the Marine Headquarters retracting their offer to him.

In either case, it wasn’t a big deal to Ian. He knew he would eventually have to visit the Marine Headquarters, so he didn’t bother listening to their nonsense.

This time, with his encounter with Shanks, Ian found himself missing Rayleigh. So, he thought it was a good opportunity to visit Shakky’s Rip-off Bar on the Sabaody Archipelago and meet with Rayleigh. However, given his current status, he had to be cautious about drawing attention from the Marines while on the island. He might need to find a discreet way to meet Rayleigh.

Doroni climbed down from the mast and handed a newspaper to Ian. “Captain, here you go!”

“Thanks, Doroni!” Ian smiled and thanked him. The newspaper was something Ian had asked him to buy when a News Coo was spotted near the crow’s nest.

Although their course had diverged from that of the Straw Hat Pirates, Ian was still interested in their news. He knew they were heading to Water 7, and he wondered if they would cause another incident at Enies Lobby.

Robin had already joined Ian’s crew, and this time she was escorted back by Shanks. So, even if there were CP9 agents in Water 7, they might not be targeted without Robin as a member. However, Ian felt it was hard to predict. Since the Straw Hat Pirates had become quite famous after defeating Crocodile in Alabasta, it wasn’t surprising that they might attract attention.

Ian had been speculating whether, without Robin, they would still be involved in the Enies Lobby incident. These days, Ian had been closely following the news in the newspapers. However, the news reports from the past few days had not mentioned anything about Luffy and his crew.

Ian hadn’t expected much from today’s newspaper either. But when he opened it and saw the front-page headline, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing!

“What the…!?”

Ian stared in amazement at the picture and headline on the front page. It read: “Shocking news! The Straw Hat Pirates Cause Havoc at Enies Lobby!”

At that moment, Ian was left speechless. He felt like he had a mental block, unsure of how to react.

First of all, what was that headline that seemed to belong to a sensational tabloid? And why was there a picture of a tearful and snotty Mr. 2 in the news!?

Ian rubbed his eyes vigorously, double-checking that he wasn’t seeing things. The news article featured two pictures: one of Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates, and the other of the cross-dressing Mr. 2 from the Baroque Works!

As Ian carefully read through the news content, he couldn’t believe his eyes…

It turns out that Luffy and his crew had gone to Enies Lobby to rescue Mr. 2’s “Bon-chan”…

What on earth was going on? Ian hadn’t seen Mr. 2 back on Skypiea. How had he ended up teaming up with the Straw Hat Pirates?

The mental image of Luffy and his friends standing on top of a building in Enies Lobby, shouting, “Bon-chan, talk to me, I want to live!” and Mr. 2 crying out, “I want to live!” sent shivers down Ian’s spine.

This world had some seriously twisted humor…