Super Card System

In the previous chapter, there was a small mistake. One of Teach’s hands was chopped off by Ian, so it wasn’t “both fists” that slammed the table. Thanks to a reader for pointing that out.

—

It took Ian three whole days to complete his shopping trip this time.

There was no helping it. The list of instruments that Varua gave him included not only items that could be purchased directly but also many that needed to be custom-made. The only reason he managed to get them so quickly was because he threw a bit more money at the situation.

Interestingly, a few of the instruments Varua requested were actually purchased from the small sky island “Weatheria.”

Yes, that’s right— Weatheria, the small sky island dedicated to meteorological science. In the original timeline, Nami was sent to this island by Bartholomew Kuma. Ian never expected that Varua would know the location of this small sky island. It really gives the impression that science knows no borders. One can only wonder if these scientists are secretly connected in various ways…

This island is inhabited by a bunch of eccentric old men. Because Weatheria is not a residential island in the traditional sense, all the inhabitants are scientists who study meteorological science. They’re all old men; there’s not a single ordinary resident among them. So, honestly, Ian has no idea how, in the original timeline, Nami managed to undergo such a dramatic transformation from a young girl to a mature woman after spending two years on this island…

Ah, what exactly did little Nami go through!? It’s so perplexing…

When Ian arrived on the island, the old men there recognized him. However, these scientists had no interest in anything related to pirates. They weren’t the least bit surprised by Ian’s presence; instead, they cheerfully invited him to have afternoon tea. While sipping tea and chatting, Ian learned from them that Kuma had actually visited this island before!

Apparently, it happened quite a long time ago. These old men, perhaps due to their age, had some memory lapses. It took them a while to recall that indeed, a man like Kuma had visited their island. According to their accounts, Kuma didn’t stay on the island for long, and they couldn’t tell Ian what his purpose was for being there.

Ian speculated that this might have just been a brief stop during Kuma’s travels. The ability of the Paw-Paw Fruit to repel air and teleport instantly still seemed so mysterious.

Ian didn’t stay too long on the island. After collecting the instruments, he left, but he made sure to note the location of this sky island.

The sum of everything Ian gathered was quite large. To carry it all, Ian hunted a giant leopard on one of the islands, skinned it, and used the hide to make a makeshift bundle. In the end, he returned slowly, carrying a package ten times his own size.

Fortunately, when Ian returned to the island, Varua and the crew were there to greet him. They carefully took the bundle from his hands and began unpacking the instruments from the crates inside, transporting them to the newly established research facility.

“Captain!” Crocodile, with his usual aloof expression and a cigar between his lips, immediately addressed Ian when he saw him. “Wherever you go, it seems you stir up trouble… You’ve only been gone for two or three days, and you’ve already made headlines?”

Reiju stood nearby with her hands on her hips, laughing softly. “Why is it that you’ve been monopolizing the news headlines lately?”

“I couldn’t help it. I didn’t expect to run into Burgess and Van Augur,” Ian shrugged and stretched his arms. “But did it really cause such a big stir?”

“Of course!” Robin smiled from the side. “You should know that the World Government is also tracking down the Blackbeard Pirates, so they took the rare step of acknowledging your actions. They’re heavily promoting the fact that you took down two of Blackbeard’s officers…”

“Tch!” Ian couldn’t help but scoff. “They’re making it sound like I did it on their orders. Do they have any shame left?”

“You know how the World Government operates,” Crocodile sneered. “They probably see it as just two groups of pirates fighting each other. The more this kind of thing happens, the happier they are…”

“But you didn’t find that Blackbeard bastard?” Crocodile asked afterward.

Ian shook his head and replied, “No, Burgess and Van Augur were out procuring supplies. When I was tracking Burgess, Van Augur spotted me, so I wasn’t able to get the location of the Blackbeard Pirates from them.”

“Hmph!” Crocodile exhaled a puff of smoke and sneered, “Back then, the World Government made a big deal out of how Teach replaced me as a Warlord. It’s laughable—this newly minted Warlord turned on them not long after, biting the hand that fed him.”

After chatting for a bit, Ian glanced around curiously and asked, “Where’s Fujitora? I haven’t seen him. Where did he go?”

Crocodile remained silent, and Reiju and Robin exchanged uncertain glances, unsure of how to respond. It was Enel, lounging against a wall with his hands behind his head, who casually remarked, “He left!”

“He left!?” Ian was puzzled and pressed further, “What do you mean?”

“In the days you were away, Marco from the Whitebeard Pirates called,” Nana finally explained. “Since you weren’t here, Fujitora answered the call. I don’t know what Marco said to him, but afterward, Fujitora seemed troubled. He left Sky Island, saying he needed to go to Wano. He mentioned it might take some time and told us not to worry about him…”

“Wano!?” Ian was taken aback, even more confused. “What is Fujitora going to do in Wano?”

“You… you really don’t know, do you?” Reiju looked at Ian with some surprise and said, “Fujitora might actually be from Wano. It seems he’s returning to his homeland for some reason…”

Ian was genuinely taken aback. Fujitora had never mentioned his background, and Ian had never known where he came from. But now, hearing what Reiju said, he suddenly recalled that Fujitora always wore geta sandals!

Although Fujitora’s clothing didn’t reveal much, geta sandals were indeed a unique feature of Wano Country…

“I never would have guessed…” Ian scratched his head awkwardly. “No wonder ever since I met Fujitora, his way of speaking has always had that old-fashioned, refined tone…”

Reiju nodded. “That’s true, but we don’t know much about Wano either. That country has always practiced a policy of isolation, with very little interaction with the outside world. Since Fujitora didn’t mention it, we’re not entirely sure if he’s really from Wano.”

“Yeah!” Robin added, “Come to think of it, Jinbe the Fishman’s attire is also quite similar to Fujitora’s…”

That’s true—Jinbe also likes to wear geta sandals. Jinbe is undoubtedly from Fish-Man Island, but his style is quite different from other fish-men. Ian wondered if Jinbe had also visited Wano at some point.

“Wano Country… Is something happening there?” Ian snapped out of his thoughts and asked the others.

“There’s some news,” Crocodile said. “I went down to the sea surface below and spoke with a few people from the underworld. They told me that Wano seems to be in turmoil right now…”

“Kaido?” Ian’s expression immediately became serious.

“Not sure,” Crocodile shook his head. “But it’s been known in the underworld for a long time that Kaido has had his eyes on Wano, so it’s likely that he’s involved this time too.”

“Then why didn’t you all stop Fujitora?” Ian asked, exasperated. “Do you really think Fujitora can take on the entire Kaido Pirates by himself!?”

Nana approached and took Ian’s arm, trying to comfort him. “Don’t worry, Captain. Things haven’t gotten that bad yet. Fujitora-san likely had his reasons for not letting us go with him. Wano has always been very isolationist. If Fujitora really is from Wano, then he probably couldn’t take us with him there. This turmoil in Wano might have been instigated by Kaido to provoke internal strife. If outsiders get involved recklessly, it could make things worse.”

“Exactly, you need to trust Fujitora!” Reiju chimed in. “He’s a sensible person. If the situation becomes too complicated, he’ll definitely reach out to us. He wouldn’t just stand by and let his homeland be destroyed by Kaido…”

“And besides, if you really want to help Fujitora, you should focus on Big Mom’s tea party first!” Crocodile added. “If you can form an alliance with the Big Mom Pirates and secure your position as one of the Four Emperors, then Kaido will be the one in trouble…”

Crocodile’s words made a lot of sense. He was always a strategist, seeing the situation clearly. Ian realized that while Fujitora might be from Wano, the Dragon Hunter Pirates were not. Ian wanted to help Fujitora, but if their interference ended up causing Wano to turn against the Dragon Hunter Pirates, it would be a disaster.

With this in mind, Ian asked Reiju, “How much time do we have before Big Mom’s tea party?”

“About fifteen days or so,” Reiju replied. “If we’re going to go, we should probably set out soon…”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

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