In the sky, a hot air balloon was slowly drifting away.
"Hee hee hee hee hee!"
The birdman lay in the basket, writing rapidly. "I've seen something really interesting again."
Then he sighed. "It's a shame, though. Today's news probably can't be reported casually."
Otherwise, whether it's the Navy or the Beast Pirates, neither will let him off.
If it gets to that point, it's over.
While chaos erupted on Amazon Lily, at Mariejois…
The Marine Fleet Admiral, Steel Bone Kong, rushed to the Five Elders' office and was immediately scolded by his superiors.
"You've embarrassed the government!"
The most frequently scolded phrase was, "How could it have come to the point of being held hostage by pirates? Are you really going to let someone who's about to become an Admiral fall this far? Go back and have that fool Sakazuki reflect on this!"
Kong didn't dare to retort a single word, allowing the Five Elders to berate him.
There was nothing he could do. That idiot Akainu had really embarrassed them this time.
He was supposed to be on the verge of becoming an admiral, yet he was completely overwhelmed by a 13-year-old kid. If that kid hadn't been cautious about the World government, he probably wouldn't even be coming back.
The Five Elders eventually finished their scolding.
The elder with the long beard, Mars, calmed down and said, "That kid, Ian, has been making a lot of moves lately. In Dressrosa, he took the little people and even learned the King Punch from King Elizabello of the Prodence Kingdom. Akainu was injured by that move."
"On Fish-Man Island, he signed an agreement with Neptune about the migration of the population and formed a fish-man army. And now, even the Kuja Pirates are under his command."
Kong gasped in surprise. He really didn't know Ian had been so active lately. "So, the Beast Pirates are developing quite fast?"
Even though Kong didn't find the little people, the fish-man army, or the Kuja Pirates particularly impressive, adding three factions all at once was still too much, wasn't it?
"So, what exactly are you Navy doing?"
The elder with the big beard, Saturn, glared at Kong. The enemies of pirates were the Navy, not the World Government. That had been the case for the past 800 years.
Then he added, "However, we should indeed start taking the Beast Pirates seriously."
"Let's keep an eye on the Beast Pirates for now. They're still within our control, but in a few years, things might be different."
The Five Elders looked at the admiral. "Kong, pay attention. Don't disappoint us."
Kong nodded in agreement.
But inside, he was complaining.
The Navy's enemies were all the pirates in the world.
With the Great Pirate Era becoming more intense, it wasn't easy for the Navy to pull out the necessary forces to crush the Beast Pirates.
Sigh... He could only hope the Beast Pirates would quiet down for a bit.
They should just hurry up and hand the Fleet admiral position to Sengoku.
On Amazon Lily Island.
Ian and Yamato, as the most honored guests, followed the Kuja Pirates into the heart of the Amazon Lily Kingdom.
After passing through a narrow passage, they immediately emerged into an open space.
It gave a sense of a paradise, with wide, flat land, neatly arranged houses, fertile fields, beautiful ponds, and mulberry and bamboo groves.
However, the area inside the mountain wasn't very large. There wasn't even a bustling city. Ian only saw a few villages.
Roughly estimated, the total population of this country was probably around 200,000 to 300,000, which was less than a twentieth of Fish-Man Island's population, let alone compared to Wano Country.
Ian looked up, gazing at the buildings suspended on the cliffside far in the distance, which had a very unique charm.
But because Akainu had destroyed one side of the mountain wall, the suspended buildings on that side had collapsed.
As Ian took in the scenery of the country, he casually asked, "Why didn't Rayleigh-san come?"
Shakky, a few steps ahead of him, puffed on her cigarette and replied leisurely, "Rayleigh said it wouldn't be convenient for him to come."
Ian nodded lightly.
He was now the great benefactor of Amazon Lily, and by extension, a benefactor to Shakky as well. But to Rayleigh, Ian was the enemy who had caused the death of his friend.
So, the best way to handle it was to avoid appearing before him.
This was the composure of adults.
"Congratulations, kid," Shakky said, her tone slow.
Now, Amazon Lily has truly become the territory of the Beasts Pirates.
And there was no way to refuse it.
"Same to you," Ian replied with a light smile.
"I'm just a little curious," Shakky tilted her head slightly, "Kid, was it really worth it to face someone like Sakazuki for Amazon Lily?"
She knew very well that if Ian's charged attack hadn't worked, he would have been finished.
After all, it wasn't like he could have known Rayleigh and the others would come from the beginning, right?
Ian spoke with righteous seriousness, "The crisis on Amazon Lily is all due to the appearance of the Sea-Prism Stone embedding technology, and this technology is something I publicized in the newspaper to sell Sea-Prism Stones. So, strictly speaking, the crisis on Amazon Lily is caused by me."
"Therefore, it's my responsibility!"
What a righteous tone, truly righteous!
Shakky slightly twitched her mouth.
This little brat really dares to say that.
However…
"Ah! Lord Ian!!"
The girls of the Kuja Pirates already screamed. If it weren't for Yamato swiftly blocking in front of Ian again, the girls would have definitely rushed over.
"But Lord Ian," Empress Tritoma walked over, showing great respect for Ian, "Why disband the Kuja Pirates? Without the Kuja Pirates going out to gather supplies, this country is doomed."
The Kuja Pirates not taking action anymore was Ian showing respect to the Five Elders.
"The Calm Belt is no longer safe," Ian said, "If we continue to plunder everywhere like before, it would be like provoking the Marines' nerves, which is a very dangerous action."
"But," Empress Tritoma sighed, "Then, what should we do as Kuja Pirates?"
Ian smiled, "Don't forget, Empress Tritoma, you now have us, the Beast Pirates, backing you. Any problem, we'll help you!"
No joke, with the small population of Kuja Kingdom, the Beast Pirates' financial power could directly support them.
"Really?"
Empress Tritoma was overjoyed.
Ian smiled, "Wano Country has no shortage of Sea-Prism Stones. You can easily build a fleet that can traverse the Calm Belt. Even using it as a merchant fleet traveling between the Grand Line and the Four Seas would be enough for your livelihood."
"Oh! Is that so?"
Tritoma's eyes lit up.
"Even," Ian thought for a moment. The Kingdom of Women, Amazon Lily, had been isolated from the world for too long. Most of the citizens didn't even know what men looked like. He added, "If you're not good at business, you can just rent those ships to a friend of mine as a share, and let him give you dividends regularly."
Um, Umit should be fine with that, right?
"That's great!"
Tritoma suddenly let out a sigh of relief.
If they could live easily, who would want to be a pirate?
In the span of a few sentences, the group had already walked into a small rural path in Amazon Lily, and before long, they arrived in a village.
Their arrival sent the village into a frenzy.
All the women in the village poured out, especially the unmarried girls, who stared at Ian with eager eyes that made his scalp tingle.
"Is that a man? It's my first time seeing one!"
"Don't say 'man' like that! That's Lord Ian! Our savior, Lord Ian!"
Well, the story of the battle earlier had already spread throughout the entire island of Amazon Lily.
"Lord Ian! Will you have children with me?"
One of the girls gazed at Ian and shouted loudly.
Like flipping a switch, the shouts began to rise, one after another.
"Lord Ian! Please marry me!"
"Ah! Lord Ian!!"
Ian, Ian, Ian.
Ian had never thought his name could sound so unpleasant. The endless calls made his head spin.
"Hehehe," Shakky grinned mischievously. "You, young man, are now the dream lover of every girl on Amazon Lily."
Ian's mouth twitched.
Shakky was indeed right. As they passed each village, cheers of "Lord Ian! Lord Ian!" would erupt from within.
Ian then became convinced—he was truly the heartthrob of countless girls, huh?
But Ian found it a little scary.
There were no men on Amazon Lily, and no mother-and-child rivers. If the women of this country wanted to have children, they would sail out, get pregnant, and then return home.
When you think about it carefully, it's quite terrifying.
It could be called professional marriage fraud.
With so many girls like that eyeing him, Ian felt a bit freaked out.
In any case, a group of people arrived at the royal palace of Amazon Lily. Empress Tritoma was going to hold a welcome banquet for Ian and Yamato here.
Well, when in doubt, throw a banquet—that's the maritime tradition.
**********
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