Ian’s kick was like a ram’s horn attack, or perhaps a celestial being flying from the sky. From both a strength and technique perspective, it was wless. If there had been judges on the side, they would likely have all raised scorecards showing perfect marks!
In slow motion, Ian’s captivating flip-flopsnded squarely on Bakkin’s face!
Boom! The next second, the old woman was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into a shop on the other side of the street with a loud bang, causing the surrounding tourists to scream in fright.
“Holy crap!” After kicking Bakkin away, Ian patted his chest with lingering fear and said, “That was close, I almost lost my dignity!”
Barat was in a daze, while Edward Weevil’s reaction was also dyed. After his mother was kicked away by Ian, he was still foolishly smiling at Barat.
When he finally realized what had happened, he eximed, “Mama!?” and hurriedly ran over, pulling Bakkin out from the wreckage.
Bakkin was unconscious, a huge shoe print on her face and blood flowing from her nose, which coincidentally matched Edward Weevil’s snot…
Edward Weevil shook her a few times but couldn’t wake her up, so he immediately became furious. Gripping the knockoff naginata that looked exactly like Whitebeard’s, he stomped heavily on the ground and charged towards Ian with booming footsteps.
“You… you a bad guy! How dare you hurt Mama!?” Edward Weevil shouted. “I’m going to kill you!” There’s no denying that when Edward Weevil got angry, he looked incredibly intimidating. Barat was startled and quickly tried to pull Ian away to escape, but Ian calmly stood his ground, watching Edward Weevil charge at him.
Just as Weevil raised his naginata to strike Ian, Ian suddenly pointed above Weevil’s head and shouted, “Ah! Look! There’s a roasted pig flying in the sky!”
Roasted… roasted pig!?
Edward Weevil had been craving roasted pig earlier, so the mention of it triggered a sensitive response in him. Instantly, his mind conjured up an image of a delicious roasted pig, and his killing intent vanished. He stopped his attack and turned to look in the direction Ian was pointing.
“No roasted pig…” Edward Weevil looked left and right but couldn’t find the roasted pig Ian mentioned. Frustrated, he scratched his head and turned back to question Ian, only to find that Ian and Barat had already disappeared!
“Ah! I’ve been tricked!” Edward Weevil finally realized what had happened and smacked his palm in frustration.
“How dare… how dare you deceive me!” Edward Weevil was enraged, searching everywhere for Ian. “No roast pig, and you also hurt Mama. I will kill you!”
But this was a busymercial street, with peopleing and going. How could he possibly find them?
—
Meanwhile, at a nearby street corner, Barat, who had been pulled away by Ian, finally breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Edward Weevil fail to find them.
Sheughed and said to Ian, “I didn’t expect you to suddenly attack that olddy. That kick was impressive!”
“Don’t mention it!” Ian said gloomily. “I almost got a psychological trauma just now…”
Barat giggled and said, “Who told you to carry so many chips with you? In Golden City, those chips are as good as money. That olddy is so greedy and has a keen nose for it!”
“But speaking of which, why didn’t you kick her son away as well?” Barat continued. “With your strength, it would have been easy to take him down, right?”
Ian rolled his eyes at her and replied, “Would you want to bully a mentally handicapped kid? What kind of aplishment can you get when you beat up someone like that?”
Barat nodded, then remembered what Ian had said earlier. She clutched her stomach,ughing so hard she could hardly breathe. “Ha… Haha! ‘There’s a roast pig flying in the sky,’ how did you evene up with that? It’s hrious!”
“Didn’t it work, that’s what matters. Didn’t you see how we just get away?” Ianughed along with her.
“But, once that olddy wakes up, she’ll probably be looking for you everywhere,” Barat said. “She might not be a big deal, but her simple-minded son… Haven’t you noticed that his mustache looks a lot like Whitebeard Edward Newgate’s? Even theirst names are the same…”
Ian didn’t seem too concerned and pointed at his clothes. “Do you think he’ll find me just by this tourist outfit? I’ll just change my clothes and be done with it. I don’t have time to deal with people like them. But since you know them, why don’t you tell me more about who they are?”
“Those two are pirates!” Barat exined. “And it’s just the two of them in their pirate crew. Did you see the skull emblem on their clothes? That’s their pirate g. Their crew is called the Weevil Pirates. They came to Gran Tesoro two months ago. When Lord Tesoro saw Edward Weevil, he was shocked. That guy’s mustache looks so much like Edward Newgate’s. The boss suspected he might be rted to the Yonko Whitebeard, so he’s been treating them as honored guests ever since.”
“In fact, we secretly investigated their identities through our intelligencework,” Barat exined. “Edward Weevil is a notorious pirate in the New World, with a bounty as high as 480 million Berries. As for Miss Bakkin, she doesn’t have any bounty, but judging by Edward Weevil’s demeanor, he seems to be just a simple-minded child who listens to his mother…”
Ian nodded and asked, “So, has that olddy ever imed that Edward Weevil is Whitebeard Jr. or anything like that?”
Barat paused for a moment, then shook her head. “No, she hasn’t said that. However, anyone who sees Edward Weevil would naturally think that way, right? Some people have asked her, but she neither confirmed nor denied it.”
Ian understood. This was indeed the butterfly effect. Whitebeard didn’t die in the war; instead, the Whitebeard Pirates are now more prestigious than ever worldwide. Since the old man is still around, if Bakkin dared to im that Edward Weevil is Whitebeard’s biological son, someone would likely contact the Whitebeard Pirates to verify the news. A simple inquiry to the old man would immediately expose Bakkin’s lie.
Barat’s description further confirmed Ian’s suspicion that Bakkin was a fraud.
However, Ian realized that Bakkin was also quite cunning. By neither admitting nor denying it, she left herself some room to maneuver while giving others space to specte. Even if she didn’t jump out to seize the Whitebeard Pirates’ inheritance because Whitebeard didn’t die, she still managed to leverage people’s fear of the Yonko Whitebeard to benefit herself.
Ian suspected that it might have been Edward Weevil’s appearance that made the World Government notice the hidden benefits of such a distinctive image.
In the original story, although Whitebeard died in battle, the strength of the Whitebeard Pirates wasrgely preserved. If the World Government and the Navy wanted to eradicate the remaining forces of the Whitebeard Pirates, they would have to deploy arge number of personnel. However, when they discovered Edward Weevil, they immediately realized they could use him to wipe out the remaining Whitebeard Pirates. They were even willing to risk offending Admiral Zephyr by recruiting Weevil into the Shichibukai to stir up trouble.
Ian had always found it suspicious that Zephyr had rebelled against the Navy in the original story. What kind of madness would possess the World Government and the Navy to drive away an admiral for the sake of one Shichibukai?
But after meeting Edward Weevil in person, Ian began to understand. He thought that the only usible reason was the desire to strike at the Whitebeard remnants.
Furthermore, Ian suspected there was an even deeper reason: the World Government and the Navy probably saw Edward Weevil as someone they could easily control. This simple-minded child would be easy to manipte as long as they controlled his mother. The World Government and the Navy, having suffered from several Shichibukai betrayals, likely wanted someone more easily controlled in the position.
Ian didn’t know the full truth, but he felt his guess was close.
Now the question was, since Ian had encountered Edward Weevil and his mother, Bakkin, how should he deal with them?
Should he eliminate them to stop them from tarnishing Whitebeard’s name?
That would be ideal for maintaining Pops’ reputation and preventing the World Government and the Navy from using them to create troubleter on.
However, if he killed them, ck Arm Zephyr would remain in the Navy and not rebel…
But if he pushed things in the opposite direction and allowed Edward Weevil to be a Shichibukai, then the Navy might lose a former admiral. That would be a significant blow to theirbat strength.
Ian was always happy to cause trouble for the World Government…
But he still hadn’t decided what to do, and thinking about it was giving him a headache, so he decided to put it aside for now.
Just then, Barat had led Ian through themercial district to the seaside resort area. There, Ian unexpectedly ran into Nana in a swimsuit!
She was holding several ice creams, seemingly on her way back to the beach. Upon seeing Ian, her eyes lit up, and she ran up to him, saying, “Captain, you’re just in time. Come help us apply sunscreen!”
“Suns… sunscreen!?” Ian looked at Nana’s explosive figure, suddenly realizing what this meant. He immediately raised his hand and eximed, “I’m in! Please, let me do it!”
Because he suddenly remembered that Reiju and Robin were with Nana… and the implications were crystal clear…
Oyyy: did you know that you can read the next 10 chapters for only 2$ ! join my<strong>PATREON</strong>