At the Marine Headquarters.
Admiral Sengoku was also paying attention to the events unfolding in Dressrosa.
Holding the intelligence that the Donquixote family had taken over Dressrosa, this pillar of the Navy, who had supported it for decades, showed a sorrowful expression.
"Rosinante, don't worry. I'll definitely find Doflamingo's weakness."
Even Navy Admirals cannot lay a hand on the legally recognized pirate group, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, under the world government.
In fact, it's precisely because they are Navy Admirals that they cannot act against the Seven Warlords.
Time never stops for people's longing, and the winds of the era continue to blow forward.
Over two years passed in the blink of an eye.
The current time is the second half of the year 1511 in the Sea Circle Calendar.
Ian is now fifteen years old.
On an island in the New World.
Suddenly, a sharp explosion rang out in the sky.
The pirates on the shore were startled and looked up in terror.
A formation of pitch-black iron birds appeared in the sky, diving down like geese heading south.
"Hide! Quick, hide! It's the Beast Pirates' bombers!"
"How could they arrive so fast! Damn it! Where can we hide now?"
"Shoot them down!"
"Are you kidding? They're flying over a thousand meters high! How can we shoot them down?"
Before the arguing pirates could even make sense of the situation, bombs began to rain down from the iron birds in the sky.
Amidst the howling winds, the pirates were already filled with despair.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
In the blink of an eye, the coastline had turned into a sea of fire, with countless pirates perishing instantly.
Of course, some fortunate ones managed to escape in a panic and flee on their boats.
But before these fortunate ones could even rejoice for a few seconds, their ships began to shake violently, and explosions erupted beneath them, directly severing the keel of their boats. One by one, the ships began to crumble.
Terrified pirates looked beneath the sea.
Huge shadows swam beneath the water, with figures circling around these enormous shapes.
Fear exploded across the pirates' faces.
"It's the Fishman Brigade! Damn it! The torpedoes mounted on the sea beasts are too powerful!"
"Don't fall into the water! Those vile Fishmen won't spare us!"
Though they warned not to fall into the water, who could resist the pull of gravity when the ship began sinking?
In the moment of falling into the sea, the pirates finally saw the scene beneath the water's surface.
Massive creatures swam in the ocean, each equipped with three cannons—torpedo launchers—that allowed them to easily blast the bottoms of ships above the water, completely destroying them.
However, the greatest threat to the pirates who had fallen into the sea were not the sea beasts themselves, but the Fishmen surrounding them.
The Fishmen held launchers, shooting long harpoons. While their range wasn't long due to being underwater, for the pirates at that moment, they were deadly enough.
In the blink of an eye, the sea was stained red with blood.
Later, on the already chaotic shore, the surviving pirates barely had time to feel any relief from surviving the disaster before they saw a large ship rapidly approaching from the distance.
Unprecedented despair appeared on the pirates' faces.
"It's the Golden Dragon Ship! He's coming! He's coming!!"
The pirates no longer had the will to fight back and turned to flee.
But at the same time...
On the deck of the Golden Dragon Ship...
Several devices resembling catapults were ready, and the ammunition for these catapults were massive creatures.
"Fire!"
With a pirate's command, the catapults launched, and the giant beasts shot into the air, tracing a graceful arc before landing on the island, right in front of the fleeing pirates.
"Roar!!"
The pain from their high-speed fall caused the beasts to roar in fury.
Just the roar alone stirred a fierce wind.
"It's... it's the Beast Legion of the Beasts Pirate Crew!!"
The pirates screamed hoarsely.
There were four beasts before them: a giant gorilla, a massive crocodile, a fierce tiger, and a mighty lion.
Roaring, the giant beasts launched their attack on the pirates.
In an instant, the battlefield was littered with corpses.
The Golden Dragon slowly docked on the shore, and Ian stepped onto the island.
At fifteen years old, Ian had completely shed the childishness of his younger days. All that remained was the youthful handsomeness and vitality typical of a young man.
Standing at over two meters tall, Ian's build was far from bulky. His frame was slender, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, his proportions nearly perfect. The black trench coat he wore fit him perfectly, making him look even more imposing.
Stepping on the still-heated ground from the bombings, Ian looked around.
The battle was almost over. The pirates aboard the Golden Dragon were disembarking, beginning to clean up the battlefield, counting their spoils, and calming the few remaining beasts that hadn't yet finished their bloodshed.
Above them, bombers circled the battlefield, searching for any possible survivors.
"With this, the third fleet of the Ochoku Pirates should be completely wiped out," Ian muttered.
Behind him, Law spoke casually, "That guy's probably about to explode from rage."
"He should have known this would be the result the moment he stood in our way," Ian replied indifferently.
"Die! Ian the Skyfire!!"
From the heap of corpses, a few pirates suddenly sprang up, charging toward Ian.
Ian recognized them.
They were officers from the Ochoku Pirates, the ones commanding this fleet.
But...
"Perfume Femur!"
A shadow shot through the air, kicking two of the Ochoku Pirate Group's officers into flying stone fragments.
Faster than her, though, was a white figure.
"Tempest Kick: White Snake Drive!"
The white figure swept by, freezing each pirate into an ice sculpture before smashing them with a single blow.
"What are you doing?!"
Yamato, who was carrying a spiked club, was angry. "I could've handled this alone!"
"Maybe you're the one causing trouble!"
Hancock stood tall and proud, not backing down.
Over the past two years, both had grown a lot.
Especially Yamato, who had fully transformed from a girl to a young woman—tall, with delicate features, and completely unrecognizable from the snot-nosed kid she once was.
Hancock had matured too, in every sense.
However, in terms of personality, neither had changed much—they were still at odds with each other.
Ian, uninterested in getting involved in their conflict, simply turned to Law and said, "That's enough, let's head back."
His indifference immediately made Hancock's eyes flash red with irritation. "Oh! The cold Ian is so handsome too!"
Yamato shivered. "You're disgusting!"
Law, already ignoring their argument, raised an eyebrow. At thirteen, he had become a real young man. "Is it over already?"
"Beyond this point is Hive Island," Ian replied. "No need to go that far. Of course, if Ochoku wants to settle things in a battle, I'll gladly oblige."
Law nodded lightly.
A lot has happened in these two years.
At the same time.
North Blue.
The Marine traitor, Diez Barrels, had just gone through an intense naval battle, but fortunately, he emerged victorious.
While counting his spoils, he suddenly noticed something.
It was a fruit, a peach-pink, heart-shaped fruit with spiral patterns on it!
"This is!"
Having once been a Marine, he recognized the name of the fruit.
"Ope-Ope no Mi!!"
**********
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