On a beach of Hive Island.
The sea breeze blew gently, and the sunlight was just right.
On the sea surface, many mermaids and fishmen were playing, mingling freely with an equal number of humans.
There was no barrier, no conflict—everyone joyfully enjoyed a peaceful life.
Ian, wearing only beach shorts and sunglasses, leisurely lay on a lounge chair set under a sunshade.
He had handed over all his business affairs to Tesoro, who truly had business skills as strong as Roger or Whitebeard in the world of power.
At first, just managing the weapons trade in the New World required working through the night.
But now, Tesoro was handling the entire business of the Beasts Pirates all by himself, still effortlessly, even finding time to write a script to prepare a movie.
Perhaps this was the innate strength of a boss born to dominate.
After all, Ian had only seen such ability in the domineering CEOs of those female-targeted novels—making a fortune rivaling a nation while leisurely indulging in intense romance with the heroine every day.
Anyway, thanks to Tesoro's outstanding performance, Ian's life became much easier. Nowadays, apart from daily exercise, he mostly just played around.
Picking up a chilled drink from the small table nearby, Ian took a light sip and said leisurely, "This is life."
Beautiful sea views, warm sea breeze, and gentle sunlight.
Not far away, Uta's singing echoed from a speaker.
This was true enjoyment.
"Ian! Come play with us!"
Since she couldn't swim, Yamato hadn't changed into swimwear and wore a little camisole and hot pants on the beach, holding a volleyball as she invited Ian.
Ian didn't even look up, casually waving his hand, "You guys play by yourselves."
"What's wrong, white hair? Scared?"
Opposite Yamato, Hancock sneered coldly under her large sun hat.
"Scared of you?"
Yamato instantly turned her head, glaring fiercely at Hancock, "Snake woman, get ready to catch this!"
She said this as she tossed the volleyball high into the air, then jumped ten meters up and slapped the ball fiercely toward Hancock.
The volleyball had already turned pitch black the moment it flew out.
Of course, it had to be infused with Armament Haki; otherwise, one slap would just smash the ball to pieces.
Hancock sneered without backing down and slapped the volleyball back toward Yamato with the back of her hand.
"Thunderous Eight Trigrams!!"
Yamato's fist was pitch black, crackling with faint flashes of Haki lightning, and he punched the volleyball hard, turning it into a streak of black lightning.
"Fragrant Kick!"
Hancock naturally didn't hesitate. She spun her body and kicked the volleyball, now completely hardened, tearing through the air and smashing toward Yamato again.
"Hey hey hey, this isn't even a volleyball anymore, right?"
Watching from afar, Law chuckled lightly. "How can you use your foot?"
"Is that the point?"
Zoro couldn't help but speak up. "This is basically meant to kill."
"That's the real power!"
Pay-tan clenched his small fists, eyes glued to the scene. "This is the kind of ball a strong person should play with!"
Zoro gave the kid a glance. Is this really a proper member of the Beast Pirates?
"Anyway, better to keep a distance from them. That's always safe."
Ace, dressed similarly to Ian in beach shorts, shivered at the thought of what would happen if he got hit by that volleyball.
Two crazy women!
"Have they always been like this?"
On another corner of the beach, Monet — wearing thick glasses and holding her little sister playing with sand, dressed in a simple one-piece swimsuit that couldn't hide her hot figure — looked at the duel between Yamato and Hancock and couldn't help but ask.
"It's always been like this."
Viola, lying lazily on a lounge chair just like Ian, closed her eyes and said casually, "Don't pay attention to them. They're just two fools completely head over heels for that guy Ian! Is he really that charming?"
Monet didn't dare say anything.
How could she possibly criticize Lord Ian like Viola, the ruler of Hive Island, did?
"Ian is indeed a bit of a playboy," said Black Maria softly, her huge frame clad in an oversized swimsuit.
"There's no helping it. Hancock is outrageously beautiful! And she's hopelessly devoted to that bastard Ian! How many people in this world can resist that?"
Viola said, "In the end, it's because that guy's just too rotten!"
Nearby, Hancock's two younger sisters laughed awkwardly.
Their sister was indeed the third party who interfered.
"Hmph! The one who's going to marry Brother Ian in the future is me!"
Ten-year-old Ulti loudly declared, "I'll take care of those two sooner or later! Keep them away from Brother Ian!"
Then, she was picked up by Black Maria, who hugged her tightly.
"Ah! Little Ulti, who doesn't know her place, is so cute!"
"Wah! Let me go!"
Monet pushed up her glasses.
Is Lord Ian really this popular?
Though he is indeed strong and handsome.
Ian sighed and sat up.
He couldn't even take a quick nap.
Those two were just too noisy; the volleyballs flying back and forth sounded like cannon blasts, and the fierce wind blew away his sunshade.
"Brother Ian!"
Jack, the little brother, walked over with a man.
"That's him."
The man was a dark-skinned middle-aged man, cautiously bowing with his eyes lowered, not daring to look Ian in the eye.
"I-I, Lord Ian… I'm here to claim the bounty."
Ian smiled gently. "Of course. You helped me take down a Marine Headquarters Captain. As agreed, I will pay you a bounty of 100 million Beli."
Joy exploded across the man's face, and he couldn't help but break into a bright smile, even tears of excitement welling in his eyes.
"Th-thank you! Thank you so much, Lord Ian! I can finally feed my family!"
The man was a fisherman who, not long ago, had killed a Marine Headquarters Captain and traveled all the way to the Hive Island waters to claim his reward.
That took some serious guts.
Daring to go against the Marines was already extraordinary.
And to brave the strange climates and currents of the New World just to reach Hive Island—only someone truly bold would do that.
For a guy like this, Ian was more than willing to pay the 100 million Beli bounty.
"Jack, take him to receive his reward," Ian said.
"Alright," Jack nodded.
The grateful man left, overflowing with thanks.
Shortly after, Jack returned.
"I told him, if he's afraid of Marine retaliation, he can bring his whole family to live in the Hive Island waters."
"Good," Ian nodded with a smile.
The Cross Guild had promised protection after hunting down Marines, and Ian felt he couldn't be any less.
If they were willing to stay, civilians could relocate here and continue living peacefully.
If they were pirates, they'd be recruited into the Beasts Pirates. Those he liked would remain in the Hive Island waters and join the defense forces.
Those he didn't care for could be sent to Kaido-sensei—he didn't mind either way.
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