"So, starting today, Mihawk will be one of us."
As usual, Ian gathered all his officers together and introduced his old friend to them.
Among the officers, Teach clicked his tongue.
Should he say it's to be expected of Lord Ian? Even the world's greatest swordsman has now been pulled into their crew.
Another terrifyingly strong fighter had joined them. Just how powerful had the Beasts Pirates become now?
As expected, staying loyal to this crew was the smartest choice.
Following behind Lord Ian was the surest way to reach the peak of life—there was no need to think about any unnecessary nonsense.
"This isn't really a surprise," Law said calmly.
Ian had wanted to recruit Mihawk long ago but never managed to succeed.
Still, Law had never doubted that it was possible.
After all, there were very few things in this world that Ian wanted to do but couldn't achieve.
When Mihawk stayed on Hive Island—stayed there for six whole years—Law knew the man wouldn't escape from Ian's grasp in the end.
Over those years, everything around Mihawk had subtly changed his perception of the Beasts Pirates.
And now, just as Law had predicted, it all happened exactly as expected.
"This guy looks even stronger now!"
Bullet's gaze toward Mihawk burned with excitement. "You've gotten way stronger than you were six years ago!"
Mihawk met his gaze with equal intensity. "Demon Heir, Douglas Bullet—I've wanted to fight you for a long time."
"Hahahaha! Is that so? Then what a coincidence!"
Bullet burst out laughing.
As the two men sized each other up, Kaido laughed as he turned to Ian. "You've really done it, kid."
The Beasts Pirates under this boy's command had grown countless times stronger than they ever were when Kaido himself led them.
Ian only smiled.
With Mihawk joining, even without counting himself, the Beast Pirates now had three forces at Yonko level.
Yamato was only one step away from that level — effectively quasi-Yonko strength.
Hancock was a bit behind, but she was also very close.
Then there was Kuzan, who was properly at admiral level.
Law and Enel were already very close to admiral strength as well.
In terms of top-tier fighters, they should already completely suppress the World Government, right?
Unless the Celestial Dragons really had some extraordinary person hidden among them.
Still, more strength was always better, and Ian didn't intend to abandon the strategy he'd originally set.
Before he could be certain of all the forces the World Government possessed, it made sense to expand his own side's power to the limit.
That was how Ian thought.
So—
"It's about time to start moving."
Ian said.
"Oh?"
Kaido's eyes instantly lit up. "So, kid, how do you plan to start?"
"The final showdown with the World Government won't be too far off, so before that we need to clear out the riffraff on the seas."
Ian said. "Either get them to stand with us, or don't give them any chance to help the World Government."
"Understood."
Law translated Ian's words. "So you mean — either they submit to us, or they die?"
Ian shrugged. "We can't give them any chance to cause trouble, can we?"
"Anyone who dares stand against Ian naturally has only one road — death!"
Although she was resentful the other day when Ian handed her the ring, Boa Hancock was the first to step forward now to uphold Ian's authority.
"Why make it complicated," Bullet snorted coldly, "just wipe out those mysterious guys outright!"
"Don't be foolish."
Ian smiled. "Wouldn't that be a waste? With the World Government's true strength still uncertain, to ensure final victory we should gather as many forces as possible."
"Indeed."
Jack nodded in deep admiration for his older brother's foresight. "The World Government isn't an opponent we can deal with easily. We really should unite every bit of strength we can."
"So, Ian," Kaido raised an eyebrow. "You mean... the next step is to form alliances with those other groups?"
"Something like that."
Ian replied calmly, "We don't need to mention the Revolutionary Army — they're already our allies."
"That leaves the Charlotte Family, the Whitebeard Pirates, Cross Guild, and... the Red-Haired Pirates."
He didn't include the NEO Marines.
After all, the NEO Marines were already allied with the Revolutionary Army — Ian had known that for a while.
The three sides already shared a mutual understanding when it came to opposing the World Government, so there was no need to form another alliance with them.
"The Red-Haired Pirates?"
Ace asked in surprise. "Has Shanks really gotten that strong already?"
Could the same pirate crew he once saw back in Foosha Village now be on equal footing with the likes of the Charlotte Family or the Whitebeard Pirates — the most renowned forces across the seas?
"If nothing unexpected has happened," Ian's gaze shifted toward a certain girl among his officers, "the Red-Haired Pirates have already become one of the strongest crews in the world — second only to us."
In the original timeline, the Red-Haired Pirates had become one of the Four Emperors a year before Luffy set sail — meaning around this very time.
In other words, Shanks had already possessed the power to stand at the peak of the seas for at least a year now.
Even without referring to the original story, Shanks' strength was almost inseparable from Mihawk's.
Since Mihawk had already reached such a level, Shanks could only be stronger — never weaker.
"Ian!"
A girl with red and white hair — the songstress — spoke out angrily. "Even the Red-Haired Pirates? Those guys are nothing but scum!"
Mihawk's lips twitched slightly.
He still couldn't quite understand why Shanks's own daughter had joined the Beasts Pirates, and now she seemed to despise her father with every fiber of her being.
Ian, however, spoke sternly, "I've always felt that something about that incident wasn't right. From what I know, Shanks isn't the kind of man who would do something like that."
"Didn't I already confront him about it once? That man nearly tried to kill me back then!"
Uta shouted in fury. "I don't think there's anything left to question!"
Ian looked deeply at the young girl.
"So, Uta… you mean we should destroy the Red-Haired Pirates directly?"
The anger on her face froze instantly.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Kill Shanks and his crew?
The girl fell silent.
Ian wasn't surprised at all.
Although Shanks had acted like he wanted to kill Uta the last time they met, she could never truly cast away her feelings for him—or for the Red-Haired Pirates.
At this point, letting Uta come into contact with them again didn't seem dangerous to Ian.
Her friends were in the Beasts Pirates now. Her career was in the Beasts Pirates.
To her, their place in her heart might already weigh as much as, if not more than, the Red-Haired Pirates once did.
Besides, that guy Shanks would never come out and admit the truth about what happened in Elegia back then.
**********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 20 early chapters.
patreon.com/PirateKing24