"You mean that ridiculous letter?"
Crocodile smirked mockingly. "You don't believe that story, do you? It's just a fairy tale full of lies."
He scoffed dismissively, "The so-called City of Gold is not…"
But before he could finish his words, Ian raised his glass, took a sip, and said seriously: "The City of Gold… truly exists."
These words stunned everyone at the table, except for Ace, who was still happily eating fried noodles.
The City of Gold... does it truly exist?
The legendary city that is said to be built entirely of gold, was he serious?
"The City of Gold..."
Crocodile muttered after recovering from his shock, then he removed his cigar and scoffed: "You're telling me that 400-year-old fairy tale is true?"
He looked at Ian and smirked. "You have piqued my interest. I'll admit it, this City of Gold story of yours does sound fun. A whole city made of gold, huh? Maybe that Liar Noland wasn't lying after all."
"That man wasn't lying."
Ian said calmly. "So? Did you find the place I asked you to?"
"Hmph, you're such a troublesome man."
Crocodile said mockingly. "You do realize I'm your enemy, right? And yet you ask me to find something for you?"
Crocodile took another breath of his cigar. "Jaya Island still exists. Funny thing, there are still plenty of idiots who believe in the City of Gold. There's a lawless town called Mock Town there, a heaven for pirates."
"I don't know if it's what you're looking for, but there's not a speck of gold there. Just chaos and greed. Though I suppose that does make it somewhat fitting."
He exhaled a puff of smoke and continued: "As for that Little Garden you mentioned..."
His face darkened slightly.
"That place should not be called Little Garden, damn it! That place is like being back in prehistoric times. Where did you even get this information from? It's wrong. If I hadn't sent men to scour the route along the first half of the Grand Line, I would never have found it."
He flicked his cigar again. "Still, it's an interesting place. Ancient creatures that should've gone extinct still live there, and there are even two giants constantly fighting. If I sold that info to the Marines, it would fetch a pretty good price."
"So you really found the places I mentioned?"
Ian let out a breath of relief. He hadn't expected Crocodile to actually go through the trouble.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me just yet."
Crocodile said with a smirk before putting his cigar back between his lips.
"I have one condition."
"Condition?"
"I'm coming too."
Crocodile said with a grin, his scar twisting with his grin. "I want to see for myself whether this City of Gold really exists."
"Alright."
Ian nodded. "But we will need to prepare some supplies first."
"What supplies?"
"Fruit. Lots of fruit, every kind you can find."
"Fruit? What the hell do you need that for?"
Crocodile frowned, then shrugged. "Fine. I'll prepare a ship's worth of fruits for you."
He grinned. "So, when do we set out? I can't wait to see this City of Gold for myself. You better not be lying to me."
Ian nodded, then thought for a moment before replying: "Getting to the City of Gold isn't that simple. We'll have to wait for one more person."
"One more person?"
Crocodile sounded unimpressed. He glanced at the two brats beside Ian while smirking. "I think we would be better off leaving those two behind. With just me and you, it would be safer. The fewer people, the better."
At that, Nami and Ace, who had both been happily eating, snapped their heads toward Crocodile.
This bastard! It's the City of Gold! They want to go too!
Especially Nami, if they really found it, she could finally pay off the 100 million Belly to free Cocoyasi Village.
She had to go.
But Crocodile didn't seem to care. He exhaled a thin stream of smoke and said coolly: "Think it over carefully. Useless tools are better off staying where they belong."
"Sorry, but reaching the City of Gold requires all the right tools."
Ian said while shrugging his shoulders, then he pointed toward Nami, who was still glaring at Crocodile. "And she's one of them."
Nami: "...?!"
Nami's anger vanished instantly. She straightened up her back proudly like a peacock flaunting its feathers while glaring triumphantly at Crocodile.
Beside her, Ace also straightened his back, waiting expectantly for Ian to say his name too.
But after a long silence, Ian still said nothing.
Ace turned to him, confused. "Mr. Ian... What about me?"
Looking at Ace's hopeful eyes, Ian sighed while rubbing his chin and said, "You... are somewhat important too."
"Pfft!"
"Hey, come on! I saved your life!"
Ace glared at Nami, who was laughing uncontrollably, then turned to Ace with a wounded expression.
"That's enough playing house for today."
Crocodile interrupted them impatiently, then he looked at Ian and said, "So? Who's this person we're waiting for?"
"Crocodile, this time, it was a real monster."
After saying this, Ian seemed to notice something. He turned around, looked at a burly figure walking to the entrance of the tavern with a smile, and said, "He's here!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Crocodile, Nami, and Ace all looked towards the tavern's entrance.
When Crocodile saw the person approaching, his pupils shrank slightly before quickly returning to normal.
With a cigar in his mouth, he sneered: "So there's that kind of vicious pirate that hangs around you."
"Mr. Ian."
"You're here?"
Seeing Kuma's massive figure approaching, Ian let out a small sigh of relief and smiled. "I saw the news not long ago. Looks like you have had quite a bit going on lately, Bartholomew Kuma, the Tyrant of the South Blue!"
Before Kuma could respond, Crocodile had already removed his cigar and said with a serious look: "A vicious pirate recently wanted by Marine Headquarters."
Kuma: "..."
"All right, I know what happened roughly, no need to be so tense."
Seeing the two men staring warily at each other and noticing Ace and Nami growing nervous after Crocodile's words, Ian quickly waved his hand. "Kuma's not some ruthless monster. Of course, Kuma, you can relax too. None of us here is exactly a saint, either."
Crocodile: "..."
Kuma: "..."
Nami: "..."
Ace: "..."
What kind of explanation was that?
The four of them looked at Ian speechlessly.