Chapter 30: The Wise General's Gambit
They varied in size, possessing a unique beauty.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
...
Using the soap bubbles floating in the air as stepping stones, Ian leaped upward continuously. After finding a tall tree, he stood firmly at its summit.
Fruit Skills - Super Vision and Super Hearing, activated!
An invisible audio-visual space enveloped Grove 44 and rapidly expanded toward the surrounding areas. When it reached its limit, Ian had a more precise grasp of his mental range. It covered about four or five groves—the current limit of his audio-visual abilities.
There were 79 numbered groves on the Sabaody Archipelago! If one day, his Fruit ability could cover the entire island, he should also possess the power to contend with the Four Emperors and the Admirals, right?
At this thought, a fiery light flashed in Ian's eyes! During his training at Headquarters under Garp, Ian had not neglected his daily tasks. He had performed three [Fruit Skill Type] enhancements, which improved [Visual Ability], [Mental Perception Ability], and [Physical Ability] respectively. Besides the expanded range of Super Vision and Super Hearing, the illusion control range of [Dream World] had also increased from 100 meters to 200 meters.
Sabaody Archipelago! The next few months would be Ian's main battlefield. He had to seize this rare opportunity to fully upgrade his abilities once more!
While envisioning the future, Ian couldn't help but frown at the discussions of the people near the port.
What's going on here?
"It's a Marine warship, actually docked at a civilian port! Could it be Jock Ian arriving?"
"To act so ostentatiously, it must be that 'Adjudicator of the Sea'!"
"Let's get out of here quickly! The island is definitely going to be chaotic for a while. There are too many pirates who want to kill this young Commodore!"
"The great pirate in Grove 16, with a bounty of 98,000,000 Berries, the 'Mechanical Monster Hand' Pachito, has already declared that if he encounters Jock Ian, he'll kill him personally!"
"How exactly did Marine Headquarters assign this young man, who was just a branch base commander in the East Blue a month ago, to be stationed at the Sabaody Archipelago?"
"Can a small place like the East Blue produce a powerful rising star in the Marines?"
"..."
Listening to these people's discussions... why does it seem like everyone near the port already knows Ian is coming to the Sabaody Archipelago? Wasn't this decided just this morning? Even if the Sabaody Archipelago is close to Marine Headquarters, the news couldn't have spread this fast!
"Commodore Ian! Something's happened, Commodore Ian!" Nami's voice came from below.
Ian looked down and saw Nami holding a newspaper and waving it at him. Something's wrong, something's very wrong! A bad feeling rose in Ian's heart. He leaped down nimbly from the height and returned to the four cadres. Without waiting for Nami to explain further, he grabbed the newspaper and quickly scanned its contents.
"Commodore Jock Ian, the Marines' Supernova, Stationed at Sabaody Archipelago! New Goal in Crime-Fighting: 'A World Without Pirates'!"
Ian: "!!!"
Ian was no longer in the mood to pay attention to the long, verbose article. What shocked him the most was... this newspaper was the morning edition issued this morning! From writing, printing, to maritime distribution, it was a complete process. The front-page article must have been finalized at least yesterday.
That meant...
That old fox Sengoku had arranged the front-page news before Ian even made his decision! He was certain Ian would choose the Sabaody Archipelago!
No wonder, no wonder the people loitering near the port earlier had said such things.
New Goal: A World Without Pirates!
The publication of this newspaper was undoubtedly a provocation to all pirates!
Old Sengoku, you're playing such a big game? By predicting his movements in advance, Sengoku had forced Ian to become the public enemy of every pirate wanting to enter the New World from the first half of the Grand Line! No... probably even some pirates in the New World who couldn't stand provocation would be equally displeased upon seeing the newspaper and might want to come back and kill him, right?
Peacock held the same newspaper in her hand and said in surprise, "Sengoku, oh Sengoku, you're really not cute at all; you're even a little scary. Is everything within his expectations? He even sent out the newspapers in advance! He's so shrewd! No wonder he's called 'the Wise General of the Warring States Period'!"
Ian was furious: "Shrewd, my foot! You can't be such a scoundrel as an official, right? Isn't this gambling on what I'll choose? If I hadn't chosen the Sabaody Archipelago, wouldn't today's newspaper have been filled with fake news? He didn't even consider the test. What a waste of public resources!"
The most immediate problem was that they had become public enemies the moment they set foot on the island. It wasn't Ian's own doing; Sengoku had pushed him hard from behind! That old guy!
T. Bone nodded in understanding, continued holding his notebook, and said confidently, "After reading the newspaper, Commodore Ian cursed: Sengoku is nothing, you're a scoundrel official, a complete gambler..."
Ian: "..."
Correction: the most immediate problem still comes from within.
Nami looked around the harbor and said guiltily, "There were a lot of people gathered here just now, but now they've all run away. I always feel like there are many people hiding in the shadows, secretly observing us. Commodore Ian, how about we... return to the base first?"
Sengoku's actions only made Ian unhappy. Scared? Not at all! Becoming the focus of the pirates' attention saved him the trouble of going out to sea to hunt them down. Now, as long as he remained on the island, the "lure" effect would persist.
"Let the soldiers on the ships return. There's no need for them to accompany us on the tour. The four of you, follow me. We'll continue exploring the lawless zone as planned. I want to see just how lawless these people are!"
...
After landing at Grove 44, the group walked for a while, heading directly toward the groves numbered before 30. They received many malicious stares along the way. Too many illegal activities happened on the island, and... pirates, bounty hunters, kidnappers, passing civilians, merchants, craftsmen, nobles, Celestial Dragons—people from all walks of life gathered here. Therefore, even ordinary people had little respect for the Marines.
There was no justice at all in places controlled by the Celestial Dragons. Besides being criticized and questioned, almost no one believed Ian and the others could maintain law, order, and peace on the island. In fact, Ian's high-profile presence made lawful residents and merchants anxious, fearing a period of chaos was imminent.
Upon arriving at Grove 29, the environment and atmosphere immediately formed a sharp contrast with the previous blocks. Even in broad daylight, a strange and eerie feeling pervaded the air.
"Commodore Ian, it will take a long time to tour the entire lawless zone. Should we find some transportation to speed things up?" T. Bone, more familiar with the island's environment, knew that continuing on foot would surely take until dark.
"Don't worry, Uncle T. We don't have to look for transportation; someone will bring it to us."