Chapter 38: Partners in the Dark
Ian stopped and said, "Hey! You're right. Why don't we prepare a boat for them?"
T. Bone was surprised. "Really?"
Ian: "Then we'll get on the boat together and escort them away."
T. Bone: "This..."
Ian: "Find a richer island, settle them down, and find a good job for each of them."
T. Bone: "..."
Ian: "Help them find partners and start families."
T. Bone: "..."
Ian put his hand on T. Bone's shoulder. "If all else fails, I might as well give them my life!"
T. Bone: "I'm sorry, Commodore Ian, please stop scolding me. I was wrong!"
Ian was also puzzled. How could the current atmosphere at Marine Headquarters produce such a pushover? Let go of the need to help others and respect their fate. Besides, Ian and his companions have already given them the opportunity to change their fate within their capabilities. Whether they can leave the island and survive better depends on how they seize the opportunity.
"Hey, Uncle T, how are you going to record tonight's actions and report them to Headquarters?" Ian smiled with a look of triumph. He had been waiting for this moment! After teaching Doflamingo's lackeys a lesson and resolving the crisis for the innocent civilians, it was time to resolve his own crisis.
"Ah, tonight's action... This, this I hadn't thought of before." T. Bone had only been thinking about saving people and hadn't considered anything else.
Peacock: "So that's the point. Hey, little Ian is really evil."
Nami: "Haha, Commodore Ian, you really look like a pirate now!"
Skylark: "Is it okay not to report tonight's actions?"
It's naturally possible not to report it. However, given T. Bone's personality and the principle he set of "recording truthfully," that's completely untenable. At this moment, T. Bone was having a fierce struggle between his conscience and his desires.
"Not lying is a good thing, and I'm not going to change your integrity. How about this: from now on, before sending reports to Headquarters, send them to Nami first. Nami will select the things worth reporting and omit the 'small things' that don't need to be reported. Then, send it to Fleet Admiral Sengoku! It's just omission, not false reporting. Otherwise, if today's incident gets out, everyone will go to jail, right? Do you want to see your partners who saved innocent civilians go to jail with you?"
Resolving the issue of T. Bone's reports is extremely important. Otherwise, he'd be written to death by his own people before the pirates could kill him.
T. Bone scratched his head. "It seems that it's not really lying. From now on... thank you, Miss Nami."
Nami's eyes were full of shrewdness as she made an "OK" gesture. "Don't worry, leave it to me. Hehe!"
Ian took off his cloak and, in the moonlight, admired the beautiful symbol again. "What a handsome cloak! It's nice to wear it occasionally and indulge yourself! From now on, when we put on our Marine uniforms, we'll be the most righteous people on the sea. Put on this cloak and be on the sea..."
T. Bone straightened his chest. "Let's be the most righteous people on the sea!"
Peacock leaned on her waist. "I want to be the most interesting person on the sea!"
Skylark raised her hand. "The most peaceful person on the sea!"
Nami's eyes were full of stars. "The richest person on the sea!"
Ian paused for a moment, then laughed. "Hahaha, I really do have a group of amazing subordinates!"
And so it ends.
A team truly belonging to Ian was officially formed!
People bound by interests and power are not partners. People who share a mission cannot be fully called partners. Only those who understand each other's secrets, flaws, and humanity and are still willing to give sincerely are true partners!
"Little Ian, you haven't told us what you want to be!"
"Yes, Commodore Ian, you're extremely cunning!"
"Commodore Ian, tell us."
Ian grinned. "Me..."
...
The next morning.
In front of the ruins of the Human Auction House, Disco sat in a shabby makeshift wheelchair, his face bruised and swollen. He was angrily and bitterly complaining to the people sent by the World Government. A doctor and a nurse surrounded Disco. They had just put him on an IV drip and were conducting further examinations.
"The Dawn Pirates, a pirate crew no one has ever heard of. I will report the names you mentioned, their ability descriptions, and their portraits to the World Government and the Marines when I return. We'll see if there's any definite information that can confirm the specific identities of these pirates." After taking detailed notes, several intelligence agents from the World Government's CP agency prepared to go back and report.
If it were just an ordinary shop on the island destroyed by pirates, no one from the CP agency would be dispatched to investigate. But today, the Celestial Dragons preparing to attend the auction learned the venue had been destroyed. They were extremely angry and furious, which led to the CP intelligence officers showing up.
Before the intelligence officers had taken a few steps, they were met by a Marine force of a hundred men. The two leaders were Ian and Peacock. After glancing at the CP intelligence officer, Ian ignored him. Ian had listened in detail to their conversation with Disco just now.
A pirate crew with no prior records raided the Human Auction House. They want to investigate further and issue bounties. That's not an easy task either and requires more information for comparison. Ian hadn't come here to disturb their intelligence gathering. But...
"President Disco! What's wrong with you? We haven't seen each other for just one day; how could it become like this? Who did this?! This career referral agency is... just too abominable! Is there no justice anymore?!" Ian quickly approached, his face filled with sorrow and anger.
Peacock couldn't help but turn around, facing away from the two, afraid she couldn't control her expression and burst out laughing on the spot.
"Mr. Commodore Ian... you're finally here! Ahh, my venue... my venue was destroyed by those damn pirates! You are the commander of the Marine base on the island; you must uphold justice for me! Catch those damn guys, make them die, turn them into paste!" Disco stretched his neck and helplessly vented his emotions to Ian. Except for his neck, no other part of his body could move.
"Oh? President Disco, it seems you have a great grievance. I'll help you up, and we'll talk while we walk." Ian said as he reached to pull Disco up.
The doctor beside him saw this and hurriedly stopped him...