"Young Master, the mission is complete; Dragon has also been successfully controlled!"
After controlling Dragon, Kilingom immediately ran to Ian, fawning, "How was my performance? Wasn't it better than Shamrock, that sourpuss?"
As one of the main combat forces of the God's Knights, Kilingom possessed great strength and was a pure-blooded member of the Limosiff Family, one of the nineteen Celestial Dragon families from the Holy Land. However, in front of Ian, This Young Master, he dared not show the slightest disrespect!
Not only did he not dare to be presumptuous, but he was also determined to become Ian's number one lackey and flatterer.
"Not bad."
Ian smiled and nodded, then turned his gaze to Dragon, who had been brought before him by Shamrock, wearing Sea Stone handcuffs and leg irons. Ian said calmly, "To have four God's Knights members team up, it's fitting for your status as revolutionary army leader! However, defecting from the Marine and forming the Revolutionary Army to oppose the World Government, This Young Master cannot let you sacrifice yourself so easily."
"What is your true identity?"
Though covered in wounds and wearing Sea Stone handcuffs and leg irons, Dragon still maintained his imposing aura. He stared intently at Ian, saying, "Just being the Young Master of the Nerona Family isn't enough to make the God's Knights your personal bodyguards."
"Presumptuous! How dare you look directly at the Young Master!"
Before Ian could react, Gunko habitually let out a cold shout, and an arrow shot out, wrapping around Dragon's neck and hoisting him up!
"Hey, hey, hey, Gunko, why do you always like to hang people?"
Ian turned his head to look at Gunko, his facial muscles twitching slightly. "This is a conversation, and it's perfectly reasonable for him, as the revolutionary army leader, to be a bit arrogant in his tone and demeanor! Quickly, let him down!"
Hearing this, Gunko waved her slender hand, and Dragon, who had just been hung up, immediately fell to the ground, then was escorted by Somaz and Kilingom to kneel before Ian again.
"Who I am is not important!"
Glancing at Dragon, who was kneeling before him again, Ian handed his wine glass to Gunko, then stood up and took a step forward, looking down at Dragon. "What's important is that capturing you doesn't seem to be that difficult!"
"You will be publicly executed next."
"Guess what, if Luffy knew you were the father he'd never met, would he come to rescue you from the execution ground?"
Hmm?
Dragon's pupils constricted. As soon as he saw the magic teleportation array appear and Shamrock, the future commander of the God's Knights, personally lead Kilingom and Somaz to reinforce, he was certain that Ian had ordered Luffy's capture specifically to force him to appear!
But from Ian's current reaction, was Ian's real target Luffy?
Similarly, Garp, Dragon's father, was also stunned by Ian's sudden remark.
As a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral, unless he also chose to defect from the Marine, even if the God's Knights couldn't capture Dragon, he would still have to make a move, even if just for show.
When he saw Dragon defeated and controlled by the four God's Knights members, he didn't feel despair. Instead, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't that he was cold-blooded and unconcerned about their father-son relationship, but rather that from the moment Dragon chose to oppose the World Government, it was destined that they would face such a situation sooner or later.
What he truly cared about, of course, was his grandson, Luffy, whom he had raised since childhood.
But from Ian's words, he could easily tell that the true target of Ian's trip to the East Blue was Luffy all along. The reason it had escalated to this point was entirely because Dragon had moved Luffy.
He had thought that with Dragon's capture, the matter would be settled, but he never expected things to return to square one.
"Take him away!"
Ian stopped wasting words and ordered Shamrock, who was respectfully standing beside him with his sword sheathed, "You three are responsible for escorting Dragon to Marineford and personally overseeing the execution. During this time, I don't care what kind of extermination plan you initiate against the Revolutionary Army through Dragon; I only care whether Luffy will come to rescue him from the execution ground. If he appears, he must be eliminated. If Luffy doesn't appear, the God's Knights will have only one mission: to dig up Luffy, even if it means tearing up the very earth!"
"Yes!"
Shamrock bowed slightly, then looked up at Colonel Hina opposite him. "You take Dragon and come with me!"
After a slight pause, Shamrock suddenly remembered that there was also a Marine Vice Admiral with a special relationship to Dragon present. He faced Garp and ordered, "Vice Admiral Garp, you will also accompany us!"
After watching Dragon being escorted away by Marine soldiers, Kilingom immediately approached Ian, fawning as usual, "Young Master, ever since you left the Holy Land, those good-for-nothings in the Holy Land have been singing and dancing and having a blast. They desperately need the Young Master to return to the Holy Land for a major rectification!"
Ian shook his head and smiled. "Be serious. Although Dragon is now in handcuffs and leg irons, he is still the revolutionary army leader. You must be careful during the escort. If he escapes midway, you know what the consequences will be!"
Kilingom patted his chest. "Young Master, rest assured, no one can rescue Dragon unless I die!"
With that, Kilingom no longer delayed, maintaining his human-beast form and scurrying after Shamrock and Somaz.
As Dragon was escorted onto the warship, Foosha Village, which had been damaged by the four God's Knights members and Dragon, immediately fell into a deathly silence. Dozens of villagers who had attacked Marine soldiers under the influence of the Inspire-Inspire Fruit's ability were shot dead on the spot. The remaining villagers had been deliberately knocked unconscious by Dragon and now lay sprawled across the ground.
Dragon's actions, though seemingly indiscriminate, were actually aimed at minimizing casualties.
Of course, whether Ian would harm the unconscious villagers was beyond his control, as he was now in handcuffs and leg irons and couldn't even protect himself.
"Young Master, what should we do with these villagers?"
After watching Kilingom and the others board the warship, Gunko immediately scanned the surroundings, then asked, "Most of them are just unconscious; do they need to be dealt with?"
"No—"
"Don't—"
Before Ian could give an order, a familiar voice suddenly came, it was Makino, who had had an in-depth conversation with Ian in front of Dragon's Foosha Village for two hours.
She hadn't just arrived; as early as when Dragon led Belo Betty and other East Army Members to Ian, she had leaned against a wall and watched everything unfold from a distance.
"Saint Ian, please, spare the remaining villagers! You promised me!"
Makino, who had arrived just in time, stumbled and crawled to Ian, choking out, "I saw everything that just happened. The villagers rose up in resistance because of that woman you beheaded! Now they have paid the price, can't you..."
"Noisy!"
"The Young Master said not to leave a single one, so absolutely no ant will be left alive!"
Before Makino could finish speaking, Gunko quickly stepped forward and raised her hand, preparing to strike Makino as well!
Seeing this, Ian quickly spoke to stop her, "Gunko, stand down."
Before his words finished, Ian had already stood in front of Makino and grabbed a knife from the air, throwing it in front of Makino.
Before Makino could react, Ian immediately bent down, took the wine glass from Gunko's hand, and handed it to Makino, saying calmly, "Between this glass of red wine and that knife on the ground, choose one! If you choose correctly, you all live!"
"Otherwise, Foosha Village will disappear forever."
Makino's delicate body trembled. More than Ian's indiscriminate killing, she feared Ian, who made her choose, and her body couldn't stop shaking.
However, to save the Foosha Village villagers, she quickly suppressed her inner fear, then slowly looked up at Ian, gritting her teeth and saying, "Saint Ian, if I choose the knife, will you think I'm rebellious and then mercilessly wipe Foosha Village off the map?"
"Yes!" Ian smiled and nodded.
Hearing this, Makino's fear inexplicably vanished.
Then, she mustered her courage, stood up, and said, "If I choose the red wine, Saint Ian will think I'm cunning and worry that I might pose a threat to you in the future, and Foosha Village will also disappear completely, right?"
"If I choose both, you'll think I'm greedy!"
"If you want to kill, just kill. Why play this game with a humble commoner like me?"
"It's cruel, don't you think?"
"Indeed, as a Celestial Dragon who enjoys all privileges, you naturally wouldn't value the lives of us commoners!"
At this point, Makino could no longer control her emotions, tears streamed down her face, and she continued with a trembling voice, "I know you ordered Foosha Village to be left with no survivors because Dragon didn't compromise at first, and because the Foosha Village villagers suddenly rose up in resistance!"
"I just want one answer now. If Dragon hadn't appeared, would your promise to Makino still count? Would you have spared the Foosha Village villagers regardless of whether Dragon appeared or not?"
Looking at Makino, whose face was streaked with tears, Ian put away his smile and nodded. "Of course it would count!"
"Understood!"
Seeing Ian's reaction, Makino breathed a sigh of relief, then spread her arms, closed her eyes, and said calmly, "Do it!"
As Makino's words fell, Foosha Village once again fell into a deathly silence.
Time passed by minute by minute.
Makino, eyes closed, waiting for death to come, stood there for dozens of seconds. When she realized there was no movement around her, Makino, with a hint of doubt, cautiously opened her eyes.
Finding that Ian was no longer in front of her, Makino quickly looked around.
After confirming that Ian had already left with Gunko, and some of the unconscious villagers were now gradually waking up, Makino could no longer hold back, collapsing weakly to the ground and weeping, covering her face.
At the same time.
High above Mt. Colubo forest, Gunko, whose feet were wrapped in bandages and who was flying through the air on a giant arrow, glanced at Ian, who was standing in front of her, then subtly turned her head to look back at Foosha Village, which was already blurring in the distance.
"Young Master, Gunko doesn't understand one thing!"
After retracting her gaze, Gunko mustered her courage and cautiously asked, "Isn't Dragon, the revolutionary army leader, the real threat to the World Government? He has already been arrested, so why do you still want to capture Luffy?"
Hearing this, Ian turned around, revealing a gentle smile. "To make Gunko no longer fear anything!"
"Eh?" Ian's sudden tenderness made Gunko blush, and she shyly turned her head to avoid Ian's gaze.
But then, as if waking from a dream, her eyes widened as she blurted out, "Luffy is Nika?"
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