"I'm really curious, kid," Kaido laughed, finally putting away his weapon. Even for an old veteran like him, the look in his eyes carried a hint of admiration.
After all—
"You haven't even awakened yet, have you?"
"Yeah," Ian admitted with a sigh. "It still feels like I'm missing something."
In the past six years, his body had fully matured.
Now, no matter how much he trained, his growth in strength had slowed down.
Two or three years ago, Ian had already entered a period of stagnation.
His physique and Haki had nearly stopped improving.
Yet, despite all his efforts, his Devil Fruit had still not awakened.
It was always just a little bit short.
"Still just a little bit short?"
Even Kaido was speechless.
When a person's body and mind truly catch up with their ability, that's when a Devil Fruit awakens.
But what kind of ability did this brat Ian even have?
It defied understanding.
By all logic, no matter how powerful a Devil Fruit was, Ian should have awakened it seven or eight times over by now.
Yet the reality was that, even with his current overwhelming strength, he still couldn't trigger awakening.
Still, that only made Kaido look forward to it even more.
If Ian could already surpass the limits of the sea without awakening, then what would happen once he finally did?
"Perhaps," Ian said slowly, "I just need a strong enough opponent."
Rather than shutting oneself away to train, the true strong in this world break their limits through battle.
"At this point, you're still talking about finding an opponent?" Bullet said irritably. "Where on this planet could you even find someone who can match you?"
Just as Ian once told him — his strength had already far surpassed Roger's.
If he fought seriously, even monsters like Roger or Whitebeard wouldn't be able to withstand a single blow.
So where in this sea could anyone possibly stand on equal ground with him?
"That's not necessarily true," Ian replied with a faint smile.
If nothing else, that man — Imu, who had ruled the world for eight hundred years — couldn't possibly be weak.
And as every shōnen tale goes, the later an enemy appears, the stronger they are bound to be.
"Is it over already?"
A calm, cool female voice came from behind.
Ian turned around — and saw Hancock, now twenty-six years old.
She could no longer be described as a girl; she was the very image of a mature woman.
At that moment, Hancock was the embodiment of the word beautiful — her skin, her features, her figure, every detail enough to make one's heart skip a beat.
After all, she was the world's undisputed number one beauty.
Yet Yamato was not far behind. At twenty-three, she was equally radiant — youthful, powerful, and stunning in her own right.
"What's wrong?"
Ian raised an eyebrow slightly.
This kind of chaotic battle was usually only attended by Yamato; Hancock would never take Ian seriously.
If Hancock had shown up, then something serious must have happened.
"Kuzan called," Hancock took out a Den Den Mushi. "Something unexpected happened over at Fish-Man Island."
"Unexpected?"
After hearing Hancock explain what had occurred on Fish-Man Island, Ian's eyes lit up completely.
He immediately made a call back to Kuzan.
"Ah… Ian-sama," Kuzan's voice on the other end sounded surprised. "Do you have any idea what happened to Princess Shirahoshi?"
"King Neptune said Princess Shirahoshi seems able to control Sea Kings. That's… incredible. I've never heard of anything like this before."
"Give the phone to Neptune."
Ian said bluntly.
Fish-Man Island.
Kuzan shrugged. "Understood, boss."
Without hesitation, he handed the Den Den Mushi to Neptune, who was standing nearby.
"Ian," Neptune said, "do you know exactly what happened to Shirahoshi?"
"Neptune," Ian didn't answer directly. Instead, he said, "Bring Shirahoshi to Wano Country."
"What?"
Neptune exclaimed in shock. "Ian! What's going on? Did something bad happen to Shirahoshi?"
"It's not that," Ian said. "If anything, it's quite the opposite. It's… very good, extremely good."
"It's just… because it's so good, we need to protect Shirahoshi. Leaving her on Fish-Man Island now is too dangerous."
"This…"
Neptune hesitated.
After thinking for a moment, he finally asked seriously, "So Ian, what exactly is going on with Shirahoshi?"
"Don't worry, Neptune. I already told you it's not a bad thing."
Ian said, "The reason Shirahoshi can control the Sea Kings is because she is the king of the Sea Kings—or perhaps, the king of the sea itself."
"The king of the Sea Kings?"
Ace frowned.
"The king of the sea?"
Kuzan's expression gradually changed. "No… it can't be…"
The king of the sea… in simpler terms, that would be…
"Poseidon?"
Kuzan could feel the dryness in his voice.
He couldn't help but take another careful look at Princess Shirahoshi, making the little girl shyly hide behind her father.
No way…
Could such a cute little girl really be the legendary Ancient Weapon, Poseidon?
"Poseidon?"
Neptune's hand holding the Den Den Mushi trembled slightly.
Of course, he knew about the legends of the Ancient Weapons.
But he had never imagined that his most precious daughter could actually be one of them!
Immediately, he understood why Ian wanted Shirahoshi sent to Wano.
If word got out that an Ancient Weapon had appeared, he couldn't even imagine the kind of attempts that would be made to seize Shirahoshi.
"So, Neptune," Ian said, "let Shirahoshi come to Wano. Only then can she be properly protected."
"If you're worried, Queen Otohime can accompany her to take care of her."
Neptune took a deep breath and then said without hesitation, "I understand! I'll arrange it immediately!"
No matter what, Ian wouldn't harm them.
If he intended to, he would have done it long ago.
"Good!"
Ian's voice sounded slightly more upbeat. "Kuzan."
"I'm here."
Kuzan quickly asked, "Do you want me to personally escort Princess Shirahoshi and the little ones back?"
"I'll have Kaido-sensei come to pick them up personally," Ian said. "Before that, make sure the area is secure."
Kuzan nodded lightly. "Understood."
He fully understood Ian's caution.
After all, this little princess was an Ancient Weapon.
A legendary Weapon capable of destroying the world!
Hiss…
Now Ian was even taking an Ancient Weapon into his fold. What would this world become?
On Onigashima.
Ian handed the Den Den Mushi to Hancock, then glanced at his mentor.
"Kaido-sensei, I'll need your help with this."
"Is it really an Ancient Weapon?"
Kaido asked.
"There's no mistake," Ian said. "I've seen the Poneglyph on Skypiea. It clearly states that the mermaid princess who can control Sea Kings is the Poseidon."
"Hohohoho!"
Kaido burst into laughter.
He had spent so much time planning for Wano, all to hide Pluton here.
But now, before Pluton could be obtained, Poseidon had come right to them.
"Then let me go see for myself what this so-called Ancient Weapon looks like!"
**********
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