The battle between Ian and Kaido had ended, naturally bringing the internal conflict within the Beast Pirates to a close.
However, there were still some who didn't want the fight to end.
"Don't let it end like this!"
Yamato complained loudly. "Uncle King and I haven't settled the score yet!"
It wasn't just that they hadn't settled the score. Standing aside, Uncle King didn't even have a single scratch on him.
This was the terrifying nature of the Lunaria Tribe. As long as the flames on the back of his head didn't go out, even a strong opponent like Yamato couldn't hurt him in the slightest.
Whether it was Haki or freezing abilities, all attacks were useless against Uncle King.
"Given the current situation, even if we gave you a few more days, you wouldn't be able to hurt Uncle King," Ian said as he patted Yamato's forehead. "Try to get stronger."
"Hmph."
Hancock immediately started laughing from the side. "In the end, some people are just too weak. I defeated that idiot, Queen, with a single hit."
Not far away, Queen, who had just been restored from his petrification, heard Hancock's words, and his expression instantly froze.
He shot a furious glare toward Hancock!
"You little brat! Just you wait!"
"Once I develop a stronger weapon, I'll deal with you!"
"Can this even be compared?"
In response to Hancock's insult, Yamato immediately began to argue back.
"Uncle King is way stronger than Uncle Queen! If we switched opponents, I would easily win, but you definitely wouldn't be able to do anything to Uncle King!"
That's hard to say.
Ian smiled lightly.
Yamato might be able to beat Uncle Queen, but winning as easily as Hancock did was impossible.
And Hancock might not necessarily be as helpless as Yamato against Uncle King.
In the end, no matter how strong the Lunaria tribe's resistance is, it cannot withstand the magical attacks of the Devil Fruit.
As long as Uncle King still harbors impure thoughts, it is unlikely that he could ever be Hancock's opponent.
In response to Yamato's argument, Hancock simply crossed her arms and sneered coldly, "If you didn't win, then you didn't win. No matter how many excuses you make, it's still the same."
"Ahhhh!"
Yamato, in frustration, tugged at her soft white hair, messing it up like a bird's nest.
Since she truly had no retort, no matter what, a loss was a loss.
"Alright."
Ian helped her straighten her hair. "If you feel unsatisfied, then just get stronger."
"Mm!"
Yamato nodded vigorously. "I want to learn the Conqueror's Haki!"
"I should learn it first!"
Hancock wasn't going to back down either.
Ian simply smiled and said, "I'll teach you both."
However, even with mastery over Conqueror's Haki, breaking through the Lunaria tribe's defense would not be easy.
Zoro had only defeated Uncle King when he entered his fireless mode.
Still, it was a good thing that it could further fuel these two girls' determination to grow stronger.
They were both holders of Conqueror's Haki, true talents who possessed the potential to master the advanced form of it.
The battle had already ended, and now it was time to clean up the aftermath.
Although Ian had said before the fight began that it was just an exercise and that deadly force was prohibited.
Once the fight began, everyone got carried away, and who cared about the rules at that point?
As a result, many people were injured, and over a hundred had died.
After the battle, Kaido ran off to drink, leaving Ian to step up and organize the cleanup and tend to the wounded.
"Ian, what exactly are you trying to do?"
King walked up to Ian's side, coldly questioning him.
"Don't rush, Uncle King,"
Ian calmly replied. "This battle wasn't a bad thing for us."
"Think about it. Do you really think the World Government will allow a pirate crew with two of the Four Emperors to exist peacefully?"
Times have changed.
The Rocks Pirates from back then might have been stronger than the current Beasts Pirates.
But back then, there was no Pirate King.
As for the current Beasts Pirates, there's no doubt they are the crew most likely to claim the Great Treasure.
King slightly furrowed his brows. "So—"
"So, that's why we have this battle," Ian responded calmly. He turned around, looking at the confused Beasts Pirates who were following him.
"I'll take these guys to Hive Island. They're short on manpower over there anyway."
The nearby islands around Hive Island had sworn allegiance to the Beasts Pirates, but in reality, they didn't have the extra manpower to guard them.
Ian didn't have any particular obsession with directly controlling those islands, but whether it was for building factories or airports, the Beasts Pirates' manpower was needed for supervision.
Not to mention, effective defense against pirates trying to cause trouble required stationed pirates.
Although giants had already been dispatched, there were many things they couldn't handle conveniently.
King nodded slightly. "It's up to you."
If Kaido himself was cooperating with Ian, King naturally had no objections.
"Remember to start recruiting a lot of manpower soon, Uncle King," Ian said with a smile. "If you're going to act, you need to go all the way."
"Alright."
King replied succinctly.
After finishing the cleanup of the battlefield, Ian went to find Queen.
"What the hell do you want, brat!"
Queen, who was tinkering with something in his lab, immediately exploded. "You come here to have your little girls humiliate me again?"
It seemed that being defeated by Hancock had really affected him deeply.
Ian just smiled. "I'm just curious, Uncle Queen. How powerful are the new weapons you've developed? They must be extraordinary, especially since they're made by the Beasts Pirates' chief scientist."
Uncle Queen snorted coldly, "You little brat, do you think I'm that easy to fool?"
"Is that so?"
Ian blinked, "But I heard that the first batch of artificial Devil Fruits is about to ripen, and Judge's masterpiece will soon be officially put to use. Are you afraid, Uncle Queen, that your work won't measure up to Judge's technological masterpiece?"
Uncle Queen's forehead immediately bulged with veins, his fist tightening. "What nonsense are you talking?! Do you know who you're talking to?!"
"Come with me! I'll show you the terror of the weapons I created!"
Queen led Ian to a deserted beach.
Then, he transformed into his massive Armored Dragon form. His left arm, tail, and braids, each mounted with three cannons, instantly lit up.
Ian crossed his arms, watching from the side. He scrutinized Uncle Queen in his current form. "I was thinking this earlier, Uncle Queen, has the material of those weapons on you changed?"
"Muhahaha!"
Uncle Queen immediately gave Ian an approving look.
"You're sharp! That's right! This is a new type of metal I obtained after a long and difficult experiment.
Not only does it have ultra-high strength, but it's also highly resistant to extreme environments—corrosion-resistant, high-temperature-resistant, low-temperature-resistant, and it's incredibly light!
It's much lighter than steel of the same volume!"
"The most important part is that it's a shape-memory metal. After forming, even if it's deformed by external forces, it can return to its original shape!"
"I call it Queen Alloy! Muhahaha! It's a revolutionary invention in materials science!"
Ian raised an eyebrow.
Isn't that just Wapol Alloy?
It was made by Wapol, and Uncle Queen, you're not even going to let him have his name on the paper, huh?
His fists tightened.
But Ian didn't expose him. He just smiled and said, "Well, I'm planning to equip my giants with armor, so I'll use this metal for it."
"Simple enough," Queen casually said, "No need for a factory, that guy Wapol can handle it all on his own."
"He just eats the material and then spits out the finished product."
"That guy is like a giant factory on his own!"
Ian nodded slightly.
The power of the Munch Munch Fruit doesn't really lie in combat.
"Alright! Enough talking!"
Queen suddenly became angry and said, "Now, let me show you my latest achievement!"
His left arm, braid, and tail-mounted cannons all lit up at the same time.
Then...
Swish!
Three dazzling beams of light shot toward the distant sea.
Then...
Boom!!
Three massive light spheres suddenly erupted on the distant sea surface.
"Oh?"
Ian raised an eyebrow.
The destructive power was indeed much stronger than Queen's previous laser beams.
**********
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