Then, looking at Ian, Crocodile chuckled and said, "Forget it, let's not talk about that. Hey, considering how much I helped you, how about letting your wife help me a bit?"
Ian: "...?!"
Upon hearing this, Ian, who was raising his axe, looked at Crocodile, who was chuckling with a bewildered expression, then, seemingly understanding something, he said, "You haven't given up yet?"
"I've already given up, I'm just still a little curious."
Crocodile didn't hide anything, grinning as he drank: "Don't worry, with me watching over them, I absolutely won't let your wife and kid get hurt. That's my guarantee. Besides, the Kingdom of Alabasta also has Poneglyph. Don't you want to know what they are?"
"To be honest, I'm not really interested. Besides, the Kingdom of Alabasta only has information about the Ancient Weapon Pluton, not Pluton itself."
Ian shook his head without hesitation while casually saying, "Instead of risking being discovered by the World Government to obtain such information, I suggest you go look at the Poneglyphs on Skypiea!"
"Anyway, they're all about Ancient Weapons, and the one on Skypiea records information about the Ancient Weapon, Poseidon."
Upon hearing this…
"...?!"
Not only Crocodile, but even Robin and Kuma beside him froze while staring at Ian in disbelief.
"Dear, how did you know? Do you also know how to read historical text?"
"I don't understand it. I just discovered it by accident."
Ian waved his hand, winked at Robin, and then dropped the subject.
Looking at Crocodile, who was still frowning, he slowly sipped his drink and said, "Also, the royal family of the Kingdom of Alabasta, with the surname of Nefertari, was one of the twenty monarchs that founded the World Government. However, they didn't stay in Mary Geoise but chose to return to the Kingdom of Alabasta. You'd better be careful not to get discovered; I don't want to be there for your execution."
"You mean..."
Hearing this, Crocodile, who was frowning in thought, narrowed his eyes.
He then shouted at the little girl with blue hair beside him, "Hey, you annoying little kid, come here!"
"Crocodile-sensei."
The blue-haired girl, called little kid, ran over while grinning at Crocodile, and said, "What can I do for you?"
"What's your royal family's surname?"
"Surname?"
The little girl frowned, clearly displeased: "Nefertari! And Crocodile-sensei, my name is Vivi!"
"Alright. It's done. Now, get lost."
Ian: "..."
Ian silently watched this scene, then looked at Vivi happily running off to play with Nami, then he raised an eyebrow, looked up at Crocodile in front of him, hesitated for a moment, and asked: "That one is..."
"An annoying little girl, she's the princess of the Kingdom of Alabasta."
Crocodile flicked his cigar, snorted: "Hmph, a father actually letting his daughter become an apprentice of a pirate? Their king must be out of his mind. I don't want to take her in, yet he dares to pester me. Doesn't he fear I'll throw that girl into the sea to feed the fish?"
As he spoke, seemingly noticing something amiss with Ian's expression, he exhaled a smoke ring, his tone questioning: "What's wrong?"
"You still ask what's wrong?"
Ian's lips twitched as if he'd realized something and was momentarily speechless.
What a disaster! Princess Vivi actually became Crocodile's apprentice?
What's she trying to do?
"N-nothing."
…
The banquet ended quickly, or rather, before the banquet even ended, Ian had already secretly run away with his wife and children.
As for Crocodile, after hearing about the secrets of the Kingdom of Alabasta, he'd been frowning, seemingly lost in thought.
But whatever he thought, Ian didn't interfere too much with his decision; after all, it was just analyzing the Poneglyphs.
If all else failed, he could just have Crocodile make copies of the Poneglyphs and give them to Robin to translate.
Robin would probably be quite happy to translate the Poneglyphs.
However... Now that the princess of Alabasta had become Crocodile's student, if Crocodile continued digging into Alabasta's history, would he one day get smashed by his own student alongside a certain straw-hat kid?
But considering Crocodile's current strength… well, actually, if he ran into that certain straw-hat kid, he would probably still lose for all sorts of reasons in the end.
Who knows, just when Crocodile thinks he has won, some Yonko with red hair might accidentally pass by and give him a beating!
A one-armed man versus a one-handed man.
Meanwhile, Ace and Nami were still enjoying the banquet.
One was almost drunk and jumped onto a giant's hand to dance; the other was chatting with her new friend, especially after hearing that she was the princess of a kingdom in Paradise, making her eyes light up.
Time passed, and the next day, after seeing his wife and children off, Ian turned to the two yawning kids in front of him and said, "Have you decided yet? Kuma's here; he can take you home."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ace, who had been yawning, perked up immediately upon hearing Ian's words, then he scratched his head in slight distress. "So fast? I haven't decided yet!"
"Not deciding means you've already decided; you're just still hesitating."
Ian's gaze fell on Ace, his tone turned serious, like a teacher, as he said, "Just make the choice in your heart. Don't worry, whatever you choose, your grandfather, who's such a troublemaker, will respect it."
"Stinky little thing!"
Crocodile, standing nearby, removed his cigar, flicked it, and snorted coldly. "What a disgrace! Do you really possess the blood of the King of the Pirates, kid?"
Ace: "..."
Wasn't the King of the Pirates even more wishy-washy?
He didn't even compare to Ace.
Ace just wanted recognition, while Roger was a total sycophant!
Of course, Ian only rolled his eyes; he didn't speak ill of the father in front of the son.
"You're right, the God of..."
"Hmm."
"Mr. Crocodile."
Hearing Crocodile's unfriendly tone, Ace quickly changed his words, his eyes filled with determination, as if he was no longer confused.
He looked at Ian and said, "Mr. Ian, please let me learn from you first. Even if I set off from the West Blue after three years, I will definitely be able to pursue freedom."
"Still want to be a pirate?"
"I'm sorry, although following Mr. Ian is very interesting."
Ace lowered his hat, grinned, and slightly raised his head, his eyes flashing with a mixture of emotion and determination: "But I've already made a promise to someone. I will work hard for his freedom as well. I believe he will be watching over me from heaven."