Take Them Under His Wing! Vegapunk's Request!

"Olga! Waaaaah! My Olga!!"

A man dressed in a ridiculous dinosaur costume hugged the blonde little girl tightly, tears streaming down his face. He rubbed his face against hers repeatedly, his cheeks a mess of tears and snot. "My dear daughter! You're alive! Daddy missed you so much! It's so good, so good that you're alive!"

The little girl's face was smeared with his tears and snot, and she was so angry that she tried desperately to push the man's face away. "You scoundrel! You're still alive?"

"Um?"

Yamato blinked. "They don't seem to get along very well."

Luo's lips curled into a smile. "Perhaps it's because it's been too long? They were separated in the lanternfish's two different stomachs, and they probably haven't seen each other since they were swallowed."

Ian, who knew everything, certainly knew that what Luo said was right, but not entirely right.

Is her name Olga?

To be honest, that name sounds pretty scary.

Fortunately, there are no black luxury cars in this world yet.

Olga and her father were swallowed by lanternfish nearly two hundred years ago, and the two never saw each other again after that.

Olga is alive today because of a small Pure Gold set in the ring on her hand.

Her father survived simply because the Pure Gold light shone through the lanternfish's body and onto him.

But the little girl's dislike for her father wasn't just because they hadn't seen each other in a long time.

Two hundred years ago, Olga, who was only six years old, contracted an incurable disease. In an effort to prolong her life, her father extracted Pure Gold.

However, her mother died during this process.

The little girl hated her father because of this, believing that her mother would have survived if the research hadn't been conducted.

Although two hundred years have passed, she has not forgiven her scoundrel father yet!

The little girl was unaware that all her father's efforts were aimed at curing her terminal illness.

"Wait! Who are you?!"

She looked only six years old, but was actually two hundred years old, which was considered very old even among Giant tribe. It was only then that the little girl noticed Ian and the others.

"Um?"

The middle-aged man, who had been rubbing against his daughter, suddenly came to his senses. "Could it be that you were the ones who saved us?"

That's right.

Ian nodded contentedly, after all, that was the truth.

"Oh! Thank you so much!"

The middle-aged man's joy was palpable; he bowed repeatedly to Ian, almost to the point of kowtowing.

However, he immediately noticed the enormous mountain of gold that was placed to the side.

"That, that is--"

The middle-aged man's eyes widened suddenly, and his body trembled involuntarily. "Pure Gold? Is all of this Pure Gold?"

So much Pure Gold!

Two hundred years ago, he only extracted a tiny one, yet that still attracted Lord Lantern!

But now there's a mountain of gold here!

Lord Lantern--

Oh right!

He looked down at the land where he was standing.

Lord Lantern is currently lying on this sea surface!

Did this man steal all the Pure Gold that Lord Lantern had accumulated over countless years?

That's an exaggeration!

"So, you really do have the ability to extract Pure Gold?"

Luo recognized the man's Pure Gold at a glance and asked him with some curiosity.

The man stared at Luo in astonishment.

How did this man know he could extract Pure Gold?

Not long after the Pure Gold was extracted, their island was attacked by Lord Lantern, and half of the island was swallowed by the fish!

How did outsiders find out about this?

Although he didn't answer, Luo nodded slightly. "Amazing, to be able to extract something so extraordinary."

"Haha, it's nothing..."

The man seemed a little shy when praised, and subconsciously raised his hand to scratch the back of his head.

But his body immediately stiffened.

This is bad, this looks very bad.

Now that this group knows he can extract Pure Gold, what will they do to him next?

A sense of unease welled up in the man's heart.

"What's so great about that!"

Hearing Luo's praise, the little girl huffed and puffed out, "If it weren't for researching that weird thing, Mama wouldn't have died! It's all that bastard Daddy's fault!"

Hearing his beloved daughter say this, the man's eyes darkened slightly.

His wife's death was indeed the greatest pain of his life.

They were a group of pirates who somehow found out he was extracting Pure Gold, but they only thought there was some treasure on the island, so they came to attack.

His wife died in that attack.

"Don't talk about your father like that, little girl,"

Ian smiled and said, "He only thought of Pure Gold because he wanted to treat your illness."

"Disease?"

The young girl—no, the old woman—was taken aback. She instinctively looked at her father, "What does this mean?"

The man was taken aback.

He really hadn't expected that Ian would even know about this.

I have absolutely no idea why this is happening.

After a slight hesitation, he finally spoke with a heavy heart, "Olga, I'm so sorry about what happened to Mama, but I haven't told you this before. Actually, you have some kind of incurable disease, and it was in order to keep you alive that I thought of using Pure Gold to prolong your life."

"But as a price, you can never grow up again."

"How could this be... how could such a thing happen?"

The little girl had never imagined things would turn out this way. She looked at him in disbelief. "So, that bastard dad has always been doing it for my own good?"

"Of course! Olga!"

The man hugged his daughter tightly, sobbing, "More than anyone else, I want you to live a peaceful and happy life!"

"Wow!!"

Although she has lived for two hundred years, she has never had any contact with the outside world, so her experience has not grown, and she is still essentially a little girl.

The fear and pain of living alone for nearly two hundred years finally erupted completely in her father's arms.

The little girl finally burst into tears, clinging to her father.

"Alright, Olga, all done!"

The man was also crying, patting his daughter's back, "It's all alright now!"

"So, what exactly is this terminal illness?"

As a doctor, Luo was very curious about this.

How remarkable must a disease be to be so incurable that even a top scientist who can extract Pure Gold is helpless against it?

He began to recall the rare and incurable diseases found at sea, wondering which one was so deadly.

Then he saw the middle-aged man say with a solemn expression, "It's Southern Emperor Fever. Once you get sick, there's absolutely no chance of survival!!"

"Ah?"

Luo opened his mouth, somewhat bewildered.

He wondered if he had misheard.

A few seconds later, he asked somewhat uncertainly, "You mean, Southern Emperor Fever?"

"Yes."

The man was somewhat surprised.

Haven't I made myself clear enough?

Is that so?

Luo's lips twitched slightly, then he quickly realized, "That's right, after all, you've been trapped inside this fish's belly for two hundred years, completely unaware of the changes in the outside world."

Two hundred years?

A thought struck the man.

Have we been swallowed by Lord Lantern for two hundred years?

But they even know when we were swallowed?

"Southern Emperor Fever, this was indeed a disease that plagued the medical community for a long time two hundred years ago."

Luo smiled and said, "But this disease was already conquered decades ago."

"Huh?"

The man was taken aback.

"Now,"

Luo held up one index finger. "Shouldn't just be one injection?"

"Huh??"

The man was stunned again.

A few seconds later, he finally realized what was happening, and his face lit up with immense joy. "So, Olga can be saved?"

"Certainly."

Luo smiled and nodded, "A vial of Southern Emperor Fever injection isn't worth much."

"Great! Olga! Great!"

The man hugged his daughter tighter, overjoyed, "You're saved! You're finally going to grow up!"

grow up?

The little girl with golden hair looked somewhat bewildered as she was held in her father's arms.

Am I old enough to grow up?

"In that case, sir, please come back with us."

Ian smiled and extended an invitation, "Lo, there should be medicine on the island, right?"

"Certainly."

Luo nodded matter-of-factly, "My pharmacy may not have the most complete selection of all medicines in the world, but it should at least be among the top."

With the Beasts Pirates backing him, what kind of medicine couldn't he get his hands on?

"This..."

The man was immediately caught in a huge dilemma.

He knew perfectly well why this handsome man had invited him.

Since he knew about Pure Gold and knew he could extract Pure Gold, his purpose was obviously this metal that could grant immortality.

Even with so much Pure Gold, aren't you satisfied? You want to master the extraction method?

What a greedy young man!

But I simply don't dare to refuse.

Lord Lantern is now lying here quietly, not moving at all.

If they choose to refuse, not only him, but Olga will probably get into trouble too.

"I see."

The man took a deep breath and finally nodded slightly.

"Very good."

Ian said happily, "Then from today onwards, you are members of the Beasts Pirates. By the way, I still don't know your names?"

"Ashiya, my name is Mischina Ashiya."

The man, Ashiya, introduces himself.

However, he also had some doubts.

Pirates?

Are these people pirates?

You can't tell at all from the surface.

After all, the men were handsome and the women were beautiful, and there was absolutely no trace of the filth and chaos that belonged to pirates.

"Ashiya?"

Ian nodded slightly. "Welcome to the team, Ashiya."

"So,"

Ashiya carefully stood up, holding her daughter, and asked, "When will my daughter be able to receive treatment?"

"Treat her immediately after we get back."

Ian to Rhodes.

"Learn."

Luo nodded slightly.

"Then."

Ian turned around, walked to the mountain of gold, and scooped off a piece the size of a human head.

This scene made Ashiya's eye twitch.

Pure Gold is much stronger than regular gold and can be stored for a very long time without wearing out.

But you just casually chipped off a piece like that?

"Alright, Luo, take the rest back."

Ian said.

"Learn."

Luo nodded slightly.

If a tiny piece can grant a person immortality, then a piece the size of a human head would be enough for many people.

Every mid-level officer and above in the Beasts Pirates has one, and they probably still have a lot left.

All that's left is completely useless.

Instead of hiding them away, it's better to put them back inside the lanternfish's lantern.

This living treasure chest is much more convenient than finding a place yourself.

With Shirahoshi around, they can simply order the lanternfish to stay on the seabed near Wano Country. This will also allow more Sea King to protect it.

Luo's power activated again, and to the bewilderment of Ashiya and her father, he sent the mountain of gold back to them.

Then, Ian took the spoils and the father and daughter and went straight back to Onigashima.

Just as Luo was about to send the father and daughter to receive treatment and was preparing to gather the officers to distribute the Pure Gold, the Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.

Ian was somewhat surprised; there weren't many people in the world who had his contact information.

Every time Den Den Mushi rings, it usually means something significant has happened.

So, the Den Den Mushi was connected.

"Lord Ian!"

A woman's voice, though serious, still couldn't hide its charm, came from the other end of the phone.

"Oh? Stussy?"

Ian chuckled lightly, "What, has the World Government made another move?"

In that battle six years ago, CP0 suffered heavy losses.

The supreme commander and senior officers were almost entirely wiped out by Ian.

Stussy used this opportunity to rise to a high position in CP0.

Six years later, this woman has truly become one of the top executives in the rebuilt CP0, holding a pivotal position within this intelligence organization.

Ian's help was indispensable in this process.

In order to make this thorn in the side of the Beasts Pirates, planted by the government, effective, Ian made considerable sacrifices over the past six years.

As a result, the World Government trusted her even more.

"No, that's not true."

Stussy's voice was quite solemn, "Lord Ian, the Doctor just contacted me through clandestine means."

"Oh?"

Ian immediately became interested, since there could only be one Doctor this woman was talking about, and that was Vegapunk.

What did he say?

Through Stussy, he learned that Vegapunk had been helping the World Government with research on new energy sources in recent years.

Ian was happy to see this happen.

After all, he also wanted the energy that could power Ancient Weapon.

With Stussy's help, once the energy source is ready, we can simply intercept it from the World Government.

"The government has increased its surveillance of PhDs,"

"The doctor is very uneasy about this," Stussy said.

He felt that perhaps after the research on new energy sources was completed, the World Government would discard him after he had served his purpose.

"So he begged you, at that time, to save him!"

Ian smiled and said, "Of course, no problem!"

I'll not only save him, I'll also give him a piece of Pure Gold.

If someone like Vegapunk were to die, it would be a loss for the entire world!

"Thank you so much!"

Look, he even thanked me.