The pirate was about to pull the trigger when, along with that faint voice, an invisible bullet tore through the air and pierced straight through his wrist.
"Ah!"
With a scream, the pirate staggered back as if electrocuted. Blood sprayed, and the pistol in his hand flew into the air.
The spinning pistol fell to the ground and was casually kicked away by a black leather shoe.
Ulti turned her head in terror and saw a boy walking toward her with the sun at his back, bathed in light.
She froze, staring blankly at the newcomer.
Ian lowered his right hand and looked at the little girl sprawled on the ground, then at the little boy lying not far from her. He could not help but sigh in relief.
That had really been a close call.
A moment later, and the future Beasts Pirates Tobi Roppo would have been short two members.
The pirates on Hachinosu Island were actually pretty friendly.
After Ian asked around and released a little Conqueror's Haki as a gesture of goodwill, some pirates answered his questions.
They told Ian about Ulti and her brother's current situation, as well as the areas where they had recently been active.
Ian rushed over at once. On the way, he casually grabbed a few pirates and had another round of cordial, friendly conversation with them before finally finding this place.
He had arrived just in time. It was practically a last-second rescue.
But was this the butterfly effect?
If he had arrived any later, Ulti would have died.
Yet that hardheaded girl had clearly been alive and well in the original story.
No.
Ian immediately thought of the truly logical explanation.
The reason was that, without him, someone else would have come. Without taking a detour halfway through, they definitely would have arrived faster, right?
Thinking of that, Ian could not help glancing at Yamato.
If they had failed to make it in time and these siblings had really died, this girl would bear the greatest responsibility.
Naturally, Yamato had no such awareness. She was simply curiously examining the siblings on the ground.
The older sister's hair came in thick blue strands and thin pink strands, making for a very unusual appearance. Her eyes were large and round, and she was currently staring blankly at Ian.
Like his sister, the younger brother wore a mask. He also wore a hat that almost completely concealed his face.
Like Yamato and Black Maria, the siblings both had a pair of horns growing from their foreheads.
"Ian, are they the ones?" Yamato asked.
"Probably."
Ian stepped forward. "You are Joseph's daughter and son, right? Your father's friends sent us to pick you up. Come back with us."
Ulti's eyes instantly widened even further.
She knew!
Before he died, Dad had held her hand and told her that he had asked his friends to take them in!
Was this handsome big brother the person who had come to get them?
"Brat! I don't care who you are! These two brats have to die!"
The pirate whose wrist had been pierced clutched his hand and roared furiously. "No one can stop it! I said so!"
"Get them! Kill them!"
The other pirates rushed at Ian.
"Big brother, watch out!"
Ulti instinctively cried out a warning.
Big brother had just saved her.
Ian merely raised his right hand and extended one finger—his index finger.
His right index finger lightly tapped the air.
Pop, pop, pop, pop.
Several soft sounds rang out.
The pirates immediately fell to the ground.
Each of them had a wound in the center of their chest, as though they had been shot through by bullets.
"I told you, adults bullying children isn't very nice."
He was a child himself, too. He was only thirteen this year.
"Finger Pistol!"
Jack looked full of admiration. "As expected of Brother Ian! It's far more powerful than a real gun!"
"Th-this—"
The pirate clutching his wrist went pale. "Who exactly are you—ah!"
He had not noticed that behind him, the little girl he had knocked down earlier had climbed back up, picked up a pirate saber lying nearby, and stabbed him in the lower back from behind.
"You little—!"
The pirate spun around in pain and flung Ulti away. But before he could do anything else, Ulti picked up the pistol Ian had kicked away earlier.
"Die!"
She fired.
With a bang, a bloody hole appeared in the pirate's forehead, and his body crumpled to the ground.
Hah... hah... hah...
Still shaken, Ulti panted heavily. Her hands remained raised with the gun as though they had gone stiff, and she stared fixedly at the pirate lying on the ground.
Only after finally confirming that he was dead did an excited smile appear on the girl's face.
"Waaaah!!"
The boys who had led the way finally screamed in realization. They scrambled and crawled away in a frantic attempt to flee.
"You all deserve to die!"
Ulti charged at them with a saber in one hand and a gun in the other.
Two gunshots, two slashes, and those noisy boys instantly learned how to be quiet.
"Ha ha!"
After wiping out all the enemies, Ulti could not help laughing heartily.
Anyone who wanted to hurt her or hurt Page One had to die!
Ian's mouth twitched.
She was only seven. Should he say it was no wonder she was more like Teacher Kai's daughter than Yamato had been in the original story?
This was an innate Beasts Pirates physique, with her bloodthirst stat completely maxed out.
"Ha ha, she's so interesting!"
Yamato commented with a grin.
Fortunately, when it came to bloodthirst, their Yamato was no slouch either.
"So,"
Black Maria spoke with a smile, "you are the people we've been looking for, right?"
"Joseph,"
Ulti sniffed. Her large eyes grew smaller beneath her lowered brows. "That was Dad's name. He said he had asked his friends to take in Page One and me."
"Then you are indeed the right ones."
Ian pretended to only believe her now. "Then come back with us."
"Yeah!"
The little girl nodded happily. She hoisted her weakened brother onto her back again. They were finally safe!
She looked at Ian, blinked, and asked, "What's your name, big brother? I'm Ulti!" She jostled the brother on her back. "Page One is Page One!"
"I'm Ian."
Ian introduced himself, then patted Yamato on the shoulder. "This is Yamato. Behind us are Black Maria and Jack."
"I'm Yamato!"
Yamato repeated with a grin.
"I'm Black Maria, little Ulti."
Maria seemed to like Ulti quite a bit, smiling warmly.
As usual, Jack remained aloof. He merely stood quietly in place, saying nothing and pretending to be an expert.
"Ian?"
The little girl muttered, then lifted her little face and called out happily, "Brother Ian!"
Ian raised an eyebrow.
Ian... brother?
That was a completely new experience.
"Me too, me too!"
Yamato shamelessly leaned in and pointed at her own face. "I'm Sister Yamato!"
No one had ever called her sister, either.
Ulti curled her lips.
Brother Ian was Page One's and her lifesaver! Who even are you?
Huh?
Yamato blinked.
What did I do wrong for you to disrespect me so much? You won't even call me sister?
"Anyway,"
Ian clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention. "Let's head back."
"You think you can just leave like that?"
A cold voice suddenly rang out.
Ian turned his head.
On a wall to one side, the lanky man they had seen earlier stood quietly.
The man looked down at Ian and the others, speaking as if to himself. "I believe I made it very clear earlier. Boss Wang Zhi does not want you causing trouble here."
"So, brats, can you tell me what you were doing just now?"
Ian turned back, looked at the scattered corpses, then swept his gaze over the pirates around them, whose expressions had grown strange.
He looked up at the stick-insect-like man. "It was self-defense."
"Wherever you go, you follow that place's rules. Even children know that much."
The stick insect lightly leaped down from the wall, floating like a willow leaf. "Even if you are from the Beasts Pirates, that is no reason for you to break Boss Wang Zhi's rules."
Ian raised a hand and loosened the button at his collar. "So, what are you trying to say?"
"For disobedient brats, you have to teach them a lesson."
Thanks to the generous RICHIE for the 100-point donation. Thank you, thank you. Also, does anyone have any spare monthly tickets? Just asking.
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