Leaving, Ian's Whereabouts

As the smoke and dust cleared, the two stood amid the wreckage, staring at each other.

The next moment, they both smiled.

Ian sheathed Hyorinmaru, glanced around at the devastated ground, and shook his head slightly. "Let's call this one a draw. If we keep fighting, we'll sink the whole island..."

A battle between top-tier powerhouses was no joke. Though the fight had not lasted long, how devastating had their final clash of sword techniques been?

This small island was already on the verge of sinking, split in half down the middle...

Besides, they had agreed to decide the victor with one final move. That move had passed, so that was that.

Ian had also gained a rough understanding of his current combat strength.

The Nameless Divine Wind Style he had drawn was truly terrifying. Relying solely on swordsmanship, he had managed to fight Hawk-Eye, the World's Greatest Swordsman, to a draw.

Although he could not yet determine whether the Nameless Divine Wind Style or Hyorinmaru's Bankai was stronger, his current strength was already enough to place him at the pinnacle of the seas!

Originally, among his Haki, only his Conqueror's Haki, fused with an eruption of Spiritual Pressure, had reached an advanced level.

However, after obtaining the Nameless Divine Wind Style, his Observation Haki had also risen to another level, reaching advanced mastery!

Ian had only discovered this during the battle...

This should have been the improvement brought by the two stacking together after his swordsmanship reached a certain level!

A master swordsman conversed with the sun, moon, and stars, listened to the breathing of flowers, grass, and trees, comprehended the true meaning of life, explored the mysteries of the universe, merged with nature, and communed with heaven and earth. It was an exceedingly lofty realm!

In the terms of this world, it was a sword that could cut through anything, and a sword that could cut through nothing. This was a certain realm of swordsmanship!

After obtaining the Nameless Divine Wind Style, Ian's "realm" had improved, and his perception had been enhanced!

This state, when applied to Observation Haki, allowed his Observation Haki to break through into another level as well, reaching advanced mastery!

It had allowed him to leap into a realm that ordinary people could never reach in their entire lives!

Hawk-Eye likewise looked at Ian, the fighting spirit around him still undiminished. However, after glancing around, he said, "Then let's leave it at that. We'll settle the outcome next time. Next time, I will defeat you. This world is finally no longer so boring!"

With that, Hawk-Eye gave Ian one final look, slung Black Blade, Night across his back, and strode away.

"We'll fight again next time!" Ian laughed as well, making an agreement with Hawk-Eye.

This time, it counted as a draw. Next time, they would determine the winner once and for all!

Seeing Hawk-Eye simply pat himself off and leave, Ian looked around and had no intention of staying any longer either.

This island had been sliced in half, and Hawk-Eye deserved half the credit. Since he had not offered any compensation, Ian would not concern himself with it either...

Besides, as he had said before, this was not exactly a respectable island. If it sank, it sank. No great harm done.

Who would come looking for trouble with him?

No one dared!

Even the island's owner, a gang boss, wore an expression of tearful despair as he watched the island he had built up split into two halves. But ask him to cause trouble for the World's Greatest Swordsman?

He did not dare...

And Ian was someone capable of fighting Hawk-Eye. Even if the man had ten times the courage, he still would not dare...

He could only accept his bad luck...

However, being able to control a lawless island, he was exceptionally capable and resourceful.

This had originally been an island where swordsmen gathered. With Hawk-Eye's battle against an unknown swordsman this time, it had instead gained even more fame!

By playing up the spectacle—the World's Greatest Swordsman had sparred with an unknown swordsman on this island, and in the course of their battle, the two had cleaved the entire island directly in half!

Using that gimmick, although the island was in ruins, it drew a great many swordsmen from the first half of the Grand Line who came because of its fame, spreading the island's reputation far and wide...

Misfortune and fortune truly went hand in hand...

After Ian left that island, he once again sailed across the sea.

He had no particular destination, simply drifting aimlessly.

Everything here was fresh to him, and every island had its own unique characteristics!

He had Dimensional Space. As long as he replenished his supplies once, he hardly needed to worry about food. Moreover, his strength stood at the pinnacle of this world. If he wanted food, there was plenty to be found in the sea...

Although he did not have much Beli on hand, the money he had gotten from killing some pirates was enough for him to spend freely...

That day, following his course, Ian landed on an island called Maple Island.

The island was controlled by a World Government member nation, and a Marine branch base was stationed there.

The island produced a special medicinal herb that grew alongside its native red maple trees. Aside from this island's climate, which could nurture the herb, it could not grow elsewhere. Without these red maple trees, even obtaining its seeds was useless due to unsuitable climate conditions.

Because of this unique specialty, the island was extremely famous in the surrounding seas. Even the Marines frequently purchased these herbs to make medicine!

Every monopoly was immensely profitable, so the island was prosperous and thriving. The common people living there enjoyed peaceful and contented lives, making it one of the rare peaceful islands.

Because of its prosperity, many merchants came and went, bringing specialties from other places to trade here.

This was an island with a strong commercial atmosphere.

All kinds of entertainment facilities could even be found here.

Shopping centers, amusement parks, bars, and casinos—it had everything!

Even the Queen of Pleasure Street, one of the rulers of the New World Underworld, had opened a Pleasure Street here.

Not long after Ian stepped onto the island.

The Marines on the island received a report—the unknown powerhouse who had killed Donquixote Doflamingo had arrived at Maple Island!

After Ian killed Donquixote Doflamingo, the Marines had begun searching for his whereabouts.

But the sea was vast. Finding the trail of a single person was no easy task...

Although they had intelligence networks on every island, Ian only ever wandered around briefly before leaving whenever he landed, so the Marines had never found an opportunity to contact him.

This time, because the only route from the island Ian had left led to Maple Island, the Marines immediately notified the branch base here and instructed them to make contact with Ian.

There were now two vacant positions among the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Facing the newly formed Four Emperors structure in the New World, the World Government had grown anxious. Originally, only one position had yet to be filled, but now Donquixote Doflamingo had died too, making matters even more troublesome!

The selection of the Seven Warlords of the Sea needed to be finalized as soon as possible. Quickly!

And as the coordinating force, the World Government naturally handed such matters to its subordinates.

The Marines had a headache over it. The higher-ups moved their mouths, while those below ran their legs off...

Thus, after learning of Ian's next destination, Sengoku directly gave the order that they had to find Ian and discuss the matter with him.

The Marines also knew about Hawk-Eye's battle with an unknown swordsman, though they did not know the details. Only a few rumors had spread across the sea, and there was no conclusive proof that the opponent had been the man who killed Donquixote Doflamingo!

However, the Marine intelligence network was still formidable. Based on certain details, they roughly deduced that the person who had sparred with Hawk-Eye was the same person who had killed Donquixote Doflamingo!

After all... there were only so many powerhouses in the first half of the Grand Line, and Ian had happened to be in the nearby waters. A little thought was enough to piece together most of the truth!

Killing Donquixote Doflamingo had already been enough to qualify him as a Seven Warlords of the Sea candidate. Now there were rumors that he could fight Hawk-Eye and had nearly sunk an entire island.

Wasn't someone like that, someone who held no hostility toward the World Government or the Marines, the best possible candidate for the Seven Warlords of the Sea?

Therefore, once Marine Headquarters learned Ian's precise whereabouts, Fleet Admiral Sengoku immediately began making arrangements and dispatched an admiral, one of their highest combat powers!

The Marines had shown utmost sincerity. When they had invited Hawk-Eye in the past, they had also sent an admiral...

As for the other Seven Warlords of the Sea, at most they had sent vice admiral-level officers...

Akainu believed in Absolute Justice and was unsuitable for this mission, while Aokiji was currently away from Headquarters on another assignment.

Only Yellow Monkey, that excessively lazy fellow, had remained at Headquarters all this time...

Sengoku found the sight irritating. What kind of conduct was this for an admiral?

So Yellow Monkey was press-ganged into service. The one going to contact Ian this time was Yellow Monkey...