"Lord Ian!"
Kuma looked at the fetus surrounded by Ian's friends with excitement.
"Take him back with you."
Ian said, "From now on, it's up to you all to take care of him."
Kuma was momentarily stunned.
He looked at Ian in disbelief.
"This is your child, isn't it?"
Ian smiled, "There's no one better suited to take care of him than you."
"You actually knew about this?"
Kuma was genuinely stunned.
It didn't make sense.
Only he himself, along with Dragon and Ginny, should have known about this.
"That's not hard to guess," Ian chuckled softly.
"Auntie Linlin has been gathering various races from across the seas, and besides that, I doubt you could find another way to move Auntie Linlin."
Kuma scratched his head awkwardly.
"So, Ian, you're saying this guy is the father of that fetus?"
Dorry looked confused.
"Then isn't he Charlotte Linlin's husband?"
How could Charlotte Linlin's husband be on Ian's side?
"Don't overthink it," Ian smiled.
"You just need to know that I chose this fetus so that he could return to his father's side."
"You all saw how Auntie Linlin treats her children."
"If this child stays with her, you don't even have to imagine what the outcome would be."
"Lord Ian!"
Under his cloak, Kuma's eyes were already red.
This really is a very, very good person!
He owed Ian a huge favor—he didn't even know how to repay it!
Dorry and Brogy couldn't help but laugh heartily.
Truly, he was their good brother!
Ian is great, no need to say more!!
While the atmosphere was harmonious on Ian's side, Queen Mama Chanter was departing.
The officers of the Charlotte Family were deathly silent, heads lowered, not daring to utter a single word.
It had been a long, long time since they had suffered such a crushing defeat.
In the face of their enemy, they had been completely powerless—utterly overwhelmed and effortlessly destroyed.
Worse still, it wasn't just they who had fallen—even their mother had been defeated by Ian.
"You little bastard!!"
Aunt Linlin, her right shoulder freshly treated, roared in fury. "Don't you dare think I'll ever forget this humiliation!!"
It was, without a doubt, an unprecedented disgrace.
They had been annihilated with overwhelming force, forced to sign a shameful treaty, and even the unborn child in her womb had been taken hostage.
Charlotte Linlin was on the verge of exploding with rage.
"I'll never forgive him! One day, I'll crush him to dust!!"
Finally, Katakuri spoke up. "But, Mama… Ian is not an easy opponent to deal with."
His words were gentle, almost cautious.
Every officer of the Charlotte Family knew—it wasn't just that Ian and his crew were hard to deal with.
They were unbelievably strong.
Their leaders had been matched one-on-one—and defeated. Even if the entire Charlotte Family had gone all out, they might still have been completely overrun.
"Mama, if we want revenge… we have to get stronger."
Katakuri said it with determination.
It didn't matter if the rest of them got stronger or not.
But Mama—she had to become stronger than Ian.
Otherwise, none of this means anything.
Charlotte Linlin's gaze turned serious. "You're right, Katakuri!"
"Though I hate to admit it, that bastard Ian is ridiculously strong! Even I can't beat him right now!"
The officers of the Charlotte Family all breathed a sigh of relief.
As expected of Katakuri—he always knew the right thing to say. No wonder he was considered the greatest masterpiece of the Charlotte Family. Now, Mama wouldn't vent her fury on them.
Aunt Linlin clenched her left fist tightly. "I need to become stronger too! Only then can I defeat him!"
"I need stronger Armament Haki! Only then can I withstand that guy's destructive flames! And then—!"
"Katakuri!"
She turned to look at the son she relied on the most.
"Mama."
Katakuri bowed his head respectfully.
"What exactly is the principle behind the Observation Haki that allows you to see the future?"
Aunt Linlin's tone was grim. "If I want to beat that brat, I need to master that technique too!"
Without it, she wouldn't be able to dodge his attacks, nor could she strike back effectively.
There would be no chance of victory at all.
Even Katakuri was momentarily startled.
It seemed Mama had truly suffered a defeat like never before in her battle against Ian.
Since the day he was born, he had never seen her so willingly eager to train.
"I understand."
Katakuri nodded firmly. "I'll teach you everything, Mama."
If Mama became stronger, then all the brothers and sisters of the Charlotte Family would be safer.
"Just you wait, brat!!"
Aunt Linlin ground her teeth in fury as she swore, "I'll make you pay for this!!"
At that moment, Ian was still unaware that his humiliating actions had awakened a sleeping monster—the Pirate Phantom God, Diligent Linlin, had now officially entered the stage!
Shortly after the battle on Hive Island came to an end, at Mariejois, inside the office of the Five Elders...
"As expected, it ended in a fight. Charlotte Linlin's plan fell completely apart."
"Wasn't that obvious from the beginning? There's no way Ian would allow Charlotte Linlin to share the friendship of the giants with him."
"Still... isn't Charlotte Linlin stronger than we thought? Even with help from the Giant Warrior Pirates, Ian didn't completely defeat the majority of the Charlotte Family she brought with her."
"But in the end, Ian still came out on top—although Charlotte Linlin escaped unscathed as well."
"Either way, they should quiet down for a while. Let's continue focusing on hunting the Revolutionary Army. They remain the greatest threat to the World Government!"
The Five Elders didn't realize that the intelligence they'd received was slightly inaccurate.
Hive Island.
"...That's exactly what I reported to the Five Elders."
Inside Ian's office, Stussy spoke sweetly, standing elegantly before him.
"Good."
Ian nodded with satisfaction.
It was better if the Five Elders didn't learn the truth about what really happened on the battlefield.
Even if it was just due to a natural counter between their abilities, the fact that he had effortlessly defeated Aunt Linlin might be too much of a shock for them.
He should be considerate of their old hearts, after all.
"But even so, defeating the Charlotte Family is still a fact," Stussy said, "Lord Ian, your bounty will probably increase again."
"That kind of thing doesn't matter."
Ian replied casually, "What's the current situation with the Revolutionary Army?"
"They're being chased quite miserably," Stussy said, "But overall, the government still can't capture their core forces. Only some stragglers have been wiped out."
"Good."
Ian was quite satisfied.
That meant the Revolutionary Army could continue to draw the government's attention for a long while.
The day after the battle ended, Dorry and Brogy—those two close brothers—set off with Prince Loki to return to the Giant Kingdom.
Prince Loki didn't show the slightest reluctance, mostly because Lola had gone back with them as well.
At the same time, the newspapers reported on the battle at Hive Island.
The news of Ian defeating Charlotte Linlin spread wildly across the world.
What was interesting, though, was that the Five Elders had received word that Ian had only barely won.
But the newspapers claimed Ian had won effortlessly. Ian knew they were trying to set him up by glorifying him too much—but he still found it amusing. After all, all roads lead to Rome.
Just as Stussy had said, after this battle, Ian's bounty had skyrocketed to 3.5 billion—now equal to Big Mom's.
Yamato and Hancock's bounties also rose, reaching 1.3 billion and 1.1 billion respectively.
The rest of the crew had their own increases as well.
A few days later, Hive Island's Fish-Man exploration team brought back good news.
They had discovered a large gold mine deep beneath the nearby seabed.
**********
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