"Anyway, Kuzan is now one of us."
Kuzan gave a gentle smile and greeted the gathered officers of the Beasts Pirates.
Ian formally introduced him to everyone.
To be honest, Kuzan was feeling a little nervous inside.
This tension was almost the same as when he had just graduated from the training camp and officially joined the Navy headquarters.
Would he get along with his new comrades?
That was the thought running through his mind.
"Hmph, so this is the former Navy Admiral? Not much to look at."
The one who scrutinized him from head to toe before giving such a remark was none other than Bullet.
Kuzan didn't feel the need to argue back.
After all, when this man was dominating the seas, the one holding the position of Admiral was Sengoku.
Now that Sengoku had become Fleet Admiral, his strength was, of course, far greater than Kuzan's. Kuzan had no illusions about that fact.
"Hmph, you'd better not even think about betraying Ian. If you do, I won't forgive you."
The cold warning came from Boa Hancock, said to be one of Ian's two consorts.
She truly was a breathtaking beauty. Many newspapers across the world had called her the most beautiful woman alive.
Ian really was a lucky bastard. It was one thing to have such a woman fall for him, but even Yamato shared such a close bond with him.
And it was that same Yamato who spoke up next.
"Great! Last time we didn't get to settle things, and I've always regretted it! Let's have a match later and see who really is the strongest ice user in the world!"
"I surrender."
Kuzan answered cleanly and decisively.
What kind of joke was this? Who in their right mind would fight the boss's girlfriend?
That was no different from challenging a Celestial Dragon when he was still an Admiral—no matter if he won or lost, he wouldn't have a good ending.
Didn't anyone understand the unspoken rules of being an Admiral?
You had to handle people and situations with the right amount of tact.
Besides, the girl truly was absurdly strong. Now that they were allies, Kuzan had absolutely no intention of fighting her.
It was meaningless, wasn't it?
"Damn it!!"
Yamato was furious.
No matter what, Ian patiently introduced each of the Beasts Pirates' officers who had remained on Onigashima to Kuzan.
Of course, Kuzan already recognized many of them. After all, these were the infamous figures whose faces appeared on wanted posters across the seas.
But there was one man who stood out as particularly unusual.
Tesoro.
While the man was somewhat well-known around the world, his fame came less from piracy and more from his appearances in newspapers as an actor and singer.
No one had ever really taken him seriously—until Ian introduced him as his most important assistant.
That alone made Kuzan reconsider. Clearly, this was no ordinary man.
Overall, the introductions to his new "colleagues" went rather smoothly.
No one tried to make things difficult for him.
But that was only natural.
Kuzan knew full well that his strength spoke for itself. Even within the Beasts Pirates, there weren't many who had the qualifications to challenge him.
After the introductions, Ian had Teach take Kuzan on a tour of Onigashima, so he could properly familiarize himself with the island where he would likely be spending quite a long time.
Since Teach had recently gone through the same experience himself, he was the perfect guide.
"This building we're in right now is the heart of Onigashima—the central keep where Lord Ian and the other officers live," Teach explained as he led Kuzan down from the castle tower. "You'll be able to choose a room for yourself here as well."
By now, though, most of the best rooms were probably already taken. Arriving this late, Kuzan doubted he'd have many good options left.
Or so he thought.
When they stepped outside the castle tower, they entered a wide plaza where several children were locked in combat.
A boy and girl who had transformed into dinosaurs clashed fiercely.
A cat-girl wielding a longsword dueled against another boy who fought with three blades.
And then—fighting a strange blond-haired boy clad in an unusual battle outfit—
"A dragon?"
Kuzan froze.
High above the plaza, a pink dragon coiled through the sky, unleashing blazing torrents of fire from its maw.
Then the blond boy leapt into the air, kicking the flames apart.
That was really a dragon, wasn't it?
Apart from the different color and its smaller size, it was exactly like Kaido!
It could even breathe fire! It could float in the sky while holding onto clouds!
But how could the world possibly have two identical Devil Fruits?
"Harahaha! Surprised, huh?"
Teach laughed heartily. "I was startled the first time I saw it too."
"Among all the young members of the crew, Ace is the most unique."
"The Devil Fruit he ate is a replica of Boss Kaido's Azure Dragon Fruit."
"What?"
Kuzan was completely stunned.
He wasn't unaware of that fruit.
On the contrary, he had personally handed the replica of the Azure Dragon Fruit to Ian back then!
But he had never imagined that the fruit could actually grant someone the ability to transform into a dragon!
Wasn't that fruit a failure? Now, where exactly had it failed?
Wait!
So Ian not only knew of the fruit's existence long ago, but he even knew that it had succeeded?
A speculation formed in Kuzan's mind.
Could it be that Ian had already been acquainted with Dr. Vegapunk?
Was all of this their scheme?
Hiss!
Kuzan drew in a sharp breath. If that were true, Ian was terrifying—he had been only thirteen at the time.
"They're all extraordinary children," Teach, unaware of Kuzan's thoughts, continued introducing them.
"Ulti and Page One are siblings. They joined the Beasts Pirates at a very young age, personally brought back by Lord Ian."
Recalling this, he couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental.
When Lord Ian retrieved the siblings, it marked the beginning of his feud with the Whitebeard Pirates.
Lord Ian had already stunned the world back then, but surely no one could have imagined he would reach this level now.
"Zoro and Kuina are children brought back from the East Blue by Lord Ian. Both are training to become the strongest swordsmen."
Teach continued, "Sanji is the third son of the Vinsmoke family, the pinnacle of their technological achievements, a true natural-born prodigy."
"Then there's Ace. To understand just how strong his talent is, think about why Lord Ian entrusted him with that Devil Fruit."
"Ah… they all seem impressive," Kuzan murmured.
These children were truly monsters among their peers.
"Oh, and there's little Uta. You must be very familiar with her," Teach said with a grin, "though she's recording right now."
"Uta?"
Kuzan smiled as well. "No matter which island in the New World, you can hear her singing every day."
"Even across the entire world, countless people risk government crackdowns just to tune in to her broadcasts on time."
"They say that girl is the child of the Red-Haired Shanks, and only after certain events did she return with Lord Ian," Teach said.
"Red-Haired Shanks?"
Kuzan looked surprised. "That Red-Haired Shanks actually has a child?"
He had never heard of such a thing before.
**********
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