"Enough."
Ian waved his hand and directly sat down in front of Zephyr as he complained irritably to Zephyr: "These guys come to disturb my sleep, and you didn't stop them. Do you still want to hold your grandchild or not?"
"Hahaha, I did stop them."
Zephyr did not mind Ian's words at all and said cheerfully: "Otherwise, they would have come knocking at the door as soon as dawn broke!"
"Mr. Ian..."
"Enough, get to the point!"
Ian directly interrupted Ace while looking at the anxious-looking Straw Hat crew in front of him.
"Judging by your appearance, you seem quite anxious."
"Ian, Ian!"
Hearing Ian's words, Luffy, who had long been unable to wait, immediately said: "Teach was captured. Do you know who captured him? This grandpa, who saved Nami, said you know."
Ian: "...?"
Ian looked at Zephyr in surprise. "When did you save that little girl?"
"Last night."
Zephyr said with a smile. "I was just strolling around and happened to pass by, so I saved this little girl along the way!"
"Then don't you already know who it was? Just say it directly. Why let these guys come and bother me?"
"I wasn't sure whether I could say it or not. No matter how you look at it, that matter is too big and could easily cause huge trouble."
Ian: "..."
What a load of trouble. It's not even their problem.
This world places too much weight on so-called trouble, and thus, every time people worry about causing trouble, they start being deliberately vague.
Ian glanced at Nami, whose face was full of panic, as if she still hadn't recovered from being frightened, then looked at Luffy in front of him, who was stretching his neck and staring at him with an expectant expression.
He picked up the teacup beside him, poured himself a cup, took a sip, then put it down.
His gaze swept across everyone in front of him as he said in a serious tone, "Did you hear what this grandpa said? This matter is a big trouble, especially for pirates like you who have only just entered the Grand Line not long ago; it's trouble among troubles. Are you sure you want to hear it?"
As soon as these words fell…
Everyone: "...?!"
Hearing Ian's words, the Straw Hat crew's expressions also became serious.
Just as everyone else looked at one another and was about to discuss it, they saw Luffy press his straw hat down with his right hand, take a deep breath, and look at Ian with a serious tone. "Ian, please tell me!"
These words made Zoro and the others, who had still been a bit hesitant, freeze for a moment.
Then they all smiled and looked at Ian, as if they had already made some kind of decision, waiting for Ian's words.
And Ian did not hide anything. He let out a long sigh and shook his head. "Since you want to know, so be it. I'll tell you."
He drank the remaining tea in his cup in one go, and a serious expression appeared on his face.
"This story has to start with Roger, the King of the Pirates, wanting to snatch his brother's woman!"
Ace: "…?"
No, why does it have something to do with his cheap old man again?
"That era, Roger, had not yet become the King of the Pirates. At that time, the most powerful pirate crew on the seas was the Rocks Pirates."
"In that era, countless powerful figures joined Rocks for various reasons. For example, among the current Four Emperors of the New World, three of them were once crew members of the Rocks Pirates. One can imagine just how powerful the Rocks Pirates were back then."
As Ian's words fell, the Straw Hat crew and Ace were all shocked by the strength of the Rocks Pirates.
Especially Ace, who clearly understood just how terrifying the Four Emperors were.
In his heart, he understood even more deeply that among those who had once been crew members of someone else, there were actually three people who had now become Four Emperors...
How unbelievable was that? Without a doubt, the captain of the Rocks Pirates must have been an extremely powerful individual.
"Shanks was Roger's apprentice."
Ace said with a frown. "So does that mean the captain of the Beasts Pirates, the captain of the Big Mom Pirates, and the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates were also once crew members of Rocks?"
"All of them were, but not only them."
Zephyr, who was standing nearby with the children, chimed in at this moment, smiling as he spoke. "Back then, the captain of Golden Lion Pirates, Shiki the Golden Lion, who could contend with your father, and the widely renowned Captain John, the Jewelry Hunter, were also crew members of the Rocks Pirates."
"The power of the Rocks Pirates in that era is beyond doubt. There were even people on the seas who believed he truly could dominate the ocean and become the king of the world!"
"Unfortunately, in the end, that powerhouse who had shocked the entire sea died and did not become the king of the world as those people had imagined. Instead, Gol D. Roger gained the recognition of the seas by finding the legendary Laugh Tale and became the King of the Pirates!"
"Hehehe!"
However, just as everyone was still reeling from Instructor Zephyr's words, Luffy suddenly said with a grin: "He really was strong, but what does this have to do with Teach?"
Everyone: "...?!"
As soon as those words fell, everyone immediately reacted.
That's right, they had come to ask about Teach, not to listen to stories about the Rocks Pirates.
"So that guy, Teach, has a connection to the Rocks Pirates?"
Ace was the first to react, frowning slightly as he said. "I only heard Mr. Ian say that what happened to the Rocks Pirates was before Roger became King of the Pirates. At that time, Teach should have been very young. What kind of relationship could it be? Could it be that..."
As if realizing something, Ace's pupils suddenly shrank, his face filled with disbelief.
At this moment, even Nami, Sanji, Usopp, and Vivi beside him seemed to have thought of something as well; they all looked at Ian with expressions of shock and doubt.