Compared to the Red-Hair Pirates, the movements of the Whitebeard Pirates were always harder to track.
Both crews roamed the seas on a single ship, drifting without a fixed base and traveling wherever the waves carried them.
But the Red-Hair Pirates were far flashier.
After all, Shanks had ties to the Celestial Dragons. Under normal circumstances, the World Government didn't bother them at all.
The Whitebeard Pirates were a different story.
Whitebeard's stance toward the Marines had always been simple—avoid them whenever possible.
The Marines were endless, fearless, and for every group cut down, another would simply take their place.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, the Whitebeard Pirates often made a point of concealing their whereabouts.
This brought Ian a bit of inconvenience.
But since it was only a bit, that meant it wasn't much.
For the current Beasts Pirates, who had dominated the entire New World over the past six years, Whitebeard's tricks for hiding his movements weren't much at all.
Their influence continued to quietly expand into the West Blue and North Blue.
They hadn't deployed armies to conquer cities in those seas, but their business ventures had never stopped.
And once business reached those waters, influence naturally followed.
Simply put, many people across those seas were working for the Beasts Pirates—directly or indirectly.
With Stussy secretly providing Ian with intelligence, and Aunt Linlin holding vast power in the North Blue, locating the Whitebeard Pirates was hardly a challenge.
In fact, Ian had already confirmed their current location before even returning from the West Blue to Onigashima.
All he needed to do was head straight there.
"So the last Road Poneglyph is with Whitebeard?" Aunt Linlin asked curiously as they traveled.
"It could only be Whitebeard," Shanks interjected.
He wasn't surprised at all.
Who else could possibly have it?
He was actually quite interested in Wano.
He was curious about what the country had become after Kaido took it from Oden.
Everyone on the seas knew that Wano was the headquarters of the Beasts Pirates, the place where the Pirate Emperor's palace stood.
At the same time, the country's industry and commerce were extraordinarily developed, with large volumes of goods flowing overseas every year, bringing immense wealth to the Beasts Pirates.
But in reality, outsiders knew very little about the internal state of the country.
After all, the towering cliffs completely separated the domestic world from the outside world.
Now, with the opportunity to enter Wano, Red-Haired Shanks wanted to take a good look at the country.
But Ian had no intention of lingering. After calling over Teach, he set off without pause, heading straight for the North Blue.
Shanks felt a twinge of disappointment.
"Mm."
Ian nodded lightly. "The Whitebeard Pirates have protected Fish-Man Island for years. Neptune gave that Road Poneglyph to Whitebeard as a gift."
"On the other hand, he also thought that in this era of raging seas and fierce pirates, if anyone discovered that Road Poneglyph on Fish-Man Island, the island could face total annihilation."
Aunt Linlin pursed her lips.
It was a pity she hadn't known about the Road Poneglyph earlier. Otherwise, with the original location of the Fishman Island, what would Whitebeard have to do with it?
"Whitebeard?"
Hawkeye lifted the corner of his mouth. "Once called the strongest man in the world, I'm curious to see exactly what kind of power he possesses!"
Although Whitebeard had long since lost the title of the world's strongest, no one truly believed he had weakened.
Even in old age, Whitebeard remained the same Whitebeard of legend.
It was just that Ian was far too strong.
"There will be a chance," Ian said. "But Whitebeard isn't easy to deal with, right, Teach?"
Teach quickly nodded with a simple, good-natured smile. "Pops is very stubborn. Making him bow down is almost impossible."
"That old bastard Whitebeard… he's never listened to anyone since long ago."
Aunt Linlin, who had once served on the same ship as Whitebeard, snorted coldly and added, "If you want him to help you, his enemy, fight the World Government… then you might as well just kill him."
"Sigh."
Ian let out a long sigh. "That would really be such a waste."
The Whitebeard Pirates were an enormous force. To waste them like that… it would be a shame.
As for the grudges between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Beast Pirates, as long as Whitebeard is willing to help take on the World Government, Ian felt he could be magnanimous enough to forgive them this once.
"Teach," Ian spoke earnestly to Teach, "from now on, I'll need you to negotiate with Whitebeard."
Teach, of course, responded with solemn determination. "Leave it to me, Lord Ian! I will do everything I can to persuade Pops!"
"Good."
Ian nodded in satisfaction.
Yet deep down, he knew that the so-called negotiation was likely just a wasted effort.
There was only one way to realistically get Whitebeard to help.
That was to use his children as leverage.
But the question was—would his children agree?
Newgate?
Redfield listened quietly, his thoughts flowing silently.
Back in the era when he ruled the seas, rumors said he alone could rival both the Roger Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates.
But only he knew the truth—compared to Roger and Whitebeard, the two true titans of that age, he still fell short.
The gap was so great that it had once left him disheartened.
After all, he was alone, while Roger and Whitebeard were surrounded by their crews.
His own strength was already inferior; compared to two entire pirate crews, the difference was staggering.
But now, faced with Ian, what would become of the mighty Whitebeard Pirates?
Redfield couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
The great pirates left over from the previous era… it seemed Ian intended to wipe them all out.
Even if the new surpasses the old, this was… overwhelmingly so.
The Paw Bubble surged forward relentlessly.
Two days later, it finally reached the skies above a certain sea.
"Is this the place?"
Aunt Linlin peered down at the island that had quickly appeared in their view.
When her Observation Haki swept downward, it was easy to sense a familiar presence there.
"Seems we're in the right place."
Ian stretched lazily. "Lucky us."
Indeed, it was luck. Based on the Whitebeard Pirates' route, there were three islands in the surrounding sea that they might have landed on.
Yet, by chance, they arrived directly at the correct one.
It saved a lot of time.
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