It had to be said that gathering this kind of information was still more convenient on Grado's side.
As the king of the underworld forces in the West Blue, it was fairly easy for Gini to obtain intelligence from the underworld.
"Gerd is not a commodity, those despicable bastards!"
Upon hearing Ian's words, anger immediately appeared on Hajrudin's face. However, he also understood that venting his anger here was useless.
After releasing his fury for a moment, he looked at Ian again with a solemn expression. "Thank you very much for your help, Mr. Ian. The giant race will absolutely never forget your kindness."
"The underworld forces of the North Blue?"
Zephyr, who was standing nearby with the children, also stepped forward. He frowned and said with a serious expression: "Which underworld force is so bold as to dare provoke even giants? And didn't the Warland Kingdom become a member of the World Government a few years ago through the efforts of your king?"
"There are even quite a few giants within Marine Headquarters. Logically speaking, even if they obtained slave-hunting rights granted by the World Government, slave-hunting groups shouldn't have the authority to capture giants from Elbaph!"
Hajrudin: "..."
As soon as these words fell, Hajrudin fell silent. His face also showed some awkwardness and regret, as if he wanted to say something but did not know how to begin.
Although Ian understood exactly what was going on, he did not expose Elbaph's shortcomings.
Instead, he changed the topic and said, "Since the downfall of the Donquixote Family, the underworld forces in the North Blue have become a complete mess. Many factions want to gain the favor of the Celestial Dragons and become the next Donquixote Family. The underworld force that captured Gerd is the same."
Despite how rotten Doflamingo was, and despite being called something like Joker, he actually had quite a bit of status within the underworld, operating on both the black and white sides, and even managing to establish connections with the Celestial Dragons.
One could imagine how extraordinary it would be for those underworld forces to become the next Donquixote Family.
However, those people only saw the status of the Donquixote Family and did not know the hidden identity behind Doflamingo.
Wanting to become the next Doflamingo was not that simple.
"Therefore, during this period, those slave-hunting groups have been acting so frantically. That underworld force probably wants to use giant slaves to gain the favor of a Celestial Dragon, thereby replacing the Donquixote Family."
"The World Government..."
Upon hearing Ian's words, Zephyr sighed with emotion. There was disappointment and melancholy in his eyes, but he did not continue to speak.
Hajrudin, beside him, was the same, except that compared to Instructor Zephyr, he showed an extra trace of anger. His face was livid, and his fists were clenched tightly.
After a moment passed, Hajrudin raised his head, knelt down again in front of Ian, and heavily knocked his head against the ground. "Mr. Ian, please be sure to save Gerd. No matter what I have to pay, I am willing."
"Get up first!"
Ian did not immediately agree. Instead, he told Hajrudin to rise, then paused in thought. "By the way, where are your companions?"
He remembered that this guy was outside forming some New Giant Warrior Pirates, intending to revive the glory of the Giant Warrior Pirates, and even surpass the former captain of the Giant Warrior Pirates.
This time, Gerd was captured. What about the other crew members?
"Because I had Madam Robin's letter, and also wanted to take the opportunity to thank Mr. Ian for your previous help, I brought my crew into the West Blue. But unexpectedly, Gerd was captured. By the time we reacted, it was already too late. We could only flee with the others, hoping to find Mr. Ian and obtain your assistance."
Hajrudin frowned, as if recalling something, then said with a bitter smile: "But who would have thought that while fleeing, with our injuries not yet healed, we encountered another slave-hunting group. In the end, to cover the rear, I was captured!"
When they entered the West Blue, they arrived at an island and happened to encounter a slave-hunting group. After driving the slave hunters off the island, the villagers, in gratitude, specially held a banquet for them.
As a result, after they got drunk, another slave-hunting group quietly came up. Taking advantage of their drunken state, they directly launched a sneak attack, severely injuring them and binding them.
In order to let them escape, Gerd chose to stay behind.
After that, to allow Road and the others to flee and return to Elbaph to seek reinforcements, he chose to cover the rear. As a result, while escaping, he was captured by yet another slave-hunting group.
"Those despicable villagers!"
Thinking of this, Hajrudin immediately slammed his fist heavily into the ground in anger. "We clearly helped them drive away the slave hunters, yet they actually helped other slave hunters harm us!"
Ian and Zephyr: "..."
After hearing Hajrudin's account, Ian and Zephyr roughly understood what had happened. Both of them frowned.
Not only they, but also Ain and Robin standing nearby, also frowned with solemn expressions.
Entering the West Blue and consecutively encountering three waves of slave-hunting groups, it seemed that the slave-hunting activities during this period were even worse than they had imagined!
Was this the case in the other three seas as well, or was someone deliberately targeting the West Blue?
After the four exchanged glances, Ian seemed to have made a decision. He lowered his head and looked at Hajrudin, who was kneeling and pounding the ground in front of him, and pondered for a moment. "Get up. Thank you for delivering the letter. Rest assured, the Umbrella Corporation will absolutely not stand by!"
Hajrudin: "...?!"
Excitement appeared on Hajrudin's face. He raised his head, his eyes filled with tears as he looked at Ian with gratitude, just as he was about to say something...
Ian raised his hand to interrupt him, then continued: "Of course, you also need to agree to one condition."
"A condition?"
Hajrudin was startled. But after just a moment, he nodded without hesitation, his expression serious as he said solemnly: "Please speak, Mr. Ian. No matter what the condition is, I will agree. Even if you require my life, it does not matter."
"There's no need for your life. Do you remember what I said when we met before?"
Hajrudin: "...?"