As Ian and his group stepped out of the bar, they ran into a man with a walking stick and a top hat.
The man moved with elegant yet eerie dance steps, a faint smile playing on his lips, and his steps halted the moment he saw Ian.
Ian also noticed him.
The Devil Sheriff, Lafitte.
Ian's eyebrow slightly raised, and a playful smile curved at the corner of his mouth.
Interesting, according to the original timeline, the Blackbeard Pirates shouldn't have reached Mock Town yet.
Did my appearance cause a butterfly effect?
However, arriving early or late made no difference.
Ian didn't take this small change to heart, and, leading the women behind him, brushed past Lafitte.
Lafitte stood still, unmoving, until Ian and his group completely disappeared around the street corner; only then did he seem to lose all his strength, leaning heavily on his walking stick and letting out a long sigh.
His back was already soaked with cold sweat.
In that instant, it felt like an elegant house cat had run into an ancient beast in human skin.
The aura emanating from the other party was not merely a simple display of overwhelming strength, but a noble presence that transcended all living beings, an indifference that regarded all things as mere trifles.
And such a powerful aura, in the Grand Line today, could only be possessed by the Celestial Dragons who resided in the Holy Land and enjoyed all privileges.
However, even among the high and mighty Celestial Dragons in the Holy Land, there were different ranks.
In terms of aura alone, that man just now was enough to instantly kill all the Celestial Dragons he had ever seen.
To be precise, those Celestial Dragons weren't even worthy of carrying that man's shoes.
Of course, even if Celestial Dragons had different ranks, their characteristics were very easy to distinguish.
Because any Celestial Dragon who left the Holy Land would wear a bubble helmet and a spacesuit.
But that man—
Why wasn't he wearing the Celestial Dragons' signature bubble helmet and spacesuit?
Lafitte's mind was filled with doubts, and his gaze subconsciously swept over the group that had just passed.
Suddenly, his pupils constricted sharply.
It's her!
Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral, Gion, code-named 'Momousagi' (Pink Rabbit)!
Although she had changed into casual clothes, with hot pants revealing her long, straight, beautiful legs, Lafitte would never mistake that face, that unique aura of a strong person!
One of the most promising candidates for promotion to Admiral in Marine Headquarters, Vice Admiral Gion, was actually wearing such revealing casual clothes, following that man like an attendant?
A terrifying thought exploded in Lafitte's mind.
To have a Headquarters Vice Admiral accompany him in casual clothes for protection, that man's identity was already obvious!
And, he was definitely not an ordinary Celestial Dragon!
I must tell the Captain this news immediately!
... On another street in Mock Town, in front of a dessert shop.
An exceptionally tall and burly man with rotten teeth was squatting by the roadside without any regard for his image, wolfing down a cherry pie in his hand, letting out a boisterous 'Zehahahaha' laugh.
It was Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach.
Lafitte appeared silently behind him with his dance steps.
"Captain, there's been a change in the situation."
"Hmm?" Teach didn't even lift his head, taking another fierce bite of the pie. "What could be more important than my cherry pie?"
"I might have just seen a Celestial Dragon," Lafitte's voice was very low, his expression more serious than ever before.
"A Celestial Dragon?" Teach's movements paused for a moment, then he carelessly continued stuffing pie into his mouth, saying indistinctly, "Who cares what kind of Dragon, as long as he doesn't get in my way. Keep looking for those pirates with bounties over 100 million. Our era is about to begin! Zehahahahaha!"
Just then, a burst of laughter came from nearby.
"Saint Ian, I want that cherry pie!" Nami's voice carried a hint of coquetry.
"Kaya is also a little hungry," Kaya echoed timidly.
Ian and his group had also arrived at this dessert shop.
Nami and Kaya excitedly ran to the counter to pick out desserts, while Ian, Gunko, Gion, and Tina's gazes all simultaneously fell on the man gorging himself by the roadside.
Tina frowned, "That person's eating habits are so ugly, Tina doesn't like it at all."
Gion's face, however, instantly darkened.
She recognized this man!
A former member of the Whitebeard Pirates, who murdered his comrade Thatch to steal the Dark-Dark Fruit and then defected—Marshall D. Teach!
His portrait was on the Marine's wanted poster!
Most importantly, the news of Teach killing his comrade and being hunted by one of the Whitebeard Pirates' Captains was already widely known throughout the Grand Line, and the Marines had been secretly observing this development.
Ian, of course, also recognized Teach.
As a transmigrator, he knew Teach even better than Gion; he not only knew what Teach had been up to recently but also knew Teach's other identity.
The biological son of Rocks, the once mighty overlord who dominated the Grand Line.
Ian's eyes grew cold.
Fifty-six years ago, Rocks not only killed an Admiral in the Holy Land but also broke into the House of Flowers and met his mother, Imu.
This debt, he, having been pampered by Imu since childhood, naturally had to settle for his mother.
As the saying goes, a son repays his father's debt, which is only natural.
The corner of Ian's mouth slowly curved into a cold arc, and he called out in a deep voice, "Teach!"
The voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.
Teach, who was eating with oil dripping from his mouth, stiffened. Who was calling him?
He suddenly turned his head, but what he saw was an extremely fast—arrow!
Gunko had already made her move the moment Ian spoke!
She didn't even make any unnecessary movements; the bandages wrapped around her body shot out like venomous snakes, twisting into a sharp arrowhead in the air, pointing directly at Teach's heart in a way that completely ignored spatial distance!
The Arrow-Arrow Fruit had pre-arranged the attack trajectory before launching the attack; once locked onto by the arrowhead, there was no escaping.
"What!?"
Teach's pupils constricted, and the shadow of death instantly enveloped his entire body! He wanted to elementalize, to use darkness to swallow the attack, but it was too late!
The attack came too fast, too strangely!
"Captain!"
At this critical moment, Lafitte let out a cry of alarm, his walking stick, which he had been holding, suddenly struck the ground, and he transformed into an afterimage, flashing at an incredible speed to block in front of Teach!
"Pfft!"
The arrowhead formed by the bandages fiercely pierced through Lafitte's chest, and the huge impact carried him into Teach, sending both of them tumbling a long distance away.
"Wah—"
Lafitte spat out a large mouthful of blood, but he couldn't care less about his own injuries now. He desperately grabbed Teach's collar and used his last ounce of strength to shout, "Captain, run! He's the crown prince from the legends of the Holy Land! Danger! Let's go!"
crown prince?
Teach was stunned on the spot. What crown prince!
However, before he could recover.
"Clang!"
A crisp clang of a sword echoed through the street.
Gion moved.
The famous sword konpira was drawn with force, and a sharp sword light, carrying terrifying energy, slashed down at Teach, who had just managed to get up.