Super Card System

It took some time, but the navy eventually completed their retreat. As the hundreds of warships gradually drifted away on the sea, the pirates suddenly erupted in a massive cheer.

Did they win? Did they really win?

Seeing such a vast navy fleet had left the pirates feeling terrified. Turning to look at the nearby Edd War Island reef cluster, they found that more than half of the reefs had been completely blown apart by the navy’s artillery fire!

Marco, Ace, and the other division commanders couldn’t help but surround Ian, slapping his shoulders and pounding his chest, expressing their admiration for Ian’s timely arrival.

They all knew very well that if Ian hadn’t arrived at the critical moment, their heavily injured father might have been severely wounded again under the navy’s bombardment.

Red-Haired Shanks glanced in Ian’s direction with a smile, then walked toward Whitebeard.

“Hmph, you all just show up unannounced, treating this place like a marketplace?” the Whitebeard sneered at Shanks, clearly not pleased.

Shanks looked up at Whitebeard and said, “Actually, neither Kaido nor I were supposed to be here. But who would have thought that Kaido would resort to underhanded tactics? If I hadn’t found his behavior suspicious and decided to test the Beasts Pirates, I wouldn’t have discovered that Kaido had abandoned his crew and come here.”

“He’s run off now. Your presence here is useless. Get lost already!” Whitebeard retorted irritably.

“I will leave, but not just yet…” Shanks’s expression turned serious as he continued, “During your battle with the navy, you might not have received the news. In fact, shortly after the Whitebeard Pirates began fighting the navy, that guy Teach attacked Mariejois!”

“What!?” Whitebeard frowned and asked, “How do you know?”

“Someone informed me via a Den Den Mushi call,” Shanks replied. “As usual, the World Government chose to cover it up. But according to the information I received, Teach killed three World Nobles and stole classified information from the World Government. This information includes the distribution maps of the Navy’s scientific research bases. I suspect that the Blackbeard Pirates might target these research facilities next. Although I don’t know what he aims to gain, I doubt it bodes well…”

“This is none of your concern!” Whitebeard glared at him. “Teach is the Whitebeard Pirates’ responsibility!”

Shanks smiled and said, “Indeed, this is an internal matter for your pirate crew. I won’t interfere. I came here just to inform you.”

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As Shanks and Whitebeard talked, not far away, Luffy and his group were gathered together. Sanji lit a cigarette and asked Luffy, “The Red-Haired Shanks of the Four Emperors… Luffy, he’s the one who gave you your straw hat, right?”

“Yeah! That’s him!” Luffy smiled, looking at Shanks’ silhouette.

“Not going to see him?” Nami asked.

“No!” Luffy took off his straw hat, holding it in one hand, and said nostalgically, “I made a promise to meet him only after I became a great pirate, but right now, I’m still far from that.”

Hearing Luffy’s words, Zoro crossed his arms and sighed, “Yeah, we’re still far off… I didn’t expect that following Ian to this battlefield would expose us to so many monsters. The Seven Warlords, the Four Emperors, each one of them is terrifying. We’ve underestimated the New World…”

When Kuina was in danger earlier, Zoro had followed Ian into the fray, but he realized he couldn’t help much, which was a heavy blow to him.

At this moment, Ian and Ace walked over. Hearing their conversation, Ian patted Zoro on the shoulder and said, “The gap is big, but that’s okay. As long as you know your shortcomings and strive to improve, you’ll be fine. Now that the Whitebeard Pirates are about to retreat, what are your plans?”

Although the war had ended, there were still many matters to attend to, and the Straw Hat Pirates were one of them.

When Luffy insisted on coming, Ian hadn’t thought too much about it. With Luffy’s stubborn nature, if he wanted to help Ace, no one could stop him. Now that the situation was resolved and Ace was safe, Luffy could presumably relax and continue his adventure with the Straw Hat Pirates.

However, as they themselves said, with their current strength, entering the New World would be extremely dangerous. If they insisted on continuing their adventure, they might end up like other supernovas who met their demise in the New World.

So Ian was considering whether it was necessary for them to train for two years, as in the original history, before continuing their adventure.

But it was a bit troublesome. Ivankov was here and could take Sanji and Mr. 2 to the Kamabakka Kingdom for training. Luffy could be sent to Uncle Rayleigh, and as for Zoro, he could go find Mihawk. Ian believed Shanks should know Mihawk’s whereabouts. However, Ian had no solution for Nami and Chopper…

Thus, Ian felt quite troubled.

However, what Ian didn’t expect was that after Luffy and Zoro exchanged a glance, they made a decision—they wanted to continue their adventure!

This surprised Ian because he understood that their choice would lead to a much more difficult path.

“Are you sure about this?” Ian asked. “You’ve seen it yourselves: the New World and the first half of the Grand Line are two entirely different concepts. With your current strength, I’m afraid…”

“That’s exactly why we need to keep adventuring!” Zoro said. “We must adapt to the New World!”

Even Usopp, who had the smallest courage, surprisingly echoed Zoro with a serious expression, “That’s right, I…we will become stronger warriors!”

Although his legs were trembling as he said this, his eyes were filled with determination. Ian glanced over at the Red-Haired Pirates and suddenly understood—Usopp had seen his father, Yasopp, hadn’t he!?

Even though, like Luffy, he hadn’t gone up to meet Shanks and the others, the presence of the Red-Haired Pirates here had given them an inexplicable motivation.

This reminded Ian of what Whitebeard had said to him before. Yes, those who are sheltered under wings cannot grow. Zoro might be his junior disciple, but he also has his own path, and Ian really shouldn’t interfere too much.

Perhaps their choice to continue their adventure would lead them, like other supernovas, to significant setbacks in the New World. But as long as they weren’t completely crushed, they would grow. Who could say that without those two years of training, they would definitely fail? Maybe they would encounter unique opportunities that the original story hadn’t recorded.

History had already been altered by Ian’s intervention, so the future memories could no longer serve as a reliable reference. In this case, it was better to let things take their natural course. Even if they encountered danger, as long as Ian was in the New World, he could find a way to protect them secretly. With this thought, Ian no longer tried to stop them and said, “Alright, then when we return, I’ll ask the Whitebeard Pirates to take you back to Sabaody Archipelago. Your ship is still there, right?”

Ace, standing nearby with a grin, covered his cowboy hat and said, “Leave that to me!”

At this moment, Shanks and his pirate crew were also preparing to leave. The Four Emperors had their own territories, and generally speaking, even if they weren’t hostile, they seldom met. Although Shanks saw Luffy among the crowd, he tacitly didn’t come over. Instead, he led his crew onto the Red Force and departed.

The Whitebeard Pirates were also getting ready to return to their base. They didn’t want to stay in the Edd war Island Reef area any longer. They helped their injured comrades, collected the bodies of the deceased, and prepared to take them back for burial.

At the same time, news of the Navy’s defeat in the Battle of New Edd war spread across the world!

Since the entire war was broadcast live, the moment the Navy retreated, a heavy shadow fell over the entire world.

People understood that this Navy defeat was not due to a lack of effort. The successive appearances of the Yonkos, Kaido and Shanks showed that the war had escalated beyond the Navy’s control. It was clear to everyone that before Ian and the Dragon Hunters Pirates appeared on the battlefield, the Navy had a chance to defeat the Whitebeard Pirates. However, once Ian appeared, the entire course of the war was immediately reversed!

People suddenly realized that, unbeknownst to them, another formidable enemy had emerged on the seas.