"Ian-nii! You're finally back!"
Ulti and Page One each hugged one of Ian's legs, overjoyed.
Huh!
Who's this little brat now?
Behind him, Hancock bit her sleeve and stared intently at Ulti.
This woman is hopeless.
Law glanced at Hancock.
He wondered if Ian's words that day had been in vain.
Since then, this woman indeed no longer fawned over Ian as blatantly as before, but in Law's eyes, her admiration for Ian hadn't decreased one bit.
On the contrary, it seed to grow stronger with each passing day.
This was the main source of conflict between her and Yamato.
Yamato, being rather naïve, probably didn't even understand what love was. However, with her animalistic instincts, she could tell who posed a threat to her.
And then there was this girl.
Law shifted his gaze to Ulti.
Heh.
A sly smile appeared on the dark-haired youth's lips.
There would be plenty of entertaining drama to watch in the future.
Law noticed Drake and walked up to greet him. "Yo."
"Kaido-san said your illness has been cured?"
Drake asked with a hint of concern.
"Yeah," Law nodded slightly. "Thanks to Princess Mansherry of the Tontatta Tribe."
"That's great,"
Drake breathed a sigh of relief. "I knew Lord Ian wouldn't lie to us."
"You knew?"
Law chuckled with amusent. He still rembered how much this guy had despised Ian before.
What a change of heart.
Drake rely smiled.
It was obvious he was living quite well on Onigashima.
So much so that—
"Why are you growing so fast?"
Law couldn't help but ask.
It had only been two months since the trip, yet the boy who looked just slightly older than him had grown into a full-fledged adult.
"Hahahaha!"
Drake laughed heartily and said, "Maybe this is how it was ant to be."
He suddenly grinned at Law and said, "Law, you might be the weakest among us now."
"Hm?"
Law frowned. "What do you an?"
Drake, now tall and burly, claiming to be stronger than Law wasn't surprising.
But what did he an by "the weakest"?
Could he not even surpass the ancient Zoan siblings Ulti and her brother? Or, worse, was he weaker than Sanji?
At this mont.
"Ian-nii! Am I turning into soone like Ichiji and the others?!"
Sanji's voice was filled with panic.
Ian paused for a mont. Could it be—
"After using the Raid Suit several tis, I feel like my body's becoming harder and harder,"
Sanji sobbed. "My strength has grown, my speed has increased, and my recovery ability is off the charts! I'm turning into a cold, emotionless monster like Ichiji and the others!"
"Ah?"
Law froze.
"Lord Ian," Drake said, "Sanji's lineage factor is awakening—super strength, exoskeleton, enhanced recovery, and incredible speed. It's all there."
Ian gave Drake a sidelong glance.
You sure know a lot about the Vinsmoke lineage factor modification.
Must've read plenty of those comic strips in the World Economic Journal, huh?
Still.
Ian looked down at Sanji.
Was the Raid Suit really that effective?
Just two or three months of use had awakened Sanji's lineage factor.
Judge… what could even be said about him?
If only he had treated Sanji better.
Though, even with Sanji's lineage factor awakened, Judge probably wouldn't care much for him anyway.
After all, Sanji was not under Judge's control, unlike his three siblings, who were entirely unable to resist Judge's orders.
Ian crouched down to look Sanji in the eye. The boy was visibly uneasy, fearing he might end up like his three brothers—losing all emotion and becoming indifferent, even to their mother's death.
"You don't need to worry, Sanji. You are the greatest masterpiece of the Vinsmoke family."
The term "greatest masterpiece" felt oddly familiar. Considering Sanji's keen proficiency in Observation Haki, Ian asked, "When your abilities awakened, did you feel any loss of your emotions?"
Sanji shook his head in confusion.
"Exactly," Ian said with a smile. "As long as your heart hasn't changed, you are still you. There's no difference, except maybe one—you've beco stronger."
Sanji sniffled, then nodded firmly, his eyes shining with determination. "I understand, Big Brother Ian!"
Ian patted his head, making the boy grin happily.
"Ian, you're so kind!" Hancock sighed dreamily.
Her reaction wasn't surprising—Sanji certainly deserved kindness.
Ian chuckled softly.
Sanji's lineage factor modifications seed to be far superior to those of his siblings.
Right after awakening his abilities, he could unconsciously withstand Uncle Queen's full-power strikes. Later on Egghead Island, he even fought Seraphim Jinbe toe-to-toe, coming out unscathed.
On top of that, he retained his human emotions and could properly learn Haki.
If nothing went wrong, Sanji would likely surpass even Hancock in talent.
Ian mused that a six-year-old Sanji, who awakened his genetic enhancents and grew up among the Beasts Pirates, had to be far stronger than the Sanji depicted in the original story.
Forget about competing with the Emperors of the Sea—his strength at least matched the level of an Admiral.
"Oh, Ian-sama, there's sothing I rembered," Drake said quietly. "After Sanji's lineage factor awakened, Lord Queen beca very interested in him. He tried multiple tis to involve Sanji in his experints, and I had to ask Lord King to step in to keep him in check."
Ian nodded slightly. Uncle Queen probably hadn't had enough of being kicked into oblivion by Sanji in the original tiline.
Fine, just wait. In ten years, you'll get what's coming to you.
Ian patted Drake on the shoulder. "You've done well, Drake."
So quickly, he had grown into a dependable adult.
"I'll go warn Uncle Queen," Ian said.
The first step in reforming the New Beasts Pirates was to make sure Uncle Queen knew who the second-in-command of the Beasts Pirates really was—oh no, the third-in-command, perhaps.
"By the way, let introduce everyone," Ian began introducing the crew to each other.
"These are the new mbers I brought back: Viola, Hancock, and Hancock's two sisters, Sandersonia and Marigold."
Viola seed a bit nervous, staying close to Black Maria.
Though she had gotten used to the Golden Dragon, Onigashima was a different story.
The oldest, Drake, stepped forward. "Hello, I'm Drake."
"Ulti," said Ulti as she glanced at Hancock. Her instincts told her sothing was off about this woman.
"I'm Page One, but Ian calls Pay-tan."
"And I'm Sanji!" Sanji said with great enthusiasm. "Ian personally picked as the chef!"
Hancock and the others introduced themselves in turn.
With that, the New Beasts Pirates were officially assembled.
Next, Ian had to visit Kaido-sensei.
Two months had passed since he last returned, and Onigashima had changed quite a bit. The streets had expanded, but the most notable change was the presence of many ferocious beasts on the island.
Yet these beasts no longer had their usual savage deanor—they were surprisingly docile.
The power of the Millet Fruit was indeed incredible.
Soon, Ian t with Kaido.
"You brought back more brats again?"
For once, Kaido wasn't drinking. He was actually handling official matters—a rare sight, as he hardly worked once a year.
Beside him stood a small figure wearing a paper mask on their face—that was Bao Huang.
"Viola is a Paracia user with the Glare-Glare Fruit, offering invaluable strategic value," Ian briefly explained. "As for Hancock, she's even a Conqueror's Haki user."
"Ughururururu!" Kaido burst out laughing. "You've picked up more talented brats again, huh? Truly worthy of being my disciple!"
Ian was montarily stunned, then couldn't help but laugh too.
It was true. Kaido-sensei was always picking up all sorts of people—even Ian himself had been picked up by him.
"This is a family craft, after all."
**********
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