"So..."
Ian scratched his head, feeling a bit confused. "Does this guy see himself as some kind of supreme judge now?"
"But I have to admit," Morgans said with a cheerful smile, "being targeted by the current Zephyr is no laughing matter."
"Heh, besides Dyna Stone, he also has the first batch of bombers recently developed by the Navy Science Division."
So much time had passed, and the World Government had, of course, already modeled their own bombers after those of the Beasts Pirates.
Only recently had they begun mass production.
Previously, to show their support for the Navy Guerrilla Force, the Five Elders had handed Zephyr a batch of these newly-produced bombers.
Ordinarily, these bombers wouldn't be a big deal—Ian himself had a large fleet of them, far more than Zephyr did.
But things changed when these bombers were paired with Dyna Stone.
Even Ian had to be cautious.
Even he couldn't maintain Observation Haki around the clock; there were always moments when his guard was down.
And if Zephyr's bombers happened to catch him during one of those moments... things could turn very ugly.
"As expected."
Ian sighed. "I really need to deal with the NEO Marines soon."
Whether it was to seize the Dyna Stone or to protect himself, he had to find Zephyr and his NEO Marines quickly.
After all, Ian was very self-aware—he knew there was deep hatred between him and Zephyr.
It was bad enough that he'd cut off Zephyr's right hand.
But not long ago, he had also brutally mocked him before killing his disciple right in front of him.
If Zephyr was truly planning a terrorist attack, Ian was almost certainly going to be the first target.
Thinking about it this way, Ian couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
There was no other option—he had to assign Enel, the second strongest in Observation Haki on the island, to keep watch at night.
Not only was Enel's range of Observation Haki absurdly wide, but his speed was also among the top two in the world.
With him around, forget about anyone sneaking in explosives—even NEO Navy bombers wouldn't dare approach the skies above Hive Island.
Besides him, the bomber squad that had been turned into Homies would also patrol the skies over the surrounding sea, ensuring no openings were left unguarded.
However, what was unexpected was that Zephyr and his NEO Navy suddenly fell completely silent.
Forget bombing the second magma convergence site—they vanished from the sea entirely, and no one knew where they had gone.
This stunned both Ian and the ever-watchful World Government.
Did blowing up that End Point serve only as a warning?
If so, things had just gotten a lot more complicated.
It wasn't Zephyr taking action that was frightening—it was the possibility of him hiding and not acting.
Even with control over the Dyna Stones, the NEO Navy was still weak in terms of direct combat strength.
Whether it was Ian or the World Government, either could crush them easily in a head-on fight.
But there was no denying that the hidden NEO Navy was like a sword of Damocles hanging in mid-air.
Who knew when a Dyna Stone might suddenly drop from the sky?
Ian wasn't the only one with a headache—the Five Elders of the World Government were livid as well.
"Bastard!! That mutt Zephyr—how dare he!!"
"Find him! Find him immediately! Forget everything else—there is no one more dangerous in the world right now than him!!"
Naturally, all of the World Government's attention became focused on the NEO Navy.
However, they didn't dare launch a large-scale operation, fearing that they might provoke Zephyr and end up with a Dyna Stone landing right on Mariejois.
They could only send out their intelligence agencies to track him down.
Ian, too, silently cheered them on, hoping they would manage to locate Zephyr.
But credit where credit is due—Zephyr had once been an admiral, and his anti-surveillance awareness was maxed out.
Two months passed, and the World Government still hadn't found any trace of him.
Ironically, the NEO Navy wasn't even trying to hide that much—their movements were nothing like the elusive Cross Guild's had been.
They even went so far as to openly seize territory in the New World, incorporating several non-affiliated nations into their sphere of influence.
After all, they needed to eat too.
However, Zephyr and the other main commanders had vanished without a trace, and even CP0 couldn't find any sign of them.
The Navy also dared not take forceful action against the NEO Navy.
In fact, besides the World Government and Ian, the other powerful figures in the New World were also paying close attention to this matter.
Whether it was Crocodile or Charlotte Linlin, their reactions were the same—"Dyna Stone? Interesting stuff! I want it!"
But just like the Navy, they didn't dare to directly confront the NEO Navy.
They could only secretly investigate the whereabouts of Zephyr and the other key NEO Navy commanders, alongside the government and Ian.
The end result was that the New World fell into an eerie silence.
Even though this sea region was already packed to the brim, no one dared to start any conflict.
This most chaotic and unruly sea had become even quieter than the weakest East Blue.
However, Ian's calm didn't last long.
One day, on Hive Island—
"Ian! Come fight me!!"
The entire island began to tremble, terrifying Conqueror's Haki spreading out in violent black lightning, radiating in all directions.
Large groups of residents fell like harvested wheat, and even the pirate forces patrolling the shore struggled to resist.
A burly man was carrying a ship, crashing it onto the island's beach.
He stood wildly at the bow, laughing loudly, "Ready to be crushed by me?!"
At that moment, Ian was on top of the Skull Building, playing with a child.
The pink-haired baby laughed softly in his arms, reaching out to grab his face.
"Oh, looks like you've gotten quite a bit stronger."
Ian stood by the railing, looking down at the fierce figure on the distant shore.
"Such a strong Conqueror's Haki."
Kuma behind Ian said worriedly, "The Demon Heir Douglas Bullet is truly a formidable man!"
"Ian!!"
Yamato pounded her chest nearby, bravely shouting, "I'll go handle him!"
"You couldn't take him on even before."
Ian's lips curled in a smile.
This Conqueror's Haki was far stronger than the last time they fought—not by just a little.
If Yamato actually fought him now, she'd definitely get beaten badly.
"Eh!"
Yamato pouted, clearly unwilling to accept that.
Ian handed her the small Bonney in his hand, then gently patted the girl's head.
"Almost there, just a little more."
Yamato and Hancock were now very close to reaching the level of Conqueror's Haki Infusion.
Once they mastered the Conqueror's Haki Infusion, they would be very close to awakening their Devil Fruit powers.
Surely, even their Mythical Zoan fruit couldn't be like his abilities, where even after reaching the pinnacle of the three types of haki, it still couldn't awaken, right?
But for now, it wasn't the right time.
"Then let's see what this guy has learned."
A faint smile appeared on Ian's lips.
"This is the first time."
**********
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