Upon hearing Ianâs question, Marco hesitated for a moment, but then quickly understood.
Ever since Ace returned last time, they had heard from Ace about Ianâs healing abilities, so they immediately thought that Ian might want to go back to cure their old man.
So Marco immediately whispered a few words in Ianâs ear.
âGot it!â Ian nodded, glanced at Akainu over there, and said to Marco, âHold on for me for another ten minutes! You can do that right?â
âNo problem!â Marco immediately agreed and rushed towards Akainu, replacing Ian to continue the fight with him.
Although Akainu really wanted to attack Ian, the problem was Marco was not to be underestimated either, so he had no choice but to deal with Marcoâs constant offensive first.
Meanwhile, after Marco rushed up, Ian immediately spread his Flaming Wings and flew towards the islands in the distance.
Even though Sengoku was entangled by Eva and Crocodile, he had been keeping an eye on Ianâs movements. Seeing him take off, he immediately guessed that he might be going to find Whitebeard, so disregarding Crocodileâs attacks, he directly aimed a palm strike towards Ianâs direction!
A burst of golden light flashed, and a powerful shockwave immediately surged from Sengokuâs palm, swiftly attacking Ian who was flying in mid-air.
However, at this moment, a burly figure suddenly jumped up and intercepted the path of the shockwave in mid-air!
It was Diamond Jozu!
Although he looked like a brute, Jozu was actually quite calm. When he saw Ian attacking Akainu earlier, he guessed that Ian might have some plan. Sure enough, after murmuring something to Marco, he immediately leaped up.
He quickly realized that Ian might be trying to find his old man.
When Sengoku launched his attack towards Ian, Jozu didnât hesitate to jump up and block the blow.
Although he used his diamond body to withstand the attack, Sengokuâs strength was incredibly powerful. Jozuâs body was directly sent flying by the shockwave, spinning dozens of times in the air before crashing heavily onto the ground.
Ian also saw Jozu blocking the attack for him, but he didnât have time to thank him. He accelerated and flew forward.
The only person who could intercept him now was Kizaru, but at this moment, Kizaru was entangled in a fierce battle with Enel, and he couldnât spare any attention to this side.
Sengoku watched Ian go farther away, feeling restless. He certainly understood that Ian must be going to find Whitebeard. However, in his view, even if Ian went, it might not be useful since Whitebeard was severely injured. If Ian intended to break out together with Whitebeard, that would be even better; then the opportunity for the Marines would come!
Logically, Ian leaving was a good thing, but for some reason, Sengoku couldnât shake off the feeling of restlessness in his heart.
âCould it be that he still has some other trump cards!?â Sengoku thought to himself.
âŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ.
Following Marcoâs directions and location, Ian flew while observing. After passing through dozens of large and small islands, he finally saw a relatively large island.
In the Edd War Sea region, it was unlikely for islands to have any vegetation because they could be submerged at any time due to tides. Therefore, most of the time, the surface of the rocks here could only be seen covered with some algae or barnacles.
But on this island, Ian saw a dark cave.
Realizing that this was Whitebeardâs hiding place, Ian immediately descended and ran towards the cave.
However, as soon as he entered the cave, he heard a loud roar from inside: âWhoâs there!?â
Following the roar, a blaze of white flames erupted!
Ian quickly ducked and avoided the flames, then shouted, âAce! Itâs me!â
âIan!?â Aceâs voice came with surprise. âYou finally came! Over here, come quickly and see Oyaji!â
Ian hurriedly rushed in and saw the people inside the cave.
There was the ship doctor of the Whitebeard Pirates, along with the group of beautiful nurses who had always been by Whitebeardâs side, in addition to the captain of the Eighth Division, the fish-man Namur and Ace. They were all gathered around a stone bed, and on the bed lay a tall man.
Needless to say, this tall man was none other than the Whitebeard, Edward Newgate.
Next to the stone bed, IV bags hung, and Whitebeard lay on the bed with thick bandages wrapped around his chest. However, a large amount of blood was seeping from his chest, and he seemed to be struggling to sit up, but was being desperately held down by Ace and Namur.
At the sight of this situation, Ian immediately understood. It was estimated that the Whitebeard was worried about the situation between his sons and the Marines, so he wanted to support his body to join the battle, but was strongly discouraged by everyone.
When Ian came in, the anger on Whitebeardâs face had not disappearedâŠ
âOyaji, what do you want to do?â Ian smiled and waved to Ace and Namur.
âYou brat, are you here to witness my embarrassment too?â When Whitebeard saw Ian appear, he was momentarily stunned, then said with a straight face.
However, although there was a displeased expression on his face, Ian could see a hint of undisguised joy in his eyes.
Obviously, Whitebeard was relieved by Ianâs presenceâŠ
âYou got such serious injuries! Do you still want to fight the Marines?â Ian couldnât help but laugh. âDo you think your sons are having it too easy in the battle?â
âShut up! Who do you think I am?â Whitebeard snorted coldly. âIâm the Whitebeard! With such a small injury, I can still hold on!â
âYes, yes!â Ian replied as he walked towards him, saying, âEveryone knows youâre the strongest man in the worldâŠâ
However, when the Whitebeard heard this word from Ianâs mouth, he couldnât help but feel a little despondent.
Previously, when the 43 pirate groups under Whitebeardâs command came to support, the Whitebeard was determined to go out and confront the Marines. However, because of concerns about his injuries and health, Marco and the others resorted to desperate measures, pressing him into this cave to prevent him from going out.
Everyone knew that the Marinesâ target was Whitebeardâs head. If he went into battle injured, the Marines would launch a relentless attack on him, potentially killing him. Marco and the others didnât dare to take this risk, so after strenuously dissuading him, they rushed out with everyone else to fight the Marines.
According to Marcoâs thoughts, while everyone attracted the attention of the Marines, they would try to get Whitebeard out first.
Although known as the strongest man in the world, Whitebeard also understood that, in essence, he was just a man. He could be injured and killed just like anyone else. Watching Marco and the others fight against the Marines while he was injured and gasping for breath here, how could he accept it with his pride and dignity!?
Especially when he noticed that the situation seemed to be getting more intense, and even Ace was knocked into the water and almost drowned, only to be saved by Jinbe, he couldnât bear it anymore and wanted to get out of bed to join the fight.
If it werenât for Ianâs sudden appearance, Ace and the others would have almost been unable to restrain Whitebeard.
âWhatâs the situation? Who can tell me about Oyajiâs injuries?â Ian approached and glanced at the wounds, asking.
âItâs bad!â A bespectacled shipâs doctor from the Whitebeard Pirates adjusted his glasses and frowned, cursing, âTeach that bastard, he smeared poison on his weaponâŠâ
So thatâs why Whitebeardâs injuries were so severe!
When Teach ambushed Whitebeard, the knife he used was coated with poison he concocted himself!
This was an extremely despicable act. In fact, among pirates, using poison on weapons was greatly despised. Although many pirates committed all sorts of atrocities, they still believed in fair combat. If they were defeated by an opponentâs strength, they had nothing to say and sometimes even admired the opponentâs strength enough to join them.
However, no one would accept being killed by such a lowly means as poisoning weapons.
Unlike pure poison use, weapon poisoning is truly treacherous. Throughout history, there have been numerous pirate crews that employed poisoning as a means of attack on their weapons. While these crews may win one or two victories, once word spreads, they often become the primary targets for other pirates to exterminate, leading to dire consequences.
When Whitebeard was stabbed previously, no one had thought that Teach would smear poison on his weapon. By the time they realized something was wrong, the toxin had already infiltrated Whitebeardâs body.
Without knowing the formula of the poison, no one knew what toxin it was. Just like how snake venom requires a specific serum for antidote, the shipâs doctors of the Whitebeard Pirates naturally couldnât find an antidote for the poison.
From Teach stabbing Whitebeard and escaping, to the Whitebeard Pirates being besieged by the Marines afterward, everything that happened during this period was interconnected. Whitebeard never received effective treatment in the true sense, and it has been dragging on until nowâŠ
So even though he can still speak and move around now, itâs all just him forcing himself. His current condition is very dire, and he could potentially lose consciousness at any moment due to his injuries and the poison.
Under such circumstances, who among his sons would feel at ease letting him go into battle?
That wouldnât be going to war; that would be going to offer him as a sacrifice!
After listening to the shipâs doctorâs account, Ian also understood what was going on and couldnât help shaking his head, saying, âReally⊠Oyaji, youâve got to have some restraintâŠâ
âNot you too! What now? Are you about to start lecturing me?!â Whitebeard glared at Ian. âIâm already a dying man. But even if Iâm about to die, Iâd rather die on the battlefield! Not in this damp cave, on this damn stone bed!â