Super Card System

At the same time, Ian had just finished his call and hung up the Den Den Mushi.

Earlier, he had been contacting Robin and the others on the Sky Island to explain the situation. The conflict during the day had escalated too suddenly, leading to a fight, so Ian hadn’t had the chance to use the Den Den Mushi to communicate. That was why he had initially thought of sending Reiju to call for reinforcements.

After speaking with Robin, Ian confirmed the current position of the Sky Island. Robin informed him that earlier in the day, the island had encountered some turbulence, causing it to drift off course, but it had since been corrected.

Ian instructed Robin to relay a message to Varua, telling him to continue maneuvering the Sky Island toward Whole Cake Island at dawn.

Even though he had decided to stay, Ian wasn’t sure what might happen at the wedding party tomorrow. He felt uneasy about Big Mom’s side, sensing something off about their attitude.

Considering they had already engaged in a fight, it was unlikely that a proud figure like one of the Four Emperors would back down so easily, right? Even if the Vinsmoke family had stepped in to mediate, Big Mom’s retreat seemed too abrupt.

It was almost as if she had intentionally found an excuse to de-escalate the situation…

After returning to his room, Ian kept pondering, trying to understand the reason behind Big Mom’s actions.

The more Ian thought about it, the more he became convinced that Big Mom must want something from him. The so-called farce of arranging a marriage between Smoothie and himself, just like the one with the Vinsmoke family, had to have an ulterior motive.

Ian knew very well that the marriage between Big Mom and the Vinsmoke family was nothing more than a trap. It was designed to lure the Vinsmokes in and then eliminate them, all in order to seize Germa’s technological power. In other words, while Big Mom liked using marriage alliances, it was merely a means to an end for her.

On the surface, she would say that family relationships were more reliable and trustworthy, but in reality, it was a self-deceptive justification.

Among her own biological children, only those who were incredibly strong earned her favor. The rest often faced her harsh words, curses, and beatings, and during her hunger pangs, there was even a chance she might kill her own children.

If this was how she treated her own children, it was easy to imagine how she would view in-laws or potential sons-in-law.

In the Big Mom Pirates, Big Mom was the absolute ruler, and everyone had to obey her. Describing her as a tyrant was no exaggeration…

The more Ian thought about this, the more he felt certain that rejecting the marriage was the right choice. He was now almost sure that Big Mom was also aiming to absorb the Dragon Hunter Pirates into her own forces! Otherwise, she wouldn’t be using marriage as a tactic.

“Tch! Do they really think I’m a brainless pirate?” Ian spat on the ground in disdain as he sat on the edge of the bed. “I’ll see what tricks they try to pull tomorrow. If they think I’m an easy target to manipulate, I’ll show them my true nature!”

Ian had made up his mind. If Big Mom dared to bring up marrying Smoothie again tomorrow, or tried to threaten him with family or anything similar, he’d have Varua fire the Thunder Cannon from the Sky Island and flatten the whole Cake Island first!

You want Germa’s technology? Then first get a taste of Sky Island’s tech…

Right now, Reiju was with her father, and Ian guessed that the two of them were probably arguing over him. Judge, that fool, had too much faith in the power of the Big Mom Pirates. But that was only because he didn’t know the truth about Big Mom. If Judge wanted to keep believing in her power, that was his problem. But if he dared to try taking Reiju back, Ian would have no problem stepping in to take her!

He didn’t want to see Reiju dragged down with Judge to her doom…

Ian collapsed onto the bed, ready to rest. But out of nowhere, he suddenly thought of Caesar.

Speaking of which, Caesar was really unlucky. He had planned to sneak into the tea party with Ian to swindle money from Big Mom, but due to the conflict earlier in the day, Caesar got caught up in it too. While the Big Mom Pirates might still treat Ian as a guest, the same couldn’t be said for Caesar.

Who knows if that guy was being strung up and beaten right now… Oh well, not really my problem. Caesar wasn’t exactly a good person anyway…

Just as Ian was about to close his eyes and drift off to sleep, a knock on the door interrupted him.

Ian sat up in confusion and went to open the door.

He had thought it might be Reiju, but when he opened the door, standing there was a girl with twin ponytails, holding a tray and smiling gently.

Huh!? Isn’t this Charlotte Pudding? Sanji’s fiancée… What is she doing here!?

“I… Ian-san…” Pudding stammered nervously as she stood at the door, “I’m Charlotte Pudding, Big Mom’s 35th daughter. I… I was worried you might be hungry, so I brought you some snacks.”

Ian squinted, studying her for a moment before stepping aside to let her in.

Pudding carefully carried the tray into Ian’s room, behaving cautiously. After placing the tray on the table, she clasped her hands in front of her and fidgeted nervously, her face flushed as she said, “These are chocolate pies I made myself. A bit of sweetness can help you sleep better…”

“Pudding, right?” Ian crossed his arms, leaning against the wall near the door, pretending to be curious as he said, “Even if you’re delivering a late-night snack, you could’ve just sent a servant. You’re Big Mom’s daughter; this kind of task shouldn’t fall to you.”

“N-no, it’s not like that!” Charlotte Pudding waved her hands in a panic, “I… I actually volunteered to come because… because I have something I wanted to ask you, Ian-san…”

“And what would that be?” Ian glanced at the chocolate pies on the table but had no intention of touching them. From the moment Pudding appeared, Ian sensed something was off. He wasn’t about to risk eating anything she brought.

“Well… um…” Pudding acted shy, and after hesitating for a while, she finally stammered, “Ian-san, I… I heard that you have a rare bloodline. Is that true?”

“A rare bloodline?” Ian asked, confused, “What do you mean?”

“The… the Three-Eyed Tribe’s bloodline!” Pudding quickly explained. “It’s said that during several of your battles, a third eye appeared on your forehead… a lot of people have seen it…”

Hearing this, Ian was momentarily stunned, then burst out laughing!

The Three-Eyed Tribe bloodline? What nonsense was that? That was just his Hiei card’s Evil Eye Master skill, huh!?

But honestly, this was the first time Ian had ever been asked such a question. The people who had seen the illusion of a third eye, created by his Evil Eye Master skill, were mostly enemies, and even if they had their suspicions, they wouldn’t ask him directly.

So even Ian was surprised to hear that some people actually thought he had the bloodline of the Three-Eyed Tribe…

Looking at Charlotte Pudding in front of him, Ian suddenly understood why she had come to personally bring him a late-night snack. He remembered that Big Mom’s thirty-fifth daughter had a rare Three-Eyed Tribe mixed bloodline.

She must have come to see him thinking he might be a fellow member of her tribe, hoping to chat with a fellow “kin.”

But come to think of it, this was quite a clever excuse—she brought up the topic so effortlessly!

With a playful smile, Ian said, “Yes, I do indeed have the bloodline of the Three-Eyed Tribe…”

As he spoke, Ian walked over to the table, picked up a fork, and began taking big bites of the chocolate pie that Pudding had brought.

At first, he hadn’t planned on eating it, but now he had changed his mind. He was curious to see what this dual-personality Charlotte Pudding was up to.

While Ian was eating the chocolate pie, his back was to Pudding. When she saw him start to eat, a sly grin briefly flashed across her face before she quickly returned to her sweet and gentle demeanor.

In reality, the third eye hidden beneath her bangs had already opened…

“Re… really?” Pudding pretended to be surprised and said with excitement, “Actually, I also have the bloodline of the Three-Eyed Tribe! W-we’re of the same tribe…”

“Oh, really?” Ian glanced back at her, a little surprised. “You’re not lying to me, are you?”

“It’s true!” Pudding quickly lifted her bangs, revealing her third eye, then shyly cupped her cheeks and said to Ian, “This is wonderful, I never thought I’d find someone from the same tribe… You know, Ian, ever since I was little, people called me a ‘monster’ because of this eye. Even my mother didn’t like it and made me grow out my bangs to cover it…”

As she spoke, tears began to stream down Pudding’s face, and she said joyfully, “Thank you, Ian. You’ve made me realize that in this world, I’m not alone…”

“…” Ian looked at her in silence. He couldn’t tell if Pudding’s tears were genuine or just an act. If they were sincere, that would be one thing. But if it was just an act…

This poor girl—hopefully, she’s being sincere…

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