Super Card System

Surprised as he was, after reflecting on it, Ian didn't find it strange.

If Uncle Rayleigh was once Roger's first mate, then Scopper Gaban should have been Roger's boatswain and must possess immense strength. Since Kozuki Oden had once followed Roger to the final island, it meant that he and Scopper Gaban were also crewmates. Scopper Gaban had been in Wano Country all these years, possibly hiding with the Kozuki family.

Now, upon returning from visiting friends and discovering that his comrade's family had suffered such a tragedy, how could Scopper Gaban endure it?

The Beasts Pirates entrenched in Kuri of Wano Country naturally became the targets of Scopper Gaban's wrath. Fortunately, Kaido wasn't in Wano at the time; otherwise, Scopper Gaban might have fought him…

With the pirates in Kuri eliminated, the only high-ranking officer left was Queen the Plague, so Scopper Gaban was bound to chase after her.

However, what Ian found a bit strange was that Scopper Gaban seemed to know Queen, as he called her "little fox"…

Curious, he naturally had to ask.

Hearing Ian's question, Scopper Gaban turned his head to look at him. This made Ian realize that Scopper Gaban could actually see. Even though his sunglasses were dark, he had Observation Haki. Earlier, he could tell that Marco's hair had become thinner, which was proof. For some reason, even at the expense of making a joke of himself, he preferred to keep his sunglasses on.

Scopper Gaban didn't answer Ian's question but instead curiously asked him, "You're Ian? Rayleigh's disciple!?"

So he couldn't help but ask, "Yes, it's me, Uncle Gaban. Did you go to visit Uncle Rayleigh this time?"

"No," Scopper Gaban shook his head with a smile. "That old guy and I are both key surveillance targets of the Navy. If I went to see him, the entire Navy and World Government would be alarmed; they'd think we're plotting something treasonous… So to avoid trouble, I didn't go to him this time. We just exchange brief letters and messages, just to know each other's current situation and that we're still alive…"

"I see…" Ian nodded. So Uncle Rayleigh might have mentioned him in his letters to Scopper Gaban, which is why Uncle Gaban recognized him immediately.

Then Ian suddenly thought of someone and tentatively asked, "Then did you go to see Crocus at Twin Cape?"

"Haha, you've met him too!" Scopper Gaban couldn't help but laugh when he heard Ian mention that familiar name. "Actually, not just him; I also met Shanks, and that red-nosed guy Buggy. I heard you were the one who rescued him from Impel Down?"

Hearing Scopper Gaban mention Buggy, Ian couldn't help but smile. "You know, when I first set out to sea, I even beat up Buggy!"

This immediately made Scopper Gaban laugh out loud again. "That red-nosed guy has become one of the Shichibukai now…"

Due to their mutual acquaintances and connections, after just a few words, Ian and Scopper Gaban became familiar with each other, without any sense of estrangement. To Ian, Scopper Gaban was an elder like Uncle Rayleigh; to Scopper Gaban, Ian was his friend's disciple, not an outsider.

This naturally surprised Ace, Marco, and Izou. Logically, Marco was the one among them most familiar with Scopper Gaban, but unexpectedly, in just a few words, Ian was chatting animatedly with the Pirate King's left hand.

After laughing for a while, Scopper Gaban sighed with some melancholy, "Alas, I originally wanted to see these old friends again before I died, but I didn't expect that after spending a few months away, everything would have changed when I returned… If I had stayed in Wano, that guy Oden wouldn't have died… Another old friend is gone!"

There was a sense of desolation in his words. Ian didn't know how to respond. Back then, Uncle Rayleigh was the same, occasionally lamenting his aging in his words.

And also Pops Whitebeard—they all felt that they were people of the old era. The changing tides of the world made them feel they couldn't keep up with the times…

So he could only change the subject and bring up Queen again, "Uncle Gaban, you know this fox Mink? She seems quite afraid of you?"

"Hehe, of course I know her!" Scopper Gaban laughed. "Because this little fox once traveled with our Roger Pirates to many places!"

Upon hearing this, everyone present was stunned.

"You… you mean, Queen the Plague was once part of the Roger Pirates!?" Marco exclaimed in astonishment. "Then… why haven't I seen her!?"

"Of course you haven't seen her!" Scopper Gaban glanced at Marco. "Because at that time, this little fox was just a child. During those times when the Roger Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates clashed, she hid in the cabin and didn't come out!"

Of course, the Roger Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates had fought before. In that era, Whitebeard Edward Newgate was both Roger's friend and his greatest rival. They fought, but they never became mortal enemies.

Oh, the only possible exception might be Red-Haired Shanks and Blackbeard Teach. That guy Teach had once left a scar on Shanks that would never fade…

"A child?" Marco looked at Queen lying on the ground with some surprise. "So, she's younger than me?"

"Yes! Indeed!" Scopper Gaban nodded. "Do you remember Inuarashi and Nekomamushi on our ship back then?"

"Yes, I remember. Those were two interesting fellows!" A slight smile appeared on Marco's face.

"This little fox secretly followed Inuarashi and Nekomamushi onto the Roger Pirates' ship back then!" Scopper Gaban said with a smile. "You might not know, but when we discovered her, we were all stunned. However, by then, we had already set sail from Wano Country, so we could only keep her with us."

Ian was dumbfounded listening, then asked in surprise, "So she was with Inuarashi and Nekomamushi? But why… why did she…"

"You want to ask why she later joined the Beasts Pirates and became a traitor to Zou, right?" Scopper Gaban asked.

Ian nodded, indicating that was exactly what he wanted to ask.

"Although the Mink Tribe is very averse to outsiders, once they accept someone as a friend, their loyalty and righteousness are unparalleled!" Scopper Gaban sighed. "But this little fox, Queen, was an exception, and the cause of this outcome was actually us…"

"What exactly happened?" Ian pressed.

"It was a shipwreck!" Scopper Gaban explained. "Even though Roger was called the Pirate King by the world, in fact, our adventures back then faced numerous perils that nearly wiped us out several times. As you know, the climate of the New World can be terrifying, beyond human resistance. That time… when we were nearing the end of the Grand Line, Laugh Tale, we encountered an unprecedented storm. In that storm, Kozuki Oden and the little fox were unfortunately swept overboard. Inuarashi and Nekomamushi jumped into the water to save them, but as retainers of the Kozuki family, out of loyalty to Kozuki Oden, they chose to save Oden first. After rescuing him, they realized that the little fox had disappeared in the storm…"

"Queen was just a child at the time. Although she had sneaked onto the ship, she was undoubtedly our crewmate. So this incident made Inuarashi and Nekomamushi blame themselves for a long time. They blamed each other for not saving the little fox, Queen…" Scopper Gaban said. "After the storm ended, the two, filled with guilt, left the crew under Kozuki Oden's orders to search for the missing Queen. For this, they even missed the chance to reach Laugh Tale with us… However, they didn't find Queen in the end. So after this incident, when they returned to Zou, they became enemies, each believing that it was the other's fault that led to Queen's death…"

Only then did Ian realize that the reason why the two leaders, Duke Inuarashi and Master Nekomamushi, whom Doroni had mentioned, had a bad relationship was because of such a secret!

"But actually, Queen didn't die in the storm, did she?" Ian pointed to Queen lying on the ground and asked.

"Yes!" Scopper Gaban sighed. "She drifted to a deserted island far from the storm. After waking up, she waited alone for five whole years. Imagine, a child not yet of age, waiting on that island for such a long time, just hoping we'd come to rescue her. Every day, she waited by the shore, day after day, but no one ever came…"

This… Ian didn't know how to describe it; it was truly tragic.

"Didn't you expand the search area to look for her?" Bonney, listening nearby, was a bit angry. "Five years! You didn't confirm her death; didn't you think she might still be alive? At the very least, didn't you have a Vivre Card for her?"

Scopper Gaban gave a bitter smile and said, "Of course we thought about that, but… unfortunately, at the time, we only had one Vivre Card for Queen, which was kept by Inuarashi, but it was lost in the storm. Moreover, we were already preoccupied with other matters. After reaching Laugh Tale, we were shocked by the truths we discovered. Plus, after returning, for some unknown reason, Roger decided to disband the crew and went to surrender himself to the Navy and World Government… This series of subsequent events made us indeed forget about the little fox who went missing in the storm…"

"And then?" Ian couldn't help but ask.

"Then? Then, this child finally waited for someone on that deserted island! You might have guessed—it was Kaido!" Scopper Gaban said forlornly. "Perhaps after such a long wait, we made her disappointed again and again? When she met Kaido, she followed him without hesitation and not only hated us but also hated Zou and the Kozuki family…"

No wonder she now followed Kaido, aiding and abetting evil, attacking the Kozuki family, and even giving Jack the Drought the Vivre Card pointing to Zou. This was undoubtedly revenge against those who abandoned her back then!

Whether this Vivre Card belonged to Inuarashi or Nekomamushi, or even to Zunesha, no one knows. But anyone could imagine what kind of emotional journey Queen went through during those five years, alone, staring at the Vivre Card in her hand that could lead her back home…

There was a long silence at the scene. Finally, Ian broke it, sighing and asking, "So, Uncle Gaban, what do you plan to do by capturing Queen?"

"Actually… I don't know!" Scopper Gaban hesitated. "The death of my old friend Oden made me very angry. Queen played an important role in it. But after capturing her, I found that I couldn't be angry with her because we were at fault back then…"

"Then why not hand her over to Duke Inuarashi and Master Nekomamushi for them to deal with?" Marco tentatively asked.

"That's useless!" Scopper Gaban shook his head. "Handing her over to them would only add to their troubles. Moreover, for the Minks of Zou, Queen's actions this time have already betrayed her companions, which is a serious crime. Handing her over to Inuarashi and Nekomamushi—do you want to force them to execute Queen again?"

"So…" Scopper Gaban looked at Ian. "After thinking it over, I'll leave her to you, Ian. Perhaps your idea of handing her over to the Navy is a good choice. The balance among the Four Emperors has long been broken; no one knows what actions the Navy and World Government will take. But it's conceivable what kind of turmoil the world will face next. Maybe letting her stay in prison can safely avoid this upheaval… This is the only thing I can do for her…"

After saying this, Scopper Gaban lowered his head toward Ian and said, "I'm counting on you…"

Listening to Scopper Gaban's plea, Ian didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to judge what happened back then because, in this matter, it's hard to distinguish right from wrong.

Therefore, Ian could only nod and say, "Will do!"

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