Super Card System

With a few strokes of the oar, Ian maneuvered the small boat next to Burgess. He then leaned over the side, grabbed Burgess by the leg, and with a flick of his wrist, tossed him back onto the boat.

Burgess had been completely knocked out by the lightning earlier. Since Ian had activated the five-star Trunks card, which provided a passive attack power boost, even a casual lightning strike from him now packed a power equivalent to around 60 million volts, similar to Enel’s ability. As a result, Burgess had not only been knocked unconscious but had also swallowed a fair amount of seawater.

After tossing him onto the boat, Ian noticed that Burgess still hadn’t regained consciousness. So, he simply stomped on his stomach!

It was crude and harsh, but effective! Burgess curled up like a shrimp from the force of the kick, vomiting up a mouthful of seawater before finally coming to.

“Where’s Teach?” Ian asked coldly, pressing his foot down on Burgess.

“Cough… cough!” Burgess sputtered, struggling to catch his breath. “I… I won’t tell you!”

Ian shook his head and said, “Stubborn? Don’t forget, you’re just a pirate, not some noble figure willing to die for a cause. What’s the point of keeping secrets for someone like you?”

Beneath Burgess’s hood, his eyes darted nervously, but he remained silent, turning his head away, refusing to cooperate.

“You think that just because you won’t talk, I can’t find Teach?” Ian sneered as he drew Senbonzakura, using the tip of the blade to flick open the bundle of food that Burgess had left on the boat. With a clatter, the contents spilled out.

“Let’s see… hmm, jerky, canned goods, shelled fruits—stuff that can last a while…” Ian observed as he inspected the food, continuing, “To prevent spoilage, you avoided items that don’t store well. But judging by the boat you were using, the Blackbeard Pirates’ hideout can’t be more than five days away from this island. If it were farther, you would have used a larger boat, right? Am I correct?”

At Ian’s analysis, Burgess’s body trembled slightly. Though he quickly tried to control his reaction and expression, Ian, with his foot still pressed against Burgess, felt the subtle shift in his body, further confirming his suspicions.

“Five days is the longest estimate, but I’d bet it’s less than three days,” Ian continued leisurely. “Since you and Van Augur were sent out to gather food, it means your supplies are running low. If it took five days to get back, Teach and the others would probably go hungry… Don’t doubt me; I spent time on Whitebeard’s ship. I know just how big that guy’s appetite is!”

Burgess’s facial muscles twitched.

“And judging by the speed of your little boat, a three-day journey wouldn’t cover more than a thousand nautical miles!” Ian continued, not letting up, analyzing point by point, gradually breaking down Burgess’s defenses. “You know I can fly. If I use this island as the center and search within a thousand nautical miles, I’ll find your hideout! But if I do that, you’ll be of no use to me, and I’ll have no choice but to chop you up and feed you to the Sea Kings…”

Burgess couldn’t hold back any longer. He shouted at Ian, “So what!? Even if I tell you, do you think i would believe that you’ll spare my life!?”

“Of course not!” Ian replied bluntly. “You must die! But if you tell me, I might consider making your death a quick one, out of appreciation for saving me some trouble.”

Back in Alabasta, when Ian captured the Blackbeard Pirates, he had already decided to eliminate them. However, at the time, because Ace insisted on taking them back to Whitebeard for judgment, Ian had to let them go. But this time, with them in his grasp again, no one would stop Ian from finishing the job.

Burgess hadn’t expected Ian to be so straightforward about it, and for a moment, his eyes nearly popped out of his head in shock.

This isn’t how it’s supposed to go! If you want to get information out of me, shouldn’t you at least try to deceive me first!?

Faced with this situation, Burgess was at a loss for words.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Just then, a blue-violet flame suddenly ignited in Ian’s left hand. He gently waved his hand, and the flame swayed along with it.

“You see, you might have some understanding of my abilities, but let me explain in detail,” Ian said with a smile as he looked at Burgess. “Most of my abilities aren’t particularly useful for punishment, but this flame is the exception. It has a unique effect that freezes a person’s sense of time. That means when I ignite this flame on you, your body will quickly be consumed and burned away. But for you, it will feel like a very slow process. With your sense of time slowed down, you’ll watch every inch of your skin, every piece of flesh, and even every bone gradually disintegrate. The pain of burning, however, won’t diminish at all. What should be a brief moment of agony will stretch into an hour, maybe even several hours…” Řà

“Tsk, tsk!” Ian continued, shaking his head slightly. “Even I think this is a bit inhumane. I originally only used this move when I was burning down the Celestial Dragons’ houses in Mariejois, but using it on a person, well, this would be a first!”

Ian was referring, of course, to the special skill of the Iori Yagami card, the Eight Wine Cups. He had been considering replacing this card, but since he hadn’t found a suitable substitute yet, it was still equipped in his card slot. Now it seemed perfect for extracting information from Burgess.

As Ian described the ability, Burgess felt a chill run down his spine. The idea of enduring pain for hours on end was something he couldn’t even begin to fathom. He thought that Ian might just be trying to scare him, but he didn’t dare to gamble on that possibility. He couldn’t risk finding out if Ian was serious.

“Oh! I almost forgot!” Ian suddenly exclaimed. “I have another trick up my sleeve! Let me show you!”

Before Burgess could react, Ian swiftly raised his sword, Senbonzakura, and slashed across Burgess’s chest.

With a shhk, Ian’s blade cut a deep gash, over ten centimeters long, across Burgess’s chest. Burgess, with his powerful physique and strong vitality, immediately spurted blood high into the air. Shocked that Ian had attacked without warning, Burgess screamed in agony as the intense pain from the wound radiated through his body.

But after a couple of moments, Ian placed his hand over Burgess’s chest wound, and the healing light of the Dual Heavenly Return Shield began to spread. Slowly, the wound on Burgess’s chest started to close up.

In no time at all, Burgess’s bleeding stopped, and his chest was healed, with no trace of the cut that Ian had inflicted.

“This… this…” Burgess was dumbfounded.

“You see now?” Ian smiled, looking down at him while stepping on him. “I can easily cut you hundreds of times and then heal you, only to slash you with another hundreds cut. As long as I don’t kill you, I can heal you back each time. But then, you’d have to endure the terror of being sliced to pieces over and over again. Let’s see if you can hold on without going insane…”

“You… D-demon!!” Burgess was trembling uncontrollably. When the Blackbeard Pirates first encountered Ian, most of Ian’s attention was focused on Teach, and Burgess didn’t really stand out. This meant that Burgess didn’t know much about Ian, other than that he was incredibly strong—even stronger than their captain Teach. However, now that he was facing Ian alone, he finally realized just how terrifying Ian truly was.

“So, are you ready to talk now?” Ian asked, lightly running the tip of Senbonzakura across Burgess’s chest.

This malicious act of dragging the blade across his chest made Burgess shiver with fear, the cold, sharp edge of the blade causing every hair on his body to stand on end…

“I… I…” Burgess hesitated, wavering under Ian’s pressure. Just as Ian had pointed out, the members of the Blackbeard Pirates were true pirates—loyalty was not something that really applied to them.

On this vast sea, countless pirates emerge every day. Some are newly formed crews, but many rise to power by killing their former captains. Greed and betrayal are commonplace for pirates.

If Teach, as in the original story, had successfully taken over the Whitebeard Pirates and seized the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, becoming one of the Four Emperors, then Burgess and the others might have been loyal to him. A powerful Teach could easily suppress them with his strength.

But now, because of Ian’s interference, Teach had been playing on “hell mode” from the start.

Not only had Teach lost a heart by Ian once before defecting from the Whitebeard Pirates, but even after becoming a Warlord of the Sea, he hadn’t been able to enjoy his status for long. He was forced to turn back halfway on his raid on Impel Down, and he didn’t manage to recruit his original group, significantly weakening his strength. Now, both the Whitebeard Pirates and the World Government were hunting them down. Although they were infamous, their situation hadn’t improved—they were still struggling.

Being a pirate under these circumstances was incredibly frustrating. Even going out to buy food had to be done in secret. How could anyone enjoy such a life?

So, deep down, Burgess and the others were already harboring some resentment. Now, with Ian pressuring him step by step, Burgess was beginning to wonder if it was worth holding out any longer.

“Maybe Van Augur has already contacted the captain through the Den Den Mushi to relocate…” Burgess thought to himself. “If that’s the case, even if I tell him, it probably won’t matter much…”

Just as Burgess was on the verge of cracking under the psychological pressure and was about to speak, suddenly, there was a loud pop at his temple, and a spray of blood erupted! (temple = the side of the head)

Burgess’s expression froze, his eyes rolled back, and his entire body went limp.

He was dead…

Ian stared in shock at Burgess, while a distant gunshot echoed in the air.

It was Van Augur! Ian immediately realized what had happened. Van Augur had shot his own crewmate!?

Ian had assumed that after warning Burgess, Van Augur would have hidden himself, but he never expected that Van Augur would be so bold. He had been secretly watching all along, and when he saw that Burgess had been captured, he acted first, killing Burgess to prevent him from revealing the location of the pirate crew!

Damn, his methods are even more ruthless than mine!

Ian reacted quickly. Right after Burgess was shot dead, he grabbed Burgess’s steel armguard, and with a flash of lightning, melted it into a small iron ball. Using his memory of the direction the bullet had come from, he immediately launched a Railgun shot!

This is basic counter-sniping knowledge: attack the original direction before the sniper changes positions.

With enhanced attack power and a heavier projectile, Ian’s Railgun now had the capability to target even more distant objectives. Of course, this required him to have a visual on the target. In this case, Van Augur’s location was too far, and without the kind of long-range optics Van Augur had, Ian couldn’t pinpoint exactly where he was. But considering the angle, if Van Augur wanted to shoot at Burgess, who was low on the small boat, he would have had to position himself on higher ground. So, Ian aimed his Railgun shot slightly upward, without worrying about hitting any civilians in the town.

A massive sonic boom followed as the small iron ball streaked across the sea like a blazing white comet, heading straight for a tall glass tower in the town.

At the top of the tower, Van Augur, who had been using his sniper scope, was just about to leave. But he hadn’t expected Ian’s counterattack to come so quickly. When he saw that blazing white light heading his way, he didn’t even have time to think; he didn’t dare use the stairs and instead leaped from the tower in one swift motion!

Boom! Ian’s Railgun obliterated the top of the tower, and the massive explosion sent countless shards of glass flying through the air, causing the townspeople who witnessed it to scream in terror.

Van Auger, having jumped in haste, accidentally twisted his ankle upon landing. However, he couldn’t afford to care about the pain in his foot and immediately struggled to his feet, limping as he ran into a nearby alley.

As expected, just as he turned into the alley, a roaring sound followed as Ian, flying at supersonic speed, arrived at the demolished tower, searching everywhere for any trace of him…

Seeing Ian’s entire body enveloped in a golden aura, Van Auger felt his heart tighten. In this short period, Ian’s power had become even more terrifying! How did his flying speed become this fast? He attacked, and now he’s already here!?

Captain, oh Captain, how did you end up provoking this guy?

Van Auger hid in the dark corner of the street, trying his best to keep his heartbeat steady. He knew that with his ankle twisted and his mobility impaired, attempting to escape would only make him more noticeable. So, now he could only pray that the spot he chose would keep him out of Ian’s sight.

Meanwhile, Ian was frowning. Although he arrived here at the first opportunity and activated his En field, perhaps due to the tower’s destruction and his sudden appearance, the surrounding townspeople had started to gather. Though they didn’t dare to approach, only observing cautiously from a distance, their presence was indeed interfering with his perception…

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