Chapter 127 - Minks vs The Beast pirates

Ian watched with amus.e.m.e.nt as Inuarashi calmly brought his hand forward and swatted the trunk aside.

Of course to the others that were watching including the huge number of beast pirates, it appeared as if the Duke was flattened since a cloud of dust was raised.

He had told the two mink leaders that he can take care of this for them since he himself was an emperor and he can take the fallout against Kaido easily. However, their country would suffer if they didn't.

Still, they politely refused. Stating that this is their country's problem and that the minks never back down. With the option of Ian interfering if they couldn't take care of the problem on their own.

And they also had said that they wouldn't be using the lunar pill. For reasons… Ian shook his head.

He knew they wanted to keep it a hidden trump card against Kaido later. But there was no reason to keep it hidden now. After all, they can use it and then dispose of anyone who saw it.

'Unless… they are going to spare them…' Reaching that Ian released a sigh.

He of course wouldn't kill hundreds of people to keep a secret, but there was the option of throwing Jack somewhere far, and then when it was just them there they can safely transform and dispose of Jack.

Of course, Ian knew it wouldn't be that easy. Jack was not exactly weak. He was actually stronger than the two leaders. And only if they worked together would they stand a chance.

But from what he saw that was not going to happen… although they both came to defend their homes, they would not fight together.

Turning to the side, he saw Bert still gripping his sword. His hands tightened around the grip.

He knew he was itching to fight with his people.

But the girls were just watching silently. Still, they were ready if anything came up. Even Libell was looking on intently from Elene's arms.

"Hey Bert, when the minks attack you can join them if you like, you know…" Ian said quietly.

And Bert's eyes lit up.

He didn't like this feeling he was having. He didn't want his people to be fighting while he was standing by the side. He wanted to help them, after all, it was one of the reasons he started training after he left his country. He gave Ian a thankful look before he continued to watch the proceedings.

Back with Inuarashi.

He was starting to see that Jack can't be reasoned with.

"I'll say it again, there is no one by the name of Raizo here. If you insist on fighting however we will not decline." Inuarashi stated once again.

His fellow ruler however was starting to get impatient.

Still, they had already discussed their strategy. So he stayed his place.

Inuarashi and his musketeer squad would attack until they start to feel tired. And then they would let the guardians and Nekomamushi take over them in the fight while they go rest. It was a good strategy to overwhelm them.

Except Ian knew they were going to lose what with Jack going to use poisonous gas.

Still, he would not interfere unless they request so. He had already offered his help.

Meanwhile, Jack who heard Inuarashi couldn't help but wonder to himself how pathetic this do in front of him was. He couldn't understand the simple fact that he wanted to just destroy stuff.

He growled as he swung his trunk once again. This time with more force leading to the duke to dodge.

And so the fight officially started.

Moving bit by bit the duke kept retreating until they had entered the forest.

When the pirates stepped up inside, they were suddenly met with an ambush from the musketeers.

They actually managed to injure many of them in this first attack. Something which enraged jack greatly.

Which lead to his power increasing a bit. This was something only he knew about. His devil fruit worked by giving him strength the more he became enraged. However, it was a double-edged sword. The more he became angered the more he would lose control.

With this increase in power, Inuarashi was finding it harder to keep up, still, he was not going to lose the fight anytime soon.

Soon even the minks under him were underwhelmed due to the huge numbers of the beast pirates.

They outnumbered them with two to one.

By the time 4 hours had passed like this, the duke suddenly ordered a retreat.

"Retreat!!" Then he promptly delivered an electro filled sword strike to the side of Jack's face, giving them enough time to back off.

Soon Nekomamushi showed up to continue the fight his fellow ruler was in.

He, however, proved to be more adept at close-quarters combat than his fellow ruler, as he flipped Jack from his trunk and threw him to the ground raising a cloud of dust.

His paws filled with electro he introduced himself to jack as the night ruler.

When the mammoth regained his senses and stood up he was met with another throw by Nekomamushi, this time even stronger than before.

After a couple of blows given against him in this form, Jack noticed that the cat mink was faster than the dog one, and in this form he literally a sitting duck waiting to get hit. So he started transforming back to his human form. He would show this mink person what true hell was.

Just like earlier the minks were having an advantage against the beast pirates using electro. But their numbers and durability ended up balancing them up so the fight was dragging up.

Ian from his sitting position wondered in a voice only his crew would hear.

"I wonder when they would get enough sense to finally allow us to take care of Jack…" He said. His tone longing.

Elene giggled as she slapped his arm playfully. She knew he was itching for a fight ever since his strengthening. So she wanted to take his mind off it for now. Lest he gets angry and does something stupid.

Elene leaned to him and whispered something only he, and Robin who was on his other side would pick up.

"How about I later… let you take care of me…" She said in a voice that had Ian shiver from anticipation. Granted she could have taken his mind off of the fighting with something else, but why not something both of them liked? so she settled for flirting...

He gave her a l.u.s.t-filled look before he had to turn to the side or he might just take her up on that offer right now.

'Don't worry… I'll take care of you later alright…' He thought to himself.

Robin only giggled. Shaking her head with a sigh…

Stella from the side, still watching the fight, gave an eager nod to Ian's statement. She too was itching for a fight.

But Bert tried to explain things up for his captain.

"The minks are a race of warriors. They would not let other people fight for them unless they were in a difficult situation. Plus if one was their ally, they wouldn't want to cause them harm by having them getting entangled in their problems…" He said still not taking his eyes off the fight between Nekomamushi and Jack.

Both of them had brought out their weapons and started on a heated clash of steel.

Ian who was watching the fight, had his eyes shine at the display of spearmanship by Nekomamushi. He knew that later he would be asking for a spar against him.

"You mean to say, they are afraid they will implicate us with their fight against Kaido?" Ian asked. Now that he thought about it, it was quite possible from what he knew of the mink.

Ian could simply go and end this fight at this exact moment, but out of respect for the minks, and especially Bert, someone he considered family, he refrained from doing so.

Bert's reply was a simple nod.

Ian sighed and continued watching the fight.