Beat my son for me!

After a bit of silence between them, Ian finally got ready to ask his second question to his father who appeared a bit tired.

"Why hide it from me then?" Ian asked him. A bit of accusation in his voice.

There was no reason that Ian could think of to have his father not tell him about this.

Geo sighed as he set his glass on the table.

"I raised you, Ian. And when you had reached 15 I knew that you were ready to know about your parents. As such, I took you to their graves. However, had I told you their real names, you would start asking questions, that I as a father don't want you to even think about." Geo replied as he thought for a bit.

Ian processed that for a bit before he gave a nod.

"You mean questions, like how they had died," Ian asked.

And Geo nodded his head.

"I had said in the past that I found them injured along with you. It was the truth. And they had asked me to take care of you. Which had me bring them to the island. Only after that did your grandpa identify them as a part of the 'D' clan." Geo said.

And then Ian then spoke up as he thought about things.

"At the time I heard they were injured I was a bit angry, but I knew it was their adventure so I didn't question it much. But if I knew they were from the 'D' clan, I would have known that someone was trying to kill them because of their names." Ian reached this conclusion.

Geo stood up and started pacing near the couch. He stayed silent for a bit before he resolutely looked at Ian.

"If I had said anything, your life would no longer be yours. Your adventures, aspiration, perhaps even your crew wouldn't be there. As your path would have been destined by your real parent's death. And that path would have been one of revenge." Geo said. He still stood by his choice of that time.

Ian took that in and closed his eyes.

Most likely he would have indeed sought revenge until he killed everybody that was against the 'D'.

But the 'D' people were not about revenge. They were about freedom. He would have gone on the wrong path in life, thinking he was doing his family good.

Ian finally understood his father's reasons to hide this from him.

He gave him a nod.

"I don't blame you, dad!" Ian replied, trying to ease his father's worries.

"Truth be told, my biggest fear, was that you raised me because I was related to the 'D' and since you didn't do that, then all is fine." Ian continued.

His father gave a small smile as he once again sat next to Ian.

They both took their glasses of tea and enjoyed a casual conversation.

"So dad, when is my Lil sis or Lil bro for that, coming?" Ian said with a grin.

Which made Geo spout the tea in his mouth in shock.

"You brat, it's too soon for that," Geo muttered angrily.

But then he turned the table on Ian.

"What about you, since you have two girls, the chances you'll give me grandson is much higher!" Geo told him with a shit-eating grin.

This time it was Ian's turn to spout his tea in shock.

"It's you who is growing old, 'old man'" Ian spoke up and emphasized on the world old man.

Which dealt critical damage to Geo.

But he was not one to lose.

"Still you young people have more energy than me, and with two girls at that, your chances are much higher, no?" Geo said as he laughed at Ian's expression.

And Ian seeing his father happy started laughing with him too.

But then he had to continue on the previous subject.

He sighed.

"Dad, do you know? Do you know who was after my parents?" Ian just couldn't let this go.

He had wanted to have a family like everybody else. But fate had it that he wouldn't enjoy such a privilege.

He was not going to bitch about it, however. Still, that did not mean that he would be able to sleep at night knowing the killer of his parents still lives.

His father too gave a sigh as he nodded.

"I didn't see him near them, but upon investigation the surroundings his marine ship was there," Geo said.

Ian motioned him with his head to continue.

"It was the current commander in chief of the world government, Kong!" Geo said.

And Ian didn't react whatsoever except giving a small nod.

"What will you do about him?" Geo asked. He knew Ian. And he knew that Kong was dead the moment Ian set his eyes on him.

"For my parents, this Kong guy must die. I refuse to let him live while my parents die." Ian said resolutely.

Geo nodded.

"That is right!" He said. If Ian was younger he would have become an avenger and wouldn't stop at killing just Kong. He would kill anyone against the 'D' as he was still young at the time. And all he would understand is that people killed them because they were from the 'D'.

But now Ian settled at avenging his family.

"I should head back, dad, I left the girls waiting." Ian after a while finally said.

Geo gave a nod.

He stood up and gave his son a hug.

When they headed down, Arie too gave Ian a hug.

After their farewells, Ian stepped out of the house, and just as he was about to use his shadow travel ability, his future vision triggered.

And then he raised his hand calmly and coated it in Haki. And was met with a red lightning-clad leg bearing down on him. Still, the owner couldn't do anything against Ian so he stepped back up.

Only then did Ian take a good look at him.

The person appeared to be middle-aged, in between his 40-50.

Notably, his hair and long beard were both red. As if his age had no effect on them.

His body was well trained and defined. A testament to the strength Ian had felt on his hands.

Meanwhile, his clothes were just casual wears.

Geo stepped up as soon as he saw his friend.

When their eyes met he shook his head indicating that this was not the time. And his friend sighed but gave a nod back. Albeit reluctantly...

Ian watched this with curiosity.

From the strength he was feeling from this guy, he knew he was quite strong, and possibly one of those presences he felt on the island the last time.

Another thing that Ian thought was about the red lightning... what was it?

Geo then turned to Ian.

"This guy here is Howell! He is a battle-hungry idiot who searches for exciting fights. However, he is one of the people who protect this island." Geo introduced.

Ian stepped up and raised his hand for a handshake.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Ian Louis. Well, I guess it's Ian D. Louis now!" Ian introduced himself. Although he was curious about the red lighting he thought that maybe he would act rudely if he asked him about it.

Howell looked at him in intrigue. He didn't expect him to act normally after attacking him. Still, he shook his hand and introduced himself too.

He had wanted to spar with Ian but maybe this was not an appropriate time. So he settled to have him deliver a message.

"I have a favor to ask of you!" Howell spoke up.

And seeing Ian nod he continued.

"You are definitely going to meet my son sometime in the future. And when you do I want you to tell him that I'm proud of him. Of course, that would be after you beat the shit out of him! And then if he asks about me, please give him this!" Howell said while extending a white paper towards Ian.

Ian was amused at this. He couldn't help but turn to give Geo a look.

He then turned back to Howell, the person who is asking him to beat his son for him before giving him what Ian noticed was a vivre card.

"How am I supposed to know who your son is?" He asked as he took the paper.

"Oh, you would definitely know, don't worry about that. More importantly, next time, let's spar alright?" He replied with a grin, as his fighting spirit came back stronger. It was only natural as Ian had casually taken his attack head-on.

Ian was confused and perplexed but he gave a nod nonetheless.

Howell then started walking away leaving Ian and Geo standing there.

Both shared a look and shrugged.

"Well then dad, I'll talk to you later," Ian said as he used his ability, and was engulfed in shadows.