Jason looked at Dragon, determined to show in practice that it was possible to insert his intention into objects.
"Do you have a piece of rope there?"
Everyone stared at him with a confused expression before automatically turning their gaze to Dragon, who just nodded.
Morley, with his huge body but gentle demeanor, handed Jason a thick rope. He nodded his thanks, held up the rope for everyone to see, and in front of them, tied a common, perfectly normal knot. This only increased the confusion, because no one could understand the purpose of it.
Dragon and Sabo immediately activated their Observation Haki, but they didn't sense anything different.
Jason didn't let any sparks escape, which made sense, since his control over Haoshoku was at the soul level, not at a perceptible level.
"Ready."
Jason threw the lasso toward Dragon. The revolutionary leader caught the object with one hand, raising an eyebrow as he stared silently at Jason.
"Untie the knot."
Jason's mysterious smile made Dragon narrow his eyes, but he obeyed without hesitation.
He grabbed the ends of the rope and pulled.
FWOOSH
The moment the knot came undone, black-red rays burst out of the rope like small snakes of compressed energy. They cut through the air violently, generating a sudden gust of wind that scattered papers, made maps sway on the walls, and pushed the air in short waves.
No spiritual pressure.
No overwhelming oppression.
No harmful effects.
Just the pure release of a highly refined will.
That, in itself, was the most frightening thing, a Haoshoku so perfectly tamed that it could be stored and released without causing harm or pressure to anyone.
"This is one of the applications of having refined Haki. You can store it in ropes and inanimate objects."
Jason spoke with the calmness of someone who was just showing something simple.
Joy Boy had already demonstrated this once, but Jason had taken the technique to a completely different level.
He had more than 1,800 years to perfect every detail of his Haki.
With so many battles, experiences, and a lifetime of polishing his soul, it would be absurd if he had not achieved this extreme refinement.
Even without using his three types of Haki in combat for long periods, everything remained ingrained in his essence.
Jason was, in fact, the greatest master of Haki in the world.
"Most people use Haoshoku like a hammer. I spent... a long time training to use it like a scalpel."
Bello Betty tries to process this.
"How long?"
Jason just shrugs.
"Long enough."
Jason said, with a slight smile on his face.
"My will is too strong to be contained by my body alone."
Everyone in the revolutionary army who heard that had no words to counter what Jason said. There was no empty arrogance, no inflated ego: it was pure talent, polished by centuries of hard work, transformed into overwhelming strength and confidence.
A will too strong to be contained by a mortal body.
Everyone's respect, including Dragon's, rose a few more levels.
"Let's get down to business, shall we?"
Jason's voice snapped the entire hall out of its trance, drawing their attention back to the reason for his visit.
"As you may have noticed from my actions, I am going to overthrow the World Government."
The phrase should have sounded pretentious, almost delusional... but no one thought so. Not even Dragon. Jason had already shown enough to make that statement less of a promise and more of a prediction.
"As our goals align, an alliance would be ideal. I can also offer resources in the form of money and some weapons."
Money was no problem for Jason. Lethal weapons even less so. Several of them were stored in his space rings: futuristic weapons capable of converting physical energy into projectiles of pure force, lethal even against Logia users. They were weapons created so that ordinary soldiers would not be completely useless against sailors or agents of the World Government — while the real monsters fought each other.
Dragon watched Jason silently as he pondered the proposal. His intuition already told him that this was the reason for the visit, but hearing it directly from Jason brought some relief. Even though he had seen Jason act against the World Government several times, there was no guarantee that he might not, just for fun, attack the Revolutionary Army itself.
Aligned goals were not synonymous with automatic alliance.
And Jason's track record made it clear that he enjoyed facing strong opponents. Nothing would stop him from invading Baltigo just to force Dragon to fight.
"Before responding to your proposal... why do you want to destroy the World Government?"
The question was serious and direct.
Everyone at the table was surprised, not by the importance of the question, but by the timing of it.
Did Jason's motivation really matter?
Yes, it did. It mattered a lot.
"Oh, are we already asking these kinds of questions?"
Jason seemed amused.
"Let's just say I don't really like how this government is run. I find their system... primitive."
He wasn't joking. In his universe, slavery and systematic oppression were extinct concepts. Jason made sure to eradicate all of that with his own hands.
He was too pragmatic to tolerate an unjust world. He created a real meritocratic system, not the kind of utopian lie that collapses under inequality, but something functional, possible only because his universe had the perfect conditions for it.
There:
There are more planets than people.
Resources are infinite.
Energy and technology are unlimited.
No one is born into poverty.
There is no slavery.
There is no systemic oppression.
There are no racial or cultural barriers.
Everyone has equal access to the same tools.
Robotics and AI guarantee basic survival for all.
The path was always open.
Who walked it... was up to each individual.
Jason firmly believed that the world of One Piece had everything it needed to evolve in decades, not centuries.
He then looked directly at Dragon and laid out his vision, clear and sharp as a newly forged blade.
"Dragon, just look at the sea currents, the scattered islands, the different races... This world has natural riches, diversity, and plenty of space. But it is bound by invisible chains: the World Government and its archaic laws. They see each island as a political pawn. Each citizen as a mere number."
As soon as Jason began to speak, Robin, Sabo, Koala, and all the commanders fell silent, completely absorbed by his words.
"If we let fear of authority and tradition dictate who can grow, this world will never reach its true potential. We have technology, ancient science, the legacy of the Lost Century... and peoples with talent to spare: giants, minks, merfolk, humans, Skypieans... each with the potential to build entire civilizations."
He spoke with conviction, his gestures firm, his gaze incandescent.
"But for that, we need freedom. Freedom to invent, to build, to dream. Freedom so that no one can dictate, by birth, by force, or by lineage, who someone should be or where they should live."
Jason then fixed his gaze on Dragon, and even he seemed to be inflated by the intensity of his own speech.
"Dragon, let's unite and tear out this cancer that is the World Government. Free forbidden knowledge. Open the ports. Tear down moral barriers. Unite people through ambition, not oppression."
With each sentence, Jason's voice grew louder, vibrated, and set the hearts of everyone there on fire.
Blood rushed. Jaws clenched. Eyes flashed.
Dragon was no exception, and Jason saw it all: the microexpressions, the increasing heart rate, the way Dragon clenched his fists under the table to maintain a calm facade.
Jason was describing exactly the world Dragon dreamed of building... a world that even Garp himself didn't seem to believe was possible.
Jason concluded his speech with an almost palpable fervor.
"... Because this world can flourish in decades. It can become an empire of progress, peace, and power. But only if we let everyone fight for their own future, with merit, with sweat, with honor, and not with chains bound by fear."
He raised his fist, his gaze intense, sweeping across the entire table.
"This world has everything it needs. But it needs freedom. Are you with me?!"
The hall exploded.
"YES!"
The cry echoed from all the commanders, all with blood in their eyes, breathing fast, their whole bodies dominated by the vision Jason had just painted.
Even Robin, despite being there for Jason, felt his chest swell.
Jason turned his gaze back to Dragon.
The revolutionary leader's calmness was only superficial.
Inside, Jason could see the hurricane: the racing heart, the tension in his shoulders, the fire contained in his eyes.
Dragon wanted to say "yes."
He wanted it more than anyone else in that room.
And now... he had to answer.
Jason didn't rush Dragon's decision. He just leaned back in his chair, picked up the glass of water in front of him, and drank calmly, like someone who had already said everything he needed to say. For Dragon, this was a serious matter, something that required cold analysis, strategy, and consideration. For Jason... that alliance was optional. He wanted it because he found it interesting, because he had no intention of carrying that world on his shoulders alone. He didn't belong there, and he wanted to see the natives win their own freedom.
And among all the peoples, factions, and nations of that world, only the Revolutionary Army was really doing anything. Only they saw the truth. Only they stood up to the World Government. Jason knew that a revolution cannot be won overnight, unless there is a force so tremendous that it becomes a game changer.
And he knew that he himself was that turning point.
Jason remembered well: in the future, the Revolutionary Army would begin to act on a massive scale in about two years. They would sabotage supply routes to Mariejois, infiltrate during the Reverie, and bleed the World Government dry from the inside out. They were finally moving their pieces.
With Jason on the board, however, the odds changed completely. The liberation of the world, which would take years and years of struggle, could happen in two or three years.
Jason and Dragon understood perfectly well the weight of starting a war without preparation. They knew about the deaths, the chaos, the consequences. Dragon wanted to minimize the number of innocent victims as much as possible, and that would only be possible if the Revolutionary Army was spread across as many islands as possible. And how would that be feasible?
With Jason crippling the forces of the World Government.
With Jason paralyzing the system, destroying their forces, forcing them to retreat to protect only Mariejois. When that happened, the Revolutionary Army could quietly begin its global expansion, taking islands one by one, liberating peoples without attracting attention, while Jason would eventually travel to another world and return only when he wanted to. After all, as he himself would say... his women weren't going to conquer themselves.
It wasn't just Dragon who was lost in his own thoughts. Everyone in the room was in absolute silence, holding their breath, waiting for the answer. The vision of Jason boiled inside each of them.
In Dragon's mind, however, something different was happening. He was far away, trapped in memories he had never been able to truly bury.
God Valley.
The incident that had destroyed the young Dragon and given birth to the revolutionary. He relived every detail as if it were yesterday: the smell of blood, the panic, the terror. World nobles laughing as they hunted humans like animals. Elderly people, women, children, even newborns. The cruelty of the World Government that day had broken something inside him. Dragon saved civilians, saved friends who were now part of the Revolutionary Army, almost died countless times... and in the end, he was still arrested.
The revulsion he felt reinforced his conviction: that system had to fall.
And what affected him most deeply... was his father's reaction. Garp, who also witnessed everything, chose silence. He preferred not to fight, not to confront, to stay in the navy and take orders from them. This created in Dragon's heart a mixture of contempt and disappointment that never healed.
Now, listening to Jason, seeing that man speak of freedom with such conviction and seeing that world so clearly... something inside Dragon stirred.
It was impetus.
It was the flame, always lit and disciplined, beginning to burn brighter.
Jason didn't remind Dragon of why to fight... he showed him how to win.
And that made the revolutionary leader's heart beat faster than he would allow anyone to notice.