[Sabaody Archipelago, Inside an Empty Bar]
"Rayleigh, you shouldn't have agreed to Whitebeard," Dragon's expression was dark as he looked at Rayleigh with dissatisfaction.
Right now, he felt that contacting Whitebeard through Rayleigh had been a mistake.
Would've been better not to come at all.
"Dragon, you're still too young," Rayleigh glanced at Dragon, then simply shook his head with a smile.
'One generation worse than the last, huh.'
Dragon's thoughts, he could see through them at a glance.
If there was no other choice, he would've waited too.
After all, the World Government was overwhelmingly powerful.
But now, Whitebeard was already using his life to create an opportunity.
If he couldn't keep up with that, how could he still claim to be the former Pirate King's right-hand man?
"Rayleigh!"
"Dragon, no need to say more," Rayleigh casually waved his hand, "If you want to wait for destiny, then don't join this battle. Go find a quiet place, get married and have kids. Whether destiny arrives or not, what does that have to do with you? If you're not there, will destiny really lose to the World Government?"
"If you truly still want to do something for this world, then stand with us and fight side by side," After speaking, Rayleigh simply and elegantly walked out of the bar.
He still needed to contact more people.
Mary Geoise had 5 strong defenders, but 5 more could reinforce them within a day, he had to take that into account.
He, Gaban, Shiki, and Bullet, that was only four people.
The power in their hands was still far from enough.
Even counting the people in Impel Down, they still needed more strength.
"To do something, huh…", Dragon's expression flickered between light and dark.
But Rayleigh's words had rendered him speechless.
'Yeah. If the prophecy is real, if the World Government will fall to the reincarnation of Joy Boy, what does that have to do with me?'
'It's not like just because I died, no son would be born later and Joy Boy can't reincarnate, right?'
Even if Dragon was that naive, he wouldn't think his own son would be Joy Boy reborn.
The odds it was his son were even lower than the chance it was Roger's posthumous child.
Roger's posthumous child, whom Garp had taken to Foosha(Windmill) Village, he had seen him too. Still young and hard to judge, but being Roger's son, the kid would surely become strong in the future.
"It's time I tried to do something too. At the very least, probe the World Government's hand," Dragon's gaze flickered, but finally, he made up his mind.
If he missed this golden opportunity, it'd be even harder to find out the World Government's true depths in the future.
———
[Marine Headquarters, in Rosse's Resting Quarters]
Rosse, who had been lying back in leisure, suddenly paused slightly. His eyes flickered.
Today was the day Kong and the others were setting out to execute the Buster Call. Once they were gone, the responsibility of guarding Marine Headquarters would fall to him, Sakazuki, and Borsalino.
And just now, within his Observation Haki's range, Kuzan had suddenly appeared at the door of the resting quarters.
"Looking for me?", Rosse said calmly.
The door hadn't opened, but he was well aware Kuzan could hear him.
Hearing this, Kuzan pushed the door open and stood in front of Rosse.
Though he looked laid-back, his eyes and expression were sharp, "I want to ask you one question."
"Ask whatever you like," Rosse responded indifferently.
Kuzan appeared to not care about many things, but deep down he was a very kind and gentle Marine.
Toward evil, Kuzan could endure, as long as he could still see hope.
A Marine like that actually matched Rosse quite well.
But from their very first meeting, Rosse had made a different choice.
Given his identity, many things weren't suitable for him to do.
Rather than letting Sengoku and Kuzan stay in the Marines, it was better to push them to the opposite side.
If the opposition was too weak, how could the sea descend into chaos?
If the sea didn't become chaotic, how could he, under the banner of the World Government, justify overturning things? And without overturning them, how could he gain population and territory?
Relying on the World Government's authority would only get him so far.
If he wanted to keep expanding, the World Government and Five Elders would become wary.
To expand without limit, he had to stir up chaos in the world, make the World Government feel that the whole world was unstable, in desperate need of someone to clean it up.
At that moment, Rosse could act righteously.
The key was, there were five Five Elders, plus several powerful Celestial Dragon families, just too many.
A ruling group of just 3–5 families would better fit his ideal structure.
Of course, if only Jaygarcia's family remained, that'd be perfect. But given the World Government's strength, that wasn't realistic right now.
Not to mention, there was still someone sitting on the throne.
"How do you Celestial Dragons view justice?", After asking the question, Kuzan's gaze stayed fixed on Rosse's face, as if trying to make sure he wasn't lying.
"Justice?", Rosse chuckled softly, "To me, any justice that maintains rule is acceptable justice. Yours, Sakazuki's, Sengoku's, as long as it keeps the world stable, I'll accept it."
"Then why is this world still so rotten?", Kuzan asked coldly.
The World Government had ruled for 800 years. If it was really as Rosse claimed, the world couldn't possibly have turned out this badly.
Pirates rampant. Allied nations exploiting civilians. Non-allied regions living worse than animals.
How did any of that contribute to world stability?
"First, you need to understand one thing, this is my justice."
Rosse propped up his chin, smiling slowly and calmly, "Second, I can clearly tell you, other Celestial Dragons don't think the same. This time, I'm standing against the Buster Call. Erasing an island just to flaunt authority is meaningless formalism."
"So what if you destroy Fish-Man Island? Will Rosward be resurrected? He won't. When it comes to life, who still cares about so-called prestige? If the slaves in the Holy Land start a massive rebellion, my own kind, those weaklings, at least half would die," Rosse sneered.
It wasn't rare for fools to hold power, but that a group as foolish as the Celestial Dragons could maintain world stability for 800 years? Rosse could only think, 'Either the people of this world are too kind, as long as death is threatened, no one dares resist, no matter how inhuman their lives became.'
'Or the Celestial Dragons have some truly monstrous powerhouses. Ones who have suppressed the world breathlessly for 800 years. Even with powerhouses like Rocks appearing again and again, they were never a match for the Celestial Dragons' top fighters.'
'Clearly, this world isn't that kind.'
'So it has to be the latter.'
That's also why the Celestial Dragons had a supreme leader, otherwise Rosse would've already staged a coup.
Why would he be wasting time now, still relying on external strength and being cautious about who to pull in?
"Kuzan," Rosse raised his head and looked straight into Kuzan's confused eyes, "This should be your first time doing a mission with my fellow Celestial Dragons. Soon, you'll understand what kind of people they really are. Compared to me, they're dozens of times more evil."
Seeing the unwillingness in Kuzan's eyes, Rosse smiled and said, "Try your best to accept it. If you can't, you're welcome to defect. But if you dare betray us, then be ready to be ELIMINATED."
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