Wano Country was over two thousand miles from Totto Land.
Even at Caesar's speed, it would take hours to fly there.
Meanwhile, as Kid and Law waited in the luxurious Queen's Palace in Bakura Town for the so-called Ancient Weapon Pluton to appear...
The leader of the Revolutionary Army, Dragon, along with a dozen fish-men, rode the raging winds from the Land of Azure Flame in Santiago, hundreds of miles away from Wano Country.
They arrived at the Flower Capital where Sabo was stationed just as the sky began to brighten.
The Flower Capital, once a bustling metropolis, had been reduced to a massive crater resembling the aftermath of a meteor strike under the combined assault of Caesar, Kaido, and Linlin.
Amidst the howling winds, over a dozen figures materialized out of thin air and descended gracefully.
Instead of using a Den Den Mushi to contact Sabo, Dragon immediately unleashed his formidable Observation Haki, probing deep into the crater below.
The inland sea enclosed by Wano Country's towering walls had a depth of several thousand meters...
But this distance was child's play for the range of Dragon's Observation Haki.
Thus, when his Haki swept downward, he quickly discovered the hollow underground passageways and Sabo's group stationed near the Poneglyphs.
Deep underground, Sabo, who had been resting against a wall with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.
"The leader is here," Sabo said softly as he stood up, addressing Karasu and the others nearby.
"Excellent. The leader's speed remains as impressive as ever," Lindbergh remarked with a chuckle, twirling the cannon in his hand.
"He has to be fast. Call it a hunch, but I've got a bad feeling about this," Karasu muttered in his pitch-black form, his voice barely audible.
Ivankov wiped the drool from his mouth, groggily rising from beside the sleeping Hiyori.
Stretching, he said, "I wonder how things are at the factory. Betty and Morley are both there. By the way, where are Koala and Kuma?"
At the mention of Koala, Sabo felt an inexplicable pang in his heart.
His actions earlier that day must have deeply wounded the kind-hearted Koala.
"Stay here. I'm going to look for them," Sabo said.
The thought of Koala filled him with unease, and he immediately began making his way up the passage.
At the same time, Dragon detected the downward-leading tunnel and swiftly descended with Hack and the other fish-men.
Both groups moved with urgent haste, racing against time.
Within minutes, Dragon and Sabo met in the passageway.
"Sabo? Why are you coming up?" Dragon asked, slightly taken aback.
Sabo gave a bitter smile, his face tinged with shame.
"Dragon... I... I killed someone," Sabo admitted, bowing his head before Dragon like a child confessing a mistake.
Dragon froze.
His perception was extraordinarily sharp.
Though his Observation Haki wasn't as advanced as Redfield's mind-reading ability, he could still keenly sense even the subtlest shifts in a person's emotions.
The moment he saw Sabo, Dragon could tell something was off.
Sabo looked lost, his handsome face worn with exhaustion.
When Sabo uttered those words—"I killed someone"—Dragon instantly understood.
"Hack, go on ahead. Iva and the others will guide you to the water," Dragon instructed the fish-men.
Without a word, Hack glanced at Sabo before leading his comrades further down the passage.
Once they were gone, Dragon approached Sabo and sighed softly.
"Sabo... you've finally reached this point."
Sabo's head drooped even lower upon hearing this, his face filled with deep shame and self-reproach.
Dragon reached out and patted Sabo on the shoulder.
"I'm not blaming you, Sabo. Do you know what filled my heart when I left the Marines and founded the Revolutionary Army? It was compassion and sympathy for the suffering masses of this world!"
Sabo raised his head, his eyes slightly red, staring blankly at Dragon.
"Why did I create the Revolutionary Army?"
Dragon clasped his hands behind his back and walked to the dark wall, gazing into the pitch-black passageway.
"Because I saw darkness in the World Government—deeper and more unfathomable than the darkness before us now!"
"The World Nobles treat the common people of this world as livestock to exploit, slaughtering them at will.
They control the entire world! Nations that refuse to become their affiliates face even harsher extortion through the Celestial Tribute.
Even affiliate nations must pay enough Celestial Tribute each year to ensure their countries receive the Marines' protection!"
Dragon's figure was swallowed by the darkness, his expression indiscernible.
"Look, why are those affiliate nations—so powerful, like Alabasta—capable of raising armies of millions, yet forbidden from establishing even a small naval force of their own?"
"Without a navy, it means all maritime trade for these affiliate nations must rely on the World Government's naval protection. And the price of begging for that protection is yet another form of exploitation."
"Layer upon layer, exploitation and oppression, endless and unrelenting."
"The Marines, who claim to uphold justice, are instead aiding the World Nobles in their despicable deeds! They are even more wicked than the pirates who openly pillage and kill!"
Dragon returned to stand before Sabo, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"That is why I founded the Revolutionary Army. Revolution—to overthrow the rule of the World Nobles!"
"The first revolution I ignited was in my homeland, the East Blue."
"It was a nameless little country, lifeless and stagnant, where people starved to death every day. Just like your homeland, the Goa Kingdom, where the nobility ruled over the common folk, exploiting them even more ruthlessly than the Celestial Dragons!"
"Revolution demands sacrifice. In that battle, the Revolutionary Army I led personally slaughtered tens of thousands of nobles, their blood staining the seas red for miles!"
"I thought what I did was right. I believed it without doubt."
"But when I saw, amidst the flames and ruins, tens of thousands of innocent lives also lost because of our revolution—!"
Dragon's grip on Sabo's shoulder tightened, squeezing painfully.
"Only then did I realize—revolution, revolution, is not just overthrowing the nobles. It is also a revolution against the lives of all people in this world!"
"Sabo! This path is destined to bear infamy, a road that leads to hell after death! Without a strong heart, one could never calmly watch countless lives perish before their eyes!"
"Let me ask you—if the Marines were to take tens of thousands of innocent hostages, or even more, threatening to slaughter millions across several nations unless we lay down our weapons and surrender willingly—what would you do?"
Sabo trembled, his lips parting. "I... I would..."
Dragon heaved a heavy sigh and turned away into the darkness.
"This is resolve—for a greater pursuit, to save more people, for a brighter future for this world!
We must make sacrifices—sacrifice ourselves, sacrifice others, sacrifice those 'millions' of lives used to threaten us!
On the path of revolution, disagreements and sins are inevitable. But we must hold fast to our convictions. Never forget what we are fighting for!"
"The flames of revolution will burn away the darkness. All sins, I shall bear alone!"