"As for the Smelt-Smelt Fruit user, there's no trace of them for now. We'll send them over once we find them."
Shaka nodded and said, "Alright, Karol-san."
Lilith, full of curiosity, took the fruit.
"So this is the one... the fruit that can fire those unknown particles?"
Karol smiled.
"Unknown or not, I can't say. But its beam can indeed slow people down several times over."
"Hmm... that's amazing."
Lilith held the fruit and turned to head toward the lab bench.
But Shaka snatched it from her.
"Don't mess with it, Lilith."
"Wait until the main body comes back before touching it."
Lilith looked annoyed.
"That'll take half a day!!!"
Karol shook his head at the two of them.
"Alright, I'm leaving."
"Give my regards to Vegapunk."
Shaka quickly turned and said,
"Of course, Karol-san."
Karol smiled.
Whoosh—
He vanished from the spot.
...
Late at night.
Vegapunk yawned as he walked into the underground lab with Enel.
"There's still never enough time."
Enel strolled leisurely behind him, hands clasped behind his head.
"Even two clones aren't enough?"
Vegapunk shook his head and sighed.
"Feels like even ten wouldn't be enough."
Enel chuckled helplessly and said nothing more.
He casually greeted Shaka and Lilith, then spotted several Devil Fruits on the table.
"Karol already stopped by?"
Shaka nodded.
"Yes, Karol-san brought these Devil Fruits over, rested a bit, then left."
Enel picked up a few of the fruits, reading the labels.
"Heat-Heat... Hard-Hard... Missing the Smelt-Smelt Fruit."
"But with the Munch-Munch Fruit here, construction can already begin."
Vegapunk walked over, eyeing the fruits.
"Indeed."
"With these fruits, things will be much easier."
"We can start gathering materials."
Lilith interrupted.
"Hey, hey! Main body!"
"Study this one first!"
She shouted, "This thing contains unknown light particles!!!!"
...
Holy Land, Mary Geois.
The tall, thin Elder looked at the classified report.
"Are you certain?"
The sword-wielding Elder replied,
"Almost positive. Just no hard evidence yet."
"A few photos alone can't convict him."
The curly-haired Elder snorted.
"Utterly laughable."
"A king of a member nation... siding with the Revolutionary Army."
"Digging his own grave."
The burly Elder spoke.
"So that's what this means... Queen Dowager of the Sorbet Kingdom."
"All her travels around the world... she was covering for him, wasn't she?"
The blond Elder said,
"Most likely. After all, he's her son."
"The Queen Dowager traveling the world, with her son accompanying her, seems perfectly normal."
"So just photos aren't enough to convict."
"Even if we threw the photos in their faces, they could easily claim they disembarked there for some random reason. A coincidence."
"Besides, most are just back views or side profiles."
The sword-wielding Elder frowned deeply.
"Troublesome..."
"And that's just what we found."
"What about what we didn't find..."
The curly-haired Elder shook his head.
"This guy is just an exception."
"The so-called kings of nations—their character is well known."
"Let's collect more evidence first."
"After generations of Sorbet kings, the kingdom's reputation among South Blue's people is outstanding."
"It's also one of the leading nations in South Blue. Too many connections."
The sword-wielding Elder said,
"Then we'll have to do it this way..."
"But we still need a thorough investigation."
"Plenty of these popular figures out there."
"Like that clan of traitors..."
The curly-haired Elder narrowed his eyes.
"Indeed..."
...
Grand Line, Baltigo.
Endless wind and sand swirled here day after day.
Though monotonous, it was, for those who stayed still, a decent place for deep thought.
On the rooftop of the Revolutionary Army headquarters...
Dragon stood silently by the railing, staring into the storm of sand.
Tap, tap, tap—
Footsteps came from behind.
Bartholomew Kuma walked over.
"What are you thinking about?"
Dragon returned to his senses and sighed softly.
"The future."
Though his tone was calm, Kuma caught a trace of unease.
Kuma asked curiously,
"That's unlike you."
"What happened?"
"Suddenly pulling back forces."
Dragon thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"How much do you know about the World Government?"
Kuma frowned slightly.
"Not much. I've always despised the Government."
"So my knowledge is limited."
"What exactly do you want to know?"
Dragon gazed into the distance.
"Queen Dowager Conney, huh..."
He shook his head.
"Forget it."
"Nothing in particular. Just... missing a breakthrough."
"A way to break through the Government's suppression."
Kuma fell silent. A breakthrough, huh...
Dragon narrowed his eyes, thinking of ways to break the deadlock.
Ever since that call from Marineford... that long list of bases...
It had shocked him to the core.
The Government's intelligence network was far stronger than expected.
For days now, his mind had been in turmoil, searching for a breakthrough.
No one is a god, able to predict everything.
Even the one the world viewed as all-powerful, the faith of the people—the Revolutionary Army's Supreme Commander, Dragon—had moments of helplessness.
The Revolutionary Army had reached its limit. Though they could still barely maintain control...
It was too big now.
If the internal pressure wasn't released soon, the whole thing would implode.
That's why the plan to spark a world revolution at the next World Meeting couldn't stop.
But the World Government's hidden strength...
Just a glimpse had already destroyed nearly half the Revolutionary Army's bases worldwide.
Some bases Dragon had never even heard of—only found them after checking records.
This was a serious problem, and Dragon reflected on it constantly.
In the end, once things grew too large, there was no way to oversee everything.
The Revolutionary Army had simply grown too big.
Even if Dragon did nothing, the waves of revolutionaries across the seas would push him forward.
That was the so-called tide of history.
All Dragon could do now was stand at the front, steering as best he could...
And before the world revolution began, find a breakthrough.
One that could shatter the Government's overwhelming power.
...
A few days later.
Grand Line, aboard a battleship.
Sakazuki frowned as he read the latest Revolutionary Army intel sent from HQ.
"They suddenly went quiet..."
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The fanfic is Finished on p@treon/tambeerg. 414 chapters in total