The next day dawned with no signs of trouble. Mariejois was quiet and bustling as usual.
Then, at two in the morning, the noise in Mariejois died down. Countless people had fallen asleep, but the Revolutionary Army, having rested for two days, couldn't wait any longer. Dragon decided he couldn't either.
With Morley's ability, they quickly emerged from an alleyway in Mariejois. Dragon, in his trench coat, looked at the quiet city as Revolutionary Army officers came out from under the ground behind him. "Get ready to move out. First, set fires to cause chaos. During this time, stay hidden and don't draw attention to yourselves. Once the fire spreads, immediately free the slaves and create even more chaos," Dragon ordered softly.
"Yes, Dragon-san!" the officers responded in hushed tones.
But just as the Revolutionary Army was about to act, a building in the distance started to smoke. A moment later, it erupted into a massive inferno, as if someone had doused it in hot oil.
Dragon's eyes lit up. He raised a hand slightly. "Hold on. The person I've been waiting for has arrived."
At first, the fire didn't alarm Mariejois. In such dry weather, the occasional fire was normal. But it didn't take long for the situation to get worse. The firefighters hadn't even extinguished the first fire when another building was set ablaze nearby. The situation spiraled out of control. In just ten minutes, seven or eight different places were on fire, and the blazes began to connect.
At this point, everyone realized that a madman was setting Mariejois on fire.
"Hahahaha, let's go!" Dragon laughed. As he spoke, he waved his hand, and a strong wind began to blow through Mariejois. As the saying goes, "wind helps the fire." The flames that were almost extinguished reignited, and with Dragon controlling the winds, the fire spread rapidly.
It's often said that fire and water have no mercy. Once a fire spreads, it's extremely destructive and hard to control. Right now, Fisher Tiger was dousing Mariejois in oil and setting it on fire, and Dragon was using his powers to fan the flames. It would be a miracle if the fire in Mariejois could be contained. They would need an ability user like Kuzan to be brought in quickly, but the problem was, there were no ability users like Kuzan in Mariejois.
It was uncanny how Fisher Tiger and Dragon were working together without ever having met.
Tiger, who was still setting fires, was a little confused. He wondered if his luck had finally turned. Ever since he escaped, he felt like he had been blessed by the gods. He had worried that his actions would affect Fish-Man Island, but when he got back, he found that Fish-Man Island was getting along well with the Marines and the World Government. It looked like he wouldn't get them into trouble.
Once he had recovered, he started thinking about how to avoid a swift Marine response. But before he could come up with a plan—he was even ready to ignore the problem and face them head-on—the Marines launched an anti-corruption storm. The large number of generals who had been gathered in Marineford suddenly scattered all over the world. Tiger was no longer worried.
He had spent two days painstakingly climbing the Red Line to Mariejois. After a short rest, he started setting fires. He was just thinking how the weather wasn't suitable for a fire since there was no wind. But the next second, a powerful wind started to blow through Mariejois. And it wasn't just any wind; wherever he set a fire, a strong wind would blow. What the hell is going on?
But whatever the reason, it was a good thing for him. So, with the cover of night and the growing flames, Tiger continued to set fires. With the wind's help, he didn't even need to use oil. He just had to keep setting fires, and the rest was up to fate.
As a result, the fire in Mariejois raged out of control. Even the Gorosei woke up in their pajamas to take control of the situation. But it was no use. Mariejois was engulfed in flames. Countless people tried to put out the fire, but putting out a fire was not as fast as setting one.
Seeing that Mariejois was in chaos, Tiger threw away his torch and ran toward the slave quarters.
Meanwhile, in the World Government Headquarters, one of the Gorosei was angrily scolding someone. "Find him! Someone is setting fires! Find that bastard and put out the fires immediately! We can't let the fire reach God's Palace!"
"Yes, sir!" A high-ranking CP agency official was kneeling in front of the Gorosei, trembling. Mariejois was burning to the ground, and he knew that even if he put out the fire and caught the arsonist, he was still a dead man. But what could he do? His family was in the hands of the World Government!
"Contact the Marines! Tell them to come for reinforcements! Get Kuzan! Get Sengoku! And get that damned Diarmuid! Hurry up and get over here!" the Gorosei ordered.
But as he spoke, a World Government official said, trembling, "Sir, the Marines... they might not make it in time!"
"What do you mean?" the Gorosei asked, glaring at him.
"Two months ago, the Marines submitted a plan for an anti-corruption campaign, which all five of you personally approved... Currently, Kuzan and Admiral Sengoku are in the New World fighting pirates and investigating corruption in three Marine bases. Admiral Diarmuid went to the North Blue more than half a month ago. The other Marine Headquarters generals are scattered all over the world, cleaning up corruption within the Marines. They are not in Marineford and cannot provide quick and effective support!" the high-ranking official said quickly.
The Gorosei suddenly remembered. It seemed that two months ago, Diarmuid had submitted an action plan to the World Government. This was something the Marines hadn't done in a long time. In the past, they would always inform the World Government before doing anything major, but after their relationship soured, the Marines would just make their own decisions unless it was something particularly important. The World Government had no other way to manage the Marines.
When Diarmuid submitted the request, the Gorosei were delighted. They thought that their recent pressure on the Marines had made them realize that the only way to get ahead was to follow the World Government. Were they finally submitting?
The plan itself was fine. The action and the plan were solid. The World Government was also actively cracking down on corruption. The Gorosei thought it was a very appropriate action for the Marines to take. Furthermore, since they had respectfully submitted the request, the Gorosei felt it was time to mend their relationship with the Marines. So they generously approved the plan.
And now, all the Marines had gone, and Mariejois was on fire. Who are they supposed to talk to now?!
"It's impossible that all the high-ranking Marine officers are gone, right? Who's in Marineford now? Tell him to lead a team for reinforcements!" the Gorosei asked, breaking the silence.
"Sa... Sakazuki?" the official said hesitantly.
The Gorosei looked at the fire and then thought of Sakazuki. Damn it...
"What about the Land Army? The Mariejois garrison?" the bearded Gorosei demanded.
The CP agency official, hearing this question, saw an opportunity to save himself. Yes, we made a huge mistake, but someone else is doing even worse!
"Sir, the Land Army collapsed within fifteen minutes of the fire starting. Those damned bastards all fled!" the CP agency official said quickly.
The Land Army in Mariejois was full of lazy, fat noble sons who were experts at eating, drinking, and womanizing. Asking them to fight a fire? That was a death sentence for them. With all their body fat, they would only make the fire burn brighter. In short, as soon as they saw the fire getting bigger, the Land Army scattered like a flock of birds.
"I'll kill those bastards! Get me the Land Army roster after this! Not a single one of them will live!" the bearded Gorosei roared.
"Where's Pask? Where is that man, Pask?! Why isn't he here yet?!" the blond-haired Gorosei asked.
Pask was the current Commander-in-Chief of the World Government's armed forces, a high-ranking official who had come from the CP agencies. As soon as the fire started in Mariejois, Pask realized he was in trouble. His Land Army, which was under his direct command, had collapsed. He would have to take the blame for this. He had only allowed the Land Army to be made up of noble sons to curry favor with the nobles. And now, as soon as something went wrong, they had become a complete disaster.
Furthermore, Pask was the highest-ranking official in charge of security in Mariejois. Now everyone could see that someone had deliberately set the fires. In other words, it was Pask's dereliction of duty for not preventing this from happening and for not catching the arsonist. Judging by the fire, he was pretty much screwed.
To earn some credit with the Gorosei and the World Government and perhaps get a lighter sentence, he had gone to the front lines to fight the fire himself. But this action sealed his fate with the Gorosei.
A Commander-in-Chief personally putting out a fire? What good is that? And without you, the entire operation is in disarray. That's a capital offense!
It just went to show that Pask, a man from the CP agencies, was not suited for the military-heavy position of Commander-in-Chief. His way of thinking and his methods were not those of a soldier. At a crucial moment like this, if it were Admiral Sengoku or Fleet Admiral Kong, they would have immediately mobilized their forces and organized them to put out the fire. They would have taken responsibility later. But Pask only thought about how to make himself look good and survive this.
And because of this, the Gorosei completely lost faith in his ability to hold his position. This kind of person was not fit to be Commander-in-Chief; he was more suited to be a spymaster in the CP agencies.
As the World Government's high-ranking officials were in a state of chaos, Fisher Tiger killed a few of the guards and released a large number of slaves. With this, the fire in Mariejois began to turn into a slave rebellion and liberation.
Then, at the port of Mariejois, which was located under the Red Line, something else happened. The Revolutionary Army's soldiers quickly took over the port and the bubble elevator.
Tiger noticed that something was wrong. Wait a minute, someone else is doing the same thing as me? After he freed one group of slaves, he stepped outside and saw that it was pure chaos. He could hear gunshots and cannons. He saw a well-organized, disciplined team that was clearly not part of Mariejois's defenses. They broke into a slave compound and were handing out a large number of weapons to the slaves.
"What's going on?!" Tiger was completely confused.
A moment later, a breeze blew around him, and a figure emerged from it.
"I believe you are the famous adventurer, Fisher Tiger-san?" Dragon said, smiling and extending his hand toward Tiger.
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