Dragon's outstretched hand hovered in mid-air.
That hand was clearly jointed, full of strength, and carried an irresistible authority.
However, Sabo's gaze passed over the hand, and he abruptly turned to look in the direction of Goa Kingdom.
The sky-high flames burned the night red.
A scent of despair, carried on the wind, stung his skin.
"No..."
Sabo's voice trembled, and he clenched his fists.
"I can't leave!"
"Ace and Luffy are still there! And... everyone at Styx!"
He couldn't imagine what impulsive things those two foolish younger brothers would do if he left now.
Nor could he abandon the innocent people struggling in the flames!
Hearing Sabo's refusal, Dragon was not surprised.
He calmly withdrew his hand, his gaze also turning towards the burning kingdom.
"You don't have to worry."
His voice was steady, carrying an air of knowing everything.
"The fire had already started before my people arrived. And before you came, my subordinates had already gone into that sea of fire."
Dragon's tone was without a ripple, as if stating an established fact.
"Those who carry out 'purification' will be 'purified'."
"The flames will be extinguished, and the residents will be settled."
Sabo abruptly turned his head back, his pupils contracting violently, looking at the man in front of him in disbelief.
This man... before he even arrived, he already knew everything about Goa Kingdom?
He even had a plan for how to clean up?
An indescribable shock instantly swept through Sabo's entire body.
He had originally thought he was fighting alone, a lone wolf lighting a torch in the darkness.
But in front of this man, his full-strength resistance seemed so insignificant.
The other party had already laid out a vast net covering the entire kingdom, and even... the entire world!
The coldness of despair rose from his feet, a complete disillusionment with the noble and Celestial Dragons system.
Yet, a flame of hope ignited in his chest, due to the power and will displayed by the man before him, enough to overturn everything!
Sabo no longer hesitated.
He took a deep breath, and solemnly, deeply bowed to Dragon.
"I understand!"
A gentle yet irresistible wind appeared out of nowhere, gently lifting his bowed body.
This wind was more condensed and steadier than his own power.
It steadily carried Sabo over the sea, safely delivering him onto the black, ghost-like Revolutionary Army ship.
"Yohohoho!"
As Sabo just stood firm, a man with exaggerated makeup and a disproportionately large head came over, letting out a strange laugh.
"Dragon boy actually brought a kid back himself! The sun must have risen from the west today, Shiha!"
Ivankov, the Queen of Okama, pinched his chin, curiously scrutinizing Sabo.
The other Revolutionary Army cadres on the ship also cast surprised glances.
They knew their leader too well.
This man was always like an iceberg, always plotting the grand scheme of overthrowing the world.
Bringing a teenager back to the ship?
This was unprecedented!
"This kid..." a cadre said with sharp eyes, "That wind just now, wasn't it a Devil Fruit ability? It feels different."
Ivankov's gaze accurately fell on the turquoise glowing ornament on Sabo's waist.
"Eh? What's this shiny thing? I've never seen it before! Let me see, old lady!"
Saying that, he reached out to touch it.
Dragon's figure had appeared at the cabin door at some point.
"Ivan, take him to my cabin."
"Eh? Dragon boy, you..."
Ivankov still wanted to say something, but after meeting Dragon's calm, unmoving gaze, he immediately shrank his neck.
"Alright, alright, what a stingy man, Shiha!"
...Inside the cabin.
The decorations were extremely simple, with only a table, a chair, and a huge map of the Four Seas and the Grand Line on the wall.
The atmosphere was so oppressive it was suffocating.
Dragon sat on the only chair, his hands clasped in front of him, his deep gaze fixed on Sabo.
"Your name."
"...Sabo."
"A noble," Dragon's tone was flat, "Why are you against the Celestial Dragons? For that garbage mountain?"
"I'm not for the garbage mountain!"
Sabo suddenly looked up, flames burning in his blue eyes.
"I'm here to protect the innocent people! To protect my two most important brothers!"
He clenched his fists, recounting his disgust for the noble "cage," his yearning for true "freedom," and his experience of becoming sworn brothers with Ace and Luffy on Mt. Colubo, drinking the cup of sake.
"That place is my home! Ace and Luffy are my true family!"
"I'm doing all of this just to protect them!"
When the name "Luffy" came out of Sabo's mouth.
On Dragon's perpetually unmoving, icy face, the always taut lines showed an extremely subtle loosening.
The air in the cabin instantly became thick and heavy.
Dragon was silent for a moment before slowly speaking, his voice low.
"That boy... what's his full name?"
"Monkey D. Luffy."
Sabo answered subconsciously, looking at the other party with some confusion.
"What's wrong?"
As soon as he finished speaking.
Sabo regretted it.
Because he saw that the man opposite him, the man known as the "World's Worst Criminal," had fallen into a long, deathly silence.
In those deep eyes, emotions so complex that Sabo couldn't understand them at all surged.
A storm was brewing in the depths of those eyes.
For a long time.
So long that Sabo felt he was about to suffocate.
Dragon finally spoke again, his voice carrying a harshness he himself hadn't even noticed.
"Monkey D. Luffy..."
"Is my son."
Boom!
Sabo's brain completely crashed.
He stood there dumbfounded, his eyes wide open, his mouth unconsciously agape, but unable to utter any sound.
Wh-what?
Son?
Luffy... that foolish younger brother who always grinned, and besides eating meat, only caused trouble... his father is this... this man who just instantly killed CP0, scared the Celestial Dragons with a single glance, like a god or a demon?!
Isn't Luffy's grandfather Marine Hero Garp?!
What... what the hell is this joke?!
Just as Sabo's worldview was shattered, and he was in a state of out-of-body experience, the cabin door was pushed open with a "bang."
Ivankov sashayed in, and immediately saw Sabo's ghost-seeing expression.
"Oh my? What's wrong, little Sabo boy? Did Dragon boy scare you?"
He then turned his attention to Sabo, his huge face full of gossip.
"Speaking of which, little Sabo boy, what's going on with your wind control ability? That's not a Devil Fruit, is it? Tell me quickly!"
"Ah... oh..."
Sabo was still in a state of huge shock, and when Ivankov asked, he almost mechanically began to narrate.
He described the man named White Night he met in Goa Kingdom.
He described the mysterious shop called the Dungeon Shop.
He described how he, Ace, and Luffy entered that other world called Teyvat.
And how he obtained this ornament called the "Anemo vision," thereby gaining the power to control wind.
Ivankov listened, dumbfounded, his mouth opening wider and wider.
"Grinding... grinding dungeons? A vision? Can it give people superpowers out of thin air? This... this is some Arabian Nights tale, Shiha!"
Ivankov was still exclaiming, however, he didn't notice.
The moment the words "White Night" and "Dungeon Shop" came out of Sabo's mouth.
Dragon, who had been silent, suddenly leaned forward.
In his deep eyes, for the first time, a light called "shock" erupted!
Not because of his son, nor because of the Celestial Dragons.
But a new variable, enough to shake all his perceptions and plans!
"...You said, that boss named White Night is currently in Foosha Village?" Dragon's voice showed a fluctuation for the first time; he interrupted Ivankov's exclamations, his gaze fixed on Sabo.
"You only need to pay Berries to enter 'another world'?"
"And, you can also bring out power from that world... power that doesn't belong to our world?"
Dragon's speech quickened, his brain working frantically, reassembling these fragmented pieces of information into a terrifying conclusion.
A system not restricted by Devil Fruit rules!
A system not restricted by the World Government's technological blockade!
A system... where as long as you have money, you can mass-produce strong individuals!
Dragon slowly leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.
In his heart, a towering wave had already been stirred.
What does the Revolutionary Army lack most?
It is top-tier combat power, and even more, a core force capable of contending with the Marine's vast numbers!
If... if this "Dungeon Shop" is real... then what does it mean for the Revolutionary Army?
And what does it mean for the entire world?!
Dragon suddenly opened his eyes, and in their depths, a flame burned, hotter and crazier than the great fire in Goa Kingdom!
"White Night..."
He softly uttered the name.
"Transmit my order!"
"Change course!"
"Destination — East Blue, Foosha Village!"