(200 Power Stone Bonus)
Chapter 118: Will You Join the Group?
Wano Country, the Shogun's Palace.
Dragon arrived alone.
Accompanied by a sudden, powerful gust of wind, his entire silhouette materialized out of thin air right in front of Yumesaki.
The fact that Dragon could summon such fierce winds was common knowledge to many. Numerous factions speculated that Dragon was likely a user of a Logia-type Devil Fruit, perhaps the Wind-Wind Fruit or the Hurricane Fruit.
Of course, there were also those who theorized it was a Mythical Zoan type.
After all, a Mythical Zoan was often the most realistic answer in the current version of the world's power balance.
In truth, Yumesaki didn't care what kind of Devil Fruit ability Dragon possessed. Once the other man appeared, he gestured toward a chair and table prepared before him with a faint smile. "Please, have a seat."
"Are you the Boss Miss Nico Robin mentioned?"
Dragon stared at Yumesaki with a hint of surprise. The person standing before him was remarkably young—so young, in fact, that it was hard to fathom.
However, Dragon did not underestimate Yumesaki just because of his age.
After all, the second-in-command of his own Revolutionary Army was also a young man.
"That's right, it's me. I am Kazuma Yumesaki. It is a pleasure to meet you, Leader of the Revolutionary Army."
Yumesaki spoke while smiling at Nico Robin, who was sitting beside him. "Pour a cup of tea for Mr. Dragon."
Nico Robin stood up and gracefully poured a cup of tea for their guest.
Dragon offered a brief word of thanks, then fixed Yumesaki with a sharp, piercing gaze. "I'm not sure what business prompted Mr. Yumesaki to invite me for a meeting this time?"
"It's nothing too grand. I just wanted to let you know that I'm planning to start a raid. I wasn't sure if you'd like to join in or not."
"Huh?" Dragon wore an expression of pure confusion.
Nico Robin clarified from the side, "What the Boss means is that he plans to attack the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, eradicate the Celestial Dragons, and completely overthrow the World Government. I was wondering if Mr. Dragon would be willing to join us."
Dragon was struck by a sudden, profound shock. His voice wavered with the impact of the statement. "When?"
"Not long from now, Marine Headquarters will be embroiled in an unprecedented conflict with the Whitebeard Pirates. We plan to take advantage of that window to storm the Holy Land of Mary Geoise."
Dragon quickly calculated the timeline. Ace was scheduled for public execution in seven days.
That meant seven days from now, Yumesaki's group intended to strike at the heart of the World Government.
"Isn't that far too rushed?" Dragon asked, his brow furrowing instinctively.
Even though he desired more than anything to storm Mary Geoise and dismantle the World Government, a seven-day window felt far too short and incredibly reckless.
Yumesaki replied calmly, "Whether it's rushed or not isn't for you to decide. This is something I've already determined. I'm simply informing you. If you show up, you're welcome. If you don't, that's perfectly fine too."
Hearing those words, Dragon fell into a heavy silence.
After a long pause, he asked, "I don't suppose you could tell me what your success rate is for overthrowing the World Government this time?"
"Ten out of ten. One hundred percent."
Dragon fell silent once more.
A few minutes later, the meeting concluded.
Dragon transformed into a violent gust of wind and vanished.
Yumesaki watched the spot where Dragon had disappeared, then turned to Nico Robin with a smile. "Did you guess whether the leader of the Revolutionary Army would actually come?"
Nico Robin didn't offer a response, as she herself wasn't certain of the outcome.
On the other side of things, once Dragon returned to the Revolutionary Army headquarters, he gathered his executives.
He informed them of Yumesaki's group's plan to attack the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.
The news left the Revolutionary executives looking at one another in disbelief.
"Seven days from now? That fast? Just where did these people come from?" Sabo felt more than a little bewildered.
The Commander of the Eastern Revolutionary Army, Belo Betty, asked with curiosity, "Leader, didn't you ask on what grounds they dare to attack the World Government's headquarters? Do they have some kind of trump card?"
Dragon shook his head and said, "They only informed us of the plan, nothing else. They simply asked if we wanted to attack the World Government alongside them."
The Commander of the Southern Revolutionary Army, Lindbergh, shook his head in disapproval. "This is far too risky. That is the headquarters of the World Government—a gathering place for powerful experts, and then there's Imu, whose abilities are completely unpredictable."
Sabo noted, "Ironically, it was those very people who gave us that information. Their knowledge of the World Government far exceeds our own. Despite knowing all that, they still plan to attack. This shows that..."
Belo Betty finished his thought, "...It shows that they have an extreme level of confidence in their own strength, believing they can truly crush the World Government."
Dragon added, "I asked about their chances of victory. They said ten out of ten."
Belo Betty was stunned. "Hey, hey, isn't that a bit much? Ten out of ten? How did these people even calculate that result? That's the World Government we're talking about—they've ruled the world for eight hundred years."
Dragon nodded. "Actually, I thought the same. If the chance of victory was six or seven out of ten, I might have followed them to place a bet. But ten out of ten..."
The Commander of the Western Revolutionary Army, Morley, chimed in, "So the Leader feels these people are lying and just bluffing?"
Sabo frowned. "That doesn't make sense. Why would they go through the trouble?"
Belo Betty commented, "But still, a ten-out-of-ten success rate is just too exaggerated."
Sabo didn't argue with that, as he also felt a perfect victory was somewhat unrealistic.
Dragon said, "Therefore, I want to discuss this with all of you. Will our Revolutionary Army cooperate with them to storm the Holy Land of Mary Geoise this time?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the room erupted into debate.
"I feel it's a bit over the top. It's better to play it safe."
"I think so too."
"But what if what they're saying is true? If there really is a ten-out-of-ten chance of winning, our Revolutionary Army could completely dismantle the World Government with them and fix this broken world."
"But what if there isn't? What if they're just bragging?"
"We have to be responsible for the lives of all our comrades."
For a while, no one could convince the other. Listening to the heated debate, Sabo's mind raced until a sudden spark of an idea hit him.
He slammed his hand on the table, creating a sharp thud that echoed through the room. "Everyone, I have an idea."
At that, everyone turned their eyes toward him in unison. Even though Sabo was young, the effort and merit he had shown over the years were evident to all.
They were all eager to hear his brilliant take on the situation.
"We don't need to move the entire army. The Leader and I—the two of us will head to Mary Geoise."
"If the battle looks like it has a chance for victory, we'll cooperate with those people to destroy the Holy Land. Meanwhile, the rest of you can make major moves in your respective regions to topple some of the most cruel and inhumane regimes."
"If the battle looks like it has no chance of success, the Leader and I will simply leave."
"And you can still carry out the operations in your areas. While the World Government is too busy to handle anything else, give those cruel nobles and kings a lesson they won't forget."
Hearing Sabo's words, everyone suddenly felt a sense of clarity.
Dragon looked at Sabo with deep appreciation. There was no doubt about it—a young man's mind was truly useful.
"Then let's do exactly what Sabo said. This time, we must make the World Government suffer a massive loss."
Hearing that, everyone saw an unprecedented excitement flickering in each other's eyes.
Not too long ago, they had been targeted by the World Government over the Egghead Island incident and had suffered heavy losses.
Now, it was time to collect that debt from the World Government, with interest.
At the same time, as the Summit War drew closer, the entire world began to stir with unrest.
The eyes of the masses were drawn toward this impending clash.
The World Government seemed incredibly confident about this battle. In the Sabaody Archipelago, Loguetown, Spring Queen City, Dressrosa, and many other locations, they had set up Visual Den Den Mushi.
They planned to carry out Ace's public execution before the eyes of the entire world, and in doing so, completely annihilate the Whitebeard Pirates.
The night before the Summit War.
Morgans held a secret meeting with Yumesaki.
"Is everything that needs to be prepared ready?"
"Don't you worry, Mr. Yumesaki." Facing Yumesaki's question, Morgans patted his chest and declared, "All preparations are complete. I've ensured there won't be a single mistake."
Yumesaki felt quite satisfied with that. "Very good. I'll leave tomorrow's matters to you, Morgans."
Morgans laughed with exuberant energy. "I certainly won't let your expectations down, Mr. Yumesaki."
He was already burning with impatience.
...
At the same time, inside Impel Down.
Garp sat with a somber face in front of a prison cell. Inside that cell, his grandson, Ace, was being held.
"Tomorrow is the day of your execution."
Ace remained silent. "..."
"I'm sorry, Ace. Your grandfather couldn't save you." Garp's face was a mask of agony. With his strength, taking his grandson out of Impel Down wouldn't have been difficult at all.
With Impel Down's current configuration, it would be impossible to stop him.
But he couldn't do it.
Because he was Garp.
Ace lifted his head and looked at Garp, who appeared incredibly pale. Guilt washed over his heart like a tidal wave. He understood all too well that because of him, this normally optimistic old man was enduring extraordinary suffering.
"I'm sorry, Old Man. This is my fault. I've let you down."
Garp was silent. After a long while, he finally spoke. "At this stage, saying those things is too late. Tomorrow, when you are publicly executed, Whitebeard will definitely come."
Hearing this, Ace's heart suddenly surged with emotion. On one side was the father he admired; on the other was the old man who had raised him.
He truly didn't want to see the two of them in conflict, let alone see the Whitebeard Pirates come to save him.
"Old Man, could you..."
"I can't." Before Ace could finish, Garp cut him off. "For the sake of today, the Marines have mobilized everything. I can't be that selfish. And besides..."
Garp paused for a moment, then continued, "Besides, knowing Whitebeard's personality, do you really think he would back down just because I tried to persuade him?"
Ace was left speechless.
It was true. With his father's temperament, how could he ever let Ace go just because of a few words from someone else?
However, sacrificing the lives of so many brothers and sisters for his sake... it just wasn't worth it.
Just thinking that a world-shaking battle would occur because of him made Ace unable to hold back his tears.
"Please, Father, be selfish for once. Just this once."
He couldn't help but pray to the Heavens.
Garp looked at his grandson, who was drenched in tears, and let out a long, heavy sigh. If he had known it would turn out like this, he never would have acted this way from the start.
Unfortunately, it was all too late.
Time ticked away bit by bit in the heavy silence, until the next morning arrived.
The day of Ace's execution was here.
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