Inside the room.
The Revolutionary Army's officers were visibly excited.
But Ahiru, the Deputy Commander of the East Army, wore an uneasy expression.
"Ahiru, what's wrong?"
Belo Betty, noticing her demeanor, couldn't help but ask.
"Are we really going to do this?"
"Last year, in the South Sea incident, the joint suppression by the World Government and the Navy killed over 300,000 people. More than 500,000 were enslaved. And us, the Revolutionary Army…"
"We abandoned them. Before the suppression fleet even arrived, we had already withdrawn!"
Her words caused the entire room to fall silent.
Everyone present knew the truth, but none had spoken it aloud.
The reason was simple: they all understood.
Over the years, the uprisings the Revolutionary Army incited in various kingdoms weren't truly about saving the common people.
After all, the Revolutionary Army didn't have the strength to confront the World Government head-on.
And once an uprising succeeded, the World Government would inevitably send overwhelming force to crush it.
So what did the Revolutionary Army do?
They ran.
And took advantage of the chaos to recruit a large number of fresh fighters from the rebellion.
Each kingdom uprising became yet another opportunity for the Revolutionary Army to grow stronger.
But the cost…
Was the death of countless civilians—and the enslavement or forced labor of many more.
If one were to tally it up, over a million people had already died in recent years.
And many more would die later in endless forced labor or servitude.
Of course, during this process, the Revolutionary Army grew from just a few hundred fighters…
To tens of thousands.
"Ahiru, Dragon has said before—revolution is never smooth. Bloodshed is inevitable."
"But the ones bleeding aren't us. It's always the innocent civilians!"
Ahiru had heard enough of this excuse.
"Enough!"
Belo Betty shouted loudly.
"Ahiru, you're not participating in this operation."
"Understood."
Ahiru nodded.
She couldn't overcome the guilt in her heart of being part of something that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands.
---
At the same time.
Rhodes Island, inside Luo Lan's office.
Knock knock knock…
"Come in!"
"Luo Lan, urgent intel!"
Robin burst in as soon as she opened the door, clearly anxious.
"What happened?"
"Remember when you asked me to find a way to infiltrate the Revolutionary Army?"
"Yeah. Did something come of it?"
"Yes. One of our undercover agents has gained the trust of a low-ranking officer in the East Army and was promoted to his deputy."
Robin nodded.
Though they hadn't reached the core yet, earning such trust in just a month was impressive.
"According to the latest intel, all East Army officers had a meeting today."
"And the topic… was to recreate last year's South Sea uprising—this time in the Kingdom of Arcado in the East Blue."
Luo Lan's expression grew grim.
Every time the Revolutionary Army made a move, it brought disaster.
When they overthrew kingdoms, they never considered how to deal with the World Government's inevitable counterattack.
Nor did they plan how to protect the hundreds of thousands of civilians they incited into rebellion.
For them, toppling a kingdom wasn't the goal.
The real goal was to sift through the masses of rebels, selecting the most capable and ideologically loyal to join their ranks.
Once they had their recruits, they'd evacuate—before the government forces arrived.
The remaining hundreds of thousands?
Left to face the government's brutal slaughter and suppression.
Even the lucky survivors were either enslaved or sent to labor camps across the world.
Given the brutality of those conditions, most died within a few years.
"Recreating the South Sea incident?"
"Those bastards—have they forgotten how many died last time?"
"Even official estimates list 370,000 dead. Over 500,000 sentenced to lifelong forced labor."
"And that's just the rough count. The actual numbers are even higher!"
"Has Dragon gotten addicted to the results of these uprisings?"
SLAM!
Luo Lan smashed his palm onto the table, shouting in rage.
This was the first time Robin had seen him so furious since joining Jun Lin.
"Luo Lan, should we inform the Navy or the World Government?"
"If they prepare in advance, maybe the uprising can be stopped."
Robin's suggestion had merit.
If the government were warned, the Arcado uprising might never get off the ground.
But—
"No!"
"Knowing the World Government and those royal bastards, they'll purge the entire population of that kingdom."
"Better to kill a hundred innocent people than let one rebel go!"
"Sure, the outcome might be slightly better than before, but at least 100,000–200,000 would die in the purge."
Luo Lan shook his head.
It wasn't the right move.
"Then what should we do? Intervene directly?"
Robin asked again.
Luo Lan took out a Den Den Mushi.
As Sengoku's adopted son, raised in Marine HQ, he naturally knew Dragon—and had a way to contact him.
Brr brr brr...
"Who is it?"
"It's me—Luo Lan."
"What is it?"
Dragon's tone was flat.
Understandable, since they knew each other but weren't close.
Even when Luo Lan had no memory as a child, he had never liked Dragon.
"You must stop the operation in the Kingdom of Arcado."
"And what authority do you have to tell me that?"
Dragon didn't even sound surprised that Luo Lan knew about the plan.
Still calm.
"As the leader of Jun Lin—is that enough?"
"Jun Lin…"
For the first time since picking up the call, Dragon sounded mildly surprised.
But only mildly.
"It's enough. But my answer is no."
"You're not afraid I'll report your plans to the Navy?"
"If that would've worked, you wouldn't be calling me now."
Dragon was sharp.
He knew full well what would happen if Luo Lan exposed their plans.
Yes, their long-term operation would be ruined.
But more importantly—
The civilians in Arcado would still die.
Maybe even more would die.
And the worst part?
They wouldn't be dying because of the Revolutionary Army this time—
But because of Luo Lan.
So Dragon was confident Luo Lan wouldn't dare leak the intel.
Just like he said:
If that would've worked, you wouldn't be calling me now.
Holding the Den Den Mushi…
Luo Lan frowned deeply.