The leader of the Revolutionary Army, Dragon, was a man whose true identity—Monkey D. Dragon, the son of Marine Hero Garp—was known to fewer than a handful of people, even within the Marines.
Although Garp sent Dragon to the Marine Academy when he was young, after graduation, he did not enter the official Marine forces. Instead, he joined a special unit, serving as a specialized security Marine for the Science Research Unit.
Since the Science Research Unit was a special department that intersected both the Marines and the World Government, Dragon's identity during his time in the Marines was also a complete mystery.
However, during this period, Dragon became acquainted with the genius scientist Vegapunk, who had recently joined the Science Unit.
Even after leaving the Marines, Dragon always listed Vegapunk as one of the top five most dangerous individuals on his list and kept him under constant surveillance because he was too important.
Dragon had known about Firs Island for a long time, as it was the current location where the Marines secretly mined and researched Dyna Stone.
He had utilized Dyna Stone several years ago during his Slave Liberation Action in cooperation with Fisher Tiger. To this day, the Revolutionary Army still had people stationed there.
Today, Dragon received intelligence: members of the Alucard Pirates had been sighted on Firs Island. They were not moving openly but were hidden among the civilians, seemingly investigating something.
The person leading this team was the Alucard Pirates combatant, Iron Arm Urdaha.
While Urdaha's skills in reconnaissance and stealth were decent, he was no match for the professionally trained Revolutionary Army members.
After half a month of investigation, the Revolutionary Army learned that they were there for Vegapunk.
Upon learning this, the Revolutionary Army members stationed on Firs Island immediately reported the matter to Dragon.
"So, they've come for Vegapunk..."
Dragon's expression was grim after reading the report. He pondered for a moment, then spoke to the other Revolutionary Army executives beside him, "Prepare a ship for me. I need to go to Firs Island."
"Dragon-san, while Urdaha is a pirate with a bounty of 360,000,000 Berries, is it truly necessary for you to go personally?" a fish-man in a karate gi inquired.
This was Hack, one of the fish-men who participated in the Slave Liberation Action years ago and later joined the Revolutionary Army.
"To capture someone without anyone noticing, only a handful of people in the entire Revolutionary Army are capable of it. And don't forget, a Yonko crew is backing them."
Dragon walked out of the base door and added, "Also, notify Ivankov. Tell him to accompany me. For a pirate crew under a Yonko, I believe he is the only one in the Revolutionary Army who can make them talk."
"Understood. I will arrange it immediately," a subordinate quickly replied.
The potential connection between Alucard and Vegapunk, two extremely dangerous individuals, was of such great importance that it was worth Dragon personally intervening.
The Revolutionary Army was arguably the most mysterious organization in the world; even the Yonko found their movements elusive. Alucard was still unaware that the Revolutionary Army had begun to set its sights on him.
Dwoooo!
A piercing, ultra-high-pitched sound, like an alarm, rang out across the border zone of the Arderay Kingdom ruins. This was where many of the Alucard Pirates' subordinates resided. Hearing the ear-splitting vibration, the pirates quickly scrambled out of their beds and assembled in an open field on the outskirts.
Zephyr had been waiting there long before. With a furious roar, the slovenly pirates immediately stood at attention, ready to begin a new day of hellish training.
This situation had been going on for a week now.
It had been nearly a month since Zephyr joined the Alucard Pirates' Trash Disposal Unit. Dr. Indigo was temporarily serving as Zephyr's attending physician, helping to suppress the virus within his body.
However, Dr. Indigo was not as skilled as Vegapunk and lacked medical records, so true treatment would require long-term observation and recording of Zephyr's condition.
Thus, Zephyr was temporarily staying at Arderay.
During a casual conversation with Alucard, a simple remark—"Interested in whipping those pieces of trash into shape?"—piqued Zephyr's interest.
Having trained Marines for thirty years, he was genuinely curious about what would happen if he trained pirates. Initially, it was just out of interest, treating it as a game to pull those "pieces of
trash" into Marine-style military training.
Waking up at five-thirty, running, climbing ropes, and a 200-kilometer field run.
Naturally, 99% of the pirates, who were accustomed to idleness and freedom, initially defied Zephyr's orders, resisting, and even getting physical.
Zephyr was even more direct now. For Marines, he would lecture first and then use force. For pirates, he went straight for the assault, slapping them across the face.
Who dares to object? Step forward. If you win, you can walk away.
This method was simple and brutal. By the end of the morning, over 90% of the men had red, swollen faces from the slaps.
No one dared to complain to Alucard. Regardless of how Alucard might respond, the very fact that Zephyr dared to do this meant he surely had Alucard's approval.
After a week of continuous training, the pirates gradually got used to it, moving past their initial wailing and complaints.
Of course, some people tried to escape midway. Since they were pirates, sailing out was a simple matter. But these people were few, and if you fled, don't ever think about coming back.
Get lost, and never return.
Therefore, while there were those who ran away, their numbers were equally small.
"Run faster, you bunch of useless scourges! An old lady with a cane is faster than you!"
During the field run, Zephyr yelled furiously at the pirates trailing behind, occasionally giving a kick to their rear ends.
Several people glared at Zephyr with resentment, but the next second, they were met with an even fiercer, more murderous glare, and they immediately backed down.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself here."
Alucard suddenly phased through a dilapidated building wall to Zephyr's right.
Zephyr glanced to the right with his peripheral vision. "I am merely acting according to the justice in my heart."