Chapter Four: A Meeting of Minds
The journey passed without incident, a quiet voyage across calm seas. Kaito remained in his cabin for much of the trip, speaking little and observing much. He had no desire to draw attention to himself, not when Master Koshiro had specifically instructed him to disembark at their first port of call and go no further on this vessel.
The ship itself was part of Master Koshiro's merchant fleet, one of several vessels that operated under the dojo's banner. Kaito had known about these commercial operations - they had been his suggestion years earlier to improve the island's economy. What he hadn't known was that this particular ship served a dual purpose as a supply runner for the Revolutionary Army.
Koshiro had been deliberately vague about the logistics, and now Kaito understood why. With Marine surveillance increasing around the increasingly famous dojo, any direct connection to Dragon's forces could prove disastrous. This remote island stopover was clearly part of an elaborate system designed to maintain plausible deniability.
Three days after leaving home, they arrived at a small, forested island that barely registered on most charts. As the crew began unloading crates onto the deserted beach, Kaito reached out with his Observation Haki. The island should have been uninhabited, yet he detected a single powerful presence waiting inland. Assuming this was his contact with Dragon, he made his way toward the signal.
The man who emerged from the tree line was not who he expected. Towering nearly seven feet tall, with a gentle face and hands that carefully held a small bible, stood Bartholomew Kuma. The future Warlord, the future pacifista, the future martyr of the revolution.
Kaito stopped short, his mind racing through implications and memories. He immediately understood the supply chain now - Kuma's Nikyu Nikyu no Mi power could transport anything anywhere instantly. But that practical understanding warred with two things
First his knowledge of the tragic fate awaiting this gentle giant.
Second and most importantly, According to the time line, He shouldn't have joined the revolutionary army yet.
What's going here?!!!!.
"Hello," Kuma's voice was surprisingly soft for a man of his size. "You must be Kaito. I positioned myself at the island's periphery believing it would be beyond your detection range. It seems I underestimated your capabilities."
Kaito remained silent for a long moment, considering how to approach this unexpected meeting. "I take it from your presence that you are not Dragon," he finally said as he pretended that he didn't know him.
A kind smile touched Kuma's lips. "That is correct. I am Bartholomew Kuma, a comrade of Dragon's. It is a pleasure to meet you. Koshiro has spoken highly of your unique perspective and it was due to your idea that Dragon asked me to join his cause."
"Likewise," Kaito replied, his tone carefully neutral but was hiding the storm going through his mind.
Kaito glanced around the empty island. "I don't sense anyone else here. Were you planning to wait until after the ship departed?"
"You will understand the process shortly," Kuma said cryptically.
Recognizing the man's preference for few words, Kaito simply nodded and waited as he also began to think back about a certain day three years ago.
So as they stood in comfortable silence waiting for the dojo's ship to finish unloading and sail away,Kaito mind flash back to that day.
Kaito was reading the papers about Kuma being a benevolent king who cures his citizens, he spoke to himself out loud.
"This guy wouldn't live for long if he kept going like this.
Looks like he still suffers from a traumatic experience"
Koshiro heard him as Kaito was emotional and didn't notice Koshiro was coming his way.
"What are you talking about,Kaito."
Kaito turned his head and saw it was his master Koshiro so he answered as he couldn't help but feel emotional.
"This King, his reputation is growing rapidly, he seems to have a healing devil fruit and he uses it to heal his citizens.
If he didn't stop, the world government will absolutely destroy him.
They don't like benevolent kings that makes people feel happy and healthy."
Koshiro stayed silent for a while then said.
"That might really happen. What do you think he should do, Kaito."
"I don't think he can come out of this situation unscathed. We are in the east blue and now his reputation has literally reached the other end of the world.
The only way out is to leave the kingdom with his family after doing something disgusting like increasing the taxes to unbearable amount and then take the money and run away.
Otherwise, he and the citizens will be destroyed."
"But wouldn't that be contradictory to what his beliefs are."
"Maybe he can take the money and pay more heavenly gold to the world government so that he join the world government or something."
Kaito spoke without paying attention to Koshiro question as he knew that Kuma would be in slaved if he kept going like this.
"Tsk, but he would never do something like that because he would never have thought that happy citizens will bring disaster.
I bet the world government will send marines or cipher pol to make suffer by sabotaging trades or something as to send him a message.
But this guy doesn't seem the kind that will think of those things and will try solve it himself.
Maybe the revolutionary army can help him but right now they are probably too occupied with increasing their numbers by focusing on bad kings instead.
What a tragic fate awaits him."
Koshiro looked at his disciple with a confused look as he asked with a higher tone this time.
"Revolutionary army?. Why do you think they would be able to help him."
Koshiro snapped back to reality then said.
"It's actually very simple. The world government will be suspicious of him if he suddenly gives them money but if the kingdom is attacked by pirates, he would be required to protect them.
But he can't protect them alone, so it's required that the marines help.
To ask the marines to help, you have to pay to the world government heavenly gold. But because Kuma doesn't tax his citizens , he can't pay heavenly gold.
So his only way is to tax his people.
So he tax them and heavily too saying that only this way can we join the world government to protect us from pirates."
"But what role exactly the revolutionary army will play."
"after the heavy taxes, Kuma will be considered a bad king and becoming a target of the revolutionary army wouldn't raise suspicion.the revolutionary army will attack the kingdom but Kuma will defend it.
Afterwards, he joins the world government making him their inside man. This something they desperately need.
The access to mary geosie is enough for them to help him."
Koshiro looked at him for a while then left and Kaito didn't think much about. He didn't think that this conversation would change Kuma and his kingdom fate preventing it from being enslaved by celestial dragons.
"I must leave briefly," Kuma announced. "Someone will come to you shortly." Then, without any sound or dramatic movement, he simply vanished.
Kaito snapped from his memories only to find that the man disappeared.
Kaito's enhanced Observation Haki tracked the incredible speed as Kuma moved to the supply cache. He felt rather than saw the crates lift into the air one by one, then Kuma's presence itself shot skyward and vanished from his sensory range entirely.
Two hours later, the presence returned, descending from the heavens with another familiar energy signature beside him. They landed softly on the beach before Kaito.
"A devil fruit ability, I assume," Kaito remarked, keeping his voice carefully neutral though inwardly impressed. "A remarkable method of transport."
"Thank you," Kuma said politely.
Kaito's attention turned to the other man. Clad in a dark cloak that fluttered in the ocean breeze, with that dramatic tattoo across his face, stood Monkey D. Dragon himself. His presence was like a controlled storm - powerful but contained.
"Dragon," Kaito said, offering a slight nod of respect. "I am Kaito. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."
"The thanks are mine," Dragon replied, his voice a low rumble that seemed to carry on the wind itself. "Koshiro speaks highly of you. He suggested you might be interested in our cause."
"That remains to be determined," Kaito said bluntly. "First, I need to understand something. What, precisely, is your plan? Not the ideology or the philosophy - the practical roadmap to victory."
Dragon's brow furrowed slightly beneath his hood. "You do not know our objectives?"
"I understand the 'why' of your movement," Kaito clarified. "I need to understand the 'how.' Your strategy, your assessment of the opposition, your contingency planning."
The revolutionary leader studied him for a long moment, clearly sensing this was less a request for information and more a test of his organization's preparedness. Yet, trusting Koshiro's judgment, he answered. "The plan is straightforward in principle. We liberate oppressed peoples, kingdom by kingdom, building our forces and our support base. We gather strength in the shadows, avoiding direct confrontation until we have sufficient numbers. When the time is right, we will confront the World Government directly."
Kaito processed this. "A sound enough framework on the surface. But to execute it successfully, you require an accurate assessment of the enemy's full capabilities. What is your current estimate of the World Government's true military strength?"
Dragon's eyes narrowed slightly. "The Marines, obviously, with their Admirals and fleet strength. Cipher Pol's various branches for intelligence and black operations. The Holy Knights of Mary Geoise. And the Gorosei who command them all."
Kaito waited for him to continue. When Dragon fell silent, he pressed. "Is that all? Your complete assessment?"
Dragon's expression tightened almost imperceptibly. "Is that not sufficient? The Holy Knights alone are comprised of the main family lines of the twenty founding kings. Intel suggests each captain is at least Admiral-level in combat capability, with their commander likely rivaling a Yonko in strength."
"I do not doubt their individual combat capabilities," Kaito said. "I question the structural analysis. You speak of twenty ancient royal families, all of supposedly peerless power and prestige, living in a single city for eight centuries without a single successful coup, rebellion, or internal war of annihilation. Does that not strike you as statistically improbable? Historically unprecedented?"
The air grew heavy with the unspoken implications. Dragon's eyes narrowed in deep thought. Kuma shifted his weight almost imperceptibly, the quiet implication clearly unsettling his normally unshakable calm.
"The Gorosei maintain order," Dragon stated, though it sounded more like a question than a statement of fact.
"Five individuals," Kaito continued, his voice taking on a razor-sharp analytical quality, "however powerful or politically skilled, keeping nineteen Admiral-level fighters with the egos of living gods in perfect, harmonious check for eight hundred years? For that to be true, the Gorosei would have to be paragons of flawless unity and selflessness, never disagreeing on fundamental matters, always acting in perfect concert for a common good. Does that sound like the rulers of this world to you?"
"Impossible," Kuma breathed, his usual composure finally breaking. "You are speaking of the Empty Throne. There has never been any evidence—"
"Or," Kaito interrupted softly, "the throne is not empty. Perhaps there is a king. And perhaps the loyalty of those twenty selfish, god-complex rulers is ensured not by brotherhood or political philosophy, but by a single, irresistible incentive."
Dragon's voice dropped to a whisper that somehow carried more weight than a shout. "What incentive could possibly maintain that level of control for eight centuries?"
"Life," Kaito said. The simple word hung in the air between them, heavy with implication. "I've read extensively about devil fruits. The Soru Soru no Mi, which can manipulate and distribute the lifespan of others. And the legendary Yomi Yomi no Mi, rumored to grant resurrection. It made me wonder... what if there is another fruit? One that does not grant resurrection, but simply... prevents death. And what if a king could offer that prize to his most loyal servants?"
The silence that followed was absolute. Dragon and Kuma stood frozen, the horrifying, flawless logic of it dismantling their entire understanding of their enemy's command structure.
Kuma was the first to find his voice, though it was uncharacteristically strained. "A compelling theory. But immortality alone could not forge an empire. It is a reward, not a threat. It explains loyalty but not absolute submission. The founding kings were conquerors. To believe they would all peacefully accept a single sovereign for centuries, even for eternal life, requires a leap of faith."
"You are correct," Kaito nodded, acknowledging the point. "An incentive requires a deterrent. Eternal life is a powerful carrot, but you need an unstoppable stick to enforce the deal. How does one king keep nineteen immortal, Admiral-level rivals in check if they ever decided to rebel?" He let the question hang in the air for a moment before answering it himself. "The only conceivable answer is a weapon. Not just any weapon, but one of such cataclysmic power that its mere existence guarantees compliance. A weapon that could silence not just a person, or a kingdom, but an entire island, a culture, a history... without a trace."
The word did not need to be spoken. It materialized in the space between them, a specter from the void they were trying to fill.
"An Ancient Weapon," Dragon said, the words not a question but a grim confirmation. The pieces clicked into a terrifying whole. "Pluton was said to be a warship capable of destroying islands. The promise of immortality to ensure loyalty, and the threat of absolute annihilation to prevent betrayal. That... that is the only framework that could maintain such a system."
The scope of their enemy expanded exponentially in that moment. They were no longer just fighting a corrupt government; they were challenging a regime built on a foundation of divine power and apocalyptic force, maintained for eight hundred years.
"Now you understand," Kaito said quietly. "You are not planning a revolution. You are planning a rebellion against gods armed with the power to unmake the world. Your current strategy does not account for this. You cannot gather an army to storm the gates of heaven if heaven can simply will your army out of existence."
After a long moment, Dragon found his voice again. "You... you are not joining us, are you?" The question was rhetorical - his tone made it clear he already knew the answer, and that this conversation had shifted from recruitment assessment to something else entirely.