"Got it."
Dragon gave him one last glance before turning around and finding a communication device on the desk.
"Immediately arrange for someone who can administer the drugs to come here. Also, this place needs to be isolated from the vivre card signal."
A mechanical voice came through the earpiece.
"The doctor is currently in the laboratory. Please verify your authorization. Once authorization has been confirmed, personnel and medication will be allocated according to your clearance level."
Dragon frowned and took out the tablet he used for work. After operating it for a while, his authorization was verified, and the research institute began making the necessary preparations.
While waiting, Dragon thought through everything that had happened.
Previously, Mr. had told him to remind Ginny to pay attention to her own safety and, preferably, to carry the Den Den Mushi that could contact Mr. with her at all times.
It hadn't been long before something went wrong.
That meant Mr. must have known that something was wrong. At the moment, they only knew the outcome and had no idea what had caused it. There was simply too little information.
Or... perhaps it had come from Mr.'s intelligence network within the Marines, just like what happened with the Olga Kingdom.
Time passed minute by minute. Ginny, still wearing her wedding dress, sat to the side with a solemn expression.
As the Eastern Army's commander, if she had been targeted, it meant that the recent activities of the Revolutionary Army throughout the East Blue had probably attracted attention.
Fortunately, thanks to the Flying Nimbus, she had relied on high-speed flight whenever carrying out operations in the East Blue.
Their operational deployments were also communicated through one-way channels designed to prevent eavesdropping, so there was a high probability that the identities of the specific Revolutionary Army members in the East Blue had not been exposed.
And... that was precisely why Mr. had immediately ordered the Eastern Army to maintain silence.
However... their large-scale activities in the East Blue would inevitably make the enemy more vigilant.
Over the years, the Revolutionary Army's development throughout the East Blue, especially on the large islands such as Clover Island, as well as in many different countries, had grown far beyond what it had been in the past.
"Ah."
Just as the two of them were thinking things over, while Bruno continued lying on the floor in silence, Rowan appeared beneath the Flying Thunder God kunai hanging in the office.
"Yo? Were you waiting for me?"
Rowan found himself a chair and sat down. He glanced at Bruno on the floor, then looked toward the two tense-looking people.
"Although this time was indeed somewhat dangerous, this guy possesses the Door-Door Fruit, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit. His ability allows him to open doors anywhere, enabling spatial traversal, and he can bring other people along with him."
"If he had succeeded this time, Ginny would most likely have been sent to Mary Geoise immediately. At present, that's the only place where I can't use my teleportation ability."
As soon as he finished speaking, Bruno, who had been pretending to be unconscious, raised his head and looked over.
What surprised him was how well this man understood his Devil Fruit ability.
Dragon frowned deeply. "If that had happened, then we would have had no choice but to confront Mary Geoise head-on."
Rowan shook his head slightly.
"Not we. Me. At present, they don't have a deep understanding of us. So even though the Revolutionary Army has developed to its current level, the only person they truly care about is still me."
"Especially... after I infiltrated Mary Geoise with a clone once. That snot-nosed Celestial Dragon should still be important to them."
At this point, Ginny spoke up.
"Are we safe now?"
Rowan replied,
"We still need to analyze how much they learned about the East Blue. But ordering our people to maintain silence immediately is also extremely important."
As he said this, Rowan glanced at Bruno.
"This guy's Devil Fruit ability is too special. That's why, after driving a seastone nail into his body, I sent him back here instead of killing him. If we kill him, then we'll have to constantly guard against them finding this Devil Fruit again later."
Dragon nodded.
"An ability that can achieve spatial transportation really is troublesome. Imprisoning him is the best option. That's also the reason Impel Down exists."
Rowan added,
"That's not all. The Door-Door Fruit's ability is also very useful to us. Although this guy definitely won't cooperate, we don't need his cooperation to draw his blood."
Lineage Factor.
Dragon immediately thought of the term. This was also one of the largest projects currently being researched at Vegapunk's laboratory.
Back in Baldimore, it was precisely because the existence of the Lineage Factor had been discovered that the World Government absorbed the MADS research group, which had originally been an independent underground research institute, and Vegapunk was directly relocated to Punk Hazard.
So... the Lineage Factor could replicate Devil Fruit abilities?
"Ding-dong."
The doorbell to Dragon's office rang. After he gave permission, the door automatically opened.
A researcher walked in carrying a small box.
"Chief."
Dragon nodded.
"This is an urgent matter, so we need to interrogate this guy immediately. Also, start setting up the isolation equipment right away."
The researcher looked at Bruno, who was lying on the floor, clearly not particularly concerned about the reason behind all this.
There were still many things to deal with at the research institute. After confirming the identity of the target with Dragon, he immediately opened the small box and took out a syringe.
The entire process was smooth and efficient.
He merely showed Rowan the appropriate respect and didn't even glance at Ginny in her wedding dress. After installing the isolation equipment in the office, he bowed slightly toward Rowan and left.
After Bruno was forcibly injected with the drug, his entire demeanor changed.
His eyes became vacant. Although he tried to force himself to remain conscious, he was completely unable to do so.
Inside his mind, his memories began playing like a film reel, seemingly helping him recall everything.
Watching the time, Dragon waited for three minutes before asking directly, "Time... Location, East Blue, Loguetown. Tell us the entire plan for this operation."
Bruno spoke immediately.
"Objective of this operation: Ginny. Transport her to Mary Geoise using my ability. Purpose: Use the target as leverage to force the Cloaked Man to personally come and rescue her."
Dragon thought for a moment.
"Tell us everything from the moment this mission was issued until its execution."
Bruno was silent for a while, as images began flashing through his mind.
Starting from when he was notified of his transfer while in CP9, all the way to the operation in Loguetown, he described every detail.
The account was largely exactly as Rowan had predicted. The only thing worth noting was the meeting with the Celestial Dragon.
Rowan specifically asked whether the Celestial Dragon they had met was wearing a glass bubble, and whether he was the kind of foolish, runny-nosed Celestial Dragon.
Bruno's answer was no.
Then his identity became almost self-evident.
Just as Rowan had previously suspected, the one targeting Ginny was probably not some powerless, worthless Celestial Dragon. It was very likely someone from the God's Knights.
The key to this was the incurable disease related to the later experiment that caused the Blue Jade Scales.
But those were things Bruno himself could not possibly know.
Seeing how many questions Rowan had asked, Dragon simply waited.
Five minutes later, Bruno's head tilted to one side and he collapsed unconscious, foaming at the mouth.
His eyes had rolled back, the excessive strain of recalling his memories having overwhelmed his brain.
Dragon looked at Rowan.
"So there should be a deeper reason why Ginny was targeted, right?"
Rowan tapped his fingers against the desk.
"I don't know the exact reason either. But as you know, during those days when people were being hunted on God Valley, I still retained my memories even though I was only one year old."
"Ginny, you were the one who spread the news through the broadcast signal back then, weren't you?"
Ginny froze for a moment. After recalling the events, she nodded firmly.
"Because I knew something about how Den Den Mushi signals were generated, I found some usable equipment in the homes of the original residents of God Valley. That's how I was eventually able to broadcast the news."
"Is that so...?"
Rowan pondered for a moment.
"There's another fragment. It isn't a memory, but rather something I once saw. I remember Uncle Kuma having a conversation with one of the Five Elders, Saint Saturn, after obtaining the Paw-Paw Fruit."
"Someone who has always regarded other lives as nothing more than insects didn't choose to kill Uncle Kuma back then. Because of that, nearly five hundred people survived the entire God Valley disaster after being sent flying by Uncle Kuma's ability."
Dragon frowned beside him.
"It doesn't make sense, does it? Bartholomew Kuma was eight or nine years old at the time, right? Even if he had the Paw-Paw Fruit's ability, he should still have been deeply traumatized at that age."
Ginny shook her head.
"I don't know the exact circumstances. Kuma and I hadn't reunited yet at that point. Even Big Bro Ivankov wasn't there. It seems that Kuma was the only one who faced that man."
Rowan waved his hand.
"It doesn't matter. We've basically confirmed that the other side deliberately let Uncle Kuma escape, but we have no way of knowing what happened behind the scenes."
As he spoke, Rowan seemed to let out a sigh of relief.
"This time, we were lucky that the worst-case scenario didn't happen."
"The Four Emperors incident caused the pirates to erupt into chaos, and Ginny has recently been rushing all over the East Blue on the Flying Nimbus to carry out missions. Under those circumstances, the enemy couldn't make a move."
"And when she went to Loguetown this time, it just so happened that I accompanied her, and I didn't appear as the Cloaked Man or wear the mask."
Dragon nodded slightly. If it hadn't been for that coincidence, things might really have become troublesome.
Rowan was the Revolutionary Army's mentor, while Ginny was also the person who had raised him. Kuma was going to marry Ginny in just two weeks.
With the bigger picture in mind, the Revolutionary Army might not throw everything it had into an attack on Mary Geoise, but they still wouldn't be able to stop Kuma and Rowan from going there themselves.
"For now, the Eastern Army of the Revolutionary Army in the East Blue will maintain a state of silence. One month from now, we'll begin changing identities in batches."
Rowan offered his recommendation. "Also, Ginny is no longer suitable for staying in the East Blue. Have Roger temporarily take over as the Eastern Army's commander."
Dragon hesitated. "He probably won't agree. Given his personality, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to handle it well."
"Then have Belo Betty temporarily take over instead. Ginny will operate alongside Uncle Kuma, and have Uncle Kuma's deputy go to the East Blue to provide assistance."
Meanwhile, somewhere in the New World, three enormous warships were sailing across the sea.
These massive warships had originally been designed for Vice Admirals from the giant race. Now, in order to transport this oversized object, three of them had been modified and linked side by side before it could be loaded aboard.
The enormous object was sealed inside a wooden crate, with black cloth covering it from within. There was no way to see what was inside with the naked eye.
Borsalino had already tried several times to sense something with his Observation Haki, but he had found nothing.
Could a giant mechanical soldier really be this enormous?
But if it wasn't, then reporting to Mr. later and making a huge blunder on his very first mission would be rather embarrassing.
Borsalino knew the concealment was meant to prevent pirates and kings in the waters they passed through from discovering it. It wasn't specifically being hidden from him.
After all, once this thing arrived at Punk Hazard, he would eventually see it anyway as the person in charge of the Scientific Defense Force.
Besides... he knew very well where his importance to the family lay.
It wasn't the speed he had always been proud of, nor was it his strength, which had already reached the level of a formidable fighter.
It was his identity as someone who was about to become an Admiral, the Marines' highest combat power.
The Marines were not the World Government. For many of them, their sense of justice had originally been pure.
There were even people like Vice Admiral Garp and Teacher Zephyr.
Thinking about the newspaper he had bought from an owl for one hundred Beli the previous night, Borsalino knew that just the name New Era was enough to tell him it was probably the family's work.
And the story of the Black-Wristed General made him think of Zephyr, whom he had never gotten along with very well in the past.
The spread of ideas really was important.
Borsalino looked toward the Marines who were still discussing things nearby.
Their conversations revolved around the Four Emperors, that fellow Sakazuki, and the Black-Wristed General.
In the eyes of these Marines, Borsalino seemed to catch a glimpse of his former self.
When he had just joined the Marines, his sense of justice hadn't been so ambiguous.
"Vice Admiral."
"Hm?"
Borsalino, lazily sipping his tea, looked over. A group of officers who had been idly chatting and bragging among themselves were looking at him.
"Vice Admiral, do you think what this newspaper says is true?"
"Given your position, Vice Admiral, you must know whether the analysis in here is complete nonsense, right?"
The four young men had just been arguing with one another, their faces flushed. Now, they all looked toward Borsalino, hoping he could give them the answer they wanted.
Borsalino finished his last sip of tea and smacked his lips. "The title of Emperor will be able to reduce your pressure in the future. Vice Admiral Sakazuki's justice is absolute justice. As for the Black Arm... an ideology like that will only end in tragedy."
He didn't say whether the newspaper was telling the truth or not. Borsalino merely stated part of what he knew.
But even that small part was enough to give them an answer.
"Absolute justice isn't true justice! We joined the Marines in the first place to protect civilians, not to eliminate pirates!"
"Eliminating pirates is protecting civilians. What's the difference?"
"There's a huge difference! If civilians are sacrificed in order to eliminate pirates, then you've completely put the cart before the horse."
"But sacrificing a small number of people for the sake of stability across the seas in the future is also done to protect the majority of civilians!"
"So if the people being abandoned and sacrificed were from your hometown, would you still say that? I heard you have a childhood sweetheart still living in your village, right?"
The young man who had been arguing fell silent in an instant.
It was true. When disaster hadn't fallen upon your own head, it was easy to convince yourself that you were making sacrifices for the greater good.
But when that same double standard landed on you personally, refusing to accept it became inevitable.
Borsalino suddenly thought of something.
If they really wanted to eliminate all pirates, then all they had to do was block the entrance from Reverse Mountain into the Grand Line and station a high-level combatant there on rotation. Kill every pirate that came through.
If that continued long enough, the pirates of the Grand Line would naturally decrease because they would have no path to grow stronger.
And without the allure of the Grand Line, the combat strength of the pirates in the Four Seas wouldn't be worth mentioning to the Marines.
"Bruru bruru..."
A subordinate came running up from the cabin and handed him a Den Den Mushi. "Vice Admiral."
Borsalino scratched his head before answering the Den Den Mushi, which was connected to the highest authority of the World Government.
"Borsalino."
"Is something the matter, Gorosei?"
The Den Den Mushi mimicked Saturn's voice. "You are required to proceed to Baltigo in the Grand Line at your fastest speed and confirm whether it is the headquarters of the Revolutionary Army. The most important aspects of this operation are speed and secrecy, so you can only fly in your elementalized form to the vicinity of Baltigo. Once there, change your appearance and infiltrate the area to gather intelligence."
"Due to the urgency of the situation, we require someone of your caliber for reconnaissance."
The moment Borsalino addressed him as one of the Gorosei, every Marine on the deck was cleared out.
They couldn't listen in on a conversation with the highest authority of the World Government, and they knew better than to try.
However, upon learning the objective of the operation, Borsalino froze for a moment.
To conceal his momentary distraction, Borsalino asked in confusion, "The Revolutionary Army's headquarters? In that case, we can completely eliminate those criminals."
"But, Gorosei, I'm currently transporting this huge thing, and I don't even know what it is. What if something happens after I leave?"
Saturn replied,
"CP agents will take over the transportation of the mechanical soldier. They don't possess the speed of the Glint-Glint Fruit. Compared to them, you are the most suitable candidate. This is an order. Understood?"
A mechanical soldier?
Uh...
The corner of Borsalino's eye twitched.
So this really was something Sensei could predict in advance?
First, he had just learned that the Revolutionary Army's headquarters had been discovered.
Then, the mission he had originally been entrusted with, that gigantic mechanical soldier, turned out to have been aboard the very ships he had been escorting all along.
This was getting a little stressful.
Borsalino felt that his mouth, which had just finished drinking tea, had suddenly gone dry. Nevertheless, he hurriedly replied, "Understood. I'll head for Baltigo immediately."
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