"The Navy. You're a little late."
Saint Saturn glanced at Kuzan.
"But at least you had the sense to stabilize the battlefield immediately."
Kuzan gave a slight bow and stood behind the Five Elders alongside Borsalino, who had just landed.
In truth, when Kuzan learned that the World Government had ordered him to head to Baldigo, he had prepared and set out as quickly as possible.
Of course, he hadn't come here to help the World Government. If the Revolutionary Army's headquarters had truly been discovered, he intended to see whether he could find an opportunity to rescue some of them.
"There's not much point in arriving now."
As he spoke, Saint Mars looked toward the Cloaked Man. "You can leave whenever you want now. Since you refuse to tell us why you stayed, we can't allow you to keep delaying us."
The Five Elders exchanged glances.
They were just about to launch another attack when a voice suddenly appeared in Saint Saturn and the others' minds.
A Celestial Dragon had been killed.
The notification from Lord Imu made the Five Elders instantly look up, their eyes locking onto Rowen.
So... this was his objective?
At that moment, far away in Mary Geoise, the shadow clone was easily cut down by the arriving God's Knights.
The clone dispersed, and Rowen, as the main body, received the information as well.
"Oh? Looks like you know now too. So, you came to raid my home, and I can do the same thing and raid yours, can't I?"
Rowen looked at the five old bastards with a smile.
"I'm actually glad you were able to teleport directly from Mary Geoise to here and all come together. Otherwise, my clone might have been discovered the moment it entered Mary Geoise."
"In fact, if you'd kept questioning me just now, I might really have had to reveal a few more facts to buy time. But now, there's no need."
"Goodbye, you five old bastards in Mary Geoise!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Rowen casually waved his hand and disappeared without hesitation.
"Boom!"
The ice shattered as Saint Saturn's staff slammed into it.
Nearby, Saint Nusjuro's expression was extremely ugly, and the First Generation Kitetsu in his hand remained unsheathed.
The emotions of the Five Elders surged violently, terrifying bolts of black lightning exploding across the ice.
After a long while, Saint Saturn finally opened his closed eyes.
"We failed... How many times has it been now?"
Saint Warcury answered, "Including Sabaody Archipelago and Loguetown... this is the third time."
"Bang!"
Nusjuro smashed the ice with the sheath of his sword and roared furiously, "That lunatic who would do anything for revenge! It was merely an ordinary Celestial Dragon! What exactly is he trying to accomplish? Is he planning to kill every last Celestial Dragon?!"
"Boom!"
Before he could finish, a fierce gale swept across the battlefield. A slash landed in front of the surrounding Marines, its impact and the cracking of the ice drowning out his words.
This only made Nusjuro, who already disliked him, even more furious. He raised his head and glared at Rowen.
"Vice Admiral Rowen, what are you trying to do? Drawing your sword in front of us?"
Rowen's shadow clone gave a slight bow and replied respectfully, "I merely felt that if they died here because they happened to hear something they shouldn't have, it wouldn't be worthwhile for the World Government."
At this point, Saint Saturn spoke.
"Saint Nusjuro, you let something slip just now."
Saint Peter said indifferently, "With the Navy's forces already stretched thin, we've repeatedly had to increase our strength to maintain the balance. Don't erase more of the Navy's combat power over such a trivial matter."
Nusjuro, who had been repeatedly blocked by the other two, was left speechless. Seeing this, Rowan apologized once again before turning to the arriving naval officers and saying, "The enemy has escaped. Take everyone back to the ships."
After what had just happened, anyone with even a little bit of sense could understand the meaning behind Rowan's slash.
The five rulers of the world's highest authority had collectively left Mary Geoise to deal with the Revolutionary Army, only to be outmaneuvered by that cloaked man from the Revolutionary Army.
Although they hadn't heard everything clearly, they could tell that the reason the Five Elders had become enraged and the words they had overheard.
The middle-ranking officers might be fine, but the lower-ranking soldiers would definitely be sacrificed.
For a moment, most of the naval soldiers returning to their ships cast grateful looks at Rowan.
Saturn, who saw this, silently approved.
Someone bold enough to oppose the Warlord system naturally had no small ambitions if anything, his ambitions were enormous.
By winning people's favor and spreading his prestige throughout the entire Navy, if he received the World Government's support and the opportunity arose, becoming Fleet Admiral in the future would not be impossible.
"Let's go. It's time to leave."
The Five Elders walked side by side. Once they returned to their warship, they set sail for Mary Geoise.
The death of one of the Celestial Dragons they kept around wasn't particularly important in itself.
But if all the Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise were killed, the significance would be completely different.
On the other side, Borsalino and Kuzan exchanged a glance but said nothing, each making their way back to their respective ships.
However, on the return journey, the G-5 branch's warship had eight or nine additional Vice Admirals aboard.
Among them, Kuzan had brought the giant Vice Admiral Lacroix, along with Rear Admiral Lonz.
Borsalino, however, didn't come over, since he had no reason to.
Most of these Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals had boarded the G-5 ship to thank Rowan for that slash just now, using it as an excuse to come aboard.
"I've heard the name Vice Admiral Rowan for a long time, but when the Warlord incident was announced, I happened to be out on a mission. I missed the righteous actions you took at Headquarters."
"If it weren't for Vice Admiral Rowan this time, we might have been fine, but the soldiers below us would have been reassigned and silently killed..."
He didn't finish the sentence, but everyone among the Navy's middle-ranking officers understood what he meant.
Since the matter involved the death of a Celestial Dragon, they would do everything possible to keep the information from spreading, all for the sake of preserving the so-called dignity of the descendants of the gods.
A casual remark from one of the Five Elders, made without a second thought, could potentially cost more than a thousand lives.
On the G-5 warship, after everyone had finished praising Rowan, someone naturally steered the conversation toward the emergency deployment that had brought them here.
The World Government had sent the order to Marine Headquarters at Marineford. Under the emergency mobilization, the only one who hadn't come was Sakazuki, who was still recovering from his injuries.
Aside from him, practically everyone who could reach Baldigo in the shortest possible time had arrived.
"So the person just now was the Cloaked Man? I thought the Cloaked Man usually appeared wearing a mask?"
"You idiot. We all know that he can change his appearance. In that case, isn't simply changing his face more convenient than wearing a mask?"
At this point, someone asked Kuzan, "With his teleportation ability, the Cloaked Man is practically impossible to capture. We came all this way, only for him to just turn around and leave. The five World Government elders even came down personally. Surely there was more to it than this, right?"
Kuzan yawned and glanced at him.
"Don't ask about things you shouldn't. Even if you knew the details, it wouldn't do you any good."
That left several of them speechless.
Rowan, however, waved his hand and said, "Regardless, our purpose as the Navy is simply to reduce the number of pirates on these seas. Even if we have our grievances, this is the most suitable compromise for the time being."
"The Warlord system is about to be implemented. In the future, perhaps all of you will have moments when you feel frustrated by it, but I want you all to remember one thing..."
"Because we exist, pirates won't run rampant. There will only be seven people with the legal right to plunder, rather than countless others."
"Fortunately, although the title of the Four Emperors caused the pirates to become restless not long ago, the clarification in that newspaper also eased the unrest. The pirates have begun fighting among themselves. The seas should be able to remain peaceful for a while in the future."
After shifting the Navy officers' attention toward the New Era newspaper, Rowan fell silent once more.
Going this far was already the limit of what he could do. What he had said could be regarded as an attempt to win over their loyalty.
If he said much more about the true nature of the New Era newspaper, however, he might end up drawing unwanted attention.
Sure enough, the group of middle-ranking officers began discussing that newspaper from a while ago.
It wasn't until quite some time later that they finally returned to their respective ships.
Only then did Kuzan have the opportunity to speak with Rowan in private.
Major General Lonz and Giant Vice Admiral Lacroix were sent back to their respective ships by him.
Kuzan didn't reveal a single thing about Rowan's identity. The Revolutionary Army's undercover operatives all operated through single-line communication.
Only Kuzan knew Rowan's identity, while only the three people he had personally recruited knew his.
In fact, those three people knowing each other's identities had only happened by coincidence.
According to protocol, they shouldn't have known one another's identities at all. That would have been the safest arrangement.
Inside the lounge in the ship's cabin, Kuzan looked at Rowan.
"Something this serious happened to the organization, yet I didn't know anything about it. You must have known in advance, right? Otherwise, how could you have acted so naturally just now?"
Rowan pulled over a reclining chair and sat down.
"Even without being informed beforehand, your reaction was pretty good, wasn't it?"
Kuzan sighed.
"I'm not stupid. Even if the Revolutionary Army's headquarters had really been exposed, and the Five Elders used them as leverage to prevent Mr. Spark from leaving, I wouldn't have exposed myself at a time like that."
That piqued Rowan's interest. He looked at Kuzan with a smile.
"So what would you have done?"
Kuzan pondered for a moment before answering, "If Mr. Spark were being threatened, then whatever choice he made could be understood. But any Revolutionary Army members who were captured would inevitably undergo strict interrogation. Whether it was CP from Enies Lobby or the Navy, both sides have ways of doing it."
"Compared to that, the most foolish thing would naturally be exposing myself on the spot. If I can't win and end up getting myself caught as well, Mr. Spark certainly wouldn't want to see that outcome."
Rowan smiled and nodded.
Compared with Borsalino, perhaps Kuzan's acting was a little less convincing.
But anyone capable of becoming one of the future three Admirals—including Sakazuki—was certainly no fool.
"I learned beforehand that the headquarters had been discovered, so we were able to relocate in time. Those Vice Admirals earlier didn't know about it. I assume Sengoku was the one who told you?"
"I can't tell you where the organization is now. After this relocation, the headquarters will change locations at any time."
Kuzan understood, but he still asked where Rowan's real body was, wanting to meet him in person.
Rowan thought about it for a moment before agreeing.
Since Ohara, Kuzan had never truly had a conversation with Rowan's real body.
In fact, as a candidate for Admiral, Kuzan had been overwhelmed with missions these past few years as the number of pirates continued to increase.
He simply hadn't had the time to attend the Revolutionary Army's ideological classes.
It had always been that book that had liberated his way of thinking.
"Wait here."
Rowan turned and opened the lounge door. There wasn't a single Marine in the corridor outside the cabin.
So, in another room, Rowan dispelled his Shadow Clone, transferring its memories back to his real body.
At that moment, Rowan was at the new headquarters preparing for a meeting. He checked the time, thought for a moment, and instantly left the headquarters, arriving inside the G-5 warship's cabin.
He created another Shadow Clone, then used Transformation Jutsu to turn his real body into an ordinary Marine. Together with the Shadow Clone, he returned to the lounge.
"Long time no see, Kuzan."
Rowan extended his hand, but Kuzan froze for a moment.
He quickly remembered what had been said on the deck earlier. Clearly, Mr. Spark had changed his appearance.
Kuzan immediately stood up and awkwardly shook Rowan's hand.
"Mr. Spark, it really has been a long time. Rowan never took me to the organization before, and the only reason I found out about Baldigo this time was because the enemy discovered the headquarters."
Rowan gestured for him to sit down first, while the Shadow Clone stood behind him.
"Actually, according to the rules, you and the members you've recruited should have gone through a period of ideological classes before you could officially become members."
"But as a prospective Admiral on the Navy's side, coupled with how busy the Navy has been these past few years, you can't simply disappear for an extended period. That would arouse suspicion."
Kuzan thought about it and nodded.
"As for the liberation of thought, there are many things I can't understand, so I'll ask Rowan about them. But I agree that I should undergo ideological education and an assessment."
Rowan's true body smiled.
"The organization isn't such a rigid place. Special circumstances naturally call for special treatment. And right now, the organization also needs some help from you."
Kuzan's eyes narrowed slightly. Even though he suppressed his emotions, his excitement was still visible.
"Finally, a mission? I originally thought the organization wouldn't give me any missions until I became a Marine Admiral."
Like Borsalino, Kuzan understood just how important the position of Admiral was.
Compared to that, doing anything extra right now could potentially make people suspicious of him, causing him to lose his chance of becoming an Admiral.
"It isn't anything dangerous."
Rowan thought for a moment, organizing his thoughts before speaking.
"For now, after the Warlord system and the Four Emperors incident, seeds of dissatisfaction have inevitably taken root among the Navy's middle and lower ranks."
"After this, the Warlords' legal right to plunder will inevitably make the Marines feel frustrated. And the struggle for the Four Emperors' positions among the pirates will also be a long-term affair."
"During this period, the organization will send a number of instructors to become Marines. There won't be many of them. I need you to arrange positions for fifteen people."
"Arrange them?"
Kuzan was puzzled for a moment before immediately understanding.
"The instructors are the teachers who give ideological classes, right? Arrange for them to be dispersed among the Navy's middle ranks, and subtly nurture that seed of dissatisfaction?"
"Exactly."
Rowan replied, "After the headquarters was discovered this time, the Five Elders all came out personally, intending to use the organization as leverage to force me to show myself and then prevent me from escaping. But because of certain circumstances, I took the opportunity to visit Mary Geoise again."
"I freed a group of slaves and killed a Celestial Dragon. Since they didn't have the confidence to deal with me afterward, a situation like today's will be difficult to replicate."
"The organization will remain quiet for a while afterward. During this period, I need the Navy to undergo a major change, and these instructors will be the key to that change."
Kuzan nodded slightly.
"Fifteen people shouldn't be a problem. I'll also arrange them based on my understanding of the Vice Admirals at Headquarters."
At this point, Kuzan hesitated before asking, "The New Era newspaper was created by the organization, wasn't it? Oh, right, Mr. Spark, is Black-Arm's General modeled after Teacher Zephyr?"
Rowan smiled.
"Black-Arm's justice will end in tragedy, and Zephyr's justice will also end in tragedy. In my opinion, the title of 'Admiral Who Never Kills' is itself an insult."
"Kuzan... the Revolutionary Army has never been playing a game. Every choice we make will determine whether countless people live or die."
"'All lives are equal' is the core of our ideology. But tearing down the mountain of oppression hanging over the people and making those Celestial Dragons receive the punishment they deserve is equally one of our convictions."
"There has never... been a revolution without bloodshed."
"If we want to change this world, only by all of us joining together can we overthrow them."
Those words reminded Kuzan of much of what he had read in that book. For a while, he began discussing many of its ideas with Rowan's true body.
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