Heavenly Capital of the Sky Island, in the hangar of the Revolutionary Army.
Dragon worked diligently all day, sitting at a table with Belo Betty and Karasu, drafting further plans for the Revolutionary Army.
"Hahaha! These guys describe Alabasta as the Kingdom of Hell, ruled by a Devil King!" laughed Belo Betty when she saw the World Government's article on her mobile phone on the Forum.
"In some sense, this statement isn't incorrect," Karasu's face darkened. He hadn't been resting well lately. At that moment, he was browsing the Taobao site, adding one item after another to his shopping cart. "That guy is truly a devil. He invented such a devilish thing. And this country really is a country from hell. I just can't keep my money. I just finished spending it. Oh, did this guy add bonuses for me again?! Devil!" he said as he continued to add items to the cart.
"Karasu, did you spend all the money again?!" Dragon's face showed deep wrinkles, and deep down he felt growing regret. They were here to earn money to fuel the revolution, not to eat, drink, and be merry!
"Boss, I just can't stop!" - Karasu put on a suffering expression, scratched his head, and then extended his hand. "As long as I have hands, I can't stop buying things on Taobao! It's just too good of a deal!"
Belo Betty patted him on the shoulder, feeling some sympathy.
"Three months have passed and not only us, but even our soldiers, who received their share of money, have spent it on damned Taobao! He's definitely a devil! Could it be that he has such power and wealth because of this Taobao?!"
Dragon's heart bled, but he also understood well that in this materially rich country, it was incredibly unrealistic to forbid soldiers from enjoying the money they earned. After all, in the past, they even had to eat grass during revolutions in other countries.
If he simply forced them to surrender not just a part, but all their earned money to the treasury of the Revolutionary Army, who would want to continue following him?
"It's not our fault. The fact is, this country is too strong. It's strong enough to corrupt the hearts of soldiers. This is, damn it, Alabasta! Over 5,000 soldiers have told me that they want to stay in this country and don't want to start a revolution. That's it!" Dragon slammed his palm on the table, infuriated.
For Belo Betty and Karasu, such behavior from their leader had long become commonplace.
The three of them decided not to let other commanders know about the situation here.
These 5,000 people would be the last. They are not fervent followers of the revolution. Perhaps for them, it's not so bad — to leave the Revolutionary Army and start a family here.
"Probably time," Dragon exhaled. Looking at Belo and Karasu, he silently dialed a number on the Den Den Mushi phone.
"Yeah?" a rough voice responded, and the snail opened its mouth wide, revealing white teeth.
"Ivankov," Dragon began with a serious expression. "How are things on your end?"
"Fortunately, leader, the people are saved, and the soldiers have been able to eat. There's still plenty of money, I ordered the cheapest food for the revolutionary soldiers! Things are much better now than in the past, thanks to your hard work," Ivankov said gratefully.
Dragon slowly raised his head and looked at Belo and Karasu, and then felt very guilty.
"Ivankov, you don't actually need to economize."
It was difficult for him to lie. But he had already lost more than 5,000 soldiers.
It's not entirely a lie.
"Is Alabasta really such a terrible country!? Is the World Government telling the truth?!" Ivankov said angrily. "It's a hellish country with a Devil King! They must be defeated!"
"Ahem, ahem, I'll figure it out. Be careful," Dragon said, hanging up with a heavy expression. Then he called the other commanders and finally sighed in relief.
A great sense of guilt!
But no matter the guilt he felt, he wouldn't tell the other fighters the truth about Alabasta. It's easy to transition from thrift to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury back to thrift. It's not that he didn't trust Ivankov and the others. It's just that as long as Ivankov and the other commanders believed Alabasta was evil, all the fighters would believe it too.
This country had become so strong and enticing that even a heart as firm as steel could be swayed. Enjoying the local life made it hard to resist its influence unless one was a warrior with deep hatred, and that type of warrior was the most suitable.
What was even more frightening was that no one was denied the opportunity to stay in Alabasta. And this gradually weakened the power of the Revolutionary Army.
He didn't want to use or deceive people, but the liberation of suffering countries truly required their strength.
This was where the most perplexing question lay for Dragon.
Belo Betty looked at the Revolutionary Army's flag, which they hadn't used in a long time, raised it, and then planted it in the ground:
"Chief, it's not your fault. The people here live a life that even the success of our revolution can't bring. Everyone is constantly full of motivation and happiness, and I can feel it. This is a happy country."
"There's no doubt it's all thanks to King Ezekiel." "If there were no countries left in this world that we needed to save, I would be ready to abandon everything and live here," Karasu said slowly, admitting his admiration for King Ezekiel.
Dragon recalled the words of the blind warrior and fell silent for a moment before shaking hands with both of them.
"We can try to formally cooperate with Alabasta. As a condition, we can transfer to Alabasta those countries that are unable to fend for themselves."
The Revolutionary Army had been overthrowing the governments of countries that oppressed their people, like the Goa Kingdom. Some of them had royal families, while others had governments, but all were corrupt regimes that needed to be abolished, ultimately transferring power to the people, who would re-elect a King or Government.
However, there were also some countries that were completely incapable of taking care of themselves. These were the most challenging for the Revolutionary Army to deal with.