"By the way, how did you find me? I thought my concealment skills were pretty decent."
Kong naturally couldn't tell the truth, but he couldn't think of a lie on the spot.
"Uh..."
"It's Kong's intuition!"
Unlike Kong's fluster, Paimon spoke with great confidence and a hint of pride.
"Intuition?"
"Yep! Kong's intuition is always very accurate. Even the betrayal of that Yonko crew member, Blackbeard, was predicted by him."
"Oh? That's quite a talent. I presume Master Kong hasn't mastered Haki yet?"
Kong felt embarrassed. His own talent wasn't particularly strong; the fact that he'd only mastered two of the Six Styles in three years shows that.
However, it wasn't extremely poor either. If he'd spread his efforts evenly, he could have mastered the basics of the Six Styles.
It wasn't extremely poor either. If he'd spread his efforts evenly, he could have mastered the basics of the Six Styles.
He focused all his energy on Iron Body and Paper Arts, mainly because these two ultimate techniques were related to the most mysterious power in the One Piece world: Haki.
Paper Arts was a lower-level version of Observation Haki, and Iron Body was a lower-level version of Armament Haki. By mastering these two, he could grasp the fundamentals of two of the three types of Haki.
As for Conqueror's Haki, Kong knew his salaryman-like, laid-back attitude made it basically impossible, but it was also a fundamental requirement for a Marine.
A Marine mastering Conqueror's Haki? That would cause a major incident.
At least, he hadn't heard of any Marine possessing Conqueror's Haki, not even the three Admirals or his own teacher, Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
Those who possess Conqueror's Haki are those with the ambition to dominate the world, so Conqueror's Haki is also jokingly called "Rebellious Haki." If you don't have a rebellious spirit, you can't awaken Conqueror's Haki.
"No... My talent is too poor. Haki is still a long way off."
"It's alright, good things take time. Your intuitive talent, Master Kong, might be suited to focusing on Observation Haki training."
"Yes, thank you for your guidance, Mr. Dragon."
Dragon kept his eyes closed, but Kong knew this man's Observation Haki was likely already at its peak; opening or closing his eyes made no difference.
Anyway, he hadn't intended to escape from the beginning. Since he was being held hostage, he might as well accept it. But looking at Dragon, Kong suddenly had many questions he'd never considered before.
"Mr. Dragon, I have a few questions I'd like to ask."
"Please, ask away."
Kong scratched his head, and finally spoke.
"Kizaru... Admiral Borsalino... is he one of yours?"
Dragon slowly opened his eyes, his pupils focusing on Kong.
"Why do you suspect that?"
"Just... intuition?"
Dragon sat up straight, his gaze fixed on Kong, making his hair stand on end.
"I underestimated your talent..."
Kong wanted to slap himself twice after hearing that.
Damn it, a joke from his past life online, unexpectedly came true. He'd learned the Revolutionary Army's biggest secret.
Kong awkwardly smiled.
"I understand. Admiral Kizaru isn't one of yours."
Dragon looked at him with a smirk.
"Interesting. Unfortunately, he is indeed one of us."
Kong and Paimon were almost in tears.
"No... he really isn't!"
"No, he is."
Paimon fainted directly into Kong's arms.
"We're dead, Kong. Remember to put chicken legs on my grave..."
Dragon laughed.
"I won't kill you. If I really wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have told you about Borsalino. You should also know that with Vegapunk around, he can extract information from even the dead."
"So, you're..."
"Telling you a little bit about the Revolutionary Army's trump cards."
Kong gave a wry smile.
"You're definitely trying to drag me into the Revolutionary Army..."
Dragon said,
"That's indeed what I'm thinking. But you don't need to choose now. Perhaps when you see the most rotten parts of the World Government, you'll be able to make your choice."
Kong didn't argue; he couldn't persuade Dragon.
"Let's talk about the future later... Anyway, I'll keep my mouth shut. You can rest assured."
"No, the reason I told you is that someday, you might need Kizaru's help."
"...Can you wish me well? I really don't want to join any revolution, nor do I want to leave the Marines..."
"Fine, I won't mention it. But can you tell me how you sensed something was wrong with Kizaru? Even if it was intuition, there must have been some clues, right?"
Kong thought for a moment.
"Of the three Admirals, only he punches out on time every day. He seems really laid-back. Does that count?"
Dragon twitched his mouth.
"I understand."
"Then... can we go ashore and take a look?"
"Of course, I haven't restricted your freedom."
"Hehehe..."
After Kong and Paimon left the cabin, a crow flew into the ship and landed on Dragon's shoulder.
"The old man's coming? Well, that's expected. Let's temporarily cause him some trouble and stall for time... Oh, and send a message to Borsalino, tell him not to slack off so much."
"Caw!"
The crow cawed, then flew out of the cabin, and Dragon stood up.
"Red Hair... you were right. The East Blue does have many surprises... I just wonder if I can bet the future of the revolution on him..."
"Whoosh!"
A gust of wind blew past, and Dragon disappeared from the spot.
Rogge Town streets. Kong and Paimon stood here once again.
"This is too hard... I was still discovered..."
Paimon quietly leaned into Kong's ear.
"Kong, after you talked to that Mr. Dragon... I feel like I've gained a new ability."
"What kind of ability?"
"Well... it's like I can summon monsters, and I use Belis to summon them."
"NANI!?"
Paimon's words made Kong shout, attracting the attention of several passersby.
"Sorry, sorry, I just remembered I left the stove on at home..."
After apologizing to the passersby, Kong pulled Paimon to a corner.
"What's going on?"
Even Paimon was a little puzzled.
"I don't know either. It's like I have a new interface in my mind, and I can summon Slimes, Hilichurls, Fatui, Treasure Hoarders, but it seems like I can't upgrade them."
Kong immediately lost interest.
"I'd be crazy to use Primogems to summon these..."
"No... these are summoned using Belis, and... it costs one thousand Belis per summon. No upgrades needed, they're instantly materialized."
Kong was about to say that spending a thousand Belis on a Slime was useless; he'd rather eat an extra dish, but then he suddenly changed his mind and realized something was wrong.
"Wait... you mean, they're materialized instantly?"
"Yep! I also think it's useless. Summoning them just means more mouths to feed."
Kong gasped.
"Damn it, this is forcing me to rebel."
Summoning Hilichurls, compared to summoning characters in Genshin Impact, doesn't significantly improve one's own strength, but undoubtedly, the extremely low summoning cost makes them the most cost-effective cannon fodder.
In the Grand Line, pirate bounties start in the tens of millions. Catching just one and exchanging it can instantly increase your army by ten thousand troops. If he gave this ability to Dragon, he could overthrow and rebuild the World Government in minutes.
Kong's identity is a Marine; catching pirates is his duty, so he can't get those bounties. To build his own army, he must abandon his identity as a Marine and become a pirate hunter.
This Hilichurl summoning system, both in terms of ability and summoning method, basically spells out two words:
[Revolution!]
The three major organizations in the world—the World Government, the pirates, and the Revolutionary Army—each have their own characteristics.
Pirates focus more on top-tier individual combat power. High-level pirate crews rarely have weaklings; any one of them can easily defeat a dozen Marines.
The Revolutionary Army, though Kong didn't know much about them in his past life, places more emphasis on teamwork and the number of personnel than on high-level combat power. Of course, the Revolutionary Army also has some high-level fighters, but not many.
The World Government is a dominant force that combines both, possessing a vast number of Marines and a significant number of high-level officers. Otherwise, they wouldn't be the sole rulers of the world.
Now let's look at Kong's situation.
Genshin Impact represents high-level individual combat power. Once upgraded to level 90, those hero characters can be materialized and join the adventure; none of them are weak.
Hilichurls represent low-level group combat power. They aren't strong individually, but their numbers are vast. Even if the three Admirals are incredibly powerful, they can only kill one with a single punch; there will always be a time when they get tired. If there are enough of them, even Slimes can overwhelm the three Admirals. This is why the World Government is more worried about the Revolutionary Army than pirates.
Now, Kong's cheat is undoubtedly an extremely weakened version of the World Government model. As long as he continuously defeats bounty pirates and earns money, he will eventually have the qualifications to challenge the World Government!