The founding of the Cross Guild was, naturally, Michael's idea.
At that time, Rayleigh and Gaban had not yet fully retired. After hearing Michael lay out his plan, they didn't hesitate in the slightest and joined immediately.
In the manga, Clown Buggy, Crocodile, and Hawk Eyes formed the Cross Guild to place bounties on the Marines.
So, wasn't it just as reasonable for Michael to form a Cross Guild to place bounties on Celestial Dragons and World Government officials?
"Click, click, click... So, even Celestial Dragons cry and wet themselves when they're being executed, huh?"
"Morgans, the way you're smiling while filming this execution scene... you look like a complete perverted serial killer."
"No matter how perverted I am, I'll never be worse than you, Michael."
"I'm just taking out the trash, that's all."
Michael patted Morgans on the shoulder and said,
"No need to thank me."
Morgans shook his head.
The reason he agreed to join Michael's plan this time was because he truly wanted to.
As a journalist, he had been threatened by the Celestial Dragons and the World Government more than once.
Now that he was witnessing them suffer, he was beyond thrilled.
With Rayleigh, Gaban, and Gloriosa's power, killing a few Celestial Dragons was hardly any effort.
Before long, the corpses of the Celestial Dragons were already strewn across the entire ground.
But...
One remained.
Rosward's four-year-old fool of a son — Charlos.
"Michael, this is the last one," Gaban glanced at Gloriosa and Rayleigh, then gritted his teeth and stepped forward.
"If they can't bring themselves to kill a child, then I'll do it."
"Gaban, you've already done enough."
Michael shook his head and picked Charlos up off the ground.
Charlos looked as though he'd been scared completely witless by the scene in front of him. Aside from minimal breathing, he didn't even blink.
Michael's action made Rayleigh and the others secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
They had no psychological burden killing Celestial Dragons — they even felt a cathartic sense of revenge.
But when it came to a four-year-old child — even if he was a Celestial Dragon — they just couldn't bring themselves to do it.
Even though the Celestial Dragons had harmed countless civilian children, that didn't mean they were willing to stoop to the same level and abandon their own humanity.
Michael noticed their expressions and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
He had stopped Gaban not to save Charlos, but to prevent these pirates from losing their humanity entirely.
As for Charlos...
He had another purpose.
...
After Morgans finished filming, he immediately returned to his headquarters with all his equipment. Over the next few days, he would make tens of thousands of copies of the footage and anonymously distribute them to every prominent figure across the seas.
Michael, meanwhile, carried Charlos and, along with Rayleigh, Gaban, and Gloriosa, sailed a half-circle around the sea, evading two rounds of Marine patrols. They arrived at the massive vessel used by the Celestial Dragons for travel.
At that moment, the entire Sabaody Archipelago had entered full lockdown mode.
Under Vice Admiral Gion's command, the Marines had begun an intense search and surveillance operation focused on the area where the Celestial Dragons had disappeared.
"Tsk tsk, your Marines really are obedient. The Celestial Dragons go missing for such a short time, and you're already trying to seal off the entire Sabaody Archipelago."
After finishing off a CP9 agent left behind on the ship, Gloriosa turned to Michael. Her tone carried more than a hint of mockery.
Stereotypes aren't overturned with just a few words.
Especially not for those who had seen firsthand the horrors of the God Valley Incident.
But Michael simply shrugged indifferently and said with a smile:
"They're just going through the motions. This level of response is nothing compared to when I joined Gion in the Sabaody Archipelago purge."
"I've heard Shakky mention that purge before. Bold action... and very effective."
Rayleigh walked over with Gaban from the other side of the vessel.
"We've finished checking the other half. All the guards have been dealt with too."
"I know you probably want to call those purging methods 'despicable' or 'shameless,' because I think so too."
Michael's smile took on a faint, sinister edge.
"Just remember — I'm no righteous hero. If our paths ever truly diverge, I won't hesitate to kill you."
Michael didn't bother hiding his intentions. It was precisely because he laid all his cards on the table that Rayleigh and the others skipped the doubt and jumped straight to weighing pros and cons.
"Now, you're not killing this little Celestial Dragon, and you've brought us onto their ship — what new scheme are you brewing?"
Facing Gloriosa's question, Michael nodded.
"You truly understand me, Gloriosa."
He pointed at the massive vessel that looked like a floating fortress and said:
"Look at this ship. How about using it as the Cross Guild's mobile base of operations?"
"And you guys already checked the treasure vaults on board, right? The Celestial Dragons came on this trip to play and spend — they should've brought a fortune with them."
Rayleigh froze, then looked around again.
Using this giant ship as the Cross Guild's base?
That did seem a lot safer than establishing one on some island!
As for the treasure vault...
"In all my years hunting treasure with Roger, I don't think we ever found this much!"
"Hahaha! Obviously!"
Michael laughed at Rayleigh's stunned expression.
"You think treasure hunting is enough to match the wealth of Celestial Dragons, who control the global economy and are supported by the entire world? Where do you get your confidence?"
"Ahem!"
Rayleigh coughed to hide his embarrassment.
"Anyway, from my rough estimation, it's worth at least five billion Belly."
"Five billion... hmm, more than enough to fund the launch of the Cross Guild."
Michael nodded and grinned.
"Alright, no time to waste. You guys need to vanish into the Grand Line with this treasure-laden ship."
"...This ship is still under Marine surveillance, you know!"
For once, Gloriosa didn't scoff, but raised a very real concern.
Rayleigh and Gaban also looked at Michael.
After just a few encounters, they'd already developed the habit of deferring to his judgment.
"Oh, that? Simple."
Michael lifted Charlos, who was as limp as a rag doll and totally unresponsive.
"Isn't it this little thing's turn to shine now?"
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