"Commander of the East Army, Bello Betty."
Adrian had expected the answer, but he was still surprised by Dragon's decisiveness. Without a moment's hesitation, Dragon chose his son over his subordinate. It was the only sensible choice. If Dragon hesitated, Luffy would die, and the sacrifices of the Revolutionary Army would be for nothing. With his second-in-command, Sabo, already captured, Dragon was forced to agree. Even though he knew Adrian was setting a trap, he had to jump in.
"You stinking man, don't even think about it! Mr. Dragon will never agree to your ridiculous request!" A purple-haired woman in the crowd, dressed in revealing clothes, picked up a large flag and waved it. It was Bello Betty, the user of the Pump-Pump Fruit.
Whoosh!
Invisible waves spread outward from her flag.
"After that encouragement, I feel a constant surge of strength!"
"Yes! Mr. Dragon, we will never compromise!"
"Everyone, let's fight for the Revolutionary Army!"
The members of the Revolutionary Army, who had been cowering in fear of Adrian, now had their fighting spirits reignited.
"With a single sentence and one action, she can ignite the inner strength of others. The Pump-Pump Fruit is truly something else." Seeing the fruit's effect, Adrian was even more determined. If Dragon didn't agree to his terms, he wouldn't hesitate to kill every last one of them.
"Okay! I hope you can keep your promise, otherwise... the Revolutionary Army will never rest until you are gone." Dragon looked at Adrian with a cold stare.
The excited members of the Revolutionary Army suddenly fell silent. They stared wide-eyed at Dragon, unable to believe what he had just said. The flag in Bello Betty's hands fell to the ground. It was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head; she felt cold from the inside out.
How could he give me up so easily? The faith in her heart began to crumble.
"Mr. Dragon..." Betty's voice trembled as she looked at him with disbelief. But Dragon turned his head, avoiding her gaze.
"Dragon, we absolutely cannot agree to his request! You don't know how important Betty's ability is to the army. Without her, our future development will suffer..." The Queen Ivankov suddenly emerged from the crater. Just before he passed out, he had injected himself with the Embryo Healing Hormone. In the original story, it was this technique that saved Luffy, though at the cost of several years of his life.
"Ivankov, his true strength is likely far greater than what he has shown. If we fight in sea, we have no chance of winning!" Dragon glanced in the direction where the escort ships had disappeared. "Let's go," he said in an absolute, unquestionable tone.
At this critical moment, every second counted. Luffy's life was on the line. Dragon had to rescue him before the escort ships reached Marineford. Although he still didn't know what Adrian was planning, he had a hunch. He didn't want to be drawn into the war between the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates. If they were to be associated with pirates, the Revolutionary Army would lose the trust of the people, and their credibility would plummet. The conflict between pirates and civilians was far more acute than the oppression by the World Government. Luffy's status as a supernova was already giving Dragon a headache; there was no need to get involved in another war.
"But... fine, let's go," Ivankov said, gritting his teeth and nodding. At that moment, he chose to trust Dragon's judgment.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind blew, and the large ship carrying the Revolutionary Army shot forward like an arrow, quickly disappearing into the thick fog ahead.
"Haha, I was foolishly planning to dedicate my youth, but in the end, this is what happened..." Bello Betty slumped to the ground, her expression grim. "Saving people all over the world, leading people to freedom... it's all a lie. If I can't even choose my own destiny, how can I save others?"
Being at the age of 32, she had been fighting alongside the Revolutionary Army for almost a decade. She never would have thought that the organization she trusted most—the one she would have died for—would abandon her so easily. Disheartened, Betty completely lost her will to fight.
"Since you want to pursue the truth, you have to see it through to the end. The Revolutionary Army's small-time fights can't accomplish anything significant. How about joining me and changing the world together?" Adrian's voice was seductive as he spoke from behind her.
The girl, in a terrible mood, immediately retorted, "If even Dragon... that man, couldn't do it, why should I believe you can?"
Facing her question, Adrian was in no hurry to answer. He slowly walked up to Betty, extended a finger to lift her chin, and looked at her intently. He smirked.
"Your dress is well-fitting!"