Chapter Eight: The Price of Freedom
Kaito smiled and nodded toward Dragon. "Thank you." Realizing the weight of the moment was becoming awkward, he quickly changed the subject. "So, what are you going to do now?"
Dragon's eyes turned serious. "I was actually planning to talk to you about that. Providing for all these people will require significant funds. What do you think we should do?"
Kaito looked confused. "Where did you get money before?"
"Mercenary work," Dragon explained. "We helped resistance movements in kingdoms oppressed by tyrannical rulers. We freed slaves, which swelled our ranks, and occasionally, we'd seize gold from royal vaults. Income and expenditure were roughly balanced, with only a small emergency fund set aside."
Kaito furrowed his brow. "But that's not a sustainable system. What if you didn't land a job? You should have kept a larger reserve for situations exactly like this."
Dragon shook his head, his conviction unwavering. "If that happens, it's for one of two reasons: either we've won, and the people have found trustworthy leaders who make them happy, or they've lost the will to fight. In either case, the Revolutionary Army would no longer be needed."
Kaito was taken aback by the man's absolute resolve. After a moment of thought, he nodded in respect. "Yeah… As expected from the father of the new generation's hope. Such resolve is the only thing that gives someone the courage to fight the World Government."
He paused, thinking. "I understand your point, but you can't keep operating like a reactionary force. If you do, you'll face the same financial crises repeatedly. Here's what you should do: form allied pirate groups and have them control and protect territories. That creates a continuous cash flow through... levies." He chose the word carefully. "You can then invest in the territories you've freed—build factories, establish trade routes. That way, you generate profit to fund the revolution while also helping those territories recover and prosper. It's the only way to grow sustainably."
Dragon listened, intrigued. He had asked this question because Koshiro had told him how much of Shimotsuki Village's economic progress was due to Kaito's behind-the-scenes efforts.
"Bear," Kaito said, turning to the large Warlord. "Give him the 100 million Berries' worth of gold you're holding for me. But remember," he added, looking back at Dragon, "this is a loan. Return it once you can."
Dragon was shocked. "Bear… you were carrying that much?"
"He was," Kaito confirmed.
"Well, good. This will support us for a while. Don't worry, I'll pay you back soon," Dragon said, a note of profound relief in his voice.
They returned to the makeshift camp to organize the thousands of freed people. The group was quickly divided into three sections:
1. The largest group consisted of those who wanted to join the Revolutionary Army.
2. The smallest group were those who had powerful backing elsewhere and could return home safely.
3. The final, most heartbreaking group was a special one: the children and those from shattered families.
The third group posed a unique and terrible problem. The children, especially, were terrified of returning to their hometowns, fearing they'd be reported as runaway slaves. Dragon moved among them, his voice a low, reassuring rumble, promising he would arrange new, safe homes for them. He had handled similar situations before.
But then came the real issue—the children's mental states. They were shattered. They stood utterly silent; some wore blank, placid smiles, while others stared with hollow eyes, their bodies hungry but too terrified to even ask for food. The sight was too much. A wave of pure, undiluted fury washed over Kaito, and he unconsciously unleashed a pulse of his Conqueror's Haki, making the very air tremble.
The fish-men gathering nearby felt the unsettling shift in the atmosphere. Fisher Tiger approached Kaito and the others. "This is going to be a problem. I don't know what to do about this."
"What's going on?" Inazuma asked, noticing Ivankov's futile efforts to comfort the catatonic children.
"Their minds are broken," Kaito explained, his voice tight with controlled anger. "They can't process the horror of what they endured, so they've shut down completely. They've entered what is essentially a 'slave mode'—a survival mechanism that has now become their prison."
Fisher watched the children in heavy silence, at a loss.
Dragon, noticing Kaito's fury, placed a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down. Your Haki is only scaring them more."
Kaito took a deep, shuddering breath and reined in his emotions.
Fisher, after a long moment of observation, turned to Dragon. "Do you need our help? We can take them back to their hometowns if that's what you want."
Kaito immediately intervened. "No, Fisher. You don't want that. The villages these kids come from… some of them regularly offer up their own children and women to the Celestial Dragons to buy peace. If they think they can get a pardon by handing over a famous fish-man pirate and a bunch of 'stolen property,' they won't hesitate. It would be a disaster for you and your crew. Let us handle it."
Fisher was shocked, then turned to Dragon for confirmation. The revolutionary leader nodded solemnly. "He's right. It's a despicable but common practice in some parts of the world. Their desperation makes them dangerous."
Dragon was surprised by Kaito's cynical insight. It was rare for someone so young to understand the darkest aspects of human nature so clearly.
"So, what are you going to do?" Fisher asked.
Kaito looked at one of the children for a long moment before responding. "Fisher, how about a trade? I want your Fish-Man Karate training manual. In exchange, I'll give you a manual for Observation Haki and the Rokushiki."
Fisher raised an eyebrow. "Why would you need that?"
Kaito shrugged. "I'm a martial arts enthusiast. I like to gather different techniques."
Fisher frowned. "I mean, why right now?"
"Oh," Kaito said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I want these kids to learn it."
Fisher stared at him, completely confused. "What?"
"You see, to these kids, you're not a man; you're a monster—a huge, powerful, otherworldly figure who appeared and broke their chains. If they learn your techniques, the power of their liberator, it might become a key. It could help them overcome their fear and begin to heal their minds."
Fisher was quiet for a moment. Then he asked, a touch offended, "You think I look like a monster?"
Kaito deadpanned. "What are you talking about? I could defeat you with one hand. Do I look like a terrified child to you?" The blunt honesty, devoid of malice, was somehow reassuring.
Fisher sighed, still not entirely following the psychology. "I don't get it. How is teaching them Fish-Man Karate going to fix their broken minds?"
Kaito's expression softened. "It's because you're the one who freed them. You removed their physical shackles. By learning the techniques of their liberator, they might find the strength to break the mental ones they've placed on themselves. It's not about the fighting; it's about reclaiming power."
Dragon pondered for a moment, then nodded. "It's a good philosophy. The man who removed their chains teaching them how to ensure they are never chained again. Do you know of a better way?"
Kaito shook his head. "For adults, yes. But these kids are too young for complex therapy. Right now, discipline, purpose, and a sense of earned strength are their best chance at recovery."
Fisher glanced at the hollow-eyed children, then sighed in resignation. "I'll make a copy of the training manual, and then I'll show them the basics."
Kaito nodded and began transcribing the techniques himself.
Dragon watched the children with a complicated gaze. He felt a presence and turned to see Ivankov studying him.
"What's wrong?" Ivankov asked. "You think you shouldn't have stopped Kaito from hunting the Celestial Dragons?"
Dragon didn't look away from the children. "My mind knows it was the strategically correct decision. But my heart is shaken. This... this will happen to other children tomorrow, and the day after that."
Ivankov nodded grimly. "You know our history. You know what shaped us. I know it's cruel, but it's only by seeing this that we remember what we're truly fighting for. It fuels the fire."
Dragon could only nod in grim agreement.
Fisher began demonstrating the flowing forms of Fish-Man Karate to the mesmerized children. After the lesson, he bid his farewells and left with his crew.
Kaito stayed behind. He continued to train the children, giving them structure and purpose, while also refining his own Haki—both Armament and the newly awakened Conqueror's—under Dragon's watchful eye.
Meanwhile, the world outside was stirred by a storm. Wanted posters circulated across the seas: a mysterious figure wearing a golden mask and black coat, known only as "The Veiled Tempest," was wanted for the unprecedented attack on Mary Geoise and the freeing of Celestial Dragon property. His bounty was set at a staggering 1.2 Billion Berries.
Back in the safety of Baltigo, Kaito lay low. He changed his mask's design and devoted himself to training.
Months passed. But today was different.
Today, the specialized medical facility Kaito had designed and funded was finally complete.
He stood with Dragon as they called Kuma.
Bru Bru Bru. Bru Bru Bru.
"Hey, Bear," Dragon said, his voice uncharacteristically emotional. "Can you come to Baltigo? And bring Ginny with you."
"Is there a specific problem?" Kuma's voice was instantly laced with worry. "You know the nature of her disease. I don't want her to risk any sun exposure."
"Just come," Dragon insisted, a smile in his voice. "It's a surprise."
Kuma reluctantly agreed. When he arrived, carefully carrying a cloaked Ginny and their daughter Bonney, Dragon led them to the hidden, state-of-the-art facility.
The moment Ginny saw the gleaming medical equipment, she began to tremble violently.
"Ginny, what's wrong?" Kuma asked, his concern spiking.
"Calm down, Ginny," Kaito said gently, stepping forward. "This is Baltigo, not Mary Geoise. We built this to cure you."
"What?" Ginny whispered, stunned. Kuma looked from Kaito to Dragon, his expression a mixture of desperate hope and fear that this was a cruel joke.
"Would I joke about something like this?" Kaito asked softly. "I heard you got married. Consider this my wedding gift."
Tears welled up in Ginny's eyes, overflowing and tracing paths down her scaled cheeks. She began to cry silent, heaving sobs. Little Bonney, sensing her mother's overwhelming emotion, began to wail. Kuma, the stalwart king and warlord, could no longer hold back his own tears, great heaving breaths shaking his large frame.
Dragon, a man of iron will who had only ever cried from loss and fury, found himself weeping openly for the first time out of pure, unadulterated joy.
"Thank you," Kuma kept repeating, his voice a broken rumble. "Thank you. Thank you."
Kaito smiled, a genuine, warm expression that reached his eyes. "We knew you couldn't be publicly involved. The World Government would be too suspicious. If it weren't for the 'evidence' of your struggle that Inazuma's fruit created, they'd have already come for you." He gestured to the machinery. "The treatment is expensive because it requires vast amounts of precise energy. But for someone with the Goro Goro no Mi... it's simple."
With that, the treatment began. A new future, once an impossible dream, now flickered to life within the sterile walls of the lab.