Dragon, capable of riding the wind, possessed inherent flight abilities.
As for Jin, that went without saying.
Releasing Chakra from the soles of his feet to walk on water was a basic skill for a Ninja.
Therefore, the two of them fighting on the open sea faced absolutely no obstacles.
Approximately two kilometers away from the battlefield, seeing the hurricane and flames constantly converging on the distant sea surface, Koala held her head in her hands, her long legs in high heels stomping anxiously with a 'thump thump' sound.
"What to do, what to do, what to do, how did it come to this..."
Although they had considered the consequences of being discovered before the operation, at the time, Koala thought that even if they couldn't win, escaping shouldn't be a problem with Dragon's Devil Fruit.
After all, in this world where ships were the primary means of transportation, the power of Wind was extremely useful.
Because ships, as a mode of transport, relied mainly on manpower and wind power for propulsion.
Once Dragon activated his ability, their Revolutionary Army's ships could move as fast as supercars.
The Marines and World Government's battleships couldn't hope to catch up.
Perhaps only the former flying fleet of Shiki, who could fly in the sky, was superior.
However, they never expected to fail this time.
Even now, Koala couldn't figure it out.
Earlier, Dragon had clearly flown hundreds of meters away with her, Nami, and Robin twice.
But how could they be back on the Sunny with just a flicker of an eye?
"It's useless. Start preparing the tattooed man's funeral."
Konan's suggestion almost made Koala cry.
'Why was this little girl's mouth too vicious?'
But Konan was truly just stating the facts.
Originally, Jin had genuinely intended to let Dragon go.
Although not his initial intention, the other party had gone to the trouble of delivering Robin right to his doorstep from thousands of kilometers away.
Even if there was no merit, there was effort involved.
Killing him just like that would be a bit heartless.
But who told Dragon, this caring father, insisted on standing up for his son?
Then don't blame Jin for showing no mercy.
Moreover, Kurenai's 'cheat' still hadn't been secured.
And coincidentally, he had just displayed a quite powerful Devil Fruit's Ability.
This cooked dish delivered right to their mouth...
Wouldn't they be stupid not to eat it?
It's like a female lead being drugged with aphrodisiacs by the villain-
If the male lead doesn't sleep with her, is he even human?
Of course, there are also many strange choices, like using energy to force the aphrodisiac out for the female lead.
Or even stranger, having the female lead solve it with her own hand.
Well, those people's thought processes really are confusing.
...
"Storm Dragon Claw Fist: Hurricane Dragon King!"
At that moment, everyone on the ship looked up and saw Dragon raising his right hand.
High-density turbulent cyclones converged into a roaring flying dragon with a gaping maw.
It blew away the Amaterasu Flames and engulfed Jin's entire body.
Koala, who had been looking mournful, excitedly clapped her hands and shouted,
"W-won!?"
Robin also looked surprised.
To be honest, if Dragon just took her and Nami back to the Straw Hat Pirates, they would face Jin's endless pursuit from then on.
It would be never-ending.
So if they could directly defeat him, that would of course be best.
However, on the entire ship, the only ones smiling were Robin and Koala.
Even Nami didn't show much surprise.
It wasn't that she didn't want Dragon to win…
Actually, Nami's current state of mind was very conflicted.
Or perhaps a bit resigned.
It was the kind of feeling where whether she stayed here or escaped back to the Straw Hat Pirates, it seemed acceptable to her.
Nami even felt that staying here might be better.
After all, as long as she stayed by Jin's side, she could at least stabilize this man and make him not think about dealing with the Straw Hat Pirates crew.
Well, it definitely wasn't because she had developed feelings for him.
And seeing Dragon gaining the upper hand, Nami didn't show much change in expression because she felt that man couldn't possibly be defeated so easily.
Splash!
Jin, pierced through by the roaring hurricane dragon, fell into the sea like a broken kite.
Dragon turned his head and shouted to Koala on the distant Sunny:
"Koala! Go!"
He too wasn't blinded by victory.
Because even Dragon felt the victory came too easily.
There was most likely a trick.
Only support staff like Koala and Robin, who hadn't witnessed Jin's strength firsthand, would misunderstand that Jin was easy to deal with.
Bang-
However, before Koala could respond,
Dragon only felt a sharp pain in his chest.
Koala and Robin, who had been overjoyed just a second ago, thinking Dragon had won, now widened their eyes to the size of saucers.
They saw a white skeletal hand holding a silvery-white great sword slowly emerge from the sea below and behind Dragon.
Jin was standing in the center of that silvery giant.
And in front of Dragon, the 'Jin' he had just knocked into the sea slowly rose to the surface.
It gradually turned into a wooden log with a humanoid shape.
"A... a clone?"
Robin murmured, her small mouth slightly agape.
She could also create clone.
But once attacked, her clone would immediately disappear into petals.
Moreover, the clone's strength was far inferior to the original's.
It absolutely couldn't achieve the effect Jin had just displayed.
"Wood Clone. That thing is really convenient. Even an old schemer like Madara has suffered because of it."
Jin leisurely dispelled the Susanoo.
The Chakra Sword also dissipated.
Dragon, with a large hole torn in his chest, lost his footing and fell into the sea.
Jin, standing on the sea surface, bent down and grabbed the collar of Dragon's shirt.
Konan, understanding his intention, controlled Sunny to fly back.
Jin also leapt back onto the deck.
"Dragon-san!"
When Jin threw Dragon down, Koala and Robin rushed forward to crowd around him, shouting anxiously.
Jin hooked a finger towards the two ships that had been watching the show from afar.
The meaning was obvious.
"Luckily I listened to your advice, Shiryu."
Blackbeard waved his hand, ordering his men to bring the ship closer.
He then turned to Shiryu with a dry laugh.
To be able to toy with the man who gave the World Government so much headache like he was a dog...
Even possessing the most powerful Logia and the strongest Paramecia, Blackbeard didn't think he could do that.
Shiryu remained silent.
He suddenly remembered what Newgate had said to Blackbeard during the Summit War.
"Arrogance, underestimating the enemy, that is your greatest weakness, Teach."
'Would he die because of these two points in the future?'
Shiryu wondered inwardly.
...
"Dragon-san! Dragon-san! You can't die... Wh-what will the Revolutionary Army do without you..."
Koala was so anxious that tears welled up in her large eyes.
She pressed her hands against Dragon's wound.
But the hole was big enough for both of Koala's hands to fit inside, so how could it be stopped by hand?
Jin couldn't be bothered with this mess and waved to Kurenai.
"Kurenai, get ready. Your cheat is coming."
Lying on the ground, Dragon felt the scene before him growing increasingly blurry.
The cries of Koala and Robin kept ringing in his ears.
With one foot already in the underworld, Dragon spoke with difficulty:
"Ko... Koala, when... when you return to the Revolutionary Army... tell... tell everyone not to avenge me... This... this time it was my misjudgment that led to this outcome..."
"Under... no circumstances should my death... affect the Revolutionary Army's great cause... You... you must continue on..."
Hearing Dragon's words, Jin also glanced over in surprise.
'Oh?'
'Unexpectedly, he could be so righteous in his final moments.'
But what he said was indeed correct.
Dragon's death this time was largely caused by his favoritism.
Favoritism itself wasn't wrong.
Jin was biased too.
But the key was you needed the strength to back it up.
And Dragon was the negative example.
Not only did he fail to protect anyone, he got himself killed instead.
And in his final moments, his greatest worry was the future of the Revolutionary Army.
Or rather, he feared that Sabo, who would inherit his position, would make the same mistake he did.
After all, Sabo's concern for Luffy was even greater than his own.
"...Yes, yes, I understand."
Koala's tears fell from her eyes in large drops.
The Supreme Leader of the Revolutionary Army, labeled the [World's Most Dangerous Criminal] by the World Government, Monkey D. Dragon, had actually been killed by Jin during their first encounter!
"Dragon-san, if only you had been willing to leave back then..."
Although it wasn't the right time to say this, Koala had felt from the start that their leader's judgment in this operation was flawed.
When Jin hadn't yet shown killing intent, wouldn't it have been better to escape early?
Seeing Dragon's arms fall limp to the ground after receiving Koala's assurance, Nami gulped down a mouthful of saliva.
This was already the second family member of a Straw Hat Pirate crewmate to die by Jin's hand...
Would her own family be okay?
Nami couldn't help but think of her adoptive sister, Nojiko, who is farming oranges back in Cocoyasi Village.
But the next second, Nami dismissed the thought.
Although somewhat inferior to herself, Nojiko could definitely be considered a rare beauty.
And Nojiko had no reason to offend Jin.
If those two met, it would be a miracle if they didn't hit it off like a house on fire.
So the possibility of conflict was extremely low.
"Zehahaha~ After the Red-Hair Pirates' sniper, a Marine Admiral, and a Celestial Dragon, now the Revolutionary Army's Supreme Commander?"
At that moment, Blackbeard's sinister laughter rang out.
The people on Sunny turned to look.
They saw Blackbeard, dragging his bloated body, leap from the Saber of Xebec onto the Sunny.
"You know, I've had plenty of clashes with the Revolutionary Army these past two years. You've done me a huge favor!"
Blackbeard grinned with his gap-toothed mouth, laughing strangely.
Suddenly, he noticed Koala kneeling beside Dragon's body and squinted his eyes.
"Oh? I remember this little girl. She's the one who uses Fish-Man Karate and follows Sabo around."
"She's also a high-ranking member of the Revolutionary Army. What do you say, God of Destruction? Want to finish her off?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Robin quickly stood up, shielding Koala.
Jin found it amusing.
'She's clearly the brains of the Straw Hat Pirates…'
'But sometimes, her thought processes were quite peculiar.'
'Your strength wasn't even as good as Koala's.'
'And you want to protect her?'
"Are you telling me what to do, Blackbeard?"
Jin asked narrow-eyed, his tone challenging.
Feeling the intimidating aura emanating from Jin, which surpassed even Shanks' during the Summit War, after a brief silence, Blackbeard shrugged and laughed,
"Zehahaha~ Don't be so serious. Just a little suggestion."
Jin ignored Blackbeard and looked sideways at Koala.
"Get up. After Blackbeard transfers Monkey D. Dragon's ability, you can take his body back."
Koala stared wide-eyed in astonishment.
She thought Jin was being surprisingly nice.
'He was really willing to let me go?'
'He killed Dragon-san.'
'He should clearly understand that he's now the nemesis of Revolutionary Army.'
'Shouldn't he press the advantage and completely eliminate the Revolutionary Army?'
"Why so surprised? I never had any issues with the Revolutionary Army to begin with. You saw today, I was planning to let you go directly. Wasn't it Dragon who didn't know what was good for him?"
Jin squatted down and said to Koala with a smile,
"And in a way, the Revolutionary Army and I have the same goal. I also despise the World Government and the Celestial Dragons."
"But compared to Sabo, I think you, Koala, are more suited to become the new Supreme Commander of the Revolutionary Army. I really like your selfless way of doing things."
Koala's mouth hung open in shock. After a few seconds, she said hesitantly,
"I can't. Sabo is stronger than me."
"Being a leader doesn't require being the strongest. What's important is leadership ability. Like a leader from my hometown… although he was weak as hell himself, it didn't stop him from becoming the leader of the village."
Jin said with a laugh.
Rin and Kurenai looked at him strangely.
They had a feeling Jin was making a veiled criticism.
"Oh right, I have a few talented people to recommend to you. They should be able to fill the combat power gap left by Dragon's death."
Jin then leaned in, whispering a few words into Koala's ear.
Halfway through listening, Koala first gaped in astonishment.
Then her pretty face inexplicably turned red.
"Get to work, Blackbeard."
Jin stood up and pointed at Dragon's body.
Blackbeard was somewhat curious about what Jin had said to this Revolutionary Army girl, but at the moment, he didn't dare to ask too many questions.
He began to release the power of the Yami Yami no Mi, extracting Dragon's Devil Fruit from his body and injecting it into Kurenai. (T/N: Dark-Dark Fruit.)
"You're brainwashing girls again, aren't you?"
Nami seized the opportunity to approach Jin and said.
Having been silently observing Koala, Nami noticed that this girl was practically being completely fooled.
"Who's brainwashing? I'm just offering some reasonable advice."
Jin looked innocent.
But inwardly, he began to look forward to it.
'The split within the Revolutionary Army was imminent.'
'Which side would win?'
'It was really something to anticipate.'