After that—
Under the collective gaze of the entire Straw Hat Pirates crew, all of them brimming with excitement and shining with anticipation—
On the transparent light screen, the footage continued to play. The ranking was still ongoing—
At this moment, in the real world…
Revolutionary Army Headquarters.
Inside a massive conference building that rose up on the White Soil Island.
Dragon frowned.
Watching the content of the ranking subtitles, he was equally stunned.
Because—
As the leader of the Revolutionary Army…
And also once the direct superior of Bartholomew Kuma, the "Tyrant"!
And…
Back in God Valley, one of the people who had indirectly saved his life!!!
It could be said that Dragon understood Kuma extremely well!
He could practically be counted among the people in the world who understood that tragic figure best.
In fact—
If you really wanted to talk about seniority…
And the revolutionary friendship between them…
Then if Luffy ever met Kuma, he'd have to call him "Uncle" to his face!!!
However—
The three admirals' attitudes were rather subtle.
Kizaru frowned. Aokiji yawned. As for Akainu…
A man who believed in "Absolute Justice"!
To him, Kuma's identity being exposed was nothing less than an alternative form of betrayal against the Marines!
But—
Considering that the ranking video…
Would thoroughly broadcast and expose everything about anyone who appeared on-screen—their past, their future, their background—every last detail…
And he himself earlier…
Was the best example of that!
So, with that in mind, Dragon couldn't help but feel worried!!!
"What if…"
"What if Kuma being a Revolutionary Army executive gets exposed?! That'll probably cause quite a stir in the pirate world…"
Dragon knitted his brows tight.
A growing sense of unease surged in his heart.
Even though he was also very curious about the future fragments the ranking video might spoil…
Still.
After weighing it all—
When the crisis and risk were clearly greater than the benefit—
Dragon felt that maybe…
It would be better to keep exposing him instead.
Or just skip Kuma altogether—
Skip Kuma, Luffy's second "background," and that would be better than this!!!
Unfortunately.
That thought could only sprout inside Dragon's mind.
And soon after, the ranking video officially aired.
Only to see—
On the screen, the enormous, burly figure and attire of the Tyrant Kuma—so well known to the world—
Suddenly appeared, taking up almost the entire screen!!!
After that—
It began introducing Kuma's origins—
His father had once been a slave captured by the Celestial Dragons, and at the time, Kuma and the "Queen of the Okama" were imprisoned together on God Valley!
But later.
Because the Rocks Pirates arrived…
And because of the chaotic melee among the Roger Pirates, the Marines, and the Holy Knights…
God Valley became total bedlam!
And in that chaos—
Kuma and the Okama Queen plotted together, conspiring to steal one of the six god-tier Devil Fruits offered as prize rewards!
Among them—
Kuma succeeded!
He snatched it away and ate the Paw-Paw Fruit!
As for the Okama Queen, their luck was a bit worse. At the very moment they were about to eat the "Azure Dragon Fruit"—
They were kicked flying by the future Yonko—Big Mom—who arrived right after!
In the end—
They were injured and knocked to the ground.
And the Devil Fruit was lost!
After that, everyone relied on Kuma's Devil Fruit power and, with thrills but without disaster, escaped God Valley!
Then came a later stretch of experiences—
Kuma's life was agonizing—hellish, you could say.
And the disheartened, burnt-out Kuma…
Eventually met Dragon.
And after receiving an invitation—and because he deeply identified with Dragon's ideals—
Kuma resolutely chose to join the Revolutionary Army!
And became one of its executives!!!
Years later—
The two fought side by side!
To expand the Revolutionary Army's power, they continually fought and roamed across the pirate world!
And all of this—
All those past events and experiences…
And most importantly—
That "Revolutionary Army executive" identity—
Was completely exposed by the ranking video!
Such earthshaking news—
Naturally caused another massive uproar across the pirate world!!!
————
At this time.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office.
"???"
"No way… Tyrant Kuma! His real identity… he's actually one of Dragon's right-hand men?!"
At the head seat of the conference table—
Sengoku's pupils shrank. Faced with this revelation…
Deep inside, he was utterly shocked!
In an instant, Tyrant Kuma felt extremely unfamiliar to him!!!
That's right.
As Fleet Admiral…
And since the Marines had, more than once, summoned the Seven Warlords of the Sea—
Naturally—
Sengoku had dealt with those Warlords quite a lot.
And among them, Sengoku's impression of Tyrant Kuma—that taciturn man—had always been especially strong.
No matter what, he never would've imagined it!
Even Tyrant Kuma—someone he was somewhat wary of—
Had secretly been an important Revolutionary Army executive from the very beginning!
And later, he even managed to blend in and become one of the Three Great Pirates!
And then received an invitation from the World Government to become a Warlord!
How utterly ironic!!!
At the side—
Vice Admiral Tsuru nodded, equally astonished:
"No wonder he's one of Straw Hat Luffy's 'backgrounds'!"
"Just based on that revolutionary friendship with Dragon—surely in the future, Kuma didn't hold back from stepping in to protect him, did he?"
Actually.
Regarding Dragon—Garp's son—
As an old partner, Vice Admiral Tsuru had some complicated thoughts of her own.
She didn't really agree with the statement—
That "Dragon is the world's most heinous criminal."
Instead, she felt that Dragon's ideas—and the actions he took afterward—
Were simply a matter of differing positions!
And now—
As the so-called "Background King," Luffy…
His first two "backgrounds" were actually Dragon and Tyrant Kuma.
As for Tsuru's evaluation—
She found it rather expected!!!
As for the three admirals—
Their attitudes were, again, subtle.
Kizaru frowned. Aokiji yawned. Akainu's face sank darkly in displeasure!
"Tch…"
"No matter what kind of protection Straw Hat Luffy gets later!"
"Once I run into him—Even if Tyrant Kuma is there…I'll arrest him on the spot!!!"
Even with Garp sitting right across from him—
Even saying it practically to his face—
Akainu's tone was pressed low and hoarse.
He displayed the aggressive, hardline style that a hawkish admiral should have!
(End of Chapter)
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