(T/N: There is now a p.atreon for this work, check it out for an early release of 30 chapters edited smoothly.
www.patreon.com/GranDLign
Ps: Release schedule is 2 chapters. Almost daily.)
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"Glug, glug, glug... Hah!"
After half a glass of wine, a guy wearing a black turban with a red nose looked utterly miserable.
"Captain Roger... hic..."
"So many Marines have come to Loguetown. That bastard Garp's ship left a few days ago. Maybe we have a chance, Shanks..."
Beside him, Shanks, wearing a straw hat with vibrant red hair, didn't answer.
Instead, he turned to observe the other people drinking in the tavern.
"Bang."
Bucky slammed his glass down heavily.
"Bastard Shanks, didn't you listen to what I said? If... if Rayleigh and the others come..."
Before Bucky could finish speaking, Shanks interrupted. "Bucky…"
"The vice-captain and the others know the captain's will and choice, and they agree with it. We're here to implement the captain's wishes, not to save him."
Bucky froze, stunned into silence.
"But..."
"No buts. I also respect the captain's choice. No one in this world can arrest the freest Captain Roger. This is the captain's own choice."
After a long silence, Bucky downed the remaining half glass of wine in one gulp.
In the corner of the tavern, Kano wore a cloak while drinking quietly.
He needed to wait for someone here.
However, half a day passed. By nightfall, the guy still hadn't appeared.
During this period, Hawkeye, one of the future Seven Warlords of the Sea, had come in to ask if there was any wine.
Crocodile, holding a large cigar, still sat on the other side of the room, clearly wanting to be left alone.
After lowering the brim of his cloak, Kano left the tavern.
By this time, his clone had returned to his temporary residence and was pretending to be drunk.
Just as Kano was leaving the tavern, a figure in a dark green cloak walked through the door.
When the breeze blew past, Kano caught a glimpse of his profile.
What a coincidence. He finally found the guy.
At this point in time, he was known as the commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Army: Monkey D. Dragon.
Taking his time, Kano followed the figure ahead.
The streets they traveled grew more and more remote, and soon they'd left the town entirely.
At that moment, Dragon stopped.
'The guy... is he a World Government spy?'
"Come out."
Turning around, Dragon looked at Kano.
"Are you a lackey of the world government? But didn't your commander tell you that if you find my traces, you need to report it immediately instead of following alone?"
The moment the words fell, a hand shot toward Kano.
He crossed his arms to block.
"Boom."
The sudden impact forced Kano to step back, his blocking arms already numb from the blow.
'The gap is huge...'
Kano shook his arms, stood up straight, and replied, "I'm not a lackey of the Celestial Dragons like CP. Even from the perspective of the future, you and I share the same position."
"Future? Position?"
Dragon frowned.
"I'm not interested in such nonsense. If you're not from the World Government, then let's stop here."
Kano smiled.
"Maybe you can wait just a bit. After all, I have what something you need right now. An army formed by people that want to change the state of this world... I'm guessing it must be very short on money and arms."
Dragon, who had been about to turn around and leave, stopped in his tracks.
He took a while to study Kanoi deeply.
After a moment, he said, "Follow me."
More than ten minutes later, in the basement of a closed grocery store.
"So, this is one of the ways you obtain weapons... Loguetown is close to Reverse Mountain. You can send supplies to the Grand Line without going through the Navy or World Government channels. Nice."
Kano looked at Dragon.
"But... if you bring me here like this, won't you be afraid that this grocery store will be discovered?"
Dragon nodded and replied calmly, "So, now I need you to convince me. Also, if your position is consistent with mine as you said, then shouldn't you take off that mask?"
After Kano thought for a moment, he reached out and removed the mask.
"I just arrived in Loguetown today. I waited for you in the pub for a long time."
Dragon studied Kano's face.
Very young.
"Do you know me very well, or is this some kind of Devil Fruit ability?" how did he know he would come…
"You can understand it that way."
Kano didn't deny it. "I currently have a batch of treasures and weapons. Although it's not much, you should need them very badly right now."
As he finished speaking, Kano manifested a long sword from the Naruto world, a flintlock gun from the pirate world, and modern firearms from Jackie Chan Adventures.
Then the illusion took on physical form.
"Such an ability... creating something out of thin air?"
Dragon's hand clenched into a fist.
No one knew the current situation of the so-called Revolutionary Army better than him.
They had no money, no weapons, and even food required support from others.
As his hometown, the East Blue had more people he knew.
Because of the old man, it was relatively peaceful there, making it easier to obtain supplies.
But even so, it was a drop in the bucket.
And if the ability of the person in front of him could produce weapons, then the Revolutionary Army that had just started would be able to become fully armed.
"Don't think too much."
Kano interrupted his thoughts.
"These things didn't appear out of thin air. I also have some treasures, but they're not here."
Dragon remained silent for a while.
After thinking for a long time, he said, "Although I don't know the reason, these things are indeed what I need most at the moment."
Kano shook his head slightly.
"No. Money and weapons are indeed necessary to arm your people, but that is not all…"
"The Revolutionary Army gives oppressed civilians the courage to resist. That's what it means, right? But the strong in this world cannot be defeated by ordinary people who muster the courage to pick up weapons."
"The Revolutionary Army is still very weak. So weak that even the eyes of the World Government haven't laid upon you yet. This is an opportunity, but only if you know what to do."
Do what?
A trace of confusion flashed through Dragon's eyes.
As the son of the Navy hero Garp, he'd been trained in the Navy by his father since childhood. He knew how powerful the strong in this world truly were.
The combat power of ordinary people was sometimes just a number, people who would fall unconscious after a single wave of Conqueror's Haki.
But... the scenes he'd witnessed when he was young left him unable to remain indifferent.
So... he had to do something, even if he hated war.