Marco glanced at Vegapunk and offered a quiet reassurance. "Just do your best with this."
Vegapunk gave a slight nod. His gaze shifted to Kaido and Big Mom. He understood very well that joining the Phoenix Pirates meant joining the Three Emperors Alliance—and that would inevitably put his technology in the sights of Kaido and Big Mom.
Once Vegapunk's issue was settled, the three of them turned their attention to Dragon.
"Mamamama! So this is the 'World's Most Dangerous Criminal,' the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Dragon? It's my first time seeing him in person!" Big Mom licked her lips, eyes glinting with a hungry sort of excitement as she stared at him.
Dragon paid her no mind. Kaido, however, fixed Dragon with a heavy stare. As one of the Four Emperors, he could clearly feel the powerful aura rolling off Dragon. Even without crossing blows, he could gauge the man's strength.
Marco immediately called up the system to inspect Dragon's abilities.
'Monkey D. Dragon. Logia-type Hurricane-Hurricane Devil Fruit. Estimated strength: Strong Yonko Level.'
A Logia-type Devil Fruit. Marco focused on the description. In the original story, Dragon's fruit had never been confirmed, but through the system, Marco could finally see it.
He had originally assumed that as the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Dragon would already be at King Level. So even he hadn't broken past the Strong Yonko threshold?
In this world, that boundary was a massive wall. Almost all top-tier fighters were stuck there. Whether it was a Marine Admiral at his peak or a Yonko ruling the seas, very few could surpass that hurdle.
Only a tiny handful ever managed to push beyond and reach King Level.
Those who did were, without question, the absolute monarchs of their age.
"Alright, we'll talk about everything else later." Marco stepped forward, meeting Dragon's gaze. "Looks like you didn't kidnap the doctor after all. I actually thought you'd use Vegapunk to negotiate with me."
Dragon answered evenly, "I already told you—Vegapunk and I are friends. I wouldn't resort to kidnapping a friend. Besides, the goal of our Revolutionary Army is to overthrow the World Government. On that point, we're currently on the same side."
Marco gave a small nod. "Then how do you want to cooperate?"
Dragon said gravely, "Aside from the New World, the Revolutionary Army has already established bases throughout the first half of the Grand Line and all four seas. We can provide you with intelligence and conduct interference operations from the rear. As long as we cooperate, there is a chance to overthrow the World Government."
Kaido listened with open disdain. "Just you lot? I've heard about your Revolutionary Army. All you've done is topple a few countries. It might look like you're hurting the World Government's reputation, but in reality, it's meaningless."
Dragon's voice remained steady. "Revolution isn't about charging in blindly. It requires strategy. Right now, among the World Government's more than 170 member nations, the spark of revolution exists in every country. You should understand: the Marines' manpower and the Celestial Dragons' tributes all come from those same 170-plus member nations. If every one of those nations is overthrown, the Marines will lose their constant supply of troops, and the World Government will lose its source of tribute to the Celestial Dragons."
Kaido fell silent for a moment, then gave a slight nod. "I get it. That would indeed be an effective blow against the Marines and the World Government. However, there's one thing you've miscalculated."
"What is it?" Dragon asked, his expression hardening.
Kaido met his gaze, eyes turning cold. "Absolute force."
Sabo shot back, voice ringing out, "Don't underestimate the power of the people! If people all over the world rise up together and resist the World Government, they can overthrow it!"
"Hmph, what a naive idea." Kaido sneered, contempt curling his lips. "Those useless people—so what if they somehow find the courage to resist the World Government? What good would it do?! Saying things like that just proves you've never seen the absolute power that exists in this world."
Big Mom snorted in agreement. "That's right. And the countries you've overthrown are just small fry. They never had much of a voice among the World Government's member nations to begin with. Even if you topple a few, it's meaningless. No— even if you topple all of them, what good would it do?! You simply have no idea how strong the World Government really is. The Gorosei, the God's Knights, and that Imu… every last one of them is a monster."
"Monsters?" Sabo, Ivankov, and the others were stunned. How powerful did someone have to be to be called a monster by a Yonko?!
Dragon's eyes narrowed, curiosity plain on his face as he asked, "You've clashed with the God's Knights and the Gorosei, and also with that mysterious Imu. How does their strength compare to yours?"
Kaido bared his teeth in a menacing grin. "Worororo… you really wanna know? Why don't you test it with your own strength?"
"Wait a minute!" Vegapunk shouted anxiously. "Dragon is our partner in this cooperation, not an enemy!"
Kaido snorted dismissively. "If he wants to be our ally, he has to prove he's strong enough. Otherwise, he'll just be dead weight. And didn't he want to know how strong the God's Knights and the Gorosei are? Then come have a little spar with me, and I'll tell you."
Sabo bristled and stepped forward, anger flaring. "In that case, let me witness the strength of a Yonko!"
"Hmph, you?" Kaido gave him a contemptuous smile. "So young… and a brother to that foolish son-in-law of mine. It's a shame I only have one daughter, or I might've reluctantly taken you in as a son-in-law too."
"Let's forget about that!" Sabo shot back, eyes burning with fighting spirit. "What I'm really interested in is witnessing the strength of a Yonko."
Stussy moved quickly to Vegapunk's side, tugging at his sleeve. "Doctor, we really shouldn't get too involved in this."
"Stop it, Sabo!" Dragon finally spoke, his tone firm. "This island is made of piled-up garbage. Its foundation is extremely fragile—this isn't a suitable place for a fight."
Kaido casually tapped the ground with his spiked club. The earth gave a dull, unstable sound. He sneered, "Worororo… looks like this place really isn't fit for fighting."
Seeing the tension ease, Ivankov and Inazuma both let out quiet sighs of relief.
Kaido, however, pointed his spiked club straight at Dragon and grinned. "Hey, Dragon, fight me. If you wanna form an alliance with us, let your strength do the talking."
Dragon's brow furrowed.
Kaido went on, eyes gleaming with interest. "Your Revolutionary Army's got a big name, but all you've really done these years is topple some weak countries. You, 'World's Most Dangerous Criminal'—you're the one I'm interested in."
"It seems you really want to fight me no matter what, huh?" Dragon's expression grew faintly displeased. As the leader of the Revolutionary Army, he was used to persuading others with reason, not brute force. Kaido pressing him like this—was he trying to scare him into submission?
Big Mom bared her teeth in a wicked grin. "Mamamama… We're pirates, after all! If you want to form an alliance with us, you've gotta prove you've got the strength first."
Her words made Sabo bristle with anger. Dragon, however, simply turned to Marco and asked, "Marco, do you think the same?"
Marco answered in his usual calm tone. "Yeah. That's how pirates do things. If you don't like it, you can always walk away."
He made no move to intervene. His stance toward the Revolutionary Army remained deliberately vague. At the end of the day, he was a pirate, not a politician. The Revolutionary Army was different. They hadn't formed a formal government yet, but if they could spread bases all over the world, they clearly had their own systems of rule and organization.
And those methods of rule had to be very different from those of pirates.
The Phoenix Pirates were built entirely on the bonds between comrades—made possible by the foundation Whitebeard left behind, and by Marco's own strength, which was enough to hold everyone together.
The Big Mom Pirates were a force rooted in family and bloodlines.
The Beasts Pirates were simpler still: a crew forged by pure violence, ruled by the law of the jungle.
The Phoenix Pirates and Big Mom Pirates might differ from the Beasts Pirates in structure, but at their core, they were all pirates. Their nature was the same: strength came before everything else.
The Revolutionary Army was another matter. Marco didn't know much about their inner workings, but he was sure of one thing—they weren't like pirates, where military power alone decided everything. They had their own beliefs and rules. Marco just didn't know what they were.
With Kaido and Big Mom, as long as Marco could overpower them, he could dominate and command them. But that same logic might not apply to the Revolutionary Army.
So Marco also wanted to see where the Revolutionary Army truly stood.
Were they seeking a genuine alliance with the pirates, or was all of this just another test?
In Marco's view, even if the World Government was toppled and replaced, the Revolutionary Army would never truly be their ally. In fact, sooner or later, he might have to wipe them out as well.
The Revolutionary Army opposed the World Government's rule—but if the Three Emperors Alliance ultimately overthrew the World Government, would they really accept a band of pirates ruling the world? Of course not. They would keep resisting.
For now, though, the Three Emperors Alliance and the Revolutionary Army shared a single objective: overthrow the World Government. With such a common goal, an alliance wasn't out of the question.
But the condition was clear—the Revolutionary Army had to join them, not the other way around.
Dragon listened, brow slightly furrowed. He knew this battle couldn't be avoided. He disliked cooperating with pirates, but if he didn't, there would be no chance of defeating the World Government. Relying on the Revolutionary Army alone made that road far too steep.
"Alright," Dragon said at last, agreeing. "Since you want to speak with force, then we'll speak with force. If I win, what then?"
"Worororo… you think you can?" Kaido bared his teeth in a vicious grin. In his mind, no one in this world besides Marco could beat him. Even against a Gorosei, one-on-one, Kaido was confident in his victory.
Dragon might be called the "World's Most Dangerous Criminal," but Kaido didn't believe he would lose.
Dragon's gaze stayed calm and flat. He simply stared at Kaido and continued, "If I win, it'll prove my strength, and the strength of the Revolutionary Army, and our right to stand as equals in an alliance with your Three Emperors Alliance. In the future war against the World Government—when both the Three Emperors Alliance and the Revolutionary Army are involved—how about having Vegapunk serve as the supreme commander?"
At that, Vegapunk immediately panicked. "Hey, hey, hey, Dragon, don't just decide that on your own! I don't want to be any supreme commander, I'm just a scientist!"
"Worororo… then why don't you be the supreme commander yourself?" Kaido sneered. "Don't you want that?"
Dragon didn't reply. Of course he wanted to lead the alliance, but he couldn't be that obvious about it. Marco cut in right away, "Fine by me. But I'll be the one fighting you."
Marco stepped forward without hesitation. "If I win," he said, "the Revolutionary Army will follow my orders from now on."
He added, "Of course, I won't send you on suicide missions."
Dragon's brow furrowed. He didn't know Marco's true strength, but Marco's bounty was even higher than Kaido's—that alone spoke volumes. The World Government wouldn't put a higher price on someone's head without a reason.
Kaido immediately bristled. "Hey, Marco, why are you stealing my fight? You think I'm gonna lose to him?"
Marco met his gaze, expression serious. "The chances of you losing to him are very low, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Besides, as the leader of the Three Emperors Alliance, if there's a fight like this, it has to be me."
Kaido snorted at that and dropped the argument.
Dragon studied Marco's calm confidence, his mind drifting to that 7.5 billion bounty. A sliver of doubt crept in. If he really lost to Marco, the Revolutionary Army would be forced to obey the Three Emperors Alliance—and that was something Dragon absolutely could not accept.
At that moment, Ivankov stepped forward. "I say, isn't this a bit too casual? How can something as big as forming an alliance be decided so lightly?"
Kaido bared his teeth in a vicious grin. "Worororo! We're pirates. Strength is everything. When it comes to alliances, the one with the biggest fist gets to talk and give orders."
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