In truth, the Rowan of his previous life had been nothing more than an ordinary person.
Political thought classes had been mandatory courses, and enough credits had to be earned.
So he knew the basics.
The massive tome he had first handed to Dragon in Loguetown contained only fragmented ideas. It was nothing like the one later given to Kuzan.
After Rowan provided the core foundation, countless Revolutionary Army instructors expanded, revised, and refined those concepts. Only then did it become the comprehensive work it was today.
The ideology was growing.
Rowan himself was growing as well.
Four years ago, he had dreamed of pulling an artificial human from a treasure chest and steamrolling Mary Geoise.
That thought no longer existed.
Four years ago, he had felt that waiting twenty-four years for Monkey D. Luffy was far too long. He believed that if he someday obtained power capable of breaking all limits, he could simply change the world.
And yes.
Changing the world required sufficient power.
Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. That was an undeniable truth.
But the environment was equally important for success.
Would slaughtering every Celestial Dragon in Mary Geoise transform the world into the one he desired?
Impossible.
Even if he walked into Mary Geoise today with Ryujin Jakka, released Bankai, burned the entire mountain to ashes, and twisted Imu's head off to use as a football, it still wouldn't be enough.
He would also have to change the systems of Alabasta, Dressrosa, and countless other nations.
Hereditary rule would have to be replaced.
Class structures would have to change.
Old institutions and old ways of life would have to be shattered.
And not everyone would agree.
Not only the nobles.
Most likely, eighty percent of ordinary people wouldn't agree either.
Then what?
Kill them all?
A world built that way was not the world Rowan wanted.
The Drums of Liberation that Joy Boy spoke of were not the Drums of Liberation Rowan envisioned.
Killing everyone who opposed him would not create the world he sought.
Up until now, the places where the Revolutionary Army had developed most smoothly throughout the Four Blues and the Grand Line were all places where the people could barely survive.
Sometimes ordinary people were very kind.
As long as they could continue living, they had no desire to rebel against those above them.
And sometimes ordinary people who had not yet experienced ideological awakening were incredibly smart.
Change did not necessarily mean improvement.
If their current lives were bearable, if they could survive and still see a future ahead of them, why would they rise up and revolt?
Ideological enlightenment required time.
It also required the right environment.
This was what Rowan had come to understand over the past year and a half.
It was also the direction the Revolutionary Army needed to pursue moving forward.
"Burururu... Burururu..."
The Den Den Mushi rang.
Rowan didn't answer.
Instead, after letting it stop, he left behind a Shadow Clone.
His true body equipped his gear and used Flying Thunder God Technique to appear directly in the Goa Kingdom of the East Blue.
At this moment, Ginny was leading the operation.
Several of the Revolutionary Army's Eastern Army high-ranking combatants were gathered here.
Among them were Roger, wearing a mask, and the masked Chameleone.
"Sir."
Chameleone bowed slightly.
"According to the usual schedule, the World Government ship responsible for collecting Heavenly Tribute will arrive in the Goa Kingdom the day after tomorrow."
"The escort should be CPO agent Navarta."
Rowan pondered briefly before asking,
"Detailed intelligence."
Chameleone immediately replied,
"Because he is responsible for escorting the Heavenly Tribute fleet, he isn't a Devil Fruit user."
"However, both his Armament Haki and Observation Haki have reached an extremely high level."
"As for his Observation Haki..."
He paused.
"It can see the future."
It was obvious that the man who had once endured three days of soul-burning agony within the prison's black flames was being exceptionally cautious now.
He never wanted to experience that kind of suffering again.
His personal conviction had always been survival.
Though he possessed no genuine loyalty, he now obeyed Rowan with absolute devotion.
In his Edo Tensei state, he knew very clearly whose hands his soul was in.
The reason he could not die was because that Lord still had use for him.
If he betrayed him, then no matter how great the distance between them, once Edo Tensei was released and his soul returned to the prison space, what awaited him would once again be that endless agony.
"Future sight, huh?"
Rowan's voice sounded.
Chameleone instantly became nervous and hurriedly said,
"E-Even though that level of Observation Haki would counter your teleportation ability, Lord, your flame blade is still completely capable of—"
"Don't overthink it."
Rowan raised a hand.
"We have more than one top-tier fighter here. Although neither you nor he can display your full strength, your immortal characteristics are enough to make up for part of that."
Ginny, standing to the side, spoke up:
"The Revolutionary Army's Eastern Army currently has eleven high-level combatants, including me, all gathered in the Goa Kingdom. Do we need them to participate in the operation?"
"No."
Rowan rejected the idea immediately.
"They wouldn't contribute much."
"The Heavenly Tribute isn't collected only from the East Blue. The Four Blues and every major route of the Grand Line have their own shipments."
"Under those circumstances, having a single top-tier CPO operative already shows how stretched their forces are."
It wasn't as if the Holy Knights or the Marines, who could barely stand each other, would escort the tribute.
For a mission like this, only the CP agencies the World Government's most loyal dogs were suitable.
"As instructed, I infiltrated the Goa Kingdom treasury once before."
Roger glanced toward the royal palace before continuing,
"I placed your coordinates beneath several treasure chests."
"But we don't know how the royal family handles the inventory before paying the Heavenly Tribute."
"When the time comes, you'll need to see whether any of those chests are actually loaded onto the ships."
"And we also don't know how carefully the CP personnel will inspect everything."
Hearing this, Chameleone's expression changed.
"They will, Lord."
"The Heavenly Tribute is calculated according to a nation's population."
"So every time the collection period approaches, the member nations look for ways to reduce their population in order to lower the amount they must pay."
"And that's completely permitted under the rules."
Ginny let out a mocking laugh.
"So either they start wars and plunder neighboring non-member nations..."
"Or they attract pirates to carry out massacres and looting for them?"
Chameleone fell silent.
Internally, he felt extremely wronged.
He was one of their people now. Why was he still being spoken to as though he were the enemy?
"So..."
Rowan continued,
"The moment he conducts the inventory check is when we make our move."
"As a CPO operative, after the exposure of the Flying Thunder God coordinate intelligence in Sabaody, there's no way he wouldn't know about it."
As he spoke, Rowan sighed.
A few years ago, his thinking hadn't been mature enough.
The memories of the original story had never explained the complete process of collecting the Heavenly Tribute in detail.
But looking back now, wasn't the reason the king of the Sorbet Kingdom split his country into north and south and discarded part of the population because he was worried the numbers wouldn't match during the inspection?
At that moment, Roger grinned and raised a hand.
"Sure, I can be unreliable sometimes, but don't assume I'm that stupid."
"Hm?"
Rowan looked at him.
Roger's grin widened.
"The coordinates aren't very large."
"So I built hidden compartments in advance."
"If someone doesn't inspect the bottoms of the treasure chests carefully, they won't discover them."
Hearing this, Rowan smiled as well.
Ginny immediately gave Roger a thumbs-up.
"Nicely done."
Chameleone also relaxed.
"If that's the case, then the problem isn't serious."
"The fleet transporting the Heavenly Tribute carries the entire East Blue's tribute."
"The amount of treasure and money involved is enormous."
"Under normal circumstances, nobody would have the time to examine every chest that carefully."
Afterward, the group gathered around the map spread out on the ground and began discussing the details of the operation.
Meanwhile, Roger and Chameleone had special identities.
If the existence of resurrected dead were exposed to Mary Geoise, the Revolutionary Army would attract far more attention.
Under those circumstances, both of them possessed Edo Tensei bodies. If their masks were shattered, their bodies could regenerate, but their masks could not.
As a result, their assignments were on the secondary transport ships rather than the main battlefield.
Rowan, on the other hand, would be responsible for dealing with the top-tier CPO operative escorting the convoy: Navarta.
In addition, he planned to retrieve the Chicken Talisman that he had previously left with Dragon so the latter could conveniently use its abilities while pursuing his romantic interests.
Not only that, but Kuma would also be brought over by Rowan tomorrow.
After all, the transport fleet was enormous. Without the combined abilities of the Chicken Talisman and the Paw-Paw Fruit, moving such a vast quantity of treasure and Beli to the Revolutionary Army's territory would be impossible.
"That's the general situation."
Ginny clapped her hands.
"The five escort ships correspond to the five of us."
"After eliminating all enemies, we'll make the Heavenly Tribute disappear directly within the East Blue."
"We're not planning to use the Heavenly Tribute as leverage against the World Government."
"What we actually care about is obtaining the Heavenly Tribute itself."
After the discussion ended, Roger returned home to his wife and child.
Ginny went off to brief the Revolutionary Army members, instructing them to adapt to circumstances and not participate directly in the operation.
Meanwhile,Chameleone wandered around with Rowan.
"Other than the East Blue, if we wanted to seize the entire Heavenly Tribute fleet, would we have enough time?"
Rowan's eyes were practically glowing.
The Revolutionary Army desperately needed money right now.
So many people had been scattered across the world to develop their networks.
At Baltigo, Vegapunk's research facility was a bottomless money pit.
He had heard that Dragon had already been scolded countless times for one reason only:
Money.
Chameleone hesitated before replying,
"The routes through the Grand Line require careful planning."
"And if we fail to strike unexpectedly, Marine branches throughout the Grand Line will be obligated to provide support."
"The East Blue operation has been prepared for a very long time."
"If we attempt to seize all the Heavenly Tribute shipments elsewhere as well, it will definitely provoke the fury of Mary Geoise."
"After all, this concerns the Celestial Dragons' future expenses."
"And in the East Blue, we might be able to make everything disappear without anyone knowing what happened."
"But in other seas, once we're exposed..."
He didn't finish his sentence.
But Rowan understood.
If only the East Blue's Heavenly Tribute vanished, Mary Geoise might rage furiously, but if they couldn't find the culprit, the matter would eventually be buried.
But if the Heavenly Tribute of the entire world—or even all four Blues—were stolen, then the Revolutionary Army would almost certainly be exposed.
And the level of attention they would receive would become something entirely different.
"Fine."
Rowan sighed.
"We're so broke it's driving me crazy."
The two fell silent.
Wearing masks and cloaks, Chameleone followed behind Rowan at a steady pace as they waited for the next day to arrive.
At the edge of the forests near Foosha Village stood Rouge's home.
The moment Roger returned, he immediately looked for his son.
However, Ace was clearly nowhere to be found.
Only Belle-mère and Rouge were sitting together knitting sweaters, while Nojiko quietly studied nearby.
"You're back?"
Rouge glanced up.
She immediately noticed Roger searching for Ace and said,
"Ace took Nami out to play."
"I told him to stay nearby."
"Didn't you see him on your way back?"
Roger shook his head.
"No."
"That little brat didn't take Nami somewhere far away, did he?"
(◎_◎)!
In an instant, both Belle-mère and Rouge jumped to their feet.
The two women exchanged a glance before throwing their knitting needles and yarn onto the table and hurriedly searching around the yard.
Unfortunately, the troublesome little boy was nowhere to be seen.
"Nami's still so little."
"Did Ace carry her somewhere far away? She can't even walk properly yet."
Belle-mère was extremely anxious, but she still forced herself to remain calm.
Rouge looked toward the forest behind them.
"I think I know where he went."
Roger followed his wife's gaze toward the woods.
"There are plenty of wild beasts in that forest. What if—"
"Shut up!"
"Shut up!"
Rouge and Belle-mère shouted at the same time.
The sudden roar nearly knocked Roger's mask off his face, forcing him to hurriedly hold it in place.
Rouge frowned before gently reassuring Belle-mère.
"Don't worry. Let's go find him first."
"When we get back, I'm definitely going to teach him a proper lesson this time."
Nojiko, standing behind the three adults, was worried as well.
However, what she was more worried about was whether Ace's backside would be split into four pieces once he got home.
Meanwhile, somewhere deep within the forest, beside a tree stump.
Two small figures were gathered together, discussing what they considered a treasure.
"Why did you bring a backpack?"
"Hehe. Let me show you something."
"I guarantee you've never seen it before."
"What is it?"
Ace pulled open the zipper of the backpack.
Inside, baby Nami was sleeping peacefully.
"Ta-da!"
"My little sister!"
"So? Have you ever seen such a tiny kid before?"
The boy beside him, dressed in formal clothes and wearing a top hat, froze for a moment.
Then Sabo exclaimed in horror,
"You brought such a tiny baby out here?"
"Won't you get beaten to death when you go back?"
Ace answered with complete confidence.
Reaching out, he poked Nami's cheek with a finger.
"Don't you think she's cute?"
"She used to look kind of ugly before, but she's started getting prettier recently."
"She's really fun."
Fun?
Sabo felt that his friend might have misunderstood something.
"So you brought your sister here because you thought we could play with her together?"
Ace shook his head.
"I have to take her back soon."
"She's cute when she's quiet and doesn't cry."
"And she smells nice too."
"But if she wets herself, then she's not fun anymore."
→_→
Sabo suddenly felt that he might never see this friend again after today.
Wouldn't he get beaten half to death when he got home?
"Um..."
"I remember Rouge telling you that as a boy, you're supposed to protect your little sister, right?"
Ace suddenly spun around.
Behind him stood a masked man dressed very much like his father.
"Hm?"
With a backward flip, Ace grabbed the backpack containing little Nami and instantly widened the distance between them.
"Who are you?"
At that moment, another masked figure appeared behind him.
Simultaneously, Sabo stepped forward and stood beside Ace.
Both boys stared at Rowan warily, maintaining their guard.
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