"Let Kaido, the King of Beasts, draw the Navy's firepower? That's your plan?" Rain asked, narrowing his eyes at Buggy.
Buggy nodded with a grin. "Correct."
Rain thought for a moment, then smirked. I have to admit, it's not a bad idea.
"No problem," Rain agreed without hesitation. Kaido might not owe him enough to do something truly troublesome, but if it was just to cause a distraction, it was more than possible.
"If Kaido attracts an admiral," Kuro who stood nearby spoke up while adjusting his glasses,
"And the Revolutionary Army stirs up trouble at the same time, it'll pull in CP. That leaves us with two admirals and Garp to deal with."
He calculated quickly, laying it out.
"The safest play is to lure away another admiral. Then there's the Navy's Hero, Garp."
"If we do that, in Marineford itself there'll only be the Marshal and a single admiral left.
"As for Zephyr...he's out training new recruits, so we don't need to worry about him."
Rain crossed his arms, chuckling faintly. "Garp's easy to handle. Just let him return home for a family visit. He'll go willingly."
But then his expression grew thoughtful. "The other admiral though…"
For a moment, Rain considered if this was where Bullet's power should come into play.
Then Kuro leaned forward, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. "Tell me...if large-scale scandals were exposed across naval bases worldwide."
"Cases of the Navy colluding with pirates and slaughtering civilians, wouldn't that force an admiral to step in? Rectifying corruption on that scale isn't something they could ignore."
Buggy's eyes immediately lit up. "Corruption in the Four Seas Navy? Don't tell me… that really might work!"
Rain's grin widened too. "Since we're going to do it, let's go all the way. Spread it everywhere detonate the whole world at once."
"I don't believe there isn't corruption buried in every corner of the Navy."
Buggy slapped the table, energized. "Alright, leave it to me!" He grabbed the Den Den Mushi without hesitation and started barking orders to his men.
Within moments, the command went out: collect hard evidence of naval corruption across the Four Seas.
One by one, the scandals would be exposed until the Navy had no choice but to scramble.
Rain watched, satisfied. That should keep them busy for a while.
When Buggy finally set the receiver down, Rain leaned back casually and asked with a smile,
"Buggy… you've gotten yourself involved with the Revolutionary Army, haven't you?"
Buggy froze.
"…Yes," he muttered at last, eyes darting away. Then he forced a nervous laugh.
"But Rain, listen please! As the world's richest man, of course I have to keep connections with all kinds of people, right?"
Rain's gaze narrowed. "Then why do you look so guilty?"
"W-Who's guilty?!" Buggy stammered, throwing his arms in protest. "I'm not guilty of anything!"
Rain raised a brow, unconvinced. "Then explain why you look exactly like someone who did something behind my back."
Buggy scratched his head, beads of sweat forming. At last, he sighed and muttered,
"Actually… it's nothing serious. I just… might've used your name to contact Dragon."
"..."
Rain's silence was deafening.
After hearing Buggy's words, Rain didn't know what to say for a moment. He stared at him, then let out a long sigh.
"I'll let it go this time, Buggy. But next time…" Rain's gaze hardened. "It won't be so easy to deal with, understand?"
Buggy nodded frantically. "Don't worry! There will never be a next time—I swear!"
Rain smirked faintly, unconvinced but willing to leave it at that.
Then Buggy leaned closer, putting on his most flattering smile. "S-So, uh… I just happened to receive a batch of Devil Fruits. Take your pick—whichever you like, it's yours."
Rain chuckled, nodding with satisfaction. "Good. Don't worry, I won't be polite."
He had to admit—there was a reason Buggy had climbed so high. At the very least, the man knew how to read the room.
...
Revolutionary Army Base
"Buggy… is quite the character."
Even Dragon couldn't help but sigh after hearing the details Buggy had passed along.
Even he, the leader of the Revolutionary Army, had never seriously considered directly attacking the Holy Land of Mariejois.
Yet Buggy the so-called world's richest man had not only thought of it, but actually moved forward with the idea.
It left Dragon with a strange sense of admiration.
"Dragon, are we really going to do what Buggy suggested? What if this is a trap…?"
Ivankov's expression was uneasy. The Revolutionary Army looked prosperous on the surface, but in truth, they were still rootless.
Their foundation was fragile.
If they made a single misstep and the World Government managed to catch them, the damage could be catastrophic—perhaps even the end of their movement.
In Ivankov's view, such a gamble was far too dangerous.
Dragon, however, remained calm. "This is a rare chance to glimpse the true background of the World Government. I don't want to miss it. And remember—we're not deploying on a large scale.
"Only our high-level members will move. With Kuma's power, retreat will never be a problem."
Ivankov studied him for a long moment. "Have you already decided, Dragon?"
Dragon's expression didn't waver. "If this succeeds, we could save ten years of struggle in a single night."
Ivankov exhaled heavily, then gave a wry smile. "Really… I get it."
With that, he nodded in support.
"Thank you, Ivankov," Dragon said sincerely and then he looked towards East.
On this harsh road, to have comrades who shared his resolve...that alone gave him the strength to keep walking toward a brighter future.
...
At the same time, far beneath the waves, a red-scaled fish-man slipped away from Fish-Man Island—vanishing quietly into the endless sea.
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