Eryoka Kingdom, 6:00 AM.
Dragon had already woken up early.
Here, there was no such thing as day or night.
Daytime was just a slightly brighter version of the same dim scenery.
Under the glow of the dim yellow streetlights, the city stirred like a slumbering beast awakening.
Today, Dragon was going to take the cadres of the Freedom Fighter Army to the city's recruitment office to become miners.
"Leader, do we really have to do this?" A middle-aged man approached him and spoke respectfully.
He personally didn't mind mining, as he had made his living farming before.
But he knew Dragon had never done this kind of work and couldn't help wanting to share the burden.
"Swore, I know what you're trying to say, but if I let you handle everything, I won't be able to learn the lessons myself."
"Besides, we're all the same. What you can do, I can do too."
Dragon's eyes were filled with determination, his sharp gaze seeming to pierce through the iron-like thick fog.
"This country has been sick for a long time. How can we change it without understanding the illness deeply?"
Dragon, Swore, and the other Freedom Fighter Army members bid farewell to Old Man Snow, who had taken them in, and set out on the path to seek truth.
"Hello, is this where you're recruiting workers?"
Dragon and Swore approached, dressed in tattered clothes that made them look like beggars.
If not for Old Man Snow's reminder, Dragon and his Force members would have truly overlooked such a minor detail.
A burly man with a scowling face lay snoring loudly on a chair.
He barely managed to open one eye upon hearing the commotion, his booming voice erupting before he even rose:
"What the hell's all this racket? Can't you see I'm sleeping, damn it?"
The disgruntled brute slowly hauled himself up from the chair, yawning widely.
"What do you two want?"
Before Dragon could speak, Swore stepped forward with an ingratiating smile.
"Boss, we'd like to work at the mine for a few days. I heard the mine provides meals, right?"
The scowling man glanced at Swore, snorted contemptuously at his scrawny appearance.
"Man, looking like that, you'd better watch out or you'll get crushed by the ore in the mine."
Swore maintained his obsequious grin.
"Boss, don't let my size fool you - I'm plenty strong. We're starving and just want to earn some meals at the mine."
The scowling man finally stopped objecting - the mine was always short-handed anyway.
Even if this man had refused to go, he would have found a way to coax him into it.
Having worked here so long, he'd developed sharp instincts.
He could tell at a glance these two would end up in the mines, so no need for persuasion.
"That one behind you looks pretty sturdy - why's he so quiet? Mute?"
The scowling man pointed a stubby finger at Dragon standing silently to the side.
Dragon was momentarily taken aback but quickly recovered.
"Boss, my uncle told me to speak less when away from home. He does the talking for us."
Swore chimed in urgently.
"Boss, this is my nephew. I usually keep him quiet because he's terrible with words - might offend people."
"Oh? Your nephew does look quite robust."
The scowling man showed a flicker of suspicion, but then thought - what did he care?
Whether they were vicious pirates or people with ulterior motives, could they affect his monthly salary of eight thousand Belly?
Of course not - he wasn't one of the mine overseers.
So it didn't matter - better them than him dying.
If these two really meant trouble, he'd be the one to die.
Avoiding trouble was better than seeking it - that's how small folks survived.
Swore never imagined the scowling man had so many thoughts, quickly explaining.
"Him? He's always eaten a lot since childhood, grew up strong. Just not good with words, but plenty strong for work."
"Enough, enough, stop wasting words. I'll sign your contract. Someone will take you to the mine later - don't disturb my sleep."
The scowling man didn't want to talk for one second longer.
He snatched a rough piece of paper, scribbled both their names, tossed it on the table, and turned back to sleep.
Leaving Dragon and Swore standing there questioning their lives.
Both being perceptive individuals, they were certain the scowling man had noticed something off.
Yet he'd said nothing, instead readily signing the contract, rendering all their prepared explanations useless.
Swore whispered.
"What now, leader?"
He felt uncertain, but Dragon took it more philosophically.
"It's fine. Since we got in so smoothly, we'll just do our jobs properly."
Dragon's thoughts wandered - he'd been contemplating Old Man Snow's words from last night.
After a night of contemplation, he still hadn't found any solution to break the deadlock.
The key to resolving Eryoka Kingdom's predicament didn't lie in whether the rebel army could defeat the overseers and the King's Guard.
The four Marines branch offices at the ports and the large Marines base nearby were the most challenging problems.
They could completely crush the rebel army.
With advanced weapons and equipment, along with physiques hardened through rigorous training, they were no match for miners who had been toiling in the mines year after year.
Once the rebellion was accomplished, their opponents would shift from the mine overseers and the King's Guard to the armed suppression forces of the World Government.
In Dragon's view, this was an unsolvable problem.
But he wasn't discouraged, because if this issue couldn't be resolved, then he believed there would be no way to continue transforming this world.
"Anyway, our first day at the mine is about to begin. I'm really looking forward to it, Swore."
Dragon encouraged Swore who was beside him.
––––––––––––-
"Ugh!"
Stretching lazily, Raleigh woke up from bed.
He had stayed in the office until past eleven last night—almost the latest he'd been up since transmigrating here.
The one piece world lacked entertainment options, and there were no phones to play with.
His evenings usually consisted of reading books and sleeping.
If he were in East Blue, he would know a few good entertainment districts.
But for North Blue, he truly wasn't very familiar.
Recently, Gion seemed to have developed special feelings for him too; her beautiful eyes often lingered on him.
This made him feel guilty even when he was slacking off.
Fortunately, his efforts with Gion had shown initial results—at the very least, she no longer scolded him when he slacked off.
What was this?
This was Raleigh's victory!
(Actually, it was just that Raleigh was too thick-skinned. Even after Gion told him eight hundred times, he didn't change, so Gion eventually let him do as he pleased.)
Raleigh took off his pajamas, revealing eight well-defined abdominal muscles.
While getting dressed, he mentally calculated how to set a trap for the World Government.
He wasn't some herbivorous rabbit—his usual slacking off was for the system rewards.
(System: It's in your nature, why blame others!)
Since the World Government wanted to use him as an example, Raleigh planned to make them lose a few teeth in the process.
He couldn't intervene in high-level conflicts.
But when it came to schemes at the middle and lower levels, he could make them lose everything down to their underwear.
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