"What exactly is going on?"
"Dragon was arrested?"
"How is that possible!"
Hearing the intelligence from the den den mushi, Yasopp, Lucky Roux, and other core members of the Red Hair Pirates gathered around Shanks.
Shanks did not speak; instead, he ended the call after the intelligence report was completed.
Although the news of Dragon, the revolutionary army leader, being arrested was shocking, what he cared about more was the God's Knights members who went to the East Blue to assist Ian in arresting Dragon this time.
Especially Shamrock's appearance, which greatly surprised him.
The reason was simple: Shamrock was not only the young master of the Figarland family but also the successor to the next commander of the God's Knights. In terms of status, as Celestial Dragons and young masters of their respective families, Shamrock was not inferior to Ian, and perhaps even surpassed him.
Yet, such a young master of an influential family, the successor to the next commander of the God's Knights, was willing to become Ian's personal bodyguard, just like other God's Knights members.
"Boss, what are you thinking about?"
Lucky Roux, who had approached, saw Shanks' silence and tentatively asked, "Are you worried about Luffy?"
Shanks nodded, his expression grave, and said, "Ian first dispatched the Marine to arrest Luffy to draw out Dragon, the revolutionary army leader, and then immediately sent out the God's Knights to swiftly arrest Dragon. From this perspective, Ian's target was not Luffy; he merely wanted to use Luffy to force Dragon to appear. But I always feel that Ian's true target is Luffy, and the reason Dragon became a variable is because I foresaw the future with Observation Haki and passed on the information that Luffy would be killed to Garp!"
"If I hadn't foreseen Luffy being killed in the future, Garp wouldn't have known Ian was going to arrest Luffy, and he certainly wouldn't have notified Dragon after we passed on that information!"
"Now that Dragon has been arrested, the Marine and God's Knights have set up such a large display, seemingly to prevent the Revolutionary Army from rescuing Dragon, but in reality, it's to distract everyone's attention so that Ian can continue to arrest Luffy!"
Upon hearing this, Lucky Roux blinked in confusion: "Why would that be? According to the intelligence, this is Ian's first time leaving the Holy Land; he shouldn't know Luffy! After all, Luffy has been living in Foosha Village and Mt. Colubo all these years!"
"This is the crux of the problem!"
Shanks turned his head to Benn Beckman, "This is Ian's first time leaving the Holy Land, yet he knows so much about Luffy's background and even knows he was fostered on Mt. Colubo. It's not impossible that he also knows Luffy's other identity!"
Benn Beckman did not answer, silently smoking his cigarette, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Seeing this, Lucky Roux asked curiously, "Luffy has another identity?"
"Yes!" Shanks nodded again, "The Devil Fruit user of the Gum-Gum Fruit!"
"Why is that?" another pirate crew member came up to Shanks, bewildered: "Isn't it just a Gum-Gum Fruit user? It actually drew out such a big shot, even the God's Knights were mobilized!"
"Rockstar, you just joined recently, so you don't know what this Devil Fruit means!"
Benn Beckman, who had been silent, glanced at the new member who had approached Shanks and explained, "The Gum-Gum Fruit Luffy ate was not acquired by chance; we obtained it from CP0 back then, but eventually, due to an accident, Luffy gained the Gum-Gum Fruit's ability!"
"If it were just an ordinary Gum-Gum Fruit, that would be one thing, but the Gum-Gum Fruit is not ordinary. If Luffy develops the Gum-Gum Fruit's ability to the awakening stage, he will awaken a brand new form!"
"Awaken a brand new form?" Rockstar blinked in confusion.
"Yes!"
Benn Beckman nodded, his expression grave, and said, "Sun God Nika form!"
Rockstar blinked in confusion again, clearly very unfamiliar with the Nika form.
"Lucky Roux, pass on the order!"
Just then, Shanks suddenly stood up and then said, "Everyone prepare; we depart for the East Blue in half an hour!"
"Yes!"
Lucky Roux dared not delay, got up, and ran towards the encampment.
Half an hour later, all members of the Red Hair Pirates boarded their warship, the Red Force.
With Shanks' command, the Red Force set sail, speeding towards the deep sea!
Shanks, standing at the bow, had an unprecedentedly solemn expression.
He was almost certain that Ian's true target was Luffy, and the reason Ian was able to accurately locate Luffy on his first departure from the Holy Land was most likely because he knew the secret of Luffy's Gum-Gum Fruit and wanted to nip him in the bud before Luffy awakened.
If Luffy had already set sail as a pirate and encountered danger, he would not be so anxious, because only by experiencing various dangers, breaking through numerous obstacles, and overcoming all difficulties would Luffy truly grow.
But now that Luffy has attracted the attention of the Holy Land before even setting sail, and the God's Knights have been directly dispatched, he can no longer stand idly by... The next day.
News of the revolutionary army leader's successful arrest by the World Government quickly spread from the East Blue to the Grand Line, and after a night of fermentation, the entire world was shocked by the news of the revolutionary army leader's arrest.
After learning that Dragon had been escorted from the East Blue to the first half of the Grand Line, to get firsthand news reports, major news agencies in the Grand Line dispatched capable cadres and intelligence personnel to track the Marine warship escorting Dragon.
The Revolutionary Army, upon learning of their leader's arrest, mobilized all forces, preparing to rescue Dragon before the warship escorting him reached Marineford.
For a time, the world situation was tumultuous.
Marineford was on high alert, and the World Government headquarters building in the Holy Land was brightly lit all night.
The Gorosei, who had been in charge of the Chamber of the Five Elders for years, no longer just drank tea and chatted daily as before; they arrived at the Chamber of the Five Elders early in the morning, awaiting the safe escort of Dragon, the revolutionary army leader who posed the greatest threat to the World Government, to Marineford.
Compared to the turbulent situation in the Grand Line, the East Blue seemed very calm.
Ian, who had returned to the Goa Kingdom because Foosha Village was affected by the battle, did not bother Princess Sally and had a good night's sleep in the Goa Kingdom's royal bedchamber.
After breakfast with Gunko, Ian casually picked up the newspaper on the dining table.
Seeing all pages of the newspaper reporting the news of Dragon's arrest, he nodded with satisfaction.
The major news publications were able to report this matter so quickly, clearly because the World Government was pushing it behind the scenes, wanting to use Dragon to draw out the Revolutionary Army, which had gradually grown stronger over the years. Even if they couldn't annihilate it in one fell swoop, they could at least severely weaken the Revolutionary Army!
Of course, Ian did not care how the World Government would launch its encirclement and suppression campaign against the Revolutionary Army.
Because this was the World Government's business, he only wanted to know if the news of Dragon's arrest would draw out Luffy.
As long as he could nip Luffy, the unawakened Sun God Nika, in the bud, whether it was the Revolutionary Army or the lawless pirates on the Grand Line, he would have plenty of time to clear them out!
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