"You don't even need to describe it—I can imagine how satisfying that must've felt! Better than chugging an ice-cold beer on the hottest island in the world!"
Roldy rarely gave praise so openly. He raised a thumb toward Dragon.
For a man born into a proud Marine lineage to take that step… the blow to his sense of justice must have been immense.
Dragon lifted his glass proudly and drank.
But the pride quickly faded, replaced by bitterness.
"Yes. It was satisfying. But that satisfaction cost me everything."
"As you can see, killing a Celestial Dragon in broad daylight caused too much of an uproar. The old man and Fleet Admiral Sengoku couldn't protect me even if they wanted to. The World Government issued the highest-level bounty order. I went from the Marines' future Admiral to one of the most valuable criminals in the world overnight."
Dragon's expression was complicated.
How could he not feel resentment? A lifetime of effort erased in an instant.
But regret?
No.
There wasn't a trace of it on his face.
Roldy saw that clearly.
That was the Dragon he knew—unyielding in his sense of justice. Evil could not exist before him without response. Maybe his justice was idealistic. Maybe it lacked Sakazuki's ruthless decisiveness.
But to stand by while the so-called nobles he protected placed shackles on a seven-year-old girl?
He could never accept that.
"Heh. Maybe it's a good thing. At least you've seen their true faces."
Roldy exhaled smoke.
"But what now? You didn't come just to reminisce."
Dragon straightened.
"I'm here to recruit you, Roldy. Join me."
"Piracy isn't a long-term path. A man like you shouldn't carry the title of 'pirate.' I plan to form a new organization—one dedicated to opposing the World Government and saving innocent civilians."
"With your strength, hundreds of kingdoms could be freed. Tens of millions could gain new lives. The structure of this world could change."
Dragon spoke with practiced charisma. Back in Marine Headquarters, he had delivered countless speeches. He trusted his rhetoric.
The problem was—
Roldy didn't respond.
He focused entirely on the bowl of nuts in front of him.
Nothing seemed more important.
"…."
Dragon slowly sat back down.
"You're still the same."
After finishing his food, Roldy lit another cigarette.
"Save civilians? Save kingdoms? What's the point?"
"As long as humans exist, oppression won't disappear. Even if you wipe out the Celestial Dragons, the common people won't magically live happily ever after."
"So we do nothing?" Dragon shot back.
"You misunderstand me."
Roldy's tone hardened.
"From the beginning, I didn't care about Celestial Dragons—so long as they didn't cross me."
"But they did."
"I don't care about the world's structure. I care about the Roldy of back then. Back when I was a Marine."
He tapped ash onto the floor.
"That Roldy is dead."
"The World Government killed him."
"Friends."
"What I want is simple—slaughter the World Government and every last one of those bastards."
"What the world looks like afterward? What kind of lives civilians live?"
"Not my concern."
Those words shattered the image Dragon had carried in his heart.
Roldy had become the very kind of pirate Dragon despised.
The naive boy was gone.
The ideals were dead.
Save the world? Change the world?
Somewhere along the way, those thoughts had stopped stirring Roldy's emotions.
"How… did it come to this?"
Dragon rarely looked lost.
He had imagined many outcomes—enthusiastic agreement, strategic refusal, even being thrown out.
But not this.
"However…"
Roldy spoke again.
Dragon's eyes regained a glimmer of light.
"Even if I reject your proposal, we share a common enemy. We can be allies."
Both men knew—
To achieve their goals, they would inevitably clash with the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.
"So," Roldy continued, "I've got manpower like this."
"And around two billion Beli worth of treasure."
Most of that had been Shiki's farewell gift. The rest was Roldy's own accumulation.
A respectable fortune.
Dragon's face turned red.
"Well… on my side, I currently possess combat power worth about 2.5 billion Beli in bounty terms…"
"Mm."
"Mm…"
"Mm?"
"That's it?"
Roldy stared at him.
So your entire organization is… you?
And 2.5 billion Beli "combat power" has plenty of water in it, old friend.
Dragon wasn't quite at true Admiral level yet. His bounty reflected political threat more than raw strength.
Though with his talent, reaching Admiral-tier wouldn't take long.
"It's the startup phase!" Dragon protested weakly. "You know how bad the job market is right now…"
"And my old man confiscated most of my money under various excuses. I couldn't even bring my private savings."
He hesitated.
"By the way… could I stay here a few days?"
"And maybe… sponsor me a bit?"
Veins bulged on Roldy's forehead.
He had just realized—
He was funding a revolution.
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