Chapter 54

In front of Smoker, marines, and civilians, the men in black suits raised their bodies up.

"We belong to Cipher Pol number 8, and currently, are in process of restoring order to the kingdom of Lulusia." The one in the middle—who wore round glasses—stated, "And I, currently in charge of leading this operation, go by the name Garfield. Please, there is no reason to be cautious of us."

Placing his hands on his back, the man, Garfield, looked around him. Many marine soldiers visibly relaxed. The civilians initially seemed confused, but after seeing that the marines around them relaxed, they too followed the suit. However, not the same could be said for the four: Smoker, Aramaki, Rosinante, and Robin. They, maintaining impassiveness, didn't let a single slip of emotion.

Garfield eventually resumed talking, "...For a few weeks, we've been investigating the grim state of this island. The revolts, the anguish of citizens, and... the pirates who claim themselves to be the royal guards. We've seen the harsh treatments that people were receiving and deemed that the king Barnon has corrupted beyond the point of redeeming."

"...And?" Said Smoker.

"The World Government sides with justice, and so do the Marine. Naturally, we will aid the rebellion, however, there lies one complication." Just as Garfield said so, one agent next to him walked forth and handed Smoker three pieces of paper. On those papers, there were rough sketches of three individuals,

"Dragon, Ivankov, and Kuma. Though we are yet to know their specific background information, those three are the nation-level terrorists who claim themselves to be the so-called 'Revolutionary Army.' They, for nothing but gruesome satisfaction, murdered all marines that were caught by them, and were in process of manipulating the citizens to lead this kingdom to absolute destruction."

'A lie,' Smoker immediately thought, 'There is no reason for Dragon to kill the marines. Instead, keeping the marines caught and treating them well would be better for him, for he can appeal his goodness.'

Garfield, adjusting the glasses, spoke through Smoker's thought, "Therefore, there is the need to oppose both the kingdom, protected by Warmog the 'Big Force,' as well as to catch Dragon, Ivankov, and Kuma. And I admit—the strength of CP8 isn't enough to handle such powerhouses at once; we require your help."

Smoker lowered his head, seemingly in deep thought. Then, after a brief moment, he raised it back up with a calm demeanour and asked, "...What's the plan?"

"Oh, the plan already has proceeded," Garfield finally expressed a smile after hearing Smoker's implied acceptance, "The rebellion's base changes everyday, and in this maze-like kingdom, locating it is nigh-impossible. However, we've received the intel just today of their current base, Hank's Funny Drink, and have begun the operation to catch—"

<<Purururu, purururu!>> A Den Den Mushi that one of the other CP8 agents was holding, suddenly cried, cutting off Garfield's words.

"...My apologies." Garfield, who seemed puzzled by the sudden call, reached his hand out to the dial of the Den Den Mushi and brought it up, "CP8 Garfield here."

<<C-chief Garfield!! We've entered the base and... found literally no one!!>>

"...Sorry?"

__________

"...The information that 'marines were killed by the rebellion,' was supposed to be the device of lure. We've set up in such a way so that when the additional marines arrive as the back-ups, we'd be able to showcase the still-alive marines and publicly spread that we are the ones in the right. Yet,"

Dark in the night, at the back alley, four individuals were present. One among them, Seki, was trembling in fear as he received the glares from the other three: Dragon, Ivankov, and Kuma. Dragon, trying to suppress the rage within him, whispered,

"Someone decided to kill them all of a sudden, for no reason in particular. I was already aware that there is the possibility of spy infiltrating our Revolutionary Army, however, to think it would be you out of all, Seki..."

Dragon was the man with a good hunch. The first whom he came to suspect after discovering the marines' deaths was none other than Seki, the executive of the Revolutionary Army along with Dragon himself, Ivankov, and Kuma. And Seki, being the citizen of this kingdom, knew the ins and outs very well, and therefore, was responsible for determining the daily base for a brief gathering. Every day, he was to determine a base and report to Dragon, to which Dragon will then relay to Ivankov and Kuma, and ultimately, the civilians.

Tonight, Dragon didn't follow such a procedure. Even after receiving the information regarding the place determined as the daily base from Seki, he didn't relay it to anyone. And there it was, the abrupt influx of CP8 agents into the building meant to be the base, ultimately confirming that Seki was the spy.

"Seki, you bastard...!!!" Ivankov, expressing raw anger, was currently struggling under Kuma's hold, "I will fucking neuter yooooooou!!!"

"Calm down, Ivankov. But having spy this close to us means..." Kuma said gravely, "Our identities must've been revealed."

Seki, the blonde man with a skinny figure. He, whose eyes teared up from fear and whose bottom half was drenched from his own urine, forced a grin onto his face,

"Y-you... you guys can't kill me."

Dragon, whose eyes gave off the murderous gleam, walked toward Seki upon hearing his fear-filled mockery. Seki gulped, but nonetheless continued,

"R-Revolutionary Army? Screw that!!! All that we w-wanted was the better life, and not t-this... this sort of fighting against the entire world!! D-do you think we are dumb enough to follow your plan?!!"

Dragon froze. He then muttered, "...We?"

"Yes, we!!!" Seki cried with his fists clenched, "I'm not the spy!!! Everyone in the rebellion is with me... they decided to make me the king of Lulusia, and the Cipher Pols... they promised me that Lulusia will still be allowed to be a member of the World Government!!!"

Seki met his eyes with Dragon's. Forcing his grin to a greater extent, he said, "...So who's in the wrong here? Who's trying to disrupt our peace by bringing our life into the greater battlefield? Who's trying to make us fight against the World Government, and bring us into the inevitable doom?!" He pointed at Dragon and growled, "YOU!!! It's you, Dragon!!!"

Dragon, Ivankov, and Kuma stood still, not replying to Seki's outburst. However, in contrast to their still outward appearance, their inner side was in turmoil. Currently... they felt nothing but disgust toward humanity.

"...So you can't kill me." Seki whispered once again, "If you are the self-righteous Revolutionary Army as you claim, you can't kill me, the king who will bring this kingdom to peace."

Ivankov has long stopped thrashing in Kuma's hold. Kuma, turning his head to Dragon, asked stoically, "...What now, Dragon?"

Dragon closed his eyes with a grim expression. Then, opening them back up, he muttered,

"...We retreat."

__________

"...Has Seki been discovered?" Garfield, ending the call, whispered to himself. Then, as he adjusted his black hat, said to Smoker, "Our apologies. It seems that something has gone wrong, but it is only trivial."

Smoker, without any word, silently sat down on a rock. And as he supported his chin under his hands, his eyes were shadowed from Garfield's point of view.

"Tomorrow, a huge revolt will arise, and all civilians, along with us, will attack the castle. King Barnon will be arrested for the crime of joining hands with pirates. If Seki is alive... he will be nominated as the new king to represent the Lulusia Kingdom. Dragon, on the other hand—"

"Are you capable of tracking them down, CP8?" Smoker then asked, cutting off Garfield's words.

Garfield's eyes narrowed, "...Truthfully speaking, no. But based on your nuance of speaking, I assume that you must have a way to do so."

Smoker, raising his gaze, met his eyes, which were flashing in crimson red, with Garfield.

"They are currently on the run, and in due time, they will be gone." Smoker said seriously, "However... just as you said, letting them go like this is... unfavourable.

...Aramaki."

Upon Smoker's call, Aramaki, who stood back up while unwrapping the bandages around his body, replied with a grin, "What's up, Commodore?"

"That Warmog the 'Big Force,' you will be in charge of dealing with him tomorrow. And this time around, do ensure to go all out."

Aramaki bumped his fists together, "Roger that."

"The rest of you are to follow Ensign Aramaki's command. And meanwhile, I..."

Then, everyone saw, the wisps of smoke rising from Smoker's body,

"...will be chasing after Dragon."

before,

Swoosh!

his form blurred out from the scene.

__________

'...Peace, eh.' Dragon, filled with emptiness, walked forth with Ivankov and Kuma by his sides. Each step felt heavy to take, yet he continued to walk.

The moon was shining above them, however, even the moon itself seemed gloomy. The starry night—it gave Dragon many thoughts.

'The Revolutionary Army... its purpose is to end the World Government's tyranny. Their unreasonable crimes are gone ignored, and they claim themselves to be the justice...'

Dragon sometimes felt as if everyone had a different view than him, that they were looking at the world too optimistically.

'Lulusia kingdom... how laughable,' Dragon thought, 'King Barnon was once a good man. He rose to the throne with the intention not to repeat the evil deeds of his father, and yet, he eventually turned out to be worse. And Seki... I doubt that you possess the will to resist the World Government's corruption.'

But what happened has already happened. Dragon, in the end, decided to leave Seki untouched. Yes, it may seem foolish, however, Dragon was a kind man by nature. The decision to build Revolutionary Army was based out of noble intention to prevent the World Government's tyranny such as the 'Ohara incident.' If the people of Lulusia decided that they don't need him... then so be it, he thought.

"...Well, it surely was a wild experience," Dragon muttered, causing Ivankov and Kuma to look at him.

"Mmfufufu... you aren't wrong about that part." Ivankov chuckled in response. Kuma, though he didn't say anything, let out a slight smile.

Dragon, gazing up at the bright moon, said, "I suppose that... it's time for us to return and take some rest—"

"Not so fast, Dragon." A masculine voice was heard from the back all of a sudden, interrupting Dragon. The three of them immediately turned back, and sighted,

Smoker, the white-haired man with the justice coat draped around him.

"Cheh...!" Ivankov, along with Kuma, immediately lowered their postures in caution. Dragon, on the other hand, gazed at Smoker impassively, who looked back at him with an equal amount of calmness.

"...Smoker." Dragon said solemnly, "Are you here to catch us?"

Smoker, in response, smiled as he shook his head. Then, with his hands in his pockets, he said, "No. Instead,"

Ivankov and Kuma, confused by Smoker's lack of hostility, raised their eyebrows.

"I've come to bargain."