Chief of Staff

"Don't compare yourself to me. Your Old Man has a big heart—he can let you roam the Great Sea as you please. And he's like some shameless rogue; he neither cares what the World Government thinks nor wants to rise to a high position, so naturally he can..."

"But my Old Man can't do that. If I really became a Pirate, or ran off with you, then with his personality, never mind whether his blood pressure would spike and make him pass out on the spot. Even if he somehow didn't die, he'd definitely hunt me down across the world himself."

After a pause, Yaen suddenly realized something and said, "Also, I still haven't agreed to become the Chief of Staff of your organization, which barely even has the beginnings of a structure."

"Hahaha..."

Dragon laughed. "Chief of Staff, it's only a matter of time. We're destined to walk the same path. In some ways, your ideas have gone even farther down this road than mine."

Just as Yaen was about to refute Dragon, an utterly unfamiliar voice came vaguely through the Den Den Mushi.

"Dragon, you deserter from the Marines who spreads dangerous ideas—you actually have other accomplices? Who is this Chief of Staff?"

Immediately afterward came the howl of wind, mixed with shouts and sounds of collision.

In an instant, Yaen's face darkened completely, and he roared in fury, "Dragon, you idiot! There's an enemy right next to you, and you still answered my call? Did Garp's armpit squeeze your brain flat?"

"Don't be so irritable, Chief of Staff. That doesn't sound like you." Dragon's unhurried voice came from the Den Den Mushi amid the whistling wind.

Yaen took several deep breaths and asked, "Who are the enemies?"

"Just a few CP0 Members."

Dragon answered casually, but it made Yaen feel awful all over.

"Dragon, if you can't completely deal with those CP0 Organization members and news of me reaches the World Government, I'll kill you myself."

With that, Yaen directly hung up the Den Den Mushi. Wearing an utterly lifeless expression, he cursed nonstop in his heart.

"Dragon, that Bastard. Idiot. Garp the Second..."

At the same time, Yaen could not help feeling fortunate that he had not gotten carried away and followed Dragon in deserting the Marines.

Otherwise, with Yaen's Small Arms and Legs, he would probably have been killed by this Dragon Bastard—full of passion and dreams, yet ridiculously unreliable when it came to getting things done.

Unlike the mysterious and powerful leader of the Revolutionary Army in Yaen's memories, this younger Dragon was especially hot-blooded, brimming with enthusiasm for dreams and justice. Like Luffy and Garp, his actions could sometimes be outrageously absurd.

That was precisely why, after confirming what he truly believed in, Dragon, the son of the Hero of the Marines, had almost without hesitation chosen to desert the Marines and head out onto the Great Sea in pursuit of the revolutionary path Yaen had casually spoken of.

"Sigh... What a talent..."

In the end, Yaen sighed. While using Observation Haki to keep watch over the battle between Kuzan and Sakazuki, Vice Admiral Spandine and Sauron, he waited quietly.

About a hundred breaths later, the Den Den Mushi in Yaen's hand rang.

Yaen answered it and asked first, "How did it go? Were they dealt with?"

"Don't worry. How could a mere few CP0 members possibly be my match? Hahaha!" Dragon said in a tone brimming with exhilaration.

"Don't let your guard down," Yaen warned.

"Devil Fruit abilities come in all sorts and are impossible to guard against. There might be an ability that brings the dead back to life or something. Grind those CP0 corpses into powder with your wind and scatter it all into the Great Sea, understand?"

"Alright, alright. Chief of Staff, you're still ridiculously cautious."

Though Dragon sounded somewhat helpless, his movements did not slow in the slightest. He thoroughly sent those CP0 Members back into the embrace of Mother Sea.

Then Dragon's tone turned serious. "Alright, Chief of Staff. What is it you wanted to talk about?"

"Where exactly are you now?" Yaen continued asking.

"On a Deserted Island in the New World," Dragon answered.

"Didn't I ask you to keep an eye on Ohara Island? Why did you run all the way there?" Yaen asked helplessly.

For reasons that were difficult to explain, Yaen had no way to tell Dragon in advance about the Ohara Incident that was highly likely to occur in the future.

However, Yaen had repeatedly reminded Dragon to closely watch Ohara Island, emphasizing that the archaeologists who understood ancient writing were extremely important.

After all, only archaeologists who understood the ancient writing could decipher the Poneglyphs and learn the secrets feared by the World Government.

For that reason, Yaen had originally thought that Dragon would appear here ahead of time during this Ohara Incident, and evacuate the important documents within the Tree of Knowledge as well as the archaeologists.

What Yaen had not expected was that Dragon was not even in the West Blue.

"I couldn't help it. The CP0 Organization was following me too closely, and I had no way to shake them. This time, I only barely managed to set a trap on this Deserted Island and completely eliminate those CP0 Members," Dragon explained helplessly before asking, "Did something happen to Ohara?"

"The World Government discovered that Ohara was researching the Poneglyphs and the Void Century, so they directly chose to launch a Buster Call and wipe out all the scholars and important documents. Soon... all of Ohara will completely vanish from the Great Sea," Yaen answered.

As Yaen's words fell, the Den Den Mushi sank into silence for a moment before Dragon finally replied, "Just as the World Government would do. I was careless. If so, deciphering the Poneglyphs will become difficult."

"That is exactly why I urgently contacted you. There is now one surviving archaeologist from Ohara. She has already been sent away from Ohara, and she will be our only hope for deciphering the Poneglyphs and uncovering the World Government's secrets..."

After a pause, Yaen said solemnly, "Find her As Much As Possible and protect her in secret."

"I understand," Dragon replied. "What's her name? What does she look like?"

Yaen gave a simple description. "Nico Robin. An eight-year-old girl with somewhat dark skin, blue-black Pupils, short hair, and a prominent nose. She isn't particularly cute-looking..."

"Wait!"

Dragon instinctively interrupted him. "Chief of Staff, are you serious? An archaeologist who understands ancient writing at only eight years old?"