Moonlit Gale Rising!
As evening approached and the sun set, its orange-red rays cast a shimmering golden glow on the sea.
East Blue, the Dunbell Kingdom.
This is a country located near the Calm Belt and furthest from the Reverse Mountain.
However, the locals live a relatively good life because the surrounding waters are rich in several types of relatively expensive fish. By farming and selling these fish, people can easily afford to pay for their "Heavenly Tribute" and fill their stomachs.
The key point is that the kings of all dynasties were quite good. Although they could not be called particularly benevolent and loving towards their people, at least they did not impose extra Heavenly Tribute on the people, making them pay so-called "double taxes."
But all of that happened in the past.
To be precise...
It all started two months ago when the king suddenly issued a law that all seafood had to be handed over first, and then distributed equally among each household.
At the same time, the profits from selling these seafood products will no longer be distributed proportionally to the citizens, but will instead be used to provide a fixed wage based on the number of people in each household.
In other words...
From now on, everyone will work for the kingdom and receive a fixed salary. There will be no more so-called private companies, whether it's fish fry farming or fish caught by fishing boats.
In any case, the fish they harvest no longer belong to them, but to the kingdom as its assets.
What's this?
Robbery!
The people were outraged, and millions left their homes to gather and protest in front of the kingdom's high walls and gates.
However, faced with the king's army, which was well-prepared and armed with guns, and even brought in cannons, the unarmed soldiers were helpless and were even ordered to be driven away and suppressed by the impatient king.
During the incident, a stampede occurred, resulting in eleven deaths and hundreds of injuries. The scene was one of utter chaos, filled with cries and wails.
This is the first time in many years that such a serious violent incident has occurred in the Dunbell Kingdom.
But this also made the people understand.
The king seems to have changed, and so has the kingdom!
The once harmonious and bright streets are now deserted except for patrolling soldiers; it's rare to see any residents around.
Even the sky was unknowingly shrouded in a thick layer of dark clouds.
But it neither rained nor was it windy; it simply blocked most of the sunlight, allowing darkness to permeate every corner of the country.
The oppressive atmosphere was like real air pressure, making it increasingly difficult for people to breathe.
Some people also expressed their doubts.
Why would the king, who was perfectly fine, undergo such a drastic change?
Despite the grim social atmosphere, even the newspapers brought by News Coo about the 'Top 100 Tournament' and the 'Otherworld Star Gate' did not attract much attention.
A secluded clearing in the jungle near the coast.
Surprisingly, there were more than a dozen large green tents set up here, along with tables, chairs, barbecue grills, campfires, and other items that exuded a sense of everyday life.
About twenty burly men were doing their own things.
"Chief of Staff, news from headquarters indicates that the first batch of ships will arrive at 3 PM tonight."
Gaban was reclining in his chair reading the newspaper, didn't move when he heard this, and casually asked, "How much stock?"
"Three thousand bolt-action rifles, twenty boxes of hand grenades, two hundred submachine guns, and a total of five thousand various weapons," the intelligence officer stated.
"That's a bit too little."
Gaban straightened up, adjusted his small sunglasses with his finger, and chuckled, "But they're enough to kick off an uprising."
"Also, the intelligence chief reminded us that the World Government's Ministry of Police is currently investigating us, and we should be extra careful and try to avoid running into them."
Gaban raised an eyebrow.
"Is it the department headed by Garp's son? I think it's called Dragon?"
"Yes."
"Monkey D. Dragon, the current Minister of the Ministry of Police of the Judiciary, also possesses the Logia Wind-Wind Fruit ability."
The intelligence officer solemnly relayed the information that Chief Spencer had just conveyed to Gaban.
That's right.
Spencer, the former strategist of the Roger Pirates, who previously said he didn't want to take any more risks because of his marriage, ultimately accepted the position of Intelligence Control Officer of the Revolutionary Army, or simply Intelligence Chief.
"His men are called police officers, and there's also a group of highly skilled individuals known as Constitutional Police; Katakuri, formerly of the Big Mom Pirates, is one of them."
"In addition, there are three Special Paramecia users: Gasparde the Gummy Bear, Buck the Drunkard, and Opera, who is also from the Charlotte Family and is a Cream-Creamy Devil Fruit User."
"It's worth mentioning that the oldest of these four is Katakuri, who is twenty-five years old!"
After hearing this, Gaban laughed heartily and looked up at the other person.
"Why is it all food? And four Special Paramecia users? The World Government really knows how to put together such a lineup. What are they, the future Fleet Admiral of the Police Force and the Three Admirals?"
As he spoke, he stood up, stretched his limbs, and said, "But they're all too young. Strength takes time to accumulate."
Even Garp only reached the top level of strength at the age of thirty-eight, and then at the age of forty, he teamed up with Captain Roger to defeat Rocks.
As for any Special Paramecia...
In Gaban's view, this world is ultimately Haki force, and at his current level of combat power, even the rarest Devil Fruit ability is just so-so.
It was at 2 a. m.
Gaban and his men arrived at the agreed location ahead of time.
At this time, the night is deep and quiet, most people are already fast asleep, and the only sounds are the chirping of insects and the splashing of waves on the shore.
The bright moonlight and starlight reflected each other, transforming into a soft silver veil spread across the sea before our eyes.
The sea breeze that blows from time to time is refreshing and invigorating.
However, the wind carrying the night seemed to be getting stronger, and the shimmering waves were becoming more and more turbulent, which made Gaban immediately sense that something was wrong.
Just as he was about to say something, a member of the Revolutionary Army behind him spoke up, "Chief of Staff, our ship has arrived!"
This distracted Gaban, drawing his attention to two ships approaching from a distance.
He swept his Observation Haki over and, sensing a familiar aura, immediately breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled, "Yo, it really is Doringo leading the team!"
The two ships slowly came to a stop.
Then a young man with black bat wings on his back, a long sword at his waist, and blond hair, who looked very young, flew over quickly and then excitedly opened his arms from the air and pounced on Gaban.
"Mr. Gaban! It's been so long!"
Gaban hugged Doringo helplessly and laughed, "It's only been two months. Your strength has increased, but why hasn't your personality matured?"
"With you and Commander Shakky around, I don't need to be very mature. By the way, have you seen the latest newspaper? That Top 100 Tournament, and the Otherworld..."
"Alright, alright, we can talk about these things when we get back. Let us receive the weapons first." Gaban quickly stopped him from continuing.
Otherwise, it's very likely that we won't finish moving everything by daybreak.
[Call------]
But at that moment, the sky and earth changed color, the sea surged, and a strong wind suddenly blew up, causing the two ships to rock violently, and some of the weaker people could not stand.
This also caused Gaban and Doringo's expressions to change drastically.
"I see. So the so-called Revolutionary Army was formed by the remnants of the Roger Pirates? But I really want to know, why? Why would you do such a thing?"