Dragon's Call

"Can your Armament Haki achieve Internal Destruction?" This time, it wasn't Mosen who asked, but Michael, the One-eyed Pirate.

"Hm? Michael, why do you care about that?" Ian, the One-armed Pirate, asked.

"When I was in the Navy, I heard that once Armament Haki reached a certain level, it could bypass an enemy's defenses and inflict damage from within," Michael replied.

"Internal Destruction? That's the first I've heard of it. Is that really possible?" Mia murmured.

"Of course. Just as Observation Haki can see into people's hearts and grant Future Sight once it reaches a certain level, Advanced Armament Haki really does have the ability to inflict Internal Destruction," Mosen said.

"Warden, how do you know about this?" Mia asked.

"The Navy Vice Admiral who taught me the Six Powers was a student of Marine Admiral Zephyr. I don't need to tell you about Black Arm Zephyr's reputation, do I?"

Everyone nodded. Zephyr was known as Black Arm Zephyr because his Armament Haki was so powerful.

"Then, Paddy, can your Armament Haki achieve Internal Destruction?" Mosen continued.

"I couldn't do it at first. I only mastered the technique after Lord Shiki gave me some pointers," Paddy said.

After hearing Paddy's answer, Mosen was thrilled. He never would have imagined that Paddy had mastered Advanced Armament Haki.

Among the four of them, Mia had awakened Observation Haki naturally and had now more or less learned Future Sight, while Paddy possessed Advanced Armament Haki.

If he could learn both of their specialties, and continue developing his Frozen Lineage Factor to grow stronger, his strength would make a huge leap.

"Buru-buru-buru~" The sudden ringing of the Den Den Mushi interrupted Mosen's thoughts.

Mosen froze for a moment, then his expression grew serious. He did indeed always carry a Den Den Mushi on him. This one had been given to him by Monkey D. Dragon, the future leader of the Revolutionary Army.

Now that the Den Den Mushi was ringing, there was no doubt Dragon was contacting him.

At that, Mosen picked up his food and returned to the room, closing the door behind him.

Mosen took a deep breath and answered. Dragon's voice came from the Den Den Mushi. "Hello, Mosen. It's Dragon. How are you feeling?"

"Mr. Dragon, you finally contacted me! I'm feeling much better, so don't worry." Mosen sounded a little excited.

The reason he was so excited was that awakening memories of his past life hadn't dulled his hatred of the Celestial Dragons. If anything, it had made that hatred even more deeply ingrained.

Putting his personal hatred aside, the education Mosen had received in his previous life had also left him loathing the Celestial Dragons and their warped ruling class.

But Mosen knew very well that he couldn't overthrow the Celestial Dragons' rule on his own. Even if he rose through the Navy ranks to become Fleet Admiral, he still wouldn't be able to defy the Celestial Dragons—or, more accurately, the will of the World Government.

In Mosen's view, the justice the Navy protected from beginning to end was merely the order imposed by the Celestial Dragons and the World Government.

But justice wasn't simply order. The Navy was wrong at its very core. Correcting that mistake would require the World Government to disappear first, so there was no way the Navy could be counted on to overthrow it.

As for pirates, evil pirates were utterly vicious criminals. Who would expect a bunch of madmen to overthrow the World Government and save the world?

Good-hearted pirates couldn't be considered bad people, but most of them did whatever they pleased and were far too undisciplined to rely on.

The best—and only—choice for overthrowing the Celestial Dragons' rule was Dragon's Revolutionary Army.

That was why Mosen had been waiting for Dragon to contact him.

"Sorry, Mosen. I've spent this time searching for a way to overthrow the Celestial Dragons' rule and thinking about what I should do to save the people they've oppressed. I've only recently found an answer," Dragon explained.

"Mr. Dragon, what are you planning to do?"

"I've thought it through. There's no way to change the world without powerful military strength, so I plan to establish an organization first.

"At the beginning, the organization will slowly build up its strength. Once we're strong enough, we'll start with some of the World Government's Affiliated Nations on the outskirts, gradually eating away at its power until we finally overthrow it."

Mosen was taken aback. Wasn't this just encircling the cities from the countryside?

"Under my plan, our initial actions shouldn't attract much attention. The World Government's Affiliated Nations are unstable, after all. The people there can barely afford to eat, yet they still have to pay enormous amounts of Celestial Gold, so rebellions break out often.

"But as our organization expands, the World Government and the Navy will take notice. That'll be a serious threat to our growth.

"So, Mosen, I want you to stay in the Navy and provide us with intelligence. Are you willing?"

After hearing Dragon out, Mosen felt relieved. Dragon was more far-sighted than he'd expected.

Until then, Mosen had both hoped Dragon would call and dreaded it.

He hoped for the call because of his hatred of the Celestial Dragons. He dreaded it because he worried Dragon might not be as the original story had portrayed him. After all, Dragon's father and son both seemed pretty dim. What if Dragon wasn't that smart either?

Fortunately, Mosen realized he'd been worrying for nothing. So far, Dragon's ideas had been very mature: establish the Revolutionary Army, build up its strength in secret, then gradually take over the small, obscure countries on the outskirts. He'd even thought of having Mosen remain in the Navy to provide intelligence to the Revolutionary Army. Dragon had considered just about everything.

Now Mosen could confidently join Dragon.

With that in mind, Mosen said, "Mr. Dragon, I'm willing to stay in the Navy as a spy."

"That's great! I'll be counting on you, Mosen. Don't worry, your undercover assignment won't last long. Once our organization is stable, you can come back."

"Mr. Dragon, before we get to that, you know I'm in Impel Down 5th Layer, Extreme Cold Hell, right?" Mosen asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, I heard. A friend in the Navy told me that after your Lineage Factor was modified, you became immune to the cold, so they sent you to guard Extreme Cold Hell," Dragon replied.

"Mr. Dragon, I've noticed something during the two months I've spent in Extreme Cold Hell."

"What is it?"

"Not all the pirates imprisoned here are utterly vicious criminals. Some became pirates because they were oppressed by the Celestial Dragons and the nobles.

"After becoming pirates, they didn't prey on civilians, burn and kill, or loot. I think we could recruit those pirates as allies. We're still weak, so we should unite with everyone we can."

Mosen's words made Dragon think of everything he'd seen and heard during this time. Just as Mosen had said, many pirates had gone to sea only because they'd been persecuted by the Celestial Dragons and the old nobility, with no other choice.

However, more than half of those pirates completely lost their way after taking to the sea. They ended up oppressing civilians alongside the Celestial Dragons and the nobles. Only a small fraction managed to stay true to themselves.

But there were so many pirates that even a small fraction of them still amounted to a considerable number.

At that thought, Dragon's eyes lit up.