The Revolutionary Army's Future Direction

Dragon's way of taking Mosen along was remarkably simple and direct. Mosen felt a current of air wrap around him, and then he was flying through the sky with Dragon.

This was Mosen's first time escaping the pull of gravity and soaring through the heavens. Watching the clouds drift beside him, he felt both curious and exhilarated.

"I never thought the World Government would really launch a Buster Call against Ohara. All those books in the Tree of Knowledge are probably going to be destroyed," Dragon said with a sigh.

At his words, Mosen reined in his excitement and replied, "Mr. Dragon, the World Government's decision isn't actually surprising.

No ruler would allow the people under their rule to investigate something that might threaten their power."

"The fact that simply studying history could threaten the World Government makes me even more curious about what happened during the Void Century," Dragon said gravely.

"Mr. Dragon, I think the World Government isn't only worried about people uncovering the history of the Void Century. They're even more afraid of something hidden within that history."

Dragon lowered his head and pondered for a moment. Then he understood what Mosen meant. "Mosen, you mean the Ancient Weapons?"

"Exactly. Didn't Kuzan tell you before? The World Government's stated reason for launching the Buster Call was that Ohara's archaeological scholars wanted to awaken the Ancient Weapons and destroy the world by deciphering the history of the Void Century.

I don't think that reason was entirely made up on the spot. The World Government really is worried that Ohara's scholars have stumbled upon history related to the Ancient Weapons.

That also shows just how much the World Government fears the Ancient Weapons. So, Mr. Dragon, I think our organization's top priority in the future should be the Ancient Weapons.

Simply having something like an Ancient Weapon in our hands would serve as a deterrent. Whether or not we use one in a war, the World Government would have to think twice about opposing us."

"Make the World Government think twice before acting? That's not a bad idea. The problem is that there are too few clues about the Ancient Weapons. Even if we wanted to search for them, we wouldn't know where to start," Dragon said with a frown.

"So we still need to start with the Poneglyphs. Didn't you just send someone to protect that team of archaeologists, Mr. Dragon? As long as the scholars survive, we'll have a chance to decipher the Poneglyphs. Then we can get clues about the Ancient Weapons."

"You don't need to worry about that, Mosen. Even if our comrade runs into a Marine Admiral leading the operation, rescuing them won't be a problem," Dragon said confidently.

From Dragon's words, Mosen had a pretty good idea who he meant. The only one who could rescue people right under a Marine Admiral's nose seemed to be Kuma, with his Paw-Paw Fruit.

Kuma could simply send them flying with a single paw, and there'd be no way for a Marine Admiral to track them.

"Since the scholars should be fine, Mr. Dragon, we need to consider the next problem.

If our organization wants to stand against the World Government in the future, we'll definitely need money and weapons.

I don't have any ideas about money, but I do have some thoughts about weapons."

"What thoughts? Let's hear them!"

"Mr. Dragon, do you know about Flevance?"

"Of course. It's where Lead Ore is mined. Unfortunately, the people of that country all caught a contagious disease and died, and mining came to a halt."

Mosen shook his head. "Mr. Dragon, Flevance wasn't destroyed by any kind of contagious disease."

"Not a contagious disease? Was there something else going on?"

Mosen nodded and told Dragon about Flevance. "Mr. Dragon, the ground and trees in Flevance were covered in a layer of white substance. At first glance, it looked like a pristine, snow-covered world, like a paradise on earth. Across the seas, it was known as the 'White Town.'

But the dreamlike scenery that gave the 'White Town' its name was actually caused by a mineral called Lead Ore, which lay buried beneath the country.

This mineral had a wide range of uses. It could be used to make tableware, paint, sweeteners, and cosmetics, and even to manufacture weapons.

Because Lead Ore had so many uses and was in demand across all kinds of industries, products made from it were highly sought after around the world.

As demand grew, Flevance naturally increased its output of Lead Ore.

Gradually, Lead Ore became Flevance's most important industry and the main source of income for its people.

The booming sales of Lead Ore made the people of Flevance quite wealthy. They didn't have to worry about raising money for Celestial Gold. They had plenty to eat and wear, and smiles on their faces. It was a true paradise in the middle of the sea.

But all of this was an illusion created by the World Government for its own benefit. The World Government had secretly been involved in transporting Lead Ore for a long time.

You could even say that the Lead Ore industry became so prosperous because of the World Government's covert support."

"Wait! Mosen, if the Lead Ore industry was so profitable, why would the World Government allow Flevance to get involved? And how did you find out about all this?" Dragon interrupted, his tone serious.

Mosen had anticipated that Dragon would ask. He'd already picked someone to blame. "Mr. Dragon, you know I took part in Vegapunk's Lineage Factor experiments, right?"

Dragon nodded.

"I learned all this while I was being modified. Those of us who survived the Lineage Factor modifications stayed in Vegapunk's laboratory for a while.

During that time, Vegapunk recorded our physical changes every day but otherwise paid us little attention.

With nothing to do, I wandered around his laboratory and found some documents. They'd just been left in a storage box.

I picked them up and flipped through them, and that's when I discovered they contained Vegapunk's experimental data as well as information about some rather secretive matters."

Mosen's story was half true and half false. After the Lineage Factor modifications, Vegapunk had indeed kept the eight survivors under observation in his laboratory for a while. He also hadn't hidden his experimental data, leaving it lying around rather carelessly. Mosen had seen some of it, but none of the records concerned Lead Ore.

"So Vegapunk was researching Lead Ore?" Dragon asked.

"That's right. According to Vegapunk's experimental data, Lead Ore actually isn't suitable for making weapons.

Its true use is to charge weapons—to serve as their power source. Weapons charged with Lead Ore are far more powerful than those using gunpowder."

After hearing Mosen's explanation, Dragon furrowed his brow. If Lead Ore really had that use, what kind of terrifying thing was Vegapunk researching?

Mosen hadn't made up Lead Ore's purpose on the spot. The original story had actually hinted at it.

First, there was the name Lead Ore. The real-world properties of platinum and lead were somewhat similar to those of Lead Ore.

Lead is mainly used in the batteries of electric vehicles and cars. The symptoms of lead poisoning are somewhat similar to Lead Disease, and it can also be inherited.

Platinum, on the other hand, has a wide range of uses. One of them is as a catalyst for aviation gasoline and missile fuel.

Then there was the power source for the mechanical bears. Moving something as enormous as a mechanical bear and firing Kizaru's light would require a tremendous amount of energy. Ordinary power sources couldn't meet that demand.

So the World Government must have had access to a new kind of energy.

In the original story, the only mineral the World Government got involved in mining and specifically drew attention to was Lead Ore. And when Flevance was destroyed, the World Government had the neighboring countries help suppress the fleeing residents, branding the people of Flevance as carriers of a contagious disease. It was terrified they might escape.

All of this clearly showed how much the World Government valued Lead Ore. It definitely wasn't just something they could sell for money. If money had been all they wanted, the World Government wouldn't have gone to such lengths. After all, the amount of Celestial Gold collected each year was already beyond measure.

This chapter and the next will briefly cover the Revolutionary Army's future direction. I've borrowed a few elements from my earlier work, The Cat on Whitebeard's Ship. If you'd like to learn more, feel free to check it out.