The Three-Step Plan

Dragon took a drag on his cigar and slowly exhaled. Looking at Kizaru, he asked the question he cared most about.

"How do you view the Affiliated Nations under the World Government? Are you planning to destroy every country and bring the entire sea under your rule?"

Kizaru didn't answer right away. Like Dragon, he took a drag on his cigar and slowly exhaled the smoke. Only then did he smile and correct Dragon.

"We're not destroying these countries. We're getting rid of the royal families and nobles who suck the people dry. And we're not ruling the sea—we're managing it and creating a new order for everyone," Kizaru said with a smile.

Dragon studied Kizaru's eyes, trying to see whether the formidable man was telling the truth.

Unfortunately, just as he couldn't see the limits of Kizaru's strength, he couldn't read Kizaru's thoughts, either. All he could do was continue asking questions. "What about kings who are loved by the people and chosen by them? Will they be overthrown, too?"

"Of course!" Kizaru said firmly. "It's foolish to entrust a country's future to the character of a single king!"

"I know that in the past, you've overthrown a number of countries, then chosen heroes beloved by the people to become their new kings."

"In our view, that doesn't qualify as a revolution. You're simply continuing the cycle of the old order. You're changing the person on the throne, not the system that produces tyrants."

Kizaru paused, then pointed at himself with the hand holding his cigar. "What I want to change is this backward system."

"If a king is truly wise, then after we liberate his country, we won't punish him or confiscate all his wealth. We'll even let him join the local administration, provided he completes the necessary