Dragon withdrew his gaze from Luffy.
A moment later, he turned to Rock, his expression growing serious.
"Brother Rock."
"I want to take Sabo with me."
Rock did not agree immediately. He remained standing atop the treetop, his gaze resting on the training ground below.
"Why?"
Dragon looked down as well.
At that moment, Sabo was gritting his teeth as he climbed back to his feet.
His face was bruised, and his top hat hung crookedly to one side, yet his eyes remained bright.
Unlike Ace and Luffy, Ace refused to lose, while Luffy was not afraid of pain.
But Sabo observed every time he was knocked down. He adjusted, remembered the shifts in Garp's center of gravity before he struck.
The next time he charged in, he chose an angle closer to success.
Dragon said quietly, "He doesn't just want to escape the nobility."
"He's already starting to think about why some people can burn living people like trash."
"Why some people can decide others' life and death simply by being born."
"Why lies can be written into law."
"Why evil can be called order."
Rock listened quietly without interrupting.
"A child like him would grow up safely on Mount Colubo."
"Ace and Luffy would protect him, and Dadan would take care of him."
"The old man... although his methods are rough, he wouldn't let them truly come to harm."
As he said this, Dragon glanced at Garp below, who was laughing uproariously as he beat up children, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
After a brief silence, he forcibly pulled the conversation back on track.
"But Sabo's eyes are already looking farther ahead."
"He wants to know why this world became what it is, and how it should be changed."
Only then did Rock finally turn to