Pirates: A Clan Wiped Out, Every Celestial Dragon Must Die!

An invisible shock wave spread in an instant, as though even heaven and earth had changed color.

Conqueror's Haki. There was no doubt about it!

But this Conqueror's Haki was still at a basic level.

For either Roger or Rono, resisting Conqueror's Haki of this level was easy.

"Conqueror's Haki? Young Marine, state your name!"

After repelling the young man's Haki with his own, Rono looked at him with even greater interest.

There weren't many Marines who possessed Conqueror's Haki.

As far as Rono remembered, Sengoku was the only one who had it.

But the young man before him clearly wasn't Sengoku, and Rono couldn't recall anyone like him from the original story.

Who was this Marine?

"My name is Monkey D. Dragon! I swear to wield the sword of justice in my heart and cut down every injustice in the world!" the young man declared, each word ringing with conviction.

"Dragon!"

Rono froze when he heard the name.

It was Dragon!

The future leader of the Revolutionary Army, the world's most dangerous criminal!

No wonder he gave off such an earnest, over-the-top air. He was Luffy's father, after all.

Who would have thought Dragon had once been a Marine?

Interesting. Very interesting.

For a Marine to become the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Dragon must have suffered quite a blow later on.

"Hahaha! Monkey D. Dragon, I'll remember that name! I'll be waiting for the day you change the Marines!"

Roger burst out laughing beside them.

People with grand ideals had a way of finding each other.

"I'll remember your name too, Dragon. My name is Rono. If you ever lose faith in the Marines, come find me."

Rono spoke directly to Dragon.

He didn't know what Dragon would experience that would turn a Marine into the leader of an army bent on overthrowing the World Government.

But there was no doubt they shared the same goal!

If Dragon helped him someday, Rono would be one step closer to that goal!

The future Revolutionary Army would be a formidable force, perhaps even rivaling a crew led by one of the Four Emperors.

Dragon's strength as its leader had yet to be shown, but he was undoubtedly a powerhouse on the level of an emperor or admiral!

Plant a seed in the mind of someone like that while he was young, and the reward one day could be an entire forest!

"Stop dreaming, Rono. I'm a Marine. I would never join pirates!"

Dragon's expression was unshakable. Having only just joined the Marines, he clearly hadn't been beaten down by reality yet.

"Hahaha! All right, then. Give it a try—see if you can change the Marines."

Rono laughed. If Dragon really could change the Marines, what would be left of the One Piece manga?

P.S. A bunch of people keep swearing that Dragon used to be a Marine, claiming it was mentioned in the original story, and calling me clueless. I can't take it anymore!

First of all, the original story never said Dragon was a Marine! Never!

If you disagree, tell me which chapter right now. Show me the proof and prove me wrong. I'll apologize publicly on the spot!

Just don't keep arguing for the sake of it!

Surely everyone understands that the person making a claim has to provide evidence!

What did the original story actually say about Dragon?

Look at the part in Water 7 where Garp went to see Luffy and revealed his family background!

Robin's exact words were that the World Government knew nothing about Dragon's background, past, or experiences. He was a man shrouded in mystery!

See that?

They knew nothing! Got it?!

And yet a bunch of people come here insisting the original story mentioned it!

Where did it mention it?

I think too many people have read so much fan fiction they can't tell it apart from the original anymore.

A bunch of people who don't know what they're talking about, coming here to lecture me. What a mood-killer.

Freeing the Slaves, Rono Their Savior ### "Damn it! Don't look down on me!"

Feeling insulted, Dragon drew his recruit's short sword and charged at Rono, as though determined to prove he wasn't all talk.

Voom!

Rono didn't even need to lift a hand. Another burst of Conqueror's Haki knocked Dragon unconscious.

"There are some promising youngsters among the Marines too. He's bound to become an opponent someday," Roger said with a smile as he looked at Dragon.

"Perhaps," Rono murmured, almost to himself.

He wondered whether Dragon would change sides before the battle at God Valley.

With Dragon dealt with, the two continued deeper into the ship's hold.

They opened a hatch, and a vast hoard of gold and jewels filled their vision, its glitter almost blinding them.

"Wow! That's Heavenly Tribute for you. All this gold must be worth several hundred million Beli!" Roger exclaimed.

"At least a billion Beli, maybe more." Rono didn't know exactly how much the gold would fetch, but it was certainly worth more than a few hundred million.

With so much treasure, they could give up piracy altogether, return home, and still have enough to last for generations.

"Hahaha! Then let's buy some booze!" Roger sprawled atop the pile of gold, looking thoroughly content.

"Is there another room inside?"

Meanwhile, Rono had spotted what looked like another room farther in. Could there be more gold?

Bang! He pushed the door open. The room was dark and damp, with a foul smell hanging in the air.

An iron cage stood in the center, packed with people. The smell came from there.

This was evidently where they kept the slaves.

Most were ordinary people, including quite a few beautiful women.

When Rono entered, the slaves stayed quiet. Fear filled every face, and they instinctively backed away.

They had mistaken Rono for someone from the World Government.

If the mere sight of him terrified them this badly, the inhuman abuse they suffered every day was hard to imagine.

Looking at all those innocent people and the fear on their faces, Rono saw the crimes of the Celestial Dragons.

"You're free." Rono tore the heavy lock from the cage. Everyone stared in disbelief, unable to believe it even then.

Only when Rono headed straight for the next room did they finally come to their senses.

"We're free!"

"Free!"

The slaves surged out like a swarm of headless flies. Some ran out, then turned back to thank Rono.

The next room also held slaves, but it was much larger.

Its captives were clearly no ordinary people. They belonged to unusual races.

There were members of the Longarm Tribe, the Longleg Tribe, Mermaids, the Snake-Neck Tribe, and even the Mink Tribe.

But that wasn't all. Rono also saw members of the Oni Tribe, with horns growing from their heads.

The Celestial Dragons certainly had a far-reaching slave trade. These races were rare, yet they had captured them by the cageful.

They reacted to Rono just as the earlier slaves had, with hatred mixed with fear. Some of the Mermaids even looked utterly hopeless.

Mermaids tended to be strikingly beautiful; even some beautiful human women couldn't compare.

It seemed they suffered even worse treatment than the human slaves.

"Go on... You're free."

Bang! Rono smashed open the huge iron cage with one punch. Like the humans before them, the captives of these different races could hardly believe their eyes.

"Is... is it true?"

A slightly braver Mink cautiously stepped out of the cage. When Rono made no move, he hurried away.

A minute later, the Mink came running back, visibly excited.

"It's true! The Marines and the World Government people outside are all unconscious! Hurry, get out of here!"

The Mink waved everyone on. Delighted, the captives of the different races hurried out.

Amid the chaos, a Fish-Man with red skin suddenly approached Rono and dropped to his knees.

"M-may I ask the name of our savior?"

The red Fish-Man spoke with deep respect.

At his question, the fleeing slaves stopped.

They, too, wanted to know the name of the man who had saved them.

"Rono." As Rono gave his name, he studied the red Fish-Man closely.

The fellow looked familiar. Rono felt sure he had seen him somewhere before.

That red skin... If he remembered correctly, this was Fisher Tiger, the future hero of the Fish-Men!

But Fisher Tiger was only in his twenties now and looked very different from how he did in the original story.

Without that unmistakable red skin, Rono would never have recognized him.

"I, Fisher Tiger, will never forget what you've done for us!"

Fisher Tiger solemnly bowed his head to the floor several times before leaving with the others of his kind.

If Rono hadn't saved them, Fisher Tiger and the other Fish-Men would have been taken to the Holy Land. Who knew what horrors they would have suffered there?

"Rono..." The slaves of the other races repeated his name, committing their savior's name to memory.

Some followed Fisher Tiger's example and bowed their heads to the floor before Rono.

I never expected Fisher Tiger to have been captured this early.

Rono hadn't expected to meet Fisher Tiger, the future hero of the Fish-Men, here.

Fisher Tiger might not have been particularly strong, but his influence among the Mermaids was immense, comparable to Queen Otohime's.

Nor was his influence limited to Mermaids. Among those who had been enslaved by the Celestial Dragons, he commanded tremendous respect!

After all, Fisher Tiger was known as "Hero" Fisher Tiger.

Once he had freed those slaves, Rono continued toward the room at the very back.

The hold really was enormous. He had no idea how much it had cost to build such a gigantic sailing ship.

Rono opened the door and found that the contents of this final room interested him most of all!

The room was lavishly decorated, with an air of stately luxury.

Several glass display cases stood in its center. Every one of them held Devil Fruits!

Under the lights, the Devil Fruits gleamed, breathtakingly beautiful.