The Young Marine, Monkey D. Dragon

"Don't think you'll get any secrets out of me!"

"You just wait. The World Government and the Marines will hunt you down without end!"

Just then, as if he had sensed something, the CP0 agent steeled himself and bit through his tongue, taking his own life!

"That guy! Stop him!"

Roger and Rono tried to stop him, but it was already too late. The CP0 agent had breathed his last.

"I never thought a piece of scum like him would be so loyal." Roger hadn't expected the CP0 agent to be so "loyal" to the Celestial Dragons.

He had actually killed himself! He had no idea how the World Government brainwashed these CP0 agents.

"He was just afraid of exposing the Celestial Dragons' whereabouts. The fate awaiting him would have been worse than death."

Rono wasn't bothered.

At best, CP0 agents were the Celestial Dragons' "pet dogs." If these "dogs" failed their missions, their masters would surely subject them to hellish torture.

In the original story, Who's-Who, a senior officer of the Beasts Pirates and one of the Tobi Roppo, had been a former CP0 agent.

After failing to transport the Gum-Gum Fruit, he was thrown into Impel Down, and eventually joined Kaido.

So even if they didn't kill these CP0 agents themselves, they would surely take their own lives. That was still better than falling into the Celestial Dragons' hands.

"Hahaha, the fight's over. Come on, let's see what good stuff is in the Heavenly Tribute!"

Seeing that the obstacles had been dealt with, Roger slung an arm around Rono's shoulders and led him inside the ship.

Observation Haki showed that the Heavenly Tribute was all stored in the ship's hold.

Rono was looking forward to it, too.

Besides gold, silver, and treasure, could the Heavenly Tribute hold powerful Devil Fruits or other treasures?

Roger hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit, after all. He could be said to have no interest in them whatsoever.

If they found a Devil Fruit, it would definitely be his.

"Maybe there's some fine wine stashed away. I can't wait~!"

Roger's words nearly made Rono fall over.

"What goes on in that head of yours?"

Rono was completely speechless. If you had enough money, you could buy as much fine wine as you wanted. Besides, the Celestial Dragons couldn't possibly be short on wine.

It seemed ordinary people really couldn't keep up with the Pirate King's thought process.

"St... Stop!"

Just then, a young, trembling voice rang out.

"Oh? Someone's still conscious?"

Roger and Rono were both quite surprised. They turned to look toward the voice at the same time.

It was a young Marine, obviously a brand-new recruit. He had actually regained consciousness first.

After all, their Conqueror's Haki was advanced. Anyone who could recover so quickly must have a strong will.

Could this talented Marine be one of the future Chicken, Dog, and Monkey?

No, those three hadn't joined the Marines yet at this point.

Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr?

No, those three were already famous, and they were all Vice Admirals at Marine Headquarters, as well as three Admiral Candidates.

Besides, Rono had the feeling he'd seen this face somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place it.

"I saw everything you did. I won't let you take the Heavenly Tribute!"

"I represent Justice!"

The young Marine said something rather chuunibyou-like, then picked up a Recruit Short Sword and pointed it at the two of them.

"Justice? The Celestial Dragons' dogs can still lord it over you, and you call that Justice?" Rono taunted him.

"That's only temporary! Once I've grown stronger, I'll definitely change the Marines as they are now!" the young Marine replied resolutely.

"Change the Marines? That's quite a boast."

Rono became interested in the young man in front of him.

A youth who didn't chase his dreams wasn't much of a youth. To set his sights on changing the Marines took real nerve.

A man with such ambition would never amount to nothing.

But the person in front of him couldn't be one of Chicken, Dog, and Monkey, nor could he be Garp, Sengoku, or Zephyr.

Then who could he be? Could he be Fujitora?

With that chuunibyou vibe, he couldn't be Fujitora. There were a few people with a similar chuunibyou vibe to this young man.

But one was Luffy, and the other was Roger. Neither could be him.

Rono strained to remember. Had he overlooked some part of the original story? How could he never have heard of a Marine like this?

Boom!

Just as Rono was pondering, a powerful aura suddenly erupted from the young Marine!

An invisible shock wave spread out in an instant, as if even the heavens and earth had changed color.

Conqueror's Haki, without a doubt!

But this Conqueror's Haki was still at an elementary stage.

For Roger and Rono, resisting Conqueror's Haki at this level was easy.

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

After using his own Conqueror's Haki to repel the other's, even more interest showed in Rono's eyes.

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

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

But the young man before him clearly wasn't Sengoku, and there didn't seem to be anyone like him in the original story.

Who was this Marine, anyway?

"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 answered with ringing conviction!

"Dragon!"

Hearing that name, Rono froze on the spot.

It was Dragon!

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

No wonder he had such a chuunibyou vibe. After all, he was Luffy's father.

He hadn't expected Dragon to have served in the Marines!

Interesting. This was really interesting.

To go from being a Marine to becoming the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Dragon must have suffered quite a blow later on.

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

Roger burst out laughing beside them.

Chuunibyou types were drawn to one another.

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

Rono spoke to Dragon.

He didn't know what Dragon would go through to turn from a Marine into the leader of the Revolutionary Army, who sought to overthrow the World Government's rule.

But there was no doubt that he and Dragon had the same goal!

If Dragon could help him in the future, he would be one step closer to his goal!

After all, the Revolutionary Army of the future would be a major force, no weaker than the Four Emperors' crews.

The leader, Dragon, hadn't yet revealed his strength, but there was no doubt he was an Emperor-Admiral Level powerhouse!

If he planted a seed in the heart of such a powerful person while he was young, the reward in the future would be a whole forest!

"Don't even dream about it, Rono. I'm a Marine. I would never join pirates!"

Dragon's expression was utterly resolute. It seemed that, having only just joined the Marines, he hadn't yet been beaten down by reality.

"Hahaha, fine. Then give it a try—if you can change the Marines."

Rono burst out laughing at that. If Dragon really could change the Marines, what would be the point of the manga One Piece?