Thinking about it, he really was quite busy.
That was why he felt his own time might not be enough, and in the end, he would have to rely on Shiki. Since they were partners anyway, wouldn't it be a waste not to exploit such a massive helping hand?
As he flew through the sky, he continued to refine his Kotodama combat system. The Azure Dragon is a divine beast, and it truly possesses a wealth of hidden potential yet to be excavated.
For instance, learning ability. Dragons are highly adept at learning; Kaido has a technique called "Drunken Thief," which allows him to steal an opponent's skills during battle. If Beltz could tap into this ability, it might compensate for his natural weaknesses in talent.
To be honest, he was a bit envious. Rukia's talent wasn't considered top-tier for a Soul Reaper, yet her progress over the past two years had been staggering. He relied on the Azure Dragon fruit and his Quincy Schrift to reach his current level, but he felt that if Rukia practiced for a few more years and mastered Bankai, she would be roughly on par with him. It would be truly embarrassing to be overtaken by her.
He was currently using his Subconscious ability to hypnotize himself and strengthen his willpower, which indeed benefited his Haki, but he couldn't stay hypnotized forever.
"Teishakuten, oh Teishakuten, I'm starting to understand you."
Beltz thought of "Old Man Tei" from a manga he once read. That character was exactly like this—practicing martial arts for a thousand years, only for everyone who showed up later to surpass him. There was no helping it; when geniuses say "one day of hard work is worth three years of another's cultivation," the "others" they are referring to are people like him.
At least for now, he could only rely on the Azure Dragon fruit to change his fate.
Since he was already in the New World, he first visited the Lulusia Kingdom. Lulusia is located in the New World of the Grand Line, and it is actually a place plagued by misfortune. Later on, the King would become inhuman, leading the citizens to revolt and kick him out, only to be attacked by the Blackbeard Pirates. Ultimately, Imu would use the power of Uranus to blast the entire country into a giant pit!
At this point in time, things were still relatively alright. However, since the agreement between Rocks and his wife, Eris, was to head to the Lulusia Kingdom, he wanted to search for Blackbeard here. Compared to Wano, Lulusia had its own unique charm. He wasn't in a desperate rush, so he browsed around while searching.
Finding Blackbeard would be an unexpected bonus, but if not... he'd treat it as a vacation. A day or two wouldn't make a difference. Three years had passed since God Valley, and three years is enough time for many things to happen. With Rocks dead for three years, Eris and her son might not have stayed here waiting for him. But this was currently his only lead. Otherwise, searching for one person in the vast ocean would truly be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
However, before finding Blackbeard, he unexpectedly spotted an acquaintance. In One Piece, those who could be called "acquaintances" were essentially the people he met at God Valley.
This person was Dragon!
That's right, Dragon was actually in the Lulusia Kingdom?! Had Dragon already quit the Navy at this point?
Strange. Because he had been at God Valley, he had essentially done everything Dragon couldn't. Attacking the Celestial Dragons and taking their two children—things Dragon was supposed to do—had all shifted to him. Why did Dragon still quit the Navy?
Actually, it didn't require much thought. It was quite simple: Dragon joined the Navy for justice, but the Navy is not a just organization. Seeing no hope, Dragon naturally left. Even though he hadn't attacked a Celestial Dragon, he had disobeyed Navy orders to save civilians. After seeing what the Navy did at God Valley, he was completely disillusioned with the organization, so there was no reason to stay.
Dragon hadn't formed the Freedom Fighters yet; he was likely still observing the world. Once he gained a fundamental understanding of the world, he would realize that the noble rule of the World Government must be overthrown by force to bring a bright future to the world.
"Long time no see, young sailor."
Beltz took the initiative to walk over and greet him. Hearing the voice from behind, Dragon's body instantly tensed up. When he turned around, he realized it was Beltz.
He had a very deep impression of this man. After all, at God Valley, he had resisted the Celestial Dragons and saved a large number of civilians. In Dragon's heart, Beltz was already the kindest person in the world.
He was somewhat excited but then gave a bitter smile. "I am no longer a Marine. Shortly after God Valley, I resigned from the Navy."
Beltz spoke in a tone that wasn't at all surprised. "With the courage you showed, the Navy didn't deserve to have you. A person like you truly shouldn't stay in the Navy. Come, let's go somewhere quiet and have a proper chat."
"Um, that... my name is Dragon, Monkey D. Dragon. And you?"
"Beltz."
Beltz continued, "You don't need to worry about those two children. I entrusted them to someone trustworthy; they will grow up healthy."
Dragon felt a weight lift from his heart. He had promised that red-haired woman to save her two children, but after they were taken by Beltz, he had been feeling uneasy. Now that he had heard from Beltz that the children were fine, he unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
The two of them found a bar. At this hour, there was hardly anyone inside, so they sat in a secluded corner.
"I don't drink," Dragon said. "Just juice is fine."
Beltz was a bit surprised. Someone in One Piece who doesn't like to drink? This guy is truly self-disciplined.
It wasn't that Dragon didn't drink, but lately, he had been constantly thinking about his future. Alcohol would numb his brain and prevent him from thinking, which was why he abstained.
"Where are you headed next?" Beltz sat across from Dragon and asked. "Not a Marine anymore, then are you going to become a pirate on the sea?"
"...No." Dragon shook his head. "I won't become a pirate. But precisely because I don't know what to do, I am traveling the world. I want to see the true essence of this world with my own eyes."
"A very good idea." Beltz picked up his glass and took a shallow sip, finding the taste quite pleasant. Holding his glass, he said softly, "I've heard the surname Monkey before. Could it be you are..."
"Garp is my father." At this stage, Dragon clearly hadn't considered hiding his family ties, as he hadn't formed the Freedom Fighters yet, let alone the Revolutionary Army. Furthermore, since he had already decided that Beltz was a trustworthy and kind person, he didn't hide it.
"I see. That 'Strongest Man' is actually your father." Beltz acted surprised. At this stage, the World Government was constantly publicizing that Garp had defeated Rocks and wiped out the Rocks Pirates, so people generally viewed Garp as the strongest man.
Dragon smiled bitterly. "Others might not know the situation at God Valley, but could you not know? On that island, it was far more complicated than just him alone. To be honest, I look down on him now. He is a man of the Navy, and I loathe the World Government... so, I'm currently not quite sure how to face him."
Beltz thought for a moment and asked, "How do you view the Navy as an organization? You say you loathe the World Government, so why don't you say you loathe the Navy?"
"This..." Dragon was stumped for a moment before saying, "The Navy and the World Government are different. There are still some kind people inside. During my time in the Navy, I saw many people who possessed a sense of justice."
While he said he looked down on Garp, that was just a momentary outburst; he knew Garp was different from the people of the World Government.
"Can you still say such a thing after seeing God Valley?" Beltz shook his head. "What's the difference between the Navy and the Celestial Dragons? I'd say the number of civilians who died under Navy cannons isn't a bit less than those who died under the guns of the Celestial Dragons."
Once the pirates arrived, God Valley turned into a chaotic mess. The civilians wanted to take the chance to escape and were quite excited when they spotted the Navy, but the Marines simply opened fire, blowing up all the civilians who had a chance of escaping. Of the 100,000 people on God Valley, how many did he and Kuma actually save?
When reading the manga, these were just dry descriptions, but having come to this world and seen it personally, one realizes how evil of a group the Navy truly is. In Beltz's view, the Navy is far more evil than the pirates.
"The Navy is a massive organization; it's inevitable that there will be some bad people..." Dragon still wanted to defend the Navy, though he knew the explanation was hollow. After learning about the God Valley incident, any person with a conscience would find that excuse hard to believe. If the World Government is the most evil organization, how could its subordinate organization be just?
But what Beltz said next was far more extreme and terrifying than Dragon imagined.
"I believe there are individuals of justice within the Navy, but in my view, they are an even greater evil, more deserving of death than the ones who fired the guns at God Valley."
Beltz's words made Dragon's eyes widen in disbelief. But Beltz's expression remained normal as he continued, "Do you want to know why I say that?"
"Um... why? The just Marines are also protecting civilians. Even if you didn't see it at God Valley, in many places across the world, they are giving their lives..."
"Giving their lives to maintain the rule of the World Government," Beltz cut in.
"No, they are protecting civilians! Carrying out their own justice!" Dragon was getting frustrated. He was completely disillusioned with the Navy now, but that was mainly disillusionment with the people at the top; there were still many people in the lower ranks whom he respected.
However, Beltz's words shattered his worldview once again.
"So, it is precisely because of their existence that the world feels the World Government can still be saved, isn't it?"
"...??" Dragon was so shocked by this sentence that he was speechless. He stared blankly at Beltz, unable to imagine how this man could say such a thing.
"Just Marines and honest officials—they are not wrong themselves. But because they appear in the wrong organization, their justice, honesty, and kindness become an even greater error than the wrongs themselves. Because their existence makes civilians think, 'Ah, so there are good people in this evil organization after all. The good people will change the organization. We can still trust them. Once the good people take power, things will get better for us. The intentions at the top are good; it's just the people below executing it poorly. The Emperor is wise; he's just being misled by treacherous ministers. The noble lords aren't all bad; there are also kind nobles helping civilians, so let's not paint them all with the same brush.'"
Beltz said all this in one breath, then added coldly, "So, do you think the World Government can still be saved?"
"This, I..."
Dragon was momentarily speechless; he had never thought about the problem this way. He had never heard a similar viewpoint in the past. This was simply... treasonous! Kind Marines are actually guilty?
But he wasn't a fool; he could understand the meaning behind Beltz's words. If the World Government could be saved, then kind and just people could climb to high positions and reform the system. But if it is beyond saving, then kindness and justice act as an anesthetic for the masses, making people feel the government isn't hopeless and giving them unnecessary expectations, which in turn creates resistance when trying to overthrow it.
If the World Government were composed entirely of villains, it would indeed cause great suffering for civilians in the short term, but it would also allow the world to see the government's true nature, eventually forming a massive tide of violence to dismantle it.
And Dragon... left the Navy precisely because he felt the World Government was beyond saving. However, understanding is one thing; accepting it is another.
So he could only give a bitter smile. "Mr. Beltz, your thoughts are still a bit too extreme."
"This can hardly be called extreme." Beltz chuckled. "If it were up to me, I would even use the power of pirates to overthrow the World Government. After all, using evil to defeat evil—I don't consider that an evil act. While pirates are evil, they don't compare to the massive evil of the World Government. Moreover, by allying with a small portion of evil to take down the greater evil, the evil forces consume each other in the process. Once justice takes power, dealing with the remaining small evils becomes much easier."
He took another sip of wine and laughed. "Eh, I was just speaking casually, don't take it to heart."
He looked toward the bar's entrance. A small boy, about five or six years old, timidly approached the counter and was saying something to the owner.
Beltz's eyes narrowed slightly. This kid... is Blackbeard, right?