The current Golden Lion was neither as strong as the version Black fought in the card space, nor as weak as the one depicted in the movie era.
Still, Black was quite satisfied with this battle.
Golden Lion had been rather unlucky. Not long after escaping Impel Down, he ran into someone like Black and was defeated.
If he had known the outcome awaiting him today, perhaps he would not have insisted on escaping. Perhaps he would have remained quietly in Impel Down and spent the rest of his days there.
But in truth, he probably would have escaped anyway.
For people like Shiki, there were always things more important than life itself.
Black only sighed briefly before pushing the thought aside.
He first brought Mandy and Koala to wake the unconscious people on the deck, then walked toward the cabin at the stern to check on the two CP agents.
Seeing that both of them were still sleeping soundly, he finally relaxed.
Black did not want his true strength exposed to the eyes of CP.
The encounter with Golden Lion had been unavoidable.
The floating Sky Islands under Shiki's control were positioned directly along the route leading through the Summit of the Western Heaven.
Even if Black had chosen not to attack, Golden Lion would never have allowed a Celestial Dragon ship to pass peacefully.
So Black had decisively ambushed the CP agents and knocked them unconscious, tossing them onto their beds to create the illusion that they had simply fallen asleep by accident.
After that, he used Conqueror's Haki to knock out all the slaves aboard the ship.
With the Celestial Dragon appearing to be "unaware" of everything, the CP agents eager to hide their own negligence would naturally pretend that nothing unusual had occurred.
The sanctuary set sail again.
Just as Black expected, everything remained calm.
One day later, Black was playing with the women on the deck when Stella suddenly walked over holding a white Transponder Snail.
"Your Highness, it's Mr. Aramaki calling."
Black was slightly surprised.
Unless something important happened, Aramaki rarely contacted him proactively. Had something occurred?
Even as the thought crossed his mind, Black had already picked up the Transponder Snail.
"It's me."
"Your Highness."
The snail immediately mimicked Aramaki's voice.
"I've found Capone Bege in the West Blue."
"That guy was unwilling at first, but after I beat him up he finally became honest."
"However, I don't think he's truly convinced yet, so I haven't told him about Your Highness's matters."
Black frowned slightly, clearly displeased.
"Is that all?"
Sensing the dissatisfaction in Black's tone, Aramaki hurriedly continued.
"There's one more thing, Your Highness. While I was in the West Blue, I discovered traces of the Revolutionary Army."
"Oh?"
Black raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.
Is the Revolutionary Army really so careless?
After thinking for a moment, he soon understood.
At this stage, Monkey D. Dragon's Revolutionary Army had only just begun to form.
They were not taken seriously by the World Government yet.
The Government probably only knew that such an organization existed and that its ideology was dangerous.
But they likely believed that such a fragile group might be wiped out by pirates or Marines at any time.
It wasn't until the World Conference in the year 1514 of the Sea Circle Calendar that representatives from many affiliated kingdoms raised the issue of Revolutionary Army threats during the meeting.
Only then did the World Government officially label Monkey D. Dragon as the most dangerous criminal in the world.
From that moment onward, the Revolutionary Army truly entered the attention of the Gorosei and the World Government.
After pondering briefly, Black gave his instructions.
"There's no need to take action for now. Observe them carefully and make sure you aren't discovered."
"Also, Capone Bege's family holds significant influence in the West Blue. Have them keep watch as well."
"If possible, find the Revolutionary Army's base in the West Blue."
Aramaki immediately responded.
"Yes, Your Highness."
After hanging up the Transponder Snail, Black lost the mood to continue playing and instead began thinking about the Revolutionary Army.
The Revolutionary Army was currently the only force in the world that openly declared opposition to the World Government.
At the same time, they were also an extremely important force if one wanted to overthrow Imu.
That's right.
They were the perfect first wave of cannon fodder.
Even though Black's strength had already reached a terrifying level, he still lacked confidence in escaping unscathed if he directly faced Imu.
Sabo's strength during the events of the World Conference was not weak.
Wielding his iron pipe, he was capable of exchanging several moves with Admiral Fujitora.
Even if Fujitora had not been fighting seriously at the time, Sabo's level of strength was still at least comparable to a Shichibukai or a Yonko's top commander.
Yet even someone like Sabo had been almost powerless in the face of Imu.
Of course, in terms of pure power, Black believed that by continuously stacking and strengthening his Haki he would eventually surpass Imu.
But then another question emerged.
What level actually counted as surpassing Imu?
Rocks D. Xebec had once been powerful enough to kill an Admiral in Mary Geoise.
Even if Admirals of that era might not have been quite as powerful as the current generation of monsters like Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru, they certainly would not have been weak either.
At the very least, they should have been comparable to figures like Marco or Katakuri.
It certainly wasn't possible for them to be weak placeholders.
The gates of Pangaea Castle would not have been made of flimsy wood either.
Yet even someone as terrifying as Rocks had ultimately failed when confronting Imu.
Even as a transmigrator who knew many secrets of the future, Black still could not determine Imu's true level of power.
What if Imu suddenly revealed some absurd ability from another dimension?
After all, this was a world where even the strangest powers could exist.
Oda might suddenly allow Luffy and Blackbeard to awaken some ancient legendary Haki and then team up to perform some world-shattering technique.
And where would that leave Black?
Even more troubling was the mystery of Imu's immortality.
Jabra had once seemed to discover the weakness of the God's Knights.
But Somaz had merely revived more slowly he had not truly died.
Whether Imu possessed the same form of immortality as the God's Knights was still unknown.
Therefore, even if Black's strength eventually reached the level where he could instantly kill an Admiral, he still needed to witness Imu fight personally at least once.
Only then could he understand all of Imu's abilities and find a way to counter the opponent's immortality.
And the person who forced Imu to act could not be too weak.
Nor could there be too few of them.
If they were instantly crushed like Sabo, the battle would provide no useful reference at all.
Black needed someone capable of clashing with Imu for a prolonged time.
Someone who might even deal real damage.
Looking across the entire sea, there was only one group capable of doing such a thing.
The Revolutionary Army.
Black's eyes narrowed slightly.
"It's decided… Monkey D. Dragon."
How could an organization that claimed to overthrow the World Government avoid confronting Imu?
Even better, Dragon himself didn't even know that Imu existed.
Before Sabo infiltrated Mary Geoise, Dragon had always believed that the Revolutionary Army's greatest enemy was the God's Knights.
If Dragon ever gained the confidence to defeat the God's Knights, he might very well dare to launch an assault on Mary Geoise.
And once Imu was provoked, whether Dragon wished to fight or not would no longer matter.
So what Black needed now was simple.
He had to intensify the conflict between the Revolutionary Army and the World Government.
Let them act as the first scouts.
However…
Perhaps it would be even better to arrange an infiltrator inside the Revolutionary Army?
If the undercover agent held a high enough position, they might even influence the timing of the Revolutionary Army's future attack on Mary Geoise.
Black's gaze unconsciously drifted toward Koala.
But he immediately shook his head.
"No… that won't work."
Koala's nature was fundamentally kind.
Someone like her would almost certainly struggle if forced into the role of an undercover agent within the Revolutionary Army.
Even ordinary police officers working undercover among criminals often suffered severe psychological pressure.
Many developed lasting mental trauma after returning.
If even an undercover mission of good against evil could cause such damage, it was truly remarkable that someone like Vergo had managed to remain undercover for more than a decade without losing himself.
Black slowly rubbed his chin.
"Perhaps I should take a different approach."
"As long as the key information reaches them… that should be enough."