Tatsuki asked, "Dragon, why do you think the Celestial Dragons have been able to rule the world without worry for eight hundred years?"
Dragon frowned. "Because they have the Marines, the CP agencies, and powerful military force."
"No, that's just the surface." Tatsuki shook his head.
"Their most powerful weapon is 'order.' They set the rules and made the whole world used to being ruled by them. They brought kings and nobles to their side as allies, letting them help manage the commoners. And we Marines are the violent machine that maintains this order."
"So, if you want to overthrow them, you can't just rely on brute force. What you need to do is establish a brand new order."
"A brand new order?" Dragon's breathing became rapid.
"Exactly." Tatsuki's gaze grew deep.
"A single spark can start a prairie fire. Your individual strength is limited, but the strength of millions of oppressed commoners is infinite."
"You need to go to the most remote and poorest allied nations, to the places where people are most brutally oppressed by nobles and pirates. The people there have the deepest hatred for the World Government, they are your initial sparks."
"You must tell them that everyone is born equal, and no one is born to be a slave. You must give them weapons, teach them to fight, and give them the power to resist. You must unite all forces that can be united: farmers, workers, and even criminals who are hunted by the Marines but have a conscience."
"Start from the edges of the world and slowly eat away at the World Government's foundation of rule. When your flames spread across the entire world, that magnificent palace in Mary Geoise will be as fragile as paper."
Dragon listened, entranced. He felt a magnificent blueprint unfolding before his eyes.
He pulled out a small notebook and a pen he carried with him and began to frantically record every word Tatsuki said.
"Unite the bottom layer..."
"Establish a new order..."
His hand was shaking, not from fear, but from an unprecedented excitement. These theories were things he had never heard of, yet they seemed to contain the absolute truths of the world.
He looked up, staring at Tatsuki with eyes full of fanatical admiration.
"Tatsuki... you... why do you know so much?"
Tatsuki laughed inwardly, but maintained a look of profound mystery on his face. "I just read some 'forbidden books,' that's all."
He couldn't exactly say these were summarized by great minds from another world.
"Dragon, remember." Tatsuki made his final concluding statement. "To slay a dragon, one must first become a more powerful dragon. But the power of this 'dragon' doesn't come from bloodline, but from millions of people. You need a slogan, a flag that can unite everyone by your side."
"For example... 'Freedom,' 'Equality'?"
On the last page of his notebook, Dragon heavily wrote down the words "Revolutionary Army."
He looked up at Tatsuki with a gaze that was like looking at a deity.
"Tatsuki, you are the comrade I have been searching for. Join me. Together, let us create a brand new world."
Looking at Dragon's fanatical eyes, Tatsuki's heart skipped a beat.
"No." He quickly waved his hands.
"I'm a man of no great ambition. I just want to slack off in the Marines, get promoted, and get rich. Revolting is a head-losing business, it's too dangerous and doesn't suit me."
He just wanted to farm points, not actually join the Revolutionary Army. That was too tiring, and they didn't even pay a salary.
Hearing his words, Dragon wasn't disappointed but instead showed an "I understand" expression.
"I understand." Dragon said solemnly.
"You need to be a comrade lurking within the enemy's ranks, passing information to us and dealing a fatal blow at the critical moment. Tatsuki, I understand your painstaking efforts. Rest assured, I will never reveal your identity to anyone."
Tatsuki: "..."
No, what the hell do you understand? I really just want to live a lazy life.
This ability to overthink—as expected of Luffy's father, it's hereditary.
Looking at Dragon's fanatical expression, Tatsuki opened his mouth, but his throat felt blocked, and he couldn't utter a single word.
How does this guy's brain work?
He had clearly written the words "cowardly and just wanting to slack off" all over his face, so how did it automatically translate to "far-sighted and undercover in the enemy camp" in Dragon's mind?
"Dragon, listen to me, you've really misunderstood. I was just talking nonsense because I drank too much." Tatsuki tried to make one last struggle, his outstretched hand frozen in mid-air.
"Drunk talk?"
Dragon shook his head, a vivid smile appearing on his face that had never been there before.
"In this world of intoxicated dreams and death, only the most sober person dares to say that what they speak is drunk talk."
"Tatsuki, there's no need to test my resolve anymore."
The sea breeze howled, ruffling his long black hair, but it could not move his will, which was currently as hard as a rock.
Under Tatsuki's horrified gaze, Dragon took a deep breath and then gave him a standard military salute. The movement was crisp and carried the weight of a thousand pounds.
"Tatsuki."
Dragon's voice was kept very low, sounding a bit raspy because of the sea breeze, but every word was powerful, like a vow.
"Just as you taught me: A single spark can start a prairie fire. Rather than pruning withered leaves on a decaying tree, it is better to sow new seeds. I've decided, I'm leaving now."
"N-Now?" The cigarette in Tatsuki's hand almost fell.
Bro, are you for real?
Although I wanted you to stir up some trouble to farm Violation points, isn't this efficiency a bit too high?
Your father is sleeping in the cabin right behind us. You're going to give Garp a cerebral hemorrhage at this rate.
"Time waits for no one."
Dragon turned to look at the pitch-black night over the vast sea, his gaze seemingly piercing through the darkness to see that unknown dawn.
"Every minute and every second of hesitation is a desecration of justice. This uniform..."
He reached out and grabbed the coat of justice on his shoulders, which represented the honor of a Marine field officer.
Rip—
That pure white coat was violently torn off and tossed onto the deck, as if discarding a heavy shackle, and as if making a complete break with his past self.