After hearing Ash explain the purpose of his visit, a bead of cold sweat slid down Dragon's forehead.
If everything Ash said was true, then the Revolutionary Army stood to gain tremendously during this period when the Holy Land Mary Geoise was left vulnerable.
The reason they had remained hidden all these years was simple. The younger generation of the Revolutionary Army had yet to fully mature, and their shortage of top-tier combat power was severe.
Perhaps...
This really could work.
Just as Dragon was weighing whether to cooperate with Ash, Ivankov suddenly stepped forward.
Seeing that heavily made-up face abruptly closing in, Ash frowned slightly. An invisible ripple spread outward.
"Puji!"
Ivankov seemed to slam into an unseen wall. Their face instantly compressed against the invisible barrier.
Fortunately, the force merely stopped the rude approach and caused no real harm.
"If you have something to say, then say it. There's no need to get so close."
Ash's expression remained unchanged.
"Cough, cough, Ash Boy!"
Ivankov wiped a small trickle of blood from their nose before speaking seriously.
"You're Kuma's friend, and you've helped Dragon more than once. Logically, I shouldn't doubt you."
"But how are we supposed to believe that you can simultaneously fight the Big Mom Pirates and the Great Pirate Wang Zhi while also tying down the World Government's ultimate force, the God's Knights?"
As they spoke, Ivankov glanced toward Sali, who had remained silent since arriving.
"I know White Lion Sali is incredibly strong, but relying on only the two of you shouldn't be enough, right?!"
Sali finally spoke.
"A correction. White Lion is just a nickname that idiot Morgans came up with. I've always been White Sage Beast Sali."
Ash smiled and pointed a thumb toward him.
"Allow me to introduce him properly. The leader of the Ten Demon Saints of the Dawn Pirate Hunters, White Sage Beast Sali."
He paused briefly before adding,
"On a related note, Thunder Demon Wyper is also one of my people. However, he's one of the Twelve Ancestral Witches and belongs to a different division from the Ten Demon Saints. I'll introduce the rest when the opportunity arises."
Dragon and the others were visibly shaken.
Who would have imagined that the famous Seven Warlords of the Sea member, White Lion Sali, was actually the leader of the mysterious Ten Demon Saints, a group countless organizations had been desperately trying to identify?
And then there was Thunder Demon Wyper.
He was also a member of Ash's Dawn Pirate Hunters.
No wonder the three of them had challenged Kaido together in the New World. They had always been on the same side.
But what exactly did Ash mean by Wyper being one of the Twelve Ancestral Witches and belonging to a different division?
Judging from the strength displayed by Sali and Wyper, that statement implied Ash possessed more than ten additional monsters of similar caliber.
Dragon, who had spent years struggling with the Revolutionary Army's shortage of talented fighters, nearly shed tears of envy.
Yet the shock Ash delivered was far from over.
Ash glanced at the still-stunned Ivankov and smiled.
"As for whether we can hold back the God's Knights, I already anticipated this question. That's why I said it couldn't be explained properly over the phone."
With a casual wave of his hand, a row of severed heads suddenly appeared on the table before everyone.
The moment Dragon and the others recognized the faces, they shot to their feet.
Cold sweat poured down their backs.
Displayed before them were the heads of:
Kaido of the Beasts and the Three Disasters of the Beasts Pirates.
Red-Haired Shanks and the senior officers of the Red Hair Pirates.
Whitebeard Edward Newgate and most of the division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates.
The Pirate King's right-hand man, Dark King Silvers Rayleigh.
Scopper Gaban, the Pirate King's left-hand man.
The legendary pirate captain of the Flying Pirates, Golden Lion Shiki.
At that moment, everyone's view of Ash changed completely.
Their doubts vanished, replaced by undisguised shock.
And beneath that shock lurked a trace of fear.
This young man, who appeared to spend his days relaxing on Gourmet Island and frequenting entertainment venues, had quietly accomplished feats that would shake the entire world.
Good heavens.
So the repeated clashes between the Dawn ship and the Yonko crews over the past year had never been simple sparring matches.
Ash had been acting as the Grim Reaper all along, collecting lives wherever he went.
Dragon and Ivankov quickly reached the same conclusion.
According to the World Economic Journal and intelligence gathered from numerous sources, aside from the first major battle against the Beasts Pirates, every subsequent conflict involving the Dawn ship and the Red Hair or Whitebeard Pirates had lasted less than a single day.
Yet within less than a day, Ash had completely destroyed pirate crews that had ruled the seas for decades, forces powerful enough that even the World Government preferred avoiding full-scale war with them.
What kind of terrifying strength was this?
This was simply...
This was simply incredible!
The Revolutionary Army executives were overjoyed.
With such overwhelming power backing the operation, Dragon, Ivankov, and the others finally believed that Ash could keep the God's Knights occupied even while confronting two of the sea's greatest powers.
However, where there was joy, trouble was never far behind.
Just as Dragon and the others began discussing plans to strike at the Holy Land...
"Shanks ahhhhh!"
A grief-stricken scream echoed through the room.
Boom!
The conference room doors were kicked completely off their hinges.
Everyone immediately turned toward the entrance.
There stood Luffy.
His eyes were bloodshot.
His breathing was ragged.
His gaze shifted repeatedly between Shanks' severed head and Ash.
Sabo's expression changed instantly.
He rushed toward Luffy.
Unfortunately, he was too late.
Consumed by rage, Luffy had already attacked.
"Gomu Gomu..."
Snap!
Before he could finish shouting "Pistol," Ash casually snapped his fingers.
Instantly, Luffy froze in place.
His arms remained stretched far behind him, yet his entire body became completely immobilized.
Ash glanced toward Dragon, whose face had darkened and whose forehead was now covered in sweat.
Raising an eyebrow, Ash said,
"Dragon, your teaching abilities seem seriously lacking. Even if you overthrow the World Government someday, the education system absolutely cannot be left in your hands."
Dragon knew Ash was deliberately trying to ease the tension created by Luffy's reckless outburst.
Even so, the remark left him feeling awkward.
What could he say?
Luffy and Ace had been under his supervision for more than half a year.
Even Ace, who had once completely lost his will to fight, had gradually been persuaded to join their cause against the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.
Yet Luffy still dreamed of setting sail as a pirate.
What puzzled Dragon the most was Luffy's reaction.
Shanks had only been a pirate captain who spent about a year in Foosha Village.
Yet upon seeing Shanks' severed head, Luffy had completely lost control.
Why?
Faced with Luffy's almost irrational behavior, not only Dragon, but even Ace and Sabo, found themselves unable to understand it.
===
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