Chapter 639: The Revolutionary Army's Assembly Operation
A Vivre Card, while unable to provide an exact location for a person, is something everyone knows can absolutely be used to find someone. By giving Ian his Vivre Card, Dragon meant that Ian would no longer be kept in the dark about his future movements.
So it was easy to imagine just how much trust Dragon was placing in Ian with this gesture! Ian's momentary loss of composure was completely understandable.
However, Dragon didn't think much of it. He said to Ian, "Kuma is my most important companion, so I believe his judgment is sound. Besides, you can be considered Luffy's older brother; you're worthy of this trust."
Ian said nothing more but carefully stored the Vivre Card away. Since Dragon had said as much, he wouldn't act childishly. Whether he deserved Dragon's trust would be proven through actions, not words.
After putting away the Vivre Card, Ian asked, "Uncle Dragon, you want me to go to Baltigo in half a year. Is it because you're planning to gather the Revolutionary Army officers from all over?"
Dragon nodded and said, "Yes. For the Revolutionary Army's officers, the Baltigo headquarters usually doesn't issue specific operational orders. The Revolutionary Army is currently focused on lying low and staying covert, so everyone is allowed to act freely. Ivankov is like this, and so are you. However, while you and Ivankov have met, most of the other Revolutionary Army officers don't know each other well. So this assembly serves two purposes: first, to let you all get acquainted so you can support each other in future operations, and second, there might very well be a major operation at that time."
"A major operation?" Ian's interest was piqued. He asked, "What kind of operation?"
"This... well, it's fine to tell you!" Dragon hesitated for a moment, then his expression turned serious as he said, "This major operation is to rescue Dr. Vegapunk from under the protection of the Marines and the World Government!!"
Ian was stunned, then nearly jumped up in shock!
"What!? Rescue... rescue..."
Before he could finish, Ian came to his senses and quickly lowered his voice, asking, "Rescue Dr. Vegapunk!? He... he's one of our Revolutionary Army people!?"
"No!" Dragon shook his head and said, "He is not a member of the Revolutionary Army, but while Kuma was cooperating with him on the Pacifista project, he fully revealed his identity to Dr. Vegapunk. On behalf of the Revolutionary Army, Kuma reached an agreement with Dr. Vegapunk: once Vegapunk completes a certain research project, the Revolutionary Army will be responsible for rescuing him!"
"Research!? What kind of research?" Ian pressed further. "Is Vegapunk trying to escape the Marine Science Unit?"
"Dr. Vegapunk certainly isn't serving the World Government willingly!" Dragon sneered. "You should know that he was originally captured by the Marines and the World Government! He's human too. In that capture operation, many of Vegapunk's former assistants and colleagues died under the World Government's guns. How could he possibly have any goodwill toward the World Government?"
Ian had already guessed this. From various clues, he had deduced that Dr. Vegapunk was being coerced by the Marines. Dragon's words now confirmed it.
Dragon sat down on a step among the Skypiea ruins, patted the spot beside him, and gestured for Ian to sit. Then he continued, "That's right. The World Government's power can provide Dr. Vegapunk with unparalleled research resources, something he couldn't match when he was doing research alone. But I once visited Vegapunk's hometown, the Future Kingdom of Baldimore. From what his countrymen told me, I learned about his character. All of Vegapunk's research and inventions in Baldimore were aimed at improving the lives of his people. He's not some mad scientist. The World Government provides him with research resources, but many of their research demands are not what Vegapunk wants. The Pacifista project is one example. After Kuma became a Warlord, he voluntarily offered his body for the World Government's research. During that time, he successfully contacted Vegapunk and had many conversations with him. After confirming that Vegapunk wasn't serving the World Government willingly, Kuma contacted me!"
"Kuma told me that Vegapunk has been very anxious over the years!" Dragon said. "He seems to be worried about something. Kuma made some guesses and felt that Vegapunk might have discovered something terrible while gaining a deeper understanding of the World Government."
"What terrible thing?" Ian asked curiously.
"I don't know!" Dragon shook his head. "Dr. Vegapunk hasn't revealed it to anyone. However, while conducting research on the Pacifista project, he also seems to have secretly carried out an additional study. He told Kuma that this research was to prepare for the arrival of 'that day'!"
"'That day'? What does that refer to?" Ian frowned, pondering.
"No one knows what he means!" Dragon said. "After learning about Kuma's identity as a Revolutionary Army member, he didn't report it to the World Government. Instead, he chose to cooperate with us. He had Kuma convey an agreement to our Revolutionary Army: he hoped that after completing this research, we would rescue him from under the protection of the Marine Science Unit and the World Government!"
"How far along is his research?" Ian quickly asked.
"Kuma's modification is complete. He has completely lost consciousness! With him unable to relay intelligence, we can't get any more information now..." Dragon sighed. "But from the information we obtained before, the Pacifista project is already considered a success. Dr. Vegapunk should now be fully focused on continuing his other research. I don't know if half a year will be enough for him to finish it. So the assembly in half a year is just a contingency plan; it may not necessarily be carried out. During this period, the Revolutionary Army will do its utmost to infiltrate the Marine Science Unit and try to obtain more intelligence."
Ian frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "This approach seems too uncertain, doesn't it? If Vegapunk wants the Revolutionary Army to rescue him, why did he complete the Pacifista project and cause Uncle Kuma to lose consciousness? Doesn't that cut off his channel for passing information? Since he's so smart, why didn't he think of that? And couldn't Uncle Kuma have sent you one last piece of intelligence before the modification was fully completed?"
"I don't know why either!" Dragon shook his head. "But I suspect something might have happened to Vegapunk at that time. Because Kuma once mentioned to me during an intelligence transmission that their situation was also very precarious..."
Hearing this, Ian had no solution either. He could only ask, "Then what if, during this time, the Revolutionary Army can't infiltrate the Marine Science Unit and make contact with Vegapunk? If we don't know whether Vegapunk's research is complete, how can we launch the rescue operation?"
"Indeed, that's also my concern!" Dragon nodded. "If the Revolutionary Army launches the rescue operation but Vegapunk's research isn't finished yet, that would be disastrous. Without the corresponding research facilities, his work might be ruined. So I've already decided that we must make contact with Vegapunk first before launching the operation. Even if it requires great sacrifices, it must be done!"
"I think... it's better to be more cautious!" Ian frowned. "No matter how smart Vegapunk is, a research project can't be completed in just half a year. I think we should extend the timeline a bit, say, to two years from now?"
In Ian's memory, the Revolutionary Army did have an assembly operation, but it was around the time of the new World Conference, which was two years from now... well, to be precise, about a year and a half away.
But now, this assembly had been brought forward! Ian didn't know if it was due to his own influence, but his intuition told him that Dragon's timing for this assembly might not be good.
If the Revolutionary Army's assembly in the original timeline was also meant to rescue Vegapunk during the World Conference, then it meant that Vegapunk's research couldn't be completed in a short time...