Chapter 640: The Most Precious Devil Fruit in the World
However, in response to Ian's dissuasion, Dragon shook his head and said, "Maybe you have a point, but no matter what, after losing the intelligence Kuma provided, we've been completely in the dark about Vegapunk's situation. Even if it's a risk, we have to proceed! Vegapunk is someone worth the Revolutionary Army taking such a risk for!"
Having said that, Dragon glanced at Ian and continued, "You might not know this, but Kuma once mentioned that Dr. Vegapunk is also a Devil Fruit user! Moreover, the Devil Fruit he consumed is the most precious one in this world!"
"Ah!?" Ian felt that every piece of news he heard from Dragon today was more shocking than the last!
Vegapunk is actually a Devil Fruit user too!?
Seeing Ian's incredulous expression, Dragon smiled and said, "What do you think is the most precious thing in this world?"
"Diamonds? Gold? No, it should be family or love, right?" Ian frowned as he answered.
"For different people, there are definitely different answers!" Dragon said. "But for this world, there's actually only one thing that's most precious, and that's wisdom!"
"Wisdom!? You mean..." Ian's eyes widened as he said, "The Devil Fruit Vegapunk ate is the Wisdom Fruit?!"
"That's right, the Wisdom Fruit!" Dragon nodded. "The most unique and fundamental Devil Fruit in this world. In fact, before this, this fruit had never appeared in the world. You won't find any trace of it in any Devil Fruit encyclopedia. Only the person who eats it will know of its existence!"
"Vegapunk is very special. He is the smartest person in this world!" Dragon said. "Even if he has no combat ability himself, his importance is still self-evident. The World Government and the Marines have gained various new weapons and technologies because of him, gradually becoming stronger. You should be able to imagine that if the Marines become powerful enough to wipe out all pirates, the World Government's rule will become unshakable!"
"So, Vegapunk is also extremely important to the Revolutionary Army. If we can win him over to our side, then the Revolutionary Army's uprising will be unstoppable..."
Ian sighed. He now understood what Dragon meant. Vegapunk was irreplaceable to the Revolutionary Army, so even if there was the slightest possibility, Dragon would go for it without hesitation. Ian's suggestion to postpone the timeline was for the Revolutionary Army's good, but Dragon couldn't adopt it. He was even prepared to sacrifice a large number of Revolutionary Army members.
"Alright then. Six months from now, I'll arrive at Baltigo on time!" Ian nodded. "When the time comes, just tell me what needs to be done. I just hope that the infiltration of the Marine Science Unit can minimize casualties..."
Hearing Ian's words, Dragon smiled and said, "To be honest, Ian, when Kuma first recommended you to join the Revolutionary Army, I never expected your strength to grow to this level. So this time, besides telling you about going to Baltigo, I also plan to inform you that from now on, you are the Revolutionary Army's Chief of Combat!"
"Me? Chief of Combat!?" Ian pointed at his own nose in surprise. "What kind of position is that?"
"Just as the name implies, you'll be responsible for commanding battles in the Revolutionary Army!" Dragon said. "From the moment you accept this position, all of the Revolutionary Army's combat forces will be at your disposal. I'll convey your status to all Revolutionary Army officers through our internal communications. If you ever need anything, you can contact them wherever the Revolutionary Army has a presence, and they will cooperate with you unconditionally!"
Ian scratched his head in frustration and said, "Sounds like I'm just the boatswain or something..."
Dragon let out a rare hearty laugh and said, "Isn't that right? The Revolutionary Army is essentially a pirate crew. I'm the captain, Sabo as Chief of Staff is actually the navigator, plotting the ship's course. And you're the boatswain responsible for leading the crew in battle, the symbol of personal combat strength!"
"So basically, I'm still just a fighter!" Ian spread his hands.
"I actually hope you can become one of the Four Emperors!" Dragon said. "That way, when your identity is revealed one day, the whole world will be shocked!"
Ian scratched his head again. Another person trying to push him into that position?
But Ian also understood that Dragon was telling the truth. Ian was now an anomaly to the original Four Emperors' territories. He had lost his Warlord status but possessed strength close to that of an Emperor. This situation was quite awkward. As someone like him in the New World, every move he made attracted attention, and any action could potentially encroach on the existing Emperors' interests.
Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks were fine. They had good relations with Ian and could tolerate him. But the Big Mom Pirates and the Beast Pirates were different. As long as Ian touched their interests, it would be seen as a provocation.
For the Big Mom Pirates and the Beast Pirates to jointly acknowledge Ian's status as the "Fifth Sea Emperor" was absolutely impossible. The only path was for Ian to step over one of the Emperors to rise.
For now, the Big Mom Pirates' attitude toward Ian was still ambiguous. Perhaps due to his abilities, they had temporarily adopted a cooperative stance, even inviting him to the tea party.
But the Beast Pirates were different. Ian had already clashed with their boss, Kaido, once. There was no possibility of cooperation.
This opened up a possibility: the Big Mom Pirates might side with Ian and support him in taking down Kaido to claim the Emperor's position.
This was also why Ian had accepted the invitation at the time. Teaming up with the Big Mom Pirates, two against one against Kaido, was better than Ian fighting two alone.
Just as Ian was thinking this, Dragon stood up and said, "Alright, I've achieved my purpose in coming here. It's time for me to leave!"
"Uncle Dragon!" Ian said. "I won't try to keep you, but when you leave, take some money with you. Thanks to you, I robbed Tesoro's vault with Aokiji and the others. There's a lot of money. You can take some for the Revolutionary Army's expenses!"
"That's great!" Dragon said. "To be honest, the Revolutionary Army has been having a tough time!"
"Take a hundred billion Berries with you!" Ian said. "By the way, what happened to that guy Tesoro? That tsunami that hit the Gran Tesoro at the end was your doing, right?"
Speaking of Tesoro, Dragon's expression turned serious. He said, "Actually, ever since the Gran Tesoro was established, the Revolutionary Army has been keeping an eye on it. You might not know this, but both the Celestial Dragons and the World Government have received large amounts of funding from Tesoro. So this time, I directly destroyed the ship. The Gran Tesoro won't be recoverable for a long time. As for Tesoro, I didn't kill him, but he nearly drowned from the seawater's impact. He's now a stray dog. With his usefulness gone, I don't know how the World Government will deal with him."
After a brief exchange, they stopped discussing Tesoro. Ian called Enel over, had him create a large golden chest, stuffed a hundred billion Berries inside, and handed it to Dragon.
A hundred billion Berries took up a lot of volume, but it wasn't a problem for Dragon. With a burst of strength, he lifted the golden chest from the bottom.
Ian didn't know exactly how strong Dragon was, but this display of strength alone gave him some insight.
With Fujitora's help, Dragon carried the chest and jumped down from the clouds, slowly descending toward the Revolutionary Army ship on the sea below.
After thinking for a moment, Ian said to the Dragon Hunter Pirates' crew, "Alright, let's go. It's time for us to leave too."
"Hmm? Aren't you going to say goodbye to your sister and Admiral Aokiji?" Fujitora asked.
"No," Ian shook his head. "Uncle Dragon came up with us this time, and Aokiji has his suspicions. If I say goodbye to them, they might start asking all sorts of questions. Too much trouble."
"Heh heh!" Fujitora chuckled and said nothing more.
So the Dragon Hunter Pirates' crew began activating the power equipment in the Skypiea ruins. The windmills on the island slowly started spinning, and the sky island gradually began to move.
Down below, after Dragon landed on the ship, he also ordered the Revolutionary Army members to set sail, leaving the area without a word.
Aokiji and the others watched the moving sky island above them and realized that their questions would remain unanswered. Aokiji could only sigh and order Smoker and the others to sail away.
In the end, all that remained in that sea area was the wrecked giant ship of the Gran Tesoro...