— — — — — —
"Oh?" Renzo smiled at Robin, eyes gleaming with interest. "Looks like you've already got sothing brewing. In that case, why not go all in and make it a proper plan?"
"If I think it's good, I don't mind changing course to follow it. I'll give you five days. Feel free to bring in Rebecca, Nami, or whoever else you need."
Speaking of Nami—yeah, Bellere was still alive in this world.
Renzo had casually wiped out Arlong and his gang when they made their move on Cocoyashi Village. And just like that, he'd earned Nami's trust.
Nami had been traveling with Renzo and others for a while, but only recently had she decided to take a detour to explore Dressrosa.
"Boss, you're just trying to slack off," Robin said with a roll of her eyes. "But sure—I'm in. I'll get a solid plan together as soon as I can."
"I believe in you. You got this!" Renzo bead and gave her an encouraging thumbs-up.
— — —
One day later...
Dragon hurried to Shimotsuki Island, finally eting face-to-face with Renzo's real body.
The Renzo with Robin? That's just a shadow clone posing as Uchiha Madara
"What you said on the call—are you serious? Do we really have to move this fast? The Revolutionary Army's not ready yet!" Dragon looked visibly tense as he spoke.
"It's ti," Renzo replied calmly, sipping from a cup. "You'll never be 'ready' enough. Take a good look at things now."
"If you wait too long, you'll stop being cautious and just turn into a coward. Or worse—a pig being fattened for slaughter."
"As long as the World Governnt and the Celestial Dragons cling to absolute power—along with the Navy and all those pampered nobles—your so-called preparations will never be enough."
"They're a static power, a machine. You're growing, sure, but slowly. They'll always outpace you if you keep waiting."
"Besides," he added, placing the cup down, "I'm not asking you to charge into battle."
"This operation? It's on ."
"All I want from you is to respond at the right ti—ride the wave once I set things in motion. I'll even give you a hand when that happens."
What was the point of hiding in the shadows and slowly building strength for years if nothing ever changed?
The Revolutionary Army had been active for ages now, and what had they accomplished?
anwhile, the World Governnt was still the sa damn beast.
"…Alright," Dragon finally said, knowing full well there was no changing Renzo's mind at this point. "So, you're doing this solo? Want to send people to back you up?"
"No need." Renzo waved him off. "I'm not going in person anyway. Just so you know, the Uchiha Madara wreaking havoc in the New World? That's one of my clones — sa as Aizen, Gojo, Escanor, and a few other crazy guys."
"This ti, I'll be using Madara's identity as my main one to make a move."
"You guys just focus on mobilizing forces across the Four Seas. Once my clones attack Mariejois, I want you to imdiately take over the West Blue. After that, move onto the Grand Line and New World. Got it?"
"Uh…" Dragon was sweating a little. "You may be overestimating what we can handle. East Blue and North Blue? Maybe we can scrape together enough to take those. But taking all four at once? That's pushing it."
"Even for East and North, we'd only be able to offer limited support."
Clearly, the Revolutionary Army's forces weren't enough to handle such a global operation.
'Uchiha Madara and those other overpowered guys who showed up recently... they're all his clones?!' Just the thought had Dragon reeling.
But he didn't ask further. That was clearly one of Renzo's secrets.
"Fine, two seas it is. I'll have the Navy assist you with the other two," Renzo said casually.
"…Wait, what?" Dragon froze. "Did you just say the Navy? You've got people inside the Navy? And they're willing to help us conquer the other two seas? Are you serious?!"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
Renzo shook his head, amused. "Co on, don't be so naïve. You used to be a Marine officer yourself—don't tell you still don't understand how the Navy works."
"There are plenty of righteous people in there—good folks who hate the World Governnt and the Celestial Dragons as much as we do."
"Sure, on the surface, they act all proper and obedient because they fear the system. But that doesn't an they agree with it deep down."
"Hell, your own father is one of them."
"Oh no, wait—Garp doesn't even pretend to play nice. He openly insults the Celestial Dragons and gets away with it!"
Renzo had never planned on wiping out the Navy.
In his view, the Navy was fundantally different from the World Governnt. It was a force worth saving, even allying with.
Once the Celestial Dragons and the World Governnt were gone, soone would need to maintain order in the seas—and the Navy's presence would be crucial in preventing complete anarchy.
"…Are you seriously planning to use my old man as your 'in' with the Navy?" Dragon stared at Renzo, completely speechless. "Seriously?"
"That doesn't sound even remotely realistic. Do you even know my old man? He's impossible to reason with. And half the ti, he's just goofing off. You really think you can count on him to get anything done?"
Honestly, Dragon thought it was more likely that Garp would punch Renzo in the face than cooperate.
He had so… unresolved feelings about his father.
Back in the day, he'd taken more than a few of Garp's iron-fisted "lessons."
"Relax," Renzo waved him off casually. "Leave that to . They'll co around. You don't need to worry about any of that—just get back and start preparing. I'm giving you two months. After that, I move, with or without you."
"…Phew." Dragon let out a long breath, finally nodding with a serious look. "Alright. I'll get things rolling right away."
With that, he stood up, said his goodbyes, and headed for the docks to catch the next ship out.
Even before boarding, he was already contacting the Revolutionaries' HQ and regional branches via Den Den Mushi, giving orders to begin mobilizing forces in the East Blue and North Blue.
At the sa ti, he had people start drawing up detailed plans for deploynt. Once he got back to base, the real strategy eting would begin.
After Dragon left, Kuina walked over and sat beside Renzo, leaning against him as she asked quietly, "So… it's really about to begin? Won't it be dangerous?"
Kuina had grown into a stunning woman over the years—and in terms of strength, she'd long since reached admiral level. Under Renzo's guidance, her swordsmanship had evolved to the level of a true, seasoned master swordsman.
An absolute monster.
"Don't worry," Renzo said with a grin. "You know what I'm capable of. The ones in danger are the Celestial Dragons and the World Governnt. It's ti to put an end to all this."
He laughed lightly and added, "Then, once it's over, we can finally go on that carefree adventure—sightseeing, traveling the world, you know?"
"...Mm," Kuina replied softly, then added, "But this ti, don't bring that Zoro gay with us. Or better yet, just let him go off on his own already."
"He is itching to get out there forever. Keeping him stuck on this island is basically torture at this point. It's getting annoying."
Zoro wasn't lacking in talent either. His strength had already reached the threshold of vice-admiral level at least.
Way stronger than his original self in the canon tiline—who, at that point, hadn't even earned the title of swordsman yet.
"Fair enough. Let him go," Renzo agreed casually. "And don't call Zoro gay—I was just ssing with him earlier, asking 'Why are you GAE?' as a joke."
"Hehe~ Well, I did give him a chance to redeem himself," Kuina said, smirking. "We were in a village, and there was only one road back to the ship... just ONE. I told him if he found his way—literally just walked straight ahead—I'd stop teasing him."
(Anyone who knows Zoro can already guess what happened.)
"Haha, he was still lost for hours. When I finally found him, he was gripping so random guy's shoulders, desperately asking for directions..."
Kuina trailed off, but Renzo didn't need her to finish the story.
100% confird: Zoro got bullied hard by Kuina after that.
Poor guy ended up as the walking of 'Why are you GAE?' all over the Pirate World.
Then, after a little more ti alone with Kuina, he went to find Zoro and broke the news to him. The good news, of course.
...
"Wait—seriously?!"
Zoro sprang to his feet, eyes wide. "I can actually head out to sea now?! You're not ssing with ?"
"No Kuina? No You?"
"Dead serious," Renzo nodded. "But—there's just one small condition."
"Na it! Anything's fine, as long as it's not sothing ridiculous," Zoro said eagerly, practically vibrating with excitent.
Honestly, he didn't care what the condition was—as long as he could finally go adventuring on his own.
He wants to be free from Kuina and Renzo for real.
Renzo raised a finger. "Just one thing: Kill evil people. If you co across soone causing trouble—beat them down if it's minor, but if they're seriously bad news, take them out. Permanently."
"Everything else? Do whatever you want. Your path is yours to walk."
Zoro was walking the path of an Asura Swordsman—a road that required blood and battle to truly advance.
Also, Zoro learnt Beast Breathing and fused it into the Asura Swordsman style. He also began learning other Breathing styles.
"..."
Renzo worried that Zoro might lose himself sowhere along the way, so he gave him this mission to help him pass ti.
"...That's it?" Zoro blinked. "Pfft—easy! We've taken down so many scumbags in East Blue over the years, this isn't even a challenge."
"That's all." Renzo nodded. "If you're good with that, go say your goodbyes to Sensei and Kuina, then head out. Just be careful, alright?"
"Oh, right—take this." He handed Zoro a spatial ring. "There's so good stuff in here—mostly lifesaving items. Use them wisely. Once they're gone, that's it."
Zoro's eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. He snatched the ring with a huge grin and slipped it onto his finger.
"Man, you're actually being generous today! I've been begging you for one of these forever, and now you just give one? I must be dreaming!"
"Th-this is... the best day of my life."
"I'm free. Truly free. No one will call GAE again..."
"Get ready, world—Roronoa Zoro is coming!"
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