Chapter 524: The Next Plan
"Looks like I’m not late." Nagasawa pulled the Flying Thunder God kunai out of the deck, turned around, and said with a smile.
"No, you arrived even earlier than we agreed." Dragon replied, unable to resist carefully observing Nagasawa.
At this moment, Nagasawa was dressed in the Navy’s Justice coat, looking every bit the part of a Marine.
Beside him stood Nagasawa’s shadow clone, wearing casual clothes, though his appearance was exactly the same as the one in the Justice coat.
Seeing two identical people standing before him in different outfits, Dragon briefly wondered whether they were actually identical twins.
Of course, that thought quickly disappeared when the shadow clone dispersed into a puff of white smoke before his eyes. Now there was only one Nagasawa aboard the ship.
"Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Admiral Fujiwara Nagasawa of the Marines, and also Revolutionary Army Advisor Senju Tobirama." Nagasawa extended his hand toward Dragon in greeting.
Dragon smiled and shook his hand.
"I am Monkey D. Dragon, leader of the Revolutionary Army. At last, I’ve finally met your real body, Comrade Nagasawa."
"Yes, Advisor Nagasawa’s clone ability is truly unbelievable." Sabo said. "If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have had a hard time believing such an ability even existed."
A clone alone would have been impressive enough, but what truly shocked him was the clone’s combat power. It had killed a Celestial Dragon and escaped unharmed. Combined with Nagasawa’s own strength as an Admiral, his value to the Revolutionary Army was immeasurable.
Nagasawa smiled and clasped Dragon’s hand with both of his, as though he were equally emotional.
"Being able to reunite with all of you in person truly makes me happy. Only the Revolutionary Army can become this world’s final hope."
Just like their first meeting, Nagasawa held onto Dragon’s hand without letting go. Dragon understood, since the last time it had only been a shadow clone, while this time it was the real body.
Dragon placed his other hand over Nagasawa’s and said sincerely,
"With a revolutionary like you joining us, Comrade Nagasawa, I believe our path ahead will become even smoother. One day we will overthrow the World Government and liberate the oppressed people."
"That is exactly what I wish to accomplish." After half a minute, Nagasawa naturally withdrew his hand and smiled.
He wasn’t that kind of person, so there was no way he would keep holding it any longer.
"Advisor Nagasawa, this time your real body came out and even met us near the island where Mihawk lives. Won’t the Marines become suspicious?" Koala asked worriedly.
Although Admirals weren’t exactly restricted in their movements, visiting Mihawk was still something that could raise questions.
Nagasawa had chosen this meeting place for two reasons. First, he wanted to satisfy his itch to fight Mihawk and make a small deal with him. Second, he felt this place was relatively secluded.
After all, Mihawk’s reputation as the World’s Greatest Swordsman and one of the Seven Warlords was more than enough to keep people away.
"Haha, don’t worry. I’m officially on vacation. Sparring with Mihawk isn’t something the Marines can interfere with. Besides, I even have a Commodore accompanying me to serve as my witness. There’s no need to worry about my cover being exposed." Nagasawa laughed.
"Sparring with Mihawk is indeed a very convincing reason." Dragon’s gaze fell upon the sword hanging at Nagasawa’s waist, one of the differences between him and the clone.
Besides the abilities displayed by his clone, Nagasawa himself was likely an extremely powerful swordsman.
Thinking about it, it made perfect sense. Nagasawa undoubtedly possessed multiple powerful abilities. Otherwise, if an Admiral and a wanted criminal displayed exactly the same powers, did anyone really think the World Government and the Marines were fools? Naturally, the clone and the real body had to use different abilities.
"That’s right. And meeting Mihawk was also to strengthen our Revolutionary Army." Nagasawa nodded.
"You revealed your identity to Mihawk?" Dragon asked. He felt Nagasawa was moving a little too quickly. Protecting his identity should have been one of his highest priorities.
After all, Mihawk was one of the Seven Warlords and a famous pirate. Convincing someone like him to join the Revolutionary Army wasn’t something that could be done with just a few words.
"Of course not. After defeating him, I simply made a deal with him. I’ll teach him a way to become stronger, and in return, he’ll help me at a certain point in the future." Nagasawa answered casually.
Nagasawa remained calm. Dragon was only momentarily surprised before regaining his composure, but Sabo and Koala found it much harder to stay calm.
Looking at Nagasawa’s relaxed expression, anyone unaware of the truth might think he had merely beaten up some random street thug. But that had been the World’s Greatest Swordsman.
Sabo and Koala stared at Nagasawa in astonishment. They hadn’t expected him to defeat Mihawk while simultaneously arranging this meeting with them.
"He agreed?" Dragon asked in a deep voice.
If Mihawk had truly agreed, then Dragon would have to completely reassess Nagasawa’s strength.
There was no doubt that Mihawk possessed Admiral-level strength. If an Admiral fought him seriously, the outcome would be uncertain.
To defeat Mihawk so thoroughly that he willingly sought instruction from his opponent on becoming stronger—it certainly couldn’t have been an ordinary victory. Mihawk had to have been utterly overwhelmed, and it had to be done through swordsmanship rather than Devil Fruit abilities or brute force.
"Yes." Nagasawa nodded.
Dragon burst into laughter, placing a hand on Nagasawa’s shoulder.
"Nagasawa, you’ve given me an incredible gift the moment we met."
Whether it was Nagasawa’s overwhelming strength capable of utterly defeating Mihawk or the promise of Mihawk’s future assistance, both were enormous surprises for Dragon.
When the time came, whether Mihawk was used to stall an Admiral or assigned another important task, a powerhouse of his caliber would greatly strengthen the Revolutionary Army.
"It’s all for the revolution." Nagasawa smiled calmly.
"I rarely admire anyone, but this time I’m completely convinced, Advisor Nagasawa." Sabo sighed sincerely.
"Since you still have a Marine Commodore with you, let’s discuss our business quickly. Then you should leave your shadow clone with the Revolutionary Army while your real body returns immediately." Dragon suggested after some thought.
"There’s no need to worry. I already left another shadow clone back on the island." Nagasawa explained. Tina wasn’t someone who could be fooled easily, so he wasn’t about to leave behind any flaws.
"So you can create more than one clone." Dragon immediately caught the hidden meaning in Nagasawa’s words.
Nagasawa merely smiled without answering. The Shadow Clone Technique was simply too useful.
Next, Nagasawa began discussing the Revolutionary Army’s future development and upcoming plans with Dragon.
"We should unite every force that can be united. Next, I plan to head to Amazon Lily and see if I can persuade the Pirate Empress to join our side."
"Amazon Lily is also a non-member nation. In the past, the Marines could hardly reach it because of the Calm Belt. But now that they possess Seastone warships, even the Calm Belt is no longer safe. I believe there’s a good chance." Nagasawa shared his opinion.
This time, he truly wanted to help the Revolutionary Army, while also taking the opportunity to see just how beautiful the so-called most beautiful woman in the world really was.
One reason was that Hancock had already fallen in love with Luffy. She would never allow another man to touch her, unless force was used.
The second reason was that after thinking about it, Nagasawa realized there really wasn’t anyone on his side suited to using the Love-Love Fruit.
He simply couldn’t imagine Tsunade or Inuzuka Midori blowing kisses or using Perfume Femur. They were both beautiful women, but it just didn’t suit their style.
Of course, perhaps his thinking was too narrow. Who said only women could blow kisses and perform Perfume Femur? Maybe men could do it too. Orochimaru might even find it interesting.
"Your analysis is sound. Amazon Lily indeed has the potential to join us. It’s a force worth winning over." Dragon said after giving it some thought.
"If Luffy were in the Revolutionary Army, persuading the Pirate Empress would certainly be much easier." Nagasawa joked.
After all, Hancock ruled Amazon Lily. Joining the Revolutionary Army meant declaring war on the World Government. She herself would undoubtedly stand beside Luffy without hesitation, but she also had to consider the safety of her people.
"Advisor Nagasawa, you know Luffy as well?" Sabo asked curiously.
Earlier, Sabo had lost his memories of Luffy and Ace. However, after the Marineford War ended, the overwhelming flood of news had triggered his memories to return.
Once he recovered them, Sabo was overjoyed that Ace had been rescued instead of executed.
"The Straw Hat Luffy has made quite a few major headlines." Nagasawa smiled.
After discussing everything that needed to be said, Nagasawa left behind another shadow clone before using Flying Thunder God to leave.
He had already copied Dragon’s Devil Fruit ability. As for Robin, who was currently at the Revolutionary Army headquarters, there was no need to rush. Opportunities would come eventually, and if they didn’t, then so be it. He had already copied quite a number of Devil Fruits.
Among the powerful ones were Kizaru’s Glint-Glint Fruit, Fujitora’s Gravity Fruit, Sengoku’s Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan: Daibutsu Form, along with Tina’s, Binz’s, and even that Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Husky.
There were still many more he could obtain later, so there was no reason to obsess over one or two specific fruits.
Just the powerful and relatively easy ones he knew about were already numerous, and he wasn’t even sure how many he would be able to purchase.
Nagasawa firmly believed Devil Fruits wouldn’t come cheap. There was no way they would cost the same as Zanpakutō.
Zanpakutō were inexpensive because what was sold was an Asauchi. Whether it became powerful depended entirely on its wielder. If the user lacked talent and could never achieve Shikai or Bankai, then it was nothing more than an ordinary sword.
Devil Fruits were different. Although a person’s own ability still mattered, many fruits granted tremendous power the moment they were eaten.
For example, simply eating a Zoan-type Devil Fruit would immediately and substantially increase one’s physical durability.
After returning to the island, Nagasawa quickly switched places with his shadow clone, and no one noticed that two different Nagasawas had appeared on the island that day.
Perhaps because Mihawk had pointed out how often he was the one cooking a few days earlier, Perona personally baked a batch of cookies that afternoon. As soon as they were finished, she floated outside carrying a tray toward Mihawk, who was training with Nagasawa.
With one hand on her waist and the other holding the tray, she looked extremely proud as she asked Mihawk,
"I baked some cookies. Want one?"
Mihawk, who was practicing the Breathing Technique, glanced at Perona and calmly replied with two words.
"No."
After refusing the cookies, he immediately resumed his training.
Perona’s eyes widened in disbelief. She had worked so hard to bake those cookies. Wasn’t he supposed to kneel in gratitude before happily accepting them? Instead, he took one glance, refused, and completely ignored her.
"Fine! If you don’t want them, then I can eat them all myself!"
Puffing out her cheeks, Perona stomped her foot in annoyance before grabbing a cookie and stuffing it into her mouth, glaring at Mihawk while chewing.
Mihawk remained completely indifferent to her gaze, continuing to train with perfect concentration.
Meanwhile, Nagasawa chuckled.
"Why didn’t you ask whether I wanted one?"
Perona turned her face away and pouted.
"Because I’m not giving the cookies I worked so hard to bake to a Marine who bullied Lord Moria."
Nagasawa smiled.
"But I wasn’t the one chasing Moria. I wasn’t the one who gave the order either. When the Marines started hunting him, I wasn’t even in the Marines yet."
"That doesn’t matter. You’re a Marine now." Perona hugged the tray tightly, watching Nagasawa cautiously as though she feared he might snatch away her precious cookies.
"How about this? I’ll call the Marines and have them cancel the pursuit of Moria. In return, you let me have one cookie... and let me pat your head for thirty seconds. Deal?" Nagasawa suggested with a grin.
"Really?" Perona’s heart wavered.
Although baking the cookies had taken effort, and having a Marine pat her head sounded unpleasant, it would all be worth it if it meant Moria’s safety.
"In the Marines, everyone knows that I, Fujiwara Nagasawa, always keep my word. I’m an Admiral, after all." Nagasawa confidently patted his chest.
Of course, he only said that he kept his word. He never guaranteed the Marines would accept his request, nor did he promise they wouldn’t resume pursuing Moria later.
"Then you have to make the call while I’m watching." Perona demanded.
"No problem. But first comes the head pat. You can give me the cookie afterward." Nagasawa smiled.
"No. You call the Marines first." Perona refused.
"Then forget it. It was only a passing idea anyway. Maybe it’s already too late. Moria might have already been captured." Nagasawa said with a cheerful smile.
That immediately made Perona panic.
Puffing up her cheeks, she walked over to Nagasawa, turned her face away, and said,
"Only thirty seconds. Hurry up and pat my head, then make the call!"
Smiling, Nagasawa placed his hand on Perona’s head, a satisfied grin appearing on his face.
Mihawk paused his training, giving Nagasawa a rather strange look before calmly resuming his practice.
The moment he successfully copied the Devil Fruit ability, Nagasawa immediately withdrew his hand and, as promised, picked up the Den Den Mushi to contact the Marines.
Fortunately for Perona, Moria had not been captured. After all, he wasn’t one of the Marines’ highest-priority targets.
However, the Marines didn’t give Nagasawa any definite answer either.
After hearing the entire conversation, Perona suddenly realized that aside from confirming Moria hadn’t been captured, she hadn’t actually gained anything.
"You liar!"
Perona immediately realized she had been tricked.
"Hahaha. It isn’t my department after all. They have their own difficulties." Nagasawa scratched his head and laughed, insisting he had done everything he could.
"How about I make something for you to eat instead? We’ll call it even." Nagasawa suggested.
"What can you make?" Perona asked curiously.
"Sweet red bean dango. Everyone who’s tried it says it’s delicious." Nagasawa replied. Having eaten so many over the years, he had naturally learned how to make them.
"Really?" Perona looked at him suspiciously.
"Really!"