Chapter 523: Meeting the Original Body
After a period of sailing, Nagasawa’s Shadow Clone, who had been traveling with Dragon, was finally about to arrive at the Revolutionary Army’s headquarters, Baltigo. From the ship, they could already make out some of the buildings on the island in the distance.
Dragon and Nagasawa stood on the deck, gazing toward Baltigo.
Dragon smiled and said, "Nagasawa, I’d like to convene a meeting of all Revolutionary Army officers to announce your joining, as well as the new ideas you’ve brought."
The Revolutionary Army rarely held meetings of all its officers because its bases were scattered throughout the world. There were officers in the Four Seas as well as the New World, making it troublesome to gather everyone together.
However, Dragon felt that with the theories Nagasawa had brought, he deserved to have the Revolutionary Army hold such a meeting.
Dragon could hardly wait to share those theories with every officer and every member of the Revolutionary Army.
Because he knew just how much joy and shock those theories would bring them.
Nagasawa shook his head.
"There’s no need to make such a big fuss. We’re still in the stage of lying low and accumulating strength. Making such a large move would easily attract the World Government’s attention, and the gains wouldn’t be worth the cost. Besides, the one here is only a Shadow Clone, so it isn’t appropriate."
"Just notify everyone through your own communication channels."
Nagasawa wasn’t someone who enjoyed putting on a grand display. Right now simply wasn’t the right time to hold a conference for the entire Revolutionary Army.
Because of the Celestial Dragon’s death, the World Government was extremely sensitive at the moment. It was better not to make any major moves.
"Comrade Nagasawa makes a lot of sense. Making a big move at this time would make it easy for the World Government to notice something," Koala agreed.
"What do you mean by ’sir’? Didn’t I ask you to call me ’comrade’? We’re all equals pursuing the same ideals. There’s no need to use titles like ’sir.’ Calling me by my position or simply ’comrade’ is fine," Nagasawa corrected her.
"I’m sorry, Comrade Nagasawa," Koala corrected herself.
Sabo laughed.
"So even someone as capable as you can make mistakes when addressing people, Koala?"
Koala glared at Sabo and made as if to hit him, while Sabo burst into laughter and ran away.
In truth, Koala had instinctively called him "Sir Nagasawa" because she genuinely respected him from the bottom of her heart.
As a child, Koala had not been fortunate.
She had been kidnapped by human traffickers and eventually became a slave of the Celestial Dragons.
That period as a slave was the darkest time of her life.
She had once believed her life would end the day a Celestial Dragon became unhappy.
Locked inside dark prison cells, beaten and cursed at will, watching other slaves be casually killed by the Celestial Dragons as though crushing ants...
That had been Koala’s life as a slave.
It wasn’t until she was eleven years old, when Tiger attacked Mary Geoise and liberated a large number of slaves, that she finally escaped with the others.
At the age of thirteen, Koala joined the Revolutionary Army.
She wanted to end the tyranny of the World Government.
She wanted to end the rule of the Celestial Dragons.
She didn’t want anyone else to become what she once was.
Not only was Nagasawa unbelievably powerful, he had also developed such remarkable theories.
Koala truly admired him.
Moreover, considering that Nagasawa held the rank of Marine Admiral, it made his actions even more extraordinary.
He could have chosen not to do any of this.
If Koala had not experienced those hardships during her childhood, she wasn’t sure she would have possessed the courage to fight for the Revolutionary Army.
After all, they were opposing the World Government itself.
"You’re right. It would indeed be inappropriate. Then we’ll only hold a simple meeting at Headquarters," Dragon nodded after thinking it over carefully.
He realized he had become a little too excited and hadn’t fully considered the current situation.
While they were talking, the ship gradually drew closer and closer to Baltigo.
"Sabo, Koala, after we return to Headquarters, remember not to call him by the wrong name," Dragon suddenly reminded them.
The two glanced at Nagasawa, who had already transformed into Tobirama’s appearance, before nodding.
Nagasawa’s identity as a Marine Admiral was of tremendous importance to the Revolutionary Army and absolutely could not be exposed easily. Dragon had already classified this information as one of the Revolutionary Army’s highest secrets.
Therefore, the one joining the Revolutionary Army would be the White Demon, Senju Tobirama, who had killed a Celestial Dragon.
Not Marine Admiral Fujiwara Nagasawa.
Aside from Sabo and Koala, who already knew the truth, Dragon only intended to let the commanders of the Revolutionary Army’s five regional armies know this secret.
Not even the deputy commanders.
The five army commanders were all subordinates Dragon trusted completely.
He believed every one of them would never betray the revolution.
After arriving on the island, Nagasawa saw a beautiful woman with long black hair.
She was someone he knew well.
Well...
Only he knew her.
She certainly didn’t know him.
The black-haired beauty was none other than Nico Robin, who was currently staying with the Revolutionary Army.
Ignoring his original body’s encounters, Robin was the first member of the Straw Hat crew Nagasawa had seen since arriving in the One Piece world.
Still...
Aside from harvesting Devil Fruits, he wasn’t particularly interested in the Straw Hat crew.
In a real One Piece world like this, what Nagasawa wanted most was to overthrow the rotten World Government rather than go on adventures with Luffy and the others.
Within the Revolutionary Army, everyone was extremely interested in the White Demon, the bold man who had dared to kill a Celestial Dragon.
Although Robin wasn’t an official member of the Revolutionary Army, she stayed at Headquarters and naturally read the newspapers.
She immediately recognized the White Demon’s face.
Seeing the White Demon walking together with Dragon, Robin’s lips parted slightly in surprise.
Hadn’t the Revolutionary Army only been researching and discussing this person before?
How had he suddenly arrived at Revolutionary Army Headquarters?
Had he joined the Revolutionary Army?
Robin found herself filled with questions.
After noticing Robin, Dragon greeted her with a smile before introducing her to Nagasawa.
"This is Nico Robin. Although she isn’t officially a member of the Revolutionary Army, she is the Revolutionary Army’s Light of the Revolution."
Nagasawa nodded.
He knew why Dragon valued Robin so highly.
Because Robin truly was important.
She was capable of reading the Poneglyphs.
In the One Piece world, there was a hundred-year gap in history for which no records existed.
Coincidentally, those missing hundred years happened to be the period when the World Government was founded.
As for why that history disappeared...
Anyone who understood would understand.
At present, the only way to learn what truly happened during the Void Century was by deciphering the Poneglyphs.
And after Ohara’s destruction...
Robin was the only person left capable of reading them.
It was no wonder Dragon valued Robin so highly.
Even though she had not joined the Revolutionary Army, he still referred to her as the Light of the Revolution.
Because she truly was indispensable to the Revolutionary Army.
"I’ve only helped you with a few things," Robin said modestly.
"And this gentleman is...?" Robin asked, despite already knowing the answer.
"I’m Senju Tobirama, the White Demon who killed the Celestial Dragon, and the Revolutionary Army’s new advisor," Nagasawa introduced his disguise with a smile.
In fact, before Nagasawa arrived, the Revolutionary Army had never even had the position of advisor.
Dragon had created it specifically for him.
Its rank was roughly equivalent to that of an ordinary Revolutionary Army officer.
Dragon had actually wanted to give Nagasawa an even higher position.
Whether considering his strength or the theories he had developed, there would have been no issue with doing so.
However, Nagasawa didn’t care much about rank.
Taking too high a position immediately could easily lead to misunderstandings.
An ordinary officer’s rank suited him just fine.
In truth, joining the Revolutionary Army as an officer from the very beginning was something that hadn’t happened since the organization had grown to its current scale.
Koala herself had only been promoted after making numerous contributions.
She had joined the Revolutionary Army at thirteen.
She was now twenty-two.
She had already served for nearly ten years.
After chatting briefly with Robin, Nagasawa entered the Revolutionary Army base together with Dragon.
Dragon first arranged a place for Nagasawa to stay before dealing with the accumulated work that had piled up during his absence.
That evening, Dragon gathered everyone at Revolutionary Army Headquarters.
He first recounted Nagasawa’s feat of killing a Celestial Dragon before officially announcing that Nagasawa had joined the Revolutionary Army as its advisor.
"The White Demon? So his name is Senju Tobirama. He really joined the Revolutionary Army! That’s wonderful! Our strength has grown again."
"Exactly! Wonderful! The power of the revolution keeps growing. One day, we’ll defeat the World Government and free the people from its oppression."
The members of the Revolutionary Army enthusiastically applauded and cheered.
Ever since killing the Celestial Dragon, Nagasawa had become extremely famous at Revolutionary Army Headquarters.
Some people had even speculated that he might secretly have been a Revolutionary Army member all along.
After all...
Other than the Revolutionary Army, there really wasn’t anyone who dared attack a Celestial Dragon.
Although their guess had been wrong...
Nagasawa had now joined them, which was still something worth celebrating.
According to the newspapers, after killing a Celestial Dragon, Nagasawa had calmly escaped from Admiral Kizaru.
His strength was unfathomable.
Having such a powerhouse join the Revolutionary Army was naturally cause for celebration.
Dragon exchanged a glance with Nagasawa before stepping down and leaving the stage to him.
"When I first learned of the Revolutionary Army’s existence, I was delighted."
"Because I knew that if we wanted to save the oppressed people of this world, revolution was the only path."
"But after learning more about the Revolutionary Army, I began to have several thoughts..."
Nagasawa began his speech.
Using a series of questions and answers, he presented one theory after another.
At first, some of the Revolutionary Army members didn’t think much of it.
After all, how could someone who had only just joined possess profound insights into revolution?
But the longer they listened...
Those who genuinely cared about the revolution gradually became absorbed.
They actively immersed themselves in Nagasawa’s ideas, pondering the questions he raised and learning the theories he taught.
When Nagasawa finally finished speaking...
Thunderous applause erupted throughout the hall.
It was even louder than the applause after Dragon had introduced him.
Because before...
Some had applauded out of respect for Dragon.
Others had applauded out of admiration for someone bold enough to kill a Celestial Dragon.
But this time...
Every clap came from the bottom of their hearts.
Robin, who had been invited to observe from the sidelines, looked at Nagasawa with completely different eyes.
Robin had grown up in Ohara, the holy land of archaeology.
It possessed the world’s greatest collection of scholars as well as the world’s largest library, the Tree of Knowledge.
Influenced by that environment since childhood, Robin herself possessed tremendous knowledge.
Precisely because of that...
She was able to appreciate just how astonishing Nagasawa’s theories truly were.
This had already become a highly advanced field of study.
Because of Nagasawa’s fearless feat of killing a Celestial Dragon, combined with the fact that her own captain had also punched one before, Robin had subconsciously assumed Nagasawa was another bold person who wasn’t particularly fond of thinking.
His speech completely overturned that impression.
After the lecture ended, Nagasawa distributed simple booklets that had been photocopied beforehand to every Revolutionary Army member.
They contained all of the theories covered during his speech.
Because they had been prepared in a hurry, the booklets looked rather crude.
Yet none of the Revolutionary Army members minded in the slightest.
Every one of them treasured the simple booklet as though it were priceless.
Nagasawa realized that he might still have underestimated Dragon and the Revolutionary Army of the One Piece world.
Although they did not possess the complete and systematic theoretical framework that existed in his own world...
Dragon’s Revolutionary Army had already been developing for many years.
Taking advantage of the existence of extraordinary powers, they had even successfully liberated entire countries many times, accumulating considerable practical experience.
Otherwise...
There was no way they could have understood and accepted his theories so smoothly.
Nagasawa’s lectures did not last for just a single day.
Over the following week, he continuously taught theoretical classes to the Revolutionary Army, explaining his ideas in detail.
For a time, everyone gradually forgot his title of the White Demon.
Instead...
A new title quietly spread throughout the Revolutionary Army.
The Mentor of the Revolution.
During that time, Nagasawa’s Shadow Clone found a way to contact his original body.
In the end, they decided that while the original body was challenging Mihawk, it would also meet Dragon.
On one hand, it would completely reassure Dragon.
On the other...
Nagasawa could conveniently harvest Devil Fruits.
Originally, Nagasawa had intended to harvest Dragon’s Devil Fruit while shaking his hand.
However, after holding Dragon’s hand for half a minute, he discovered that a Shadow Clone couldn’t harvest Devil Fruits.
Only the original body could.
Therefore, having his original body come to the Revolutionary Army had become absolutely necessary.
Leaving so many Devil Fruits untouched would simply be too wasteful.
Although he didn’t know exactly what Dragon’s Devil Fruit was...
It certainly wasn’t weak.
Robin’s Flower-Flower Fruit was also quite suitable for a ninja.
Imagine speaking face to face with someone...
While an extra pair of hands behind them quietly formed hand seals.
It would completely catch the opponent off guard.
However, harvesting Robin’s Devil Fruit would be much more difficult.
Robin was cautious.
She was also a woman.
Forcefully holding her hand obviously wasn’t an option.
Otherwise, his image as the Mentor of the Revolution would collapse instantly.
Thinking of that, Nagasawa couldn’t help sighing.
Being a good person really was more difficult.
If he were the type of villain with no principles whatsoever, then with his strength, he could simply harvest whatever Devil Fruit he wanted.
Who could possibly stop him?
He hadn’t managed to harvest Ain’s Devil Fruit.
He simply never found the opportunity.
That was a bit of a pity.
Fortunately, he had managed to harvest Binz’s Devil Fruit.
Binz possessed the Grow-Grow Fruit.
Combined with Wood Release, it should produce excellent results.
The Revolutionary Army didn’t keep Nagasawa’s original body waiting long.
The day after Nagasawa defeated Mihawk, his original body received a message from the Shadow Clone.
Rather than allowing the Revolutionary Army’s ship to approach the island, Nagasawa instructed them to stop at a nearby distance.
He then continuously teleported over using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Under Dragon’s expectant gaze...
A kunai embedded itself into the Revolutionary Army’s ship.
The next moment, a figure wearing a Justice Coat appeared with his back facing the members of the Revolutionary Army.
"I wasn’t late, was I?"