By reflex, Belo Betty and Koala both tensed up a bit—because if Sabo really had done something bad to Moda, then recruiting her into the Revolutionary Army would become that much more difficult.
[The Army's Chief of Staff—yes, that's Sabo. Although in the end, he took Moda and other survivors of the Lulusia Kingdom to a new Revolutionary Army base after the destruction of the old one…]
[But very likely it was precisely Sabo's sudden appearance there that led Imu to decide to drop that 'kingdom-annihilating lightning sphere' on Lulusia.]
[No help for it. The moment Sabo discovered Imu's existence by accident, Imu resolved to wipe out Lulusia. Talk about bold—Sabo actually dared to strike at Imu and the Five Elders.]
[But then again, Imu and the Five Elders sure have terrible awareness. Sabo was eavesdropping on them and none of them realized it—only after Sabo attacked did they catch on.]
[Right… I'd better learn from that. Even if I get much stronger, I need to stay vigilant. Gotta use my Observation Haki from time to time, so enemies don't sneak up on me.]
Makino: "Sabo?!"
Smoothie: "Ho… quite impressive, that Revolutionary Army number-two, if he managed to discover Imu's identity…"
Black Maria: "He even dared to attack Imu and the Five Elders. But Arton's words imply something big here: he mentions the Revolutionary Army's new base, so presumably their original base got destroyed?"
Doll: "Who could have leveled the old Revolutionary Army base? The World Government, probably? Maybe Sabo appeared before the Five Elders out of revenge for their destruction of the base?"
Whitey Bay: "The Revolutionary Army's Chief of Staff definitely can't be weak! If the Five Elders plus Imu could force Sabo to retreat, that means the absolute pinnacle of the World Government is no pushover either."
Stussy: "He dared to strike at those five, and even at Imu up on top… I have to say, that's a certain kind of bravery from someone raised by Dragon."
Belo Betty: "So the Five Elders and Imu have low vigilance—that's good to know. Didn't expect Arton would just come out and state the precise reason for Lulusia's destruction. I figured he'd only reveal that if the Revolutionary Army and I showed up in front of him in person…"
Koala: "But why exactly did Sabo learn about Imu's existence? The Five Elders just stay in Mary Geoise, right? Could it be Sabo sneaked into Mary Geoise somehow?
Also… a new Revolutionary Army base? So our old base is gone? That… that must mean huge casualties, right?"
Belo Betty: "All the more reason we have to find Arton! Since we know the base might get destroyed, we have to stop that from happening, or else who knows how many comrades could die."
Gion: "I don't know how Sabo ended up sneaking up on the Five Elders and Imu, but his willpower must be immense, not to mention his strength. He'll surely become a threat to the Marines and the World Government down the line."
Gion: "Imu… If only Imu didn't exist hidden behind the scenes. Now that we know about Imu, where does that leave us?"
Gion: "Much as I dislike it, if every Marine refused to serve because of Imu, the seas would descend into utter chaos—so I have no choice but to keep being a Marine, even while loathing Imu…"
Kalifa: "The Revolutionary Army's Chief of Staff is truly amazing and dangerous—charging at Imu and the Five Elders, hoping to take down the Government's apex all at once? If he really went there, how'd he manage to get out alive?"
Nico Robin: "Unless there was someone helping him from inside… Did the Revolutionary Army actually assault Mary Geoise in force?"
[Those five plus Imu can transform into monster forms. Even though Sabo's strong, in the end the only reason he escaped may have been the Mera Mera no Mi. That's one reason he should be grateful to Fire-Fist Ace—since being a Logia user, he can turn into flames and slip away. In some sense, it's a form of inheritance: Sabo taking Ace's powers.]
Koala: "What?! Sabo ate the Flame-Flame Fruit?!"
Belo Betty: "So, it is boosted by the Flame-Flame Fruit. I see—after Ace's death, that fruit ended up in Revolutionary Army hands. But Arton has already disclosed Ace's future death in the Diary, so a bunch of other Diary holders might well try to stop it. In that case, maybe Sabo won't get the fruit after all…"
Gion: "After Ace dies, his fruit goes to a Revolutionary… how troublesome that fruit ended up with Sabo."
Doll: "That fruit is definitely a headache if it's in such a person's possession."
Kujaku: "Is it just a coincidence? Arton calls it an inheritance—maybe Sabo and Ace had some deeper connection. The Revolutionary Army shouldn't have ties to Whitebeard's crew, right?"
…
Elsewhere, in the East Blue—aboard Whitey Bay's ship.
Whitey Bay, frowning deeply, "So once Ace is dead, his devil fruit actually ends up with the Revolutionary Army? That's… well, that stirs some unpleasant feelings."
Behind her, Makino was clutching her mouth, tears shimmering in her eyes.
"Makino… are you alright? You're worried about Ace, aren't you? Don't be. Together we'll figure out a way to change Ace's fate."
She patted Makino's shoulder, assuming Makino was upset because Arton once again implied Ace would die. In reality, though, Makino was trembling over something else.
"No, that's not why I'm so emotional. It's because of Sabo."
"Sabo? Right—he's the one who ended up with Ace's Mera Mera no Mi. But the fruit passes to random places once the user dies, so maybe it's just chance. You needn't blame him… Wait, hang on. Arton said Sabo inheriting Ace's power was like a baton pass—inheritance. So does that mean Sabo personally knew Ace?"
Makino, firmly nodding, "…Yes! At first I thought it might just be someone with the same name. But since Arton calls it inheritance, that must be the Sabo I know. Only… if he really survived all this time, why didn't he ever come back to see us? Even if he joined the Revolutionary Army, you'd think he'd at least drop by to say he was alright…"
Makino wiped away her tears, her tone a mix of excitement and confusion.
"Makino, what exactly is going on? Can you explain from the start?"
Whitey Bay moved her hands to Makino's shoulders. She had assumed Sabo and Ace's connection was trivial, but now realized it wasn't.
"Well, it's like this… Not only are Luffy and Ace brothers, but there's also a third brother, Sabo. They all exchanged sake cups as kids. But Sabo supposedly died in an accident when he was very young—we never found his body. Now it seems he never actually died, and has somehow been alive all this time…"
Whitey Bay's eyes widened, "…So not just Luffy and Ace—Sabo is also their brother?! Well, in that case it does make sense that—if Dragon is Sabo's father—Sabo ended up in the Revolutionary Army."
"Maybe Sabo didn't die in that accident. Maybe Dragon rescued him or something…"
She paused, noticing Makino's expression looked a bit off.
"Wait, did I say something wrong?"
"There's something I never got a chance to tell you. Luffy, Ace, and Sabo aren't related by blood; they're just sworn brothers. Ace's relationship to Grandpa Garp is also not by blood."
"…Ah, so neither Ace nor Sabo is actually Garp's blood relative?"
"No, but Garp treats them all as grandsons, even if there's no blood tie."
"I see! So what about Dragon, then? Does he know Sabo and Ace? Maybe not, right, because Dragon is with the Revolutionary Army and might not dare show himself near Garp—so there's never been a chance for them to meet. Right?"
Whitey Bay put one hand to her chin in thought.
"Yeah… that's basically it. So it probably wasn't Dragon who rescued Sabo. If he's in the Revolutionary Army, maybe it was just coincidence."
Whitey Bay frowned, "Coincidence, huh? Sabo turning up alive, and in the Revolutionary Army… So it wasn't Dragon who saved him. Then how did he end up as a revolutionary?"
She kept pondering, rummaging through all these new revelations.