Many people were seated in a room on the 9527 warship, including Alvida, Smoker, Tashigi, Elisa, Lan, and the background characters, Miko and Hana.
The rain outside showed no signs of stopping; instead, it grew heavier.
The door opened automatically, and Hachi entered the room carrying several trays of food. The trays were filled with various unique foods and fruits from the One Piece world, and of course, Hachi's secret takoyaki were not missing.
"Please enjoy, everyone. If you need anything, feel free to call me. I'll go make some food for the others."
With that, Hachi turned and left.
Yang Tao smiled and said to the people in the room, "I'm going to spoil it for you... cough cough, I mean, explain information about the pirate Luffy. You all keep eating; it won't taste as good when it gets cold."
Smoker sat expressionlessly by the window, two cigars still dangling from his mouth, but the cigar smoke seemed to have a life of its own, drifting out through the window.
"Go ahead..." he said. "The information about the pirate Luffy is very relevant to whether I capture Alvida."
"It'll be worth it, Smoker. The person who stopped you from attacking Luffy just now is named Dragon. Do you know his full name?"
Spoiling things without a hype man isn't ideal, but upon hearing Dragon's name, Alvida, also a member of the pirate world, instantly widened her eyes and stammered, "Dragon?"
"You... You mean the leader of the revolutionaries, Dragon, whom the World Government calls the most dangerous criminal in the world?"
Compared to Dragon, the actions of ordinary pirates seemed as childish as playing house in the eyes of the World Government.
"That's him."
Smoker frowned slightly and said, "Of course I know him. The world's most dangerous criminal, Monkey D. Dragon..."
"Then what's Luffy's full name?"
"Monkey D. Lu..."
Smoker stopped mid-sentence, abruptly standing up from his chair, his eyes wide and round, completely stunned by the news.
"Are you saying..."
"You were hitting his son; it would be strange if he didn't stop you. You were still foolishly asking him why he helped that man... tsk tsk."
Yang Tao was very satisfied with Smoker's reaction, but when he looked at Alvida beside him, he couldn't bear to watch.
Her ability to process information was even weaker than Smoker's. She sat with her mouth agape like a statue, not even blinking.
"Never mind her. Smoker, quickly sit down and control the smoke. There's more interesting news coming."
Smoker adjusted his mindset and sat on the stool, puffing heavily on his cigar. The news was simply too explosive; the revolutionary Dragon actually had a son.
However, before he could decide whether to relay this information to Marine Headquarters, he saw Yang Tao reveal the same smile as before and ask, "Smoker, what's the name of the Marine Hero?"
"Garp..."
"Full name!"
"Monkey..."
Silence. Smoker uttered only two words before falling silent.
After about ten seconds, he grabbed the cigar from his mouth and threw it hard onto the ground, saying, "Damn it, so this is a family of three?"
"Marine Hero Monkey D. Garp, Revolutionary Army leader Monkey D. Dragon, plus the pirate Monkey D. Luffy..."
Smoker looked around at the people in the room, now having an urge to kill them to keep the secret.
"Not enough, Smoker. Guess who gave Straw Hat Luffy his hat?"
Smoker subconsciously pondered if there were any other heroes named Monkey D. at sea, but after thinking for a long time, he couldn't come up with anything and could only look up at Yang Tao.
Yang Tao shook his head and said helplessly, "Ah, you obviously don't read wanted posters often. Never mind, I'll just tell you directly."
"Luffy's straw hat was given to him by one of the Four Emperors, Shanks. He was Luffy's guide to the sea, and Shanks even gambled an arm on him."
A little sea creature actually bit off Shanks' arm.
Smoker: "..."
He now had no idea where to even begin complaining.
Some people are destined to be extraordinary from birth, but this is a bit too much, isn't it?
"The news is out, but there will be some special relationships later, but Luffy hasn't encountered them yet."
After finishing the revelations, Yang Tao sat on a chair, picked up the Seer Tea coffee from the table, took a sip to moisten his throat, and then, as if remembering something else, looked at Smoker and asked with a smile, "Oh, by the way, there are some unconfirmed wild rumors. Do you want to hear them?"
Smoker's mouth twitched twice. He had a feeling that what Yang Tao was about to say would be too much for him to handle, but his inner curiosity drove him to nod.
"Wild rumors, I don't know if they're true, but they're definitely wild enough."
"For example, it's rumored that Kizaru, one of the three Marine Admirals, is Luffy's uncle. Don't open your mouth yet; this is just a joke. Kizaru always inexplicably goes easy on Luffy when he encounters him; you'll find out very soon. The most important thing is the next piece of news."
"This news is unbelievably wild!"
"It's rumored that when Monkey D. Dragon was still a Marine, during a mission to protect the Celestial Dragons, he and a Celestial Dragon fell in love at first sight. You know that those guys living on the Grand Line absolutely do not, and will not, allow Celestial Dragons to marry ordinary people. So, after Luffy's mother gave birth to Luffy, she was taken back to Holy Land Mary Geoise by the Celestial Dragons..."
"Therefore, Monkey D. Dragon defected from the Marines before he was captured by the Celestial Dragons and formed the Revolutionary Army, all to overthrow the rule of the Celestial Dragons and be with the woman he deeply loved."
"You... You..."
Even though Yang Tao had stated before telling these things that it was just speculation, Smoker's mind still conjured the image of Monkey D. Dragon watching his beloved woman being taken back by the Celestial Dragons, then resolutely leaving the Marines and founding the Revolutionary Army.
Bang...
Smoker slammed his fist on the table, startling Miko and Hana, who were busy eating. They didn't understand anything Yang Tao was saying.
Neither Monkey D. Luffy nor Monkey D. Dragon meant anything to them; they didn't know them.
"Don't say another word. Tashigi, it's time for us to go. No matter who Straw Hat Luffy's father or grandfather is, I will definitely bring him back."
Tashigi, having come to her senses, quickly stood up, bowed to Yang Tao, and, clutching the two swords in her arms, followed Smoker out.
Alvida watched Smoker's retreating back and asked, "He... he just left like that?"
Yang Tao smiled and said, "He's afraid that if he stays, he'll hear more news, even some news he feels he shouldn't hear."
"Sometimes, the less a person knows, the happier they are..."
With that, Yang Tao looked at Lan, who was sitting quietly on the chair, and smiled, "Lan, cross the Calm Belt directly. We're heading to Holy Land Mary Geoise..."
"Understood, Captain!"
The ship slowly left the port of Loguetown, turned its bow, and sailed towards the depths of the ocean.
Alvida, beside him, asked curiously, "Captain, what are we going to Mary Geoise for?"
"Nothing much, just to deploy a Sculk Catalyst..."