Dragon and Ivankov were soaking in the hot springs, chatting about various interesting things.
They didn't look like a Revolutionary Army executive and one of the world's most notorious criminals. Instead, they looked like two old friends meeting up and talking about random things.
Diarmuid, who was asleep, didn't see any of this. If he had, he would have stood up and asked Dragon how he could soak in the same bathhouse as Ivankov without even flinching and still be so full of laughter. He'd wonder if this counted as a mixed-gender bath.
Just as Dragon and Ivankov were getting into their conversation, the door to the hot springs bathhouse opened again.
A very tall man with a slightly ferocious appearance walked in. This man seemed a head taller than Whitebeard, nearly seven meters tall. His face was hideous, not like a normal human's at all, giving off a feeling of a demon from hell. His skin was pale, and his hair was a bright red.
He was only wearing a towel, so you could clearly see a scar that ran from his chin all the way down to his abdomen. This was obviously a wound that had nearly taken his life. The skin over the wound looked a bit fresh, as if it had only recently healed.
Unlike Dragon and the others, the appearance of such a giant naturally attracted a lot of attention. The ordinary people in the hot springs were terrified. They stood up and quickly left the area.
The tall, burly man didn't pay them any mind. His eyes swept across the room and stopped on Dragon and the others. He walked over and said with a wicked laugh, "Kishishishi, Monkey D. Dragon, Emporio Ivankov, you two really came."
The man then sat down in the pool, and his massive body displaced a large amount of the hot springs water.
"Gecko Moria. It's our first time meeting. It seems your injuries have healed?" Dragon said with a smile.
That's right. The man who had just appeared was none other than Gecko Moria. After entering the New World, this guy caused a little stir and then disappeared for nearly two years.
Hearing Dragon's words, Gecko Moria's expression became even more hideous. He said in a low voice, "Are you here to mock me?"
"No, just showing some concern," Dragon said with a calm smile.
Moria stared at Dragon with a gloomy look for a long time before slowly looking away. He said with a hint of displeasure, "These injuries will never heal unless… unless I can kill that damn bastard Kaido!"
"So you really went to Wano Country?" Ivankov said with a hint of surprise.
"Of course," Moria said, nodding without denying anything.
Diarmuid had always thought that Moria hadn't met Kaido yet and had died an anonymous death in the New World for various reasons.
After all, the climate in the New World was so extreme, and every year, some famous pirates would suddenly disappear without a trace. People on the seas generally believed these people were just unlucky and died in some bizarre sea area.
It turned out that without anyone knowing, Moria had already clashed with Kaido once. From his current state, he had clearly been crushed. All of his subordinates were probably killed, too.
Because Wano Country was an isolated nation, it was difficult for news from there to spread. For example, the Whitebeard Pirates still didn't know that Kozuki Oden had died.
In addition, Moria was defeated, and his whole crew was wiped out. He himself had barely escaped, and looking battered, he was naturally not going to spread the news. So, basically, no one knew that he had fought Kaido in Wano Country.
"Alright, let's talk about business. Moria, what information can you give me about the Poneglyphs and the Kozuki clan of Wano Country?" Dragon asked softly. Ever since he was given the blame for the massacre in Ohara and became the "most dangerous criminal" in the world, Dragon had become very interested in the Poneglyphs.
However, according to his intelligence, Ohara had been completely destroyed. A large number of archaeologists had been turned to dust by Diarmuid's Planetary Devastation. Professor Clover was also turned into a bloody mess right in front of him.
In addition, Nico Robin was adopted by Diarmuid and was at G-7 Base, so she didn't have the reputation of being the "Devil Child" or a survivor of Ohara. Thus, Dragon had completely given up on getting information about the Poneglyphs from Ohara.
He had turned to a new direction, and in his investigation, the Kozuki clan of Wano Country, the legendary stonemasons who created the Poneglyphs, came into his sight.
In fact, after discovering this, the Revolutionary Army had sent its members to Wano Country multiple times to gather intelligence. But so far, not a single one of them had managed to come back alive.
The only thing they found out was that Kaido of the Beasts was currently occupying Wano Country, and the entire country had become the headquarters for the Beasts Pirates.
It was around this time that Dragon learned the secret news of Gecko Moria challenging Kaido. He saw Moria as a potential breakthrough and tried to contact him.
Surprisingly, Moria didn't avoid or refuse and immediately invited Dragon to meet. Dragon, of course, wasn't afraid of a man like Moria, so he accepted the invitation without hesitation, which is why he was at Vicura Island, soaking in the hot springs.
"I know a lot, but Dragon, what kind of benefit can your Revolutionary Army give me?" Moria asked with a wicked laugh.
Dragon looked at Moria and then said, "What kind of benefit do you need?"
"Lend me your power! I want to kill that guy, Kaido!!!" Moria said without hesitation.
Dragon immediately shook his head. "That's impossible."
"Why? This is beneficial to both of us, isn't it? You and I join forces, go to Wano Country, and kill Kaido. Won't everything in Wano Country then fall into the hands of your Revolutionary Army? I can also get my revenge. What's so bad about that?" Moria questioned, gritting his teeth.
Dragon looked at Moria with a strange expression. He couldn't bring himself to tell the truth. Dragon had keenly noticed the logical flaw in Moria's words. "Good heavens, you and the Revolutionary Army join forces to kill Kaido… Hmm, based on your performance, I can only assume that we can kill Kaido even without you. In that case, why would we bring you along?"
Of course, this was just a question that arose from Moria's words. In reality, Dragon didn't think it was a good idea for the Revolutionary Army to go after Kaido right now.
The Revolutionary Army had only just started a few years ago and didn't have many skilled fighters. Even if they could win against Kaido in Wano Country, they would be severely crippled, which didn't fit their plan for development. He would be crazy to go after Kaido now. He wasn't a Marine anymore!
"You've personally fought Kaido, so you should know how difficult he is to deal with. Something like this would be more of a loss than a gain for the Revolutionary Army," Dragon said, waving his hand.
Moria, of course, hadn't expected Dragon to agree so easily. He was just asking for a high price. They could always negotiate a lower one.
"Hmph…" Moria snorted. He didn't refute anything. After a slight pause, he asked, "I only have one goal right now, and that's to kill Kaido and get my revenge. So, what can you give me in that regard?"
Dragon thought for a while and then said with a smile, "Moria, have you ever considered joining our Revolutionary Army?"
Moria was stunned for a moment. He frowned. "Are you kidding me? A pirate like me, joining your Revolutionary Army?"
"Come to think of it, hasn't your pirate career hit its lowest point? I think changing professions now would be a good idea…" Dragon said with a chuckle.
Gecko Moria's bounty hadn't changed in two years; it was still 320,000,000 Berries. Looking at his actual activity, which was only from the year 1500 to 1501, he had managed to get such a high bounty in just one year. It was not wrong to call him a great pirate.
So even though he was defeated by Kaido, the fact that he was able to escape Wano Country and his other past performances in the New World showed that his strength, while not exceptionally strong, wasn't weak either. He hadn't reached the level of a pathetic shut-in like he would be in twenty years.
In Dragon's opinion, the Revolutionary Army didn't lack members at the grassroots level, but it was in desperate need of fighters. Because of this, they were often forced to flee whenever the World Government launched a crackdown, which was not good.
If they could recruit Moria, it would be a huge benefit. As for Moria, despite his brutal and evil appearance, he hadn't caused any major trouble so far. He had attacked the Marines, but that was nothing; the Revolutionary Army was going after the World Government every day.
The younger Moria could be considered a "heroic figure." Thus, after he set out to sea, he didn't go on any massive slaughters or loot common citizens. Instead, he constantly challenged the great pirates in the industry and finally challenged Kaido, which ended his journey in the New World.
Therefore, Dragon had no aversion to recruiting a person like him. In fact, he felt that if he could use this opportunity to make Moria "turn over a new leaf," it would be a good deed.
Moria hesitated for a moment. To be honest, he became a pirate on a whim after being inspired by Roger. His journey was a smooth ride, and then Kaido taught him a lesson.
Although he shouted about being the Pirate King, he didn't have a deep obsession with it. On the contrary, his current state of mind didn't care about being a pirate anymore. He just wanted to get revenge on Kaido.
Before this, he had heard about the Warlord of the Sea plan from the World Government, and he was thinking about whether he should try to become a Warlord of the Sea first to see if he could use the World Government's power to take down Kaido.
The fact that he was even having these thoughts proved a lot. It showed that at this stage, he didn't take his identity as a pirate seriously and was just focused on revenge.
In the original story, Moria had no other options and no interaction with Dragon. So, in the end, he found a way to become a Warlord of the Sea. But now, because of various strange reasons, he had come into contact with Dragon. In addition to trying to join the Warlord of the Sea organization, he suddenly had the option of "joining the Revolutionary Army."
On top of that, Dragon was a person who could get things done, and Moria had no fondness for the World Government.
People who could be pirates were rebellious at heart.
Comparatively, he would naturally prefer the Revolutionary Army. However, after some hesitation and doubt, Moria asked in a low voice, "If I join the Revolutionary Army, can you help me take down Kaido?"
Dragon was getting a headache. 'Kaido, Kaido. Did Kaido beat you so badly that you got some kind of mental trauma? Are you in such a hurry for revenge?'
But Dragon still said patiently, "Right now, I don't think so. But I can promise you that in the future, once we are fully prepared and strong enough, we can help you get your revenge. As you said, the secrets hidden in Wano Country are also very important to our Revolutionary Army."
After a slight pause, Dragon continued, "Of course, I don't want to deceive you, so this could take ten, or even twenty years, for us to be able to help you."
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