Fisher Tiger looked at the man before him with some surprise, then his expression straightened. "Compared to you, I'm hardly worthy of being called famous."
He, Fisher Tiger, was just an adventurer. How could he claim fame?
But the moment this man had appeared before him, Tiger had recognized him immediately.
Monkey D. Dragon, branded the "world's worst criminal" by the World Government.
The leader of the Revolutionary Army.
It was at this moment that Tiger suddenly understood the current situation.
He'd felt something was off before. He'd been killing guards and setting fires throughout Mary Geoise, and everything had gone smoothly. Until now, he hadn't suffered a single injury. It had been almost too easy.
It turned out the Revolutionary Army was here!
The two operations had collided.
Tiger had never told anyone about his plan, so he hadn't expected the Revolutionary Army to be waiting for him. He simply assumed the Revolutionary Army had also planned a surprise attack on Mary Geoise, and the two groups had coincidentally struck at the same time.
But this was also good. Tiger had no particular opinion of Dragon, positive or negative. In the past, he'd heard Dragon was the most vicious criminal in the world, but that had nothing to do with him.
But now, seeing this man leading his forces to attack Mary Geoise and liberate the slaves...
He felt some respect for him.
However, at this point, Tiger no longer trusted any human being. Although he didn't want to admit it, he knew clearly in his heart that he couldn't let go of his hatred for humans.
He was already a racist.
For now, he could still suppress this dark impulse to kill all humans.
But his heart was already riddled with holes. Sooner or later, that hatred would no longer be containable.
So even though he admired Dragon at this moment, he had no intention of engaging in prolonged conversation.
Dragon was perceptive. He understood much from Tiger's not-too-polite response. He spoke with genuine emotion. "Mr. Tiger, single-handedly attempting to liberate the suffering people of Mary Geoise... I has tremendous respect for you. Although I can see you seem reluctant to speak with me, I still must ask: have you ever considered joining our Revolutionary Army?"
Tiger was silent for a moment, then finally smiled and shook his head. "Everyone says you, Dragon, are a vicious and cruel criminal with countless innocent lives on your hands. But now that I've met you, I find that's not the case at all. You're a good person. I can see that. You have your own ideals and ambitions. But I'm sorry... forget it. I'm not suited to join the Revolutionary Army at all."
After saying that, Tiger no longer paid attention to Dragon. He turned and plunged into the darkness and firelight, heading toward another slave detention center.
Dragon watched Tiger's gradually disappearing silhouette, feeling somewhat helpless.
To be honest, he hadn't known much about Tiger before. He'd only heard about this so-called adventurer from Finn.
But seeing Tiger truly break into Mary Geoise alone, regardless of life or death, regardless of race, liberating all the imprisoned slaves... Dragon was moved.
Tiger's actions were undeniably righteous. Dragon was willing to believe Tiger was a man with a truly great heart.
It would be wonderful if such a person could join the Revolutionary Army.
In fact, ever since Finn had started making moves on Fish-Man Island, Dragon had also begun paying attention to racial issues in this world. Fish-Man Island was a direction he was currently focusing on, though he had no concrete plans yet.
After meeting Tiger, he'd suddenly realized that if he could recruit Tiger into the Revolutionary Army, wouldn't that be equivalent to opening a communication channel with Fish-Man Island?
But unfortunately, Tiger hadn't wanted to say much more to him at all. After a few polite words, he'd turned and left.
"Mr. Dragon?" A Revolutionary Army cadre approached. "What should we do?"
Dragon withdrew his gaze and asked, "What's the situation?"
"Many slaves have been liberated, but it's too dark and chaotic to get an accurate count. All the weapons have been distributed. Now throughout Mary Geoise, the World Government's garrison has started reacting and fighting back, but those people are pathetically weak..." The Revolutionary Army cadre's voice carried undisguised contempt.
They'd thought Mary Geoise was a formidable holy land, but it had turned out to be a paper tiger that burst with a single poke.
Dragon spoke softly. "This is a one-time opportunity. After this, Mary Geoise will be different. How are things at the port?"
"Lord Ivankov has already secured the port. We can evacuate at any time," the cadre reported.
Dragon nodded. "Good. Leave some of our people behind to continue liberating slaves and guide them to the port to board ships. Then gather our main forces and prepare to attack the Domain of the Gods..."
Many Revolutionary Army members had come this time, bringing nearly all their elite forces, while Mary Geoise's defenses were extraordinarily weak.
But even so, Dragon remained clear-headed. They couldn't annihilate all the World Government's top leadership here.
Moreover, if that happened, the Revolutionary Army wouldn't actually benefit. After all, they didn't yet have the capacity to take over the positions of the World Government's leaders after killing them and continue maintaining order in this world.
Dragon wasn't a madman, nor was he an agent of chaos. He understood that if all the World Government's high-ranking officials were killed here and the Revolutionary Army was unable to establish a new order, the world would soon collapse into even darker, more chaotic conditions. Who knew how many innocent people would die then?
He, Dragon, would truly become a butcher and a criminal.
That wasn't what he wanted to see.
Moreover, he had other concerns. He was thinking that Finn had been so confident and bold in dispersing all of Marineford's forces. Maybe he was just giving Dragon an opportunity?
With the Revolutionary Army's help, they'd slaughter all the World Government's high-ranking officials.
Then Finn would return with the Marines to seize control of the World Government, raise the banner of justice, and wipe out the Revolutionary Army?
Wouldn't that make Dragon a complete scapegoat?
Actually, thinking it through carefully, this scenario wasn't impossible.
"I take the blame for the chaos, and you take credit for restoring order... Finn, you sinister bastard," Dragon murmured.
If things really developed that way, Finn would probably laugh himself sick.
This also wasn't in the Revolutionary Army's interests, so Dragon had no intention of fighting to the death with the World Government's leadership here. After creating enough chaos to buy time, he prepared to attack the Domain of the Gods and plunder the Celestial Dragons.
Soon, the Revolutionary Army's elite forces began gathering throughout Mary Geoise. Taking advantage of the chaos, flames, and fierce street fighting erupting everywhere, they rapidly broke through Pangaea Castle, then used it as a springboard to invade the Domain of the Gods.
For hundreds of years, no one except the Celestial Dragons and their servants had the right to enter the territory of the "Gods." Now, it had been conquered by Monkey D. Dragon, bearer of the Will of D, the Enemy of the Gods.
The Revolutionary Army's forces and the Celestial Dragons' protection details engaged in fierce combat throughout the Domain of the Gods.
However, thanks to Dragon's overwhelming power, the Revolutionary Army maintained a massive advantage from beginning to end. Every time the vanguard broke through a Celestial Dragon's mansion, large numbers of soldiers would rush in to plunder, then transport everything back to the occupied Pangaea Castle.
Morley of the Giant Clan was constantly using his abilities to bury underground all the wealth, Berries, famous swords, Devil Fruits, and miscellaneous treasures that the Revolutionary Army continuously looted from the Domain of the Gods.
Dragon was smart. He knew it was impossible to carry away all the wealth looted from Mary Geoise in a single night.
He would need more time to accomplish that, but unfortunately, he couldn't have more time. When dawn broke, the situation would become clearer, and the World Government's counterattack would definitely be launched. He only had one night.
Although Finn had removed the Marines' high-end combat forces in advance, there were still tens of thousands of troops stationed at Marineford. These were the real elite. Once the Marineford garrison arrived and surrounded Mary Geoise, it would be extremely difficult for the Revolutionary Army to escape.
So Dragon planned to finish the operation in one night. He'd rely on Morley's ability to bury all the ill-gotten gains robbed from the Domain of the Gods in the Red Line beneath Mary Geoise. After the storm passed, he could slowly retrieve them. This would be much safer and would maximize profits.
In fact, by this time, Mary Geoise's top management had already figured out the situation.
The CP agencies weren't completely useless. Maybe they lacked manpower and couldn't quickly suppress these chaotic situations, but they should have no problem gathering intelligence.
Soon, they obtained the information they needed from captured slaves.
The names "Fisher Tiger" and "Monkey D. Dragon" quickly reached the ears of the Five Elders.
The Five Elders were shocked and furious beyond measure!
How dare the Revolutionary Army do such a thing?
All along, it had been the World Government hunting the Revolutionary Army. Although the Revolutionary Army hadn't been destroyed and had even grown stronger, judging from the offensive and defensive dynamic, the World Government had always been on the offensive, constantly searching for Revolutionary Army members throughout the world.
The Revolutionary Army could only hide like rats and occasionally launch some revolutionary coup when the World Government wasn't prepared.
Therefore, the Five Elders had never imagined that one day, the Revolutionary Army would actually conquer Mary Geoise...
Now, the facts were before their eyes!
"Who is this Fisher Tiger? Is he part of the Revolutionary Army?" Saint Saturn demanded, standing before the office window and staring at Mary Geoise where flames still spread unchecked.
Fortunately, an isolation zone had been established around the headquarters building, so the fire shouldn't spread here. However... the Domain of the Gods seemed to have been breached?
Fortunately, Lord Imu wasn't in Mary Geoise, or this would be even more troublesome.
"No," a CP agency member responded quickly. "According to our intelligence investigation, Fisher Tiger was originally a slave in Mary Geoise. He escaped several months ago. It's highly likely he brought the Revolutionary Army back today for revenge!"
"Where did they infiltrate Mary Geoise from? Have you found the entry point?" another Five Elder asked.
"Not yet," the CP member said fearfully.
"Useless!" the Elder cursed, then demanded, "When will Marine support arrive?"
"Former Marine Headquarters Admiral Black Arm Zephyr has led twenty warships and twenty thousand Marine officers. He should arrive before dawn," a high-ranking World Government official said gravely.
Although Finn had taken away most of the senior officers, as the situation continued deteriorating, the original fire and slave riots had transformed into the outrageous spectacle of the Revolutionary Army attacking Mary Geoise itself. The Five Elders could no longer remain calm and had hurriedly ordered Marine Headquarters to send reinforcements.
To be honest, when Fleet Admiral Kong had received news that Mary Geoise had been breached by the Revolutionary Army, he'd been completely stunned. He'd originally wanted to send Sakazuki for support, but for some reason, Mary Geoise had refused. So Fleet Admiral Kong had no choice but to quickly ask Zephyr, the former Marine Admiral, to emerge from retirement and rapidly gather twenty thousand Marines to support Mary Geoise.
It was at this moment that the Five Elders finally realized that Mary Geoise and the World Government couldn't function without the Marines. In this chaotic and critical moment, the Marines were the only force they could rely on.