Gulp… ha!

A man with a black headscarf and a bright red nose downed half his drink, looking somber.

"Captain Roger… sniff…"

"With so many marines gathered here in Loguetown, Garp's ship left a few days ago. Maybe we have a chance, Shanks…"

Beside him, Shanks, with his straw hat and red hair, didn't reply, only glancing at the patrons in the tavern.

Clink.

Buggy slammed his mug down. "You idiot, Shanks! Didn't you hear a word I said? If… if Rayleigh and the others come…"

Before he could finish, Shanks spoke, "The vice-captain and the others understand the captain's will and his choice. We're here to see him off, not to rescue him."

Buggy was silent for a long while.

"But…"

"No 'buts.' I respect the captain's choice, too. No one can capture the freest man in the world—Captain Roger chose this himself!"

After a moment of silence, Buggy downed the rest of his drink.

In a quiet corner of the tavern, Kevin, cloaked and hooded, quietly sipped his drink. His shadow clone had gone to wash up, while he waited here for someone.

Hours passed, and by nightfall, the cloaked figure he'd been expecting hadn't shown up.

During that time, future Warlord Hawk Eyes came in asking about wine, and Crocodile, a cigar clenched in his teeth, sat brooding at another table.

As expected, the man Vegapunk once described as hating war wasn't much of a drinker.

Lowering the brim of his hood and donning a black mask, Kevin exited the tavern.

His shadow clone had already returned to the temporary residence, presumably drunk.

Just as Kevin stepped out, a figure in a dark green cloak passed by the entrance. A gust of wind swept past, and Kevin caught a glimpse of the man's profile.

How convenient.

At this time, he was still known as the leader of the "Free Army," Monkey D. Dragon.

Unhurriedly, Kevin followed the figure, who led him down increasingly deserted streets, eventually leaving the town.

Finally, the figure in front stopped.

"The man in the mask… a government intelligence agent, I presume? Come out."

Turning, Dragon looked at Kevin. "Did your superiors not teach you that, upon spotting me, you're supposed to report immediately rather than tailing me alone?"

In an instant, his hand shot toward Kevin.

Kevin crossed his arms in defense.

Bang!

A powerful impact sent him stumbling back, his arms numb from the blow.

"The gap is huge…"

Kevin shook out his arms and stood, replying, "But I'm not one of the Celestial Dragons' dogs from the CP divisions. In fact, from a future perspective, our goals align."

"Future? Goals?"

Dragon frowned. "I don't care for such cryptic nonsense. If you're not with the government, we're done here."

Kevin smiled. "Or perhaps you should hear me out. I happen to have what you currently need. You've founded a Free Army made up of people who had nowhere else to turn. You must be low on funds and firearms."

Dragon, who had been about to leave, paused.

After a moment, he spoke. "Follow me."

...

Ten minutes later, in the basement of a closed general store.

"So, this is one of your routes for acquiring weapons. Loguetown, near Reverse Mountain, provides access to the Grand Line without having to pass through Navy or World Government channels."

Kevin looked at Dragon. "Still… bringing me here like this—aren't you worried it'll expose your supplier?"

Dragon replied calmly, "Which is why you need to convince me. And if you claim we share the same goals, shouldn't you remove your mask?"

After a brief pause, Kevin took off his mask. "I just arrived in Loguetown today. I waited for you in the tavern for quite a while before realizing you're more of a tea person than a drinker."

Dragon took in Kevin's youthful face.

"You seem to know a lot about me. Or perhaps it's a Devil Fruit ability of some sort?"

"That's one way to put it," Kevin admitted. "I have some treasure and weapons—not a huge amount, but I assume you're in need of both right now."

With that, Kevin revealed a collection of items, including long swords from the Naruto world, flintlock pistols from One Piece, and modern firearms from the Jackie Chan Adventures world.

The items appeared in an intangible projection before materializing.

"An ability to create things out of thin air?"

Dragon's hand clenched briefly.

No one understood the Free Army's dire situation better than Dragon himself: no money, no weapons, and even food supplies were scarce.

Being from East Blue, he had more connections there, and thanks to his father's influence, resources were easier to obtain. But even then, it was hardly enough.

If the man before him truly had the power to produce weapons, the fledgling Free Army could become fully equipped.

"Don't get ahead of yourself."

Kevin interrupted his thoughts. "These items didn't come from thin air. There's also some treasure, though I don't have it with me right now."

Dragon fell silent, contemplating before speaking. "Though I don't know your reasons, these are exactly what I need at this time."

Kevin shook his head. "No. Money and weapons are essential to any army, but it seems you haven't truly made a decision yet, have you?"

"Free Army… granting the oppressed the courage to resist. Is that the idea behind it? But the powers of this world are not something an ordinary person with a weapon can contend with."

"The Free Army is still small, too insignificant for the World Government to even notice yet. That's an opportunity, but only if you're clear on what you want to achieve."

Achieve what? A hint of uncertainty flashed in Dragon's eyes.

As the son of the Hero of the Navy, Garp, he had been raised with a strong sense of the power wielded by the world's elite. Ordinary people's fighting strength was often no more than a statistic, knocked unconscious by a single wave of Conqueror's Haki.

But… the things he'd witnessed in his youth had left him unable to stand by and do nothing.

So… something had to be done, even if he detested war itself.

...

(Note: At the Battle of Edd War, Aokiji still represented "Burning Justice," only adopting a more laid-back approach after Ohara.)

(Note: "Dragon" is the English translation of Dorag. In recent chapters, Vegapunk's flashback confirmed that at this time, the Revolutionary Army was still called the Free Army, founded the same year Ohara was destroyed, with Ivankov joining Dragon to find Kuma and Ginny to establish the revolutionary movement.)