Pirate: I was just slacking off, do you really think I'm bad?

A massive warship, flying the flag of the World Government, swaggered across the sea.

The people on board were very relaxed. They would set off on such voyages every few months, and no one ever dared to touch the World Government's ships. The navy only had one warship, a fleet led by Zakri.

Before the ship carrying fine iron set sail for Jomalia, Zachary approached Raleigh and asked him to take on the escort mission.

Since his last encounter with Raleigh, he has realized that his dominance in the North Sea has greatly diminished.

Now, apart from a few die-hard followers, everyone else has been recruited by Raleigh.

Rather than sitting here waiting to die, he might as well take his soldiers to Jomalia to try and find connections to transfer them to other sea areas. After all, the North Sea isn't the only place in the Four Seas where you can make money.

Seas like the East China Sea and the South China Sea are relatively small, with simple and honest people, and are less dangerous, making them a more suitable path for hereditary nobles like Zakri.

Raleigh thought about it and decided not to tell Zachary about Bondiwald.

After all, it's not an obligation to tell him.

Currently, the naval forces of the Kingdom of Eryorobu are basically all from the faction of Borsalino and Raleigh.

Raleigh was actually quite conflicted about sending his men to their deaths.

Zachley's proposal was perfect for Raleigh; he had the right status and rank, and if anything went wrong, the World Government couldn't blame them.

Standing on the rooftop of his office building, Raleigh watched the World Government ships and Zakri's warships sail away and silently waved.

"Zachley, although we've settled our score, you were the one who barged in here. The weak are only ever used as pawns."

Even if Zachary hadn't brought it up, Rowley had considered using special methods.

However, at the time, it was believed that the Zach family had a high-profile background, and special methods would be too easy to be detected, so they were not used.

"If you weren't blown to pieces by Bondiwald, I'd make you a decent coffin."

After saying this, Raleigh disappeared from the rooftop like a gentle breeze.

Deep within the mines of the Kingdom of Eryokobu, in a very secluded mine tunnel.

The dragon and the crow were silently waiting for someone to arrive.

"Mr. Long, what kind of person is worth your waiting?"

The crow couldn't help but ask.

Ever since he came to know the dragon, he felt that the dragon was omnipotent.

They can easily spot flaws in their own plans and propose revised versions.

Through unknown means, they contacted a mafia family in Beihai and purchased a large quantity of weapons.

He also had enough money to buy weapons from two soldiers.

Even now, if someone says that dragons are gods, crows will believe it without hesitation.

You'll see in a moment; he's someone with a very deep understanding of the revolution and provided us with tremendous support.

"The revolutionary program you love to read was something he obtained during his adventurous journey, and he hand-copied a copy and gave it to me."

A man with a perpetually lazy expression appeared in Long's mind.

He thought Raleigh didn't seem like a North Sea person; he always seemed to have all sorts of secrets.

There's another thing the dragon has never said to anyone.

That was Raleigh, who seemed to be slacking off, but whose strength was not far from his. Dragon did not have absolute confidence in defeating such a powerful enemy.

Huhu

In the dark mine, a current seemed to rise, stirring the candles lit by the rebels.

The flames flickered. "He's here."

The dragon's Observation Haki had already sensed the aura emanating from Raleigh.

Similarly, Rolibi Dragon sensed everything in the mine tunnel earlier, because the gust of wind had already detected everything for him.

There was no ambush.

It seems that Dragon really trusts him, which makes Raleigh feel a little guilty.

"You've arrived, Lori."

In a place unlit by the firelight, a mysterious figure draped in a cloak emerged.

"Dragons, are you ready?"

Raleigh glanced at the surrounding rebel soldiers, focusing particularly on the superior, standard-issue weapons they carried—weapons produced by the Don Quixote family.

"Not yet. Many members of the insurgents have never handled weapons before, and our troops need some time to gel."

A hint of smugness appeared on the dragon's face.

Raleigh did so much for him, but Dragon couldn't even do the simplest thing well, which is really unacceptable.

But this is also where the dragon is powerless.

Miners have no human rights and can only secretly contact each other about the use of weapons at night.

At present, the dragons don't care about their accuracy at all; they just want to avoid killing their own people in the chaos of battle.

After listening to the dragon's training, Raleigh put his left hand to his forehead and said with a headache;

"Dragon, you're being a little too cautious right now."

I know you're preparing for a perfect conclusion to the first uprising, but I think your approach is flawed. While people can improve their fighting ability through training, now is not the time.

First, conduct a large-scale screening of those with a talent for firearms, and have them form the musketeer corps of the rebel army. The remaining rebel soldiers can follow behind, carrying swords, shovels, or pickaxes.

After hearing this, the dragon asked, somewhat confused:

Why do this? We can wait a few more days.

"That's not how it is," Raleigh's calm voice came from under the hood. "I've come to give you some breaking news."

"The time is fast approaching, in as little as two days or as long as five. A world-shaking message will break out in the North Sea, at which point the island's naval forces will be depleted, and you will have the best opportunity to revolt."

"You don't have much time left, so hurry up and seize the opportunity."

After saying that, Raleigh didn't want to continue talking to Dragon, because he had other things to do.

Raleigh's figure disappeared back into the darkness.

Before long, Raleigh's presence disappeared from the dragon's Observation Haki range.

Raven and Swall breathed a sigh of relief only after Raleigh left.

When Luo Li arrived just now, his demeanor and words made the two of them hold their breath and dare not speak.

"Chief, when did we acquire this ally?"

Swall spoke first; he had a good feeling about Raleigh.

Mr. Long, why did that person cover their face just now? Was there something inconvenient about it?

A hint of curiosity also arose in the crow's heart.

Long clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back to what he was saying!

"There's no need for anyone to guess who that person was."

He has his own path, one that is not the same as ours. It just so happens that we are at this stage where we can engage in a win-win cooperation.

"If the situation changes in the future, we might become enemies."

Although Dragon was grateful to Raleigh for his help in choosing the path of rebellion, he also had his own principles.

He knew that his path and Raleigh's path were not the same.

What will become of the two of them in the end? Long has no idea, but one thing is certain.

If Raleigh had stayed in the Navy, he might have met Raleigh on the battlefield sooner or later. "Raleigh, you've helped me a lot, so I won't hesitate to help you when I can."

Dragon silently made a vow to himself.

As for when or whether this vow can be fulfilled, that doesn't matter.

After seeing Raleigh off, Long, full of enthusiasm, called on Raven and Swall to gather all the rebel soldiers together.

The selection process was conducted in the same manner as Raleigh's.

They don't have much time, and if what Raleigh said is true, then an uprising could break out in just two or three days.

"Crow, go and contact those overseers who have already been turned. Relax your supervision of the miners for the next few days."

Yes, after Dragon seized power in the rebel army, he immediately followed Raleigh's advice and tried to win over the overseers.

Currently, most of the workers in coal mines and steel factories have been absorbed by the revolutionary program of the insurgents.

Most of them agreed with the ideas in that book, so they were the ones who were most completely transformed.

As for the residents from the port who were supervising the construction, the dragon didn't have any good methods.

Most of those people were well-off and staunch supporters of the king and nobles!

For the sake of success, the dragon decided to temporarily leave the resident overseers who came from the port alone.

"Okay, Mr. Long."

The crow readily agreed.

They also assigned several fast-moving signalmen to notify every insurgent soldier as quickly as possible.

The rest of you, quickly take stock and select all the soldiers skilled in shooting to form a team.

Dragon believes that Raleigh's methods are very inspiring to him, but he still hasn't changed his mindset when doing things.

Because when he was in the navy, Dragon required his subordinates to be proficient in firearms, swords, or martial arts.

When he first led the uprising, he subconsciously overlooked the physical and talent differences between the naval soldiers and the rebel soldiers.

The standards for recruiting naval soldiers are high, and they can always quickly master the essentials of shooting and physical training.

The soldiers of the uprising army were physically weak, and long hours of work had made them mentally numb, making it difficult for them to think about how to use the weapons in their hands.

However, Long still had faith in the rebel soldiers!

After all, their opponents weren't some elite naval forces or world-renowned pirate crews.

They were just a group of royal guards who only knew how to bully others and were not good at fighting.

At Long's command, gunshots rang out continuously throughout the wide mine tunnel.

The crow decided to go back to the steel factory on the surface to take another look. Before leaving, it used its Devil Fruit power to seal off the mine tunnels to prevent others from breaking in and discovering the rebels' whereabouts.

Raleigh left the underground mine, but instead of returning directly to his naval base, he waited for something at the port.

Today is the day Doflamingo and Bellemere arrive at the Kingdom of Eryoko.

Raleigh stopped on a deserted island far from the Kingdom of Eryokobu and rested on a large rock.

I don't know how much time has passed.

A thread silently sliced ​​through the air and slid down hard towards Raleigh's body.

Upon landing, Doflamingo saw Raleigh sleeping, and his murderous intent was about to erupt.

"A great opportunity!"

Hidden behind the sunglasses was Doflamingo's hatred, and his facial expression had become somewhat strained.

That thread did not disappoint Doflamingo's hopes.

It sliced ​​through Raleigh's body and the large rock beneath him without any hindrance.

Looking at the smooth, mirror-like cut of the stone, Doflamingo nodded in satisfaction.

Now that it's been discovered, why bother with this pointless charade?

Doflamingo, who had cut open Raleigh's body, showed no excitement whatsoever. Instead, he shouted at Raleigh's exposed body.

"Tsk tsk, you little brat, you're not cute at all."

Raleigh yawned and emerged from behind the rock, while the figure that had just been cut open slowly disappeared.

"It's an afterimage!"

Lord Raleigh's strength has improved way too fast.

"Bullshit, Hans. Lord Raleigh's strength has always been this high, it just wasn't revealed back in the East Blue."

Bellmere, Hans, Cook, and the other navy personnel were all surprised by the trick Raleigh had revealed.

Welcome to Guibeihai, Bellemere and my excellent subordinates.

Raleigh, with his long legs, showed no sign of being bothered by Doflamingo's sneak attack and walked over to praise his subordinates.

Seeing this, Doflamingo chuckled and shifted his gaze to the other side.

He cursed inwardly, "Damn it, this guy seems to have improved a lot again. How am I supposed to kill him at this rate?"

Doflamingo was very unwilling.

He is currently in the stage of fastest growth in strength, and his growth rate is very fast since facing the CP organization in the East China Sea.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to defeat Steel, the killing machine of the CP organization.

However, compared to Raleigh's progress, Doflamingo's progress seems rather slow.

Doflamingo, you're still a long way from escaping my control. Go home and train for a few more years, kid.

After exchanging pleasantries with his subordinates, Raleigh didn't forget to mock Doflamingo.

You despicable bastard, I will absolutely, positively kill you.

Seeing Doflamingo's face turn red from the atmosphere, Raleigh burst into laughter.

"Now that everyone has arrived, I may take my leave."

Doflamingo just wants to get as far away from that despicable guy Raleigh as possible right now.

"Don't rush, I have a small favor to ask of you. Come with me to do a business deal later and sell Bellemere and the others into the Kingdom of Eryoko as mining slaves."

Raleigh's casual remark surprised everyone present.

"Sell—sell us???"

Hans and Beck exclaimed in surprise; they had never imagined that their very first meeting with their former boss would lead to them being sold into slavery in the kingdom's mines.

"It's just an act; you have more important tasks."