Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 538 The Missionary of Demon Valley Town, Hidan Makes His Appearance!

Monkey D. Dragone's guess was correct.

For the next two weeks, news reports will be filled with stories about the Revolutionary Army. The resumes of every captured Revolutionary Army officer will be published, and their past mistakes will be detailed. They will be directly labeled as villains by the World Government.

If it weren't for the World Government's news, even the Revolutionary Army itself would hardly have realized that so many people had been arrested by the CP department over the past few years...

At least one-third of the Revolutionary Army's top leadership has fallen into the hands of the World Government!

Even the true identity of Ivankov, the commander of the Revolutionary Army's G Army in the Grand Line and imprisoned at the bottom of Impel Down Prison, has been revealed by the World Government!

Many of the revolutionary army's cadres were eager to launch large-scale attacks around the world as a counterattack against the World Government, because they knew that the news in the newspapers was all slander.

However, due to Dragon's order, the revolutionary army's cadres restrained themselves and all accepted Dragon's order, with cadres of all ranks heading to Baltigue.

Monkey D. Dragon was still secretly investigating the whereabouts of Sabo and the others, but instead of finding Sabo's location, he discovered that Ace had been captured...

This news…

It hasn't been exposed yet.

"...Sabo...Portcus D. Ace..."

Monkey D. Dragon muttered the name to himself.

If you hadn't met them, the two of them would seem to have no connection, but Monkey D. Dragon knew about the relationship between Ace and Sabo.

Therefore, Dragon also knows Ace's true identity.

Ace…

He is the son of Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King!

Given Kabuto's cunning, it's impossible that he couldn't have discovered Ace's background. Therefore, Kabuto risked angering the Whitebeard Pirates to capture Ace; it couldn't have been as simple as just locking him up in Impel Down...

"Um?"

Monkey D. Dragon frowned, reached for a newly released bounty poster on the table, and his expression suddenly turned serious.

"Luffy..."

Based on the timing of Portgas D. Ace's arrest, that period coincided with Luffy's departure from Alabasta; based on the timing of Sabo's arrest, it also coincided with Luffy's departure from Loguetown.

That guy, Kabuto Yakushi…

Perhaps they are secretly using Luffy to kidnap his two sworn brothers!

Monkey D. Dragon slowly clenched his fist: "Judging from their flight path, their next stop should be Long Island, right?"

The first half of the Grand Line.

The Straw Hat Pirates have not yet received any updates on Sabo's capture.

Furthermore, the Straw Hat Pirates' route was quite unexpected; they weren't heading to the next stop, Long Island, as Dragon had predicted…

Instead... it's a sky island.

During their recent voyage, their navigation needle pointed into the sky, and Luffy expressed his desire to go to the legendary Sky Island.

In order to obtain information about Skypiea, the Straw Hat Pirates arrived at a nearby place called Jaya Island, where a town called Mock Town, where pirates had built their stronghold, was located.

Gaya Island, Mogok Town.

When Monkey D. Luffy, Zoro, and Nami disembarked and entered Mock Town to gather information, they were somewhat surprised to find that this town full of pirates was surprisingly harmonious.

The street was bustling with people, and almost everywhere there were drunken pirates, but not many pirates dared to cause trouble on the street.

There was only one exception: a silver-haired man.

The man was carrying a long sickle on his back.

Everyone on the street instinctively made way for him, and even when they saw him, their faces were full of fear and unease, as if they were afraid of being targeted by him!

"That guy looks so cool!"

Monkey D. Luffy looked at the silver-haired man walking on the street and couldn't help but praise him, his face full of surprise and admiration.

"Even though he looks really cool..."

Nami slowly nodded, then punched Luffy on the head: "But he's clearly not someone to mess with! Didn't you see everyone else avoiding him?"

"What? It doesn't seem that scary!"

Luffy pouted in dissatisfaction, as if he had seen something amusing, and chuckled as he said, "Look, Nami, she seems to be a very polite person!"

In Luffy's field of vision.

The silver-haired man pulled a strange pendant from his chest and, with a broad smile, spoke to a passerby on the street: "Hey, you, why don't you worship the Evil God? The Evil God will protect you..."

"No...don't..."

"Hey, isn't that incredibly disrespectful?"

The silver-haired man's face immediately fell.

A passerby on the street saw his expression and couldn't help but stammer, "Lord Hidan... I'm still young..."

"We're about the same age!"

The silver-haired man grinned and opened his palm, inviting sincerely, "As long as you pass the evil god's test, you don't need to pay the protection fee this month. Money is far too dirty for us followers of the evil god!"

"It's...it's okay..."

The passersby on the street murmured and waved their hands, hurriedly fleeing from the silver-haired man's side, seemingly afraid of being entangled by him again.

The others hurried on their way, avoiding the silver-haired man's gaze.

The silver-haired man couldn't help but shake his head, sigh, and mutter to himself, "What a bunch of faithless bastards..."

Just as the silver-haired man was about to turn and leave, he saw Monkey D. Luffy and Zoro's group. His smile returned, and he said warmly, "I don't think I've seen you before. Eh? Are you newcomers to Mock Town?"

"yes!"

Monkey D. Luffy nodded, grinning, and asked, "We came here to inquire about Skypiea..."

"Hahahaha... You can ask about anything!"

The silver-haired man's expression warmed even more, and he asked with a smile, "But have you paid any protection money since you came here?"

"What...protection money?"

Monkey D. Luffy couldn't help but tilt his head.

Because they had just arrived in Mogu Town, they were unaware of the situation there.

However, the atmosphere in Mogok Town, located on Gaya Island, is different. Although the town is full of pirates, very few pirates cause trouble here.

Moreover, in this small town, it's not that whoever has the highest bounty can be arrogant; in fact, those with the lowest bounty can live a more comfortable life.

Because of this Magic Valley Town…

It has now been occupied by the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

At first, Kakuzu wanted to wipe out the pirates in the town and capture them all to exchange for the Navy's bounty, but this would only lead to the complete decline of Mako Town.

Therefore, Kakuzu adopted a new approach.

Kakuzu occupied the town of Mogu and declared that every pirate entrenched in Mogu must pay him a tribute each month, based on their bounty.

In return for the tribute, Kakuzu will guarantee their safety in Mogu Town and will not hunt them at sea.

In that case...

Pirates with bounties as high as 40 or 50 million Berries actually don't have much money to spare. In fact, pirates with bounties over 100 million Berries don't dare to show up in the vicinity of Mock Town, because 100 million Berries is not something that any pirate can easily come up with!

But if the bounty is over 100 million...

And it's easy for Kakuzu to target your head.

Any great pirate who wants to sail the first half of the Grand Line and survive Kakuzu's hunt must go to Mock Town and pay enough money.

This made Magic Valley Town prosperous again.

Because once the money is paid, Kakuzu will not take action to capture people at sea, and these pirates can even have Mock Town as a safe base to stay in.

Therefore, the pirates have a love-hate relationship with Mock Town...

As long as they remain active in the first half of the Grand Line, they must come to Mock Town to pay money. If they don't have enough money, they will need to go on expeditions to plunder, and the bounty will be increased by the Navy.

If the bounty increases, more money will need to be handed over to Kakuzu, and they will have to go on expeditions to plunder even more money, which will further increase the bounty...

This is a vicious cycle!

Until one day, the Navy will raise the pirates' bounties to a number that is impossible to plunder, and the pirates will be unable to pay Kakuzu enough money. In the end, they will be killed by Kakuzu's companions for failing to pay their dues and handed over to the Navy in exchange for the bounty...

This corner is...

They really know how to make money.

If the pirates in the first half of the Grand Line refuse to enter the New World in the second half of the Grand Line, they will eventually be worn down and killed by Kakuzu!

Some small-time pirates with very low bounties discovered a business opportunity.

These small-time pirates simply stopped plundering and started doing business in Mock Town on their own, paying a small amount of Berries each month to ensure they wouldn't be threatened by others.

Besides that…

There is another way to avoid paying protection fees.

That means pirates can also choose to join Hidan's Jashin Cult. As long as they become Jashin's followers, they can be exempted from Kakuzu's protection fees.

However, to join the evil god cult, one must pass the so-called evil god's test, but so far no pirate has passed the evil god's test...

Because the test of the evil god is to survive even after Hidan cuts off your head!

What the hell kind of test is this?!

The pirates of Mock Town are now terrified of Hidan's proselytizing; they'd rather be charged protection money by Kakuzu than be invited by Hidan to join the Jashin Cult...

Back then, many pirates were tempted by small gains and chose to join Hidan's Jashin Cult. They were all beheaded by Hidan on the spot!

The silver-haired man currently spreading the Jashin cult among the Straw Hat Pirates is none other than Hidan. He has been preaching on this sea for several years, but to this day, he remains the only follower of the Jashin cult…

Hidan looked at Luffy and his two companions with shining eyes, and said with a grin, "Hahahaha... Let's find a place to have a good chat first. As long as you're willing to believe in Lord Jashin, I'll tell you anything you want to know..."

First update!

(End of this chapter)