One Piece Gunslinger

Chapter 247 Wherever I Go, Collapses Occur

The toy soldier led Jack through the secluded alleys of Dressrosa, evading the Don Quixote family guards.

Jack asked, "So, even without me, you would have started this revolution at this time anyway?"

“That’s right, I’ve already lost too much, I can’t lose Rebecca too. Even if I die here, I will rescue her,” the toy soldier replied.

"But haven't you considered..." Jack continued, "even if Rebecca is rescued in the end, the Revolutionary Army you've painstakingly organized will be wiped out instantly. Many members will also sacrifice themselves. After all, you haven't yet developed to the point where you can fight against them."

At this point, the toy soldier paused involuntarily before sighing and saying, "Actually, we all know that the Donquixote family is far too powerful. Even if all the civilians in Dressrosa joined the revolution, we couldn't drive them away. But we've come to realize that rather than living such a miserable life, we might as well take a gamble. Even if we fail in the end, if we can expose the true face of the Donquixote family, that would be good. Then, others will naturally come to deal with them."

Jack didn't know what to say about the toy soldier's idea. Saying something in agreement would be self-deception, as Jack knew the idea was impractical. Saying something against it would be too harsh; all the effort and dedication someone had put in over the years could be wiped out in a single sentence.

If the toy soldier's plan succeeds and exposes the Donquixote Family's atrocities, he might be stripped of his Shichibukai title. Then the Navy would come to deal with him.

Unfortunately, what he didn't know was that the importance of the name Don Quixote was not something that could be easily shaken. As a branch of the former Celestial Dragons, they had a considerable amount of influence over public opinion, even enough to get newspapers to publish fake news.

So if Jack hadn't launched the operation against Dressrosa, then this group of toys and dwarves, led by toy soldiers, would have been sacrificed in vain.

This again illustrates the importance of intelligence. Jack's ability to see that the toy soldiers couldn't succeed stemmed from the difference in their intelligence.

“But speaking of which,” the toy soldier said, “how did you recognize me?”

“What’s there to ask? Just think of my intelligence network as being more capable, and that I found out about you through some means. Just like how you recognized me as a member of the Revolutionary Army from the newspaper at a glance,” Jack said without hesitation.

Jack didn't want to reveal too much about this issue. In fact, the Revolutionary Army's spies weren't doing very well in Dressrosa; they hadn't gathered any classified intelligence at all. Their role was practically less than what Jack had read in the comics back then.

“No, that’s not what I meant.” But the toy soldier shook his head and continued, “I’m asking you why you know I’m Rebecca’s father.”

"Huh? How could you think that? You're Rebecca's father, didn't you just tell me?" Jack said in surprise. Because in his own recollection, he hadn't given anything away.

“As expected. I only said before that Rebecca was forced to participate in the battle because of me. She was implicated because of me. But I never said that Rebecca is my daughter,” the toy soldier said. “But I can tell from your expression that you seem to know more, which is why you said those things after that test just now.”

Emma, ​​I never expected Cyrus, this rough-looking man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a commoner, without any formal education, a man who only knows how to fight, to know such tricks. It seems that organizing this local revolutionary army over the past few years has indeed helped him grow a lot. Even Jack, without careful consideration, was tricked.

However, this question stumped Jack. Right, why would he still remember Cyrus?

Jack readily admitted to the matter, stating that he still knew Cyrus. However, he couldn't explain why he hadn't been affected by the Sugar-Child Fruit.

The key to this lies in the flaw in the Hobby-Hobby Fruit's overpowered ability—a weakness that can break its influence. Once this problem is understood, some of the dangers posed by the Hobby-Hobby Fruit can be avoided.

First of all, Jack could not possibly be immune to the effects of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit. This was demonstrated in the case of Luther's disappearance. If Jack could be immune and resist this ability, he would not have forgotten Luther, and he would have had to rely on the name in the notebook to remember the meaning of setting that code name back then.

Secondly, the power of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit should be global in scope. Jack was affected even at the Revolutionary Army headquarters, completely forgetting about Luther. So this point is definitely not an issue. However, it's at most limited to this universe and cannot transcend this dimension. This can be proven by the countless readers on Earth; not a single human was affected.

Finally, considering the timing, if the effect of the fruit was instantaneous, altering memories in a split second, then when Cyrus was turned into a toy soldier, Jack, though not at sea, was still in Maple Village. Logically, he should have been affected and forgotten Cyrus, but he still remembers him.

This clearly contradicts Jack's previous understanding of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit. There must be some reason why Jack exploited a loophole in the Devil Fruit.

This also explains why such a broken ability fell into Doflamingo's hands. Logically speaking, if this ability wasn't broken, wouldn't it be even more important than the Op-Op Fruit? It should have been fiercely fought over by all sides as soon as it was created.

While the Hobby-Hobby Fruit's power is overpowered, it also has its own flaws and isn't invincible. There are still ways to circumvent it, but Jack and the Revolutionary Army don't know these methods, and only a small group of people in the world know them.

However, there was no time for Jack to study and think about this problem now. The two of them had to act quickly, otherwise, why would they have to exchange intelligence halfway through the journey?

Soon after, led by the toy soldiers, Jack was taken to an abandoned iron bridge marked "No Entry".

When it comes to the stronghold of the resistance forces in Dressrosa, it is of course in Lilliput.

Just by crossing a steel bridge, you can reach Greenbite, a small island north of Dressrosa, where the Lilliputian kingdom is located.

However, in the last two hundred years, schools of fighting fish have appeared under the bridge and taken over this area of ​​water. The ferocious fighting fish make it impossible for ordinary people to cross the bridge, and the place has been abandoned.

However, the danger of the eastern section of this road is only for ordinary people. For someone like Jack, it is of course not a problem, especially when he has a guide with him.

However, the toy soldier, acting as a guide, was indeed quite unprofessional. For the first half of the journey, within Dressrosa, he seemed to be doing alright, managing to avoid a single Don Quixote family guard. But this soon led to problems.

"Hey, is this road always this treacherous for you?" Jack panted as he slashed away a fighting fish that lunged at him. He'd lost count of how many fighting fish he'd cut down along the way.

These fighting fish are enormous, with a pair of horns on their heads. They are particularly unreasonable, leaping out of the water to attack Jack whenever they see him. And even if they are slightly injured, they will not give up until they are killed, following behind and looking for another opportunity to strike.

With no other option, Jack had to run away from this fierce onslaught, fending off the attacks of the fighting fish while running with the toy soldiers to the other side of the bridge.

"I've never encountered such a fierce attack before. Even if I had, I could easily deal with it and be fine." Although the toy soldier only had one leg, he moved by the wheels on his feet, so he could keep up with Jack's pace.

Jack immediately rolled his eyes at the toy soldier: "Is it because you're a toy, not tasty and hard to chew, that the fighting fish didn't attack you?"

The toy soldier thought about it and realized that it might actually be true. He had always been the only one traveling this road, never bringing any humans with him. Moreover, if a dwarf race were to pass through, their small size and quieter movements would prevent them from attracting a fierce attack from the fighting fish.

After a long and arduous battle, Jack had to keep moving at full speed across this dilapidated bridge while also being wary of the fighting fish's attacks. It felt even more exhausting than when he fought Vergal.

Looking back, after the battle, the already dilapidated bridge is now almost completely broken, with hardly a single intact section to be found; it's all broken into pieces.

Jack felt that the damage he had caused to the bridge this time was greater than the erosion of the previous two hundred years. He finally understood the feeling of Drake destroying ancient monuments wherever he went.

But those aren't the problem now. The problem is: "Okay, now that we're here, how are we going to get back?"

Jack's words left the toy soldier speechless. After this ordeal, returning the way they came would be much more difficult than before, and Jack wasn't confident he could get back unscathed.

"Perhaps we can think of other ways."

Jack couldn't glean anything from the toy soldier's fixed expression, but judging from his words, he must have felt quite helpless.

Chapter 248 Captain Jack's One Thousand and One Nights

Well, in the end, the Dwarfs solved this problem.

Although the dwarfs are very small, only about ten centimeters tall, their strength is no less than that of normal humans, and may even be greater.

After passing the problem to the little people, the toy soldiers quickly built a simple little boat—the kind with manual oars. Seeing this boat made Jack a little nostalgic for the old, broken-down boat he'd been abandoned in Alabasta. The vows they made, the hardships they shared—it all felt like it was just last month.

This might explain why Doflamingo, and even the Donquixote Family eight hundred years ago, captured Tontatta and forced them into hard labor. The enslavement of Tontatta wasn't Doflamingo's invention; his ancestors were already doing it eight hundred years ago, before the World Government was established.

Small in size and low in energy expenditure, they possessed agility far exceeding that of humans. They were also no less strong than humans, and even somewhat gullible and easily controlled. Thinking about it now, it would be hard to find a better slave.

Thanks to the efforts of these little people, whether it was Dressrosa eight hundred years ago or now under Doflamingo's rule, this place has always been a prosperous place. A prosperity built upon the misfortunes of some.

Putting that aside, let's say Jack arrives on Greenbite Island and, led by the toy soldiers, enters the underground kingdom of miniature people.

"Isn't that Jack Lando? Everyone, look! Jack Lando's here!" A dwarf dressed entirely in green was the first to spot Jack and exclaimed in surprise. Jack looked in the direction of the voice and recognized the man. It was Leo, a hero among the dwarfs and the user of the Stitch-Stitch Fruit.

Oh right, it's that familiar line, "When it thunders, it rains; when it rains, you need an umbrella, Leo"... Just kidding.

However, compared to the Rebecca that Jack had seen before, Leo's appearance seemed unchanged from his appearance four years later. Perhaps it's a racial trait? Maybe a longer lifespan or something like that.

However, Jack followed the toy soldier in. In other words, he was walking behind the toy soldier, and Leo was clearly ignoring the toy soldier and staring at him instead.

Before Jack could react, upon hearing this voice, dozens of little people ran out from behind him, chattering and making him dizzy.

"Wait, so you all know me?" Jack was also annoyed by the scene. He had just told Martin that "not many people recognize me anymore." How long had it been? Less than an hour, and he had already been proven wrong at lightning speed. There were dozens of these little people in front of him.

Hearing Jack speak, the dwarfs gradually quieted down. Then, Leo, who was dressed in green, stepped forward as a representative to speak with Jack. His first words made Jack even more annoyed: "Of course, everyone here knows about Jack Lando's heroic deeds."

“Emma, ​​everyone knows him. Judging from the title ‘Jack Lando,’ he clearly has a pretty high status among the dwarves, to have earned the honor of ‘Lando.’” Then Jack asked in confusion, “What the hell? Why do I have the honor of ‘Lando’? And what about all my heroic deeds?”

Jack immediately squatted down and asked Leo, "Oh? So you all know about my heroic deeds?"

When Leo saw Jack squat down to talk to him, he excitedly declared that he knew everything, and one after another, the heroic deeds of "Jack Lando" came out of Leo's mouth.

"The most thrilling time was when I fought a man-eating bird the size of a house high in the clouds. First, I used a rope trap to snare the bird's claws when it flew down to eat people. Then, I held onto the rope and followed it into the sky. We fought for three days and two nights in the sea of ​​clouds, breaking off one of its wings, and we both fell from the sky. Finally, I used the bird as a cushion to land successfully and solved the problem that had plagued Baker Island for hundreds of years."

As for this obviously fabricated story, Jack didn't even know where to begin criticizing it.

Honestly, to fight in the sky for three days and two nights, how much stamina must this human and bird possess, especially the bird having to maintain flight? And then, damn it, they crashed from the clouds. Even if there were foam padding underneath, it wouldn't have helped; they'd be smashed to pieces. Moreover, the people of Baker Island had been hunted by this giant bird for centuries. Leaving aside the bird's astronomical lifespan, the fact that these people survived for hundreds of years without going extinct or escaping this place is nothing short of a miracle.

Besides "Jack Rando vs. the Bird," there are also "Jack Rando: The Great White Shark," "Jack Rando: The Voice of Freedom," and "Jack Rando and the 400 Pirates," among others, all featuring fantastical adventures and stories of saving the world—essentially a Jack version of Arabian Nights.

However, after listening to what the little people said, Jack naturally understood the origin of these stories, which must have come from the toy soldiers.

When Jack looked over, he saw the toy soldier pretending to look at the real scenery, which confirmed his suspicions.

The toy soldiers really went all out to win over the little people and establish a pillar of support for them. They even catered to their tastes by creating a series of fairy tales featuring Jack as the protagonist. The key point is that these childlike little people actually believed them without a single doubt, completely regarding Jack as their savior.

Now that things have come to this, Jack can't very well expose the toy soldiers' lies. He can only hope to subtly change the little people's impression of them in the future.

However, Jack was also relieved that he had dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow; otherwise, he certainly wouldn't have been able to connect with the toy soldiers and the local indigenous dwarfs. Without their help, their mission would have faced even more difficulties.

It took Jack a great deal of effort to emerge from wave after wave of Lilliputians and, together with the toy soldiers, meet their target: the Lilliputian king, Ganjo.

Although small in size, it was still quite presentable compared to other dwarfs. At least it didn't have the childishness of the others. With a big beard, a scepter, and a crown, it really looked like the real deal.

"Ahem, well, I hope I didn't cause any trouble for Jack Rando." Ganjo's first words were an apology. "They were just too excited; it was their first time meeting Jack Rando."

Jack, of course, didn't take it to heart: "No need to say all that, I understand. We're pressed for time now, let's go over the battle plan."

“But we are not fully ready yet.” King Ganjo did not agree immediately. After all, he had been king for many years and was not as impulsive as Leo and the other young people.

“It’s alright, you can mainly do some auxiliary work, and the main battle will be carried out by our main force,” Jack said immediately. “They will arrive in two hours at the latest, no, now it’s a little over an hour.”

The toy soldier chimed in, "The reinforcements will arrive in Dressrosa soon, and they are all elite soldiers of the Revolutionary Army. Dealing with the Donquixote Family will be no problem at all. We don't need to confront them head-on. We just need to break into a few key locations and rescue the enslaved dwarves and other toys."

Although Caesar has not yet joined the party, and Doflamingo has not yet established a factory for artificial Devil Fruits, he has still captured a lot of Tontatta people and enslaved them in other arms factories.

After all, Doflamingo made his fortune in the legitimate world through tourism and business, but in the underworld, he started by selling arms to various bigwigs. Every day, countless weapons are shipped to underground ports and then sold all over the world.

Hearing their explanation, Gan Qiao's doubts were dispelled. He had joined the revolution to liberate the enslaved dwarves, and now that the opportunity was before him, he couldn't rely on others alone; the dwarves should also contribute.

“Alright, Leo will take the men out in a bit. The five hundred little people warriors are yours to command; they’ve been waiting for this moment.” Having made up his mind, Gan Qiao was quite generous and handed over all of the little people’s armed forces to Commander Jack.

If five hundred warriors were to fall outside, the Lilliputian Kingdom would surely be crippled. Keep in mind that when Leo joined the Straw Hat Pirates, he only brought two hundred Lilliputian warriors with him.

Then Jack, the toy soldiers, and a group of little warriors led by Leo began to work together on a battle plan. However, this battle plan was different from any Jack had participated in before. The main leader was not Jack, but the toy soldiers who had been planning this for a long time, knew the country better, and had scouted many key locations.

But whether it's a black cat or a white cat, a cat that can make you swoon is a good cat. For the sake of the operation's success, for the smooth capture of Dressrosa, and for minimizing casualties, Jack didn't care about such issues.

This process lasted half an hour, indicating that the toy soldiers were well-prepared and would not lose their composure in the event of a conflict. They not only provided detailed information about the key locations but also compiled a list of the officers' daily habits, based on which a stable plan was developed.

As a result, almost all the intelligence gathered by Jack's spies became worthless, and they could only offer some suggestions on minor details.

Just as the toy soldiers and Jack were preparing to take action, Sabo and Fujitora, after a rapid march, were still some distance from Dressrosa.

Chapter 249 Postponed

At this moment, there were only ten minutes left before the prisoner's death performance in the arena, and many spectators had already come to the stands.

Despite the Don Quixote family's publicity efforts, the stands in the arena remained packed. Whether tourists or local residents, wealthy merchants or commoners, no one wanted to miss this rare spectacle.

According to the Donquixote Family's propaganda, these criminals include many vicious and powerful individuals. Furthermore, Doflamingo specifically stated that anyone who can fight their way through and emerge victorious will receive both a pardon and freedom.

This undoubtedly ignited the criminals' fighting spirit. Coupled with Doflamingo's chaotic battle rules—dividing all the prisoners into several groups and throwing them all into a free-for-all, with the winners of each group then fighting each other—it's clear that in the end, everyone will inevitably engage in a life-or-death struggle for that one ticket to escape.

"Well? It's been so long, and there's still no movement?" Doflamingo asked, sitting on his throne, slightly impatient.

At this moment, only Doflamingo, Trebol, and Sugar remained in the throne room. Everyone else had been sent out, and besides these three, only Violet had locked herself in her room and had not been assigned a mission.