One Piece Gunslinger

Moreover, without Lafitte's rationality, Blackbeard might have killed Leon.

Unlike now, after being hit in the face by Teach's giant black ball, Leon was injured and unconscious. Lafitte quickly jumped in and said, "The plan has changed. If the Revolutionary Army finds out that Leon's operation failed, it will be terrible. We can't wait for Ace. We can only use Leon to replace Ace."

So what was that saying again? Dealing with smart people is Li Ang's forte. He's helpless against idiots like the three troublemakers.

Finally, it was only then that Leon was able to be handcuffed by Teach with seastone handcuffs. Even though Leon killed one of Blackbeard's officers, several ordinary crew members, and seriously injured many others, Teach did not kill Leon to vent his anger.

So, Li Ang's attack on Blackbeard was a ploy to deliver himself into the fray and replace Ace. Cutting off Ace's storyline was a way for Li Ang to seize control of that story. Therefore, Li Ang would then take over Ace's plot.

I wonder if you all remember, at the beginning of the final battle, from the moment Li Ang brought back to Golden City, he changed his usual behavior, going from being unknown and low-key to gradually becoming famous, revealing everything he could except for photos of Li Ang.

This was all for this moment, so that when Teach handed Leon over to the World Government, the World Government wouldn't think Leon was just someone Teach randomly pulled out from some corner. After investigation and verification, it was confirmed that Leon really was the Revolutionary Army's Chief of Staff.

Wow, compared to Whitebeard, one of the Four Emperors, the Revolutionary Army is a much bigger headache for the World Government. The World Government absolutely has to take them in; otherwise, they'll lose a fortune. And Li Ang can cause even bigger trouble than Ace.

After that, Leon will be imprisoned in Ace's place. Then, the World Government will bring him into Marineford, setting a trap for the Revolutionary Army to rescue him.

And that is the content of the final battle.

Of course, the grand finale scenario designed by Li Ang won't unfold as the World Government envisions; there will definitely be further maneuvering involved. Otherwise, it would truly be a suicide mission.

Leon was determined to turn this operation into a death knell for the World Government.

Chapter 370 Secret Code

Now that all the other conclusions have been explained, let's finally explain conclusion three, based on the previous plan: Doc Q must die. This involves some subsequent events.

First, let's be clear: Leon is here to deliver himself into the fray, but not to be a free kill. He needs to weaken the troublesome Blackbeard Pirates. Otherwise, if they grow stronger, they'll become a major threat.

In terms of the outcome, it was quite satisfactory. Li Ang caught the ordinary crew member and sniped him relentlessly, almost wiping him out of control. But it would have been even better if he could have taken down some of the executives and core members of the Blackbeard Pirates.

Just like Barthah and Van Augur, defeating them in battle is easy, even severely injuring them is possible, but completely eliminating them is troublesome.

After all, these people were also experts, and they would always be wary of Li Ang's actions during the battle to protect their own lives.

Therefore, Li Ang only had one chance to be 100% certain of eliminating a cadre, and that was the first shot fired in the war.

But we can't kill Teach himself or Lafitte, so who should we kill?

The person with English letters in his name, Doc Q, came into Li Ang's view.

Yes, that's right. Blackbeard has a role, playing an important part, as does Laffitte, who also contributes to Leon's plan. However, their role ends when the Blackbeard Pirates hand Leon over to the World Government. After that, they have no further involvement, meaning that Teach and his Blackbeard Pirates can exit the stage of history.

In order to greatly reduce the threat level of the Blackbeard Pirates, it is necessary to use them and then discard them, preferably wiping them out in one fell swoop, so as to prevent the Revolutionary Army from causing trouble for them after they have overthrown the Twelve Governments.

Li Ang's method was to use someone else to do the dirty work.

So, how do we do this?

Now let's turn our attention to Impel Down, the underwater prison located in the Calm Belt.

It all started two years ago. Two years ago, Leon assigned Crocodile a mission: to stay in Alabasta for two years, first to give the Straw Hats a loving education, and then to be defeated and sent to Impel Down.

Upon entering the prison, the first thing to do was naturally to meet with Ivankov. After all, many low-ranking prisoners had mysteriously disappeared over the past few years, and the guards at Impel Down hadn't paid any attention. This was practically the working environment every spy could dream of.

Meanwhile, Ivankov, while staying in the underwater prison, not only built up a faction but also lived a comfortable life. He also had an intimate understanding of the world on the two lower levels.

If Crocodile could simply reveal his identity and make a gesture that would allow Ivankov to realize that this was not only an old acquaintance but also someone sent by the Revolutionary Army to make contact, then the subsequent plan could be implemented.

So, the biggest problem that had plagued all intelligence agents was how to make contact.

This isn't like looking for someone in a square where you can just shout and find them. Crocodile is looking for someone in a prison, and specifically, someone from the Revolutionary Army.

Throughout history, such clandestine rendezvous have cost countless intelligence agents their lives. A single misstep could lead to discovery and elimination.

Therefore, people invented secret codes, which serve as keys. They might say something perfectly normal, but if the right person hears it, it can convey the correct message.

So, let's see how Crocodile worked after being thrown into the bottom of the prison.

"Damn it, if I had another chance two years ago, I would never have agreed to do this, even if it meant my death," Crocodile said angrily after stomping on a bug.

The conditions in this dilapidated prison were even worse than he had imagined. It was not only filthy and damp, but also had a lot of rats and insects as neighbors. This was simply unbearable for Crocodile, who had enjoyed two carefree years in Alabasta.

“That’s not the worst part,” Crocodile continued angrily. “He promised me he’d make me the Pirate King, but then he came up with the Laugh Tale Development Project. He plans to develop Laugh Tale into a tourist attraction once he finds the end of the Grand Line, create a city called Shanghai, and then have me manage it. That’s the kind of Pirate King he is.”

Mr. 1, who was standing to the side, remained expressionless, but in his heart he was already complaining: "If you don't want to do it, then don't do it. But you could have just taken down Luffy directly, but you still held back and got defeated, and ended up here."

It seems Crocodile is still as arrogant as ever. This actually means he has already accepted the Revolutionary Army's approach and integrated it into the character. Mr. 1 is also amazed by the sheer power of Leon's magic.

"Hey, how long have we been here?" Crocodile changed the subject, asking Mr. 1 who was standing next to him.

In this godforsaken place, there are no guards patrolling, and food deliveries are unreliable, delivered whenever they feel like it. Therefore, Crocodile can't use this to determine the current time.

"We've been in this cell for about three days and two hours." This meticulous man could roughly estimate the time that had passed even without a clock; he was practically a machine.

“It’s been more than three days, so it’s about time we made our move,” Crocodile mused.

Then he shouted towards the outside of the fence, "Is anyone else here! Can you hear me?!"

Well, before they were talking in hushed tones, afraid that someone would overhear their secrets, but now that they've started working, they're shouting loudly.

Crocodile called out three times before he heard a voice from afar: "What are you yelling about! Don't you know I'm sleeping?"

It would be a miracle if I knew you were sleeping, given how far away we were.

As soon as this person shouted, the voices of others came over, also complaining that Crocodile was too noisy.

"Good." Hearing voices meant they could still talk later; at least these people hadn't gone mad or become numb in this dark, sunless underwater prison.

“I’ve only been here a few days, and it’s so boring down here. Let’s chat,” Crocodile continued.

As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of laughter erupted. This seemed to have perked the prisoners up: "Why didn't you say something sooner! So there are new people here. We've talked about everything here, we're practically dying of boredom. The last person here arrived a year ago. Tell us, what's it like outside now?"

Crocodile, not minding the trouble, gave everyone a general overview of the major events that had occurred over the past year, and also shared some of his own observations. To extract information, you at least need to make sure the people here don't dislike you; otherwise, you can forget about completing the mission later.

After Crocodile finished speaking, one of the prisoners laughed and said, "Hahaha, that's hilarious. I just heard that the World Government was going to wage war against the Revolutionary Army before I came in, but the battle hasn't even started yet, and I'm still alive and well. Looks like that's all the grit I have. If I joined the Revolutionary Army, would I not have been captured? Hahaha."

Another, slightly older voice said, "That's good, at least you've seen this Revolutionary Army. When I first came here, I'd never even heard of those three words. It wasn't until about four years later that you told me about this force called the Revolutionary Army. You said that if the Revolutionary Army really overthrew the World Government, wouldn't we be saved?"

Wow, it seems this old man has been locked up for at least ten years. He's managed to stay here for ten years and is still full of energy. He must have been quite something back then.

"You're overthinking it, Piccolo." A shrill voice came from behind. "It's impossible. We know the power of the World Government all too well. If they really got serious and operated at any cost, maybe even the Four Emperors combined could stop the World Government."

Crocodile thought to himself, "Yes, that's impossible. Even if the Revolutionary Army overthrows the World Government, they won't release you. On the contrary, the World Government might release you just to cause trouble for the Revolutionary Army."

However, Crocodile didn't say any of this. Anyway, these prisoners hated the Navy and the World Government. They were happy to hear bad news about the two, so let them be.

Anyway, Crocodile can talk about anything except missions. He even revealed that he was originally a Shichibukai, which shocked his fellow inmates, who exclaimed that anything is possible and that the World Government would also take action against the Shichibukai.

It seems that Crocodile, in order to complete the mission, has abandoned all pretense of decency (or rather, his skin has changed beyond recognition), and is no longer willing to expose his own shortcomings in order to get closer to others.

Crocodile then spent a considerable amount of time discussing the events of the past year with the numerous prisoners, processing this information.

After the conversation had gone on for a while, Crocodile revealed his true intentions, saying, "Whether it's me or any of you, since you've all been sent to the lowest level of this prison, you must have all been quite prominent figures back in the day. So, let's discuss who the true hero of this sea is, and who truly deserves the title of hero."

"???"

"!!!"

Does this routine seem familiar? That's right, it's the same familiar routine, the same formula, this is the legendary beginning and end echoing each other.

And this is the secret code for the rendezvous.

The main reason is that when Ivankov was imprisoned, the revolutionary army was still a small force, and not many people knew Ivankov's identity.

Therefore, in that ancient era, Ivankov had not read Leon's *Carry the Revolution Through to the End*. The book hadn't even been published yet. Thus, Crocodile couldn't use its words as a secret code.

The only thing that could match up and serve as a secret code, so that Ivankov would immediately understand what was going on and know that it was one of their own, was the talk that Li Ang made when he first met Ivankov.

Chapter 371 Secret Mission

I'm stunned! There's such a thing as this? You can even connect like this?

Even Crocodile, the executor, didn't understand why Leon wanted him to take the lead in saying this, so that he would demand that mortals belittle and argue with whatever others said.

In short, the core idea is simple: to become a contrarian. No matter what you say, you have to chime in with your own opinions, and ultimately, those who do this are hardly heroic.

Of course, Crocodile's statement that these people don't qualify as heroes doesn't affect other people's thinking, and it's difficult to convince others, as everyone has their own set of standards.

This is also why Crocodile wanted to improve his favorability rating before, otherwise this approach would easily kill the conversation and Crocodile would be criticized to death by everyone.

Even with prior warnings, it was impossible to convince everyone. Everyone has their own hero, and some even believe that they are the only hero.

However, Crocodile's message was still conveyed because he was the only one who persisted. No matter who called whom a hero, he would refute them all. When others asked him who the hero was, he would not answer, adopting a "you can't open the cell door and beat me up anyway" attitude.

This led to everyone parting on bad terms and ending the conversation. The talk that Crocodile had started had lasted for more than an hour, and the entire cell fell silent again.

Crocodile, the most dangerous person, is on the sixth level, the Dangerous Hell, while Ivankov's transvestite paradise is located in the gap between the fifth and sixth levels. It is believed that Crocodile's previous rants have already reached the transvestite kingdom on the 5.5 level.

This is one of the reasons why Leon hadn't rescued Ivankov or even sent anyone to support him for so many years. To actively contact Ivankov, one would have to be on the fifth or sixth level. Those who could get to that level were certainly not ordinary prisoners, and Leon couldn't afford to prepare prisoners of that caliber. This problem wasn't solved until Crocodile arrived at Impel Down.

Sure enough, the noise from the sixth floor had indeed reached the ladyboy amusement park upstairs. Ivankov, who had been living a carefree life in the ladyboy amusement park for several years, almost burst into tears after hearing Crocodile's words.

The organization has finally sent someone; it seems that Long and Li Ang haven't forgotten him.

Immediately, Ivankov sent men down to the sixth level. While they were still arguing, they found Crocodile's cell, confirmed it was him, and reiterated that he was the one who kept saying the others weren't heroes.

So before things had quieted down for long, Ivankov and Lightning arrived at Crocodile's cell door, exchanged glances with Crocodile, and then let him out... How could it be so fast, with just a glance?

After Ivankov made eye contact with Crocodile, he realized that this was actually an acquaintance, someone Crocodile knew.

However, one must be cautious in getting to know someone. Ivankov put his hand to his mouth, leaned closer, and asked in a low voice, "If that's the case, then who is the hero in this world?"

Upon seeing Ivankov and Lightning's appearance, so different from the prisoners, Crocodile knew the main character had arrived. He smiled and replied softly:

"A true hero is one who saves the people from suffering and rescues them from dire straits. The only heroes in the world are the revolutionary army!"

"Oh my, it really is one of us!" Ivankov almost jumped up, then quickly covered his mouth.

After a while, seeing that no one else had been alerted, he whispered to Lightning, "Imazuna, quickly rescue her." Imazuna is Lightning's real name, but it's not as well-known as his/her/futa? nickname or appearance.

Lightning nodded, his hands transforming into large scissors. He worked with both hands, easily breaking open the cell wall. Then he went inside and cut the handcuffs and shackles binding the two men.

"Impressive! These are seastone shackles, and they can even cut them open." Crocodile was also a little surprised. It was incredible that this ability could be immune to seastone.

“No, I’m still afraid of Seastone,” Lightning explained. “It’s just that the scissors I create don’t belong to my body, so they won’t disappear when they come into contact with Seastone.”

However, this is also what makes Lightning so powerful. If it weren't for this ability, Ivankov and Lightning would have had no one to rescue them back then. Lightning's power was crucial to their escape and the establishment of the transvestite paradise.

Lightning then took the severed shackles with him, and before leaving, he put the damaged wall back up. Ivankov also tossed a letter over the fence.

Perfect. This is why those who receive the "devil's invitation" mysteriously disappear in the underwater prison. And these missing people were actually all rescued by Ivankov.

Throughout the journey, Ivankov suppressed his excitement and refrained from immediately asking about the Revolutionary Army. As usual, he led Crocodile and Mr. 1 into the Cabaret Park. After all, while the people at the Cabaret Park were his subordinates, they were not members of the Revolutionary Army, and he maintained a clear distinction between public and private matters.