The Great Voyage Begins with the Celestial Dragons

"The revolutionary army's current power is still concentrated in the four seas, divided into four armies: east, west, south, and north, each with a commander and a political officer. The commander is in charge of military force, while the political officer is in charge of the affairs of the various liberated countries."

Countries that submit to the World Government are called member states, and countries that are liberated by them are called liberated states. This is a hierarchy and management system that he learned from the World Government and the Navy.

In his heart, he was still quite grateful to Luther of the Don Quixote family.

As the war progressed, well-informed people like them learned that Luther was behind Dressrosa, and that one of the Five Elders was behind the Kingdom of Prodens.

The war between the two is a struggle for the positions of the Five Elders.

However, that was all he knew. He was unaware of the more secretive matters, and he couldn't even be certain which of the Five Elders was behind the Kingdom of Prodens.

Even so, he already knew quite a lot; the general public had no idea that there was such a thing behind the war.

Morgans, who knew the inside story, was immediately silenced. When Dragon heard that the Don Quixote family had found their hideout, even this guy who claimed to put the news first dared not say anything under the threat of death, let alone anyone else.

The war between Dressrosa and the Kingdom of Prodens attracted the full attention of the World Government, which allowed the Revolutionary Army to thrive and secretly grow into a behemoth.

Having heeded the advice of the Tianhe Chamber of Commerce, the Dragon did not act radically, and the liberation cause remained focused on non-member states.

Although the non-member states were generally poor, they had a considerable population. As the number of liberated countries increased, the revolutionary army's strength expanded rapidly.

The revolutionary army has liberated 64 member states across the world, and the Tianhe Chamber of Commerce's business extends to most of them.

The only thing that Dragon regrets is that the existence of the Donquixote Merchant Guild has limited the development of the Tenwa Merchant Guild; otherwise, the Revolutionary Army would be developing much better now.

During the war between Dressrosa and the Kingdom of Prodin, the Sky and Merchant Guild, under the authorization of Dragon, secretly supported the Kingdom of Prodin.

It wasn't just that the Monkey family had a conflict with Luther; Dragon also had a feeling that Luther would be the Revolutionary Army's greatest enemy in the future.

On the contrary, the old-fashioned stubbornness of the Five Elders was no match for the revolutionary tide.

After recounting some information that Sabo knew, Dragon ended the conversation about the Revolutionary Army.

A few days later, Saab also embarked on a new journey.

This time, however, his Plum Blossom Pirates were no longer a lone crew; they included many new members of the Revolutionary Army.

Furthermore, they changed to a new pirate ship and flew a pirate flag.

It was only after leaving the Kingdom of Romour that the Plum Blossom Pirates began to resemble a true pirate crew.

Chapter 301 A Petty Thief Comes to the Door

East China Sea.

The Portgas cut through the waves, crossed the Calm Belt, and arrived in the East China Sea, where it docked near Loguetown for resupply.

"Ah, the East China Sea still tastes just as familiar as before."

Ace stood by the harbor, inhaling the almost unchanged sea breeze, a hint of contentment on his face.

"Didn't you leave the East China Sea when you were a child and never come back?" Kuina said quietly.

"Cough cough, this is the smell of my childhood. You should smell similar."

Ace's lips twitched slightly. He didn't feel anything, but he just thought it was appropriate to say such a thing at this time.

"No."

Kuina showed no respect for Ace, speaking calmly:

"The taste here is no different from anywhere else."

"Have you ever thought about going back to visit? I remember your father and your childhood friends are all in Frostmoon Village."

Ace asked, somewhat curiously.

Compared to his all-around development, Kuina is completely devoted to the sword.

He was either killing people or honing his swordsmanship; he never stopped striving.

He had heard Gion say that if any of them could go the furthest in kendo, it would definitely be Kuina.

Hearing this, he showed no sign of disagreement.

After all, swords and blades are just tools to him. Compared to exquisite sword techniques, he is more suited to wide-ranging attacks imbued with domineering aura.

If we're just talking about swordsmanship, he's only slightly better than Yamato, who uses his sword like a mace; he's nowhere near as good as Kuina.

"Frostmoon Village...?"

When she mentioned the village where she was born, Kuina's expression was somewhat complicated.

She longed to go back and see him, but she wasn't confident of her father's victory, which made her hesitant to go home.

She also harbored worries, fearing that her growth would have a negative impact on her former playmate.

Having been trained in Gion for so long, Kuina knew very well that simply practicing swordsmanship in a small place could at most solidify her foundation, but it would never give her the strength to be truly formidable.

The way of the swordsman is generally divided into two types.

His father, Koushirou, believed in laying a solid foundation and accumulating experience before making a name for himself.

Gion taught her, and what she experienced was a different path: constant fighting, constant training, constant moving forward, without any pause.

No one can definitively say which is better, but at this stage, Zoro's advantages are accumulating, and he is unlikely to be her match.

She didn't dare go back, or rather, she was afraid that her strength would break Zoro's sword spirit.

"After being away from home for so many years, you really should go back and visit. I think your childhood friends would be even happier to see your current abilities."

Ace's voice came from the side. Having learned so much from Luther, he could easily see through Kuina's thoughts.

"That's true..."

Upon hearing Ace's words, Kuina paused for a moment, then nodded with amusement.

It seems she was overthinking it.

Given Zoro's personality, knowing the difference between the two would probably only make him happier.

On the contrary, it is if her growth does not meet the other party's expectations that she will disappoint them.

"Let's go back and take a look this time," Guina breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing Kuina nod, Ace breathed a sigh of relief.

Kuina didn't know, but she was certain in her heart that Zoro was also part of the plan.

From the very beginning, the sailors of Garp's son had already been chosen.

There are no chance encounters, only destiny and deliberate arrangements.

During his return to the East China Sea, he will meet with all the crew members he has arranged to meet, in order to proceed with the subsequent plans.

But now, he still needs to wait for someone in Roggetown.

"Vice Admiral Ace!!!"

Suddenly, a marine came running over in a panic.

"Doss, there's nothing to panic about, just talk it out."

Seeing the panicked marines, Ace smiled and greeted them.

He knew what had happened, but he also knew he shouldn't rush things at this moment.

The Portgas was his ship, and apart from him and Kuina, the crew consisted of just a group of ordinary marines.

They are said to have the ranks of lieutenant general and major general, but in reality they are considered non-official personnel of the navy, with only titles and no real power.

This can be considered a tacit understanding between the two sides: unless something special happens, they will not interfere in the internal affairs of the navy.

He didn't contact the navy in Loguetown during this resupply trip.

"Ah, Vice Admiral Ace, something terrible has happened!"

Dawes ran breathlessly to Ace, and seeing his commander's extremely friendly smile, his panic gradually subsided.

"Our warship has been robbed!"

"Huh? Someone boarded the ship and stole our things?"

Ace looked surprised.

He knew the seas were chaotic, but he had never encountered anything like this before: someone dared to steal a warship flying both the Don Quixote family flag and the navy flag.

"Is someone provoking His Highness and his family?"

Kuina stated her thoughts expressionlessly.

Aside from some Baileys, there was nothing of value on the Portgas; in her view, it could only be a provocation.

"This is really interesting. While we're waiting, we've got something to do."

Ace grinned, showing no sign of anger.

This was the first time he had encountered something like this, and it gave him a novel experience.

"Doss, have we lost anything?"

"Aside from 4 million Berries, there's nothing else," Dawes reported honestly.

"It's not a lot of money, but I don't know who's got the nerve to do that."

Ace raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask Ace any further questions about his situation.

He knew very well the quality of the other marines on the ship; any pirate with a bounty of 20 million could wipe them out, and any truly formidable figure wouldn't even be noticed.

“Two young girls, I wonder if someone is behind them,” Guina suddenly said.

"Huh? How did you know there were two girls?" Ace's expression was slightly taken aback.

Upon hearing Doss's report, he and Kuina both used their Observation Haki to search for suspicious individuals.

Logically speaking, his Observation Haki should be superior to Kuina's.

Unexpectedly, it was Kuina who found the target first.

“A swordsman’s intuition,” Kuina said, raising her neck slightly.

"Alright, alright, a swordsman's intuition. If you had noticed sooner, we might have caught them already," Ace chuckled.

Upon hearing his words, Guina's face showed a hint of embarrassment, and her delicate features flushed.

When Ace saw his expression, his smile widened.