The moment Ryokugyu finished speaking, Sabo finally showed a slight reaction.
He still did not want to be captured.
There were still things he had to accomplish.
And more importantly, Luffy and the others still needed to be rescued!
But Sabo had already pushed himself beyond his limits.
He could not even stand anymore.
Watching Sabo struggle on the ground, Ryokugyu raised a brow and casually gestured toward the Marines beside him.
The three-man squad nodded before walking toward Sabo.
Then suddenly, everything changed.
A bolt of lightning exploded violently in front of the squad!
"Move! Get back!"
Ryokugyu shouted immediately.
The three Marines hurriedly retreated from Sabo's position.
A figure instantly appeared before Sabo.
"Chief…"
Sabo looked up weakly at the man standing in front of him.
The newcomer wore a dark green cloak, and strange markings covered the left side of his face.
Ryokugyu's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Monkey D. Dragon."
That's right.
The man who had arrived was none other than the leader of the Revolutionary Army himself, Dragon.
Even Ryokugyu had not expected him to appear personally.
Still, surprise did not mean fear.
"So you actually came all the way here for one subordinate."
Ryokugyu paused for a moment before smirking slightly.
"No… maybe you came to save your son?"
Dragon calmly shook his head.
"You guessed wrong."
"Every choice Luffy makes is his own."
"I came here only for Sabo."
The words instantly filled Sabo with shame.
"Chief! This was my failure! You didn't need to come save me!"
His voice trembled with guilt and emotion.
Dragon simply shook his head.
"Sabo, there's no need to say more. To the Revolutionary Army, you are irreplaceable."
Hearing Dragon speak so coldly about Luffy, Ryokugyu raised an eyebrow skeptically.
Yeah right. Like I'd believe that.
Ryokugyu quickly pieced things together in his mind.
"He probably still hasn't found Luffy's location yet…"
And the truth was exactly as he guessed.
Dragon had arrived too late.
By the time he reached Dressrosa, Luffy had already been restrained with Seastone cuffs.
Luffy's already weakened presence had become nearly impossible to track.
Then Sabo's defeat forced Dragon into action before he had time to properly search the island.
So for now, rescuing Sabo had to come first.
After all, the Revolutionary Army could not afford to lose him.
At the same time, Dragon's Observation Haki continued sweeping across the island, searching for clues.
Ryokugyu immediately noticed.
"Oi, oi… didn't I already tell you? You're not going to find Luffy."
Dragon's expression darkened.
"And why are you so certain?"
Ryokugyu grinned.
"Take a guess."
The answer was simple.
The moment Luffy had been captured, Ryokugyu had already ordered his subordinates to immediately transport the Straw Hats away from Dressrosa.
That was his strategy.
Every single time Luffy got captured, some top-tier pirate always showed up to interfere.
So this time, Ryokugyu did the opposite.
By the time anyone arrived…
Luffy would already be gone.
And that was precisely what Dragon had failed to anticipate.
Dragon let out a cold snort.
"Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Ryokugyu… I'll give you one chance to tell me where he is."
Ryokugyu raised an eyebrow.
"Whoa there. Don't get cocky. Do you really think you can beat me?"
Dragon's gaze turned icy.
"So you've chosen to throw away your only chance to beg for mercy."
As soon as the words fell, Dragon swung his arm outward.
"Tempest!"
The sky instantly roared.
Violent winds exploded across the heavens.
The speed of the storm intensified rapidly as the swirling winds grew larger and larger.
In the blink of an eye, a massive tornado formed above the battlefield.
"Go!"
Dragon shouted coldly.
Countless razor-sharp wind blades surged toward Ryokugyu alongside the tornado.
Ryokugyu snorted dismissively.
"That's nowhere near enough to defeat me."
"Third Star: Lucun!"
Green light began flashing around Ryokugyu's fists.
The energy pulsed again and again, as though building power.
Finally, the glow condensed into an enormous green fist of light around his right arm.
"Haah!!!"
Ryokugyu slammed his fist forward violently.
The massive green fist instantly split into three!
Boom!!!
The three giant fists crashed directly into the tornado.
To Dragon's shock…
Ryokugyu actually stopped it head-on.
Not only that, but the three fists transformed into enormous green curtains of light that began swallowing the tornado whole.
Little by little, the storm disappeared from the sky.
Until nothing remained.
Dragon's pupils contracted sharply.
"How is that possible…?!"
An uneasy feeling crept into his heart.
It was not that he had chosen not to disperse the tornado himself.
The moment the green light enveloped it, he realized something terrifying.
His connection to the storm had been severed completely.
From the instant the green light surrounded it…
The tornado no longer belonged to him.
Dragon stared at Ryokugyu with a grave expression.
"So this is the Zero Division…"
"It seems I underestimated all of you."
For the first time, Dragon realized his mistake.
Because he had rarely ever been pushed back in battle before, he had unconsciously underestimated the true strength of the Zero Division.
Ryokugyu cracked his neck arrogantly and sneered.
"So this is the leader of the Revolutionary Army?"
"What a joke."
"And you people seriously think you can stand against the Marines?"
The mockery in his voice was completely unrestrained.
After all, the Revolutionary Army was Fleet Admiral Shuu's greatest enemy.
Ryokugyu naturally would not miss a chance to insult them.
Dragon merely snorted coldly and did not respond.
He already understood this was not the time to continue fighting.
Even if they could not rescue Luffy today…
At the very least, he had to save Sabo.
Dragon quickly made his decision.
He looked toward Ryokugyu calmly.
"Vice Admiral Ryokugyu… our meeting ends here for today."
Ryokugyu raised an eyebrow.
From Dragon's tone, it sounded as though he believed he could still escape.
"Chief! But Luffy…"
Sabo spoke anxiously, only to be interrupted by Dragon raising his hand.
"Sabo. That's enough."
"As for Luffy… I believe he'll find a way to escape."
Sabo froze for a moment before lowering his head unwillingly.
In the end, all he could do was nod.
Because this failure…
Was his fault.
Dragon silently sighed inwardly.
Then he looked at Ryokugyu once more.
"Tell Shuu this for me."
"The World Government's rule is nearing its end."
As soon as the words fell, Dragon waved his hand.
A bolt of lightning instantly struck both himself and Sabo.
And in the next second…
The two vanished without a trace.
-----------------------------
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