In the royal capital of the Eryoku Kingdom, a secret dwelling—
This was the place where Dragon had been invited by an old man during his first visit to the kingdom.
Unfortunately, the old man passed away from old age not long after the kingdom returned to normalcy. However, it was said that he died with a smile on his face.
Dragon offered a bouquet of chrysanthemums to the old man's portrait, then gathered the Revolutionary Army soldiers who had accompanied him in the same room.
"Tell me, what is the current situation in the Eryoku Kingdom?" Dragon tapped the table and waited quietly for the surrounding Revolutionary Army soldiers to report.
"Leader, during my investigation outside the capital, I discovered that the new Queen Belo Betty has repeatedly mentioned ideas like 'all people are equal.' Moreover, her tax policies and welfare measures far surpass what we had during our uprising."
"Leader, I have contacted my family. According to them, most of the kingdom's tax revenue is used for the Celestial Tribute. The new queen has not squandered this money."
"Leader, I disguised myself as a miner and entered the coal mines and steel factories. The oppressive overseers and inhumane systems from before have all been abolished. In the mines, I saw that the kingdom has gradually begun using machinery to replace manual labor. When chatting with the miners, they said Queen Belo Betty specifically introduced these machines to reduce labor demands."
Three Revolutionary Army soldiers spoke one after another.
They were originally from the Eryoku Kingdom and part of the group of miners who had risen up.
Although they had left, it remained their homeland. Thus, they gathered information much faster than others here.
"Leader, I observed near the Navy base for a long time. It seems this group of Marine soldiers' purpose is not to protect the coal and iron mines. On the contrary, they appear to have reluctantly accepted this task."
"Based on my observations over the past few days, they train actively every day. Each of them hopes to leave here and head to the Grand Line to capture pirates. They generally believe the Navy should not manage a kingdom. Every kingdom has its own direction, and the Navy should not interfere."
A Revolutionary Army soldier dressed like a merchant spoke up.
He had completed the challenging task of disguising himself as a merchant doing business near the Navy base.
Of course, he did not know that nearly all the merchants near the base were actually Navy soldiers in disguise.
As soon as an unfamiliar face appeared, they would immediately notice. As for the intelligence he gathered, it was merely what the Navy wanted him to find out.
"Oh, Leader, while gathering intelligence, I once heard a piece of information. The former Navy commander, Commodore Miles, had a close relationship with Queen Belo Betty. However, after he was transferred, the new commander frequently harassed Queen Belo Betty. The Queen has repeatedly demanded that the World Government and the Navy withdraw this detachment," another soldier added.
Dragon remained silent, piecing together the information and extracting what was useful.
So far, the Revolutionary Army's infiltration into the Eruyorobu Kingdom was proceeding smoothly.
No one knew that Dragon and his soldiers had already reached the capital.
But Dragon couldn't shake the feeling that all this seemed orchestrated by someone behind the scenes.
No matter what kind of intelligence he wanted to know, his subordinates would inadvertently stumble upon it by chance.
Such luck made Dragon suspect whether someone was manipulating things.
However, after pondering for a long time, Dragon dismissed this idea.
The thought was simply too terrifying. To imagine someone capable of controlling all the intelligence within an entire kingdom to weave lies was an unimaginable existence.
Unfortunately, what Dragon did not know was that as they left the Polar North Country, each of them had already been targeted by Raleigh's subordinates.
The elite Navy soldiers personally trained by Cleveland were still a notch stronger than the Revolutionary Army fighters.
As long as they did not provoke Dragon, he would not detect their presence.
"Perhaps we are overthinking it. The Eryoku Kingdom genuinely wishes to join the Revolutionary Army."
After discarding the chaotic thoughts in his mind, Dragon reaffirmed his conviction.
"Contact Crow and inform Queen Belo Betty that we will visit her tomorrow morning."
Having made up his mind, Dragon decided that regardless of whether it was a trap set by the World Government, he would take the risk to meet the Queen.
The Revolutionary Army fighters unanimously agreed with Dragon's decision.
Most of them were born in the Eryoku Kingdom and grew up there, even if their memories of the place were not fond.
But one's homeland can never be changed. Naturally, they hoped the Eryoku Kingdom would join the Revolutionary Army so they could return home.
The Polar North Country was a safe place, but it was just a temporary refuge, not the same as home.
...
Inside the palace, after all the servants had withdrawn, the now-grown Belo Betty sat on her grand bed, dressed in an elegant gown.
She wanted to call her teacher Raleigh using a Den Den Mushi but feared exposing her identity.
There were no experts in the palace at the moment, and she was unsure whether Dragon or the Cipher Pol experts sent by the World Government were monitoring her.
Belo Betty dared not recklessly expose the pieces Raleigh had planted years ago.
"Teacher, Miles, please wait for me to return."
Belo Betty recalled the days on Raleigh's ship, playfully sparring with Miles, and drifted into sleep with a faint smile on her lips.
...
The next morning, a mysterious figure arrived at the resplendent palace.
The leader of the Revolutionary Army, Dragon, arrived as scheduled.
To facilitate this conversation, Belo Betty had cleared everyone from inside and outside the palace in advance, leaving only the King's Guard loyal to her.
Dragon did not come alone this time; he brought Crow and three accompanying Revolutionary Army fighters.
As a rational man, he naturally would not place himself in unnecessary danger.
"Dragon-san, may we speak frankly?"
Sitting on the throne, Belo Betty remained calm, looking down at Dragon, who wore a hood obscuring his face.
In response, Dragon did not offer an explanation but simply revealed his face.
Belo Betty's gaze sharpened instantly, fixed intently on the composed man before her.