"Oh my god, the World Government is targeting the Freedom Fighters, and it's that Celestial Dragon villain who destroyed Ohara, Saint Rosse," Inside the safe house, Ginny cried out in alarm.
Even though the other side couldn't hear them while they were eavesdropping, she still waited until Rosse and Arlin hung up the Den Den Mushi before daring to make a sound.
"This is a big problem. I have to inform Dragon," Ivankov said with a solemn face, picking up the Den Den Mushi to dial.
"Wait," Kuma stopped Ivankov, "We have comrades in their hands. Can we go rescue them?"
"This... will be very difficult to save them," Ivankov hesitated a bit. He didn't want to abandon his comrades, especially since it was Captain Moa, who had followed Dragon since the early days of the Freedom Fighters.
Not only was she a veteran of the Freedom Fighters, but because of her outstanding appearance and figure, she was extremely popular within the organization.
Moreover, Moa had always liked Dragon, but because Dragon got together with another comrade and even announced that he would never love anyone else in this lifetime, her popularity in the Freedom Fighters actually rose even more.
Someone like her being caught by the World Government and sent as a gift to Rosse. Just thinking about it, one could imagine what would happen.
He simply couldn't accept something like this.
"I'll contact Dragon right now. Only he can carry out a rescue," Ivankov took a deep breath and dialed Dragon's number.
["Moshi moshi, this is Dragon."]
"Chief, Captain Moa was captured, and we also overheard…", Ginny couldn't hold back her urgency and poured out everything they had heard, like spilling a jar of beans.
There was silence on Dragon's end for a moment before he asked, ["Do you know the route they're taking to transport Moa?"]
"They said CP0 will escort her directly through the Calm Belt to deliver her to Saint Rosse," As she said that, Ginny also realized the implications and lowered her head in frustration.
"What's wrong?", Kuma didn't understand.
["We can't rescue Moa,"] Dragon sighed.
"Why? She's our comrade!", Kuma felt deeply uneasy.
Kuma could understand sacrificing for a greater goal, but what he couldn't understand was, when the situation allowed for it, why not try to rescue a comrade?
["Kuma, we don't know the specific route of the transport ship. The World Government has the most complete set of Eternal Poses and the ability to navigate through the Calm Belt. They can easily reach any island in the world."]
Ginny's voice was tinged with despair, "Unless we infiltrate the transport ship, there's no chance at all."
"Then can't we infiltrate it?", Kuma asked with a frown.
["We can't get in,"] Dragon explained in a deep voice, ["If CP0 is doing the escorting, they will definitely have Observation Haki. You all won't be able to hide on the ship unless you're also part of the 'gift.'"]
"But if we're being sent as gifts too, then we won't be able to contact the chief, nor let him know where we are," Ginny said, spreading her hands.
The more they talked, the more discouraged they became. They simply couldn't find a way to rescue their comrade.
That sense of helplessness was really hard to bear.
'Yeah… Do we just give up…', Ivankov felt terrible inside, not just because of the powerlessness of not being able to save a comrade, but also because Dragon actually had a way.
There weren't many members in the Freedom Fighters, so Dragon had a Vivre Card for each of them. A Vivre Card not only indicated a person's life status but could also be used to roughly track direction.
If Dragon wanted to carry out a rescue, he could definitely find the transport ship.
At the same time, he also understood Dragon's decision.
The Freedom Fighters couldn't afford to take a hit right now. If this was just a personal action by Arlin, the organization might be able to tolerate it temporarily.
But if they attacked a World Government ship, then the nature of things would be completely different.
Given the intel they had just passed on to Dragon, Arlin probably wouldn't act recklessly, but Rosse would definitely seize the chance to make a big deal out of it.
When that time came, the Freedom Fighters would be facing a full-scale assault by the World Government's main force.
From a rational point of view, abandoning Moa was the best choice.
'But damn it, a comrade's been captured, how can you stay rational…', Once Dragon hung up the call, Ivankov's fist pounded heavily on the ground, even smashing out a small dent.
But that was all he could do.
They couldn't go rescue Moa themselves. That wouldn't be a rescue, it would be suicide.
———
[Drum Island]
"Do you need us to send someone to receive your 'gift'? Dragon's supposed to be pretty strong, right?", After Rosse hung up the phone, Gion came over to ask.
Ever since the Freedom Fighters appeared, Rosse seemed to harbor intense hostility toward Dragon and the Freedom Fighters.
That hostility was strong. A kind of maliciousness that wouldn't stop until one of them died. It was even stronger than his grudge against Vegapunk.
Gion didn't understand why the Freedom Fighters was so worthy of Rosse's attention, but since Rosse was hostile, she was willing to help.
"No need, Dragon won't go to the rescue," Rosse shook his head.
He understood what Gion was thinking. Encircle and ambush, using this chance to eliminate Dragon.
But unfortunately, this trick doesn't work on a turtle hiding in its shell.
"Huh? There are only five captains in the Freedom Fighters. One of them just got captured, and she's even a renowned beauty who publicly expressed her love for Dragon. Is Dragon really that cold-blooded?", Gion was confused.
'That can't be, right? It's just regular CP0 escorting her, even I have ten thousand ways to rescue someone. Can Dragon really not do it?'
"Heh, you still don't understand Dragon. He's a very conflicted person," Rosse sneered, leaning back on the sofa and leisurely explained:
"Dragon is Garp's son. He grew up hearing stories about Garp and the Marines. He's a second-generation Marine, arguably more familiar with the World Government and the Marines than anyone else."
"I've heard that. Supposedly he became too aware of how dark the World Government and Marines were, so he left and created the Freedom Fighters," Gion nodded gently.
If she were Dragon, she might have made the same choice.
After all, while the evil of the World Government might not match that of pirates, it was still suffocating.
Fortunately, Rosse was just lustful. In other areas, he was far better than those Celestial Dragons.
If the world were ruled by Rosse, aside from beautiful women being a little unfortunate, everything else would probably be better.
In fact, even beautiful women might not necessarily suffer.
Gion saw it clearly. Rosse was a man with an extremely strong possessive desire.
If this world were ruled by Rosse, beautiful women would likely become his personal property, rather than being bullied like now, where beauty not only isn't an advantage but might even become a reason to be harassed.
"Like you said, Dragon ran away because of the World Government's evil, so he wants to overthrow it. But because he knows just how powerful it is, he won't dare to clash with it until he's built up enough confidence," Rosse smiled lightly, summing up Dragon's mindset in one sentence, "He has the heart to rebel, but only dares to pin his hopes on raising a group of people who dare to defy the World Government. He doesn't have the courage to personally go head-to-head with them."
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