Chapter 652: An Angry Action!
After the video finished, Jay was stunned as well.
The Guardians really did something like this.
If they were investigating the Dragon Hunter Pirates' background and origins, it was not completely unimaginable. It even fit their habits.
But understanding it was one thing.
Facing it was another.
The video clearly showed the graves of Ryuunosuke's parents in the East Blue being dug up.
And the one who did it was Qilmod of the Guardians.
Worse, Qilmod was Roger's direct subordinate.
"Captain Ryuunosuke, what are you planning to do?" Jay asked slowly. "Are we going straight to the Guardians? Where they are…"
"You know where they are?" Ryuunosuke cut him off.
The calm in his voice did not match the heat in his eyes. That unwavering certainty answered Jay's question before he could even speak.
Jay looked helpless. "Why… Captain Ryuunosuke, you really are…"
Ryuunosuke forced a smile, but it was sharp enough to cut.
"I'm serious."
"If I swallow this for the sake of my goal… then do I still deserve to be the captain of the Dragon Hunter Pirates?"
He tilted his head slightly, as if pointing behind himself without turning.
"Ask the people behind me."
"Do they allow me to do that?"
"If the captain doesn't do something about this, I'll be the first to object!" Ban strolled out lazily, like he was heading to a bar fight.
He was good at stirring trouble, but nobody doubted him now.
Najenda nodded as well. "I support every decision the captain makes. But if he really holds back here… then I'll look down on him."
"Beat them up! A Guardian actually dared to do something that shameless!" someone shouted.
"A Guardian, right? I'm going to make them the gravekeepers of the Dragon Hunter Pirates!"
"That's a good idea, but most people aren't qualified yet. Let's go fight Lilith!"
One line after another. Loud, reckless, almost like clowns to an outsider.
But only the people present understood the weight behind those jokes.
Jay. Plum. Vegapunk. The Straw Hat crew. Sabo.
They could all feel it.
The anger in those words was real.
Ryuunosuke was their captain.
To them, he was family.
And Ryuunosuke had always treated them the same way.
So when someone desecrated family, nobody here had any mood left for restraint.
Every word they said was true.
Jay wanted to dissuade him, but found no opening at all.
Finally, he sighed.
"Fine. Let's go."
"I'll take you there."
"Yes, Lilith is practically asking for death."
"If this is how she wants to play it, then she can only blame herself."
Jay's tone carried helplessness, but he still stepped forward.
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Jay," Ryuunosuke said.
After that, he walked to the bow of the ship alone and sat down.
The Dragon Hunter Pirates did not crowd him.
They simply started doing what they always did.
Some trained.
Some slept.
Some sharpened weapons or checked gear.
For a moment, it was as if that shared hatred and outrage had never happened.
As if the crew could switch emotions as easily as they switched stances in battle.
Luffy stared, confused.
"Are we going back to the East Blue?"
From what just happened, Luffy thought Ryuunosuke would head straight home.
"Back to the East Blue?" Nami repeated, almost amused.
"You've been at sea for six years, you know."
"Going back for a look isn't impossible."
"What, none of you want to go back?"
Nami's eyes softened for an instant. Cocoyasi Village still sat somewhere in her chest like a warm memory.
And now that Laugh Tale's location had been confirmed, Luffy's dream of becoming Pirate King had started to shift in a strange way.
Turning back was no longer unthinkable.
"But I don't want to go back yet!" Luffy puffed out his cheeks, then glanced aside guiltily.
"Even if we go back, I'm bringing my big brother Ace and Sabo with me."
"Otherwise I won't feel at ease."
The next moment, Luffy got beaten.
Every Straw Hat, plus Sabo, piled on him.
They hit him for a full two minutes before stopping.
Someone like Luffy, who caused trouble for other people like breathing, daring to talk about being worried for others, was too ridiculous.
"You're worried?" Nami clenched her fists and leaned down, voice dangerous.
"Brother Ryuunosuke."
"Fire Fist Ace."
"And Sabo, the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army."
"Which one of them do you think needs you to protect them?"
"I'm the most reliable anyway…" Luffy mumbled.
Then he saw everyone's hands twitch again.
"I… I was wrong!" he shouted immediately.
There was nothing shameful about survival.
Sabo stepped in and ended the farce.
"Alright. Our big brother isn't going back to the East Blue right now."
"We're heading to where Lilith is."
He looked across the deck.
"Do you understand what that means?"
"It means we fight alongside the Dragon Hunter Pirates with the resolve to die."
Luffy, sitting on the deck, answered without hesitation.
"I'm ready."
"Lilith… the real object of faith for the Guardians," Nami said quietly.
"We already know that."
She stared at Sabo, expression calm on the surface.
"So what made you stay?"
This was not the old Nami who would scream at the mere mention of a Warlord or an Emperor.
Even if her heart still tightened, she did not show it.
Sabo opened his mouth to answer.
"As the big brother's little brother…" Nami cut in before he could finish.
"And you're also the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army, right?"
Sabo froze for a beat.
He could not deny it.
"Miss Nami," he said carefully, "are you suspecting me of something?"
"Luffy and I are brothers."
"And I'm brothers with Brother Ryuunosuke too."
"I came here for one reason."
"To fight alongside my brothers."
His calm voice made the words heavier, not lighter.
"I see," Nami said.
"This isn't something I should be asking."
"But I still want to know."
"What exactly does your Revolutionary Army want to do?"
Her earlier suspicion did not disappear. It was simply set aside.
Sabo sighed. "I don't know either."
"The meaning of the Revolutionary Army's existence has changed in today's world."
"The leader hasn't issued any new policies yet."
"That's why I've been given this rare vacation."
…
At the bow, Ryuunosuke heard everything.
He did not care what the Revolutionary Army wanted.
He did not care what anyone planned next.
He also did not care what kind of monsters waited ahead.
At least not right now.
Because one thing was certain.
Up to this moment, he was not fighting alone.
And that alone was enough to keep him standing.
.....
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