While the Marine Headquarters was carrying out its operations at full speed, a CP spy was already heading toward Morgans' flying news base with the same piece of intelligence.
"I've brought the intel. The Five Elders asked me to tell you—handle this as you see fit. I trust you won't miss out on a scoop of this magnitude, right?"
Leaving behind both the intelligence and the Five Elders' message, the CP spy turned around and left without hesitation.
Morgans slowly unfolded the report.
Everyone in the World Economy News Paper gathered around, and soon, sounds of sharp gasps filled the air.
"What? All the rumors across the seas... were actually true!?"
"The Navy's Chief Inspector... is really from the Revolutionary Army?"
"Not just a Revolutionary... but one of its founders!?"
"T-This... This will completely change the balance of power across the entire sea!"
"Looks like after a few years of peace... the world's about to be thrown into chaos once again."
Everyone was talking at once, except Morgans, who sighed deeply.
His eyes were full of astonishment.
Because... ever since Michael had first begun working with him, he'd already told him once—
"My identity will be exposed sooner or later."
"But when that time comes, it'll actually be a good thing for me. Just report it however you want—make it as big as possible."
Which meant Michael had long predicted this moment... But should Morgans really go through with it?
He pondered for a long time before finally exhaling.
This shrewd old bird was trusting a man for the first time.
He trusted that even if he pushed this news to every corner of the world, it would not harm Michael—it would help him.
"Ahh, Michael, don't let me down now."
He muttered softly, then waved his wings wide and shouted:
"Alright, everyone! This is the biggest headline since the Pirate King's execution!"
"Get moving! I want to see this story take up an entire front page by tomorrow!"
"Move it, move it!"
Under Morgans' constant urging, the entire World Economy News Paper erupted into a frenzy of activity.
...
"Now... are you sure you're going back?"
Outside Shimotsuki Village, Michael—who was preparing to leave—was met by the rushing Dragon.
"Dragon-san, of course I'm going back now." Michael smiled gently. "After all, the World Government has worked hard—using deception and betrayal to orchestrate this whole show... It'd be rude of me not to take the stage, don't you think?"
"You're really... that confident?"
"Confident? No, no. I just believe that people's eyes are sharp—and so are the eyes of most Marines." Michael looked at Dragon, his tone calm as ever. "Besides, the Revolutionary Army... has lain dormant long enough. It's time to bare its fangs toward the so-called paradise."
"The Revolutionary Army..." Dragon's eyes widened suddenly. "You mean you're going to return to them... so openly?"
"Of course." Michael suddenly laughed. "So, what do you think? Quite the performance, isn't it?"
"It's grand, yes... but isn't the cost a bit too high?"
"Cost? No, no, there won't be any sacrifice." Michael said, turning to leave. "I'm not actually stupid, you know."
Dragon instinctively reached out, wanting to stop him—but didn't know how.
"Michael..."
"Thanks for your hard work."
He turned, walking away in the opposite direction of Michael.
If Michael was ready, then the Revolutionary Army couldn't afford to lag behind either.
...
For the first time in a while, Michael spread his wings beneath the night sky, his mood unusually light.
The four wings upon his back shone with divine radiance—their shimmering Holy Light rippled through the air with every beat, scattering gently across the starry heavens.
He flew fast, and even after entering the Calm Belt, his speed did not falter.
The Calm Belt at night was far more dangerous.
Without sunlight, the sea was pitch black—any faint glimmer of light stood out starkly, a perfect target.
Time after time, massive Sea Kings leapt from the water, lunging toward Michael.
Yet even these mountain-sized beasts could only taste the trail of his passing.
True Sea Kings possessed intelligence comparable to humans and other races; after missing their strike, they didn't bother pursuing an untouchable figure like him.
And so, Michael stirred the still night of the Calm Belt into waves of turmoil.
He flew for a long time. Though the sun hadn't yet broken the horizon, the darkness had begun to fade away...
That was when Michael saw, in the distance, a vast fleet of warships.
He frowned, squinting, and realized this wasn't an ordinary naval fleet.
Every ship there belonged to the massive war-class vessels reserved for Vice Admirals and above.
Michael suddenly understood—no matter how his plan turned out...
Sengoku was going to be heartbroken for a while.
Otherwise, there was no way he'd send such a formation just to capture him.
He counted them—nearly all of the Headquarters' Vice Admirals had mobilized.
Even during the Egghead Incident in the original timeline, only ten Vice Admirals had been deployed—already on the scale of a Buster Call.
But this lineup before him... far exceeded that.
This force could flatten almost any pirate faction in existence.
Because among them were many familiar ships.
For instance—Garp's dog-headed vessel.
Just Garp alone would have been enough for this mission.
Michael had thought, at most, Garp would come along with a few Vice Admirals from the SWORD Secret Special Force...
But to his surprise, the one leading them wasn't Garp at all—it was Sakazuki and Kuzan.
Their warships stood at the center as the flagships.
Surrounding them were the vessels of Momousagi, Chaton, Issho, and other SWORD members.
He rubbed his eyes. The formation was absurdly grand.
Even with mental preparation, seeing so many powerhouses gathered still gave him a shock.
"Aiya, aiya... What's with all this commotion in the middle of the night?"
"Is there really someone in this world worth mobilizing the entire Navy for?"
Michael's voice instantly echoed across the entire sea.
Saying that, he flew toward a deserted island in the Calm Belt.
The first to follow and land on the island was Sakazuki.
"Michael, is this the grave you've chosen for yourself?"
"Sakazuki, no need to sound so confident... And hey, don't forget what we agreed on back then."
"I don't recall ever agreeing to anything with a Navy traitor."
"…You say that, but maybe stop nodding while you do it!"
"…Noisy!"
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