Based on the intelligence, Luo Fan learned about the development trends of the Revolutionary Army in recent years.
The development direction Dragon took was to directly incite nobles who were dissatisfied with the world, infiltrating a country through them and then slowly eroding it.
Dragon had overthrown several countries using this method. The most recent one was the Sorbet Kingdom, which was the hometown of Bartholomew Kuma, a future executive of the Revolutionary Army known as the Tyrant.
Now, Dragon had already left that country and, by a stroke of luck, had arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago.
"Shakky, this intelligence says Dragon is in the Sabaody Archipelago. Is it true?" Luo Fan followed Up.
"Of course it's true. I even saw him yesterday. Otherwise, how do you think I would know about that mysterious organization, the Revolutionary Army!"
"Eh? You saw someone strange yesterday? How come I didn't know?" Rayleigh asked with a look of confusion.
Shakky rolled her eyes at his words. "Isn't it because you, you lazy glutton, snuck out again yesterday?"
Rayleigh gave a dry laugh and didn't dare to ask any more.
Luo Fan, however, had no intention of stopping and continued to ask, "Shakky, what did you and Dragon talk about yesterday?"
"Dragon asked to buy a piece of intelligence from me. I thought he was quite interesting, so I proposed exchanging it for his own information. He agreed, which is how I learned about the existence of the Revolutionary Army."
"What information did Dragon ask you for?" Luo Fan pressed.
"That is customer privacy; it wouldn't be right for me to disclose it."
Hearing this, Luo Fan tossed out 10 million Berries.
Shakky struggled for a moment and then turned her head away.
Seeing this, Luo Fan added another 10 million Berries. Shakky still didn't react. Luo Fan kept adding until it reached 50 million Berries. Shakky couldn't take it anymore and stood Up to leave.
Seeing this, Rayleigh held her down and, while gathering Luo Fan's Berries, said, "Shakky, don't be so cold! Luo Fan doesn't seem to have any ill will toward your guest. Just tell him!"
Rayleigh's words had a significant impact on Shakky. Something Luo Fan couldn't get out of her even by throwing 50 million Berries, she actually revealed because of a single sentence from Rayleigh: "Dragon asked me for information on a giant."
"A giant? Which giant?"
"A fellow named Mori. This giant was imprisoned in Impel Down 78 years ago. I don't know what Dragon wants with information on this giant."
'Mori, Mori.' After Luo Fan repeated the name in his heart a few times, his eyes lit Up as he remembered who this person was.
This Mori was a future executive of the Revolutionary Army, one of the four Army Commanders, specifically the Commander of the West Army.
Mori's Devil Fruit Ability allowed him to manipulate the ground he touched, making it easy for him to move underground.
Furthermore, the clumps of earth he manipulated seemed to maintain their original weight and hardness.
Just as Shakky said, Mori was imprisoned in Impel Down by the Marines as a vicious pirate 78 years ago.
Later, it was unknown how Mori managed to rid himself of the Sea Stone, but he used his Devil Fruit Ability to dig a tunnel and successfully escape prison.
The tunnel left behind after his escape was later used by the Revolutionary Army executive, Okama King Ivankov, to create Level 5.5—Newkama Land.
Combining the intelligence from Shakky with the plot of the original work, Luo Fan had a bold guess: Dragon, or rather the Revolutionary Army, had been eyeing Impel Down for a long time.
In the original work, after Ivankov established Newkama Land in Impel Down, he did indeed take in many pirates. Although none were Level 6 criminals, those who could be imprisoned in Impel Down were not simple characters to begin with.
It had been 78 years since Mori's escape. Luo Fan wasn't quite sure when Ivankov was later imprisoned in Impel Down, but it was at least 10 years in the future.
Because Sabo was saved by Dragon 12 years ago, and at that time, Ivankov, Kuma, and the others had all appeared at the Revolutionary Army headquarters.
That is to say, the tunnel Mori left behind during his escape had gone undiscovered for at least 88 years, indicating it was extremely well-hidden. Ivankov finding this tunnel was definitely no coincidence but a part of Dragon's plan.
The reason Ivankov was able to establish Newkama Land was actually because Dragon was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
He had Ivankov gather and unite a portion of the pirates in Impel Down who still had a conscience, developing them into a force for the future Revolutionary Army.
This way, the Revolutionary Army gained a group of warriors without much effort, and very elite ones at that.
Thinking of this, Luo Fan couldn't help but gasp. Dragon's planning was far too deep!
"Shakky, is Dragon still in the Sabaody Archipelago?"
"Yes. He came to the Sabaody Archipelago to purchase a batch of supplies, and gathering them will take at least a few days. However, I don't know where he is. When it comes to finding people, your Cat Corps is much better than I am. You should be able to find him yourself, right?"
Luo Fan nodded and immediately ran out to order his Cats to search for Dragon's tracks in the Sabaody Archipelago.
Currently, the informants of the Cat Corps were all over the Sabaody Archipelago, so finding someone really wasn't difficult. After only half an hour, Luo Fan confirmed Dragon's exact location.
This time, Luo Fan didn't call anyone. He flapped his wings and flew near Dragon's residence alone, then transformed back into an ordinary cat and climbed onto Dragon's window.
Dragon had long seen how active the Cats on the Sabaody Archipelago were, but he wasn't a Marine and didn't know the Cats were actually controlled by Luo Fan. Therefore, Dragon didn't pay much attention to the cat outside the window until Luo Fan raised a paw and knocked.
Dragon frowned and released his Observation Haki. Only then did he perceive that the cat outside the window was completely different from the ones he had seen before.
In terms of physical fitness, this cat was even more terrifying than an average giant. He instinctively raised his guard, backed away toward the door, and then manipulated his Devil Fruit Ability to open the window.
Luo Fan didn't stand on ceremony and jumped right in through the window, greeting Dragon: "Yo! Mr. Dragon, long time no see!"
The familiar voice made Dragon's eyes light Up. He recognized the voice as belonging to that black cat from Whitebeard's ship.
Dragon breathed a sigh of relief, lowered his guard, and sat back on the sofa.
Seeing this, Luo Fan smiled and leaped over to Dragon's side.
"Mr. Luo Fan, do you need something from me?" Dragon asked tentatively.
"Mr. Dragon, I want to cooperate with you." Luo Fan didn't beat around the bush and answered straightforwardly.
"Cooperate? Is there anything we can cooperate on?"
"Of course there is. I am very interested in your Revolutionary Army."
When I first read the manga, Level 5.5 of Impel Down felt off because it had been saying how tight the security was, and then Level 5.5 suddenly popped Up, which felt very abrupt. Oda didn't fill that plot hole very well later on, so I'm providing my own view here. Brothers who think it's reasonable, please give me a recommendation vote.