Just moments agon had solemnly decred he would devote his life to overthrowing the Celestial Dragons, only to find out his 'best friend' was one of them? Did he just spill the beans to the worst possible person?

  If Cudius went baow and asked CP-0 to do a thh iigation, the fledgling Revolutionary Army would be squashed before it even had a ce to grow.

  Dragon's mind was in chaos. He realized that if he didn't eliminate Cudius right here, the secret would be exposed. But killing him would be areme gamble, a case of mutual destru.

  When they first met at the port, Dragon had already sehat Cudius was no slouch. While Cudius wasn't quite on's level, he was formidable. Plus, Cudius had people with him. If Dragon couldn't eliminate all of them, there'd be no hiding the fact that he had killed a Celestial Dragon.

  Once wot out that Dragon had killed a Celestial Dragon, it would be over for him and his movement. The Revolutionary Army was too small to withstand the full might of the Wover. Its only fate would be total annihition.

  Even though he was Garp's son, itting the crime of killing a Celestial Drago certaih. No one could save him from that.

  That's why Dragon was losing it. He had sidered many outes before ing here. Even if Cudius had turned out to be a high-ranking CP-0 agent, Dragon believed he could still persuade him, because he had faith in the power of ideals.

  But no matter how he had strategized, he hadn't anticipated this Cudius was one of the Celestial Dragons! What kind of cruel joke was this?

  "Why so glum?" Cudius teased, amused by Dragon's despo expression.

  Dragon, looking like he had just surfaced from a hot spring, sighed deeply. "How I not be? I gave up my promising future in the Mario follow my ideals, to build something greater, and now… it's all going to be rui your hands. I… I… Argh!"

  "Why does it have to end at my hands?" Cudius asked with a grin.

  "I've id my cards oable. You're a Celestial Dragon. Do you think you'll let me go now?" Dragon replied wearily.

  "You haven't sidered killing me here? Ending this?" Cudius asked, still smiling.

  "I did… just for a moment. But it doesn't make sense, does it? Besides… I saw you as a friend, someone who shared my vision. And now, you expect me to kill you?" Dragon shook his head.

  Cudius chuckled. "Exactly. You see me as a friend, and don't I see you as ooo?"

  "So what?" Dragon said, still at a loss.

  "Didn't you say just now that 'thoughts don't lie'?" Cudius raised an eyebrow, teasing him.

  Dragon paused, frowning as he thought. "Yeah, thoughts don't lie… but you, a Celestial Dragon, think like this? What are y to do, Cudius? What do you really want?"

  "Hahahaha! It's simple—I want to shake things up. To ge the world," Cudius said, ughing.

  Before Dragon could respond, Cudius tinued, "Holy, if you hadn't e to find me, I would've e looking for you. Ever since you left the Marines, I knew you had something big on your mind. I nning to recruit you, but it seems you've already found your own path. We don't have to walk it together, but that doesn't mean we're enemies."

  "You want to rebel too?" Dragon asked, bewildered. The idea of a Celestial Dragon starting a revolution was just too wild to prehend.

  "Rebel? No. Don't lump me in with rough rebels like you. I'm a Celestial Dragon; I 't rebel against myself, I? That would be idiotic," Cudius said matter-of-factly.

  "Then what are y to do?" Dragon asked, a little frustrated but increasingly curious.

  "Your approach is from the bottom-up; you call it rebellion. Mine is from the top-down. I call it reform. See the difference?" Cudius said with a smirk.

  Dragon blinked in surprise. Then, realization dawned on him. "You want to seize power? Take trol of Mariejois and the Wover, and then reshape it acc to your ideas?"

  "More or less," Cudius nodded.

  Dragon was stunned, and thetered to himself, "It makes sense… given your position, that's the most logical path for you. I didn't expect… A Celestial Dragon with such ambitions. If I were in your shoes, I don't think I could do what you're doing."

  He stared at Cudius, shaking his head in disbelief. "You really are something else, Cudius."

  Cudius rolled his eyes internally. This wasn't about ambition or heroism. If the Wover weren't destio colpse, he wouldn't be wasting his time on this. Being a carefree Celestial Dragon was much more appealing. This was just "self-preservation," not some grand vision.

  After a moment of refle, Dragon asked, "So why are you telling me all this?"

  "As a friend, you've been ho with me. It's only fair I be ho with you. From a practical standpoint, I think there's room for cooperatioween us," Cudius replied with a smile.

  Dragon fell silent, p the implications. After a long pause, he said, "Yes, there is. You work from the top, I'll work from the bottom. Together, we might be able to aplish something incredible."

  "Aren't you worried I'm just using you?" Cudius asked, still smiling.

  Drago Cudius's gaze and smiled back. "Do I really have a choice? Besides… thoughts don't lie. I believe you."

  "The's work together," Cudius said with a grin.

  In Cudius's eyes, the Celestial Dragons were still retively united and powerful, despite some internal squabbles. This stability, while beneficial to most of the Celestial Dragons, was inve for someone like Cudius, who had "other pns." It made it harder for him to maneuver and limited his room to grow.

  Breaking this stable status quo from within was difficult. But with Dragon, someoside the system, Cudius could find opportuo disrupt things. Dragon could be the tool Cudius o shake up the game.

  For example, if Cudius wao secure his rightful pce as the head of the Donquixote family, he could leak the whereabouts of someone like La a highly secretive Celestial Dragon ton. Dragon could arrange for a ruthless pirate to take care of La, clearing the way for Cudius to assume power.

  Once he rose to a higher position, the snowball effect would ki. Nobody would suspect that the Revolutionary Army had a man inside Mariejois, right? The potential bes were immense.

  Dragon, too, saw the advantages. Cudius's cooperation was invaluable essentially having a spy in the heart of Mariejois. It portunity too good to pass up.

  As Dragon pieced it all together, he suddenly burst out ughing.

  "What's so funny?" Cudius asked curiously.

  "Just a few minutes ago, I thought meeting you, a Celestial Dragon, would be the end of me. But now I see it clearly this was meant to happen! It's fate!" Dragon said, ughiily.

  Cudius shook his head. "Now I see why your son turned out to be such a dramatic guy. He clearly got it from you."

  ""What son? Stop making stuff up! I'm still single no wife, no kid!" Dragoed indignantly.

  In the end, despite the ued twists, both Cudius and Dragon walked away with something valuable from their meeting. It was, in every sense, a win-win situation.

  After a bit more versation, Dragon asked, "So, what's your move, Cudius?"

  "I need reliable people to work for me. There's no she of talent in Mariejois, but I just don't trust them. Right now, I'm looking for people I depend on," Cudius expined.

  "That makes sense. Better to have someoh less skill but plete loyalty," Dragon agreed.

  "Was there anything else you wao discuss?" Cudius asked.

  "Not really. The Revolutionary Army is still in its early stages. We ime to grow and gather strength. I have a feeling that someday soon, the world will ge dramatically… We o be ready for that," Dragon replied.

  "Alright then. If that's the case, I'm heading out," Cudius said, nodding.