One Piece: King of the World

Hearing Koshiro's words, Dragon was taken aback for a moment. He frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

"The ideology of your Revolutionary Army comes from you, but wasn't your own thinking originally influenced by Claudius?" Koshiro asked softly.

Dragon thought for a moment but didn't deny it. He wasn't the type to put on airs. He nodded and said, "Indeed, many of Claudius' ideas and books had a deep impact on me. Whenever I was confused, unsure of the path forward, he acted as my guide."

"Over the years, your mindset has changed, and the actions of the Revolutionary Army have changed with it. But in the end, hasn't it always carried his mark?" Koshiro asked again.

Dragon remained silent for a while before nodding. "Yes, that's undeniable."

The Revolutionary Army had indeed evolved.

In the beginning, their methods were extreme.

Back then, Dragon was young and hot-blooded, unwilling to tolerate even a speck of injustice.

He often led raids against corrupt royals, eradicating their entire bloodlines.

These nobles suffered terribly at their hands. The Revolutionary Army would then place seemingly capable individuals in power, advocating for self-governance and freedom.

But in the end, every single one of these revolutions failed. Even when a country's oppressive regime was overthrown, things didn't improve. The new ruling class quickly became corrupt, governance descended into chaos, economies collapsed, and the people suffered even more.

There was never a good outcome.

After repeated failures, Dragon was forced to confront a harsh reality—one he didn't want to admit but had no choice but to accept.

Whether in a nation or in society, the masses must be guided by the elite. If the general populace were to take power en masse, chaos was inevitable.

The reason was simple—and brutal to admit. They lacked education, vision, and ideology.

Most importantly, they had no experience.

Dragon didn't deny that there were exceptions—people who could rise from nothing, uneducated yet brilliant, carving out a great destiny.

Yes, such people existed. More than just one or two.

But compared to the entire class, they were too rare.

Imagine liberating a country, redistributing its resources, eradicating the original ruling class, and then placing a farmer—who had never governed, had no formal education, and no understanding of political structure—into a position of power.

What would happen to him? What would happen to that country?

The answer was obvious—it would be a disaster. And Dragon had witnessed this disaster firsthand, many times.

So, he changed his approach. Over time, the Revolutionary Army adjusted its strategy, slowly feeling its way forward to the present day.

"The ideology of your Revolutionary Army has always revolved around one core belief—starting from the people, acting for the people, and striving to eliminate class conflict. But in reality, class conflict can never truly be erased," Koshiro said calmly.

"You ease it. Today, you kill a corrupt noble and alleviate tensions for a while.

But tomorrow, somewhere else, another noble just like him will rise up, and the cycle repeats—doesn't it?"

Dragon was silent for a moment, then admitted, "Pretty much."

"So the Revolutionary Army continues to survive, finds its foundation, and grows.

But have you ever considered that if Claudius succeeds—if he becomes the ruling power—will your Revolutionary Army still have any reason to exist?" Koshiro asked softly.

Dragon fell silent at those words. His mind replayed everything about Claudius.

That man was brilliant, with a well-formed ideology of his own.

Most importantly, he had no restraints.

From the perspective of the common people, he could even be considered noble.

Why? Because he was already at the pinnacle of power. His push for change wasn't about personal gain—it appeared to be purely for the people's benefit.

And knowing Claudius as well as he did, Dragon was certain—if Claudius succeeded, he wouldn't allow his new system to collapse. Otherwise, what was the point of all his efforts? If he wanted to fall, he could have done so long ago.

So Dragon was sure—once in power, Claudius would act decisively, eliminating class conflicts on a massive scale and genuinely benefiting the people. Dragon had no doubt about that.

But if that happened, the Revolutionary Army would lose its very reason for existence.

Revolutions only happen when people are desperate, when they're starving, when they have no hope.

Dragon understood this now.

Ordinary people didn't have grand ambitions. As long as they could live decently and see a future for themselves, they wouldn't risk their lives for revolution.

After all, who in their right mind would gamble their own neck just to fight alongside you?

If the Revolutionary Army lost its foundation, how could it ever oppose Claudius?

And all these ideas—this philosophy of putting the people first—wasn't that exactly what Claudius had told him back then? That whole "The people are heavy, the ruler is light; the people are water, the ruler is a boat" concept?

It sounded logical. It was true.

But now, Dragon finally saw the trick.

Water could overturn a boat, but it could also carry one.

And once Claudius changed the system, that very same water wouldn't rebel against him.

"F**k! I'm so stupid—I only just realized it now! That bastard was fooling me from the start! Has our Revolutionary Army just been working for him this whole time?!" Dragon suddenly grasped the full picture and cursed in frustration.

Yes—thinking back now, he, Dragon, had been nothing but a test subject for Claudius. And the Revolutionary Army? An experiment.

Claudius used Dragon to spread his ideology and attract countless idealists.

Then, once Claudius took control, he would systematically erase the conditions that allowed the Revolutionary Army to exist.

And what would the Revolutionary Army do then?

They couldn't just return to farming, could they?

If they couldn't keep fighting, what was left for them—other than joining Claudius and becoming his vanguard?

"No wonder that bastard kept talking about wanting me to be his Minister of Civil Affairs. Turns out, he's been treating the Revolutionary Army as his own personal talent reserve this whole time!" Dragon cursed again, annoyed.

If Claudius wanted to root out corruption, he would inevitably purge a large number of officials.

And who would replace them?

Training new government personnel within the World Government system would take years. But the idealists under Dragon's command? They were already trained, experienced, and deeply motivated.

If Dragon eventually joined Claudius, his followers would naturally fill all the vacant positions.

They would become a new ruling class—one truly capable of governance, driven by purpose and conviction.

The older revolutionaries, the ones who had fought on the frontlines for years, were often idealists. They wouldn't be easily corrupted. On the contrary, they would uphold their ethics.

And Claudius only needed to maintain this system for three to five years—just enough time for his changes to take root.

After that, he could slowly, subtly shift things further in his favor, stabilizing his reign completely.

Koshiro chuckled. "So? Now that you've figured out you've been played, do you still want to cooperate with him?"

Dragon lifted his gaze, clearly reluctant. But after a moment, he let out a laugh and said, "That bastard used me… took advantage of me… but in the end, our ultimate goal is the same."

"No, not the same. Just the same result," Koshiro corrected with a smile.

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Dragon was silent for a moment before grinning. "Yeah… That guy wants to secure his rule, while I fight for the people."

"In terms of morality, you stand taller than him. But in terms of strategy? You have to admit, he's ahead of you," Koshiro said.

Dragon sighed, shaking his head with a wry smile. "To think I, the man who started an uprising against the Celestial Dragons… might end up serving one."

"Well, at least he's not your average Celestial Dragon," Koshiro joked.

"He wants to be the King of the World," Dragon said without hesitation.

***

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