Dragon didn't expect York to be so sharp, seeing through his biggest secret at a glance.
Dragon fell silent immediately.
York was amused. He didn't expect his casual guess based on information from his previous life to hit the mark directly.
"You couldn't stand the Celestial Dragons slaughtering civilians on that island, so you attacked them in rage!"
"Therefore, you completely cut yourself off from the Marines, leaving no place for you within their ranks!"
"Then, to evade pursuit, you hid here in Ohara, planning to wait for the heat to die down before finding an opportunity to go elsewhere."
"But unexpectedly, we arrived on this island after you."
"Next, your sense of justice as a former Marine acted up, and you began to proactively monitor me, until I stopped you just now..."
"Is this your experience from God Valley until now?"
Dragon looked at York with a strange expression.
"Can your fruit ability also read minds?"
"Hahahaha, of course not!"
York grinned.
"Just speculation based on intelligence."
Of course, the core of this speculation came from York's knowledge of the anime and manga from his previous life.
A man capable of establishing the Revolutionary Army, if present at God Valley, would almost certainly attack the Celestial Dragons slaughtering civilians.
Combined with current intelligence, deducing Dragon's trajectory was naturally easy.
Dragon fell into silence once again.
He felt he had no secrets before York, completely seen through.
Yet, he knew almost nothing about York.
This shadow of the unknown loomed over his heart, leaving him unsure how to respond.
Watching Dragon's changing expressions, a thought suddenly emerged in York's mind.
"You have nowhere to go right now, do you?"
Dragon didn't answer.
York continued asking on his own: "Want to join my pirate crew?"
Dragon remained silent.
"Having attacked Celestial Dragons, let alone returning to be a Marine, even switching to be a bounty hunter probably won't work."
"The choices you can make next are just a few."
"One, return to your hometown in East Blue and live in seclusion till old age."
"Two, become a pirate; this is my current recommendation."
"Three, dive into the underworld, become a mafioso or engage in similar shady professions."
"Four..."
York smiled gently.
"You probably think I'm the type of pirate who burns, kills, and loots, right?"
"That's normal; after all, my fruit ability easily causes misunderstandings."
"But! I have a great dream!!"
York paused deliberately, putting away all smiles, and said to Dragon seriously and sincerely: "I want to overthrow all the old nobles! Establish a fairer new order!"
"This might sound hollow to you, so let me rephrase it."
"I want everyone in the world to have enough to eat!!"
Pausing again, York explained further.
"Fairness isn't achieved overnight, nor is an ideal world built in a day."
"First, abolish slavery and guarantee everyone's basic human rights."
"Second, abolish the old noble class and open up channels for social mobility."
"Then increase food production to ensure everyone can eat their fill."
"This is what I want to do!"
"As for the truly fair and equal world in ideals, that's a task left for future generations!"
"Taking too big a step easily tears the crotch, so I decided to take just three steps!"
York extended his right hand heroically.
"How about it? Consider it? Want to come help me?"
Dragon looked at York with a strange expression.
Hearing a pirate talk big about establishing an ideal world felt truly bizarre.
Since when did this world need a pirate to save it?!
But thinking conversely, aside from pirates, it seemed few people in this world would have such thoughts.
Thinking of his current predicament of having nowhere to go.
Dragon couldn't help but feel a trace of temptation.
Although what York said conflicted with the justice and peace concepts he learned growing up, the feasibility of his theory was indeed very high, at least not seeming so unreachable.
"I..."
Words of agreement reached his lips, but new misgivings surged in Dragon's heart.
What if York was deceiving him?
Lying and betrayal were daily routines for pirates!
Thinking of this, Dragon immediately changed his words.
"I indeed have nowhere to go currently, and your ideal sounds tempting."
"But!"
"You are a pirate! I cannot trust you yet! You need to show me with actual actions!"
"Only then will I truly acknowledge you!"
Hearing this, York pursed his lips in a smile, pressing his extended hand onto Dragon's shoulder.
"Then please wait and see!!"
...
That night.
York invited all current crew members to a banquet at the town tavern.
At the banquet, he not only announced the addition of the new member, Dragon, but also proclaimed his ideal.
Hearing this, everyone was excited for a moment.
Only the town residents drinking in the tavern showed disdain.
"Just a pirate, yet having such noble ideals, simply laughable."
York didn't mind this.
Because he always firmly believed in one conviction.
Things are done for people to see, not just by shouting slogans.
Of course, occasionally painting a big picture was also necessary.
So, when the others in the tavern had mostly dispersed, he took out the Devil Fruits obtained from God Valley earlier.
A total of nine.
One was given to Kuma, one to Kaido, and two respectively to Whitebeard and Charlotte Linlin; now five remained.
They were:
Paramecia · Op-Op Fruit! (Ope Ope no Mi)
Paramecia · Mirror-Mirror Fruit! (Mira Mira no Mi)
Zoan · Bird-Bird Fruit · Mythical Type · Phoenix Form! (Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Phoenix)
Logia · Dark-Dark Fruit! (Yami Yami no Mi)
And, Logia · Hurricane Fruit! (Presumably a wind-based Logia)
"These five Devil Fruits, if anyone wants one, come and take it!"
"As founding members of our pirate crew! You deserve this reward!"
Hearing this, everyone was somewhat moved, but no one acted.
Kaido was the first to state his position: "I already have the Azure Dragon fruit."
Meaning he couldn't eat a second one.
Gloriosa shook her head after him.
"I don't want to eat a fruit; I still want to take baths."
Shakky nodded in agreement, "I also prefer bathing and don't want to eat a Devil Fruit."
York's gaze turned to Stussy.
The latter showed hesitation.
She also liked bathing, but the fruits present were all top-tier, and she was indeed somewhat tempted.
Under York's encouraging gaze, she reached out toward the five fruits.
First hovering over the Phoenix fruit, then quickly shifting to the Hurricane fruit, and finally hesitating back and forth between the Mirror-Mirror Fruit and the Hurricane fruit.
In the very end, Stussy finally made a choice. Her fair hand grabbed the Paramecia · Mirror-Mirror Fruit.
York was slightly surprised seeing this.
"Sure about choosing this one?"
Stussy gritted her teeth and nodded.
"I'm not good at frontal combat. Mythical Zoan and Logia types would certainly enhance my frontal combat ability, but they wouldn't improve my existing advantages!"
"So I decided to switch to logistics!"
Saying this, Stussy pursed her lips and smiled.
"Besides, this fruit is so crucial. If given to others, you wouldn't be at ease either, right, York!"
York smiled upon hearing this, reaching out to pull Stussy into his embrace, kissing her forehead gently.
"You've suffered a grievance, making such a sacrifice."
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