บท 8: The Plan To Kill a Dragon

It'd been half a day since Lorelei had her breakdown. Itsuka and I carried her back to her room to rest for the rest of the afternoon. We discussed various topics and strategies while Lorelei slept on how to get out of this situation, but the answer we came up with was that we couldn't. Lorelei was determined to save as many people as possible by completing this mission and even if we did convince her to run away with us, we'd be living on the run forever.

I thought that maybe we could go to the New World and seek protection from Whitebeard, but Itsuka admonished me, stating that Lorelei wouldn't want me to give up on my dreams just for her. Furthermore, it was unlikely Whitebeard would accept us anyway. We were two brats with obvious Cipher Pol training and a CP9 agent. We'd pose way too big of a threat of betrayal which would endanger his son's safety to take us in, even if he sympathized with us.

The only reason Kaido would allow someone like Who's-who to join was because he invited people to challenge him or try to kill him. When attempting suicide and failing is your hobby then you can have the luxury of taking on dangers like that. Furthermore, Who's-who was the Captain of a pirate band first despite being formerly CP9, and that was only AFTER escaping imprisonment by the world government.

In other words, we were on our own for now. It was possible for us to start our Pirate Crew early, but I knew that despite the fact Itsuka, Lorelei, and I were very strong, we wouldn't be strong enough to defeat an Admiral if they sent that at us, or a squadron of CP0 agents either. We were too few and too weak right now. Our only option was to fake our deaths and escape for now, and the only way to do that would be to help Lorelei attempt to assassinate Dragon and my parents.

"That's easy! I'm sure Mr. Dragon will help us!" Itsuka exclaimed.

"No, we can't rely on that," I replied.

"Why not?" Itsuka asked.

"He is willing to start a war with the World Government using North Blue Nations that I'm sure he knows would otherwise lose. I can only imagine he is after two things." I responded, holding up one finger to Itsuka.

"First, he thinks that when some of the North Blue Kingdoms secede that other kingdoms around the world will also rise up in support, but that's unlikely. It's a principle agent problem," I explained.

"What's that?" Itsuka asked.

"A principle agent problem is kind of difficult to explain, but basically it requires a bunch of people to take a leap of faith to put their all behind a revolution. Even if everyone wants one to occur, actually having the courage to spark one is hard. These kingdoms know that if they were to all band together and fight, there is no hope for the World Government to stop them all and the risk to their individual lives would be extremely small, however, if one kingdom sticks its neck out, and no one else helps, then it would be easy for the World Government to destroy the one bad actor to set an example for the rest. In that case, it is in those kingdoms' best interest to stay loyal and possibly gain rewards from the Government for not joining.

Furthermore, countries in the Grand Line and New World benefited heavily from the World Government and Marines' protection from the Pirates of the Great Pirate Age. The Revolutionary Army may be strong, but it's not strong enough to offer equal protection to that of the Marines while also fighting a full-scale war in the North Blue.

On the flip side, the rulers of the various islands around the world hold near absolute power over their kingdoms and all they have to pay is the Tribute to the Celestial Dragons and host government and Marine Bases. Rocking the proverbial boat and joining a popular uprising is a good way to be replaced since revolutionary sentiment would likely spread throughout the world and lead to a number of repressive kingdoms falling." I explained.

"But since half of the North Blue is likely to join, wouldn't people see that and help out? If every other kingdom joined, then the ones that didn't would miss out on gaining the benefits after the revolutionaries won, wouldn't they?" Itsuka intelligently deduced.

"That's true, but you first have to get over the initial hurdle." I agreed before pointing out why I knew this rebellion would fail. "Itsuka, when was the last time something bad about the World Government was published in the news?" I asked. Itsuka shook her head, not sure she'd ever seen something bad in it. "Now when was the last time you heard about news in the East or West Blue?"

"I don't think I've heard anything other than Gold Roger's execution from the East Blue all my life," Itsuka admitted.

"Exactly. The World Government keeps the news from spreading outside of the 4 Blues, so even if half of the North Blue was in rebellion, it's likely the World Government could downplay the actual scale of the conflict to maybe only a few islands, and then no kingdom would stand up to help them, right? The risk would be too great, especially if they were isolated in another Blue and unable to rally support before being crushed themselves" I finished.

"I see. So it's doomed to fail then?" Itsuka asked.

"Not necessarily, but I'd bet against its success here," I commented. 'There is also the fact that this rebellion was never mentioned, meaning the government won, even if it did happen.' I thought to myself.

"I see... What's the other option?" Itsuka asked.

I raised my second finger. "Martyrdom" I explained.

"Martyrdom" Itsuka looked confused.

"Dragon wants to intentionally set off a rebellion for it to be brutally crushed and this gains sympathy and support for his faction. It wouldn't surprise me if he left the North Blue states that sided with him to fend for themselves and use their destruction as a call to arms for his rebels. He can simply say the rumors about him abandoning them were propaganda. This would allow him to conserve his strength while building support in the shadows for when his real uprising takes place." I explained.

"That's awful! Why would someone do that?" Itsuka said in disbelief.

"It's better than losing the fight entirely. Picking your battles is also a skill the leader of a Rebel Army needs to know." I commented.

"You always surprise me with how intelligent you are." I heard from behind me and turned to see Lorelei sitting up in her bed, listening to our conversation. I didn't even hear her get up, so I don't know when she started listening, but it seems like she got the gist of it.

"Lorelei! Are you alright!" Itsuka jumped up and ran over to hug her.

Lorelei hugged Itsuka back gently. "I am fine, but we don't have much time. I'm supposed to be meeting with the leader of the pirate and bounty hunter group soon." She said, standing up.

"Not alone, you aren't!" I declared.

lorelei looked at me with pity in her eyes for a split second. "No. I'm not letting you get killed in this fight." She said to me.

"I won't die!" I declared firmly. "I'm strong now. Probably stronger than you! I won't let you do this yourself!" I declared.

Lorelei gently removed Itsuka, who was still hugging her, from her body before standing directly in front of me. I too, stood in front of Lorelei. She was still slightly taller than me, as I was still only 13 years old, but Kozuki Oden, at only a year older than me, was able to curve rivers to flood cities, and that was without a broken Devil Fruit like what I have now. i was plenty strong enough.

Lorelei and I stared off at one another for a few seconds before I activated Paper Art tilting my head to the side quickly, just barely dodging the Haki-coated Finger Pistol that Lorelei fired directly at my head at full force.

There was silence for a few more seconds before Lorelei retracted her finger and I restored my previous baring. "You've really become something, haven't you?" Lorelei stated, a bit of pride in her voice.

I smirked. "Thanks. I had this Spartan Teacher who wouldn't let me rest until I mastered the Six Powers. If I wasn't able to do this by now, she'd be disappointed in me."

Lorelei smirked, amused. "Cheeky brat." There was a pause. "Alright, Rameil. You can come but stay close to me. These people aren't like the rif-raf you'd been fighting before. All of them will have Haki and be willing to kill."

I nodded, fully serious. This would be my first life-or-death battle in this world, and it would be against some upper-mid-tier characters fully intending to kill me. If I wasn't careful then my story would end and I'd be going back to meet with Alaster for my next reincarnation.

"I'll go too!" Itsuka stated, having watched out the whole interaction.

I turned to Itsuka and gave her a pained expression. I didn't want her to die, and I knew she'd probably be hurt if I took her with me. I also knew there was no way to stop her from coming.

"No. Itsuka, it'll be your job to escort Rameil's mother to the docks and prepare my ship for us to leave in a hurry. She'll need to be informed of this, and when we are done, we won't be able to stay here. It's likely that, if we fail, Rameil's mother will be targeted for retaliation by the lord and lady of the manner. She will also need to bring Dellinger. We won't have much time when the battle is over."

...

The bar Lorelei chose as the meetup spot was dark and dingy but quite large. it was located in the slums area where none of the guards bothered to patrol, so it was a very good gathering spot, as no one would question why bounty hunters and pirates hung around the area. I had to control my anger as I walked through the bar, ignoring the leering of the men who looked at Lorelei with lustful gazes.

Thankfully, they didn't approach us, though it ticked me off when people were asking what a 'kid like me was doing there with a woman like that'. Interestingly enough, at least three different people guessed that I was the son of the Lord, though they thought Lorelei was a high-class prostitute that I'd hired and was showing off.

I'd never wanted to unleash a lightning storm at a group of people more than in that moment.

Thankfully the walk was brief and all they did was talk. Eventually, we found our way to a private room in the back where I was shocked by the people I'd be working with. There was a Beautiful woman with short black hair, red lipstick, and a scar running across her face that looked familiar. She was seen flirting with a large dark-skinned man who was stoically leaning his back on the wall of the room. I noticed that he was eyeing us from the moment we entered the room, though I couldn't quite figure out what he was thinking. There were several other Bounty hunters in the room who looked rather weak, and judging from their Haki, they weren't much stronger than the average marine. The only other noteworthy person in this room was a woman with a large overflowing blue afro who was keeping a sharp eye on both the scar-faced woman and the dark-skinned man.

As Lorelei entered the center of the room, everyone quieted down to hear what she had to say. I stood off to the side behind her, ready to electrocute the entire room if something went wrong.

"Thank you all for coming. I'm sure it was a rough trip for some of you." Lorelei said, looking at the scar-faced woman and stoic dark-skinned man. "Is everyone ready?" Lorelei asked, looking at the woman with a blue afro.

"It is. Mrs. Crocodile's Ship and crew are waiting to destroy the Revolutionaries' ship once they disembark." The woman said.

"Thank you, Zala. Do you remember your role?" Lorelei asked.

"Of course. One poke is all that I'll need." She said as her finger morphed into a large spike.

"Good. Daz Bonez, are you and your crew ready?" Lorelei stated.

The Stoic dark-skinned man nodded. "We will defeat them. Just make sure the government pays the full bounty." He commented.

Lorelei nodded before hardening her gaze as she looked towards the beautiful scar-faced woman. "Mrs Crocodile, I'm actually surprised you showed up."

The woman smirked back as she looked at Lorelei. "Of course. I'm a woman of my word~" She said coyly.

"So long as there is money involved, you mean," Lorelei grunted, not entertaining the woman's prodding. After a moment she turned to me, and gestured for me to come forward.

"Oy, this is no place for brats." Daz Bonez commented, seemingly annoyed.

"This is also no place for amateurs who judge others based on their appearances." I spat back.

Zala chuckled a bit while hiding her hand when she heard that and Mrs Crocodile smirked in amusement. Daz didn't react though, only narrowing his eyes at me. i wasn't sure if he was planning to attack me later on, or was just more warry after being publically called out by me, but he didn't say anything, so Lorelei continued with her introduction.

'This is my protege, Rameil D Miles. He's stronger than me and since we are technically also going to be killing his father and stepmother today I thought I'd bring him along." Lorelei said.

"This brat?" Mrs Crocodile asked in disbelief.

I turned myself into lightning and zapped behind her faster than see could blink that next instant. "Yes, this brat," I said, looking up at the extremely uncomfortable woman standing beside me now.

I could feel Lorelei smirking with my Observation haki. "Now now, Rameil. Settle down." She said as I walked back over to her side, making sure to gloat at the various people who were instantly shut up by my display of speed. Lorelei noticed this but allowed me to bask in the moment of epicness a bit longer before continuing.

"Now that everyone's been introduced and acquainted, shall we get started?"