Ian’s plan was quite audacious, a bit too outlandish, leaving even Kuzan (Aokiji) momentarily stunned. “Robbing the Golden City!? What exactly are you thinking?”

With a shrug, Ian responded, “Come on, Admiral Kuzan, you were the one who said we need to find a way to stop Dragon from being captured by the World Government. Dragon is the leader of the Revolutionary Army. You can’t seriously expect us to rescue him directly, right? If we did that, the World Government would surely brand us as part of the Revolutionary Army.”

Kuzan slapped his forehead, realizing Ian had a point. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Now that Tesoro has aligned himself with the World Government and this is his territory, it’s clear he’ll be a significant asset in capturing Dragon,” Ian explained. “But if we can create a major distraction, it might force him to divert his attention, potentially causing their efforts to fail. This kind of indirect rescue is far more effective than direct intervention.”

“So, you want to rob the Golden City?” Kuzan pondered. “That’s a sure way to attract Tesoro’s attention. This is his lair; he won’t stand idly by while his wealth is stolen…”

“Not just me, but us!” Ian pointed at Kuzan. “You need to help too!”

“Me!?” Kuzan was taken aback, pointing at himself. “I’m a Navy Admiral! And you want me to join a pirate heist!?”

“No kidding! You came to me asking for help with this, didn’t you? What, did you think you’d just sit back and watch the show without lifting a finger?” Ian scoffed. “And besides, you’re a ‘former’ Navy Admiral.”

Hearing this, Reiju and those in the know nearly burst out laughing.

Ian was too cunning! After learning that Dragon had been discovered by the World Government, he was the one most anxious. Yet, he managed to shift the burden onto Kuzan, acting all eager to help out of the goodness of his heart.

Because Kuzan didn’t know about Ian’s connection to the Revolutionary Army, he believed Ian was intervening out of respect for him. So, when Ian demanded Kuzan help out, Kuzan found himself unable to refuse.

Watching Kuzan’s conflicted expression, Reiju and the others wore peculiar smiles, knowing he would eventually agree.

Ian had effectively trapped Kuzan, scoring a free top-tier fighter in the form of a former Navy Admiral…

While Ian and Kuzan both agreed that the World Government must not capture Dragon, Ian’s underhanded tactics meant that if Kuzan ever discovered Ian’s true relationship with Dragon, he would undoubtedly feel utterly agitated.

However, with Ian’s explanation, everyone understood that Ian intended to cause a significant commotion to divert Tesoro and the World Government’s attention, giving Dragon a chance to escape.

This classic tactic of ” indirect approach ” was Ian’s true intention behind the plan to rob Gran Tesoro.

Though his crew knew the real story, to outsiders, there appeared to be no connection between Ian and Dragon. No one knew that Ian was secretly a member of the Revolutionary Army.

Dragon’s appearance in Gran Tesoro was too coincidental. Ian suspected that Dragon might have come for him, but without direct contact, he couldn’t be sure. Dragon might have come for other reasons. Now that Dragon’s presence was accidentally discovered, Ian had to maintain a tacit understanding with Dragon, keeping their connection hidden.

Conveniently, not only did Kuzan come to him, but Carina, the treasure thief infiltrating Tesoro’s ranks, also sought him out.

Originally, Ian had no intention of robbing Gran Tesoro. He wasn’t a traditional pirate and didn’t usually engage in such activities. Plus, he wanted his Dragon Hunter Pirates to enjoy their rare vacation and relax in Gran Tesoro. But plans couldn’t keep up with changes, and now, to indirectly help Dragon out of his predicament, sacrificing Tesoro became necessary.

With Carina’s appearance, Ian’s robbery plan became an opportunity that fell into his lap. Perospero and Katakuri showing up was an unexpected twist. He hadn’t intended to involve them, but Katakuri’s ability to foresee the future was truly a bug. Katakuri had “seen” through his plan.

Ian quickly realized the advantage of having these two involved. The extra muscle came in the form of former Navy Admiral Kuzan, making Big Mom’s pirate crew the perfect scapegoat.

“Oh, Tesoro, it’s not that our forces aren’t strong; it’s just that the enemy is too cunning. Our Dragon Hunter Pirates are full of righteousness, and how could we possibly do something as dishonorable as robbery? It’s just that Big Mom’s two sons, wanting to bring gifts to their mother, took a liking to your treasure vault. Then they saw our crew had the numbers and coerced us into carrying the loot for them…”

“If you want to blame someone, blame Big Mom’s pirates. We’re actually innocent…”

If Perospero, Katakuri, Kuzan, and Tesoro could hear Ian’s thoughts at this moment, they’d probably be jumping up and down, screaming for help!

Damn it! The real mastermind is you, isn’t it!?

Can the schemes not be so deep!?

What about trust between people!?

But unfortunately, none of them had telepathy, so they could only follow Ian’s plan in confusion.

Once all the members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates had returned, Ian called everyone together and got ready to set out. He asked Carina to lead the way. ř

Carina was completely bewildered the entire time. God bless her; she had only heard Tesoro mention Ian and the Dragon Hunter Pirates with great apprehension. That’s why she thought of approaching Ian to see if they could cooperate. But she never imagined she would meet a former Navy admiral and members of the Big Mom Pirates. And now, these seemingly unrelated people had a common goal—to rob Tesoro!

I’m a thief, a thief! Carina felt a surge of frustration. I just wanted to steal the money quietly, without anyone noticing. I didn’t want to make such a big deal out of it!

“What’s the plan!?” Carina felt like she had gotten involved in something huge and tried to struggle out of it. She said to Ian, “Tesoro’s treasury is heavily guarded. You want to rob the Golden City without a plan?”

Ian looked at Carina strangely, scratched his head, and pointed to Kuzan and Katakuri standing beside him, “What plan? Do you think with this group of people, we need a plan to rob a treasury? We can just storm in. If Tesoro can stop us, I’ll consider converging to farming!”

“So…” Ian lifted Carina’s chin, gently shook it, and smiled, “All you need to do is lead us to Tesoro’s treasury!”

Carina was speechless. She realized she couldn’t argue against Ian’s words. Yeah, with this group’s strength, who needs a plan?

Just a straightforward, brute-force approach…

Fujitora couldn’t help but laugh wryly at Ian’s spontaneous robbery plan. Crocodile muttered, “There’s really no skill to this!” which earned him a disdainful eye roll from Enel, who was eager to reclaim his lost gold.

Under Ian’s leadership, the group left the hotel in a grand procession. Guided by Carina, they headed towards the location of Tesoro’s hidden treasury.

At that moment, Ian, flanked by Kuzan on one side and Katakuri on the other, felt invincible.

Meanwhile, Tesoro, alongside world government officials and a group of CP intelligence agents, was pursuing Dragon’s whereabouts. As an awakened user of the Gold-Gold Fruit, Tesoro could sense and manipulate all the gold in the city. Dragon was unaware that the gold dust scattered at the port had such capabilities, so his movements had already been detected by Tesoro.

“Heh heh! The most heinous criminal in history, Revolutionary Dragon? If you fall into my hands, the whole world will know the name of the Golden Emperor Tesoro!”

As Tesoro was relishing this thought, an inexplicable feeling of foreboding suddenly washed over him…

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read