~ Check my new One Piece Fanfic : One Piece: Lightning's Heir
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The Westwind Kingdom, a small nation Noir remembered visiting during the Heavenly Tribute incident.
Though seemingly ordinary, the Westwind Kingdom was, in fact, a major base of operations for the Revolutionary Army.
It was there that he had met Dragon, Sabo, and several other high-ranking revolutionaries.
Since the Westwind Kingdom served as one of the Revolutionary Army's bases, this communication was likely initiated by them.
Noir waved his hand. "Where's the letter?"
The guard produced the letter, and Kalifa quickly retrieved it.
Noir unfolded the letter and began to read. His brow furrowed. "The Heavenly Tribute heist has been traced back to the Westwind Kingdom."
Enel looked up, puzzled. "But I thought the plan was foolproof?"
Lucci lowered his head in thought. "For us and Ace, it was."
"The only loose end was Cretin's undisguised identity. It was inevitable that the Westwind Kingdom would be exposed."
At the mention of her name, Enel seemed to shrink, a shadow of fear passing over his face. He mumbled, "That woman… was she really that careless?"
Noir smirked. "She probably didn't plan on returning to the kingdom after that job. After all, she had the Revolutionary Army's backing."
Robin, curious, asked, "So, what does the letter say?"
Noir waved the letter in the air, then placed it on the table. "Nothing much. It describes their country's situation and proposes a formal alliance between our kingdoms. But…"
"Brrr brrr brrr…"
Before he could finish, a faint ringing sound came from Kalifa's pocket.
Ignoring Noir's slightly embarrassed look, Kalifa calmly retrieved a small Den Den Mushi from her dimensional storage.
Noir cleared his throat and took the specialized anti-eavesdropping Den Den Mushi. "Hey, Sabo."
Sabo's cheerful voice came through. "Yo! Noir, long time no talk."
Noir scratched his head. "Cut the small talk. What's going on with the Westwind Kingdom?"
Sabo's voice lowered. "Miss Cretin and Momomi have been discovered. The Westwind Kingdom is now under heavy suspicion of harboring criminals."
Noir chuckled. "Judging by your tone, they're safe?"
The Den Den Mushi's face, mimicking Sabo's, smiled. "The Revolutionary Army has taken care of it. At worst, the Westwind Kingdom will be under martial law."
"Most importantly, Cretin's identity in the Westwind Kingdom was always a fabrication. Even if she stood before the World Government right now, they wouldn't be able to do anything."
Noir was puzzled. "Then why send me this… peculiar letter? What do you, or rather, the Revolutionary Army, want?"
Sabo's expression turned serious. "We do want to establish an alliance with Noitem, under the guise of the Westwind Kingdom."
Noir scoffed. "Spit it out. What's your real goal?"
Sabo smiled. "We hope the Kingdom of Noitem can provide certain… conveniences for the Revolutionary Army."
Noir rejected the offer outright. "No."
...
The Revolutionary Army was an underground organization that had openly declared war on the World Government. If the Government discovered his kingdom was harboring revolutionaries, even his Warlord status wouldn't protect him.
Most importantly, why should he help the Revolutionary Army for free? He wasn't a charity, nor did he owe them anything.
Sabo sighed. "I knew you'd say no."
"Actually, Cretin wants to join your kingdom, to become the Captain of your Knight Order… Of course, that's her personal wish."
Noir was confused. "What do you mean? Isn't she one of yours?"
Sabo shook his head, a hint of exasperation in his voice. "We may be revolutionaries, but we all fight for our own ideals."
Noir thought about Cretin. Besides being beautiful and powerful, she was also quite headstrong.
She had abandoned her royal status to become a knight, and then joined the Revolutionary Army to fight for her beliefs.
Such a determined and proactive young woman was a true example of a modern woman.
Sabo continued, sounding slightly pained. "Also, Cretin and Momomi have already entered Noitem… without authorization."
Noir was stunned. "Is this some kind of Revolutionary Army scheme?"
Sabo chuckled. "If you were willing to cooperate with the Revolutionary Army, their actions wouldn't be an issue."
"But since you're not, I was worried you might kill them for trespassing. So I wanted to give you a heads-up."
Noir waved his hand dismissively. "I understand. I'll try to capture them and send them back."
Sabo nodded. "Thanks."
After hanging up, Noir remained deep in thought. Robin smiled wryly. "Miss Cretin really is devoted to the idea of a knightly order."
Noir nodded. "We've met Cretin. Given her personality, this isn't surprising…"
"We need to find them first, before they uncover any more secrets about Noitem."
Robin looked at him, puzzled. "Why are you so opposed to the Revolutionary Army? Cooperating with them might not be a bad idea."
How many kingdoms in the world had secret dealings with the Revolutionary Army?
Even in the ancient desert kingdom of Alabasta, there were bound to be revolutionary informants.
The Revolutionary Army's infiltration capabilities were feared by the World Government itself. Would Noir's resistance even be effective?
Noir stretched lazily. "There's no choice. The Heavenly Tribute incident hasn't completely blown over yet. We can't afford to get involved with the Revolutionary Army right now."
Otherwise, the World Government would have another excuse to target him.
Fortunately, they probably hadn't discovered that he'd tampered with the shadows of the Celestial Dragon hostages.
When the time came to finally break ties, he would make sure those arrogant fools paid the ultimate price.
With the Revolutionary Army's interruption, the meeting came to an end.
In the following days, Reha diligently established the Ministry of War while also overseeing the selection of personnel for the other five ministries. He was constantly busy, working tirelessly.
Noir, having delegated much of the work, found himself with more free time. The various affairs of the Kingdom of Noitem were proceeding smoothly.
With the kingdom gradually operating on its own, Noir's adventurous spirit, dormant for a short while, began to stir once more.
Crocodile had put a hit on him in the Underworld. It was time to settle that score!
It was time for a return trip to deal with Crocodile once and for all!