Freedom Fighters

Monkey D. Dragon built the Freedom Fighters after breaking with the Marines over conflicting views of what justice meant. The outfit ran along semi-military, for-hire lines and stands as the immediate ancestor of the Revolutionary Army.

Operating some twenty-five years before the present, the band whipped up protests but functioned closer to paid soldiers, since it had no means to challenge governments outright. Two figures anchored the group as its so-called pillars: Dragon, who captained it, and Emporio Ivankov. Money and supplies were always scarce, which is why Vegapunk turned down their invitation, unwilling to sign on with a group that could not fund his research. As the Great Pirate Era dawned and Ohara was wiped out, Dragon was moved to recast the band into the harder-edged Revolutionary Army.

The organization may date back as far as thirty-eight years, and a generation later it was already notorious, hunted across a handful of nations; a newspaper picture of its leader even fired a young Bartholomew Kuma's dream of aiding others out on the sea. Around twenty-two years ago, in the months after Ohara fell, Dragon promised Vegapunk that he would build an army capable of open battle. In that same period he and Ivankov struck the Sorbet Kingdom, ousted the despot Bekori, and released Kuma and Ginny, who joined up. Shortly after, three leaders anchored the reborn Revolutionary Army, namely Kuma, Ivankov, and Dragon himself.