This theory will be focusing on what really went down on Baltigo between the Blackbeard Pirates and the Revolutionary Army, so without further due let’s dive right in. What we currently know about the situation is that Burgess sneaked aboard one of the Revolutionary Army’s ships that was returning to Baltigo and then proceeded to contact his crew after he got there. We are then later told that when the Marines and CP got there, the Blackbeard Pirates apparently destroyed the place.
So what exactly happened there? Well I’m here with a speculative explanation. I believe that the Blackbeard Pirates weren’t the ones responsible for the actual damage caused on the island. And there’s a few reasons to suggest this imo.
Before I go any further I would like to analyze the current information we have on the situation and how that ties into my reasoning.
It is stated that by the time the Marines and CP arrived at the scene, Blackbeard and his crew apparently destroyed the area.
Keyword is apparently, that’s what it seems like to the Marines and CP when they arrived there. It is further stated that no deaths and wounds were reported. I want you to keep these details in mind for later.
Pedro goes on to say that if Dragon/Sabo were either captured or killed, it would’ve been huge news already but the fact that they left it out means neither possibly occured.
So if the Blackbeard Pirates weren’t responsible for the actual destruction caused on the island and the Revolutionaries are safe, how did this all play out?
Well I believe Dragon and the Revolutionaries were responsible for the destruction caused on the island and that they used a tactic called “Scorched Earth Policy”. Before you go WTF, hear me out I’ve got a few reasons to support this notion.
1) What is Scorched Earth Policy?
This refers to a military strategy of burning or destroying buildings, crops, or other resources that might be of use to an invading enemy force.
This policy has been used a few times in history. Mainly used by Russia on two seperate occaisons, one during the Napoleonic Wars and one during WWll.
What connections does Dragon have to Russia? Well he has a few connections. The most obvious being his birth date. His birth date is October 5th and this connects with the October Revolution in Russia where Vladimir Lenin and his group took power.
With the help of Sabo’s Mera Mera no Mi, executing the Scorched Earth Policy in a short amount of time is reasonable. I assume Dragon and the Revolutionaries noticed that the Blackbeard Pirates were headed their way and decided to execute this tactic. The Blackbeard Pirates seemed like they were responsible but that doesn’t mean they were actually the ones responsible. It was stated that they were “apparently” the ones who caused the destruction, that means it isn’t 100% certain that they caused that.
2) Dragon is a man of secrecy and has been for atleast a decade. Hence why he is the most wanted man considering his classified nature of living in island that has been stated to be a mysterious land and the fact that he’s directly opposing the World Government.
When you take that into consideration, Dragon deciding to destroy the HQ and all of its resources kind of makes sense considering his nature. He wouldn’t risk fighting Blackbeard to have his secret information exposed to the public. Not after he’s been in secrecy for the past decade or so. I believe the smartest option available for Dragon at the time was to destroy any resources that may have been useful to someone like Blackbeard and then evacuate the area.
3) A war between the Blackbeard Pirates and Revolutionaries wouldn’t have no casualties whatsoever. The fact that no casualties were reported is pretty odd. When two strong forces of this level collide there are bound to be casualties but absolutely none are reported.
I believe no real battle actually occured based on this. All we know is that the island is in ruins, the Blackbeard Pirates were seemingly responsible and that CP/Marines arrived there. Pedro nails it when he says that the fact that no deaths were reported on Dragon and Sabo, its pretty safe to assume they are fine. Well what is there to report if the individuals who were attacked evacuated the area in the first place?
4) Though this isn’t the concrete evidence to support the notion that Dragon used Scorched Earth Policy, I decided to add it in as bonus information. If you take a good look at the picture depicting Baltigo after the destruction, you can actually spot what seems to be smoke on the island, but this is hard to tell so it should be taken with a grain of salt
*Theory by Haoshoku
