Hina and the Marines beside me... even Issho, and everyone on the other end of the Transponder Snail, were rendered speechless by Bege's report.
It was an unthinkable atrocity—or rather, it was likely a complex mix of "unthinkable" and "inevitable." To be honest, I felt the same, but considering my conversation with Kizaru...
(They've probably been doing things like this for a long time, just keeping it completely under wraps and thoroughly suppressed...)
That's why they slip up like this in an emergency. And right now, there's no force like the Revolutionary Army from the original story to act as a check on them.
"Looking back, there were clues as to what the enemy—Golden Lion and his associates—were after."
"Clues?"
"For example, the Marine warships that were seized by pirates during the Alliance incident and went missing. We recovered some, but not all of them."
—"...Two were sunk. No, were those captured as well?"
"...When we liberated Mogwa, two of the captured Marine ships were still missing."
"That's right. In total, seven ships are unaccounted for. I just assumed they were sunk during the battle with the Alliance."
"You think the Golden Lion took them with his ability?"
"Probably."
If you fly the Government's flag on a fine ship protected by the Marines, anyone would assume it's a Government vessel. No one—especially not the general public—would be able to tell the difference.
"There's one more thing. There was something strange about the Holy Land attack that I told you about."
"The Golden Lion?"
"No, the zombies."
"?"
"I didn't go into detail, but the zombie army used in the attack was ordered to charge Pangea Castle. And that's exactly what they did—they just charged straight for it."
Yes, that's it. That is absolutely it! Overlooking that was a fatal mistake!
"And yet, right after I fought the Golden Lion, at the very moment the zombies were starting to break through the Marine defenses, I engaged a lone stray zombie soldier that was acting on its own. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but..."
The zombie soldiers were basically a militia using the shadows of kidnapped civilians. They probably hadn't had enough time under control to follow detailed commands yet. That means the one acting alone was likely one of Shiki's own pirates, whose shadow had been inserted, just like the guides from that time. For it to be moving in that place, at that time, there had to be a clear reason. Most likely—
"That zombie was probably... searching for the corpses of Celestial Dragons."
If it had found any, it would have tried to retrieve them. Shiki had already fled to a high place by then, but with a corpse and a zombie, it wouldn't have been impossible to recover it, even if it meant jumping from the top of the Holy Land, as long as they had some kind of marker.
"A Devil Fruit user who can control corpses, a Celestial Dragon's body, and captured Marine ships... So they were planning a deception."
"I think their original plan was to openly plunder a large member nation, posing as a Celestial Dragon delegation. It was probably less a part of the main plot and more a way to light a fire in case the Celestial Dragons happened to be on their best behavior..."
"And as a result, the Celestial Dragons did exactly what the enemy wanted them to do."
"...If only it had ended there, it might have been manageable."
If that was all, we could have done something. It would have been the worst of the worst, but at least we would have had options.
"This time, the situation has become even more complicated."
"More complicated?"
"Daz, when did the Marines launch their attack?"
"...Five days ago."
"So, about the same time as us."
"...This just went from bad to worse."
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
In the North Blue, on Spider Miles.
The crew that had been pulling the strings from the shadows since the Marine slave incident, and even before the Pirate Alliance incident, was laughing as they listened to the intercepted communication.
"Behehehehe! The 'Black Cats' are cornering themselves again! They should just toss aside all that high-minded nonsense! Behehehehehehehe!!!"
"Hey, Trebol! Don't come near me when I'm drinking, you'll get everything sticky!"
To be precise, only a few of the senior officers were laughing. Doflamingo was smiling, but not laughing out loud. He was drinking with the crew's advisor, staring blankly at the Transponder Snail used for eavesdropping.
"Worse? It's not just about what the Celestial Dragons did?"
"...Bege, when was Superia attacked?"
The panic that had been in the voice of the pirate isolated in the distant New World was gone. Had he calmed down because the event had already happened, or perhaps—
"Yeah, it was attacked a few... no, sorry, to be precise, seven days ago. The day before the war with the Marines."
"...Has that information spread to the neighboring countries?"
"To some extent. But as expected, the Government is manipulating the information. The reasons vary, but it's being framed as treason against the World Government."
"When did the information start to spread?"
"About three days ago, I'd say. If you want to know exactly how and where it spread, you'll have to give me some time, Kuro."
"No, it's fine. I've got the gist of what's important."
A simple exchange of information. As the conversation between the pirate "Black Cat" and Bege continued, the man with the shaggy hair standing next to Doflamingo—"The Fest Master" Buena Festa—shot to his feet, a look of shock on his face. Doflamingo looked at him, puzzled. "What is it?" he asked. But "The Fest Master" didn't answer immediately. He just stared blankly at the Transponder Snail.
"One last thing, Bege."
"Yeah?"
"...Do you think this will stay contained in the West Blue?"
"Kuro, while you were in the Holy Land, or after you left, did the Celestial Dragons go out to various places?"
"They did. ...While I was there, they went to Human Shops and to pro-Celestial Dragon member nations."
"Then that settles it. They've definitely done something."
"I see. ...You're right."
On the other end of the line, "Black Cat" let out a deep sigh. As if in reaction to that sigh,
"That's... so that's what this is!!!" The Fest Master, the world's greatest instigator, screamed, his eyes wide.
"Hey, Festa, what's going on? The plan is proceeding exactly as scheduled."
"That's right, it's all going according to plan! The Celestial Dragons are scattered, making a spectacle of themselves everywhere! If Golden Lion's intel is correct, member nations are being devoured all over the world! But—"
"Damn it, this is bad... This is really bad!!"
"It's happening too fast!!"
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
On a certain Marine base in the West Blue.
The voice of the man who had orchestrated the strategy that had driven them into this corner echoed quietly in the medical office reserved for high-ranking officers. Most of the supplies—not to mention every chart and document, right down to the scribbled memos—had been taken. Admiral Akainu, whose wounds were relatively light, sat in a chair, while Zephyr "Black Arm," who was finally beginning to recover, lay in a bed. The officers who had some knowledge of the Marine organization turned pale for a reason entirely different from their plummeting morale as they listened to the words of the man who had demonstrated such un-pirate-like abilities at the Holy Land.
"Daz. From here on, this is just my theory. But use it as a guide for your command until I get back."
At the sound of the pirate's now-calm voice, Akainu remembered their encounter at the district headquarters, and "Black Arm" recalled his exchange with the pirate at the Holy Land. They both knew, with certainty. He's making his move. This is the voice he uses when he's figured something out and is taking the first step to resolve a situation. Akainu remembered it. The voice of "Stealth Foot" as he infiltrated the office alone and revealed himself. "Black Arm" remembered it. The voice of "Black Cat" as he rallied the demoralized Marines with a single transmission after their chain of command had been severed.
"Unspeakable chaos is about to erupt all over the world. ...But the West Blue won't be as severe as you might think. If you tackle the problems in front of you calmly, without panicking, they shouldn't be difficult to resolve."
"What's your basis for that?"
"Time."
"...Time."
A girl's small voice, asking, "What does that mean?" mixed in. Hina was probably right beside Kuro, just as she always was at the Holy Land.
"If they wanted to be certain of stopping me, they should never have let me leave the Holy Land in the first place. ...Well, I did sense something was up, so I set a limit on my reconstruction work and left, but..."
Akainu aside, "Black Arm" was well aware of the circumstances. He clearly remembered how the man named Spandam, who had been assigned to Kuro, had looked horrified as Kuro's workload was increased to a level that would have overwhelmed a normal department.
"I set a limit on the work with the Marine side—with Sengoku—and made it clear I was returning. That must have made the Government panic."
"From what you said earlier, there was quite a gap between your departure from the Holy Land and the attack on you and Mopuchi..."
"That's right. Their priority was likely the West Blue. I explained this to Hina, but I suspect the Government was trying to reset the situation in the West Blue. They were probably aiming for a 'reset' of the regions that flared up during the Marine slave incident."
"...Eliminating those who were likely to oppose them?"
"Including methods like that, they would need a large number of personnel to cover up or justify their shady activities. But if they dallied, you in the West Blue would realize the Government's betrayal, even if I was isolated in the New World."
"So the time between your departure and the attack was their preparation period."
"Black Arm," who had been watching the Government's movements at the Holy Land until Kuro's departure, remembered that the number of Government officials had sharply decreased at one point. As a result, Kuro's workload had increased, but so had his authority, so none of the Marines had paid it much mind.
"That's right. But that also means—"
"—That they moved a considerable number of personnel from the other seas to the West Blue."
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
In the grand conference room of the Black Cat Manor, Royal Guard members and soldiers rushed about, preparing to gather information from various regions, even as they listened to Kuro's words. In place of Amis, who had left to command the emergency patrol units, Miakis was now directing the urgent formation of additional investigation teams.
"Bege, you said the rumors about Superia were inconsistent, right?"
"Yeah. Everything from the Government intervening because of a civil war to them launching an investigation because they suspected an unjust military intervention against another country."
"...Their original orders were probably to create a justification for the subjugation of Mopuchi and to tarnish the Black Cats' reputation. Then, they heard about the Celestial Dragon's sudden rampage, and each of them must have scrambled to control the information."
"It's too disorganized to be called 'control.'"
"They must have been in a serious panic. I can't blame them. In any case, the Government's personnel will now be busy cleaning up the Celestial Dragons' mess."
Cleaning up this mess meant they would have to suppress the populace, who were likely on the verge of revolt—not all of them, but at least to some extent. Seemingly convinced by Kuro's words, Tesoro and the others in charge of political affairs began gathering documents related to the former Area A, where the attacked Superia Kingdom was located—documents that Galdino and Crocodile had recovered from the Marine base. They started scribbling on maps and roughly handing papers to one another.
"There might be some fabricated information about us and Mopuchi circulating, but it won't be a major problem. I'll leave dealing with that to you—"
"—What's going to happen?"
Robin and the others, who had been hastily taking notes, and Perona, who had been calmly sipping her cocoa, all froze.
"Hey, what's going to happen to the seas outside the West Blue?!"
At the sudden cry from the girl who had taken Kuro's place—Hina, who had become fairly close with the senior officers and the Royal Guard—her former superior, Taki, grimaced. He had a sinking feeling he knew what was coming next.
"Kuro!!"
"...As I said before, they've forcibly moved a considerable number of personnel to the West Blue to deal with us. ...In reality, they probably sent the people who were on standby at the Holy Land to the West Blue and scraped together replacements..."
Kuro's words, unlike before, were hesitant. Those who knew how close he was to the Marine girl, Hina, understood the reason for his reluctance. He was hesitating because he had to say something that would hurt the strong-willed girl's feelings.
"The Celestial Dragons have scattered everywhere. There are many of them, and while they have escorts, there are inevitably too few personnel who can conduct covert operations in an emergency."
"If only they had all stayed in one place..." Kuro's small mutter was laced with disgust.
"If they're running rampant in other places like they did in Superia, it will be impossible to suppress the information."
Indeed, Bege's subordinates, who had been keeping an eye on the movements of other countries for the sake of the war, had managed to grasp the situation, albeit belatedly. What would happen in the other seas, where information was even more likely to leak? The members who sought to protect the West Blue, even as pirates, turned pale as they imagined the worst-case scenario for the other seas.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
"In this climate, the Celestial Dragons will undoubtedly visit pro-Celestial Dragon nations. They'll assume that any country that has showered them with tributes will give them whatever they desire. ...If that situation erupts into flames, the World Government's—and by extension, the Marines', its public face's—reputation... its legitimacy will be completely destroyed."
Hina's face was ashen. I couldn't blame her. I had said that what came next was just speculation, but I believed there was a high probability it would happen. After all—
"When that happens, the member nations will start to desire a defensive force separate from the Marines, who are the pawns of the World Government. ...I suspect that was the Golden Lion's goal."
Us "Black Cats," the World Government, the Marines, and above all—
"They'll sell their military power to nations seeking their own armed forces, creating bases for anti-government activities all over the world. Once they have a grip on the core of a nation's military, it won't be difficult to take it over later."
Yes, that's what would have happened if the Government hadn't made such a stupid move. The worst possible route. But even then, the enemy still held the baton. But now...
(Damn it! Now that it's come to this, there's no faction left that can control the situation!)
The baton is probably no longer in anyone's hands. Even the Golden Lion's faction couldn't have predicted this level of chaos!
"The enemy has thoroughly researched and understands the World Government. They probably formulated their plan by simulating how the Celestial Dragons affected by the Holy Land attack would act, and how the World Government would try to cover it up."
"But, you just said they pulled personnel from the other seas..."
Yes, that's right. Of course she would realize. That's exactly it.
"That's right. They're critically short on people who can control information. The information is leaking like a sieve, and the chaos is spreading far beyond what the Golden Lion's forces anticipated. In every sea, probably."
Please, Sengoku. You're listening, aren't you? Use this as leverage and somehow rein in those fools in the Government. It might be like trying to put out a volcano with a squirt gun, but if you don't do something, the world order will genuinely collapse. The collapse of the Government is unavoidable—no, at this point, that's all I can say...
"If this continues... what's going to happen?"
"The general flow won't change. However, the speed and scale will be on a completely different level."
If this keeps up, a lot of civilians are going to suffer terribly. I wonder if the East Blue is okay. How far will a country like the Goa Kingdom go...?
"Distrust of the World Government will spread among the nations, leading to a rapid military buildup. If it means they can fight, they'll even hire pirates."
"Even if they hire pirates, they'll just run away if they have to face Government ships!"
"Yes, a hired force would probably flee if they had to face the Government or the Marines."
"—But what about other countries?"
"...Huh?"
If other Celestial Dragons are causing similar incidents at the same time... They're probably... about to start...
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
"P-Pirates—!!"
"No, why?! We've never had pirates here before...!"
"Run!"
"Run where?!!"
A small village in the East Blue. An island with little to plunder, one that had never been attacked by pirates before, could only tremble in the face of the sudden crisis.
"Alright, you lot, you know what to do!"
"We know, Captain! Leave nothing behind, right?!"
"Enslave any man or woman who can move, and use the old folks for target practice or whatever!"
"What about the kids?!"
"I'm sure there are plenty of uses for them! Don't let a single one escape!"
"The nobles of the Goa Kingdom are paying one million Berries a head! That's double the usual rate!"
"What about the Supremo Kingdom?! I heard they started collecting slaves, too!"
"They're only paying 700,000, the cheapskates! If we wait a bit, they'll probably panic and raise the price!"
"Hahahaha! All hail the Celestial Dragons!!"
"Yeah, and if you find a woman you like, you can take her home! We won't have to worry about our next meal for a long time!"
"Don't kill them! Capture them alive! Capture them, violate them, and sell them off!!"
"This is the age of us pirates now! No need to hold back! Gahahahahaha!!"
Those who tried to resist with weapons were cut down. Those who fled were captured with nets and bolas and forcibly dragged onto the ships. Some young women were thrown to the ground on the spot, their clothes torn from their bodies. It was a tragedy. A common tragedy, one that was happening all over the place in this age that was now destined for turmoil. It was just one small example of the chaos that was now rapidly spreading across the seas of the world.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
"This incident will certainly create nations that resent the World Government, but at the same time, there will also be nations that cozy up to it even more. Especially those who have benefited from having the World Government as their backer."
Hina still looked stunned, as if she couldn't fully comprehend it.
"They'll think like this: If we're going to suffer greatly by failing to meet the Celestial Dragons' expectations, then we just have to gather what they want from elsewhere."
"But! If they do that, they'll surely be expelled from the World Govern—... so they'll use pirates!"
That's right. Or maybe bandits.
"They'll make a secret deal with pirates to plunder, and then receive the stolen goods in exchange for a slightly higher price... as offerings to the Celestial Dragons."
"If the pirates talk... no, it's no use. It won't be proof."
If they just deny it, that's the end of it. It would be a different story if they could catch them in the act of handing over the goods or making the deal, but I doubt the Marines have the authority to intervene that far... Above all, even if the Marines could do it, each case would take too long. ...I've run the numbers a few times, but it's no good. Even if the Marines' authority were strengthened a little, it wouldn't even be a deterrent.
"Those who purely want to break away from the World Government, those who use that as a pretext to plunder other nations, non-member nations that are attacked without recourse... and the Marines, who will be pulled in every direction by all of them."
That's the key here. There are powerful pirates out there, but their movements are unpredictable.
"Each faction will create and expand its own military, either for plunder or for defense. All control will be lost. The Marines, too, are often deeply rooted in the local regions of the four seas. Some units will likely start to go their own way."
"...The Captain is right. This report is delayed, but in the last battle, nearly two thousand Marines led by Taki defected to our side."
........
WHAAAAAAAAAT?!?!!?!??!!
Two thousand?! Not two hundred?! I mean, two hundred would have been shocking enough! Commodore Taki... I had a feeling about Lord Taki, but...!!
"...It's about Private Third Class Fuse, isn't it?"
"...You knew about my granddaughter?"
"The Black Cats were, in a way, built upon the sacrifices of the victims of that slave incident. ...As their captain, that is not a name I am allowed to forget."
I had been meaning to talk to Lord Taki about her, but he never brought it up, so I kept missing the chance.
"But, I see. It might be because this is the West Blue, where the Marine slave incident burned the hottest, but..."
"Kuro, what if that happens in the other seas...?"
"...The West Blue was fortunate. We, the 'Black Cats,' became a receptacle. But the other seas don't have an organization like ours. If they harbor rebellious thoughts, they have no choice but to act on their own."
It shouldn't have gotten this chaotic. It's sickening, but if the original personnel had been in place, a certain degree of cover-up would have been possible...
"Whether they side with another country or declare independence, what awaits them at the end of that road is the rise of new military powers—in other words, the emergence and proliferation of regional warlords..."
"From here on, in each of the seas, rival warlords will begin to partition the land. It can't be stopped now."
Whether it was the Golden Lion or whoever was behind him, they couldn't have predicted it would spread this fast. Even if they had made arrangements with certain countries, the surrounding chaos would be too great for them to make a move rashly. If I had been at the Holy Land and still had my authority... no, even then, the situation wouldn't have been resolved unless the Celestial Dragons were forced to relinquish some of their privileges, and could I have done that...?
"...Why?"
Hm? Hina?
"Why did it have to turn out like this?!?!"
***
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