Speakers connected to the Den Den Mushi were being hurriedly set up in and around the Black Cat Mansion.
"This is an outrageous situation..." Silvers Rayleigh murmured, surveying the frenzy of activity. "I knew something had happened judging by Kuro-kun's tone, but to think it was to this extent..."
"The World Government was foolish..." Crocodile grunted, lighting a cigar. "Or rather, whatever that man Kuro did must have scared the Government to its very core."
Rayleigh glanced sideways at the former Warlord. "And you are cooperating because you want to investigate that?"
"Kuhahaha, as expected of the Dark King," Crocodile let out a dry laugh, exhaling a plume of smoke. "Well, I guess I'm busted."
In the vicinity, in addition to the Black Cat soldiers, former Marines who had just recently joined were also gathering. Kuro likely intended to speak to as many soldiers as possible.
When Crocodile looked up toward the top of the castle, he saw the princess of this country having an attendant open the window, likely trying to listen in on the situation.
The two royals we supposedly retrieved in that battle still haven't come out, Crocodile thought, narrowing his eyes. I heard they hate appearing in public to an extreme degree, but...
Having no particular interest in the royalty of such a small nation, Crocodile returned his gaze to the members of the Guard gathering around. They were all young, yet well-trained.
"If another battle were to occur, I expected the Navy to pour in their numbers..." Rayleigh noted, his tone serious. "But looking at this, they probably won't be able to fight properly at all."
"Yeah," Crocodile agreed. "And most likely, organized pirates will make their move all at once right here. There will be forces attempting to conquer not just towns, but entire nations."
Rayleigh sighed, taking a sip from his flask. "...The Navy has to rush to deal with defecting Marines, while simultaneously being forced to handle aggressive pirates."
"Kuhahaha! It really wouldn't be strange if the Navy collapsed! This is fun!!" Crocodile laughed menacingly.
Rayleigh lowered his flask, his expression somber. "...Though, if it ends with just the Navy, that would be the best-case scenario."
The hooded man—the Dark King—looked up at the princess with worry in his eyes, before shifting his gaze to the Den Den Mushi connected to Kuro.
"At the very least, the nations of the West Blue will undoubtedly come to desire your power..." Rayleigh whispered to the transponder snail. "Kuro-kun."
—Za, za... (Static)
"Vice Captain, the setup in the courtyard is complete!" a soldier shouted into the receiver.
"Amelia here," a female voice crackled through. "Setup complete at Shamrock's harbor, waiting area, and salon."
"The drill grounds are good too!"
Reports came in via communication from the Guards who had hurriedly scattered to various locations. This was the feature of the Black Cat Pirate Crew that Crocodile was most interested in, and if possible, wanted to acquire—or imitate.
It was a group skilled in stealth and mobility, equipped with footwork passed down directly from Kuro and swordsmanship taught by first-class fighters like Mihawk and Rayleigh; they were excellent as couriers as well. Even in distant locations like this, they could finish simple preparations in an instant.
"This is Captain Vigle from Kanan Kingdom," a disciplined voice reported. "We have gathered the soldiers and connected the communications here as well. We haven't taken any specific counter-intelligence measures, is that a problem?"
"It's fine. Just connect them," Daz's voice replied calmly over the line. "—Captain, you're good to go."
They were now connected to the Black Cat territories far away from here, linking almost every single soldier. Depending on the location, not just soldiers, but even civilians were likely listening.
"Yeah. Sorry about that, Daz."
Hearing a voice that Crocodile was hearing for the first time, and one that was nostalgic for Rayleigh, the soldiers began to buzz with excitement.
–
[POV: Kuro]
"Putting aside the executives I speak with during scheduled check-ins, to all the soldiers: I apologize for being away for so long," I said into the receiver.
Through the Den Den Mushi, I could understand the speaker's expression... but dealing with a large crowd like this makes it hard to grasp the feeling. If I were there in person, I could sense the atmosphere...
"Let's get right to it. Let's reconfirm and share the situation."
I glanced around the room. Surrounding me were Hina and the other Marines.
...Thinking about it again, what is this situation? I asked myself.
Nearby, Issho was standing against the wall, having touched neither the sake bottle nor the cup.
Please, just drink, I mentally begged him. You can use this situation as a side dish for your drink, just please drink. It's incredibly unsettling being stared at like that.
I cleared my throat and continued. "The main goal of our recent appearance at the Holy Land—improving relations between the Navy and the Government—failed. The plan to incorporate us, the 'Black Cats,' as a third party in that reset coordination also failed. In fact, it ended up triggering calamities across the world that will rival the Pirate Alliance."
Things were fine on this end. Hina had regained her composure after wiping her face again, and the other Marines were the same.
Well, there is one who needs to be watched for a different reason... but I'll leave that for later.
The problem was the other side of the Den Den Mushi. As expected, there was a bit of a commotion. I couldn't feel it on my skin, but... I got a slightly bad feeling.
I knew it; if I don't speak now and leverage the direction of things, it's going to be bad.
"From here on out," I declared, raising my voice slightly, "a scramble for resources will begin, rivaling—no, exceeding—the inception of the Pirate Alliance. Not just pirates. Civilians against civilians, nations against nations; everyone will try to steal every resource needed for survival. Even if the opponent is a relative or a friend from yesterday."
Food, fuel, lumber, construction materials, medicine, ammunition... everything from supplies to labor. No joke, the clock had been wound back. If things went poorly, we were talking Void Century levels—or to put it in more familiar terms, two days before a World War.
"The ensuing chaos will invite poverty everywhere," I warned. "...It will likely spread to burn across the entire world."
Global skirmishes—no, a great war was unavoidable. It was impossible to stop now, no matter how much we struggled.
"Poverty progresses, Starvation spreads, and the survival instincts incited by these will nurture the Misunderstanding of others into twisted hostility. People will view the easiest target—another person—as an enemy, and tragedy will begin."
That was exactly why I had to clarify what the enemy is.
"These are exactly what we must stand against," I said firmly. "These Three Claw Marks represent the true enemies of us, the 'Black Cats'!"
–
[POV: Third Person]
In Spider Miles, the banquet celebrating the approaching era of chaos continued. Breaking the din of the dilapidated bar, which was even more worn out than the ancient, garbage-filled town itself, the voice of a certain pirate rang out.
"Behehehehe! He's saying weird things agaaaain, this idiot pirate!" Bellamy laughed, mocking the broadcast.
In contrast, the boss of the crew occupying the bar—Donquixote Doflamingo—listened without saying a word.
"This is a story from when I was still in the East Blue," Kuro's voice continued.
The voice was not vulgar like the executive behind Doflamingo laughing at the intercepted transmission. The man hiding his eyes with sunglasses, and the afro-haired man who had assisted him in drawing up the picture this far, listened quietly.
"Many of you may know, but I was an orphan," Kuro confessed. "...Due to massive 'thinning out' operations caused by heavy taxes, I was put on a small boat with children discarded by other families and thrown into the sea by mothers and other adults."
For the man—Donquixote Doflamingo—this pirate he had never even met had become an entity he could no longer avoid. Although a step late, the intellect he showed in arriving at Doflamingo's scheme alone from a distant land was impressive. His military prowess went without saying. The density of his battle record in such a short period would already place him within the top five in the world.
"I still remember. Everyone was emaciated, just little children with neither the knowledge nor the skills to solve the situation."
Doflamingo had, of course, investigated the man's roots. A common foundling in the East Blue. While it is considered the symbol of peace, in reality, there are many poor villages dotted around the East Blue that are all but forgotten; thinning out the population is not rare there. It is simply a sea where the weakest are sacrificed before conflict even occurs.
"Before I knew it, I became the leader of the children on the island we washed up on. I had no experience myself, but through trial and error, we learned to make traps and fish, secured our daily food, and eventually became able to use the boat to trade with nearby people for cash."
"During that time, I nearly drowned or died many times." The hardship was palpable in the words of the 'Black Cat.'
Doflamingo suddenly recalled the days when he would scavenge through trash, scraping together anything even remotely edible for the sake of his younger brother.
To live is to scramble for resources... Doflamingo thought darkly. ...If it were Kuro, maybe, but for a gathering of brats—especially a group with no blood ties...
"And so, on the night of the day we had saved up a large amount of Berries and discussed engaging in serious trade with the other children—"
—In that case, well... Doflamingo smirked internally.
"They all betrayed me."
"They were likely told by neighboring merchants that if they brought the saved money, they would be given a good life."
–
[POV: Kuro]
The pushback against me taking command must have been strong. I've looked back on that time often; I was treating them quite a bit like children.
"Taking all the Berries, every last one of them left the island on the small boat," I recounted, the memory bitter.
Even if I try to correct it, I know the buds of arrogance are likely still stubbornly rooted within me. Even if I suppress them and reflect, things that have taken root do not vanish so easily.
"There is an evil called arrogance within me, and that is what drove them—who were already cornered—toward that easy temptation."
"After that, when I built a boat myself and chased after them, only to find their decomposing corpses... I felt sadness, but also a thought of, 'See, I knew it.' I will never forget my own ugliness in that moment."
I paused, letting the weight of the confession settle. "The human heart is filled with sludge. Everyone's is. ...Mine, especially."
Despite telling everyone that getting drunk on power is evil and to live strongly, I was swallowed by the ease of wielding it during the battle against Germa. Even now, I cannot completely wipe away the mud in my heart.
But, even so—
"But, even so... it wasn't a lie. It wasn't a lie," I insisted, my voice gaining strength.
"That time, when I wanted to do something for the children who were abandoned with me."
"When I wanted to save Robin, who was hiding in a barrel that must have smelled terrible, damp from recently emptied water."
"When I wanted to help everyone trapped in the bottom of the ship."
"That alone... was absolutely not a lie!" I shouted. "The human heart is absolutely not just a place where sludge accumulates!"
–
...The sludge of the heart. Ah... indeed, it exists in everyone's heart. ...Mine as well...
Commodore Taki, who had fought as a Marine in the West Blue for many years, listened with closed eyes. He still had bitter memories that haunted his dreams.
16 years ago. The year after his granddaughter was born. By order from above, he was assigned to guard a certain island visited by Celestial Dragons.
God Valley.
On that island where the Hero Garp, the Pirate King, and that man Rocks once clashed, Taki had stumbled in by chance. On the beach he washed up on after his ship was destroyed and he jumped into the sea for his life—what entered Taki's eyes was the figure of a woman, likely a mother trying to shield her child, both shot dead together.
He assumed it was the work of pirates. That's what he thought at a glance. No, that's what he wanted to believe.
But at the same time, he could not forget the sight of that parent and child—and the countless corpses scattered around them—dressed in the same clothes marked with something resembling a target.
Even after surviving that death trap caused by the aftermath of the battle between the scattered pirates and Hero Garp, he buried it deep in his heart amidst his duties and happy family life. Until that moment, when the truth about his missing granddaughter was revealed.
–
"I will never forget," Kuro continued. "That Daz, who tried to think of sacrifice as something natural, was still pained by those sacrifices."
The 'Black Cat's' Number 2, sitting in the meeting room chair with his eyes closed listening to the Captain, smiled faintly.
"That the blunt Perona still works day and night compounding medicinal herbs and accumulating knowledge and skills for the sake of the soldiers and the people."
The girl who was the youngest in the pirate crew, yet respected as an executive of the 'Black Cats,' gave a small snort, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"That Robin... despite being chased by all of humanity, was pained by the sight of debilitated Marines and sincerely lent a hand in their recovery."
The girl most beloved by the soldiers nodded happily at the voice of the man she had been worried about.
"Not to mention the executives who continue to study tactics to reduce friendly casualties and increase survivors, but also how much the Marines whittled down their own bodies and crushed their hearts for the rescued civilians..."
The recently defected Marines—soldiers who had run around for the sake of the people in Mogwa Kingdom and surrounding nations—clenched their fists.
"I know. Everyone carries sludge in their hearts, but deep within that, there is certainly—something that shines."
The soldiers here, to varying degrees, had been hurled insults and complaints by the very people they saved. Yet at the same time, they had also seen those people desperately encouraging their families or sharing what little food they had.
"...The folly of the Celestial Dragons this time is, in a sense, an extreme of humanity. If one continues to devour greed within a narrow world, a person can easily fall that low. ...Into the sludge that weighs down unbearably heavy."
The soldiers recalled the figures of Marines who had participated in the 'Man Hunt' revealed during the investigation of the Pirate Alliance incident. The Guards remembered the traitors who, despite being Marines, stained their hands with corruption and sold them out.
"Perhaps many end their lives accumulating sludge without ever showing that shine. But..." Kuro's voice rose to a crescendo. "There is no room to doubt the existence of that light! That thing, so terribly hard to see, definitely exists!!"
Strength filled each soldier. A fire was lit for the things they believed in when they were young, but had placed at the bottom of their hearts as impossible once they grew up.
–
In the infirmary of an empty Navy base where relief still hadn't arrived, Akainu stood with arms crossed, quietly listening to the pirate's speech.
"The Poverty, Starvation, and Misunderstanding of others that cause sludge to accumulate in the human heart... as long as we are human, no one can escape them. Therefore, if we do not possess the resolve to face them, the era ahead cannot be opened! Just as the World Government has stagnated for these last 800 years!"
'Black Arm' Zephyr, lying in bed, sat up despite his aching body and stroked his chest over the bandages where the treatment was finished.
"These three claws are the proof of that resolve!"
He confirmed the three claw marks carved into his chest through the bandages. The ones currently in this infirmary where the transmission echoed were mostly veteran field officers and above. In other words, proper Marines well-known to Sakazuki and Zephyr.
Those Marines stood clenching their fists without saying a word.
"Pushing through the sludge of contradiction and malice! The flag of an oath to fight despite it all!!"
Among the soldiers lying in bed for treatment, some looked toward the surveillance Den Den Mushi, while others wept quietly. They lamented the tragedy that had occurred while they were fighting, losing so much.
From somewhere in the distant New World, gazing at the world and opening a new era—they listened to the manifesto of a pirate who believed not in malice, but in the radiance of humanity. Everyone listened quietly to that, which articulated what they themselves should have originally been upholding.
–
[POV: Kuro]
"Heed this! Elites gathered under the flag of the Three Claw Marks!"
Daz Bones felt on his skin the rising morale of the soldiers at Captain Kuro's words.
"At this very moment! We, the 'Black Cats,' have set sail—"
"—into an endless battle against the universal enemies of mankind, born simply because humans are human!!"
Through the Den Den Mushi, I probably couldn't fully sense the situation, but something must have been conveyed. That is why I asked for my voice to be delivered to where the most soldiers were before this speech.
"The era has already begun to surge. Our journey will be a voyage through darkness where the destination cannot be seen."
The soldiers' morale was high to begin with. High enough that they looked ready to launch ships and sink Government vessels right now.
"That is exactly why! We, and no one else!"
The atmosphere changed.
"Must take that proud first step into this darkness to become the Compass for those who follow!"
The morale that had risen from anger and hostility toward the lawlessness caused by the Celestial Dragons sublimated into something more organized—something one might dare call 'Military Spirit.'
Hancock, bringing Galdino along, nodded satisfactorily at the state of her subordinates in the First Fleet. Mihawk also smiled faintly at the high morale of the Guards and soldiers he had taken an interest in.
"My elites! My comrades in arms!!" I roared into the communicator. "Hoist high our pride!!"
In every corner of the 'Black Cat' territory where this voice reached, a roar like an explosion resounded.