After all, although the Revolutionary Army could theoretically cause serious damage to the World Government, for the Marines themselves, pirates were the greater threat.
At the very least, the Revolutionary Army did not have many powerful fighters.
If the Marines sent out a large amount of their combat strength at once, they could quickly wipe the Revolutionary Army out of the Four Blues completely.
Late at night, when Donashu Atley returned to the military port, he stood on the rooftop of the base and looked down at the soldiers busily moving the cannonballs needed for tomorrow's battle.
He could not help letting out a quiet sigh.
"What are you sighing about, Donashu Atley?"
Another Marine Captain walked over and handed him a cigar.
Donashu Atley remained silent. Only after lighting the cigar did he slowly exhale a mouthful of smoke and say.
"The Revolutionary Army is nothing more than a group of civilians who picked up weapons. Why do we have to pursue them so relentlessly?"
Whitley Sidney, the captain beside him, burst into laughter.
Then he said, "The Revolutionary Army is only the enemy we have to face at this stage. Our true enemies are the pirates of the New World."
"Have you not realized it yet? Fleet Admiral Raleigh has placed the soldiers recruited from the Grand Line in the West Blue for training. Those Marine soldiers who have already qualified are being sent back to the Grand Line for other forms of training."
"If Admiral Sakazuki had personally acted, perhaps the West Blue would already belong to us by now."
Donashu Atley took another drag of his cigar and said nothing.
Captain Whitley Sidney's expression grew solemn.
"I don't know what you are thinking, Donashu Atley, but I believe in Fleet Admiral Raleigh and Admiral Sakazuki."
"You may not know this, but my hometown is a small island on the Grand Line. Before Fleet Admiral Raleigh and Admiral Sakazuki appeared, that place was often robbed and massacred by pirates."
"The people of our island had long since developed the habit of building tunnels and hidden rooms, but even then, large numbers of people died every year at the hands of passing pirates. Sometimes they came to rob us. Sometimes they were merely looking for entertainment. But my neighbor's entire family truly died by their hands."
"But after Admiral Raleigh appeared, the pirate forces melted away like snow meeting the sun."
"My hometown experienced life without pirates for the first time. So when Fleet Admiral Raleigh ordered the worldwide military draft, I was the first to sign up."
Donashu Atley looked at Captain Whitley Sidney beside him in surprise.
Before this, he had only known that his companion came from some unknown small island on the Grand Line.
He had never imagined that this was the reason he joined the Marines.
No wonder he was always exceptionally brave in every battle, and no wonder he had been promoted to captain so quickly.
"My hometown is in the Four Blues. At first, I only wanted to have a full meal, because our place was too poor. Everyone had to pay heavy taxes."
"The Revolutionary Army appeared and eliminated those rotten rulers, saving my hometown from poverty. So I do have a somewhat different view of them."
Captain Whitley Sidney nodded, then said, "Even so, I still do not think they will win. Before Fleet Admiral Raleigh, no one can become an obstacle on his path to success."
Donashu Atley did not understand that emotion, but he also believed in the man who had sworn an oath before the entire world.
"Fleet Admiral Raleigh is worthy of trust. I believe he will definitely lead us toward justice."
The two separated there.
What Donashu Atley did not know was that, somewhere he could not see, Captain Whitley Sidney, who had just been laughing and chatting with him, now wore an extremely cold expression.
In his hand, he held a Den Den Mushi.
"Captain Donashu Atley. East Blue."
....
At Marine Headquarters, inside the brightly lit office at Marineford, Cleveland put down the Den Den Mushi in his hand.
He found Donashu Atley's name on the roster and marked it.
Within the Marines, the new Marines trained by Cleveland had already penetrated every corner.
They were also continuously being dispatched from the Grand Line to the Four Blues and the New World.
Raleigh knew that even if his slogans and actions moved people's hearts, there would always be those who held completely different opinions from his own.
Within the Marines, there were also officers who were sympathetic to the Revolutionary Army, as well as those who colluded with pirates.
For those who held favorable views toward the Revolutionary Army but had not betrayed the Marines, Cleveland would generally choose to transfer them to the New World to fight pirates.
Their belief was to eliminate all pirates from the world, so they were happy to accept such an arrangement.
As for those who colluded with pirates, Cleveland would not indulge them at all.
He would drag them out directly, put them on trial before a military tribunal, and then carry out the sentence in front of all the Marines.
For now, aside from Raleigh's die-hard supporters and Sakazuki's die-hard supporters, there were still many Marine soldiers who remained confused.
"These people have already been screened. Send them to the Fleet Admiral's office and request Fleet Admiral Raleigh's approval for their transfer orders."
Cleveland wrote several names on a sheet of paper and had a messenger send it to Raleigh's office.
Make use of everything to its fullest.
He did not want these Marine officers to be drawn in by the Revolutionary Army's theories and slogans during the war.
Rather than let them become enemies, it would be better to let them die on the road of charging forward for justice.
Perhaps some of them had already guessed this, but Cleveland did not mind.
In matters like this, it was better to kill by mistake than to let a threat slip through.
No one would ever allow a commander under them to remain in place if there was even a possibility that they might betray them.
...
In the New World, the island formerly named the G-1 Branch had now officially been renamed New Marineford.
On the territories gained after Kaido's defeat, Marine branches and fortresses of all sizes had also been built one after another.
Kuzan had already been stationed here for a long time.
Every day, he simply rode his bicycle around the area.
Constructing fortresses was not something that required his direct involvement.
His purpose here was to ensure that while the fortresses were being built, the two remaining Emperors of the Sea would not make a move.
Fortunately, Red-Haired Shanks and Charlotte Linlin had not reached an agreement with each other, so they had not joined forces to drive Kuzan and the Marines out.
At this moment, the broad walls of New Marineford were densely packed with all kinds of firing ports.
One warship after another sat quietly in the harbor.
Kuzan looked down at the scene below and could not help sighing.
He did not know whether his choice had been right or wrong.
His justice was completely different from Raleigh's and Sakazuki's.
But judging by the current results, Raleigh and Sakazuki's justice seemed to be more effective.
The Four Blues and the Grand Line had been cut in half by the Marines.
Now, the pirates of the New World could no longer receive supplies from other regions.
Fish-Man Island, the route into the New World, was firmly controlled by the Marines.
No supplies could be transported through.
Even though the pirates knew exactly what the Marines intended, they still ended up fighting among themselves over the distribution of resources.
They had no other choice.
Most islands in the New World did not have the stable environment of the Four Blues, and the strong pirates needed huge amounts of food to survive.
They also needed massive quantities of weapons if they wanted to continue plundering.
Once they lost supplies from the Four Blues, they began sliding downhill.
Looking at the current situation, Kuzan understood.
Raleigh intended to force all pirates into the New World, then concentrate his forces and wipe them out in one decisive move.
The Warlords who had come from the Sabaody Archipelago had obediently thrown themselves into the war against the pirates.
Some of them had gathered their subordinates, while others had charged alone into pirate territory and begun slaughtering.
Because aside from threatening them, Raleigh had also provided large amounts of weapons and equipment, as well as several mission targets.
As long as they completed their missions and brought back the heads of their targets, they could leave the New World.
Because of that, over the past few days, the Warlords had used every method available to escape the New World as soon as possible.
News of massive pirate casualties was heard almost every day.
When Kuzan looked at Raleigh's methods, all he felt was a deep sense of powerlessness.
In his heart, he also believed that even Sengoku would have found it difficult to surpass Raleigh in controlling people's hearts and planning matters.