Before this, Shimotsuki Yasuie, Hyogoro the Flower, and the other daimyo knew very little about the outside world.
After the Beasts Pirates invaded Wano, the World Economic News seagulls began visiting the country again, giving Wano a new source of information about the outside seas.
In their eyes, Kaido was incredibly powerful.
If he were not, the samurai would have driven him out of Wano long ago.
Five years earlier, after Oden returned from overseas, he had charged directly from Kuri to the Shogun's Palace in the Flower Capital the very next day.
Yet he had been stopped by that mysterious sorcery.
Afterward, samurai resistance continued to appear, but every uprising was crushed by the Beasts Pirates.
Among those events, Kaido's drunken Azure Dragon form had allowed every samurai in Wano to witness what true power really looked like.
But now...
The dragon they once believed only Oden-sama could defeat had first defeated Oden himself, only to then have its claw and tail severed by that Revolutionary Army man known as Spark.
That final slash had even robbed Kaido of his ability to continue fighting.
And those scorching flames...
Even from this far away from the center battlefield, they could still feel the unbearable heat.
"Lord Yasuie..."
"That kind of flame is not something Wano could ever resist."
Shimotsuki Ushimaru looked toward the daimyo of the main family.
Beside him, Hyogoro the Flower, his shoulders covered in tattoos, adjusted his round glasses as he stared toward the battlefield with a grave expression.
"If they were unreasonable like the Beasts Pirates, then your plans would have no meaning before that kind of power."
"The underworld of the Flower Capital values honor."
"But when the gap in strength becomes too large, honor itself stops mattering."
"And if you fail to recognize your own position, the result will simply be your head being cut off under the justification of 'justice.'"
Shimotsuki Yasuie remained silent.
After a long while, he let out a sigh.
"Oden-sama did not defeat Kaido."
"Although his performance at the start of the battle was enough to restore much of the reputation lost during those five years of dancing..."
"Compared to this new dragon-slaying swordsman, his prestige is clearly insufficient."
He slowly raised his head as the eyes of several hundred people met his.
"Wait and observe."
"The Revolutionary Army is not a pirate crew."
"Since their strength is overwhelmingly superior, then all we can do is wait for them to establish the rules..."
"And then act and scheme within those rules."
At that moment, Hyogoro spoke again.
"Perhaps... Lord Yasuie never asked Oden-sama what he truly wanted?"
Yasuie swung his blade horizontally, killing the pirate before him.
Then he looked over coldly.
"As a member of the Kozuki Family, his surname alone determines his position."
The moment those words fell, Shimotsuki Yasuie raised his sword and shouted:
"Everyone!"
"Kaido has fallen!"
"Kill!"
The moment the Azure Dragon was cut down from the sky, morale on Wano and the Revolutionary Army's side had already surged to its peak.
Now, they became unstoppable.
Among the Revolutionary Army forces, there were naturally capable captains as well.
"Spark-sama has defeated Kaido!"
"The liberation of Wano begins today!"
"Liberate Wano!"
"Awaken the people of Wano!"
"Long live Spark-sama!"
"Long live the Revolutionary Army!"
"Let the flames of revolution illuminate Wano!"
For a moment, the Revolutionary Army's battle cries completely drowned out the voices of Wano's retainers.
And in the eyes of Yasuie and the others, these people from overseas seemed utterly fearless of death.
Their Armament and Observation Haki grew increasingly refined during battle itself.
Blades coated in Armament Haki, bullets fired with deadly precision their five-man squad formations were also extraordinarily coordinated.
Even against lower-ranking officers of the Beasts Pirates, five of them working together could hold the line without suffering casualties for a considerable time.
"ROAR!!"
Another Number appeared.
But in the very next moment, that enormous body was overwhelmed by concentrated fire.
Frontline fighters restrained it directly, while a strange weapon resembling a pistol unleashed astonishing impact force, forcibly pinning the giant monster in place.
Afterward, sharp specialized rounds different from ordinary bullets were fired one after another.
With far greater impact force and coated in Armament Haki, they continuously struck the giant's vital points: its eyes, ears, mouth, and other weak spots.
In less than a minute, the Number that had been deployed to block the pursuit collapsed onto the battlefield without another sound.
"Even samurai do not possess this level of fearlessness toward death."
Taking a brief moment amid the battle, Shimotsuki Ushimaru looked toward the Revolutionary Army formations.
Beside him, Hyogoro now visibly more relaxed due to the overwhelmingly favorable situation replied,
"When samurai first learn the sword, they are taught the cry of Sutemi no Chi."
"It is the will to cast aside one's life while swinging the blade, using that determination to awaken the power of Ryuo within the body."
"But these people... from beginning to end, they fully understand the meaning behind every strike they make."
"And from the depths of their hearts, they truly believe in that goal."
"They are willing to pay for it even with their lives."
Shimotsuki Ushimaru nodded approvingly.
"That is why all of them have grasped the power the outside world calls Haki, and Wano calls Ryuo."
"Though their mastery of emission techniques is still lacking."
Hyogoro glanced toward Shimotsuki Yasuie not far away.
"When strength is insufficient, no matter how elaborate the schemes are, they ultimately amount to nothing."
"Oden-sama's own thoughts... may not align with what Lord Yasuie hopes for."
Ushimaru did not respond to that.
At that moment, a series of explosive sounds rang out from Wano's outer seas.
A paw-shaped air bubble wrapped around a massive figure, flying at astonishing speed toward the black silhouette in the sky.
At this moment, King's eyes beneath his mask were bloodshot.
Carrying the half-dead Kaido, he endured the burns across his body while staring fixedly at the approaching figure ahead.
He did not dare stop.
Because stopping likely meant death.
Even the flames on his back remained extinguished, because reigniting them would reduce his speed.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!"
With a furious roar, the sharp beak of his pteranodon form pierced forward like an arrow straight toward Kuma.
Kuma did not dodge either.
Armament Haki covered his right arm as the power of the Paw-Paw Fruit was pushed to its absolute limit.
"You've tyrannized this country for far too long!"
"How could we possibly let you leave so easily?!"
He roared back.
The razor-sharp beak and iron-like fist collided head-on.
The clash of Haki exploded violently in midair!
"MOVE!!!"
King's eyes were filled with absolute resolve.
The charred wounds across his body split open again instantly, blood scattering through the sky.
In the end Kuma was forced backward half a meter.
But at the same time, King had also reached his limit.
Two figures fell from the sky.
King looked toward Kaido beside him and tried to reach out, wanting to grab hold and escape once more but he no longer had the strength.
"So... this is the end?"
"For a race like mine... perhaps ending here is the best release possible."
"The Revolutionary Army..."
"One day, you will liberate Mary Geoise as well, won't you?"
That place the land that once carried the name of "God" for the Lunarian race eight hundred years ago.
Heh...
Gods?
Before darkness consumed him, King no longer even felt the pain of crashing down from the sky.
Three days later.
After Kaido's failed escape attempt, the Beasts Pirates met total destruction.
The Revolutionary Army and Wano's samurai completely wiped out every pirate remaining on Onigashima.
Afterward, squads of Revolutionary Army soldiers entered Wano through Tokage Port, beginning operations to eliminate the remaining Beasts Pirate forces.
The hidden ports were secured immediately.
And under Spark's orders if agents of the World Government arrived, they were to be driven away under the name of the Beasts Pirates.
During those three days, thanks to control of the hidden ports and Wano's unique geography, nearly every pirate who had failed to leave the country before the war began was wiped out.
Those hiding deep within the mountains were the only exceptions.
Outside the Flower Capital, on an open field, thirty cremation furnaces hastily constructed over the past three days stood lined up side by side.
At this moment, orderly ranks of Revolutionary Army soldiers stood before them, while the surrounding area was packed with curious citizens of Wano watching the scene.
"What are these outsiders doing?"
"No idea... but it looks like they're preparing to cremate the bodies."
"Cremate them? How can they do that? Aren't those their companions?"
"Keep your voice down. If they hear you, they might drag you in there too."
"Could these people actually be just like pirates?"
"They probably aren't. Look Lord Shimotsuki Yasuie of Hakumai is here, Lord Shimotsuki Ushimaru of Ringo too, and even Hyogoro of the Flower Capital."
"And look! Oden-sama is here too!"
"The Foolish Lord?"
"You bastard! Oden-sama endured humiliation for everyone's sake!"
"So in the end, wasn't it still outsiders who defeated Kaido? What did enduring humiliation accomplish?"
"Who said it accomplished nothing?! Those people are Oden-sama's friends from his voyages overseas!"
Just as the argument was about to continue, a loud voice suddenly echoed from every direction.
"Everyone."
The crowd jumped in surprise.
Only then did they realize the voice was coming from the loudspeakers placed around the field.
And the speaker was the masked swordsman who had slain the dragon three days earlier.
The moment Rowan spoke, all surrounding discussions stopped.
He continued,
"To liberate Wano from the oppression of pirates, we lost four hundred and eighty-five comrades."
"At this moment, I ask everyone present to mourn with us."
The moment those words fell, every member of the Revolutionary Army including Kuma and Dragon lowered their heads in silence.
Among Wano's higher-ups standing nearby, Oden was the first to step forward.
Facing the rows of bodies below, he bowed deeply at ninety degrees and stood in silent mourning.
Shimotsuki Yasuie let out a sigh.
Exchanging glances with the other daimyo, he stepped behind Oden and bowed in the same manner.
The surrounding citizens of Wano looked at one another uncertainly.
"What are you hesitating for?!"
"These people died for us!"
"I personally saw some of them they were barely twenty years old!"
"Are we heartless beasts incapable of gratitude?!"
Voices rose one after another.
The first to cry were the women.
Many directly fell to their knees, bowing in full prostration as they mourned.
Soon after came the samurai and the men.
Five minutes passed.
Rowan slowly straightened.
Looking around at the crowd, he continued speaking through the earpiece at his collar.
"There has never been a revolution without bloodshed."
"And liberation has never come easily."
"To change this world that devours people, we have never feared sacrifice."
"Today it was them."
"Tomorrow... it may be me."
"But tell me"
"Do we fear?"
The more than three thousand Revolutionary Army soldiers gathered there roared in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.
"We do not fear!"
"We do not fear!"
Many among them had tears in their eyes.
The dead included their friends.
Their family.
But from the moment they officially joined the Revolutionary Army, they had never once feared sacrifice for the sake of changing this cruel world.
Just as Spark had once said,
"If sacrifice is necessary, let it begin with me!"
That helplessness from the past watching loved ones humiliated, sold into slavery, butchered mercilessly by pirates they never wanted to experience such despair again.
If someone placed a blade against their necks then there was only one choice they would make!
That choice was to rise up and resist.
To strike down the oppressors.
To overturn every unreasonable system.
To remake this world itself!
"We too were once oppressed."
"Our homes were once destroyed."
"Our loved ones once cried out in despair."
"We too were once powerless."
Rowan looked toward the citizens of Wano gathered at the outskirts.
"Heaven helps those who help themselves."
"So we chose resistance."
"We chose to unite every oppressed person together."
"We came to liberate Wano because we understand one truth"
"If we stand by coldly today, then when disaster someday falls upon us, there may be no one left willing to help us!"
"There is no superiority or inferiority between lives."
"All oppressed people"
"Only by standing together can we gain the strength to resist!"
Standing at the center, Rowan summarized the core ideology of the Revolutionary Army.
And within the eyes of Wano's citizens, thoughtful expressions slowly appeared.
Behind them, among the high-ranking leaders of Wano, cold sweat covered Shimotsuki Yasuie's forehead.
For the first time he truly understood the terrifying strength of the Revolutionary Army.
And he finally understood why those soldiers on the battlefield possessed such powerful and unwavering willpower.
With conviction like that, even ordinary people could awaken powerful Haki.
Before this, they had believed the Revolutionary Army was merely another pirate crew from overseas a top-tier powerhouse leading a group of elite officers, supported by countless underlings.
But now they understood.
This was a true army.
Not something pirate crews could compare to.
And absolutely not something Wano's samurai could compare to.
The people before them did not worship that masked man called Spark.
Nor did they obey because of titles or status.
At their core what they followed was an ideology.
A belief they acknowledged and regarded as truth itself.
At that moment, Rowan paused.
Then he began reading out names one after another.
"Will."
"Born in the year 1483 of the Sea Circle Calendar."
"In 1492, his hometown was destroyed by pirates."
"In 1496, he was sold into the Sabaody Archipelago by slave traffickers."
"After being rescued, he passed the examinations and joined the Revolutionary Army."
"He died during the campaign to liberate Wano."
As those words fell, a Revolutionary Army member responsible for records marked down the written information.
Soon after, Will's body was pushed into the cremation furnace.
His ashes would be sealed in a box, together with the paper recording his life story.
They would be brought back to Revolutionary Army headquarters and buried properly.
The contents of that paper would also be engraved onto a memorial stone so future generations would remember his sacrifice.
Very quickly, more names followed.
The ages of the fallen.
Their experiences.
Their pasts.
Rowan's voice carried every single story into the ears of Wano's people.
For a moment the outskirts of the Flower Capital fell completely silent.
Everyone quietly listened to each name being spoken.
Even the children who had come merely to watch the spectacle found themselves infected by the solemn atmosphere.
----------
Patreon Advance Chapters: patreon .com/OneFic