For a moment, the cafeteria was filled with overlapping discussions.
Information spread quickly. Even the mid-level Marines already knew about the abilities of the Four Emperor level.
For example, BIGMOM's ability to fly. In reality, if a mid-ranking officer below the rank of lieutenant colonel didn't have the qualifications to attend certain meetings, they basically knew nothing about it.
But now, whether it was BIGMOM, Whitebeard, or Kaido, their special abilities beyond the Three Types of Haki had all been explained in detail by that newspaper.
The discussions weren't limited to the report about Sakazuki. The front-page article, [The Four Emperors as Bait], was being discussed as well.
"Using a title as bait to make pirates slaughter one another, that kind of scheme is truly shocking."
"Have you forgotten the Fleet Admiral's title? The Wise General Sengoku! It could only have been a plan devised by the Fleet Admiral himself."
"Heh! Then do you know how many towns have been slaughtered by pirates during these short fifteen days? Do you know how many people have died?"
"Every one of us has been out on missions during this period. Didn't you see the miserable state those towns were in? Didn't you see the corpses scattered everywhere?"
"For the sake of stability in the future, these are necessary sacrifices, aren't they?"
Someone argued those words, but his voice was clearly lacking confidence.
But then.
"Bang!"
A fist slammed onto the table.
A Lieutenant stood up, his eyes slightly red.
"So that's your reason? Necessary sacrifices? Then what is the meaning of the Marines' existence? Is it to let ordinary people become necessary sacrifices?"
As he spoke, the Lieutenant tremblingly raised both hands and gestured to indicate a distance of roughly seventy centimeters.
"Someone this small, this small! A child who wasn't even a year old was pinned to a wall with the tip of a blade. Her parents' heads had been cut off and were hanging beneath her, so...so that's necessary too?!"
It seemed that all the pent-up frustration had finally erupted.
He pointed directly at the Major who had spoken earlier, completely ignoring the other's rank and increasingly ugly expression.
"As Marines, what exactly are our responsibilities and obligations? All this food piled on this table, and the drinks in front of you, aren't these things provided by those people?"
The Major picked up his wine cup and drained it in one gulp.
"This comes from the funds allocated by the World Government. Your salary, my salary, and the Marines' benefits all come from there. And watch your attitude, Lieutenant!"
"Bang!"
The wine cup that had just been set down was slapped flying.
The Lieutenant stared at him, his eyes almost splitting with rage.
"Don't you know where the funds allocated by the World Government to the Marines come from?! Those days...."
Before he could finish, a wave of cold air erupted throughout the cafeteria.
The next moment, a figure suddenly appeared above the Lieutenant. His hand, coated in Armament Haki, pressed the Lieutenant's head firmly against the table.
Lancel restrained the Lieutenant, preventing him from raising his head, while smiling at the Major in front of him.
"This guy really is lacking discipline. Tell your superior that I'll take care of him properly."
The Major stared blankly at Lancel's Vice Admiral rank before hurriedly standing up and saluting in agreement.
Although that burst of cold air had only appeared for an instant, he knew exactly who had caused it.
And considering the rumors that had circulated for some time about Vice Admiral Kuzan, perhaps handing this hotheaded fool over to the Vice Admiral's subordinate was actually for the best.
Lancel nodded, then turned around and left the cafeteria with the Lieutenant in his grasp.
Beside Kuzan, the man who had been eating moments earlier had also stopped for a moment. If his friend hadn't intervened, he might have thrown the bone in his hand at them.
Soon, after finishing his lunch, Kuzan gave Lacroix a signal before leaving. Three minutes later, Lacroix also stood up and left.
After that burst of coldness, the entire cafeteria, including the chefs, fell silent.
It wasn't until all three of them had left that the cafeteria gradually returned to normal.
"They really dare to say anything."
"Do they seriously think they're Vice Admiral Garp? They actually dared to call out those people directly."
"The blood of the younger generation hasn't gone cold yet. Isn't that only natural?"
"So sometimes, I really envy them. At this age, their convictions are at their strongest."
"So you want to follow Vice Admiral Garp's path? Go take a look at the warships smashed apart by his fists at the naval port first."
"Ah....I was only saying."
After dragging the Lieutenant out, Lancel set him down. "From today onward, you'll be serving aboard my warship. I'll go retrieve your records later."
The Lieutenant rubbed his neck after being released. Under that kind of strength, he hadn't been able to make a single sound.
But that didn't mean he had submitted.
He was an orphan with nothing left to lose. The only reason he had joined the Marines was to take revenge on pirates.
However, yesterday's newspaper had shattered all his illusions about the Marines.
Ever since the chaos among the pirates began across the sea, he had been rushing around the ocean day and night, providing support wherever he was needed.
Countless towns in the Grand Line had been slaughtered by pirates. Each scene reminded him of his own past, and every time, he had wanted nothing more than to tear those pirates apart with his bare hands.
Yet despite how exhausted he was, he could feel his convictions becoming increasingly firm, because as a Marine, he had always been on the path of hunting pirates.
Until yesterday.
That newspaper had revealed that the reason so many towns had been slaughtered was actually because of a mistake in the plans of the World Government and the Marines.
And after making that mistake, they had chosen to abandon some of the civilians, abandoning lives that might still have been crying out and waiting for rescue.
That truth dealt a devastating blow to his convictions.
That was precisely why his emotions had exploded today, causing him to angrily denounce his superior.
"Hehehe...."
Sitting on the ground, the Lieutenant suddenly laughed.
His eyes were bloodshot from having been awake since yesterday. He slowly raised his head and looked at the Vice Admiral in front of him.
"So you think the same way too? What about Vice Admiral Kuzan?"
"Ah."
Before Lancel could answer, he continued laughing to himself.
"The entire Marine force is rotten to the core! Even Vice Admiral Kuzan, a disciple of Vice Admiral Garp, apparently sees ordinary people this way."
Clearly, although he was only a Lieutenant, he had also realized where that burst of coldness had come from.
At that moment, a tall figure walked over.
"So you're planning to die for your beliefs?"
Kuzan looked down at him. "But your death probably won't accomplish anything. You're only a low-ranking Lieutenant. Even within the Marines, no one will change anything because of your death."
"Even Vice Admiral Garp only began firmly upholding his beliefs after becoming a Marine hero. You're merely a Lieutenant. Do you understand what kind of consequences those words you just said could cause?"
"You think the entire Marine force is rotten. But after saying those words, do you realize how many people will have to pay a price to save you because of your ignorance?"
The Lieutenant froze.
His bloodshot eyes stared straight at Kuzan.
"You're not the only one who believes in justice. The others are simply smarter than you."
With that, Kuzan said nothing more. He led Lancel toward Lacroix.
Behind them, the Lieutenant stood there in a daze.
Then he began to laugh.
His body trembled uncontrollably. At the moment when he had been utterly despairing, he had finally seen a glimmer of hope.
"Hahahaha!"
Lacroix laughed.
"Kuzan really is a gentle person."
Lancel sighed.
"There are quite a few young people like him in the Marines. It's just that years of experiences and everything they've witnessed have changed the justice they originally believed in."
As he spoke, he looked at Kuzan. After thinking for a moment, he moved closer and lowered his voice.
"That newspaper was that the family's doing?"
Kuzan gave a barely perceptible nod without revealing anything.
"Take that kid under your wing. For the time being, don't mention anything about the family. Just maintain his determination. For now, stability is the priority, but you can also arrange for some potential members to be stationed on the ship."
Lanslowki nodded.
"About that who is Black Arm? Teacher Zephyr?"
Kuzan shot him a sideways glance.
"Why don't you go ask Teacher Zephyr yourself?"
That afternoon, at the Marine Headquarters' elite training camp.
As the camp's chief instructor, Zephyr had always lived there. His family had long since passed away, and naturally, he no longer had a home of his own.
A newspaper lay to one side as Zephyr stared absentmindedly at the students before him.
On the outdoor training grounds, the newest batch of recruits were sweating buckets as they trained. They had taken Rowan as their goal and wanted to become Marines who would fight for justice.
With the implementation of the Seven Warlords of the Sea system, that Vice Admiral had gambled his life without hesitation.
They wanted to become Marines like him, which was why they trained so desperately.
At this moment, however, passage after passage from the newspaper flashed through Zephyr's mind, as though those words possessed some kind of strange magic.
A general?
But a general who valued life was sometimes not a qualified general.
The title of "Admiral Who Does Not Kill" had become his greatest humiliation from the day his family died.
Now, his hatred for pirates was no less than anyone else's, and he had regretted his former convictions more than once.
"Teacher."
"Hmm? What is it?"
Interrupted from his thoughts, Zephyr wasn't angry.
Compared to the class Rowan had once attended, Zephyr was older now, and his attitude toward the recruits had become much more relaxed.
One of the students smiled as he wiped away his sweat. After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked,
"Teacher, the Black Arm General mentioned in the newspaper... is that you? Or was he based on you?"
Zephyr froze for a moment before sighing.
"I don't know. I don't even know who wrote this newspaper. But when it comes to pirates, don't hold back. That's my advice."
If he hadn't insisted on not killing back then, perhaps his wife and child wouldn't have died.
The recruit nodded doubtfully before leaving. He could sense the change in Zephyr's mood.
Zephyr sighed as well and glanced at the newspaper again. Deep down, he wondered if this General Black Arm might be able to make a different choice.
East Blue, Shimotsuki Village.
That morning, Rowan trained with his sword here while working on his writing on the side.
Judging from the reactions within the Marines, the first issue of the New Era Newspaper had been very well received.
Its analysis exposing the intentions of the World Government and Marines had also convinced the pirates that what the newspaper said was true.
At the very least, there were finally far fewer pirates attacking G5. Judging from this alone, the situation across the entire sea had probably eased somewhat as well.
However, the first issue hadn't introduced too many new ideas. To ordinary civilians, it was still more of a form of entertainment.
The story of General Black Arm had only just begun. The Heavenly Dragon King's rise to power hadn't even started yet, so the early stages still needed to establish the general's image properly.
"Bulu bulu..."
"Click."
"Come here. Right now. Immediately. This instant."
"No. I have to write."
Rowan flatly refused.
The Den Den Mushi mimicking Ginny's voice immediately changed its expression, putting on a heartbroken look.
"So after all those years when I went from house to house borrowing milk to raise you, at a time this important, you still aren't willing to accompany me to pick out a wedding dress?"
"Things were so difficult back then. I couldn't even feed myself properly, yet I still carefully raised a child who did nothing but wail and cry. And now you aren't even willing to grant me this little request?"
"So I don't have a single relative, and now even the child I raised with my own hands isn't willing to accompany me through the most important milestone of my life?"
Ever since Uncle Kuma agreed to Ginny's proposal, the date they had set just happened to fall during a particularly busy period for the Revolutionary Army.
The pirate riots across the Four Seas and the Grand Line had resulted in far too many towns being slaughtered.
For a time, the Revolutionary Army, just like the Marines, was running around frantically trying to deal with everything.
People in this world could be remarkably simple-minded at times. They could stake their lives on achieving some so-called dream, or throw themselves into the sea because of some vague, illusory treasure.
But after the first issue of the New Era Newspaper was distributed last night, the rioting pirates finally understood that slaughtering towns was completely meaningless.
Only by proving their strength and making a name for themselves through sheer power in the New World would they have any chance of becoming the fourth Emperor.
Under these circumstances, the sea became considerably calmer overnight, which also eased Ginny's foul temper that had been building up over the past few days.
Just one day later, she called Rowan through a Den Den Mushi and demanded that he come over to help her pick out a wedding dress.
More than twenty years ago, at God Valley, it was Kuma who rescued Rowan, but the person who truly seized the opportunity to spread the news of what had happened at God Valley was Ginny.
Later, in the South Blue's Sorbet Kingdom, although Kuma treated everyone who came to him for help with gentleness, Ginny was the one Rowan truly relied on in his daily life.
Although Rowan had always refused to call her Auntie, in this world, after the age of one, he had only two relatives left Ginny and Kuma.
That was precisely why, when he returned to the Sorbet Kingdom from the West Blue back then, the first thing Rowan did was leave a Flying Thunder God space marker on the back of Ginny's neck.
It should be noted that, among the entire upper echelon of the Revolutionary Army, aside from Ginny, Rowan had only given the others kunai as a way of indicating that he could perform spatial teleportation. He hadn't placed any actual markers on them.
Even Dragon and Kuma were treated the same way.
The reason was to guard against the scene from his memories ever happening.
In his memories, Ginny, who would become the Revolutionary Army's Eastern Army Commander, was intercepted by the Celestial Dragons while on her way to rendezvous with Kuma and was taken to Mary Geoise.
There were simply too many suspicious points about this.
Even without Rowan's existence, someone with enough strength to become the Revolutionary Army's Eastern Army Commander should never have been someone who could be carried away by a runny-nosed Celestial Dragon and a few so-called guards.
After all, not every CP agent was a CP0 agent, nor was every agent someone like the Chameleon or Rob Lucci from his memories of the future.
Whether it was the Celestial Dragon's inspection tour of the Goa Kingdom in the East Blue or the one who fell into Fish-Man Island, the protective forces accompanying them had no reason to be capable of easily abducting someone of the Revolutionary Army's Eastern Army.
Unless she hadn't resisted.
But the Revolutionary Army's natural stance made such a situation impossible.
There was also that so-called experiment, the experiment that eventually caused Ginny to contract the incurable disease known as Sapphire Scale Disease.
There were still far too many hidden details surrounding it.
And to prevent that tragedy from happening, after obtaining the Flying Thunder God Technique and returning to the Sorbet Kingdom, Rowan had left a spatial marker on the back of Ginny's neck.
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