Translator: PapaSmurf0700
"Please... don't kill me. I'll be good."
"I can be your dog. You can ride on my back. Just... please don't kill me."
"I'm very well-behaved. I eat very little. A single steamed bun a day is enough... no, just a bowl of water. Please... let me go..."
Wave after wave of desperate, broken pleas washed over the Marines. Two thousand freed slaves knelt before them, not in gratitude, but in abject terror. The explosive collars were gone. The chains on their wrists and ankles were gone. But the shackles on their souls remained. They didn't understand. They couldn't comprehend that they were free.
"I'm a Marine," a young sailor said, stepping forward to help a man who was banging his head against the stone ground. "You're free now. We're here to take you home."
But at his touch, the man recoiled in even greater fear, his kowtowing becoming frantic, desperate thuds. "I know you're the Navy! You're the ones who sent me to that place! Don't worry, I won't run away. I'll be a good slave, I promise. Just... please..."
A dead silence fell over the assembled naval officers. Even hardened Vice-Admirals had to turn their heads away, unable to stomach the sight. A single, damning question echoed in the minds of every Marine present: We are the symbol of justice... so why do they look at us like we're monsters?
-----
Far away, in the royal palace of Alabasta, former King Nefertari Cobra watched the same gut-wrenching scene on a broadcast screen. A heavy sigh escaped his lips. "The sacrifice of the few for the safety of the many," he murmured, the old, bitter justification tasting like ash in his mouth.
"I will never let a tragedy like that happen again, father," Vivi said, turning from the screen to face him. Her eyes, once filled with youthful hope, now burned with cold, hard resolve. "The Nefertari ancestors chose to forsake their status as Celestial Dragons and live among the people. They would understand my decision now."
Her voice was steel. "It is time for a change. Not just in Alabasta. In the entire world."
-----
Back on the Sabaody Archipelago, in front of the Celestial Dragons' residence, Admiral Kizaru waited. And waited. He'd been ordered to facilitate the transfer of the freed slaves, but no one came to meet him. The message was clear. The so-called descendants of the Creators were displeased. And when they were unhappy, they could ignore an Admiral of the Navy. It was their privilege.
"Admiral Kizaru, our orders..." a subordinate prompted.
Kizaru knew he couldn't afford to be lazy now. Not with Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself watching this unfold. He made a decision.
"Calm these people down," he ordered, his voice losing its usual drawl for a sharper edge. "Use whatever means necessary, but get them aboard the warships as quickly as possible. Be gentle. Arrange for medics to give them immediate treatment. Full examinations will be conducted once we reach Marineford. And watch your attitude. I will not tolerate any sign of irritation from any of you."
How could they feel irritated? Even the men in Kizaru's neutral faction wore the uniform of the Navy. A sense of justice was beaten into them from day one. Facing these broken people, all they felt was a profound, soul-crushing shame.
The young sailor who had tried to help the kowtowing man was now openly weeping. He carefully lifted the slave to his feet, his voice choked with sobs. "It's alright. It's really alright. You are free now. I swear to you, the Navy will never abandon you again."
What is justice? The question burned in their minds. For years, they had told themselves that some sacrifices were necessary for the greater peace. But now, seeing the faces of those they had "sacrificed," the excuse shattered. Can a life truly be measured by numbers? Is the Navy truly an instrument of justice, or just a tool for the powerful?
-----
Just as the global audience felt they could bear no more of the tragedy, the live broadcast screen flickered and changed. The scene that appeared was one of terrifying spectacle.
Marineford. The headquarters of the World Government's most powerful military force.
In the massive, crescent-shaped harbor, a vast plaza was filled with a hundred thousand elite Marines, a sea of white uniforms standing in perfect, silent formation. They faced the camera, their faces emotionless stone. Towering among them were the giants of the Vice-Admiral corps. Vice-Admiral Yamakaji stared straight ahead, while the scar-faced Vice-Admiral Doberman radiated pure menace. They had all seen the broadcast from Mary Geoise, but there was no room for hesitation now.
Today, a war would begin here. A war the entire world would watch. The Navy versus the Whitebeard Pirates, one of the Four Emperors, with the upstart Straw Hat Pirates throwing fuel on the fire. And who knew what other monsters this conflict would draw from the abyss?
In a war of this scale, no one, not even these elites, was guaranteed to survive. But so what? They were Marines. They were warriors born to sacrifice themselves for their ideal of justice. They would die here with no regrets.
This collective resolve, this unified fighting spirit, coalesced into a palpable aura of power that shot into the heavens, physically tearing apart the dark clouds that loomed over Marineford.
Watching from afar, Eustass Kid threw back his head and laughed like a maniac. "Hahaha! Now that's a fucking terrifying sight!"
"If I had an army like that," Capone "Gang" Bege mused, the old mob boss in him fantasizing, "I wouldn't fear any man in the New World."
As the Navy's morale reached its zenith, five new figures appeared on the broadcast.
"The Seven Warlords of the Sea! They're here!" a voice from the crowd of viewers shouted.
"Pirates recognized by the government! They have a legal right to plunder!"
"Bah! Fucking hypocrites!" another voice spat in disgust. "The Navy screams about the evils of piracy, but when the chips are down, they call on other pirates to save their asses!"
The scene was undeniably ironic. The world's primary force against piracy was now standing shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the most infamous pirates on the seas, preparing to fight alongside them. For many watching, any claim the Navy had to absolute justice died in that moment.
But no matter what the world thought, the five figures had taken their place on the stage of war.