Under Sengoku's strong insistence, Jake slowly walked from below the stage to stand beside him under everyone's watchful eyes.
Looking at the handsome, vibrant young man beside him, Sengoku's face showed an indescribable satisfaction.
Then he made a move that shocked everyone present.
Sengoku actually took a slight step back, leaving the entire speaking platform to Jake.
Witnessing this scene, no one present could help but feel both astonished and excited.
There was only one meaning behind Sengoku's action!
That on the future seas, there would be—and could only be—one rising star.
No, perhaps "rising star" would no longer suffice to describe Jake's upcoming prominence.
He would be the sole sun among the new generation!
When Jake fully matured, his radiance would eclipse the entire night sky.
Whether stars or moon, all other lights would pale like fireflies before that blazing sun!
At this point, Jake showed no trace of stage fright or hesitation.
He needed to demonstrate his determination here, to give assurances to the media and public, and to leave an impression of capability with the Marine higher-ups.
Under everyone's gaze, Jake stepped up to where Sengoku had stood moments before.
Taking a deep breath, he addressed the assembled crowd.
"I understand many of you may not know me well—perhaps you've only seen me once in the newspapers, leaving little impression. I'm aware of the concerns and doubts about me leading this major cleanup operation. I know all these things. But allow me to introduce myself properly."
"My name is Jake. Just a few months ago, I was an ordinary person—exactly like everyone here today. No extraordinary strength, no powerful background. Just a commoner barely scraping by, gathering herbs in the mountains each day."
"Life was hard, but manageable—until slavers raided my village. I was captured, taken to a kingdom in the North Blue, destined to be sold as merchandise. Worse still, I likely wouldn't have gone to some wealthy buyer, but become an organ donor for one."
At this point, the audience looked at Jake with disbelief, as if struggling to accept his words.
After all, it was only natural.
Who could have imagined that someone who might become the future Fleet Admiral of the Marines was just an ordinary slave a few months ago?
Even if you were making up a story, it would need to be somewhat believable!
Jake could naturally guess what everyone was thinking at this moment.
He didn't rush to argue but simply continued.
"I spent a long time in that dungeon. I saw, even personally experienced, the immense suffering and despair faced by those who were abducted and sold. To this day, I still remember that over seven days, I was only given two small pieces of black bread, each about the width of three fingers. The bread was covered in mold and so hard that I couldn't even bite through it."
"When eating that bread, I had to tear off a tiny piece and hold it in my mouth, letting my saliva soften it. But even then, as it passed down my throat, it felt like shards of glass tearing through me."
"After just a few bites, you'd start coughing up blood. The hard bread would cut your mouth and throat, but you had to eat quickly—because that was all the food you had. If you didn't eat, no one would care if you died in that cell."
"The place we lived in was a cell no bigger than ten square meters, crammed with over a dozen, sometimes twenty people…"
Jake spoke at length, observing the audience gradually absorbing his words.
He knew the first step of his speech—establishing trust—had been achieved.
Now, he needed to tell them what he intended to do and how.
"The moment T-Bone saved me, I felt only one thing—that I had survived. That I had crawled out of that abyss. The joy and relief of escaping death cannot be put into words. I still remember how T-Bone's Justice Cape seemed to glow under the warship's lights behind him."
"And it was that very sight that made me want to join the Marines—to save more people who had suffered like me."
"I've often wondered: What if I had never met T-Bone? What if no one from the Marines had come to save me? What would my fate be now? A rotting corpse in some ditch, half-eaten by maggots? Or perhaps a supplier of organs for some nobleman? Worse yet, maybe I'd have been sold to a noble with… particular tastes, to be tortured for their amusement."
Everything Jake said was true—every word drawn from his own experiences, without a shred of fabrication.
Only this kind of raw honesty could immerse his listeners, making them understand that Jake was no privileged official's son here just to polish his reputation.
"I've lived through it. I nearly died because of human trafficking. And because of that, I hate slave traders more than anyone. I despise those scum who destroy even the smallest happiness in people's lives! And because T-Bone—because the Marines—saved me, I revere those words the Marine carries more than anyone else: Justice."
"And this justice—I understand its meaning and the hope it brings to ordinary people better than anyone. But now, there are those who dare trample upon our hope and justice?! They seek to grind into the dirt and defile the hope forged by the blood and sacrifice of countless Marines with their filthy, selfish desires?! I will never allow such a thing to happen again within our ranks!"
"I know these words might sound like empty rhetoric to some of you, but I want you to know this—every time I put myself back in that moment, one image flashes through my mind: if the Marines I had placed all my faith in back then had turned out to be in league with those human traffickers behind me, how utterly despairing would I have been?!"
"I have weathered the storm and felt the sun's warmth. I know there are still countless others caught in the rain. I don't want to hold an umbrella for each of them—I want them to see the sun!"
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