"We will be the first to do it."
"To burn away all the unreasonable things in this world."
"A new world, a new government."
"Even centuries from now, as the founders of this new government, we will be remembered."
"You will be the example in the history books."
"Every newborn, once they start school, will study history."
"They will open the books and see the photos."
"Hmm..."
"World Federation Government's strongest force, Bullet..."
"World Federation Government's strongest force, Enel..."
"What do you think?"
Bullet grinned.
"That sounds pretty good."
Enel chuckled.
"Indeed."
"And what about you, old man?"
Sakazuki stared at the screen with a faint, shadowy look, then suddenly smiled.
"Dictator... Tyrant..."
Doesn't matter...
...
Twin Capes, by the lighthouse.
Inside the stomach of the whale Laboon.
Crocus lay on a sun chair, reading the newspaper.
Rustle—
His expression froze.
"Hmm?"
After carefully reading it several times, he sighed.
"Another old friend has passed away..."
"Roger..."
For Crocus, the deaths of these friends brought a sense of grief and sympathy.
The world was changing too quickly. Roger probably hadn't expected this either.
It had only been a few years since the crew disbanded, and almost all members were wiped out.
Even Tom the shipwright wasn't spared... truly...
"Only Shanks and Buggy are left..."
Boom! Boom!
The ground shook violently.
Crocus slowly got up.
"It's starting again... Laboon."
He went to prepare the tranquilizer...
...
Grand Line.
On the island known as the "Island of White Soil," Baltigo.
Yellow sand filled the air, endlessly blowing across the island. The harsh environment left it nearly deserted.
Even among the Revolutionary Army, only a few knew this place existed.
This was the true headquarters of the Revolutionary Army.
Fish-Man Karate master Hack, a close friend of current Warlord Jinbe, was outside the base, training future Revolutionary Army warriors.
A group of children was practicing under Hack's instructions.
"Lower your center of gravity."
"If you don't have talent or strength, staying here means nothing. Got it?"
"What you're going to do in the future will affect the course of the world. You can't allow even a moment of slackness."
"Understood?!"
The group of training kids, drenched in sweat, shouted,
"Understood!!!"
The amnesiac-free Sabo was clearly much more serious than in the original story, training with twice the effort.
Beside him was Koala, the girl once escorted home by the Sun Pirates...
Somehow, she had appeared here and joined the Revolutionary Army.
Inside the secret base's main hall.
Various documents covered the walls. Meetings and strategy discussions happened constantly.
After years of growth, the Revolutionary Army's power in the shadows had reached an incredible scale.
With its intelligence network already in place,
Dragon worked tirelessly, keeping track of the bigger picture.
He analyzed from a global perspective, deciding where to expand next, what talents to recruit.
But the more they moved, the more visible they became.
Even the arrogant World Government had recently begun targeting the Revolutionary Army.
And Dragon, instead of retaliating, quietly built up his strength.
At this moment, a scout, who had slipped past Hack, ran in, visibly shaken.
"Big news!!!"
Everyone in the hall, including Dragon, stopped and turned to him.
The scout glanced outside at Hack, then lowered his voice.
"Queen Otohime of Fish-Man Island! Assassinated!!!"
Everyone in the hall was stunned.
"What?!"
"Who did it?!"
"Pirates?!"
"How could this happen?!"
The Revolutionary Army, having grown so much, had already gathered tons of intelligence.
And Queen Otohime, who had devoted years to fighting for peace between Fish-Men and humans, was one of their best potential allies. Even Dragon had praised her efforts.
But before they could even expand into the Grand Line, this happened...
Dragon, after the initial shock, calmed down.
"A pity..."
The scout looked at Dragon and asked,
"Should we tell Hack-san about this? After all... she was the queen of the Fish-Men."
Dragon slowly nodded.
"Tell him. There's no hiding this."
"Sigh..."
The scout straightened, voice serious.
"Yes, sir!"
Moments later... outside the door.
Hack's furious, grief-stricken roar shook the air.
"What?!!!"
"Impossible!"
"This has to be fake!!!"
"Where's Jinbe?! Damn it!!!"
Bang—
The door was kicked open.
Hack, eyes red and full of tears, charged inside.
"Where's the Den Den Mushi?!!!"
He had to ask Jinbe! Why was the queen dead?! What had he been doing?!!!
...
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office.
Fleet Admiral Kong sat leisurely on the sofa, sipping tea.
He was about to retire, handing power over to Sengoku to get used to things.
Meanwhile, Sengoku sat at the desk, rubbing his temples as he signed paperwork, day after day...
It was endless!!!
Clack—
Putting down the pen, Sengoku massaged his temples.
"Now I get why you used to rub your temples so much."
"This is... such a headache."
Kong laughed.
"Every day will be like this now. Better get used to it."
"Ha ha ha ha ha."
Sengoku sighed.
"Got it."
Rustle—
The door opened, and Sakazuki walked in.
He glanced at Sengoku rubbing his temples and smirked.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
"What mission is it this time?"
Sengoku gave a bitter smile, gesturing for Sakazuki to sit.
Kong, on the sofa, patted the empty seat beside him.
Sakazuki walked over and sat down.
"Fleet Admiral, you're retiring already?"
Kong grinned.
"Another twenty years to go."
"Ha ha ha ha."
Sengoku pulled out a document.
"This is from the World Government."
"About the Revolutionary Army."
Sakazuki frowned slightly.
"The Revolutionary Army?"
Sengoku nodded.
"Yes."
"A rising power on the seas, growing in secret."
"According to the Government's intel, they've infiltrated many countries."
"It's getting hard to control."
"This time, CP has identified a high-ranking Revolutionary Army officer."
"They plan to capture him. Absolutely must not let him escape."
"Just in case, they want you to assist."
"Even if you have to kill him, bring back the body. He must not escape."
Sakazuki nodded.
"I see..."
"Got the intel? I'll leave immediately."
Sengoku nodded.
"Here."
He handed over a stack of documents.
Sakazuki stood, took them, and glanced through.
"Ivankov, huh..."
-----------
The fanfic is Finished on p@treon/tambeerg. 414 chapters in total