"…How do we join the New Marine?"
Dragon's voice, though barely a whisper, was trembling with a raw, desperate excitement.
He raised his head, his gaze burning, fixed on Kuma as if he were a prophet.
Behind him, the Revolutionary Army commanders—hardened veterans who had seen the world's worst and still fought on—stood with their jaws on the floor.
They looked as if they'd been struck by lightning, which, given Enel's new allegiance, was a non-zero possibility in this new world.
All they'd seen was their supreme commander, the most wanted, most enigmatic man in the world, take a document from their long-lost comrade.
He'd started reading.
And then… he'd just… snapped.
One second, he was the composed, strategic, and untouchable leader of the revolution.
The next, he was like a giddy convert, urgently, eagerly asking how to join the enemy!
"Dragon?!"
"Join the Marines?!"
The cadres exclaimed, their voices a mixture of shock, horror, and profound confusion.
They were the Revolutionary Army!
The literal, textbook definition of "anti-government"!
Their entire life's purpose was to overthrow the World Government, and by extension, its primary enforcers, the Marines!
How could they join them?
Wasn't that just walking gleefully into a trap?
Wasn't that a betrayal of everything they had ever fought and bled for?
"..."
Dragon felt the barrage of questioning, disbelieving gazes like physical needles on his back.
He knew his sudden, uncharacteristic outburst must have short-circuited the minds of his most loyal followers.
He took a deep breath, forcing his voice to remain as calm as possible as he suppressed the typhoon of emotions raging in his heart.
"Take a look at this document. It will answer all of your doubts."
He handed the thick, classified manifesto—New Marine Development Outline and Future Strategic Plan (Top Secret)—to his bewildered commanders.
Skeptical, wary, but consumed by curiosity, they took the document and began to pass it around, their heads huddled together as they read.
A heavy, electric silence filled the room.
The only sound was the rustling of pages being flipped with increasing, frantic speed.
Eyebrows furrowed. Jaws tightened. And then, breathing grew ragged.
"This… this is…"
"Supreme Commander… is everything written in here real?!" one of them finally choked out, his voice a disbelieving rasp.
"'Liberate all of humanity'? 'Eliminate the Celestial Dragons'?! 'Build a new world without oppression, without exploitation, where everyone is equal'?!"
"This… this is even more ambitious, more thorough, than our own ideals!"
"If this can really be achieved… why the hell would we even need a revolution?! We should just join them!"
"Let me see! Let me see!"
"Stop grabbing! My god… this is unbelievable!"
"Military, civil affairs, education, finance, and coordination…" another commander, one known for his strategic mind, murmured in awe.
"The five departments have such clear divisions of labor… this organizational structure is far more refined, more practical, than our own!"
"And this 'Deep-Sea Gold Rush Project'… 'Universal Welfare Guarantees'…"
"But the goal! The ultimate goal is to eliminate the Celestial Dragons?!"
"Is this really something the Marines proposed?!"
"I understand now!" a female commander cried out, her eyes shining with tears of sudden, dawning hope.
"I finally understand why the Commander-in-Chief was so excited! This… this manifesto is the true revolutionary doctrine! Compared to this, everything we've been doing… it feels like child's play!"
"Who? Who could have written this magnificent plan?"
"Isn't there a signature right there, you idiot?!"
"It was... 'dictated by the supreme leader of the New Marine—Mike-san—and transcribed by his executive secretary, Kuro'…"
"Mike…"
"Isn't that…"
The cadres all exchanged a look of profound, collective shock.
They all knew the name.
The man who had plunged their entire organization into a forced, fearful silence.
The ghost who had one-shot their leader.
Back then, he was just some unknown, lazy Marine Captain.
In such a short, impossible span of time, he had quietly turned the entire Marine force against its masters and drafted a plan to remake the world?
"..."
The emotional state of the Revolutionary Army commanders was a rollercoaster that had gone completely off the rails.
Like Dragon moments before, they all turned their wide, desperate, and hopeful eyes to Kuma.
Kuma, please, give us a straight answer! How do we join?! We're really, really eager to know!
"..."
Kuma watched them, his impassive face hiding a quiet sigh of profound relief.
This was the best possible outcome.
He truly didn't want to raise his hand against his old comrades.
And he knew, with an absolute certainty, that in the new era, there would only be one voice, one power, on the seas: the New Marine.
"Dragon," Kuma turned to his former leader and slowly, meaningfully, extended his large, gloved hand.
"Welcome aboard."
Clap—
Their hands clasped firmly, sealing the pact. In that moment, the Revolutionary Army was officially renamed, absorbed, and reborn.
It was now the New Revolutionary Army, a subordinate, clandestine force of the New Marine.
...
Shortly after, Dragon led Kuma into Baltigo's inner sanctum, the deep-earth conference room.
Kuma then poured out everything he knew, holding nothing back.
And the shocks just kept coming.
"What?! Whitebeard leading his entire crew to join the New Marine—that's actually true?!" Dragon lost his composure again, his voice cracking.
This news was, in some ways, even more earth-shattering than the Marines' own rebellion.
Whitebeard, the legend, the "Strongest Man in the World," had bent the knee.
"And not just that…"
Dragon shot to his feet, his mind reeling as Kuma continued.
"The New Marine is also planning to use the Beasts Pirates—led by KAIDO—as a sacrificial offering?!"
He began to pace the room, his long cloak swirling.
"And all the legendary pirates of the old era—Golden Lion, Bullet, Redfield… is on their purge list?!"
"What a bold move! What an absolutely, terrifyingly bold move!" Dragon's mind, one of the world's great strategic instruments, was racing, connecting the dots with a mixture of awe and fear.
The New Marine's actions were pure, brilliant, psychological warfare.
Publicly execute the old legends, the ones who were already rotting in Impel Down.
Publicly annihilate one of the current Four Emperors, Kaido.
Publicly absorb another of the Four Emperors, Whitebeard.
In a series of swift, brutal, and globally-broadcasted actions, the New Marine would effectively neuter the entire concept of piracy in less than a month.
'Think you can hide after committing crimes?' Dragon thought, his heart pounding.
'Sorry, even the legends of Level 6 are facing execution. Think you can become the new Pirate King? Do you have the strength of an Emperor? Oh, you do? That's a shame, because we eat Emperors for breakfast.'
After this, the New Marine would march into the New World, where Akainu's new army would sweep through the remaining, now-terrified, Big Mom and Red-Haired Pirates.
"This… is this the power of the New Marine?" Dragon whispered, stopping in his tracks.
"They don't just act… they end things. They are completely reshaping the landscape of the seas."
He turned, his gaze burning as he stared at Kuma.
"Kuma… in this event, this grand, world-ending parade…"
"What does the New Revolutionary Army need to do?"