After Christian Raleigh's promotion ceremony as Fleet Admiral came to an end, Sakazuki, who was stationed at the front line between the Grand Line and the Four Blues, was the first to make his move.
"Admiral Sakazuki, everything is ready."
Sakazuki's adjutant had now been replaced by Miles, who held the rank of Rear Admiral.
Although Miles was only a Rear Admiral on paper, everyone knew he was Raleigh's disciple.
It was only that his second disciple, Belo Betty, remained unknown to outsiders.
Because of that, no one had any objections to Miles serving as Sakazuki's deputy.
For once, Sakazuki actually revealed a smile.
'Good.'
As expected, Raleigh truly was one of his own kind.
Only with Raleigh in power could Sakazuki's pursuit of justice be realized.
Although what he wanted most was still to fight pirates, after Raleigh analyzed the situation with him, he also understood that the matter of pirates had to be dealt with step by step.
The first step was absolute control over the route between the Grand Line and the Four Blues.
The first half of the Grand Line—Paradise—was already firmly in Marine hands.
Now, pirates almost never appeared there anymore.
The Four Blues contained an enormous population.
When Raleigh analyzed the matter with him, he once said that the masses were easily led.
If the Marines did not take the initiative to control such a vast force, then it would inevitably be controlled by someone else.
For example, the Four Blues had already been sealed off internally by the Revolutionary Army.
Although the pirates there had been transformed or absorbed by the Revolutionary Army, the Marines likewise could not obtain reinforcements from the Four Blues.
Sakazuki stood at the very front of the warship, his burning gaze fixed on the Calm Belt ahead.
"Set sail!"
Hundreds of warships of all sizes, centered around Sakazuki's flagship, plunged directly into the Calm Belt.
At the front of the fleet were elite Vice Admiral squadrons led by Doberman, Onigumo, Strawberry, and others.
They were responsible for dealing with the smaller Sea Kings that might suddenly appear.
After Sakazuki vanished into the Calm Belt, the eyes of the world focused on this region.
The Marines' advanced technology had not yet been revealed to the outside world. Most people believed this was a gamble with death.
Only the Marines themselves knew just how powerful their current technology had become.
...
After Sakazuki disappeared into the Calm Belt, the Revolutionary Army's upper ranks attached extreme importance to the matter.
Although they also believed that the price of crossing the Calm Belt would definitely not be small, they did not dare ignore the threat.
A large number of Revolutionary Army soldiers were deployed by Dragon around the edges of the Calm Belt, with more than a dozen regional commanders jointly responsible for defense.
One day.
Two days.
Three days.
A week passed, and the mood of the world's people began to change.
Even voices of doubt started to spread.
"Did they fail?"
"I told you, didn't I? The Calm Belt is not something humans can overcome."
"As expected, that idiot Fleet Admiral gave a stupid order and sent an Admiral and countless Marine soldiers to their deaths."
The pirates of the New World even held bonfire parties one after another in celebration.
Even within the Revolutionary Army, a trace of relaxation began to appear.
Inside the Sorbet Kingdom, Dragon frowned deeply.
He was not as optimistic as ordinary soldiers. He knew very well how strong the Marines were.
Neither Raleigh nor Sakazuki was an opponent to be taken lightly.
Moreover, the Marines still had Vegapunk.
If there was anyone in this world capable of developing technology to cross the Calm Belt, that person would undoubtedly be Vegapunk.
With that thought in mind, Dragon sent out an order to every regional commander, instructing them to remain on high alert.
However, once an order was passed down through the ranks, small changes always occurred along the way.
For example, the Revolutionary Army soldiers stationed at Senzo Port in the West Blue still maintained their routine of changing shifts and standing guard.
But mentally, they had already grown lax.
Late at night, a lightless ship, ghostlike in its silence, slipped out of the Calm Belt without a sound.
Sakazuki had been waiting inside the Calm Belt for one opportunity..... the instant the Revolutionary Army relaxed.
For this reason, Sakazuki, who had already arrived in the West Blue section of the Calm Belt, had remained in place for three full days.
During those three days, he was well aware of both the world's public opinion and the mood within the Marines.
What pleased him was that Raleigh still supported every decision he made, just as he always had, without ever asking for the reason.
Very soon, that ghost ship finished scouting the Revolutionary Army's defensive positions.
One elite Marine sharpshooter after another used high-precision rifles developed by Vegapunk to shoot the Revolutionary sentries from several hundred meters away.
After completing its mission, the ghost ship returned into the Calm Belt.
"Report, Admiral Sakazuki. Our unit has completed its mission and cleared the Revolutionary Army's outer sentry posts."
Sakazuki nodded.
Everything had gone exactly as he expected.
A careless enemy would never know that the reaper of slaughter often descended in the night.
A large number of warships silently appeared on the waters outside Senzo Port.
By the time the Revolutionary Army soldiers finally noticed them, many Marine soldiers had already begun landing.
"Enemy attack!"
A Revolutionary Army soldier desperately shouted, blowing the whistle in his hand with a shrill sound.
Bang!
With a gunshot, the Revolutionary soldier collapsed where he stood.
Even so, his mission could be considered complete.
He had awakened some of the Revolutionary Army soldiers who had remained highly alert.
Sakazuki glanced over indifferently.
From this moment on, there was no longer any need to hide the battle.
Once the Marines began landing, the Revolutionary Army soldiers had already lost.
"Kill!"
A thunderous wave of battle cries erupted.
Marine soldiers gripped their sabers and charged into the Revolutionary Army's living quarters like tigers descending a mountain.
The Revolutionary soldiers who had just woken up were weak in the limbs. Their weapons and equipment were still hanging on the walls.
Brave, battle-hardened Marine soldiers rushed in and began the slaughter.
The Revolutionary soldiers who stubbornly resisted or tried to flee were cut down on the spot. Those who saw the situation was hopeless and knelt on the ground to surrender were ignored by the Marine soldiers.
In the end, Revolutionary Army soldiers were different from pirates.
They were merely rebel civilians.
Even Sakazuki had not given an order to annihilate them all.
The regional commander of the Revolutionary Army, Rudolf Svenpon, tried to gather his soldiers and organize resistance, but Doberman immediately set his sights on him.
"Counterattack! Counterattack!"
Rudolf Svenpon gripped his long blade and roared frantically.
His appearance managed to bring the scattered Revolutionary soldiers together.
Many of them began slowly gathering around him.
"You are mine!"
With a loud shout, Doberman descended from the air, the saber in his hand cleaving mercilessly toward Rudolf Svenpon's face.