Under Rōmu's control, the massive red flower beneath him slowly rose higher.
Against the enormous green wall of vines, the crimson blossom looked strangely ominous.
At that moment—
Rōmu stood at the center of the flower with his hands behind his back.
His posture carried the arrogance of someone who looked down upon the world itself.
Even without anger, his presence alone commanded awe.
Looking down at the tens of thousands gathered below, Rōmu's calm yet powerful voice echoed across Marineford.
He had no intention of revealing only the matter of the Thirteen Purple-Gold Kings.
He would expose everything.
As each word left his mouth, the expressions of the Marines, pirates, and viewers watching the broadcast slowly began to change.
Following the timeline of the God Valley Incident, the first truth Rōmu revealed to the world—
was the crime of the Celestial Dragons.
He told them how, right in front of those Marine officers,
the Celestial Dragons had sacrificed young girls alive.
Burned alive as offerings—
all to please some so-called creator god.
When Rōmu reached this part of the story, he paused.
For a moment—
the entire world fell silent.
Marines.
Pirates.
And the countless viewers watching the broadcast.
Everyone froze.
Living human beings—
treated like livestock and burned alive as sacrifices to a nonexistent deity.
The cruelty of it was unimaginable.
But the most infuriating part was this:
The Marine officers present at the time had simply stood by and watched.
"This is monstrous!"
"They burned those girls alive as sacrifices?!"
"That's how Celestial Dragons have always behaved—cruel beyond reason!"
"But what about the Marines? They just watched those girls get dragged to the altar!"
"What kind of justice is that?!"
"So the Navy really is just the Celestial Dragons' lapdogs!"
"Exactly! If they didn't even try to stop something like that, how can they claim justice?!"
"Justice like that is terrifying…"
Across the world, the viewers watching the broadcast reacted with outrage.
No one doubted Rōmu's words.
After all, the cruelty of the Celestial Dragons was already well known.
But what angered them even more—
was the behavior of the Marines.
Wearing the cloak of justice,
yet acting only to serve the Celestial Dragons.
Watching innocent girls being dragged to their deaths—
without even attempting to intervene.
What kind of justice was that?
Some young girls watching the broadcast had already turned pale.
The Celestial Dragons still existed.
They had never disappeared.
And their cruelty had never changed.
Those girls couldn't help wondering—
would they one day become victims like the ones Rōmu described?
"Zehahahaha… how interesting."
Blackbeard Teach chuckled inwardly.
"People always say pirates are the cruel ones…"
"But compared to that?"
Even though he was currently one of the Seven Warlords, he kept his expression neutral.
Until the war was over, he wouldn't openly show disrespect toward the Marines.
But in his heart, he couldn't help mocking them.
And strangely—
he found himself admiring Rōmu more and more.
Just standing there, Rōmu radiated a presence that made others want to submit.
Blackbeard even felt that such a man—
would be the perfect subordinate in his future crew.
Of course, in Teach's mind,
he would one day surpass Rōmu himself.
On the execution platform, Ace listened silently.
After hearing about the Celestial Dragons' actions and the Marines' indifference,
his hatred toward the Navy's so-called justice only deepened.
At the same time, he felt more certain than ever that his choice—
to become a pirate—
had been the right one.
"Hahaha! This is hilarious!"
Floating in midair, Golden Lion Shiki burst into laughter.
"You actually revealed something like that!"
"You've completely exposed the Navy and the World Government!"
"How are they supposed to maintain their reputation now?"
"Let me guess—"
"They'll hide behind the word justice again, won't they?"
On the execution platform—
Sengoku and Kong's faces had already turned ashen.
There was no doubt about it.
Exposing such events publicly was equivalent to slapping the Navy across the face.
The concept of Marine justice—
had been torn apart by Rōmu's words.
The damage this caused was even greater than killing a Marine commander.
Among all the Marine leaders present,
only Garp seemed slightly different.
"Maybe…"
"Maybe letting something like this be exposed isn't entirely a bad thing…"
Garp muttered quietly to himself.
"Bullshit!"
Akainu roared angrily.
His magma body bubbled violently with heat.
"You're just a pirate!"
"What do you know about justice?!"
Akainu had also been present during the God Valley battle.
Yes—
the Celestial Dragons' actions had been cruel.
But so what?
Obeying the World Government was the Navy's duty.
Compared to the grand cause of justice,
those matters were insignificant in his eyes.
Yet even as Akainu shouted—
the public's perception of the Navy had already begun to change.
Even many Marines on the battlefield felt their hearts tremble.
Still gripping their weapons tightly,
they ignored Akainu's words and looked up at Rōmu.
They knew—
the story wasn't over yet.
There was more to the truth of the God Valley battle.
Feeling everyone's gaze upon him, Rōmu knew the moment had come.
Lowering his eyes slightly, he continued speaking calmly.
This time—
he revealed another shocking truth.
During the God Valley Incident—
the Marines had secretly allied with the Roger Pirates.
The moment those words fell—
the members of the Whitebeard Pirates, the Beasts Pirates, and the Flying Pirates were completely stunned.
Former Pirate King Gol D. Roger—
had actually joined forces with the Marines.
For pirates, that was almost an unforgivable stain.
After all—
many people had become pirates because of Roger's legendary declaration about the One Piece.
But even more people admired Roger himself.
The man who reached Laugh Tale.
The man who uncovered the truth of the Poneglyphs.
A man burdened with countless honors.
Yet now—
it turned out that he had once allied with the Navy
to destroy another pirate crew.
To many pirates…
that felt dangerously close to betrayal.
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