Next Bonus, 100!!
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Bullet slowly rose from the pulverized ruins. The combat power he had honed in the pitch-black abyss of Impel Down firmly placed him in the tier of a 'Low Yonko'.
In Stampede, he had demonstrated the horrifying capacity to utterly crush a combined assault from the Supernovas and Warlords without breaking a sweat.
His only real flaw was the clumsy, inefficient application of his Clank-Clank Fruit awakening, which created massive vulnerabilities that were eventually exploited by coordinated, high-powered attacks.
Ultimately, it was Luffy's 'talk no jutsu' and narrative armor that secured his defeat. Without it, Bullet in his 'Demon Form' was an almost insurmountable wall.
Garp was undeniably a powerhouse. But taking down Douglas Bullet with a single punch? That was impossible.
Bullet wiped the blood from his chin and threw his head back, letting out a manic, booming laugh. "Hahahaha! Garp! Yes! This is exactly it! This is what makes it fun!"
"If I kill you..."
"It proves I'm stronger than Roger ever was!"
Bullet was, without a doubt, a combat genius.
He hungered for battle. He craved destruction.
Above all else, he harbored a psychotic obsession with surpassing Roger's legacy.
Roger was dead.
Therefore, slaughtering Garp—the man who had hunted Roger across the seas for decades—was the ultimate opportunity to prove his absolute superiority.
"A real man fights like a beast! So come on! Let's tear each other apart!"
—————————
WHOOSH...
A biting, fierce wind swept across the harbor!
Monkey D. Dragon, Supreme Commander of the Revolutionary Army, arrived with his fleet, accompanied by an elite strike force from the Winter Blossom Kingdom led by Van Augur.
Fujitora, Wilson, and several other key commanders had remained behind. Their orders were to garrison the Winter Blossom Kingdom's core territories and maintain an absolute defense against any opportunistic attacks.
Furthermore...
This battle wasn't the endgame.
It was merely the opening salvo of a global conflict.
Jin was deliberately conserving his elite forces.
As for the philosophy that 'one cannot grow without experiencing battle'... that only applied to fights between relatively equal opponents.
On a battlefield of this magnitude...
Deploying average soldiers was completely pointless.
They would simply be slaughtered.
The force Van Augur commanded consisted solely of hand-picked, elite operatives.
The same applied to the Revolutionary Army. They had only deployed their Army Commanders, high-ranking executives, and seasoned veterans.
Why was Van Augur leading the Winter Blossom forces instead of the vastly more powerful Fujitora?
It was simple.
Effective leadership required putting the right person in the right role.
Based on his established personality, Fujitora was fundamentally unsuited for offensive, invasive warfare. He excelled at defense.
He possessed a deep, unwavering compassion and an overwhelming sense of responsibility. When tasked with protecting a nation and its citizens, no one would fight harder.
But if ordered to lead an aggressive assault on foreign soil, he would inevitably hesitate, his conscience burdened by the potential civilian casualties. While his compassion wasn't inherently wrong...
In war, mercy alone doesn't win battles.
"Dragon! Kuma! You made it!"
Ivankov's face lit up with absolute joy as he enthusiastically greeted his oldest comrades.
Dragon offered a solemn nod.
Kuma looked down at his old friend. "Ivankov. I'm glad you finally made it out."
Decades ago, Kuma and Ivankov had both been slaves forced to participate in the horrific God Valley hunting tournament. During the chaos, they had managed to secure several Devil Fruits.
The Paw-Paw Fruit and the Horm-Horm Fruit were two of them.
It was Ivankov who had insisted Kuma eat the Paw-Paw Fruit, granting him the power that had shaped his entire life. It was a profound debt.
And Bartholomew Kuma was a man who never forgot a debt of gratitude.
Inazuma looked around, a hint of confusion in his dual-toned voice. "Supreme Commander... are we truly initiating an all-out war with the Marines?"
Dragon gave a slow, definitive nod. "The Marines represent the primary military enforcement arm of the World Government. Crippling them here holds immense, unparalleled strategic significance."
Thanks to Jin 'accelerating' the timeline, the simmering conflict between the Revolutionary Army and the World Government had violently boiled over much earlier than in the original history.
The 'Counter-Terrorism Squad' established by the World Government had committed unspeakable atrocities across the globe, specifically targeting the families and loved ones of suspected revolutionaries.
Fueled by these escalating horrors, the Revolutionary Army had naturally adopted a far more aggressive, militant stance. Their hatred for the World Government had reached an absolute boiling point.
Therefore, when Jin had proposed his plan to 'knock out the tiger's teeth' first...
Dragon had convened an emergency summit with the Revolutionary high command.
In the end...
The decision was unanimous.
They would strike during the Summit War.
Although Ivankov hadn't been privy to the intricate planning, he was no fool. In an instant, he could smell the apocalyptic storm brewing on the horizon.
If the combined forces of the Revolutionary Army and the Winter Blossom Kingdom could successfully crush Marine Headquarters... while the entire world watched it happen live...
What kind of catastrophic shockwave would that send across the globe?
Once the World Government lost its primary 'tiger fang'—no, even if it was just broken in half, leaving the Marines severely paralyzed...
Would the affiliated nations, who only bowed to the World Government out of fear, remain so 'obedient'?
Would Kaido, Big Mom, and the endless hordes of ambitious pirates seize the opportunity to launch massive territorial grabs, overthrowing countless island nations?
And what about the non-affiliated nations, who had been brutally oppressed for centuries? What would they do?
Chaos!
Absolute, unmitigated chaos!
Whether it was Sengoku, Garp, Whitebeard, Dragon, or Ivankov... anyone with a modicum of geopolitical awareness understood the terrifying reality.
If Marine Headquarters fell today, a massive, violent upheaval would sweep across the entire globe.
It would be a vortex that dragged every single living soul into its depths.
War!
A true World War!
Ivankov felt a jolt of alarm. He frowned deeply. "If we do this... the entire world will be engulfed in flames!"
"Dragon... are you absolutely sure about this?"
He felt a profound shift within the Revolutionary Army. They were significantly more radical, far more aggressive than when he had been imprisoned.
In the original timeline, the Revolutionary Army had generally maintained a more moderate approach. Their operations were typically surgically targeted at specific, tyrannical nobles or Celestial Dragons.
They rarely initiated direct, large-scale conflicts with the Marines.
But now...
Guided by Jin, their 'Life Mentor', the fundamental ideology of the Revolutionary Army had undergone a radical evolution.
Coupled with the relentless, brutal pursuit by the CIU and the escalating oppression of the World Government... they had changed.
Sabo stepped forward, his voice low and unwavering. "The World Government has ruled this world for eight hundred years. They have accumulated mountains of filth, corruption, and unspeakable atrocities!"
"Unless we initiate a violent, cleansing war to tear down that rotten foundation, the world will simply continue to repeat the exact same tragedies."
"A revolution is not a dinner party! It demands blood! It demands sacrifice!"
When the news of Ace's death reached him, the sheer emotional shock had violently shattered his amnesia, flooding his mind with the agonizing memories of his past.
Furthermore, the massacre of his comrades in Hannabal, and the countless revolutionaries brutally tortured and executed by the CIU...
Every single tragedy screamed of the World Government's absolute, irredeemable cruelty.
"And the Marines!"
"As the violent enforcers who constantly preach 'Justice' while actively upholding the World Government's decaying, tyrannical order... are they innocent?"
"They scream about Justice while actively shielding the ultimate Evil! By choosing to stand on the side of Evil, they have made themselves our enemies!"
Sabo was young. Naturally, his blood ran hotter, and his views were far more radical. He had easily and wholeheartedly embraced Jin's ideology.
Within the Revolutionary Army, he was one of the most ardent supporters of the 'Life Mentor.'
And he wasn't alone. There were many other young revolutionaries who shared his fire.
They were all deeply dissatisfied with the agonizingly slow pace of change.
They possessed an urgent, desperate desire to immediately alter their own circumstances and reshape the world.
This radical inclination was evident even in the original story.
For example, it was Sabo who eventually led the incredibly reckless infiltration of the Holy Land, coming face-to-face with the Five Elders and Imu...
It was also Sabo who constantly advocated for more aggressive, proactive strikes across the globe.
It was precisely this fiery drive that had propelled him to the position of Chief of Staff, the undisputed number two of the Revolutionary Army.
Compared to Dragon's stoic patience...
Sabo aggressively demanded immediate change.
"Crushing Marine Headquarters will undoubtedly plunge the world into a chaotic vortex of war," Kuma stated, his deep voice carrying a quiet, unshakeable conviction. "But... from that chaos, a new world can be born!"
"As the saying goes: there can be no construction without destruction. We must break the old to build the new! If we truly wish to establish a new order, this path is absolute and unavoidable!"
He was practically quoting Jin verbatim.
Ivankov stared at Kuma, completely dumbfounded.
Is this really the same gentle, passive man I used to know??
Since when did he become so militant?
Ivankov turned his gaze to Dragon.
Dragon offered a subtle nod, silently validating Kuma's words.
Dragon was intimately aware of the ideological shift sweeping through his ranks. Despite his initial reservations, he had eventually embraced Jin's philosophy.
And the results were undeniable. Despite suffering heavy losses, the Revolutionary Army had emerged from every conflict stronger and more resilient. The entire organization now pulsed with a vibrant, aggressive vitality.
This was something Dragon had never been able to achieve on his own. Constrained by his own background and the limitations of his era, he had often found himself waiting for the hand of fate to guide his next move.
He had been carefully navigating the river by feeling the stones, unsure of the path ahead or what the future held.
Jin was different. He was navigating by applying the historical precedents of an entirely different world, utilizing the proven strategies of successful revolutions to guide their course.
"All forces, advance! Press the attack! The first shot to topple the decaying reign of the World Government begins here, on this very battlefield!"
"FIGHT FOR FREEDOM!"
"FIGHT FOR PEACE!"
"LIBERATE THE WORLD!"
Belo Betty hoisted her massive flag high, screaming the battle cry. Activating the power of the Pump-Pump Fruit, she unleashed a roar that ignited a blazing fire in the hearts of every soldier present.
"CHARGE!"
"KILL THEM ALL!"
The Revolutionary Army surged forward, a tidal wave of righteous fury.
"Ah... the inescapable pull of destiny."
Van Augur leaped smoothly from the prow of his ship, leading the elite strike force of the Winter Blossom Kingdom toward the heart of the battlefield.
"Commence rolling bombardment. Target all concentrated Marine defensive positions!"
He gave the order with cold, clinical precision.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The heavy artillery mounted on the steam-powered warships roared to life. A relentless barrage of shells rained down on the most heavily fortified Marine sectors, blossoming into a terrifying sequence of explosive, fiery blooms.
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~ 70 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon
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