...
In the light screen, Zephyr's declaration of "destroy ONE PIECE, end the Great Pirate Era" landed like a heavy boulder in the hearts of everyone watching in God Valley.
The question he posed—"Did ONE PIECE come first, or did pirates?"—
felt more like a sharp scalpel, attempting to dissect the most fundamental contradiction of this era.
"This guy Zephyr… is far more extreme than that Akainu Sakazuki."
Golden Lion Shiki glanced at Zephyr not far away, stroking his chin with a tone laced with amusement.
He hadn't expected the other to be so ferocious in the future—utterly insane!
"That Sakazuki guy may preach absolute justice and exterminate pirates without mercy, but at least his goal can still be considered protective.
But the future Zephyr? He's straight-up trying to flip the entire table!"
Whitebeard Edward Newgate remained silent. He had witnessed too many tragedies caused by pirates.
He deeply understood the dual nature of pirates: the romance of pursuing freedom and dreams on one side, and the brutal reality of killing, looting, and destruction on the other.
He could understand Zephyr's pain and extremism, but he could not agree with his method of destroying everything.
Roger and Rocks exchanged a glance, both seeing complex emotions in each other's eyes.
In a certain sense, the two of them were key figures who had ignited the flames of the "Great Pirate Era." Roger was the direct announcer, while Rocks was the practitioner of the ideology and an even greater ambitious schemer…
They could not deny that countless people had lost their homes and families chasing "ONE PIECE" and the pirate dream. The chaos and bloodshed of the seas were inextricably linked to their names.
Those pirates with no bottom line, who committed violence purely for desire, were indeed as common as locusts on these seas.
"The existence of pirates is inherently a gray zone between chaos and order."
Sengoku said in a low voice to Garp and Tsuru beside him, his tone filled with deep helplessness: "The World Government… or rather, the Celestial Dragons, have always had a subtle attitude toward pirates.
On one hand, they need the Marines to suppress them to demonstrate their ruling power and collect protection fees from allied nations. On the other, a moderate level of chaos and threat makes those kingdoms even more dependent on the World Government, solidifying its authority.
If one day pirates were truly eradicated completely…"
He didn't finish, but the implication was clear: at that point, the World Government itself might become the greatest dangerous organization.
Tsuru looked coldly at the light screen, scanning the pirates opposite her—each with their own fierce, demonic appearances—and spoke like ice: "There may be pirates who advocate adventure and the pursuit of dreams.
But far more are greedy, brutal villains who treat human lives like grass!
Bad pirates will always outnumber good ones—that's an undeniable fact! The tragedies Zephyr saw are just the tip of the iceberg in this blood-soaked sea!"
Tsuru's words resonated deeply with many Marine officers and drew indignant or mocking expressions from quite a few pirates.
Just as everyone was thrown into turmoil by Zephyr's ideology and the real-world problem of pirates, the light screen switched again, shifting the perspective to Marine Headquarters and revealing more shocking inside details about Zephyr's past.
The scene was the New Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral's office. The atmosphere was so heavy it felt like water could drip from it.
Now Fleet Admiral, with the justice cape draped over his shoulders, Sakazuki stood before the massive floor-to-ceiling window, facing a group of high-ranking officers in the room.
Sakazuki's face was ashen, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. Wisps of black smoke nearly escaped from the corners of his tightly pursed mouth as the Magma-Magma Fruit's power threatened to slip out of control.
He spun around abruptly, his sharp gaze sweeping over the officers in the room—many familiar faces: Doberman, Onigumo, Strawberry, Momonga…
These current pillars of the Marines all wore expressions of disbelief, heartache, and heavy contradiction.
"Although… we all once received so much guidance from him,"
Sakazuki's voice was low and powerful, breaking the oppressive silence: "He taught us how to fight, instilled in us the concept of justice. But!"
Sakazuki slammed his fist onto the desk with sudden force. The sturdy office desk immediately bore a blackened, sunken crater.
"We absolutely cannot allow him to continue acting so recklessly! His actions now seriously threaten the stability of the world and tarnish the justice of the Marines! He must be stopped!"
...…