The first press conference of the New World Marine sent shockwaves across the entire globe.
In the past, while the Marines had always championed "Justice," they had remained willfully blind to the atrocities committed by the Celestial Dragons—one of the greatest evils in the world. Whenever questioned about the matter, they would deflect or change the subject; they simply refused to state what they would do if a Celestial Dragon committed a crime.
Today, however, Carina had provided a definitive answer.
That answer was simple: even the Celestial Dragons, should they dare to commit evil, would become targets of justice for the New World Marine.
Of course, most people did not truly grasp the deeper meaning behind Sean's decision to have Carina make such a declaration.
What did the Marine system look like now? To put it simply, it was a combination of the Old Headquarters Marine and the New World Marine. These two branches operated independently. The Old Headquarters Marine was responsible for the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line, known as Paradise. The New World Marine, meanwhile, was responsible for the second half of the Grand Line—the New World.
Furthermore, according to the official regulations, these two branches were prohibited from exercising jurisdiction over each other's territories. If this weren't the case, Vivi wouldn't have had to go through the trouble of returning to Alabasta to borrow troops just to launch a campaign against the Straw Hat Pirates.
This made the situation very interesting.
If one were to ask whether Sean actually moving against the Celestial Dragons would lead the World Government to team up with the three great Emperor fleets to wipe out the New World Marine, the answer was: yes, that was entirely possible.
However, according to Sean's plan, once his thirty thousand former Marines and nearly one hundred thousand new recruits finished their training—and once his mid-to-high-level officers had their strength vastly increased by consuming top-grade Sea King jerky for over a year—he was confident he could face the World Government and the three Emperors simultaneously.
So, why not wait a year until that goal was achieved before showing his fangs?
The truth was, Sean had no intention of touching the Celestial Dragons in the short term.
Which led to another question: if he wasn't going to act immediately, why make such a declaration? If he spoke the words but failed to act, wouldn't that only lead the common people to lose faith in the New World Marine?
This was precisely where Sean's brilliance lay.
In this day and age, Celestial Dragons rarely appeared in the New World. Where did they usually frequent? Paradise and the Four Seas, specifically the Sabaody Archipelago in Paradise.
This was where it got interesting.
Whenever a Celestial Dragon committed an atrocity, Sean would have Carina step forward to strongly condemn the act and urge the Old Headquarters Marine to immediately execute justice. After all, he was legally barred from enforcing the law across jurisdictional boundaries, wasn't he?
Now, imagine the position of the Old Headquarters Marine. Would Fleet Admiral Kizaru, Counselor Sengoku, Counselor Tsuru, Admiral Tokikake, or the various Vice Admirals dare to lay a hand on a Celestial Dragon?
If necessary, Sean could even have Carina publicly announce that the New World Marine was profoundly disappointed in the Old Headquarters Marine and had submitted a formal request for temporary cross-jurisdictional enforcement authority.
It was a masterstroke of psychological warfare.
The Old Headquarters Marine would never—and would never dare to—grant such a request. The inevitable result would be the complete disillusionment of the public toward the Old Headquarters Marine.
And it wasn't just the civilians. Within the Old Headquarters Marine itself, a vast number of Marines, including many low-to-mid-level officers, would become increasingly demoralized.
This was Sean's primary objective.
Once the three Emperors of the New World were dealt with, Sean's next targets would undoubtedly be the World Government, the Marines, and the Celestial Dragons. But at the end of the day, the Old Headquarters Marine were still his own people.
While the management was... problematic... there was no denying that the majority of the rank-and-file Marines possessed a heart of justice. It was simply that their justice had been suppressed, leaving them with no way to act upon it.
With all this groundwork laid, once Sean decided to enter Paradise, he would only need a few maneuvers to incite a mass defection among the rank-and-file of the Old Headquarters Marine. This would avoid unnecessary slaughter between fellow Marines and allow him to rapidly augment his strength by absorbing their numbers.
When Sean first proposed this plan during the New World Marine Admiral meeting, the six Admirals had been completely stunned.
The way every piece of the puzzle fit together was nothing short of diabolical. Moreover, considering the nature of the leadership in the Old Headquarters Marine... they would likely follow Sean's lead, unwittingly playing their parts in his symphony of global revolution.
'''
The Holy Land.
Mary Geoise.
The Room of Authority.
At this moment, the Five Elders were frowning as they looked over the intelligence that had just arrived.
This matter... was too massive.
Yet, they found themselves in a difficult position. If it were anyone else, they might have ordered an immediate purge. But this person... happened to be Sean.
Although his true identity had not been fully confirmed, the Five Elders believed their suspicions were nearly certain, which was why they dared not act rashly. However, this incident involved the entire race of Celestial Dragons. Even if Lord Imu would later hand down a severe punishment for their inaction, they had to do something.
"An immediate purge?"
"That would be difficult. Even if we managed to take down the New World Marine, our own losses would be significant."
"Correct. If our own strength declines, it could trigger a larger crisis. We need to contact all available powers to act together and spread the losses—even the Revolutionary Army!"
"Speaking of which, isn't this a bit premature? We still don't know Sean's true intentions."
"He said it so explicitly; what else could his intention be?"
"But I still feel something is off. He must understand the consequences of moving against the Celestial Dragons. To do so before his strength is sufficient to suppress all other powers... Sean doesn't seem like such a foolish man."
"Hmm, it is indeed strange."
"Perhaps we should contact him to confirm?"
"I agree. If his identity... is not what we think it is, then that would be for the best."
"Seconded!"
The Five Elders quickly reached a consensus. They would seek a direct confirmation from Sean before deciding their next move. A single phone call wouldn't make a difference; if Sean truly intended to oppose the World Government, they would proceed as discussed and unite all forces to crush him.
'Purupurupuru...'
"This is Sean!"
"Sean, this is the Five Elders!"
"The Five Elders are contacting me directly? Is there something I can help you with?"
Hearing the polite tone in Sean's voice through the Den Den Mushi, the Five Elders were momentarily stunned.
He didn't sound like someone preparing to go to war with the World Government at all...
The Naval Air Force
"About that press conference you held yesterday... the spokesperson mentioned taking action against the Celestial Dragons."
"Oh, that," Sean replied nonchalantly. "That was just some empty boasting to win over public support for the New World Marines. After all, the New World Marines were just established; we had to stir up a bit of trouble to build some fame, right?"
"Empty boasting...?"
Hearing this, the expressions of the Five Elders turned strange.
Saying such a thing would certainly make the New World Marines famous overnight. However, the problem was...
"Sean, aren't you afraid that if a Celestial Dragon actually does something and you fail to act as promised, it will severely damage the reputation of the New World Marines?"
"I'll be fine. The Celestial Dragons rarely venture into the New World anyway. As for other regions, the New World Marines don't have cross-district jurisdiction, do we? So, that's Kizaru's problem, not mine!"
...
'Good grief, is that really his plan?'
'This kid is far too malicious.'
In other words, if the Celestial Dragons were capturing slaves in the Sabaody Archipelago or slaughtering innocent civilians, Sean could simply use the perfectly legitimate excuse of lacking cross-district jurisdiction to wash his hands of the whole thing.
Then, the public's ire would be focused entirely on Kizaru, while Sean remained untouched.
Although the five of them were cursing Sean as a little brat in their hearts, they simultaneously felt a sense of relief.
It seemed Sean wasn't planning to overthrow the World Government or target the Celestial Dragons as they had previously feared.
That was all that mattered!
As for his damn plans... let him do as he pleased. As long as the rule of the World Government was secured, who cared if he threw Kizaru under the bus?
After chatting for a few more minutes, the Five Elders hung up the call, feeling satisfied.
Meanwhile, a cold sneer played on Sean's lips.
"Five old fossils... just one year."
"Cherish these final moments while you can!"
'''
Three days later.
Sean held another press conference, where Carina announced a bombshell piece of news.
The New World Marines were establishing a brand-new branch: the Naval Air Force.
Despite a barrage of questions from reporters regarding the nature of this force, Carina refused to disclose further details, citing military secrets.
At the same time, Sean was inside the research facility at Headquarters, gazing at a biplane that looked like an antique.
Of course, the word "antique" only applied from Sean's perspective. To everyone else, it was far from it.
This was their first time encountering a true aircraft; everything about it was mesmerizingly novel.
A Marine, who had undergone over ten days of training under Retes and the others, climbed the ladder and settled into the cockpit.
A moment later, with the assistance of two other Marines, the propeller at the nose... began to spin.