"World...Conscription?!"
Snapped!!!
A thick document was thrown viciously onto the brand new conference table, scattering black and white pages everywhere. The Five Elders gathered once again.
Recently, due to Marine affairs, they had met multiple times for frequent discussions.
Unexpectedly, Marine made another bold move.
This time, Marine submitted a unilateral application for world recruitment. Officially, it was an application, but it was actually just a notification, with no intention of consulting the Elders.
"Where are they getting their military funding?" Saint Saturn gritted his teeth, his face full of anger.
World military recruitment is not a simple matter. From the beginning of the selection process to the end, it consumes a lot of manpower, material resources, and financial resources.
Additionally, maintaining a large army will cost countless berries.
And now, Marine's funding supply had clearly been cut off!
"Is it the Soviet Chamber of Commerce?" The yellow-haired Five Elders Saint Ju Peter said with a gloomy expression.
He couldn't believe that this small chamber of commerce would betray them.
In their eyes, no matter how much wealth they possess, they are nothing but meat on the chopping block in front of the World Government, which controls absolute force and can manipulate them at will.
Therefore, they had never taken the Soviet Chamber of Commerce seriously.
"Golden Emperor-Tesoro, who gave him such courage? Even the world-circulating berries were issued by us. How dare they act so boldly?" Saint Nusjuro, holding a long sword, was full of murderous intent.
Among the five, he had the strongest murderous aura and the most powerful physique.
Although they had accumulated a large amount of resources, the average combat power of the Five Elders was not overwhelming; each had their own strengths.
Saint Saturn nearly tore out his gray beard in frustration. "If you act like this, not even the World Government can control the situation on the sea."
Economic collapse is the most terrifying scenario, far more brutal than a flesh-and-blood war.
"Then what do you think we should do? Wait for Marine to gain momentum and then attack Mariejois in one fell swoop?" Some of the Five Elders vaguely expressed their dissatisfaction.
Saint Saturn began to analyze calmly, "Wait! How can that so-called wealth support Marine with such a huge system? We relied on the Heavenly Tribute to support Marine. Even if it is only a small part, it is much larger than a Soviet Chamber of Commerce."
"And... Lord Im is about to truly accumulate power to its peak state to meet the so-called eight-hundred-year prophecy."
"Wait..."
Soft whispers slowly echoed through the power.
————
On the sea.
The announcement of world recruitment spread all over the world, and a wave of people joining the Marines rolled in. Recruitment activities at branches worldwide were in full swing.
Anyone could see it.
Now Marine is the real overlord of the sea, and the pirates are dwindling.
Of course, most people still don't understand the current relationship between Marine and the World Government.
The so-called acting admiral and cutting military expenditures were nothing more than internal punishments from the World Government.
To save face, these were not disclosed to the public, and only those pirates who were captured from unknown sources became the scapegoats.
East Blue, Loguetown.
The place where One Piece began and ended.
But now, it was crowded with young people enthusiastically signing up to join the Marines.
On the high platform, Colonel Randall, with gray hair at his temples, was still in good spirits. His neatly ironed uniform was impeccable.
He looked at the crowd at his feet with a calm expression, but his slightly trembling hands betrayed him.
He was a contemporary of Marine hero Garp, an East Blue man. He had only been to Marine Headquarters once when he was a colonel at the base, and he had almost devoted his entire life to the just cause of the East Blue.
Since the Great Pirate Era began, Marine's talents had dwindled and the base had fallen into disrepair.
He saw it with his own eyes and felt the anxiety in his heart.
Fortunately, an Admiral figure emerged from the Logue town base, the man who killed pirates to the point of fear.
Now, that man had personally promoted this world conscription.
He remembered the last world conscription at the beginning of the Great Pirate Age.
Considering the impact of Roger's words before his death, Marine Headquarters conducted a worldwide recruitment campaign.
However, very few of those blinded by treasure were willing to join Marine and accept strict discipline.
Seeing such a prosperous scene now, the man who dedicated his life to Marine could not suppress his emotions.
Forcibly suppressing the excitement in his heart, Randall took a deep breath and suddenly shouted, "To all future Marine colleagues, I believe that coming to this world recruitment site means you have a righteous heart. Admiral Hakuryu has conveyed the theme of this recruitment, which is intended to select men of insight at sea to jointly safeguard the cause of justice.
As long as you are strong enough, Marine promotions have always been based on merit..."
During his lengthy opening remarks, a girl wearing red-rimmed glasses held a real sword and kept moving through the crowd. Finally, she squeezed to the front, panting and looking up at Randall's tall figure with a flushed face.
Marine…
The girl couldn't help but hug the long sword in her arms tighter, a trace of determination flashing in her eyes.
I will definitely catch up with you, Kuina!! (T/N: Who do you think it is?)
-----
Grand Line, an unknown island.
There was no one around the island, and the vegetation coverage was extremely high. Colorful fallen flowers were scattered, and the grass and trees were lush.
A place full of greenery and vitality.
Crash!!
Among the piles of fallen leaves, a tall figure suddenly sat up and glanced up at the sky in confusion.
The venomous sunlight shone through his dark sunglasses into his clear eyes.
He had black curly hair, a tall and strong body, with sharp muscles and explosive power.
His naked upper body had a tattoo of "Double suicide at death river" printed on the left side.
A samurai sword rested at his waist, mostly covered by leaves, with only a large part of the handle exposed.
The man stretched, and a loud sound of cracking muscles and bones echoed throughout his body, "It's so troublesome! I have to eat again—"
Feeling comfortable, the man suddenly looked up to the sky and roared. The invisible sound waves instantly frightened the passing newsbirds, and a newspaper slowly floated downwards.
The newsbird stopped and watched helplessly as the newspaper got closer to the man on the island. It carefully glanced at its own body and then compared it to the man's fierce appearance.
'Give up...'
The bird felt a little bitter; that was 50 berries, but it had to watch it slip away.
The man on the island noticed the news flying towards him through his dark sunglasses.
The plants under his feet twitched rapidly, and a vine-like plant sprang up from the ground, adorned with bright red flowers.
In a few clicks, it easily grabbed the newspaper and gently presented it to the man.
The man grabbed the newspaper impatiently and unfolded it.
Seeing the bold words on the newspaper, he grinned, took a cigarette from the plant next to him, and casually snapped his fingers. A flame appeared out of thin air on his fingertips, lighting the cigarette in his mouth.
The white smoke particles slowly dispersed, making his expression look uncertain.
"Canos Atlas, Admiral Hakuryu..."
In an unconscious murmur, a flower resembling a sunflower suddenly grew out of the man's back, its petals turning rapidly as his body gradually rose into the air, flying towards the sea.
"Let's kill a few pirates first to deal with it. Eating and other things are really too much trouble..."
The crumpled newspaper slowly fell from his body and spread out on the greenery. The sun shone brightly, making the black and white words stand out clearly.
A bold headline came into view - [World Recruitment]!!
————
Headquarters, Marineford.
Atlas came to the recruiting camp again.
This was an independent training ground. A master's chair was placed right in front, with a figure in a white suit sitting on it, looking lazy.
Opposite him were young recruits with serious faces.
Kuina, Ace, Sabo, and...Nezumi with a worried look on his face, wrapped in white gauze.
These recruits were the most talented group in this class, specially selected by Zephyr and handed over to Atlas for guidance.
Except, of course, Nezumi.
This guy had relied on hard work and an intense desire to challenge the whole camp, impressing Zephyr enough to be allowed to participate.
Though he had been badly injured, the rat still got up from his rest and insisted on following Kuina and the others.
"My physical fitness is good, but I don't have much to teach you. In terms of teaching ability, I'm definitely not as good as the instructors, but I want to pass on the words that Teacher Zephyr gave me -"
"Having firm faith is powerful!"
Given the environment these three grew up in, there was no lack of guidance from famous teachers. As long as they followed the steps step by step, they would not fall behind.
However, this is an idealistic world that emphasizes will and belief.
Simply put, you must learn to believe in yourself, never doubt your own strength, and stay true to yourself.
"You should continue your previous training now. By the way, according to Teacher Zephyr's requirements, the training volume will be doubled from today onwards. Once your physical training meets the standard, I'll consider teaching you Haki in advance."
Armament Haki does not benefit from early awakening. It is ultimately a form of body energy, and their bodies are not yet fully developed or tempered to the necessary extent.
Awakening Armament Haki too soon would not be beneficial at all.
Just like Atlas, who only began practicing Armament Haki at eighteen.
With his strong physique, the quality and quantity of his Haki greatly improved.
"Yes!"
After hearing Atlas's order, Ace, Sabo, and Kuina obediently left to continue their training, leaving only the confused and overwhelmed mouse.
"As for you..." Atlas looked at the mouse with a gentle smile, "Let's focus on recovering first. The development of Zoan abilities involves cycling between injury and recovery before achieving awakening."
He hadn't expected that this guy, Nezumi, would actually come to Marine Headquarters.
He, a time-traveling butterfly, had finally caused a huge storm in the pirate world.
"Yes...yes! Thank you, Mr. Admiral, for your advice!"
Nezumi's head was buzzing, and his whole body was shaking with excitement, completely ignoring the pain in his body.
Atlas looked at Nezumi strangely, then patted him on the shoulder and walked past him.
Is there something wrong with this guy?
Against the sun, the soft sunset light hit Atlas, leaving the mouse with a silhouette scattered with light.
Atlas Admiral, he's... so cool ヾ(≧▽≦*)o!!'
Nezumi's eyes shone with admiration for Atlas.
After reluctantly watching Atlas leave, Nezumi began to examine his own strength.
In terms of physical talent, he was indeed at the bottom of the elite training camp. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been beaten five or six times within an hour after announcing his challenge to all the recruits in the camp.
Devil Fruits can sometimes change a person's destiny, but what he had eaten was just an ordinary Zoan Fruit, which only allowed him to dominate places like East Blue.
In the headquarters where all the heroes gathered, it was a bit unsatisfactory.
Just like Atlas said, all he could do now was keep getting beaten and then recover. This was the best way for him to become stronger.
So...
He decided—
After he recovered from his injury, he would find time to challenge the entire recruiting camp again.
If nothing else, just because his skin was itchy.
"Slow down, Ace, Kuina is almost catching up with you!" The instructor's teasing laughter came from not far away, making Nezumi, who was lost in thought, look slightly sideways.
Those guys were doing simple long-distance sprints, mainly exercises for continuous explosive power.
Although there wasn't much age difference, Ace and Sabo had entered the period of rapid youth development, and their daily growth rate was impressive.
In comparison, Kuina lagged behind.
On one hand, she was a girl, and her biological structure determined that she would fall behind Ace and Sabo who were equally talented.
Secondly, her talent in swordsmanship was exceptional, but she was slightly lacking in physical fitness.
Seeing Ace and Sabo far ahead, a stubborn look flashed across Kuina's face, but her legs felt like lead, and there was a burning sensation every time she moved.
She knew she was almost at her limit.
The thought of giving up began to appear in her mind, and she started to waver and slow down.
The world's greatest swordsman...
'No!! I can't give up here'
Kuina suddenly woke up, her eyes became sharper, and she forced her leg muscles to chase Ace's figure.
Tch—
Feeling the sound of wind behind him, Ace curled his lips, endured the pain of approaching his limit, and started running crazily.
He didn't want to be defeated by a woman.
Otherwise... how could he end the era created by that man?
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