"This place is pretty hidden, isn't it?"
In the blood-soaked broadcast room, Kizaru first glanced at the scattered bodies of the CP0 members and Festa, then turned his gaze to the massive live broadcast screen that took up almost the entire wall.
"It's amazing this guy would go so far as to broadcast such a battle live..."
Kizaru looked at the already dead Festa and couldn't help but shake his head.
Broadcasting the battle on the island in real time—only this lunatic obsessed with celebrations could come up with such an idea. During the fight, perhaps those tricky individuals didn't have time to bother with Festa, but when the battle ended and they realized they'd been used as mere pawns to attract attention to Festa's show...
Given their nasty temperaments, they would probably tear Festa to pieces.
Kizaru shook his head slightly, then looked at the live broadcast on the screen.
The battle was still ongoing, but he hadn't forgotten the reason he came here.
Kizaru walked directly to the control panel and cut off the live broadcast without hesitation.
At the same time, around the world, the screens that were showing the battle on Lodestar Island suddenly went black.
"Huh!?"
The sudden interruption immediately caused quite a stir around the world.
Although they were just spectators, they knew that the outcome of this war would significantly affect the future direction of the world.
Therefore, even though they couldn't change anything, they felt the need to witness the outcome of the war with their own eyes.
But just as the battle reached its critical point, the broadcast was cut off.
Now, they had no way to immediately learn what was happening thousands of miles away on Lodestar Island.
Many people even began cursing out loud.
"Damn it, what's Festa doing? Is this all he's got?"
"Why did the broadcast cut off?"
"Shit, what's the current situation?"
"Did the Navy win or the pirates? And why did former Admiral Zephyr's NEO Navy join forces with the Navy?"
"Festa, you deserve to die!"
"Ahh!"
The broadcast interruption drove many people crazy.
...
Shortly after the broadcast was cut, on the deck of the Navy flagship stood Nicholas, Dragon, the entire Red-Haired Pirates, senior Navy officers, and Zephyr, the commander-in-chief of the NEO Navy.
Countless Navy soldiers were watching vigilantly from a distance.
"Aunt Tsuru, what do you think of the Revolutionary Army?"
Dragon asked, looking at Tsuru with her full head of silver hair.
"The Revolutionary Army is more popular than the World Government in many ways, but ultimately, wouldn't it just establish a new World Government after overthrowing the old one? In a few decades or centuries, the families of the Revolutionary Army's initial high-ranking officers would become the new 'Celestial Dragons.'"
"If it were in the past, that would indeed have been the Revolutionary Army's trajectory."
A faint smile appeared on Dragon's stern face.
He didn't mind Tsuru's opinion on the Revolutionary Army.
In fact, from Dragon's current perspective, if the Revolutionary Army continued along its original path, Tsuru's view wouldn't be far off.
The Revolutionary Army claimed to want to liberate the world by overthrowing the World Government, but what would happen after they succeeded?
Inevitably, another World Government would arise. Perhaps for the first few decades, the initial revolutionaries would remain true to their original intent and actively engage in building a better world.
But what would happen when that initial group grew old?
Would their descendants, who had never experienced the oppression of the World Government and the Celestial Dragons, hold to the Revolutionary Army's original principles?
And their descendants' descendants?
Dragon believed that the current world structure was similar to how a king's son would still be a king, while a slave's son would always be a slave. The solidification of social classes would make those with vested interests block the path of those who came after, even if what those others received was just a millionth of what they had.
"But after interacting with Nicholas, we realized something."
Dragon stared at Tsuru, Sakazuki, Kuzan, Issho, Zephyr, and the other Navy officers, his smile slowly fading, and he spoke solemnly, "This sea is vast—vast enough to provide a prosperous life for everyone in the world. Beyond this world lies an even broader one. If technology becomes advanced enough, then productivity could meet everyone's needs, and no one, of any race, would be oppressed.
Our goal isn't to overthrow the World Government or the Celestial Dragons! Our goal is to create a world where everyone lives a good life.
The Celestial Dragons and the World Government are just obstacles in achieving that goal!"
"..."
Sakazuki narrowed his eyes at Dragon's words, remaining silent.
When Dragon talked about the goals of the Revolutionary Army, he used "we."
This clearly showed that Dragon was demonstrating his sincerity.
"Mister Dragon, your statement is quite unexpected."
Issho, with his eyes that were all white, looked at Dragon.
Kuzan, Zephyr, and Shanks fell into contemplation. The relationship between technology and productivity was still a bit difficult for them to grasp.
However, Dragon's view on the Celestial Dragons was something everyone could agree with.
...
The broadcast from Lodestar Island had been cut off for almost an hour.
During this hour, people all over the world could only stare blankly at the black screens.
Even without any picture, no one was willing to leave.
Anxiety and various other negative emotions began to grow in the hearts of countless people.
"Did the Navy win or the pirates?"
"What exactly is Nicholas planning!?"
"Will the broadcast resume...?"
Many people waited anxiously, and it seemed their prayers were answered.
The broadcast, which had been down for nearly an hour, suddenly resumed without any warning.
People around the world who were gathered in front of their screens perked up when the broadcast suddenly resumed.
No one cared what had caused the interruption. All eyes were on the screen, eager to get the latest information as soon as possible.
"The Navy!"
When the first thing that appeared on the screen was a massive Navy force, many viewers were stunned.
Before the broadcast cut out, the Navy had clearly been battling pirates.
But now, why was there only the Navy? Could it be that the Navy had won?
What happened during the broadcast interruption?
People worldwide were shocked.
"The Navy won!"
After a brief moment of surprise, the civilians and nobles watching the broadcast were ecstatic.
For the civilians, they didn't want the world plunged into chaos and naturally hoped the Navy would quell the pirates.
And for the nobles, it was the same—they were afraid the chaotic seas would destroy everything they had. They wanted the Navy to win even more than the civilians did.
As cheers erupted around the world, the broadcast camera shifted.
Soon, the scene focused on the deck of a Navy ship.
"Nicholas..."
People all over the world once again saw the figure that seemed invincible on Lodestar Island.
But...
The people next to Nicholas looked so familiar.
"Hey, look!"
The camera zoomed out, and people finally saw the entire scene on the ship's deck.
"It's Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army..."
"And the NEO Navy Commander-in-Chief, Zephyr!"
"That's the Red-Haired Pirates!"
Eyes all over the world were fixed on Nicholas, Dragon, Shanks, and Zephyr on the screen.
But even more eyes were incredulously fixed on the Navy's high-ranking officers standing with them.
"What on earth happened!"
"I must be dreaming, right?"
"Why!?"
Many people were so shocked that they couldn't even speak.