"The Yonko have slaughtered countless civilians. How can they compare to the Navy?" Akainu growled coldly. "The Navy is justice. Absolute, undeniable justice!"
"Your Neo Navy is also a navy. Aren't you contradicting yourself?"
As a die-hard hawk, Akainu had spent his entire life pursuing the complete eradication of pirates.
At first, he had a somewhat favorable view of Caelan, who created the Neo Navy and aggressively hunted down pirates.
But the moment he heard Caelan compare the official Navy to pirates, he couldn't tolerate it.
"My Neo Navy is different from yours. It doesn't prop up the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and it doesn't collect Heavenly Tribute that entire nations can't afford."
"If someone truly needs protection, they can get it without a single Berry."
Everything Caelan said was true.
To receive the Neo Navy's protection, nations did pay military fees. However, these fees were calculated based on actual defense consumption and a reasonable percentage of national revenue, making them sustainable.
They could even be paid with goods or labor.
Nations that genuinely needed protection could always find a way. Those unwilling to pay could simply forgo protection.
This system had been established from the start, when Caelan founded the Illuminati and the Neo Navy.
He had many flaws, but he still acted with a shred of human decency.
"That's your business," Akainu replied coldly, understanding the point but choosing to remain silent.
"Then let's not talk about the Neo Navy. Let's talk about yours." Caelan wasn't angry, speaking instead in a calm voice. "If a country fails to pay Heavenly Tribute, it's wiped out. Even children know that. In recent years, how many countries has your Navy destroyed?"
"…"
Akainu's face twisted.
Caelan had hit the mark. He couldn't deny any of it.
He had personally seen missions where nations were crushed because they couldn't meet their tribute quotas.
O'Hara wasn't wiped out for breaking historical taboos—it was because they couldn't pay the tribute.
Aokiji, Kizaru, and Sengoku didn't speak, but their expressions turned grim.
Seeing their silence, Caelan delivered the final blow.
"If you don't pay the tribute, your country is destroyed. What kind of justice is that? Isn't it the same as pirates robbing and killing? The so-called World Government is the biggest band of pirates on the planet!"
"Roger wasn't the real Pirate King. Neither Shanks nor any other pirate crying about becoming Pirate King is."
"The true Pirate King is the World Government. It's you, parading around with slogans of justice!"
As his words fell, silence engulfed all of Marineford.
Every Marine with ideals stood motionless, Caelan's words cutting deep like blades scraping bone.
They wanted to refute him, but they couldn't.
"We… we're pirates?"
A young sailor muttered in a daze, eyes empty.
Others were no different. Their faith had collapsed.
How absurd.
The Navy, which always claimed to be the embodiment of justice, was now being accused of being the real pirates.
What was worse, they had no way to argue back.
Countless Marines stared blankly at Caelan, then turned to their highest superiors—Sengoku, the Five Elders, the three admirals.
They hoped someone, anyone, could step forward and refute Caelan's accusations. That someone would restore the Navy and World Government to their pedestal of justice.
But no one could.
Not the Five Elders, whose brains weren't much bigger than walnuts.
Not even the wise Sengoku, known for his strategic brilliance, could say a word.
At that moment, even he began to question everything.
As Fleet Admiral, Sengoku had always believed in justice. But deep down, his view aligned with Caelan's.
The Navy's current "justice" could no longer be called justice.
That was why Sengoku had always hoped to change the Navy from within by climbing to the top.
He had made some progress. Aokiji and the doves within the Navy were shaped by his ideals. If more admirals over time followed this path, change was inevitable.
But now it was too late.
The Navy had been branded as the Pirate King by Caelan. Its banner of justice was no longer believable.
If they couldn't refute it, the Navy's foundation would crumble.
Yet Sengoku couldn't argue back. The World Government had done terrible things, and everyone knew it.
Any attempt to explain it away would sound hollow in the face of undeniable truths and real suffering.
Sengoku knew that sweet words could close mouths, but not hearts.
So while his heart roared with turmoil, all he could do was remain silent.
"We're the Pirate Kings? That's oddly fitting."
Aokiji gave a bitter laugh in his heart.
From another angle, Caelan wasn't wrong.
The World Government controlled the vast majority of the world's wealth and had the strongest military force.
Nations unable to pay the Heavenly Tribute were either wiped out or reduced to slavery.
They imposed crushing taxes, and countries around the world could do nothing but bear it.
The Yonko only ruled a section of the New World.
Meanwhile, the World Government controlled the Four Blues, the Red Line, and half the Grand Line.
They had more power than the Yonko, more territory, and Celestial Dragons with personalities worse than pirates. Their means of domination were even more brutal.
And what? You say there are good Celestial Dragons?
Not all pirates are bad, either.
So really, it matched even more.
The World Government could easily be equated with the concept of the Pirate King.
They used the same bandit logic, only with greater power than the Yonko combined.
If that's not the true Pirate King, what is?
At the same time, people across the world were in an uproar over Caelan's words.
"The World Government… is the Pirate King?"
At first, the people were confused, subconsciously rejecting the idea.
"Are you serious? The World Government is the World Government. How can it be pirates?"
"Exactly. The World Government hunts pirates, and they have Marines stationed everywhere."
These were the impressions the World Government had embedded into their minds for centuries.
After 800 years of rule, the World Government had shaped society's beliefs.
People were long used to the Celestial Dragons being cruel tyrants overhead, and long used to giving up their Heavenly Tribute.
So, naturally, they denied it.
But Caelan's words echoed again and again in their minds. The comparison between pirates and the World Government became clearer.
Pirates rob wealth. The World Government demands tribute.
Pirates kill when they don't get what they want. The World Government destroys entire nations if tribute isn't paid.
Pirates steal women. The World Government lets Celestial Dragons enslave them.
Pirates torture people. The World Government enables Celestial Dragons to do the same to their slaves.
It was the same thing. No difference at all.
"The World Government… really is a pirate!"
"Now that you mention it, they really are exactly the same!"
People all over the world cried out in shock.
As long as they weren't fools, they were starting to understand.
As for those still denying it, they were either ignorant, corrupt, or loyal lackeys of the Celestial Dragons—mindless pets serving tyranny.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)