"You don't actually believe those pirates can defeat the World Government's power, do you? You have no idea of the World Government's strength. That power can destroy the entire world. Even if all the pirates in the world united, they wouldn't stand a chance," Akainu said.
"That's where you're wrong. If it were the world of nine hundred years ago, perhaps failure was certain. But now it's different. People's consciousness is awakening. The world will not face another great flood. This time, the Celestial Dragons will ultimately fail," Dragon replied.
"Whether it's the Red Hair Pirates or the Straw Hat Pirates, they will be annihilated. No one will sneak into that place like Roger did again. The world will return to its original course," Akainu said.
He seemed to have witnessed the World Government's might and the terrifying power of the Celestial Dragons. Senior Marines often spoke of the Celestial Dragons' power in hushed tones, reluctant to elaborate.
Clearly, they knew how powerful the Celestial Dragons were, which is why they believed no force in the world could resist them.
Dragon had not witnessed the Celestial Dragons' power firsthand, but he had seen their brutality.
This world did not need the Celestial Dragons, nor did it need nobility. The existence of nobility was based on exploiting others.
We are all human, all of the same race. Why should there be classes, oppression, and poverty?
During his time as a Marine, Dragon witnessed too much of the Celestial Dragons' cruelty, their savagery, and the oppression nobles inflicted on ordinary people.
He saw the despair of slaves and the poverty caused by the Celestial Dragons' brutality.
A single word from a Celestial Dragon could make a nation vanish.
And the Marines' Buster Calls destroyed one nation after another, often without any formal investigation, just because a Celestial Dragon got upset or claimed they had been attacked.
Then a Marine Admiral would press the button on the golden den den mushi, and just like that, a nation would disappear.
Why were people different? Where did it all go wrong?
Dragon couldn't understand it. After much soul-searching, he decided to rebel.
He left the Marines when he was already a Rear Admiral, on the verge of promotion to Vice Admiral. With a heroic Vice Admiral father, he could have had a stable, promising future within the Marines. Figures like Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru had high hopes for him; he might even have succeeded Sengoku as Fleet Admiral one day.
Initially, Dragon didn't aim to start a revolution. He wanted ordinary people to have the power to resist pirates.
From a Marine's perspective, he hoped people in non-World Government-affiliated nations could become self-reliant.
So, the first army he founded was called the Self-Defense Army.
He hoped people could use their own strength to bravely resist invaders.
Simply put, Dragon's initial idea wasn't complicated. He wanted nations without World Government protection or Marine defense to resist pirates, especially during the Great Pirate Era.
But as time passed, Dragon realized that relying on self-reliance wasn't enough. Enslaved for too long, people's mindsets had changed.
They chose submission when facing nobility.
Servility was deeply ingrained in every commoner. They felt inferior to nobles.
Even when taught self-reliance, they would still bow and apologize under noble intimidation.
This inherent servility couldn't be eradicated. Even if given weapons, they didn't dare resist the nobility.
In contrast, pirates embodied the spirit of rebellion. The world's people had grown numb.
Dragon realized this. The increasing pirate rebellions might indeed be Roger's intention.
So-called pirates weren't inherently linked to Joy Boy. The Celestial Dragons stigmatized rebels by associating them with such.
The world's first pirate certainly wasn't Joy Boy. Yet, in the Celestial Dragons' eyes, he wasn't a revolutionary but a pirate.
Such stigmatization made even those who knew of Joy Boy feel inferior.
This lofty class hierarchy was like the World Government's so-called Three Great Powers.
The Marines, the Four Emperors, and the Seven Warlords of the Sea were the three powers. But what about the Celestial Dragons? The World Government?
In their eyes, the pirates are only comparable to their dogs.
After years of experience helping others with the 'Self-Defense Army,' Dragon found that self-reliance only enabled people to fight pirates, not centuries of enslavement.
To break the chains of servitude, liberation had to start with ideology.
So, he transformed the 'Self-Defense Army' into the Freedom Fighters, then finally to the Revolutionary Army. He would ignite a revolution sweeping the globe, liberating people's minds from the roots.
He would make them realize they were not slaves, that so-called nobles were just ordinary people.
They could be eliminated. Everyone was human and could live equally.
Therefore, the Revolutionary Army's initial target wasn't the World Government. The World Government was an institution formed by nations to resolve conflicts.
The Celestial Dragons were privileged nobles above this institution. Such people should not exist.
People worldwide should resist their rule. Then, no nobility emulating them would remain.
Their existence only made more people want to become like them, learning to enslave others.
Forcing the Celestial Dragons down from their mountain was a crucial step for the Revolutionary Army. They would compel the Celestial Dragons to descend and, before the world's eyes, kill them to show they could be defeated.
There were no so-called gods in the world, only hypocrites deceiving the world.
"The original course? Hahaha, the original course. You're just a loyal dog of the Celestial Dragons. Can't you see the state of the world now? Are people well-fed? You can't kill the hungry and then claim no one is hungry."
"What difference is there between your actions and those of a beast, Sakazuki? Are you still a Marine of justice? Where is your justice? You were saved by the Marines, not the Celestial Dragons. Do you really think you alone can change the world?"
"The whole world is made of people. People worldwide are resisting. Only you, like a loyal guard dog, protect the Celestial Dragons."
"Someone like you, do you even deserve to be called human?" Dragon glared furiously at Akainu, their confrontation intensifying.
"Say what you will. The world's order was destined from the start. The Celestial Dragons have ruled for nine hundred years. For nine centuries, the world has been like this, proving the order works. The problem lies with people like you," Akainu said.
"Hahaha, you truly are stubborn. A tree with rotten roots might look glorious on the outside, but its fall is only a matter of time..."
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If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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