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"Reform and revolution!" Atlas's gaze was profound as he slowly revealed his answer.
Sabo's face was filled with a dawning understanding.
Although he had received a nobleman's education, both reform and revolution threatened the vested interests of the nobility, so his knowledge in this area was a complete blank slate.
"Reform is a top-down process of improvement. It's like dealing with a tree infested with borers. We need to get rid of the pests, prune the rotten branches and roots, so that it can regain its vitality."
"Revolution, on the other hand, is directly cutting down the sick tree and planting a new one. This not only requires immense sacrifice and bloodshed but also a powerful force capable of fighting back against the pests."
"This is a world that relies on martial strength, so the path of revolution is fraught with peril and exceedingly difficult! If it were you, which path would you choose, Sabo?"
In the world of One Piece, with its extraordinary power, facing a World Government that had been in power for eight hundred years, both revolution and reform were incredibly difficult.
But in Atlas's view, relying on the military power of the Marines—which the World Government itself supplied—to reshuffle the world's powers, including the World Government, was a much more reliable path than revolution.
Dragon's Revolutionary Army, whether in its ideology or actual strength, was insufficient to shake the foundations of the World Government's rule.
One might argue that his revolutionary ideas could shake the World Government's foundations; otherwise, they wouldn't have labeled Dragon the "World's Worst Criminal."
Atlas found this idea laughable. If this were a normal world in an era of cold weapons, that might be true. But the military and technological power possessed by the World Government was far beyond what some immature ideology could contend with.
Moreover, the ruling class of the World Government was not the common people, but the nobility. The lives and thoughts of the common folk were simply not something the Five Elders would ever consider.
Sabo's face was a mask of conflict. Although he had always detested his noble birth, he had never once thought about changing the world.
At his young age, he simply wanted to escape this suffocating place and seek freedom on the vast seas. In this respect, he was very similar to Ace; otherwise, the two of them would never have become such fast friends.
"Are you talking about... overthrowing the World Government?" Ace, who had been thinking hard, finally caught the underlying meaning. "But, aren't you a Marine?"
"That's right. It is precisely because I am a Marine!"
"Then, Mr. Atlas, how should one go about taking the path of reform?" Sabo, being the sharpest of the three brothers, quickly asked the key question.
"The Marines! Only the Marines, and the Marines alone, can change this world."
"Because the Marines are currently the only armed organization that operates on the principle of justice, but is not completely under the thumb of the World Government."
"Using the World Government's resources to nurture a brand-new Marine force is the best solution at present."
In truth, Zephyr's NEO Marines had some merit, but the first step had to be making the Marines completely independent, something Atlas couldn't yet achieve, lacking both the strength and status to have the final say.
After hearing Atlas's views, Sabo didn't give an immediate answer. Atlas wasn't in a hurry either.
The three kids were now like turtles in a jar to him; they couldn't run even if they wanted to.
Although Orange Town was some distance from Foosha Village, for Atlas, who possessed godlike speed, it was no problem at all.
The slower journey was mainly to ensure the three boys' bodies could withstand the speed.
Three days had passed since Atlas had last taken the three of them off the island. In these three days, Ace and Sabo had not once mentioned wanting to be pirates again.
Instead, they had given all their secretly hoarded treasure to the Dadan family, which had thrilled Dadan to no end.
Although she verbally dismissed it as a paltry sum, her plump face was smiling like a blooming chrysanthemum.
In a clearing deep within Mt. Colubo, surrounded by the stumps of felled trees, the forest was quiet.
Luffy, in his white shirt, and Sabo, in his gentlemanly suit, lay idly on the grass, watching the white clouds change shape.
They already knew Atlas planned to take them to Marine Headquarters, but they felt no fear of the unknown, only curiosity and longing for the outside world.
"Hey! Sabo, where did Ace go?" Luffy sat up, looked around, and then turned his gaze to the relaxed Sabo.
"I don't know. He was being all mysterious..." Sabo was also a bit puzzled. It was Ace who had called them here.
"Hey! I'm here!" Suddenly, a nearby bush rustled, and a figure in a red tank top shot out, landing steadily on a large tree stump.
He quickly set down the small bowls in his hand, bit open a bottle cap with his teeth, and evenly poured the clear liquor into the bowls.
"I found this on Atlas's warship. I think that cheapskate Smoker was hiding it."
Over the past few days, Atlas had also taken them onto the warship, where Smoker seemed to have taken a special liking to Luffy, teasing him at every turn.
"But," Sabo asked, confused, "why did you steal a bottle of sake, Ace?"
Ace pushed a small bowl of sake in front of Sabo, a fragrant aroma wafting into the air. A smile appeared on his face.
"This is a toast of brotherhood. Once we drink this, we'll be brothers from now on."
"A toast of brotherhood? Like the Oath of the Peach Garden?" Luffy said excitedly.
"The Oath of the Peach Garden?"
"Yeah! It's the story Uncle told me about three Marines who became sworn brothers in a peach garden and vowed to wipe out all the pirates! Uncle really didn't lie to me!" Luffy nodded emphatically, even pumping his fist in excitement.
"..." Although the context felt a bit strange, Ace still pushed Luffy's cup toward him.
"We're going to Marine Headquarters soon. We might not be crewmates on the same ship, but we'll all be fighting for our own dreams!"
"So, let's use the bonds of brotherhood to tie us together! Even when we're apart, we'll still be connected."
A flush appeared on Ace's face. He raised his cup and shouted excitedly, "I'm going to end the Great Pirate Era! Drink up!"
"I'm going to be the Fleet Admiral!"
"I'm going to overthrow the disgusting nobles!"
"Cheers!" The three of them yelled.
The warm sunlight scattered through the splashing sake, refracting into a brilliant golden light.
The smiles of the three boys seemed to be frozen in this moment, pure and beautiful...
Riding the refreshing morning light, Atlas and his party slowly left Foosha Village.
Unlike when they arrived, there were now three small figures on the ship—three particularly big eaters, at that.
"Hey! You brats, don't hog all the food!" Inside the dining hall, Smoker gritted his teeth as he watched the food on the platters disappear.
Not only did they steal his private stash of fine sake yesterday, but now they were competing with him for food.
He really didn't know why Brother Atlas insisted on bringing these three little guys to Headquarters; they weren't even old enough to enlist.
Ace and the others ignored Smoker, their hands moving like afterimages as they frantically swept the food from the table.
They couldn't help it. Yesterday, the more they drank, the more it went to their heads, and they ended up passing out deep in Mt. Colubo.
It was a good thing Atlas's Observation Haki had such a large range; otherwise, the three of them would have ended up as three piles of beast dung.
However, to teach them a lesson, Atlas hadn't used the Horse Talisman to sober them up. As a result, they slept until the next morning.
Their appetites were already monstrous, and after not eating for a whole day, they were ravenous.
Is binge eating bad for their health? Don't be ridiculous. Could their digestive systems even be measured by common sense?
Vacation time always passes quickly. Atlas's trip to the East Blue had been a great success.
Not only had he obtained a Supreme Grade Sword, but he had also logically recruited several very promising future Marines.
Now, he just needed to reach Loguetown, hand over the warship, and he could head back.
On the deck of the warship, Atlas lay on a wicker chair.
Instead of his usual pure white suit, he was bare-chested, his powerful physique exposed to the sun, a pair of baggy beach shorts covering the important parts.
Opposite him, the three brothers were training under the scorching sun.
"Hey! You guys are going to be powerful Marines in the future, so put your backs into it!"
The three kids were wearing special weighted vests, doing squats under the blazing sun. Sweat streamed down their skin, pooling into small streams beneath them.
Fortunately, even the warships of the Four Blues branches were sturdy enough not to leak.
"Smoker, give them some water. Don't let them collapse before the training is over," Atlas said, turning to the snickering Smoker.
Although the three brothers had monstrous constitutions and he didn't have to worry about hidden injuries from overtraining—a classic case of "if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger," especially for Luffy—they couldn't withstand prolonged dehydration, so proper hydration was necessary.
While he wasn't as professional a trainer as Zephyr, his superhuman Observation Haki and the monstrous Horse Talisman were advantages Zephyr didn't possess.
"Vice Admiral, sir, at our current speed, we are one day away from Loguetown. Should we maintain this speed or proceed at full sail?" the ship's navigator ran over to report.
Since it was vacation time, Atlas had been sailing at a relatively leisurely pace.
"Full sail ahead. We're pretty much done here anyway. The pirates on Sabaody are probably starting to get rampant again, right?"
Atlas sat up slightly, a cruel smile on his face. Although the job he had left behind still lingered, that's just how pirates are.
Mejes and Kyros alone couldn't suppress the pirates who would inevitably make a comeback, even if Kyros had officially mastered Armament Haki.
Armament Haki isn't invincible. As long as one's physical condition is up to par and they know the method of awakening it, many people can successfully draw out their inner Armament Haki.
In fact, most pirates with bounties of around 100 million who reach Sabaody can awaken Armament Haki, but there are very few pirates in Paradise who can use it, let alone learn how to train it.
"Yes, sir!" the navigator replied, taking his leave.
Just as the navigator was about to return to the helm to relay Atlas's orders, the corner of his eye caught a shadow in the sky, growing at a terrifying speed.
"Vice Admiral Atlas, what... what is that..."
An island! That's right! It was an island! Cold sweat instantly streamed down the navigator's forehead. His face was a mask of horror, his pupils shrinking in shock.
Because that island's trajectory... was aimed at the sea right next to their ship!
"Wow~ What a huge island!"
"The outside world is so exciting..."
Ace and the other two had also noticed the anomaly in the sky. They immediately stopped their training and gasped in amazement.
The soldiers on the ship, of course, also saw the gradually enlarging silhouette of the island above them.
Their faces turned pale, but they forced themselves to remain calm and looked to the ship's pillar of strength.
"Hey, hey, hey! Is this some kind of joke? How could we run into something like this in the East Blue?!" A flash of panic appeared in Smoker's eyes.
He had spent his entire career in the first half of the Grand Line and had never encountered a disaster of this magnitude. He instinctively turned to Atlas for help.
"What a pain. Looks like we've run into a big shot this time..." Atlas stood up abruptly, his face quickly turning grim.
The Golden Lion!
Across the entire sea, the only people who could so wantonly play with a massive island were the "Blind Swordsman" Issho and the "Golden Lion" Shiki.
Issho would never use his Devil Fruit ability to do something like this! The criminal the Marines wanted to capture most, the man who broke the myth of Impel Down...
It was said that after escaping from prison, he had met with Whitebeard once and then disappeared.
But Atlas knew that Shiki had gone off to research that "IQ" stuff—just another guy who had lost faith in his own strength.
"Explosive Flame Pillar!"
As soon as he spoke, a pillar composed entirely of explosive flames shot up from Atlas's body.
Like a majestic fire dragon, it roared and clawed its way toward the distant island.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion echoed. The pillar of flame instantly swallowed the massive island.
Countless ashes rained down from the sky, and the heavens above returned to their clear, sunny state.
Along with the ashes fell the hearts of the Marines, which had been about to leap out of their throats.
In this situation, Atlas naturally couldn't use a slash. If it had been Mihawk's swordsmanship, it might have been possible to destroy the island without affecting the warship.
But Atlas had more than one trick up his sleeve; he just thought the Dragon Talisman looked cooler.
However... Atlas looked up at the azure sky and grinned. The Golden Lion? He's practically a war achievement sent right to my doorstep...
(T/N: Please give me some power stone, I hope it can at least reach the top 100)
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