From the moment Ginny, the bride, made her appearance in that stunning outfit, this wedding had completely gone off the rails.
But the entire Baltigo was immersed in an unusually joyful atmosphere.
The Revolutionary Army, which had previously split into two factions, was once again united as one.
Everyone had their arms around each other's shoulders, cheering for the union of Ginny and Kuma.
Even if there had been differences in ideology, brothers and sisters were still brothers and sisters.
The bond of revolution would never change.
And so, with the lights blazing across Baltigo, the festivities carried on from one evening straight through to the next.
Finally, after sending off the unusually drunk Kuma and the already-drunk-then-sober-again Ginny to their bridal chamber, those who had remained sober the whole time gathered around the massive bonfire.
The leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon.
And the elusive Chief of Staff, Michael, whom many had never even seen before.
The two of them now sat side by side on the ground.
The crowd exchanged glances. With no need for pretenses, they sat down around the two men.
"Looks like everyone wants to have a proper talk."
Michael looked at the people in front of him.
Though he hadn't met them many times, he knew these were the veterans who had followed the Revolutionary Army since the days of marching across the four seas.
In a sense, they were the spokesmen for the faction wanting to retreat to the four seas.
"Chief, Chief of Staff… We've made this decision after much thought."
"Are you planning… to leave the Revolutionary Army?" Michael looked at them calmly. "To be honest, I had a feeling this day would come… After all, the difference in strength is enough to make anyone think of retreating."
"Chief of Staff, as long as you understand us." The spokesmen exchanged glances and let out a long sigh.
"But what I hope… is that you won't leave the Revolutionary Army entirely, but rather step back to the second line, return to the four seas, and continue maintaining and developing our Revolutionary Army's bases." Michael smiled.
"Only by expanding the bases can we ensure the Revolution will never die out."
"W-what!? You'd still accept us… deserters?"
"Remember, you are not deserters. You are heroes stepping back from the front lines because you can't keep up with the intensity of battle…" Michael shook his head firmly.
"The Revolution makes no distinction between first or last, nor between high or low. As long as you fight for the Revolution, whether on the front lines or in the rear, you are all brave soldiers of the Revolutionary Army."
Michael's words brought tears to the eyes of these spokesmen.
During this time, not only had they grown distant from their comrades, but deep inside, they had felt conflicted.
Fearful of the future, yet also feeling that this choice was… shameful.
But Michael's words lifted the heavy burden from their hearts.
Since even the Chief of Staff said so, then at last… they could be at peace.
Michael looked at their changing expressions and sighed inwardly.
You couldn't just bring the thinking of the old world into this one. Here, the gap in power between people was even greater than between people and dogs.
For ordinary people to face guns and cannons without fear was already bravery.
But asking them to face the great disasters of the Grand Line?
To fight Devil Fruit users?
To stand against Giants, Fishmen, and Celestial Dragons?
That was asking for the impossible.
Without a strong, resilient ideology to support them, these ordinary men had already done their utmost.
Just because you bore the word "Revolution" didn't mean you were all as fast as rabbits.
"So, I'll arrange your positions and duties for when you return to the four seas." Dragon, who had been silent until now, stood up and bowed to those who had followed him from the very beginning.
"From today onward, the entire rear of the Revolutionary Army will be entrusted to you."
...
"Once they return to the four seas, what do you plan to do?"
"What else? Just let them handle the usual things—people, food, money. As long as the bases keep running normally and resources keep circulating, that's enough." Michael shrugged. "Oh, and have them bring a batch of scholars from Alabasta back to the four seas. The Ohara incident has been over for so long now… And the World Government has no interest in Ohara anymore anyway."
As Michael and Dragon mentioned Ohara in the war room, Olvia happened to walk in carrying a pile of documents.
After a whole day of wedding celebrations, there was plenty of work piled up waiting to be done.
"Olvia, you came at the perfect time." Michael turned, smiling. "I have good news for you. Little Robin is now a Marine Headquarters Captain."
"A twelve-year-old child, a Marine Headquarters Captain?" Olvia froze for a moment, then smiled with motherly warmth. "As long as I know she's happy, that's all that matters."
"No, what I mean is, as a Captain, she's entitled to her own warship and subordinates according to Marine regulations… So you'd better watch out. That girl isn't joking about wanting to bring you back to her side."
"Then I'll be waiting for her."
"Tch, boring. I thought you'd at least be surprised." Michael shrugged, then pulled a small notebook from his pocket.
"Here, take this. Revise it, then print it in large quantities. The entire army must study and follow it."
Olvia blinked, opening the small notebook.
The more she read, the more shocked she became.
It contained a whole set of disciplinary rules for army building and rear-base construction—
A highly concise summary of everything an excellent, selfless army needed to pay attention to.
Both the army-building and the rear-base sections had eleven rules each.
At the end was a draft title:
"The Twenty-Two Iron Rules of the Revolutionary Army"
Closing the notebook and looking again at the cover, Olvia felt as if it…
Looked redder and redder the longer she stared!
Michael watched the shocked look on the beautiful Olvia's face and chuckled inwardly.
If only they knew that the new Marine regulations being prepared… were the exact same as these Iron Rules…
Heh heh.
"Dragon, with such a large portion of the Revolutionary Army splitting off, I think it's time for us to go into a period of dormancy." Michael turned back.
"Besides gathering troops again in the 'Paradise,' we also need to reassess the influence of all forces… After all, the Grand Line's environment is far more complex than the four seas."
"I was thinking the same thing…"
"In that case, you won't mind if I slack off for a few years, right?"
Monkey D. Dragon: "???"
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