With the agreement reached, Shanks returned to his territory feeling quite satisfied.
However, before he could enjoy his peace for long, news arrived that Big Mom and Kaido had been ambushed by Sean's Marines during their return journey through the New World, suffering significant losses.
This left him feeling unsettled.
Out of the three parties involved in the talks, two had been precisely ambushed by Sean, while he alone had returned home unscathed.
How were the other two supposed to feel about that?
Even if he could convince them that this was Sean's intentional ploy to sow distrust among the Three Emperors, the seed of suspicion had already been planted.
"Beckman, I need to make a trip to the East Blue!"
"Hmm? What are you going to the East Blue for at a time like this?"
"To recruit one more person for our alliance. As things stand, we aren't entirely safe yet."
"Wait... you aren't thinking of looking for 'that' guy, are you?"
Hearing this, Beckman reacted instantly.
After all, there was only one person in the East Blue with enough strength to be worth recruiting into such an alliance—a man who had once dared to storm Marine Headquarters alone.
But with that man's pride, would he even be willing to join?
Beckman didn't have high hopes for the plan.
'''
The first half of the Grand Line.
Paradise.
Sabaody Archipelago.
Saint Charlos was currently riding atop a massive slave, leisurely strolling through the streets. This was his favorite thing to do every time he visited the archipelago.
Previously, because of the incident with Sean, he had first been beaten into a pulp by Akainu, and after Sislak brought him back to the Holy Land, he had been severely punished by the Five Elders. He had been scared out of his wits and hadn't dared to return to Sabaody to act arrogant for a long time.
But now that Sean had gone to the New World...
How could Charlos possibly restrain himself?
And so, he had returned to Sabaody to flex his power once again.
Perhaps because he had been suppressed for too long, Charlos had become even more excessive than before. Every visit resulted in numerous casualties or the kidnapping of beautiful women to be taken back as wives and concubines.
His greatest pleasure was forcibly taking a woman away right in front of her husband—a display of absolute, ruthless cruelty.
In just a few months, the number of civilians murdered by Charlos in the Sabaody Archipelago had reached the hundreds, and dozens of women had been forcibly taken. The number of people captured as slaves was even more staggering.
While the common people were naturally terrified and dared not resist the Celestial Dragons due to ingrained beliefs, this provided the perfect opening for the Revolutionary Army.
Through a series of covert maneuvers, the Revolutionary Army had successfully embedded themselves. Charlos remained blissfully unaware that among the civilians currently kneeling in the streets, many were hidden agents of the Revolutionary Army.
Even those who weren't members of the army—the ordinary residents of the archipelago—had faces filled with hatred as they pressed their cheeks against the dirt.
"Hey, make that woman look up!"
"Yes, Saint Charlos!"
Suddenly spotting a woman with a stunning figure by the roadside, Charlos's eyes lit up. He quickly ordered one of the black-suited guards to go over and force her to raise her head.
That figure... none of the wives he had stolen previously could compare. It was absolutely exquisite.
As long as her face was decent, he would snatch her up for his pleasure. Even if she weren't beautiful, it didn't matter—he could just turn off the lights.
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Charlos began to drool. Today's stroll was proving to be quite productive.
On the other side, the black-suited guard arrived in front of the woman.
"Woman, look up!"
"I... I dare not look up in the presence of a Celestial Dragon! That would be a grave offense!"
The woman's head remained pressed to the ground, shaking violently, her entire body trembling.
Seeing this, the black-suited agent grinned. This was the normal reaction of an ordinary person meeting a Celestial Dragon; he was long since used to it.
"When you're told to look up, you look up! This is an order from Saint Charlos. If you refuse, your entire family will die. Do you understand?"
"Yes, my lord!"
Still trembling, the woman slowly raised her head.
The moment Charlos saw her face, he could hardly contain himself.
"You! Yes, you! Come back with me and become my 37th wife!"
Indeed, in just a few months, Charlos had cycled through nearly thirty wives. Perhaps because he had been too afraid to leave the Holy Land due to Sean, he was now acting out of a sense of compensatory revenge.
Because she was dressed differently than usual and wasn't wearing sunglasses, even the guards beside Charlos failed to recognize who she was.
"My lord, please spare me... I already have a husband!"
"Oh, you have a husband? That's even better! Just like before, bring the husband back as well!"
Hearing this, Charlos became even more excited.
Lately, his favorite game had been to steal a man's wife, bring the husband along, and then force the husband to watch while he ravaged his wife.
It was evident that after the incident with Sean and a year of forced seclusion, Charlos's psyche had become increasingly warped.
"Yes, Lord Charlos!"
"Woman, which one is your husband? Point him out!" the black-suited guard roared.
"My lord, please don't! I'm willing to go with you, just please let my husband go!"
"Stop wasting time! Point him out immediately, or not only your husband, but every single relative you have will be killed one by one!"
At this, the woman finally broke. With a trembling finger, she pointed toward a man in the crowd.
"Celestial Dragon! I'll kill you!"
The man she pointed to suddenly exploded. His face twisted with rage as he lunged directly at Charlos.
This sudden outburst stunned the guards for a moment. Usually, no matter how angry the civilians were, they never actually dared to take action against a Celestial Dragon.
But now, someone actually had...
However, they snapped back to reality in an instant.
The guards of the Celestial Dragons were no ordinary men; they were specifically trained by the CP. While they couldn't compare to the powerhouses of the open sea, even a standard guard possessed the strength of a Marine Headquarters Company-grade officer.
In terms of Doriki, they were at least 30 or higher.
Despite the surprise, dealing with a civilian was effortless.
Before the man could reach Charlos, he was slammed into the ground by a guard and pinned firmly, unable to move.
Just as the guard prepared to end his life, Charlos suddenly spoke.
"Wait!"
"Saint Charlos?"
"Bring him to me!"
"Yes, sir!"
The guard dared not disobey. He immediately dragged the man across the pavement and threw him before Charlos.
Chapter 246: The Revolutionary Army's Gambit, The Sabaody Archipelago Incident
Of course, this wasn't a sudden bout of mercy from Charlos. Instead, he pulled out a pistol made of solid gold, aimed it directly at the man's head, and pulled the trigger.
'Bang!'
The entire street fell into an instantaneous, suffocating silence.
Even the woman's gaze became vacant, her mind frozen in shock.
But just then, someone from the crowd lining the street screamed...
"Everyone! We're going to be killed by this Celestial Dragon sooner or later anyway! Let's rebel!"
"He's right! What the hell is a Celestial Dragon? They're nothing but a bunch of spoiled brats—no brains and no strength!"
"If we're going to die, let's die for something meaningful! Everyone will remember us today! They'll remember this day!"
"Charge! Fight them!"
"Charge!"
Once the first shout rang out, cries of agreement erupted one after another from various parts of the crowd.
Human nature is prone to the herd mentality.
Deep in their bones, they feared the Celestial Dragons. Perhaps a single person rising in resistance would not have sparked a movement. But when a second person stood up, then a third, and eventually dozens or hundreds...
The situation changed entirely.
The soldiers of the Revolutionary Army were the first wave to charge, and the civilians who had been secretly recruited by the Revolution over the past few weeks quickly followed suit.
Then...
As more and more people surged toward the Celestial Dragon, the tipping point was reached.
Everyone rose up; the situation spiraled completely out of control.
However, the dozens of guards surrounding Charlos did not panic.
It was only a crowd of one or two thousand people, and they were all just pathetic civilians. What was there to fear? Even if they couldn't beat every single one of them, protecting Saint Charlos and escorting him to safety without a scratch would be no problem at all.
But the moment they clashed with the first wave of attackers, their expressions shifted violently.
'Civilians?'
They wouldn't believe that even if they were beaten to death!
These attackers were highly skilled—certainly stronger than the elite marines of the Headquarters. Combined with their numerical advantage, the result was disastrous.
"Quickly! Protect Saint Charlos and evacuate! We'll hold them off here!" the captain of the guard squad roared, realizing the gravity of the situation.
Charlos was screaming as well...
"Take that woman with us!"
Several guards froze for a moment. 'It's this dangerous and you're still thinking about that woman?'
Still, they dared not disobey the orders of a Celestial Dragon.
The problem was, by the time they turned to seize the woman and bring her along, they discovered that she had vanished. No matter how they searched, she was nowhere to be found.
'''
Because the dozens of guards fought desperately to hold the line, Charlos was successfully escorted away by the remaining personnel.
Furthermore, once the Sabaody Marine branch received word, a thousand marines were deployed in full force. Having already ignited the spark, the members of the Revolutionary Army vanished into the crowds unnoticed.
Consequently, by the time the Marine reinforcements arrived, the thousand people they faced were, in reality, entirely civilians.
But the civilians, their spirits now fully ignited, did not shrink back even at the sight of the Marine. After all, every one of them knew that the moment they rose in rebellion, there was no path back to survival. If that was the case...
They might as well go out in a blaze of glory.
In the end, 1,724 civilians were killed or committed suicide during the suppression. The Sabaody branch of the Marine also suffered 278 casualties.
The entire event was detailed by Morgans in a headline feature of the next day's newspaper.
Of course, in Morgans' report, there was no mention of the Revolutionary Army. After all, what he wanted was a sensation; he wanted newspaper sales.
What could be more sensational than a spontaneous civilian uprising against the Celestial Dragons?
As the latest issue of the World Economic Journal hit the stands and public outcry grew fiercer, many people recalled the first press conference of the New World Marine.
The eyes of the entire world were now fixed upon the New World Marine Headquarters.
The common people hoped that Sean would make a choice different from the Headquarters Marine's brutal suppression of civilians.
But the New World Marine remained silent...
Until several days later, just as the public began to feel disappointed in the New World Marine, Sean suddenly made an announcement.
The following day, the New World Marine would hold a press conference regarding the incident at the Sabaody Archipelago.