The Dust Settles

"Don't want!"

Whether it's Smoker, Momonga, Sengoku, Garp, or millions of ordinary viewers, even supporters of the pirates, everyone was deeply impressed by the illustrious image of Twitch, an ordinary East Blue Branch colonel.

They risked their lives without fear of the Four Emperors, displaying unwavering righteousness!

Although the image was a bit lacking.

But in the world of One Piece, there are plenty of great heroes with bizarre appearances!

Boom--

The explosion was slightly weaker than expected, far less powerful than the explosives Pedro used in his self-destruction.

Even so, the light of the flames still caused Shanks and the other pirates to instinctively retreat, at least shielding their eyes with their arms.

Twitch is probably really dead.

His body fell straight backward, plummeting from the high Execution Platform, showing no signs of life.

Before the crowd could even grieve, the remaining executioner on the Execution Platform seized the opportunity, raised his large knife, and, with a comb-like motion, cleaved it toward Buggy's head.

"We are the roots that stand firm in the darkness. We embrace the darkness, uphold justice, and condemn evil!"

The Root Organization's debut, presented in front of millions of viewers, was undeniably spectacular.

Not only did officers shield their comrades from gunfire and then sacrifice themselves to uphold justice, but ordinary members of the Root Organization also followed suit, risking their lives for the justice they believed in, even when facing the Four Emperors, they bravely shouldered their responsibilities.

For a fleeting moment, Sengoku, watching from the screen, even had a feeling that if his lazy and slippery marine subordinates were all like that so-called Root Division, possessing such pure and clean justice, then the so-called Great Pirate Era might have ended long ago.

Borsalino, Admiral had poured himself another cup of coffee and was leaning back in his Sengoku chair watching the live stream, suddenly felt a cold wind blow past for no apparent reason, and his body shivered involuntarily.

In a flash, the second executioner brought down his Long Sword, cleaving Buggy's head in two.

The comments section was filled with unanimous cheers.

However, these cheers soon came to an abrupt end.

Because everyone was astonished to see that Buggy the Clown's head, which had been split in two, had miraculously healed!

Not only that, his limbs, torso, and neck were all broken into pieces and separated from the guillotine.

[Devil Fruit ability! This must be Devil Fruit ability!]

Some discerning viewers immediately revealed the truth in the live stream.

But shouldn't the prisoner be handcuffed with Seastone Handcuffs?

This purple, paid comment reflects the sentiments of many viewers in the live stream.

However, their doubts were soon explained.

The camera pans to a distant view, where a middle-aged man with thick lips smiles as he puts away his sniper rifle.

Usopp, who was watching the live broadcast with his coworkers in the Big Bird Kang Staff Cafeteria, suddenly shouted, "That's my father! That's my father, Yasopp!"

Kuro, who was eating his rice with his head down, almost choked to death on a Salted Fish.

He spat out the food in his mouth, looked up and carefully examined the thick lips on the screen, then looked at Usopp beside him, and was completely stunned.

Although it was very hard to believe that the liar who shared a dorm room with me would have a father of the Sweet Commander level, the facial features of Yasopp and Usopp made it clear at a glance that they were related.

Heavens above, earth below! Is there no longer any truth, goodness, and beauty in this world?

The true son of a great pirate is right beside me! Why aren't you blind, worthless marines capturing him?!

Kuro couldn't help but roar inwardly.

But then I thought, so what if your father is Sweet Commander?

Aren't you still working alongside me on the assembly line, tightening screws?

Thinking about it this way, Kuro felt much better.

He hummed a little tune and finished another bowl of Salted Fish rice.

The mystery has finally been solved.

Within the Red Hair Pirates, Yasopp, known as the World's Greatest Sniper, shattered Buggy's Seastone Handcuffs with a single shot from a kilometer away.

At this point, the battle situation had spiraled out of the navy's control and was rapidly deteriorating.

Buggy is Buggy, after all.

He said he didn't want Shanks to save him, but his body betrayed him by hiding behind Shanks.

Shanks shouted again, "Buggy's alive today! Death can't take him! I said it!"

In an instant, a powerful Conqueror's Haki swept across the entire Execution Plaza.

The crowd had already been dispersed, and of the four thousand naval soldiers who remained in place, more than four-fifths lost consciousness in an instant.

Only a few elite soldiers from Marineford, because they were positioned further away, were able to barely resist Shanks' powerful Conqueror's Haki.

Smoker gritted his teeth, trying to stay conscious.

Shanks gave him another approving look.

But this praise from a pirate made Smoker feel deeply ashamed.

Just as he was about to throw caution to the wind and do something spectacular like Twitch, the Den Den Den Mushi in his arms rang.

This is a dedicated Den Den Mushi (Den Den Mushi) connecting to Marineford.

"I am from the Sengoku."

An aged voice came through the Den Den Mushi: "The battle has come to this point; there's no point in continuing. The valiant performance of your East Blue Navy is something to be proud of. I order you to stop making unnecessary sacrifices!"

Marineford.

Electronic reading room.

Sengoku hung up the Den Den Mushi and stared at the screen where the live broadcast signal had been cut off, looking as if he had aged several years.

Minutes earlier, in his capacity as Fleet Admiral, he demanded that the Big Bird Live Platform unilaterally cut off the live stream signal.

But to be honest, if even the World Government can't control Big News Morgans, how could he, as a Fleet Admiral, possibly command Ma Qiao?

However, when he proposed to promote the experience of the East Blue 16th Branch throughout the entire Navy and order a large number of Mobile Den Den Mushi to realize a new policing model of Didi Beatdown- hailing app), Ma Qiao finally compromised.

As long as you pay more, there's nothing that can't be negotiated.

This Miniature Paramount War, with its twists and turns and thrilling plot, had viewers thoroughly engrossed. The abrupt end of the live broadcast naturally sparked public outrage.

[As required by relevant departments, this live broadcast has come to an end. Thank you for your understanding and support.]

In the comments section, all sorts of insults, accusations, and complaints came flying in like snowflakes.

However, Ma Qiao, who commands a high-tech Internet Water Army that surpasses the world's five-hundred-year-old technology, is naturally fearless.

With a little guidance, coupled with some artistic deletion of posts and traffic restrictions, public opinion quickly shifted from blaming the live streaming platform to blaming the "relevant departments."

The wonderful thing about "relevant departments" is that nobody really knows what they are.

Some people think it's the Marine Headquarters, while others think it's the World Government.

In reality, netizens who are timid and hesitant, not even daring to speak loudly to the local bullies who collect protection money, have begun to loudly criticize the egregious actions of the "relevant departments."

Of course, due to habitual behavior and a lack of trust in Big Bird Network, not many people dare to use the words "Celestial Dragons" online and insult their female relatives.

Ma Qiao glanced at the backstage information and found that they were mostly outlaw pirates.

Out of a desire to protect them, and also to protect the still somewhat immature Big Bird Consortium, Ma Qiao decisively silenced them.

Fortunately, there is no actual relevant department.

Neither the World Government nor the Marine Headquarters fully recognizes the importance of public opinion, especially the importance of emerging online media.

Otherwise, Sengoku wouldn't have waited until he himself issued the de facto surrender order before remembering to have Ma Qiao cut off the live broadcast.

Whether the live stream is cut off or not, the final outcome is already obvious.

Anyone with a modicum of judgment could easily see that the remaining Marine forces on the scene were absolutely no match for the unscathed Red Hair Pirates.

After all, the Navy's strongest fighters in Loguetown, Vice Admirals Momonga and Onigumo, could at best only fight to a draw with the average officers of the Red Hair Pirates.

With Shanks Buggy the Four Emperors, and his close friend Shanks, who has regained his freedom after his handcuffs were broken, who else present could stop them?

Although the Root Division soldiers of the East Blue 16th Branch were brave, they were, after all, just a local ragtag force.

Didn't you see that even their leader had to resort to near-suicidal methods just to slightly slow down the enemy?

It's a pity that Twitch's sacrifice did not bring about a good outcome.

The Root Division warriors' blades, aimed at Buggy the Clown, were ultimately a second too slow.

Many netizens who were new to the internet, guided by well-meaning individuals, launched crowdfunding campaigns to donate to Twitch.

Fortunately, three days later, an exciting piece of news was published on the homepage of Big Bird Network.

[The Root of Justice - Twitch, after three days and three nights of tireless rescue efforts, is finally out of danger!!]

The accompanying photo in the news article Twitch lying in a hospital bed, his body wrapped in bandages.

The Momonga stood before his bed, tears streaming down its face.

He was holding a fax in his hand.

That was the letter of appointment he had just obtained from Marineford.

Why is Twitch's rank listed as colonel in the title?

This is certainly not because the Marine Headquarters' rewards and punishments are unclear, but because Twitch has now become Marine Headquarters Colonel, just like Smoker, or rather, East Blue Branch Rear Admiral.

However, generally speaking, the highest rank in a local navy is colonel, and there is no title like Rear Admiral, so the news ultimately used the title of colonel from headquarters.

He was promoted from Headquarters Lieutenant Commander to headquarters in one fell swoop, a jump of three ranks.

Such a rapid promotion rate is considered very fast in naval history.

But compared to someone Koby who has cheat codes, it's simply incomparable.

There's no reasoning with this.

Twitch was almost blown to death, or rather, he was already blown to death, yet his promotion speed couldn't even catch up with that of a deserter king.

This corrupt navy really should be considered for rebuilding.

However, since there is no precedent Koby, no one feels that Commander Twitch is being treated unfairly.

The soldiers of the Shadow Unit crowded into the ward, looking at their commander with excited expressions and eyes full of admiration.

It's worth mentioning that there's also a yellow back of a head in this photo.

That was Sanji when he became withdrawn.

With his amazing talent, Sanji's culinary skills far surpassed his fighting skills, and his cooking was always invincible. However, he never expected to suffer a setback at the hands of Boss Twitch.

That's right, Sanji can indeed turn food from garbage cans into dishes that look and taste better than those from Michelin-starred restaurants.

The problem is that Twitch just loves that garbage can.

If I don't drink anything else in the morning, but instead have to drink a sip of swill, the feeling is indescribable!

Typical!

Sanji had meticulously prepared a recovery meal for the wounded, Twitch took one bite and immediately spat it out.

So Sanji became withdrawn.

And this scene was captured in a photograph.

Finding himself in the shot yet feeling invisible and looking dejected, Sanji was heartbroken and burst into tears again.

Fortunately, Sanji did gain something from this battle.

He was finally accepted as a full member of Root Division.

Root Division have now become Ming Dynasty in the East Blue.

Sanji was already imagining himself being surrounded and confessed to by female fans.

But...

The Miss Meat-Meat is still number one!

Seeing the message from the Miss Meat-Meat on QQ, Sanji was filled with enthusiasm and threw himself back into making beef jerky.

Why call it an engineering project?

This is because the Miss Meat-Meat and her best friend have an astonishing appetite.

Sanji spent all his combat allowance to buy several cows just to barely satisfy their appetites.

As for the real winner of this battle, it goes without saying that it's the mastermind behind it all Ma Qiao.

After the live stream, sales of the Big Bird Den Den Mushi surged again.

Including the tens of thousands of units sold previously, total sales have reached 500,000, and orders are still increasing.

Of course, in order to promote its widespread use, the price of these Den Den Mushi has dropped significantly.

Nowadays, you can buy standard mobile Den Den Mushi for just 10,000 Beli.

One hundred thousand Beli can buy a mid-to-high-end mobile phone charger.

With 500,000 Beli, you could buy a luxury Den Den Mushi.

After deducting the costs of materials and land, workers' wages, and the profit margin earned by distributors, the Big Bird Consortium's revenue from Den Den Mushi sales alone reached an astonishing 7 billion Beli.

Including the various gifts and paid comments received in the live stream, the Big Bird Consortium's total revenue during this live stream exceeded 11 billion Beli, equivalent to defeating Roger and Whitebeard!

On the expenditure side, the total amount of expenses, including the cost of reviving fallen heroes and the funds for the departure of the Root and Shadow Unit Root Division, amounted to 1.5 billion Beli.

The so-called "deployment allowance" was actually a combat stipend issued by Ma Qiao in his personal capacity.

The reason Sanji was able to afford to make snacks for the two big eaters was because of the allowance that Ma Qiao personally provided.

As for the rewards that the soldiers of the 16th Branch should receive through official channels, not a single penny less.

Previously, Twitch applied to Marineford 300 million Beli for funding to rebuild the branch.

This time, they simply added a zero to the end, requesting 3 billion Beli.

This money is not only the bonus for the branch navy, but also the funds needed to expand the force.

Twitch is now effectively Rear Admiral in the East Blue.

He rejected Marineford's offer, stating that he would continue to stay rooted in the local community and maintain peace in the East Blue.

Therefore, it was reasonable for the number of personnel in the 16th Branches of the East Blue to rise to ten thousand.

Whether it's food for humans or provisions for horses, it all costs money, doesn't it?

Furthermore, the warship that was promised in Water 7 seems to be too small now.

It should at least be built to the standard of Rear Admiral flagship's flagship, shouldn't it?

In addition, so many formidable pirates have emerged in the East Blue these days.

Roger's son's lingering spirit seeks to overturn the world order, and Twitch, as the root of darkness, declares that he must nip it in the bud.

However... suppressing bandits costs money...

Moreover, this is absolutely not about harboring bandits to enhance one's own power.

After all, our Lord Twitch has already captured Kou; it was the Marine Headquarters that didn't take it seriously enough, resulting in Kou escaping.

Releasing a tiger back into the mountains would cause endless harm, and how much more money would that cost? Twitch didn't even dare to think about it; he could only apply to headquarters for a lower estimate.

With such outstanding cadres in East Blue, who wouldn't be moved?

Just as Ma Qiao was winning big, Crocodile, who had taken a trip to the New World, finally rode his Banana Crocodile back to his lair in the Rainbase.

Looking at the bare, sparsely furnished office, he fell into deep self-doubt...

--A side note--

I'm slightly adjusting the update time; this chapter will be updated an hour earlier tonight.