Four Spirits Society

Neither of them was particularly enthusiastic about naming things.

After all, the Marines were called the Marines, and the Revolutionary Army was called the Revolutionary Army—simple and unpretentious.

That was also this world's general style. Take pirate crews, for example: Whitebeard's crew was called the Whitebeard Pirates, and Red-Haired's crew was called the Red-Haired Pirates.

"Although our organization's purpose is to hunt Devil Fruit Users, it's all for the sake of making this world better!" Zhou Qi said. "So without a doubt, we're on the side of justice. We need a brighter name. Of course, being bright and beautiful isn't enough—it also has to sound mighty and imposing. Otherwise, people will laugh themselves to death when we say it. It needs class and an air of mystery!"

"Uh..." Smoker scratched his head. "Does it have to be that complicated?"

"If you're only fooling around on a small scale, then no, it doesn't!" Zhou Qi said. "But if you're aiming to become a Marine Admiral, or even Fleet Admiral, then you can't skip the sense of ceremony. Otherwise, if I named an organization Beauty Goat, what would you think?"

"Uh..." Smoker scratched his head. I'd quit immediately. I couldn't afford to lose that much face.

"Looking at it that way, an organization's name really is important!" Smoker nodded. "Do you have any ideas?"

"I can't think of one right away either, but I'll mention a few famous organizations for us to use as reference, then we can decide together!" As Zhou Qi spoke, he walked over to the table, pulled out a sheet of paper, and wrote down several organization names.

"First, this one: the □□ Society. This is an organization that controls countless multiverses and even endless timelines. It is unimaginably powerful—one thought can create a world, and one thought can destroy one!"

"But that organization is too terrifying. Its name can't be spoken..." Zhou Qi said.

Smoker rolled his eyes. He didn't understand anything about multiverses or timelines. All he knew was that if the name couldn't be spoken, then why the hell were they talking about it?

"Fine, then this one: the Freemasons. It's an organization formed by a group of wealthy people—people we call capitalists. They helped each other and shared resources, rapidly expanding across the entire world. They even became the hidden rulers behind many countries. Our country was founded by workers and farmers, so in a sense, we're enemies of this organization..."

Smoker and Koshiro exchanged glances. Wealthy people who could control the world?

Thinking about the merchants the Marines could extort at will and pirates could rob whenever they pleased, they found that hard to understand.

"Don't underestimate wealthy people!" Zhou Qi said. "In a chaotic world, they can't stir up much trouble and may even be the ones being oppressed. But once the world is peaceful, with order and laws protecting them, they'll use money to pave their way and swiftly become superior to everyone else. They'll dare do anything for profit—raise food prices during famine, incite nations to start wars so they can sell weapons, allow everyone to own guns just to sell more of them, completely ignoring how many people die every year because of firearms..."

"This!" Smoker and Koshiro exchanged another glance, their expressions immediately turning much more serious.

Smoker already understood what kind of people they were. Weren't there plenty of such people in the Marines? Selling military equipment and rations on the side, drawing pay for nonexistent troops, serving as shields for slave traders, running casinos and red-light districts...

So they were called capitalists. I'll remember that!

Koshiro, meanwhile, was thinking that their goal was to create a peaceful world. But if capitalists appeared after the nobles were brought down, wouldn't all their efforts have been for nothing?

He needed to learn from Zhou Qi about how to prevent such a group from emerging.

"The Illuminati. This is an organization founded by people with powerful abilities. Its goal is to prevent the world from being destroyed and preserve world peace!" Zhou Qi said. "It would be like the Three Admirals, Dragon, and Hawk Eyes—powerful people who don't belong to the same organization—joining forces to fight pirates..."

"This..." The two exchanged glances again. That was quite a novel idea...

"The Akatsuki Organization. Its name means dawn. It is also an organization dedicated to bringing dawn and daylight to the world, striving for world peace!" Zhou Qi said. "It was founded by three war orphans born in a region ravaged by conflict. They studied in a great nation, and after acquiring their skills, they didn't stay there to enjoy privileged lives. Instead, they returned to their homeland and worked tirelessly for world peace!"

"Huh?" Koshiro and Smoker's eyes both lit up. They weren't particularly interested in the previous two organizations; they were too impractical.

But this one immediately felt relatable!

After all, there were far too many nations in this world that had suffered through endless war!

"Did they succeed?" Koshiro asked.

Zhou Qi shook his head. "Their enemies were too powerful, and the three of them were somewhat lacking in ability. Their understanding of the world was insufficient. One founder was killed early on, while the remaining two became tools for a schemer seeking revenge on the world. In the end, both died, and the world never found peace..."

"This..." Koshiro felt somewhat saddened. Sure enough, world peace was not an easy road!

"The Hero Association!" Zhou Qi wrote down another organization. "This organization is basically about gathering all Devil Fruit Users together to fight bad guys and criminal organizations. It's similar to the Illuminati, but it has more members, and they don't work for free. The Hero Association accepts funding from civilians and private capital, and every heroic operation receives payment..."

The two shook their heads. Bounty Hunters? They felt nothing about that.

"Night Raid, an assassination organization born from a decaying empire. Its goal was to assassinate corrupt nobles and overthrow the empire!"

Smoker felt even less connected to that, and Koshiro shook his head as well. How could a country be overthrown through assassination alone?

That would merely mean replacing one group of rulers with another. If the people could not be awakened, everything would be futile.

"The Dawn Society." Zhou Qi wrote down another organization. "It is likewise dedicated to world peace and exists in the same world as the Akatsuki Organization, but it is more mature and steady than Akatsuki..."

"Did they succeed?" Koshiro asked curiously.

"Yes!" Zhou Qi nodded. "The Dawn Society's president was extremely patient. He set his ambition at the age of five, then quietly developed the organization. By the time the Dawn Society launched its uprising when he was fifteen, almost no one in the world even knew the organization existed. Later, they killed all the nobles and capitalists in that world and unified it. Once the world was unified, peace naturally followed!" (It was from my previous book, a Naruto fanfic. I'm only mentioning it in passing.)

"Wait, what?" Koshiro's eyes widened. You could do that?

If they could borrow from that approach...

Koshiro shook his head. No, that did not align with the Revolutionary Army's principles. Dragon had said that the Revolutionary Army had to remain active, had to let the world know that people were resisting, and could not allow people to give up hope so easily.

Ultimately, it was because the worlds were different. In the Naruto world, ordinary people had no choice but to suffer. But in the world of One Piece, if things went south, people could always head out to sea and become pirates.

But once someone became a pirate and committed evil, they could no longer be saved.

That was why the Revolutionary Army had to raise its banner and give people hope whenever possible.

Still, they could study what this organization had done over ten years—how it had developed for only ten years before being able to unify the world. The Revolutionary Army, on the other hand, had existed for sixteen years already.

It couldn't be said that they had accomplished nothing, but they certainly hadn't made much progress.

"That should be about it!" Zhou Qi thought for a moment. There did not seem to be any other organizations worth mentioning. "Take a look. Is there anything we can learn from?"

"I think the Akatsuki Organization and the Dawn Society are both good..." Koshiro said. "Organizations that bring dawn to the people..."

"But that isn't our organization's purpose!" Smoker rolled his eyes. "We only formed an alliance to hunt Devil Fruit Users. Your own organization could be called the Dawn Society. Ours would be a higher-level organization above the Dawn Society!"

"That's true..." Koshiro nodded. He had only been making a suggestion. What the Revolutionary Army should be called was not up to him anyway.

"Our organization only has four people, right?" Smoker said. "Even if more people join later, they'll join our respective organizations rather than expand this one. So why not call it Four People..."

"Stop!" Zhou Qi hurriedly covered his mouth. "That won't work!"

"Huh?" Smoker looked baffled. "Why not?"

"If you dare finish that sentence, the 404 Censorship Society will come knocking and destroy this world!" Zhou Qi said.

Smoker was speechless. What a joke. Who could destroy the world? Even Whitebeard could not do that!

"I'm not joking!" Zhou Qi said. "But you did give me an idea. In China, four is a number with special significance. We like to group things into the Four Great Beauties, the Four Great Classical Novels, the Four Heavenly Kings, the Four Great Fiendish Beasts, the Four Divine Beasts, and so on. Even among nations, we came up with the Four Great Ancient Civilizations!"

"So?"

"In China, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise are called the Four Spirits of Heaven and Earth. They guard the four corners of the world and preserve its peace and stability. Not only do their actions resemble our organization's purpose, but their number never increases or decreases. There are always only four of them!"

"This!" Smoker's eyes widened.

"Also, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise are generally male, while Vermilion Bird is female. We happen to have three men and one woman..."

The three looked at Tashigi, who was sleeping soundly in Zhou Qi's arms.

"Vermilion Bird governs fire. After she eats the Mera Mera no Mi, she'll happen to be able to play with fire!" Zhou Qi continued. "White Tiger belongs to metal and governs slaughter. Teacher happens to use a sword!"

"And Black Tortoise belongs to water and governs defense. I happen to be able to control water, and my defensive ability is quite strong too!" After all, he could place a wall on the other side of a door, making his defense incredibly solid. He could also teleport other people's attacks away, as long as he could react in time...

"It's just that Azure Dragon doesn't suit you very well. Azure Dragon belongs to wood. It would have been perfect if you were going to eat the Shove-Shove Fruit!" Zhou Qi stroked his chin, sounding somewhat regretful.

"I'm sorry my Devil Fruit isn't the Shove-Shove Fruit!" Smoker said speechlessly. He did know who had the Shove-Shove Fruit, though.

"Are we supposed to hunt every Devil Fruit User among us?" Smoker asked. "Wouldn't that mean we'd have to commit every kind of evil?"

"We'll discuss our methods later!" Zhou Qi waved his hand. "Let's settle the name first. What do you think about using the Four Spirits of Heaven and Earth as our organization's name?"

"I have no objections!" Koshiro nodded. Wano Country also had legends of the White Tiger, so he would not feel insulted.

Not to mention Azure Dragon. Wasn't that Kaido? Who would think Kaido lacked prestige?

"I have no objections either!" Smoker nodded as well. He did not care much in the first place.

As for Tashigi, let her sleep. She was just a follower anyway; no one cared about her opinion.

"Then our organization shall be named the Four Spirits Society. For secrecy, from now on, we will no longer use our names when speaking to outsiders or subordinates. Instead, we'll address each other by code names. I'll be Black Tortoise, and she will be Vermilion Bird!" Zhou Qi pointed at Tashigi. "As for you two, you'll be Azure Dragon and White Tiger!"

"No problem!" Smoker and Koshiro nodded.

"Next, let's discuss our operating principles—namely, who we should hunt!"