The Neo Marines Who Believed in Plain Justice

For a long time, Shazo and Ahiru did not have the opportunity to have close, one-on-one contact.

Therefore, Shazo had no chance to hear her true feelings and was unaware that Ahiru was Revolutionary Army spy.

However, Shazo concluded that the Revolutionary Army would send people into the East Blue to monitor and observe him through various means.

In Shazo's view, none of this mattered. If his plan was so shady that it could be easily ruined just by being observed, then there was no need to continue.

Moreover, his cause and Long's cause are actually in competition, and there is no fierce competition between them for talent. All the Revolutionary Army members sent to monitor the East Blue are actively accepting his propaganda.

Shazo eagerly anticipates that the elites of the Revolutionary Army will become his followers after prolonged exposure to "Plain Justice."

That would be really fun, and Monkey D. Dragon's expression would be even funnier.

Since Shazo publicly promoted "Plain Justice," the marines of the 77th Branch have had a very fulfilling life.

After completing their regular training, patrols, and missions, they also carry out a variety of activities under Shazo's leadership.

First and foremost was the outrageously strict housekeeping.

The dormitory room must be spotless, toiletries must be placed at a fixed angle, and most terrifyingly, the bedding must be folded neatly.

When Brigadier General Xia Zuo gave his demonstration, folding the blanket into an incomprehensible tofu block, it must have given many people goosebumps.

Fortunately, the horrific housekeeping was not mandatory but voluntary; otherwise, the marines would have certainly mutinied on the spot.

Even the marines who fought alongside Shazo, and even the Marine Corps who were personally trained by Shazo, found this unacceptable.

They said, "We would rather die from exhaustion during training, die in battle against pirates, or drown after jumping into the sea from the ship than do this kind of useless and torturous housework!"

Although this didn't conform to the Law of True Fragrance, after 4 or 5 months, 90% of the marines in the 77th Branch were already adhering to Shazo's housekeeping standards.

This wasn't actually the result of coercion, but rather the powerful appeal of collectivism.

When a small group of die-hard followers carried out internal affairs according to strict standards, this small group centered around Shazo unknowingly exhibited an extremely strong sense of collectivism.

It was a flavor distinctly different from that of other marines. At first glance, it seemed awkward and stiff, but it unconsciously generated a strong attraction, drawing in marines who would rather die than participate to give it a try.

Then one by one they succumbed to it. Collectivism is one of the two pillars upon which humanity has triumphed over other competitors and become the masters of the world.

It is a fundamental need for social interaction deeply ingrained in our genes.

When the marines joined the new unit led by Shazo, they not only felt a sense of belonging to the group, but also experienced full democracy and respect.

In this group, every matter concerning the group is solemnly and seriously communicated to everyone.

The decision in this group was not made by Brigadier General Xia Zuo, but by him and everyone else through discussion; everyone participated in the decision-making process.

It's hard for members of a group not to feel that they are one of the owners of the group.

This feeling, which Brigadier General Xia Zuo called "ownership," was truly intoxicating, captivating all the marines.

After three months of adjustment, the new team experienced explosive growth and has now recruited the 77th member.

Ninety percent of the branch members are marines.

Then, the 77th Branch underwent its second transformation, and began to resemble the army that Shazo was familiar with.

However, Shazo's attempt to promote "serving the people" was met with collective resistance from the marines.

Their attitude was so resolute that even Shazo had no way to change it.

Later, during a heart-to-heart talk with the marines, he subtly inquired about this issue and discovered that it was truly impossible.

The social strata of the entire Pirate World are vastly different, and during the 800 years of Celestial Dragons rule, they deliberately engaged in various maneuvers to incite regional and racial conflicts.

Unless they join a pirate crew for various reasons, board a pirate ship, and band together to survive on the vast ocean and in the cramped space of the ship, with no way out, the immense pressure of survival can break down geographical and racial barriers and allow them to form a team.

The Navy's internal cohesion also stems from its frequent voyages, facing the dangerous seas and ferocious pirates, and the marines have no way out unless they want to become pirates.

It's worth noting that even that army struggled to manage the tense Military-Civilian Relations in the territory of the South Vietnamese Monkey.

This is not a problem with the military, but rather a problem of extreme poverty in folk culture. Like a volatile animal, the Monkey interprets any manifestation of civilization as weakness and vulnerability.

What virtue or ability does Shazo Zuo possess to elevate the cultural level of the vast border regions and achieve national civilizational unity, just like the great teacher?

The Pirate World lacks a foundation of civilization, and Shazo doesn't possess Gods abilities, so we can only leave it at that.

Fortunately, the change in the internal culture of the East Blue Navy has already created a sufficiently dramatic gap.

When Ahiru joined the 77th Branch, the Marines had already undergone a complete transformation and had begun to influence the surrounding branches.

This young Revolutionary Army cadre, after infiltrating the 77th Branch the Navy, fell into confusion within just half a month, only remembering his identity before falling asleep at night.

A month later, the young Sergeant received unanimous praise from the marines at a group meeting and was subsequently promoted to second lieutenant. She was so excited that she burst into tears.

As the deputy commander of the East Army Revolutionary Army, she certainly wouldn't be crying because of her mere second lieutenant rank. She was crying because of the sincere respect the other marines had for her and because she was capable of fair promotion.

For the next ten days or so, Ahiru was caught in a great mental struggle, her heart torn between her identification with the Revolutionary Army and her identification with the Plain Justice Faction Navy.

However, people can get used to even the most difficult things.

Ten days later, the New Year of the 1514th year of the Sea Circle Calendar arrived. After the 77th Branch's New Year Gala, Ahiru's mental exhaustion would only occur in the few minutes before she fell asleep.

After a year, Shazo successfully transformed the 7th branch into the familiar one he knew.

In this Plain Justice Faction navy, there is something to do every moment of waking up.

Physical training, military training, and housekeeping are fundamental; after all, the navy's primary duty is combat.

Learning life skills, growing vegetables, raising pigs, or acquiring a trade are all ways to advance your career. Even if you can't work in the navy anymore, you can still earn a living back home.

In the afternoon, there were meetings at the squad, company, and battalion levels where the marines discussed everything related to them and made sure to thoroughly check the previously assigned tasks.

In the evenings, there are group entertainment activities and simple, Justice study sessions.

After all that is done, you still have to wash up as required, and then there's the night shift work, guard duty, and patrol duty.

By the time they were finally able to lie down, the marines of the 77th Branch were exhausted. They were snoring the moment their heads hit the pillow, and they had no energy left to think about anything else.

If a person doesn't have the time or energy to overthink, they won't experience mental exhaustion.

When extremely tired, without any distracting thoughts, one can make the most effortless decisions.

And so, Ahiru made this bright and cheerful decision: since she couldn't let go of either side, she would just do her best on both.

What happens if they're discovered?

Ahiru thought: Whatever, what could be more important than sleeping?

If even the designated deputy commander of the East Army is so attracted, how could ordinary marines possibly resist the allure of the Neo Marines?

Signs of low-ranking marines falling into straits have appeared throughout the East Blue branch. Even the Nezumi Branch Department Head of the 16th Branch, who tried to bribe his subordinates, could not prevent his branch from splitting.

As for punishing the marines in the 16th Branch who were not of Isshin with him, Nezumi simply didn't have the guts.

It should be noted that Brigadier General Xia Zuo not only had a higher military rank than him, but his responsibilities also included providing comprehensive guidance on the management of all branches in the East China Sea, making him his direct superior.

As a prime example of sycophancy, the Nezumi Branch Department Head's ability to outwardly comply while inwardly defying orders was already at its limit; how could he dare to lay a hand on the marines who were studying Shazo's methods?

Luck, due to the distance, the marines rarely had the opportunity to see the 77th Branch in person, and the news passed down by word of mouth seemed too incredible; few people believed in "simple Justice."

From the perspective of the Nezumi branch Department Head, the situation he faced was not so bad.

He even felt that this was just a gust of wind stirred up by General Xia Zuo, and that everything would return to normal once he was transferred from headquarters.

Hasn't it been like this for hundreds of years?

It wasn't just Colonel Rat who thought this way; Lieutenant Colonel Morgan thought the same. They were even secretly planning how to kill the marines who weren't loyal to them after Brigadier General Shazo left.

At this point, Shazo unexpectedly discovered that the 77th Branch's resistance to "serving the people" had actually served an unexpected purpose of intelligence blocking and camouflage.

After the New Year's celebrations concluded, the 77th Branch began a large-scale holiday.

Even Shazo left the branch and flew south, finding an unremarkable little island in the sea not far from the Calm Belt.

Dracule Mihawk, who has already earned the title of "World's Greatest Swordsman," is waiting for him at the highest point of the island.

Since his last battle with Shazo, Mihawk has returned to the East Blue every three months to spar with Shazo and test his progress in Swordsmanship.

Each time, he felt he had gained a great deal, and then returned to the New World covered in wounds.

Mihawk's reward for luring Shazo to the meeting was the intelligence he gathered in the New World, allowing Shazo to stay informed about world events even while he was a recluse in the East Blue.

Hawkeye is extremely powerful, and being alone without any burdens, he can sail his famous small boat directly across the Calm Belt. He can enter and exit the Grand Line much faster than Dragon, who is leading a large group of the Revolutionary Army.

The intelligence he brought was very timely.

Upon meeting him this time, Shazo sensed that Dracule Mihawk's aura had broken through again, and couldn't help but laugh, "Mihawk, you are truly a genius. Every time I see you, you have made such amazing progress."

Hawkeye remained unmoved by Shazo's praise, coldly retorting, "Oh, are you praising yourself?"

"After each sparring session, your strength increases more than mine."

"You have absolutely no idea how I feel!"

"Every time I made progress, I found that the gap between us had widened even further during our matches. Do you know how devastated I felt?"

Shazo felt extremely embarrassed upon hearing Hawkeye's complaint.

He had never imagined that the Great Swordmaster Hawkeye, with his cold and aloof appearance and sharp and icy temperament, like a gleaming sword, could utter such a complaint.

Even as he spoke these words, Mihawk's demeanor remained sharp, and his emotions were incredibly calm. His composure and decisiveness exuded a captivating power.

Such a person and his temperament are so mismatched with the words he speaks.

Having no idea what to say, Shazo said, "At least you always seem to have a pretty good haul."

Dracule Mihawk sighed and said, "You're right, I do make great progress every time."

"If I hadn't always managed to gain something and regain my confidence from the pirates in the New World, I probably wouldn't have had the courage to turn around and face you."

Shazo shook his head and said, "It's not that bad. With your Hawkeye mentality, you would never give up an opportunity to improve."

"Of course, losing every game is really discouraging. How about I let you win this time?"

Mihawk was finally broken by Shazo's words. Veins bulged on his forehead, and the Black Blade "Night" was already in his hand. He then unleashed a Flying Slash.

A year has passed, Great Swordmaster Mihawk has indeed made tremendous progress. His Flying Slash are no longer uncontrollable Sword Qi impacts, but have evolved into extremely complex Body Integration of Sword Qi.

The towering Sword Qi arrived in front of Shazo, then suddenly split into two streams, restricting his space to dodge.

When they were less than ten meters away, the two Sword Qi split apart again, forming Hundred Plans Sword Qi that attacked Shazo from all directions like a storm, leaving no gaps.

[Flying Slash - Sword Qi Storm]

Shazo was startled by Mihawk's new move, and it was too late to dodge or even block.

Although he has ten fingers, there are hundreds of Sword Qi attacking from all directions at the same time, and he has no way to unleash so many Sword Qi at the same time to defend against them.

Because the event happened so suddenly, Shazo didn't have time to use the ever-growing trees to defend against the Sword Qi, since he wasn't as skilled in [Wood Release] as the Naruto Shazo.

However, Shazo was skilled in [Ice Style] and could create freezing air in this world. With a thought, a completely transparent Ice Wall, as if it were air, appeared around him.

Dracule Mihawk's Sword Qi strikes the Ice Wall, leaving only a sword mark less than three inches deep.

As the Sword Qi Storm Sword Qi its relentless attacks, countless sword marks appeared on the Ice Wall, and the flying ice shards formed a faint mist.

Hundreds of Sword Qi struck the Ice Wall in succession, accumulating deep sword marks, but Mihawk stopped his attack in disappointment.

Because the Ice Wall was growing from the inside out, and its thickness was increasing faster than the Sword Qi could destroy it.