Crazy Expansion

A flower tended with care might not bloom, while a willow planted without intention might grow into a shade tree.

Victor had never expected the Blue Sea Society created by Oren to expand and grow so rapidly.

By now, many Marines in Branch G1 wanted to join the Blue Sea Society.

Of course, Victor understood that most of them joined the Blue Sea Society for the sake of their own futures.

But that did not matter.

Victor did not care why they followed him.

What he needed now was influence—a massive following.

The rise of the Blue Sea Society happened to further expand his influence within the Marines.

To highlight the Blue Sea Society's advantages,

Victor promoted a group of its members or transferred them to positions where promotions were easier to obtain or the benefits were better.

This gave the Marines of Branch G1 a clear impression.

Only those who followed Victor and pledged their loyalty could be easily promoted.

At the same time, Victor wanted to make the Blue Sea Society more recognizable.

He decided to create a "badge" for the Blue Sea Society.

Wearing the Blue Sea Society's badge made it easier to identify its members.

The Marines' symbol was a seagull carrying a balance, symbolizing the preservation of peace and order throughout the world.

Inspired by this, Victor created the Blue Sea Society's badge.

The badge depicted a deep-blue ocean with the words "Justice" above it.

The design symbolized the blue sea and the Blue Sea Society's justice.

After the badges were made, Victor put one on himself.

Eric, Kennard, Wright, Connor, and the others also wore Blue Sea Society badges that same day.

After Victor placed an order with a factory, more and more Blue Sea Society badges were delivered to Branch G1, the South Blue's Kurodo Fortress, Branch 189, Branch 191, and Marineford Town.

More and more Marines began wearing Blue Sea Society badges.

Marineford Town.

Marine academy.

Kuzan had just entered the cafeteria.

At that moment, many students in the cafeteria had gathered together.

"Anyone who wants to join the Blue Sea Society, sign up here."

"Line up over here."

"Keep order."

"Come to me to get a form and fill in your information."

The commotion in the cafeteria caught Kuzan's attention, and he looked toward the noise.

Several tables had banners hanging in front of them. The banners read: "Join the Blue Sea Society, purge the forces of evil on the sea, and make the ocean pure and blue."

The Blue Sea Society?

Although Kuzan was unfamiliar with the Blue Sea Society, the latter half of the slogan on the banner left a deep impression on him.

Victor had mentioned it during one of his personal speeches.

"Kuzan." At that moment, a young man came up behind him.

Kuzan turned to look at the young man.

The young man's name was Thor, and he was in the same class as Kuzan.

Kuzan noticed a badge on Thor's chest.

Pointing at his badge, Thor said proudly, "I've joined the Blue Sea Society. I'm officially one of its members now."

"Hmm." Kuzan was not surprised. Thor worshiped Victor.

Thor had publicly praised Victor's greatness and selflessness more than once.

"You should join too." Thor smiled.

Kuzan frowned as he looked at the long line of people. For the moment, he shook his head. "Maybe later."

Hearing this, Thor did not try to persuade him again.

He knew that Kuzan admired Garp.

Besides, Victor's justice was too radical, and Kuzan did not fully agree with it.

Even so, many students still signed up because they approved of Victor's justice.

If all evil were purged, the sea would return to peace.

Branch G1, commander's office.

Knock, knock, knock.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." Victor called toward the door.

Three young men came before Victor. After standing at attention, they saluted him.

The three young men stood tall and proud. The Blue Sea Society badges on their chests were especially bright.

Victor said to the three young men, "I have something I need you to do."

The three young men shouted together, "We will complete the mission!"

They were all members of the Blue Sea Society, so naturally they would carry out the orders Victor assigned them.

"Andrew."

"Rivera."

"Jarrow."

Victor looked at the three young men. "I need you to go to the East Blue, West Blue, and North Blue, then spread the Blue Sea Society's ideals."

"To purify the seas, we need more comrades."

Victor spoke seriously.

"Yes!" the three young men answered together.

These three young men were in the same class as Wright and Connor.

They had been recommended by Wright.

The three were also relatively weak. If they stayed in the New World, they were very likely to die in battle.

Therefore, Victor planned to send them to the Four Seas.

Controlling the Marines of the Four Seas was not easy.

However, expanding the Blue Sea Society's influence to the Four Seas and accumulating wealth was not difficult.

Grand Line Era 1495.

Marineford, Marine Headquarters.

Victor promoted the expansion of the Blue Sea Society and continued recruiting members.

The news was all out in the open, so the higher-ups at Marine Headquarters naturally knew about it.

After Tsuru learned of the Blue Sea Society's goals, she was not surprised.

The image Victor had built over the years, along with the current Blue Sea Society, provided Tsuru with a "reasonable" explanation.

Victor hated pirates and wanted to eliminate all the evil on the seas.

Therefore, Victor had begun to act.

As for forming factions, this was hardly the first time such a thing had happened at Marine Headquarters.

At that moment, Garp walked over and sat on the sofa. He read the newspaper while eating the senbei on the table.

Kuzan followed behind Garp. At the beginning of the year, he had been assigned to serve as Garp's intern.

A photograph in the newspaper showed a Navy Colonel capturing a pirate. It was especially eye-catching.

What caught Garp's attention was not that the colonel had captured a pirate with a bounty of 14 million Beli, but that the Navy Colonel was wearing a Blue Sea Society badge on his chest.

This was not the South Blue, nor was it Branch G1, and it certainly was not Marine Headquarters.

It was the East Blue.

The Navy Colonel had graduated the previous year and had even interned on Garp's ship.

If Garp remembered correctly, the colonel should have been stationed at Branch G1, and his rank should have been lieutenant.

"I didn't expect the Blue Sea Society to reach the East Blue too. That Victor..."

Garp muttered.

Tsuru had also read the report in the newspaper. She said, "That child's intentions are good."

Garp did not reply and continued reading the other news.

He saw the Supernova Crocodile and also a familiar face—Douglas Bullet.

There was no need to mention Crocodile. He had made the world remember him the moment he debuted.

His current bounty had already reached 82 million Beli.

Bullet had once been a member of the Roger Pirates, and his intentions after leaving the crew were currently unknown.

Therefore, the World Government was also paying close attention to Bullet.

However, Garp was more concerned about Roger.

Capturing Roger was what Garp wanted to do most.

"Garp." At that moment, Sengoku entered and said to him, "The Marshal wants you to go see him."

"Got it." Garp stood up and left the office impatiently.