Factionalization, Factional Conflict Erupts! (Combined Chapter)

The New Marines' campaign against Hachinosu Island went extremely smoothly. Although Blackbeard had made a brief appearance along the way, it had not affected the New Marines' overall plans.

As Ochoku and Hachinosu Island's cadres were killed one after another, the campaign officially entered its final stage. Zephyr personally invited newspaper outlets under Morgans to extensively report on Hachinosu Island's destruction.

They hoped to use this method to strengthen the New Marines' influence.

The effects of this approach were immediate. As newspapers published large numbers of on-site photographs from Hachinosu Island, the world was quickly thrown into turmoil.

Under Ochoku's leadership, Hachinosu Island had become one of the Four Emperors' forces. It had long ceased to be the pirate crew that had once developed quietly. Their infamous reputation had naturally spread throughout the world.

The destruction of such an enormous pirate crew undoubtedly shocked the public. What was more, the force that had accomplished it was the New Marines, who had recently seemed somewhat weak in the New World.

During Tsugikuni Yoriichi's absence, the New Marines had been beset from all sides. First, Hachinosu Island's resurgence had damaged their prestige. Then the Red-Haired Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates led by Kozuki Oden had risen in succession, along with young pirates who regarded the New Marines as stepping stones.

In recent years, the New Marines' overall strategy had actually been one of inward contraction. They had done everything possible to avoid direct conflicts with other major forces of comparable strength, using that approach to maintain their stability.

It was precisely because of this contraction policy that the public came to believe the New Marines were no longer capable. They had fallen from a terrifying force once expected to suppress all pirates into an "ordinary" major power.

But after the battle of