"The Marines aren't as righteous as you think," Zoro suddenly said.
"You mean there are plenty of bastards in the Marines too? Of course I know that. Our village was once targeted by someone called Nezumi..." Nami had just begun to say something.
But Zoro interrupted her. "That's not what I mean. I mean something more..."
At that, Zoro glanced at Bane. Seeing this, Bane sighed. "Fine, I'll explain. The Marines answer to the World Government, but the World Government is no good thing. It's corrupt, depraved, cruel, and dark. In short, Nami, you think Pirates are unforgivable scum, but if you truly learned the World Government's secrets, you'd find Pirates almost innocent and lovable by comparison."
Nami swallowed nervously. "Is it really that exaggerated?"
"Hmph!" Zoro snorted. "I heard that the Celestial Dragons at the very top of the World Government often slaughter civilians on a massive scale for entertainment. They might even destroy an entire country over it."
"Where did you hear that?" Nami asked incredulously.
She was from the East Blue, and how should one put it? The East Blue could be considered the World Government's stronghold. Most countries in the East Blue were affiliated nations of the World Government, and staunch supporters at that. As a result, public opinion and the social climate throughout the East Blue tended to favor the World Government.
Although Nami's life had been miserable, her misfortunes had mostly been caused by Pirates. Some of it had stemmed from corruption within the Marines, but it had never particularly involved the massive entity known as the World Government. On top of that, her horizons were limited, and she had grown up amid this sort of public opinion and social environment. Thus, she knew nothing of the World Government's dark side hidden behind the East Blue.
Originally, she had somewhat disliked the Marines. But after meeting Smoker and the others, combined with the fact that her adoptive mother Bellemere had once been a Marine herself, she was fairly supportive of the plan to join the Marines in the future.
"I... I..." Zoro hesitated for a moment, then decided that Nami was his companion now and deserved his trust. Besides, Bane had said earlier that their master had plenty of backbone, and if they caused any trouble, they could just pin it on him.
So, after another brief hesitation, Zoro said, "I've met people from the Revolutionary Army before. I overheard it by chance once."
Koushiro had had plenty of dealings with Dragon in the East Blue over the years. Zoro had grown up in Isshin Dojo and had encountered the Revolutionary Army several times, so Bane was not surprised by this. They had discussed such things before.
Bane picked up the thread. "What Zoro said is true. Every three years, those Celestial Dragons on Mary Geoise randomly choose a country they don't like and hold a 'Human Hunt' competition there. They compete to see who can kill the most people. And once the event is over, they often destroy the entire country to erase the evidence. The Marines play a rather disgraceful role in it as well."
"The Marines are that beastly too?! Colonel Smoker and the others don't seem like they'd ever do something like that," Nami said in shock.
"With Smoker's current rank and his past experiences, he probably hasn't come into contact with that darkness," Bane said after thinking for a moment, offering a word in Smoker's defense.
"Then if you know the Marines hide such terrifying darkness behind them, why are you still considering joining them?" Nami asked seriously.
Bane rubbed his chin. "That's why I want to build my own team before joining the Marines. I want to become one of their top officials, maybe even take control of the entire Marine force, and then change this terrible world."
"Based on what you said earlier about becoming the King of the World, you want to rule this world, don't you?" Zoro jabbed.
"Hahaha, you could put it that way," Bane replied with a hearty laugh, not embarrassed in the slightest.
While Zoro and Bane traded barbs, Nami pondered for a long time before asking in confusion, "Since the Marines are no good either, and you two have some connection to the Revolutionary Army, why not just join the Revolutionary Army directly? They sound pretty righteous."
Bane froze, then his cheek twitched. "If you're asking why, it's because I don't think they have much of a future."
Dragon had been building the Revolutionary Army for many years and had accumulated considerable foundations, but for some reason, Bane always felt that guy would never amount to much. Thinking back to the story as he remembered it, the Revolutionary Army seemed never to have made any major waves from beginning to end, nor had it accomplished anything serious that truly changed the world's structure or direction.
Even in the cause of overthrowing the World Government, its achievements might not have been as great as those produced by the Straw Hat Pirates.
"I don't like them. They spend all day hiding and skulking around like rats that can't stand the light," Zoro said even more bluntly.
Logically speaking, if Zoro had been interested in the Revolutionary Army, given Koushiro's friendship with Dragon, he could have joined long ago. He would not have gone to sea as a pirate hunter in the original story, then ended up aboard the Straw Hats' ship as a pirate.
"The Marines have something bad behind them, and you don't like the Revolutionary Army either. I don't want to become a pirate. This world is such a pain. Why does it feel like there isn't a single good person anywhere? Isn't there some righteous Marine force that simply wants to eliminate pirates?" Nami complained irritably, slumping onto the table and lazily raising her fruit wine.
Hearing that, Bane froze. He suddenly thought of Zephyr, the former Marine Admiral. Zephyr should currently have stepped back from the front lines of the Marines to train their new generation. But, at the latest, two years from now, he would lead a group of Marines away from the current Marine force and establish something called the Neo Marines, with the ambition of eliminating every pirate in the New World.
Of course, his methods became somewhat extreme later, and he failed because of it. But now that Bane thought about it, this was not a bad path.
If the Neo Marines could get on the right track and develop along a normal path for a few more years, then with Zephyr's charisma and influence, he could absolutely split the entire Marine force apart!
Take someone like Smoker, for instance. If he learned of the darkness behind the Marines, and Zephyr's Neo Marines were not so extreme and developed normally for a while, Bane felt there was an eighty or ninety percent chance Smoker would go join Zephyr.
And there should be quite a few people like Smoker throughout the Marines.
But Bane had no relationship with Zephyr right now, and the gap in their status was far too great. Even if Bane wanted to meet Zephyr, it was unlikely to be possible.
After thinking it over, Bane suddenly slapped the table. "I've decided. Once the Marines'—"
As soon as he reached that point, he suddenly remembered that it was classified information and could not be casually mentioned for now. He hurriedly lowered his voice. "Ahem, once this major Marine incident is over, we'll join the Marines. After all, whether the Marines win or lose, they'll need fresh blood afterward. We should grow properly before then, and when the time comes, we ought to receive good treatment."
"And then? Change the Marines?" Zoro asked, looking at Bane.
"Why not?" Bane countered.
"There's no reason not to, as long as it doesn't interfere with me becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman." Zoro suddenly smiled and voiced his support.
His only goal in going to sea was to become the World's Greatest Swordsman. As for what identity he used to ascend that throne, he had no requirements. Marine or pirate, either was fine. Therefore, he had no demands of Bane in that regard.
Seeing this, Nami also slapped the table, pretending to be especially bold. "Then it's settled. I'm sure Bellemere wouldn't want to see the Marines become the mess they are now! I'll become the pride of the Marines in her place, and I'll make the Marines into something she can be proud of too!"
After saying that, she laughed. "I really never thought I'd walk the road Bellemere once walked and become a Marine. Now that I think about it, it's pretty interesting!"
Before you continue