"Although this Straw Hat Boy will also be a harmful factor in the future, he is not Roger's son, but a sworn brother who grew up with Ace. His bloodline is that of the revolutionary Dragon, the son of the world's worst criminal." It can be said that Sengoku's revelation was successful, successfully stopping the group of marines from continuing to speculate, while at the same time using the revolutionary Dragon to arouse everyone's interest in Luffy.
As expected, Donquixote Doflamingo, who had initially shown little interest, also turned his attention to Luffy. Although he hadn't made a move yet, he had already revealed a hint of interest.
Even Garp, no longer seated on the Execution Platform, stood up. "It doesn't matter anymore. There's no need to hide it any longer. After all, Luffy is no longer just a lawbreaker who can be simply labeled. These two brothers are complete idiots."
Throughout the journey, no matter what others said, Luffy never gave up on his goal. He even used his Gear Third ability to knock down a Marine Giant with a single punch. " Ace, no matter what you say, I will definitely save you, even if it means death."
However, once they broke through the walls, the rescue operation had only just begun. A group of marines who had been waiting in the plaza immediately surrounded Luffy and the pirates who had followed him in.
"Eliminate them, don't go to great lengths for a newcomer." Sengoku remained composed and confident in his assessment.
But then another unexpected event occurred. Dozens of people suddenly appeared around where Naruto Uzumaki had been standing. One of them stood out. He was wearing a dark green coat, had a red square tattoo on his left cheek, short black hair combed back, a fierce expression, no eyebrows, and stubble on his chin.
"What? That's the revolutionary Long!" "What?" "How could that be?"
The situation changed again in an instant. Even the Sengoku did not expect that the Revolutionary Army would interfere in today's occasion.
Upon arriving, Dragon immediately addressed Sengoku on the platform, saying, "I just heard people here commenting on me and my son. In that case, how could I not show up? After all, I'm considered the most sinful person by the World Government. So, naturally, I have to do something that puts the World Government in a difficult position. Sengoku, what will you choose now? Will you concentrate your forces to take me down, or will you continue to deal with Whitebeard?"
"Dragon, what exactly are you planning to do here today? I don't believe someone like you would take such a huge risk to come here just to embarrass the World Government." Sengoku's eyes were fixed on the suddenly appearing Dragon and the group of people around him.
Dragon ignored Sengoku and instead spoke to one of the Revolutionary Army beside him, "Have you got it? Very good, then we can begin our operation."
Ryu waved his hand, signaling the Revolutionary Army around him to proceed according to plan. In the end, only Ryu, Naruto, Tsunade, Senju Nawaki, Nawaki Senju Namikaze Minato, Mifune, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Kurama Unkai remained standing in place. It could be said that this was an outpost, and they could only invite as many as they could in their individual capacities.
After Dragon had arranged the Revolutionary Army's actions, he looked at Sengoku again. "You're right. Today, our Revolutionary Army is here to use this platform you've built to directly announce Revolutionary Army existence to the world. And today, we will prove to the world who the strongest force in the world is."
"Damn it, quick, turn off the Den Den Mushi that's broadcasting live." Sengoku immediately understood Ryu's intention: to have his subordinates cut off the live stream signal.
Unfortunately, this was exactly what Dragon had ordered done before. Through his moles within the Navy, he had already obtained one of the three Live Broadcast Den Den Mushi, so Sengoku can no longer shut down the broadcast.
"Do you even know what you're doing?" Sengoku's fury at this moment wasn't because of the disadvantage, but because the situation was no longer under his control.
"What am I doing? Of course I know!" The dragon raised his hands high and broadcast his speech directly to every corner of the world via live stream.
"What I'm doing now is overthrowing the rule of those so-called Celestial Dragons. Don't talk to me about the merits and glory of the 20 Kings. All I know is that all the Affiliated Nation in the world are suffering terribly under the oppression of those scumbag Heavenly Tribute Dragons. How many ordinary people have had to sell their children and families into slavery just to raise enough money to pay their dues? In the end, they lose both their money and their lives, and can only live a miserable and resentful existence, struggling to raise enough money to pay the next dues."
Even those so-called World Government, in order to be sure of receiving the so-called Heavenly Tribute, actually condone pirates to plunder at will, and even created so-called legal pirates, called the Shichibukai. This is the so-called World Government that represents justice." At this moment, Dragon's speech was so impassioned, especially with the various cannon fire exploding around him, which further enhanced the atmosphere of him seeking redemption for the people under oppression.
"You're talking nonsense! The World Government is fighting to eliminate those pirates!" Naturally, the Marines present were unhappy with Dragon's denigration of the World Government, especially some who had dedicated their lives to the justice they believed in.
"Hahahaha," Dragon laughed even louder upon hearing this, "That's right, you're clearing out pirates, but at the same time you're standing guard for human trafficking operations like Sabaody, escorting ships transporting slaves. Is this what you call justice? Does justice mean protecting those so-called Celestial Dragons who won't even breathe alongside us? What right do they have to enslave the world while simultaneously being protected by it? What right do they have? By the so-called glory of the Twenty Kings? Bah!"
Dragon even turned to the Marine who had spoken earlier, asking, "You just said you wanted to eliminate pirates, right? Is this really the World Government doing it? Isn't it the Marines? When did those so-called Cipher Pol within the World Government become responsible for eliminating pirates? Aren't their duties to protect the Celestial Dragons and keep the Marines in check?"
Therefore, you don't need to hate me, because I haven't denied the Navy's achievements. I only oppose the World Government, and I only oppose the World Government turning the Navy, which should have been used to protect the world, into a weapon in its own hands, a weapon only used to protect itself. That's all.
So you should actually stand with me and oppose the World Government. I think there must be quite a few people in the Navy who have long been disgusted by the World Government's actions, especially those so-called supreme leaders, the Celestial Dragons. You should know very well what they have done and what they are doing...
"You're talking nonsense!" Sengoku shouted, interrupting Ryu's continued speech. " The Heavenly Tribute isn't for oppression, but for better armed forces to fight against the increasingly powerful pirates."
In such situations, Sengoku had to uphold the order of the World Government. Although he himself disliked some of their actions, it was only when he was in his position that he realized how terrible a situation without order could be. So even though the order established by the Celestial Dragons was not good, he still tried his best to maintain it.
"No, you're wrong. Did the Heavenly Tribute really go entirely to military power? If so, then where did the Celestial Dragons get the funds to buy slaves? Who's footing the bill for their extravagant spending and various forms of entertainment? When will the World Government dare to release its expenditures so the world can see how their so-called Heavenly Tribute is actually spent? And why is there an annual increase in what is already an additional amount?"
Even regarding the increasingly powerful pirates you mentioned, how many of these pirates present were forced to leave their homes to seek a living because they couldn't afford the so-called "Heavenly Tribute"? While their actions of robbing civilians after becoming pirates are wrong, isn't the Heavenly Tribute" that led them down the path of piracy also wrong?
"Sengoku, as the Fleet Admiral, do you really not know these things? Not even you, but all your subordinates— Admiral, Vice Admiral, Rear Admiral, down to the lowest-ranking soldiers—who among them is completely unaware? And everyone here, who says they know absolutely nothing about this? Hmm? Who is it?"
The marines present, though still somewhat unconvinced by Dragon's questioning, did not deny it out of conscience. Even those who wanted to deny it, seeing their silent comrades, ultimately did not raise their hands.
However, they forgot one thing: the situation on the ground was being broadcast live worldwide by a live Live Broadcast Den Den Mushi. Their silence was tantamount to admitting it to the world. After all, they were not ordinary marines, but the Marine Headquarters, arguably the most authoritative entity in the eyes of the public, even more so than the World Government.
In fact, Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru had considered directly interrupting Ryu's questioning, but they were afraid that doing so would directly affect the morale of the navy present, and that a mutiny would be disastrous.
After all, given the wisdom of the Sengoku, how could they not know that Long Gan's appearance now must have been premeditated, and the most basic element—an inside agent—would certainly be indispensable?
Thinking of this, Sengoku glanced at Garp, who was still on the Execution Platform. His lips moved, but he ultimately didn't speak. He still held a sliver of hope for this naval hero and didn't want to be forced into a corner if he spoke.
When Ryu saw Sengoku assigning tasks to his Den Den Mushi and preparing to dispatch naval forces from other nearby areas to provide support, he immediately shattered Sengoku's hopes. " Sengoku, why do you think I only came here now? Was it to wait for you two to weaken each other before I could reap the benefits? No, you're wrong. I'm waiting for the Revolutionary Army around the world to take over your Marine Branch."
Now, apart from the Marine Branch in the New World, which we couldn't completely capture due to insufficient manpower in our Revolutionary Army, all the other Marine Branch in the four seas have been brought under our control. Therefore, our purpose in coming here is to deliver a decisive blow, to directly and swiftly overthrow the World Government's order with absolute power, to complete the transformation as quickly as possible, and to strive for the freedom of the people with minimal losses and costs!
Yes, Dragon didn't bring any of the Revolutionary Army's officers with him this time. Instead, he sent them to various parts of the world to suppress and accept the Marine Branch. It's thanks to Sengoku's defeat of Whitebeard that most of the Navy's high-ranking forces were concentrated here, which allowed Dragon's plan to succeed.
For this reason, Ryu had no choice but to request help from the outpost, since his elite forces were simply insufficient, and even his top-tier combat power was not enough to take down the entire Navy and Whitebeard crew.
Yes, that's just the elite force. As for the lower ranks, Dragon isn't worried at all. Firstly, once the strength reaches a certain level, numbers can no longer create an advantage. Secondly, a quarter of the Marines present have already been turned by the Revolutionary Army. Of the remaining three-quarters, how many of the lower ranks are truly willing to directly fight the Revolutionary Army? After all, they're not pirates.
"Listen up, everyone! The enemy is the most evil person in the world, as designated by the World Government. Don't be misled by his words. Think about who has been protecting your hometown from pirates all this time? It's the World Government, not these so-called Revolutionary Army. Think carefully." Sengoku tried to exploit the enemy's weakness to launch an attack.
However, what he didn't know was that this actually stirred up memories for many of the navy personnel present, causing their hearts to sway towards the Revolutionary Army.
After all, the Navy knows whether the Revolutionary Army actually does anything. If they didn't have any achievements, the World Government wouldn't have made Dragon the most evil man in the world for no reason.
During the period when the Revolutionary Army was in hiding, they were actually quite active, rescuing slaves everywhere, liberating areas enslaved by the navy or pirates, and even intercepting ships transporting Heavenly Tribute and secretly returning it to the people. It was because of these deeds, big and small, that the Revolutionary Army became so famous.
Many of the naval personnel present had received favors from the Revolutionary Army, and some even joined the Navy after being rescued by the Revolutionary Army and then being unable to contact them.
In this way, Sengoku actually fueled the fire. Seeing the strange expressions on the faces of the marines below, Whitebeard understood, but he had no mood to laugh at Sengoku. He thought of another possibility, and if that possibility were true, the most dangerous person on the scene would actually be the Whitebeard Pirates.