At Aokiji's words, Dawn immediately understood.
After all, the Ishtar Kingdom was a major grain-producing nation. The Marines were a military force that did not engage in production. How many troops were stationed at Marine Headquarters alone? How much food did they consume every day?
Logically, the nations or organizations behind armed forces were responsible for their food supplies. A nation, for instance, would use its own grain to feed the army that protected it.
But it was impossible for the World Government to directly provide food for the Marines.
After all, the Celestial Dragons lived on the Red Line. Expecting those pigs to allow the Marines to grow food on their land would be downright idiotic.
So, it was probably more convenient for the World Government to simply provide military funding and let the Marines solve the problem themselves.
And with demand came a market. The Ishtar Kingdom was likely one of the Marines' food suppliers.
The Marine Branches in the North Sea went without saying. Geographic convenience would naturally make the Ishtar Kingdom their primary source of food.
Although they would not hand their food lifeline entirely to the Ishtar Kingdom, it was at least a high-quality food source.
Marine Headquarters was naturally the same. Such a violent organization would not place all its food supplies in one location, and the Marines stationed in the New World had even more options.
Still, it could not be denied that, as a nation with developed agriculture and animal husbandry, the Ishtar Kingdom was one of the largest food suppliers across the Four Seas and the New World.
"Then what about my status as a Marine?" Dawn was still somewhat confused. This only explained the relationship between the Ishtar Kingdom and the Marines; it could not resolve the issue of an individual's identity.
"Ahhh... ha..." Aokiji yawned. "The supreme commander of the Marine Branch in the Ishtar Kingdom is concurrently held by the king. The Abraham family has always had a tradition of military service, so there is no conflict."
Aokiji yawned again and said, "Though the branch does not have many personnel. Most of the people join the kingdom's army to defend the country against pirate invasions."
After saying that, Aokiji yawned, waved his hand, and returned to his room. Adolf, standing nearby, saw Dawn's baffled expression and explained,
"Your Highness, this is a tradition of the Abraham family. I heard it was established to temper the heirs' character and give them a certain degree of self-defense ability.
"By the generation of Your Highness's great-grandfather, because of the close relationship with the Marines, the place of military service changed from the kingdom's own army to the Marines. Since the two sides cooperated so closely, His Majesty the King became the supreme commander of our nation's Marines."
"Because the Marines cannot directly participate in wars between nations, the Ishtar Kingdom's Marines are merely symbolically stationed as a branch under His Majesty's command."
What the hell was this? It felt like some kind of system tailored to local conditions, like one country, two systems.
After hearing Butler Adolf's explanation, Dawn could not help wearing a strange expression. This system somehow felt familiar.
All right, Dawn was utterly powerless to complain about this ridiculous twist. If this were a novel, even the author probably would not know what genre he was trying to write.
Changing the formula whenever he pleased, damn it! Changing the setting at the drop of a hat?
But what could he do when the foreshadowing had been planted in the first chapter?
But on second thought, having the identity of a prince was not bad. And it seemed he also had a pretty good relationship with the Marines.
Although he was briefly stunned by this dramatic development, Dawn still found it rather acceptable.
"Oh, right, Adolf. Could it be... uh... my father... the old man never had any more children?" Dawn asked awkwardly.
"Ever since Your Highness disappeared, His Majesty and Her Majesty the Queen have missed you greatly. The two have remained depressed and have not had any more children to this day."
All right, it seemed this body's parents were good people... No, that was not right. Kind rulers?
Unexpectedly gaining another identity seemed pretty good. They were not particularly terrible monarchs, and they had a good relationship with the Marines. This was acceptable...
"Prince Dawn, when do you think we can return to the North Sea? I can hardly wait to bring this news to His Majesty the King and Queen Rovena." Adolf's face beamed with a brilliant smile as he spoke.
"Wait a while. The main purpose of this trip is not training. We are only the advance party. We can talk about it after this matter is settled. Without a warship's help, we cannot cross the Four Seas."
Dawn waved his hand. To him, witnessing the beginning of the Great Age of Piracy was something he could not refuse.
After all, this was the beginning of a new era!
And it was also the symbol and label of those great figures?
Emmmm...
Come to think of it, that was right. People like Luffy and the Worst Generation were all rather young; some of them had not even been born when Roger was executed.
Among the great figures encountered at sea who were in their prime, very few had not experienced Roger's execution.
And those great figures who had witnessed Roger's execution seemed to undergo a transformation in mentality, and their future accomplishments were all quite remarkable.
For example, Hawk Eyes, Crocodile, Moria, Doflamingo, and others.
Although most of them except Hawk Eyes were Luffy's opponents, becoming Shichibukai was certainly no small achievement, right? After all, they were a third-party force besides the Marines and pirates.
Though his steps were a little slower and he was younger than those people, he still belonged to the same era. Dawn naturally hoped to personally witness the beginning of that era.
Marines? Pirates?
To be honest, the Marines were merely a platform Dawn intended to use for his own development. Where in this world was there truly black and white? Those things were merely defined by the people who held "truth."
And "truth" was power.
Or rather, only with power could one spread one's own "truth."
For those without power to still dream of realizing their ideals, that was nothing but laughably hollow rhetoric.
Were Doflamingo and King Riku not exactly like that?
Evil, backed by power, manipulated a kind king and ascended to the throne of a benevolent ruler. If not for Luffy, that nation would likely have remained in Doflamingo's palm forever.
Faced with this chaotic era, the weak child Dawn chose to lie low and rely on the Marines' great umbrella for shelter from the wind and rain.
At the same time, Dawn would provide labor in exchange for what the Marines gave him—that was, he would fight pirates.
Of course, he chose the Marines first because their tendency toward the "lawful good" camp happened to align with his own alignment.
As for becoming an adventurer-type pirate?
Just look at how many enemies that "chaotic good" idiot Luffy had, and you would understand. If he did not have backing and were not the protagonist, he would have died long ago.
As for joining a pirate crew or the mafia to seek advancement, that would be even more idiotic.
Whether it was the pirate camp or groups like the mafia, the threshold for entry was too high, and they lived high-risk lives every day. That was not conducive to Dawn's development while he was still a child.
After all, if you wanted to join the Four Emperors' factions, you had to have something to show for it, right? Countless people wanted to join the Four Emperors. Who did you think you were?
Without strength, he would probably die on the way before even reaching their territory.
So, since his previous life had made him lean toward the lawful good camp, and he did not particularly want to become a pirate, why choose a hellish starting point?
Was that not just making things difficult for himself?
Before you continue