Revolution, Marines!

Chapter 46: The Tide of Thought!

The entire scene was silent, everyone's breathing growing heavier.

It was as if their breaths had sucked all the air from the area, leaving Iska suffocating.

"Those willing to come with me."

"Take one step forward."

Leo looked calmly at the pirates before him and asked in an even tone.

The moment they heard Leo's words, their hearts surged like magma. All hesitation and doubt vanished, erupting in unison like a volcano.

Boom! The entire deck shook violently, as though an earthquake had struck.

Ninety-eight pirates took a step forward together, as neatly as if they were one person.

This time, every movement was perfectly synchronized. No one was disorderly or out of step.

Their gazes were firm and resolute as they looked at Leo. No one answered him, yet that silent strength made every Marine tremble.

Within that silent strength lay the soul the Marines now lacked.

They believed their cause was just. They firmly believed their goal was the future of all humanity.

With this ideal as their support, with spirit and soul to sustain them, they would no longer feel any psychological inferiority when facing the Marines. On the contrary, they possessed an overwhelming psychological advantage.

Even more frightening was...

The Marines actually felt that what he said made perfect sense?!!

Not everyone possessed a heart for justice as intense as Akainu's, nor a path of justice as unwavering as his.

Most Marines had truly joined simply to earn a living. Yet many people with real aspirations had chosen to become pirates instead?!

If one carefully counted the young powerhouses among the pirates of the Supernova Era, then counted the young powerhouses among the Marines, one would discover that the Marines only had Momotaro, Smoker, Hina, Koby, Helmeppo, and Tashigi!

Even if Momousagi and Chaton were included, the new generation of Marine talents was still utterly outmatched by the pirates.

The Marine Admirals would grow old sooner or later. Even Whitebeard could not resist the ravages of time, much less the Marine Admirals.

The Marines' lack of successors was an extremely serious problem. Not to mention young Marines like Smoker, who sympathized with and even somewhat understood Luffy and his group—Koby was practically Luffy's fan.

This led to the absurd situation where, after Aokiji clashed with Akainu and left the Marines, only one of the Three Admirals remained. The entire Marine force was left without an Admiral stationed anywhere except Kizaru.

Though Kizaru possessed the Glint-Glint Fruit and could transform into light, he still had to hold down both Marine Headquarters and the Sabaody Archipelago. Running between two places alone was already burdensome enough, not to mention that he was lazy by nature—lazier even than Aokiji, with none of his diligence. Getting him to do anything was harder than climbing to heaven.

Akainu had originally been a diligent enforcer of justice, but after becoming Fleet Admiral, he had to sit in an office at the holy land of Mary Geoise every day. The Admirals' strength across the Grand Line was immediately weakened beyond recognition.

That was why the World Government held its great conscription, why Fujitora and Ryokugyu rose from ordinary civilians to become Admirals in one leap—while the two Admiral candidates, Momousagi and Chaton, were judged weaker than them. Though they were Marines through and through, they instead became candidates.

That was this era...

Marines bound by too many restrictions, Marines without enough freedom, Marines who were the Celestial Dragons' dogs, Marines who were subordinate agencies of the World Government, Marines ordered about by the nobles of every nation...

They had no hearts.

What they possessed was something called [the greater cause].

But if they truly had the people's support...

Admiral instructor Zephyr would not have left the Marines to establish NEO. Aokiji would not have abandoned the Marines to seek his own justice. Hero of the Marines Garp would not have refused promotion to Admiral for decades on end. Logia user Smoker would not have been demoted to the East Blue to cool his temper...

If even the Marine higher-ups themselves did not believe in it, how could they possibly make the backbone officers and ordinary soldiers below believe in it?

This was the Marines' greatest contradiction.

"Please take me with you!" The severely wounded men placed near the bow had somehow managed to climb to their feet.

They were all wounded men whose abdomens Leo had cut open and stitched back together. The six of them had apparently lain on the ground listening to Leo's entire speech, and now they were struggling to lean against the railing as they shouted.

Their voices were so loud, and their injuries so severe, that they began coughing up blood. Yet their resolve, like that of all the pirates present, would not change.

Tears streamed down their faces as they coughed blood and roared, "Please take us with you! Our families were also killed because of those nobles, yet we joined the Marines and became the nobles' dogs. We drifted through so many years in a muddle—we don't even deserve to be called human! Please take us with you!"

The pirates did not even turn their heads to look at them, merely glancing at the severely wounded Marines from the corners of their eyes.

Clang...

Among the prisoners to the right of the mast, some Marines also struggled to stand.

Their hands were bound, so their posture as they rose was much like kneeling.

Yet they still slowly pushed themselves off the ground with their foreheads, noses, and chins.

Quite a few of the seventy or eighty Marines stood up.

Around forty or fifty of them.

They looked at Leo and shouted, "Us too! Please let us join!"

The air aboard the ship seemed filled with something Iska could not understand. No, not air—an atmosphere.

On this ship, she felt as though she stood inside a furnace. Her whole body was burning hot, as if she were about to melt and merge with this group.

She wanted to become one of them too. She wanted that unwavering resolve, wanted to become a soul as glorious as theirs, wanted to receive that honor...

As the sole remaining Marine officer, her emotions urged her to throw herself into their ranks, while her reason told her: No, this is wrong! This is betrayal of the Marines! Hold on, Iska!

"Those who wish to join, fall in!" Leo shouted.

Those whose abdomens had been cut open clutched the handrails, blood spilling from the corners of their mouths and their noses. Yet with utmost determination, they slowly supported themselves down the stairs and stood behind one of the pirates.

The five of them formed a row.

But... it was still not enough.

A row had eight people!

Their row seemed to be missing something.

The bound Marines slowly walked over to stand beside them one by one. Imitating the pirates, they tried their best to straighten their bodies and became the first row of Marines.

The second row...

The third row...

The fourth row...

Whether they wore Marine uniforms or pirate clothes, whether they were severely wounded, lightly wounded, or bound...

At that moment, they became one whole, with no distinction between them!

PS: My writing speed was a bit slow today, but I'm very satisfied with the quality.

PS1: The four PS notes in the previous chapter were deleted during review, leaving it without beginning or end. To prevent me from disappearing. Group: 837,757.893