Marineford, Objective Achieved

Marine Headquarters, Marineford, a World Government-affiliated organization, was currently the most powerful force in the world and the legitimate defender of justice.

Across the seas, it commanded an extremely high level of influence. Especially among civilians, many regarded the Marines as saviors.

The current Fleet Admiral was Steel Bone Kong, a powerful man and a legendary banner of justice.

Under Steel Bone Kong's leadership, the Marines had flourished and upheld justice across the seas. He was undoubtedly an outstanding leader.

Now, Ye Chen had followed a vice admiral stationed at the Sabaody Archipelago here. Many children had come with him, all of them possessing special abilities, such as Devil Fruit powers.

Several days earlier, when Ye Chen had entered the Marine outpost at the Sabaody Archipelago, he had initially been rejected. The Marines were not an orphanage. Though they had put it politely, the meaning had been perfectly clear.

Only after Ye Chen revealed that he was a Devil Fruit user had he received attention and been taken in.

At the outpost, Ye Chen had gained a rough understanding of the current situation on the seas.

For example, not long ago, Marine Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp had defeated the strongest pirate on the seas: Rocks.

As for whether his enemy had been at his peak, no one knew yet.

Garp had thus become a Marine hero, and the Marines had used this opportunity to raise their prestige to another level. They were now at the height of their power.

Then there were the four immensely powerful pirate crews currently stirring up trouble across the world. Even the Marines could not forcibly intervene against them.

For instance, the Roger Pirates, the Flying Pirates, and the Whitebeard Pirates. The first three were all powerful pirate crews, but the last individual was the truly terrifying one.

Patrick Redfield, known as the Lone Red, the Red Count, and the Solitary Redfield, stood on equal footing with the previous three pirate crews all by himself. No one dared provoke him.

After Rocks had been defeated, these four pirate forces had become the Marines' greatest headache. With Rocks' suppression gone, the seas had fallen into chaos.

Pirates of all kinds had emerged one after another, killing and plundering. The Marines had even begun to feel short on manpower. Therefore, Fleet Admiral Kong had ordered every Marine branch to keep an eye out for gifted children and prepare them for the future of the Marines.

In other words, Roger had not yet become the One Piece King, and the era of the Four Emperors had not yet arrived. This made Ye Chen unable to contain his excitement. He did not know why, but it felt as if every drop of blood in his body was surging.

That was why Ye Chen had displayed his status as an ability user, been taken in by the Marines, and sent to Marineford. The Marines were cultivating their future forces.

As for why they had been sent to Marine Headquarters, it was to ensure that these future Marines would be loyal to the World Government and uphold the ideals of justice. Put more bluntly: brainwashing.

When Ye Chen stood at Marineford's harbor, he had to admit that he was somewhat shaken. The place radiated an overwhelming grandeur. Just looking at it gave one a sense of imposing power.

Ye Chen withdrew his gaze and looked around. He discovered many more warships, each carrying several children and teenagers. Clearly, they had been sent by other Marine branches. He was not the only one.

Under Marine guidance, the children from every warship gathered in a vast square.

For a moment, curious voices, cries of surprise, and conversations buzzed like a swarm of bees, endlessly noisy.

Suddenly, three figures stepped through the air in the distance and landed before everyone.

Standing among the crowd, Ye Chen was utterly inconspicuous. Yet when he saw the people at the front, his expression changed slightly.

What stirred Ye Chen the most was that the ability those three had used was undoubtedly Geppo, one of the Marine Six Powers.

"Silence."

On the platform, the middle-aged man at the front, sporting a mohawk and wearing a white coat with the word Justice embroidered across its back, spoke two words that instantly suppressed the noise of the entire crowd.

The crushing pressure made Ye Chen bend over involuntarily. Many children around him even collapsed onto the ground, mouths agape as they looked fearfully into the sky.

And that was only a trace of Kong's presence.

"Hello, everyone. I am Marine Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong."

The pressure vanished. Ye Chen straightened up, clenching his fists tightly. His face remained expressionless as he watched Kong and the other two men beside him.

Black Arm Zephyr and Buddha Sengoku. Ye Chen recognized them at a glance.

These two were both current Marine admirals. Their strength was extraordinarily powerful, and they were the Marines' highest combat power, fully capable of suppressing an entire sea region.

As for the other man, Marine hero Garp, he was probably not at headquarters.

"I believe many of you became orphans because of those damned pirates on the seas."

From the very start, Kong spoke of the pirates' cruelty and the Marines' justice, doing his utmost to plant a first impression in everyone's minds: pirates were utterly evil, while the Marines were justice. They had to become Marines, protect their homes, let justice shine, remain loyal to the Marines, and remain loyal to the World Government.

All sorts of words revolved around those ideas. Then he began recounting Marine history—how they had saved some kingdom, how they had taken down some great pirate.

In short, Ye Chen had felt nothing after listening for an entire hour. The people around him, however, were different. Their faces flushed red as they stared excitedly at Kong, looking as though they were ready to become Marines, sacrifice their lives and blood, and uphold justice.

A faint sneer appeared at the corner of Ye Chen's mouth. At the beginning, perhaps he would have felt the same way. But now, all he wanted was power, because only power would let him live.

Justice? If it had saved him a month ago, then he would have believed in justice. Now, he only believed in himself. In this world where people devoured one another, he alone was the only one he could trust.

Justice, loyalty—they were all bullshit. Only power was real.

Ye Chen did not do anything out of line. He merely smiled, then continued watching Kong and listening to the speech.

Ye Chen was now very clear about his goal: survive in the Marines until he possessed strength, while learning things that could save his life, such as the Six Powers and Haki.

Of course, if nothing unexpected happened, Ye Chen would not mind becoming a Marine. It would be even better if he could become an admiral.

In any case, there was no use thinking too much right now. His foremost goal was to safely survive until he had the power to protect himself. Before then, he had to keep a low profile in everything.

Once he had power, he could do whatever he wanted.

He had to admit that the experiences of the past month had made Ye Chen grow immensely.

Although Ye Chen's mindset was currently far from normal, even twisted, he had not lost his reason. He knew what he should and should not do.

It was as if Ye Chen had locked his inner demon inside a cage. Once he gained enough strength, or was provoked, he would shatter that cage and announce his savagery through slaughter and bloodshed.

Against anyone who threatened his life, he would not hesitate to become a vicious ghost and use any means necessary to survive.

When that time came, he would repay every grudge owed to him a thousandfold.

He would control his own fate!