September, Sea Era 1506.
More than a year had quietly passed.
The increasingly chaotic seas, unrest within the affiliated nations, the Navy's suppression of pirates, and the Revolutionary Army's rapid growth.
Trouble after trouble came pouring down on the Navy and the World Government.
Yet no matter what happened, their attention remained focused on the Golden Sea.
After all, their enemies on Jaya Island were the many Sea Emperors and great pirates of the New World.
Compared to them, the Revolutionary Army barely counted as a nuisance, capable only of petty maneuvers.
The Army alone could keep its growth in check.
Two and a half full years had passed since the Golden Sea War began.
Few major wars ever lasted so long.
The last had been the bloody war before this great war broke out.
During that time, the fighting in the Golden Sea had grown increasingly brutal, with both sides committing ever more troops.
The entire Golden Sea battlefield was like an enormous powder keg—one that had already exploded.
The war blazed like a raging fire.
It burned through the blood of countless Marines and pirates.
The final battle could erupt at any moment, but the Navy and the World Government dared not set it off lightly.
They also feared that the Flying Pirates might suddenly descend with a massive army, so while keeping a close watch on their movements,
they quietly increased their support for the Golden Sea.
After all, the Navy officers on that battlefield were the Navy's future.
That went without saying for the three Admiral Candidates.
The other young officers and mid-level officers had all been painstakingly trained by the Navy.
If they all died, the Navy might not recover for twenty years.
The Battle of the Golden Sea was already unimaginably brutal. Every few