"The Marines should stand for justice. Unlike the Kingdom Navy, they don't serve the interests of a single nation. They represent the people of the world and serve the citizens of every country."
"They shouldn't serve the World Government's interests as nothing more than an instrument of force."
"The Marines need to understand who supports them, who provides the money and the people. It has never been the World Government. It's the affiliated nations."
"That's what the Marines are at their core. Perhaps no one understood it before, but as the affiliated nations have gained power within the World Government, some have begun to realize it."
"But that changes nothing. Control over military spending still rests with the World Government."
Hades paused for a moment.
"The Marines today are an enormous, deeply complicated organization."
"In their approach to pirates, they're clearly divided into the Hawk Faction, the Dove Faction, and the Neutral Faction."
"But those are only the factions defined by their outward policies. Internally, you could divide them into dozens more."
"The Four Seas Faction used to be powerful. It weakened during the war against the Rocks Pirates, but it still has considerable influence."
"There are nobles and commoners, divided by birth."
"There are officers' children raised by Marine Headquarters, and Marines who came from other regions."
"There's the Idealist Faction, dedicated to peace and its ideals."
"There's also the Disillusioned Faction. They've seen the world for what it is and recognized the World Government's darkness, but they're powerless to resist it."
"Then there are the Opportunists, who only want status and power. They love abusing their authority and are bureaucrats to the core."
"And there's the utterly Corrupt Faction. They collude with nobles, gangsters, and pirates, ruling local branch bases like tyrants and oppressing the people."
Hades