Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 291 Xia Zuo's Ideal

Xia Zuo was unaware that the Five Elders' reaction was to let him continue to stay in the East Blue.

This was an absolute surprise and delight for him.

Xia Zuo's confidence in spreading "simple justice" stems from his own strength, which is enough to suppress two general-level combatants.

If the World Government wanted to kill him, he would not hesitate to defect from the Navy and become another Navy admiral-level traitor after Dragon.

Shazo won't enter the New World like Drake and choose to join a pirate emperor's crew because he's not a Navy spy.

He also did not intend to create a completely new revolutionary army like Long, because the fragmented archipelago geography of this world did not provide the basic conditions for the formation of a great revolutionary torrent.

This damned world is more like a little notebook; the foundation of the revolution lies within the World Government, within the Navy that upholds the ideals of justice.

Xia Zuo's plan is to break free from the constraints of the Navy and target the lower and middle ranks of the Navy. He will promote "simple justice" from the outside, change the Navy's understanding of justice, and educate them to recognize that the Celestial Dragons are the root of all evil.

This would cause a split in the navy's ideology.

A small number of Marines are willing to become henchmen of the Celestial Dragons in order to gain favor with the World Government and be quickly promoted.

A smaller portion of the navy will fully realize their own position and thus leave the navy to join the revolutionary army or join Shazo's forces, becoming the vanguard of the revolution.

Most of the navy personnel will endure the inner turmoil and continue to serve in the navy.

However, in a torn-up navy, once the high command is taken over by unscrupulous individuals, corruption will occur at an astonishing rate.

These silent naval officers and soldiers will fully feel the injustice, witnessing how only sycophants rise to power and how their bloody battle achievements are stolen.

Only when his salary was withheld, his sworn brothers were framed, and he was on the verge of losing his family and home, did the conditions for a world revolution finally mature.

At that time, Xia Zuo will intervene in the navy in a big way, shaping a new navy from the bottom up.

Then, relying on the power of the new navy, they will overthrow the World Government and eliminate all the Celestial Dragons in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.

At that time, the only things Xia Zuo needed to consider were the small amount of force directly controlled by the Celestial Dragons and the immortal king Im.

The difficulty may still be terrifying, but the trouble is negligible.

The above plan was developed relatively recently. It was gradually summarized by Xia Zuo from the feedback of the marines on their understanding of justice while he was telling the branch officers and marines about his sense of justice.

To be honest, the quality of the marines in the 77th Division is not good. Compared with the marines of the headquarters or the base marines with the G-series designation, they are even a bit inferior to the marines of the 16th and 17th Divisions in the East China Sea.

However, these marines, after being fed and trained in the navy, and developing discipline and a sense of collectivism, are completely different from when they first arrived.

Xia Zuo felt that they were now human beings who had opened their eyes, instead of living in a daze as before.

This doesn't mean they lived like animals in the past, but rather that their minds were trapped by the island, and they had no interest in anything outside of the island they inhabited.

Compared to such extremely self-isolated individuals, those pirates who bravely ventured into the sea to pursue their desires have a more vibrant and alive character.

Perhaps Gol D. Roger's use of the Pirate King's treasure to lure the world and usher in the Great Pirate Era was a powerful remedy for this lifeless and hopeless reality.

The dead are gone, and Xia Zuo has no intention of speculating about what Roger was thinking.

But he absolutely disagreed that as long as one sails to the so-called end of the world and finds the One Piece, all the world's problems can be solved.

If that were possible, why did Roger, who had already reached the destination, disband his pirate crew after returning? Couldn't he have entrusted the items to his first mate, Rayleigh?

Even if he thinks Rayleigh lacks strong leadership, can't he just hand it over to Whitebeard?

If Whitebeard also lacks ambition, then handing him over to Kaido should be fine, right?

No, he kept the secret and then claimed that everything was in OnePiece.

If this thing that solves all the world's problems becomes powerless in the face of the Celestial Dragons and the World Government simply because its discoverer is seriously ill and dying, then this thing itself is meaningless.

Therefore, Xia Zuo believes that the real solution lies not in OnePiece, but in what one gains along the way to get there.

Since the so-called OnePiece didn't have the value of being the final word, Xia Zuo simply stopped thinking about it and focused his attention on the marines in front of him.

The world is vast, and the power to solve the world's problems also requires a massive scale. Within the foreseeable future, only these marines trained by the navy can shoulder this responsibility.

After Shazam led the Marines to rebuild the new Navy and solved problems including the Celestial Dragons and feudal kingdoms, was there still a need for the so-called One Piece or the Great Treasure?

Having finalized the overall plan for the future, Xia Zuo burned the paper filled with writing before leaving his office to prepare to lead the marines in the afternoon's training.

Standing among hundreds of marines, leading the arduous training, Xia Zuo felt exhausted and in pain, his mind gradually went blank, and all sorts of thoughts arose.

The most frequent and intense thought was questioning myself: why do I have to work so hard? Why do I have to make myself suffer so much?

With his current strength, he could easily roam the seas and live a comfortable life whether he were a pirate or a marine.

Xia Zuo rallied his will through self-questioning and provided an answer to himself.

I firmly believe that great power must be wielded by a great will. Those who forcibly seize power will only bring profound disaster to others and ultimately destroy themselves.

I know a story: someone found a tablet of destiny, and simply writing their name on it transformed them into a powerful evil god. However, their uncontrollable lust led to the deaths of countless lives, ultimately resulting in their own demise.

As Xia Zuo, acquiring my power wasn't difficult, therefore I must put in more effort to fully control it.

Otherwise, after becoming the strongest in this world, I will inevitably fall into depravity due to a lack of pressure, dragged into an abyss of depravity by unimaginably powerful forces, with no chance of ever rising again.

But willpower cannot be strengthened in vain; only ideals can guide beliefs, and only beliefs can solidify willpower!

Even in the world of One Piece, my true ideal should be the stars and the sea. And the first step towards that goal can only be to liberate the pirate world from its shackles, allowing the entire world to follow in my footsteps and become the ladder to realizing my ideal!

Ideals drive beliefs, beliefs strengthen will, and will controls power.

Xia Zuo's body gradually became exhausted, but the distracting thoughts in his mind gradually disappeared. With his mind clear, his control over his own power continued to improve.

To the naval officers and sailors behind him, it was a visible improvement in the strength of their branch leader.

Xia Zuo's men were used to this, and their initial feelings of great frustration turned into respect and peace of mind.

Their admiration for strength led them to trust Xia Zuo more, and under the influence of this admiration, the number of marines who believed in "simple justice" continued to increase.

As more and more people came to believe in Xia Zuo's ideals of justice, the marines of the 77th Branch underwent a significant change. They had a new light in their eyes, became more proactive in their actions, and were more assertive when carrying out missions.

The changes in the marines of the 77th Division may not seem significant individually, but when viewed as a whole, they appear quite dramatic.

The branch leaders of several nearby branches discovered it and secretly inquired about what had happened.

Xia Zuo's response was neither to encourage nor to stop it.

Any education needs role models. He alone is enough to be a role model for nearly a thousand marines in the 77th Division, but he cannot be a role model for hundreds of thousands of marines in the East China Sea.

When the 77th Branch undergoes a fundamental change and becomes a model collective, it will be able to set an example for all naval forces in the East China Sea.

As the teacher once said: You can't get anything done if you're in a rush. The more you rush, the less likely you are to succeed. It's better to take it slow and develop in a wave-like manner.

Just like when a person walks, they need to rest after walking for a while.

Therefore, after publicly announcing their ideals of justice, they should pause and wait.

Only after building a solid foundation can one make more solid progress by waiting for the right opportunity to arise, or when one's strength has made another leap forward.

As an emerging force active in the shadows, the Revolutionary Army's intelligence system is still very immature, and its focus is on the World Government, the Navy, and the top echelons of its member states.

After Dragon made his move in the Goa Kingdom, he took Sabo away from his homeland and crossed the Calm Belt back to White Earth Island on the Grand Line.

The journey was extremely arduous, so Dragon remained unaware that the "Gallows Forest Incident" occurred after the Celestial Dragons left the Goa Kingdom.

It was three months later when Dragon returned to the Revolutionary Army headquarters in Baltimore, re-established contact with his subordinates, and received relevant intelligence.

More than 4000 people were hanged by Commodore Shazo of the Navy for arson in the Gray Zone, but the Goa Kingdom, the World Government and the Navy did not make any strong reaction.

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They even joined forces to suppress the matter, preventing ordinary people from knowing about it.

Even with a headache from thinking about it, Long still couldn't understand why things had developed this way.

He told Emporio Ivankov, "I simply cannot understand the 'Gallows Forest' incident. I cannot understand either Brigadier General Shazo's motive for the killings, nor the reactions of King Goa and the Five Elders."

"The only thing I can understand about this is the Marine Headquarters. Doing nothing is protecting Shaza. This is Sengoku and Garp's consistent approach."

Ivankov's heavily made-up face showed even greater bewilderment. He smiled wryly and said, "If someone like you, a proper naval officer, doesn't understand, how could a slave like me possibly understand?"

"The world seems to have become unrecognizable in the blink of an eye, making me feel very alien."

The dragon spoke up: "Nothing happens without a reason. Since something unprecedented has happened, there must be changes that we are unaware of yet."

"We cannot ignore this matter. We must send capable intelligence personnel to the East China Sea to find out the cause and effect of this incident."

"In addition, we need to send someone to infiltrate Brigadier General Xia Zuo's inner circle for a long period of time to learn everything about him."

"Perhaps he can become an important pillar of the revolutionary army."

Ivankov nodded and said, "I completely agree with your idea; we definitely need to figure this out."

"I suggest that Ashiru return to the East Blue, try to join the Navy's 77th Branch, get close to Commodore Shazo, and find out information about him."

Long was somewhat surprised. Ashiru was a powerful figure who would serve as the deputy commander of the Eastern Army that was to be established, and was one of his key officers.

Sending such an important cadre to the East China Sea to infiltrate the side of a brigadier general branch chief seems like a waste.

But on second thought, Long felt that this person was a very suitable candidate.

As a woman, Ashiro's ability to become an important cadre in the revolutionary army speaks volumes about her personal strength and unwavering revolutionary will.

As a spy, she doesn't need to worry about safety or betrayal.

Moreover, Ashiru is from the East Blue and is very familiar with it, so she can easily infiltrate the East Blue Navy without arousing suspicion from anyone.

The best part is that Ashiru is currently unknown, and no one knows she is a member of the Revolutionary Army, so there is no danger of her being exposed.

After thinking for a long time, Long finally nodded in approval and said, "Ivankov, your suggestion is as perfect as ever. I can't find any fault with it."

"Then let Ashiru go to the East China Sea as soon as possible, infiltrate Brigadier General Xiazuo's side, and obtain all his intelligence."

Ivankov laughed triumphantly: "Hahaha, it is my duty to understand the comrades of the Revolutionary Army, and I will not make a mistake in this regard."

When Ashleigh received the order, although she was very confused, she handed over her work to her direct superior, Bello Betty, without hesitation.

The appointed commander of the Eastern Army, Bello Betty, felt as if the sky was falling.

She was an inspirational person who ate the inspirational fruit. Influenced by the fruit, she developed a passionate and unrestrained personality, which led her to hate all kinds of formalities.

In the massive project of forming the Eastern Army, Ashiro took on countless tedious tasks, acting as both deputy commander and chief of staff.

Just the handover process itself is making Belo Betty feel like the sky is falling; she really can't do it.

But the order came from Commander-in-Chief Monchiron, and Belo Betty, however reluctant, dared not disobey.

So she went straight to Commander-in-Chief Long and relentlessly begged for his help.

"I don't care, I'm simply not up to the task of Ashil's job!"

"Either give me a new deputy commander, or we'll replace him with someone else as the Eastern Army commander!"

Through Belo Betty's tireless efforts, she successfully gained the services of the highly capable deputy commander, Kerla.

After the two deputy commanders finished handing over their duties, Ashiro, along with the selected intelligence personnel, embarked on a voyage to the East China Sea.

No one knew that once Ashir went there, she would never be able to return to the Revolutionary Army.